the southern jihad

8/22/2019 The Southern Jihad

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The Southern Jihad

http://centreright.in/2013/07/the-

southern-jihad/

Aravindan Neelakandan / In Commentary / July 27, 2013

The night watchman said that they were three youths in their

twenties. He said they calmly walked around. One held thewatchman while the two others zeroed in on their target. Theirtarget was Mr. Ramesh a leading auditor and state generalsecretary of Tamil Nadu BJP. They twisted his hand in animpossible angle breaking it. Then they slammed his headagainst the wall. Then in the perfect tradition of Islamist terror,they started to slit his throat even as they were raining cutsagainst the struggling body of the fifty three year old man. Andwhen it was all over the lifeless body lay down in a pool of bloodwith 23 cuts and a disfigured head. The killers did not run away.They simply walked and dissolved into the night of Salem a

prominent city in Tamil Nadu. And the night was still young whenthe auditor was no more: 9.30 pm. It was a Friday in the Islamicholy month of Ramadan- 19-07-2013. [1]
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Just weeks before this gruesome murder, 45 year old Vellaiappan a Hindu Front functionary, who was active in combatingproselytizing and reclaiming the occupied temple lands, waskilled in Vellore, on 1-Jul-2013. The murder happened in publicplace and in the full view of the public. In Vellore, this was the

second murder of a Hindu activist, after AIADMK has come topower.[2] In the early morning of April 2013, at Nagercoil in Kanyakumari

district, a veteran BJP leader, who was respected by allcommunities and known for his soft nature, was attacked by agang. With the arrest of four youths for this incident, a networkcomprising of Islamists not just from Kanyakumari district butfrom the Melapalayam area of Thirunelveli district becameevident.[3]

In the late night of November 6, 2012 Mr.Anand, an RSSfunctionary, was attacked by Islamists. Ten days later police

arrested Syyed Abu Tahir (19) near Coimbatore. [4]

In the last two years, many Hindu activists have been attacked andkilled in the state of Tamil Nadu. Randomly selected and systematicallymurdered or assaulted in very violent ways, Hindu organizations havebeen a target for a force that has been gaining strength within thestate of Tamil Nadu.

This is not new to Tamil Nadu. It has happened before. During the lastcycle of engineered violence, pan-Islamic forces used a combination ofDravidian polity, communal politics and terrorism to entrench their grip

on Tamil society and it climaxed with the Coimbatore bomb blast. Theevents which happened prior to 1998 Coimbatore bomb blast have anuncanny resemblance to the present acts of violence.

Here is a quick recap.

Targeted Killings to RDX Bomb Blasts

Back then, we had the DMK regime, which was ideologically softtowards pan-Islamic forces. One of the cherished myths of the pseudo-secularists is that Islamic terrorist activities started only after 1992

demolition of the disputed structure. But the Islamist attacks on Hinduactivists started much before that. A full one decade, before thedemolition, the murderous attempts on the life of Hindu activists hadstarted in Tamil Nadu.

In 1982, Badsha, who would later become a powerful Islamist leader,made an attack on a group of Hindu leaders returning from a meetingat Coimbatore. Two years later, on 18-7-1984, in full public view at


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Madurai railway station, the same Badsha attacked Rama.Gopalan, aprominent Hindu leader of Hindu Front, a vocal Hindu organization thatcombated conversions and Dravidianist propaganda. Though Badshawas caught red-handed, he could not be convicted. This gave theIslamist forces their first taste of victory over the judicial system in

Tamil Nadu and provided a profitable lesson in using the Dravidianpolity to their advantage. [5]

All India Jihad Council and al-Ummah

Within two years, the radical elements were gathered by one extremistpreacher Ahmed Ali alias Palani Baba. In 1986, the first Islamic terroristorganization in the region the All India Jihad Council (AIJC) wasformed. After this the attacks started becoming virulent andsystematic. On 30-Aug-1989, Veera Ganesh, a prominent Hindu Frontworker, was killed. Then on 05-Sep-1991, Veera Shiva, another Hindu

Front functionary was killed. All these killings happened in and aroundCoimbatore the commercial hub of Tamil Nadu. Along with AIJCanother organization too had come into being: Al-Ummah.

