By Brig (retd) Anil Gupta
The nation was shocked when the media flashed the news of four young men, residents of Thane district in Maharashtra, reported to be fighting in Iraq along with the Sunni jihadists of ISIS.
Their parents have reportedly met the union foreign minister in Delhi requesting her to get back their wards. Is this only the tip of the iceberg? Are more shocks in store? How many such parents are grieving quietly with the hope that their sons would return one day?
Of the four young men in their early 20s, three are reportedly engineering students and the fourth one is an undergraduate call centre executive. As per some intelligence inputs, there are about 18 such youth fighting in Syria and Iraq. The exact number may be much more and is being ascertained by the intelligence agencies.
Surprisingly, all the 18 youth identified so far belong to the south Indian states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu , Andhra Pradesh (could be Telangana) and Maharashtra. Interestingly, none from north India have been identified so far with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS).
It is further assessed that they do not belong to any particular group but have been radicalised through internet and literature and video on social media. Intelligence agencies also have confirmed inputs of a group of youth from Uttar Pradesh owing allegiance to Indian Mujahideen (IM) fighting jihad in Afghanistan along with Al Qaeda and Taliban.
Background
In my earlier article titled ‘ISIS – A bigger threat than Al Qaeda’, I had dwelt upon the issue of ISIS attracting many foreign jihadists because of its spectacular and lightning successes as well as the huge reserves of cash it holds. The foreign jihadists confirmed to be fighting with ISIS belong to prosperous European countries and Australia. It is also likely that they would have now been joined by those foreign jihadists who were nestled in North Waziristan and have been forced to escape consequent to launching of Operation Zarb-e-Azb by the Pakistan Army. These foreign jihadists include Uzbeks, Chechens and Uighurs of China. The foreign jihadists in the ranks of ISIS are estimated to vary from 2,000-10,000.
Indicators
The first indication of Indians fighting with ISIS came through a 20-second audio of Abu Bakr-al-Baghdadi, the ISIS chief, released at the beginning of the month of Ramzan. In his recorded message he exhorted the jihadists all over to kill the enemies of Islam. He goes on to appeal to the believers to “take up arms and terrify the enemies of Allah” in various countries he termed as anti-Islam. India was listed by him as one such country. In the same audio he also enumerated the nationalities of fighters who constitute ISIS. In that he mentioned Indians as among a host of other nationalities, including British, American, French, German and Australian.
The Indian intelligence agencies are still working overtime to assess the number of Indian jihadists in Syria and Iraq. The agencies are reported to be finding it difficult to keep a track of the Indian youth in the Middle East. Some of them land up there through Singapore and other routes. As per intelligence agencies, a large number of Indian youth migrate to these countries every year. It is difficult to assess as to who are actually “job seekers” or how many are “potential jihadists”?
India is on the radar screen of all international jihadi terror outfits, is a well-established fact by now. Abu Bakr-al-Baghdadi alias Abu Ibrahim, the self-styled caliph of the Caliphate of Islamic State, has called upon Indian Muslims to wage jihad against India. In the proposed World Dominion of Caliphates, part of north west India has been included in the Caliphate of Khorasan.
The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has once again let loose its pawn-cum-trump card Hafiz Saeed, who is openly giving a call for jihad against India. A little known Pakistani terror outfit Tehreek-e-Khilafat has pledged allegiance to Khalifah Abu Ibrahim and vowed to raise the flag of Islamic State in South Asia. In a press release the group has said: “Sheikh Abu Bakr-al-Baghdadi shall consider Tehreek-e-Khilafat and jihad mujahedeen fighters of Pakistan as one of the arrows among his many arrows which he has kept for his bow.”
The press release goes on to read: “We are praying to the Almighty Allah to give us chance in our lives to see the expansion of Islamic State boundaries towards the subcontinent and Khorasan region in order to hoist the flag of Islamic State here.”
In a recent protest in Srinagar, some Kashmir University students while protesting against Israeli attacks on Gaza were seen carrying the black flag of the Islamic State. Is it a mere coincidence or part of a bigger ‘Grand Design’? The government agencies so far have been denying the presence of Al-Qaeda only; What about the ISIS?
Causes of Concern
The fact that Indian youth are fighting jihad in Iraq and Afghanistan is a reality now. The exact number of such jihadists has yet to be determined. It is hard to believe that the sole source of motivating and radicalising the youth is the social media and internet. There is a network of sleeper cells, sympathisers and overground workers of these jihadi organisations working in different parts of the country.
They are engaged in motivating, radicalising and recruiting the youth for jihad. We need to identify such nurseries of Indian jihadists and act against them. It’s the main cause of concern that needs to be addressed immediately.
Some of the other causes of concern are:
The network has spread deep into our country across the Vindhyas range as well. What is luring and motivating the youth of these relatively peaceful states towards jihad? The increasing influence of social media and the uncensored propaganda material loaded on it also needs examining.
The educated youth are attracted towards jihad or are they being lured? They are probably being lured with an aim to recruit educated jihadists who can handle modern weapons and also exploit Information Technology (IT). They may also provide a pool of administrators in captured territories.
The excesses committed by ISIS against Shias in Iraq may trigger a sectarian Shia-Sunni violence in India. About 30,000 Shia volunteers are reportedly waiting to go to Iraq. It’s a potential flash point.
When these battle-hardened jihadists return home they could precipitate real problem in our country. Their antics and successes may inspire many more. With their contacts with jihadists in the Middle East intact they may raise the bogey of jihad here.
In order to stall improvement of relations between the two governments of India and Pakistan, ISI may raise the ante and intensify its activities in India. The recent Pune blast by IM leading the investigators to the likely link with masters in Karachi cannot be ignored. The jihadists released from Afghanistan after the US drawdown would be a valuable asset for the ISI.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that intelligence agencies are working overtime to keep under surveillance the Indian jihadists fighting alongside ISIS and Al-Qaeda. The threat they pose is not immediate. The immediate concern is to identify their handlers and sympathisers inside the country. They need to be identified and neutralised.
At the same time we need to review security of all our vital installations and strengthen their security on a war footing. In all our previous responses to acts of terror, one of our main weaknesses has been lack of coordination among the various agencies. It still continues to be a major cause of concern.
(Brig (Retd) Anil Gupta is a political commentator, security and strategic analyst. He can be contacted at southasiamonitor1@gmail.com)
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