One of the cherished and oft-repeated myth is that it was thedemolition that triggered the bomb explosions. The fact that evenmonths before the demolition happened, the Jihadist had startedpreparing for the bomb blasts falsifies this pseudo-secular contention.Tamil Nadu police arrested the Al-Ummah members Hyder Ali (38),

Abdul Mudalif (47), Mohammed Abdul Khader (50) and Zakir Hussain(38) on October 1992, when they were smuggling explosives fromKerala on a stolen car. It should be noted that this event happened on29th October 1992 a month before the demolition.[6]

The Kerala connection surfacing here shall take the form of a veryelaborate well-coordinated network later. In Kerala at that time AbdulNasser Madani was the kingpin of Jihad. He was the counterpart of
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Palani Baba in Kerala. His organization ISS (Islamic Sevak Sangh) wasproscribed in 1993. He rechristened his organization as PDP (PeoplesDemocratic Party). At the same time was born NDF (NationalDevelopment Front). Though technically two different organizations, asobserved by A.V. George, Asst. Commissioner of Police Ernakulam,

Kerala the NDF and the PDP units had cooperated with each other tocarry out extremists activities.[7]

Neera Rawat, who was Kozhikode City Police Commissioner from March22, 1997 to May 16 1999, had prepared a confidential dossier on NDFactivities. According to the information gathered by her ISI and Iranwere the sponsors of the NDF.[8] Ms. Rawat also revealed that theSpecial Branch had also given reports regarding the transportation ofarms in ambulance vans. The significance of this piece of informationwould become clear later.

On August 1993 RDX was used to destroy RSS state headquarterskilling 11 persons. Then on October 1994 state president of HinduFront Mr. Rajagopalan was dragged out of his house and killed. On April1995 the headquarters of Hindu Front at Chennai was blasted usingRDX. Individual killings also continued. Then on July 1995, a parcelbomb killed the wife of district president of Hindu Front. Jihad activitiesin and around Coimbatore continued with a renowned vigor.

Ideological Blind Spot

In an extraordinarily insightful study of the southern Jihad, BJP noted

the ideological blind spot in the Dravidianist ideology that made theparties in power irrespective of the party affiliation, look over the Jihadactivities. On July 1995, BJPs parliamentary delegation visited TamilNadu and the then leader of the Opposition in the Rajya SabhaSikandar Bakht observed in his report how the political climate in TNmarked by the influence of separatists Dravidian movement which ismostly based on anti-Hindu (views) made the powerful Dravidianparties frown upon any pro-Hindu, nationalist activities.

Bakht report further noted that how a section of the AIADMK, thepresent ruling party of the state, is also reported to have a sort of

allergy towards Hindu organisations and also observed that the Al-Ummah led by Syed Ahmed Batcha of Coimbatore enjoys the supportof various political parties including some ruling AIADMK leaders..

The 1995 report surprisingly revealed the globalization attempt of theSouth based Jihad forces, noting how no action was taken against thefounder of All India Jihad Council who had written letter appealing tothe international Islamic community for funds to carry on his fight


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against Hindu organisations which was widely distributed in Gulfcountries.

The report pointed out that the Tamil Nadu based Jihad elements werenow working in collaboration with Kerala ISS chief Madani.

[9]Meanwhile a political offshoot had emerged from Tamilnadu MuslimMunnetra Kazhakam (TMMK) which stated that it eschewed the violentpath of Al-Ummah. But as events later showed it was more an effort tohave a division of labor to facilitate an atmosphere conducive forIslamist operations than for democratizing their community. AIADMKregime then was perceived as notoriously corrupt and inept by generalpublic. So when it started making some tentative steps to curb Jihadterror it was too late. The police had set security check posts in somestrategic points in areas like Kottamedu at Coimbatore.

The pseudo-secular media persons in Tamil Nadu, close to DMK

ideology, charged the AIADMK of isolating the Muslims. DMK maderemoval of the check posts part of its poll deal which it struck withTMMK in exchange of Muslim votes. When the DMK came to power theIslamist mob was allowed to dismantle the check posts and then afresh round of nightmare began for Coimbatore.

Prequel to Operation Allahu Akbar

In the period between 1989 and 1997, 42 Hindus had been murderedin Coimbatore region by Islamists. Some were random killing of Hindusto instill fear like the killing of five Hindus in one day (02-09-1997)


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[10] and many were targeted executions of Hindu activists. Theorganization that was doing these murders was Al-Ummah.

Resolutely ignoring all IB warnings on 28 th January 1997 Badsha andfour others were released from Coimbatore jail by DMK regime

following its decision to withdraw the TADA cases.[11]

Interestingly, the Madras film industry, even tried to glorify the Jihadistby making a blockbuster in his name Badsha starred by Tamilsuperstar Rajni Kanth.

But such little acts of appeasement by Kollywood did not prevent Al-Ummah from throwing pipe-bombs at director Mani Ratnams house asa warning against the films he directed Roja and Bombay which

spoke against terrorism in the backdrop of Kashmir and spoke forcommunal harmony in the backdrop of Mumbai riots respectively.Meanwhile Badsha grew mysteriously stronger with funds flowing inand state power turning a blind eye. He was paying, in 1990s, Rs 5000per month for his boys and for the higher ups 100 cc motor cycleswere gifted. [12]

An early morning of November 1997 saw an altercation with the bikeriding Al-Ummah youths and a police man. This was followed by Al-Ummah youths declaring that they would extract revenge. Then thethreat was made real by a public execution of a police constable, Mr.

Selvaraj. To the shocked media and public the images of the wives ofpolicemen demanding security for their husbands clearly showed thepathetic condition to which law and order had been reduced. Two daysafter the brutal execution of constable Selvaraj, Tamil Nadu ChiefMinister Karunanidhi came out with an extraordinarily callousstatement that the police men should not have harassed two wheeleryouths just for the sake of statistics. [13]


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Riots broke out in Coimbatore following the murder of Selvaraj. Andthen on the Valentines Day of 1998 Coimbatore saw 76 deaths due toa meticulously planned serial bombing a terror plot code namedAllahu Akabr.[14]

It was not an attack from the blue. Sufficiently enough early warningshad been there. In the twenty months prior to the Feb-14-1998 bombblast there have been 21 bomb explosions some accidental and someby local Tamil groups but the most sophisticated coordinated bombblasts like the blasts in the Express trains at Thiruchi and Erode on thesame day in 1997 were carried out by Al-Ummah with logistics fromKerala. [15]

Soon after this mega-terror attack, Jihadists struck again. On March1998 Prof.Paramasivam a soft spoken gentleman, who had helped allstudents irrespective of their community, was dragged out of his houseand was executed brutally. Three Islamist youths were arrestedinitially. [16]

Sequel to Operation Allaku Akbar
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After the 1998 bomb blasts, an embarrassed DMK, which had severeelectoral reverses in the Parliament elections, allowed police to crackdown on Islamist forces. Meanwhile the political changes, with DMKentering and AIADMK exiting the NDA, reinforced the DMK-governments drive against Islamic terror network in the state. A

relative period of vigil followed though not without a few targetedmurders by Al-Ummah elements, now mostly on the run. The 2001election reverses suffered by DMK in Tamil Nadu state assemblyelections, made DMK again move towards the minority appeasementpolicy and AIADMK, now in power, started warming up towards BJP.

Meanwhile Islamic forces had started working earnestly towardsregrouping, realignment and restructuring their strategies. A massiveoutreach programme was launched. Former Jihadists now aging startedbecoming evangelicals for Islam. In television, print media and digitalmedia Islamists started a vigorous propaganda that Islam was a

religion of peace and that Islamic youths were targeted by an anti-Islamic regime. Every social ill was magnified and presented throughthe theological prism of Islamic monotheism. It was a virulent form ofIslam that was being propagated now.

Tamil Nadu BJP as well as Hindu outfits seemed to have left everythingin the hands of state agencies. While Islamists worked overtime toremove the terror stigma, create a positive image in public psycheeven as making their terror infrastructure ever more robust, Hindumovements in Tamil Nadu started getting lethargic.

Unlike the observant 1995 BJP team and later the ABVP whichproduced the detailed study of Jihad terrorism in the state, the BJP ofearly 2000 was more worried about benefits of power than aboutgetting justice to the victims of Jihad terror in Tamil Nadu. Or at leastthat is the scenario one gets going through the happenings.Throughout the years BJP was in power, Islamists toiled hard buildingnetworks in the so-called secular community.

In 2001 DMK lost the state elections and AIADMK won. TMMK hadsupported AIADMK. Islamists across South India in a significant movestarted two major organizations in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. They

were given deceptively secular names namely Manitha Neethi Pasarai(MNP) and Karnataka Forum for Dignity (KFD). They were coordinatedby NDF of Kerala.

In 2002 all the six persons accused of murdering the Madura CollegeProfessor, K.R. Paramasivam, were acquitted by a Madurai court today.Of the six accused one young person raised his hands and shoutedslogans. His name was `Police Fakruddin. [17] In 2013, eleven years


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later, Tamil Nadu police would announce him as major suspect in theinhuman killing of auditor Ramesh.

In 2003, all eight Al-Ummah men were acquitted in Selvaraj murdercase.[18] In February 2003 and again in March 2003 16 Al Umma menwere acquitted because the police had failed to prove the chargesbeyond reasonable doubt.[19]

While the murder accused were rescued through professional legalassistance and even when jailed their comforts and familys economicsecurity were taken care of, what about the plight of those killed byterrorists?

They are forgotten by the society. It was reported in 2010 that P.

Sivanandi, Inspector-General of Police, West Zone, after persistencepersonal efforts and toils, tracked down Selvarajs wife Jayanthi anddaughter Lavanya who were found living in Vadipatti in animpoverished state.

Madhani Massacre and Massage

From a lower middle class he looks too aged for his age. His only sonwas killed during the Coimbatore bomb blast. He was given the post ofmedical attendant at the Govt. medical hospital at Coimbatore. Therehe was entrusted the care of a person in a wheel chair. He should get

the patient hot water and tiffin; take him in wheelchair to thebathroom. He should serve the patient all his needs. And the person inthe wheel chair was none other than Madani Abdul Nasser Madani themain accused and Godfather of Southern Jihad.[20]

Such insensitivity towards victims was matched by exudingcompassion towards the terror-accused. In 2002, Syed Munir Hoda, IASwas made Home Secretary for the Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, who had


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a good rapport then with TMMK.[21] Later he would stand accused forhelping Abdul Nasser Madani by lifting the ban on Madanismovements, enabling the high-profile prisoner to seek medicaltreatment.[22] As Madani was moved out of jail, his communicationcapabilities increased.

On 2nd May 2003 at the coastal village of Marad, Kerala, eight Hindufishermen were massacred brutally by Islamists. Before the ThomasCommission appointed by Kerala government investigative officersrevealed that one of the master minds of the massacre MohammedNafi had met Abdul Nazar Madani in the Coimbatore Central Prison,eight times before the massacre.[23] The commission later discoveredthat another IAS officer Sooraj was responsible for the failure of thecivil administration in to prevent the Marad massacre and pointed outthat the allegation of communalism raised against his could not beignored and required to be enquired into by the State government.

[24]

The 2002 helping of Madani by Munir Hoda IAS which allowed Madanito communicate with one of the architect of Marad massacre, and theact of omission by another IAS officer Sooraj which allowed themassacre to happen cannot be easily brushed aside as coincidences. Ifthey are not indeed coincidences it shows the new reach of Islamistactivities at higher corridors of power in South India which in turn canprovide Jihad more capacity to strike at will.

In 2004 AIADMK moved closer to BJP having an electoral alliance. Itwas then that the CM discovered the transgression of Hoda and sackedhim. Islamist organizations raised a hue and cry. In 2004 elections theNDA was defeated in the Parliament polls and in Tamil Nadu NDA wasdefeated in all 40 constituencies. In 2004 police busted a camp of MNPat a village in Cuddalore Tamil Nadu. According to the police sources,the MNP was said to be having a nationwide network and wassuspected to have links with the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front


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of Yasin Malik and acted as a recruiting agency to beef up the terroristforces in Jammu and Kashmir. [25]

Incidentally the original flag of MNP was that of JKLF which was laterslightly modified with a single star. In 2005 a bus was burnt near

Kalamassery, Kerala. One of the accused here was ThadiyantavideNazeer. He was also involved in planting of bombs in Coimbatore PressClub and blasts in Kozhikode bus stand to secure Madanis arrest. Anative of Kerala he had become the southern operations commander ofLashkar e Toiba. When at last he was arrested in 2009 by Bangalorepolice the MHA decided to acknowledge this fact only after a week.[26] Particularly afther the Ishrat encounter political calculations havebecome part of the MHA state IB/police interactions which can have aserious negative impact on anti-terrorist operations of the state.

Though in jail, Madani was spreading the Jihadi network, effectively

across and Islamists. His supporters in Tamil Nadu were simultaneouslycreating a huge pressure through the human rights industry to securehis release. Leftwing writers, human rights lobby, Islamists all cametogether signing petitions for the release of Madani. Though Nazeerhad attempted to murder Nayanar, Kerala chief minister and Marxistleader, the electoral alignment made the Marxist Party bat for Madanisrelease. On March 2006, Kerala legislative assembly passed aresolution supported by both Congress and Marxists for the release ofMadani then in Coimbatore jail.[27]

In 2006 AIADMK was defeated and DMK government came to power.Now the DMK government returned to the original pro-Jihad stand witha renewed vengeance. It promptly reinstated Hoda as the Homesecretary. In the neighboring Kerala, the LDF had joined hands withMadanis political outfit now named PDP.


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By July 2006 DMK government gave the green signal to Islamists byallowing a costly Ayurvedic treatment for Madani which involved 10masseurs and 4 senior Ayurvedic doctors. The 35 days treatment costsRs 50,000 then and no award for guessing who paid the bill. [28]

In the early hours of July 22, 2006 Coimbatore police arrested fivesuspected members of the MNP, and seized IEDs and detonatorsbesides surveillance notes and maps from them. Police said the fivehad planned to blow up the Coimbatore Government Hospital, therailway station, the collectorate and the district police office. In August2006, the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Coimbatore, VRatnasabapathy, revealed a plot for terror attack on Coimbatore city.He was promptly transferred by the state government. According tothe police sources TMMK came to the rescue of MNP and pressurizedthe DMK to transfer the ACP. The cases were weakened, the policemen were harassed and the arrested terror-accused were released.

[29]

This gesture sent a green signal to Islamists and a warning signal tothe police. Police officials remaining unnamed had started talking tothe press about how barely two weeks after it was sworn in, TamilNadus DMK government had ordered that cases be dropped against12 Muslim fundamentalists, all followers of Kichaan Buhari, an AlUmma sympathizer and key accused in the Coimbatore serial blasts.These accused were initially detained under the National Security Act

(NSA) and yet had managed to obtain bail. Now the epicenter of Jihadactivities was shifting to Melapalayam in the hot dusty district ofThirunelveli. Soon the senior policemen in Thirunelveli were shockedby what they saw as the DMK governments blatant sympathy for theMuslim fundamentalists.[30]

The fears of the police personnel became prophetic. Soon there wereattacks on Hindu leaders and also liberal Muslims. In July 2006, a head


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constable who went to arrest a terror accused inside Melapalayam areawas beaten and chased away.[31] In November 2006, violent attacksby Jihadist prisoners on fellow Hindu prisoners and jail officials led totheir transfer out of Madurai prison.[32]

On 17-Dec-2006 M.R.Gandhi, a BJP leader of Kanyakumari district,returning from a meeting at night was attacked by a mob of Islamistswho threatened to burn him alive.[33] The same night Islamists alsomade their presence felt at Thenkasi where Kumara Pandiyan aprominent Hindu Front leader was murdered by an Islamist. He wasopposing Islamist plan to build a mosque opposite to the famousancient temple at Thenkasi.[34] Mr.M.R.Gandhi , as we saw in thebeginning was attacked again in 2013. Those marked for death once inthe Jihad radar are seldom forgotten by the soldiers of Allah.

Taliban style public execution of Muslim women who did not adhere tostrict Purdah or the dictates of Shariat became order of the day. TMMK which was one of the proscribed organizations by the internalministry to receive funds from abroad- became the darling of DMKgovernment.

In March 2007 a 35 year old Muslim woman was ceremonially stonedand then stabbed to death by young fundamentalists for beingimmoral in Thirunelveli district. [35] A district TMMK official went onrecord demanding the implementation of the Islamic law of stoning

women to death in secular India. [36] May 2007 saw another Muslimwoman tea vendor hacked to death because she was selling tea inpublic. [36] In neighboring Kerala by 2010, the 2006 electoral allianceof CPI (M)-PDP has evolved into a moral police. The DYFI of CPI (M) andPDP cadre started barging in houses and beating people. [37]


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TMMK meanwhile utilized the patronage of DMK regime and went foran enlarged capacity building. An ambulance network was created.Ambulance services have been a favored way of arms trafficking. At athanksgiving function in November 2007 Chief Minister Karunanidhimade a personal donation two ambulances to TMMK ambulance

network.[38] Earlier in August 2007 TMMK had put to use itsambulances in a deadly attack on Hindus at Thenkasi.

The attacks and killings of the Hindu youths, who were the brothers ofthe earlier slain Hindu Front leader, were symbolically done on August14 the independence day of Pakistan. [39] In Coimbatore by August2007 the case against Madani was so weakened by DMK governmentthat it was foregone conclusion that he would be released. However ina curiously inexplicable judgment the Judge while accepting that therewas a conspiracy through serial bomb blast to kill L.K.Advani thenvisiting Coimbatore and take revenge on Hindus, found several

factors outweighed the legal factors for giving death sentences. [40]Madani was cleared of all charges while Badsha was safely saved fromthe hangman and returned to the comfort of his cell. Madani came outin 2007. Two years later without much fanfare in 2009 DMKGovernment released nine more members of Al Umma, sixteen monthsbefore the completion of their sentence.[41]

In 2008 there were multiple bomb blasts in Bangalore. And on August17 2010, Madani was again arrested, in connection with the conspiracyfor the 2008 Bangalore bomb blast. [42] The geography of SouthernJihad now included Karnataka very well beyond the tentative steps. So

much so that the Congress government is set to spend Rs 5 lakhs forMadhanis treatment at an Ayurvedic Spa.[43] Even as the BJP wasgetting defeated in the Karnataka election, Arab News from Saudideclared that unlike the outgoing BJP government the electedCongress government would not oppose the bail petition of Madani. Sothe article declared Congress win bodes well for Madani [44].


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In fact the current Chief Justice of India P.Sathasivam who headed thebench of Judges in the Supreme Court rejected the earlier bailapplication of Madani. Justice P.Sadasivam stated an apex court benchheaded by Justice P. Sathasivam declard that the Supreme Court wasnot inclined to enlarge him on bail.[45]

AIADMK again

In 2011 AIADMK came to power. TMMK had shifted its alliance toAIADMK. This time it had launched a political party and had got twoseats as well. Islamist forces were now well entrenched in power inTamil Nadu. This is despite the fact that TMMK is still in the list oforganizations prohibited from receiving foreign contribution by Ministry

of Home Affairs (as on 18-11-2011).[46]

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on 5th October 2011 stated inits website that a case was registered against five people MHJawaharullah, the then State President (TMMK), S. Hyder Ali, the thenState General Secretary (TMMK), H. Sayed Nizar Ahmed, the then StateDy. President (TMMK), G.M. Shiek and Nalla Mohmed Kalanjim, the thenAuthorised Signatories of Coimbatore Muslim Relief Fund and membersof TMMK alleging that during the period from 15.12.1997 to 20.06.2000they entered into a criminal conspiracy at Chennai and formed anassociation to accept foreign contributions without registering the

association and without prior permission of Govt. of India. They hadreceived foreign contributions of Rs. 1,54,88,000/- (approx) fromforeign sources.

This was used for the relief of Coimbatore bomb blast accused.Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Egmore, Chennai hasconvicted MH Jawaharullah in the case and had sentenced him to one


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year rigorous imprisonment. Yet MH Jawaharullah continues as MLA inTamil Nadu assembly.[47]

AIADMK had created an impression that its leader was tough with anti-national forces. In reality AIADMK just like any other Dravidianist partyhas natural leanings towards Islamists and politicizes the war on terrorwhich is being fought by security forces and intelligence agencies withincreasing difficulty because of the intelligent maneuvering of Islamistforces which manipulate the intrinsic anti-Hindu prejudices and votebank politics to their advantage. AIADMK government also gave thegreen signal to Islamist forces. Islamists made veiled as well as blatantthreat of violence against the Kollywood movie Thupakki, a 2012movie which dealt with sleeper cells.

Jaya Government instead of offering protection mediated acompromise between the Islamists and the film makers.[48] In the


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same year when 20,000 strong mobs of Muslim agitators violently laidsiege to the US consulate at Chennai, the police were told to look theother way.[49] In 2013 Viswaroopam film was targeted.

Islamic fundamentalist organizations demanded ban on the film. Kamal

Hassan who made the film in an extraordinary display of submission tofundamentalist forces made a separate private premier show to theIslamic private fundamentalist censor groups. The act boomeranged onthe actor. They demanded a complete ban and the government wasmore than eager to oblige the fundamentalists. The Chief Ministerannounced that the actor could thrash out the differences with theprotesting Muslim groups and the government would clear the decksfor the films release. [50]

It was also rumored in film circles that Amir Sultan a fundamentalistIslamist and who was closer to a rabid Islamic preacher in Tamil Nadu,

also helped in settling the deal. Earlier Ameer had caused a ban on aTV talk show by alerting TNTJ an Islamist organization. [51] Kollywoodas the Tamil film industry is called is a very important business place.In 2012 as these Islamist control of Kollywood began Ameer hadbecome the president of Film Employees Federation of South India(FEFSI), one of the influential bodies of Tamil cinema[52] An Islamiststranglehold on Kollywood would help raise funds for many of theIslamist operations in Tamil Nadu.

After all, foreign money trail on which Jihad is dependent always allowsthe security agencies to keep track and monitor the activities. It was

after these events that in full earnestness the attacks on Hinduactivists started. Hindu activists are not a serious threat to Islamists inTamil Nadu in direct combat. Nevertheless these attacks and murdershelp the Islamists youths get an experience of how to deal with the lawenforcing agencies, how to evade arrests and when arrested how touse the prison terms. The execution style of these murders of Kaffirsalso reinforces the theo-politics of Islamism. And even if a Jihadist isailed, they know they will be securely released through themanipulation of political and other establishments. In Tamil NaduHindu lives have become the preparatory assignments for buddingJihadists.

Understanding Islamism: It was Indian historian Sitaram Goel whocoined the term Islamism. To him Islamism is the residue of Islamicinvasions and he sees Indian Muslims as victims of Islamism. Hedescribes Islamism thus:

Its basic tenets are ultimately derived from Islam which has so farsucceeded in sealing itself off from every form of empiricism,


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rationalism, universalism, humanism and liberalism which are thehallmarks of Hindu as well as Western culture . Islamism is aself-righteous psychology and a closed cultural attitude whichmakes it impossible for its converts to co-exist peacefully and withdignity.[53]

Tufail Ahmed, director of South Asia Studies Project at the Middle EastMedia Research Institute (MEMRI) described the goal and methodologyof Islamism mainly in the West thus:

The jihadists of Al-Qaeda variety and Islamists share the sameideological objectives, with the only distinction being that theformer are armed and consider themselves fighting on abattlefield against infidels. Their goal is: establishing Sharia rule.Islamism is a softer face of jihadists, sometimes masquerading asliberal Islam in our midst. Driven by an ideological longing to

revive the glory of Islamic caliphate, Islamists are open to usingWestern tools of election, constitution and the rule of law inintroducing Islam in a countrys politics, governance, literature,culture and architecture. Their tactic is to win an election, re-writea countrys constitution to make it compliant with Islam and beginIslamising. [54]

In the South Indian context where the institutions of democracy are notas strongly homogenous as in the West the Islamist strategy is a bitdifferent and is a liberal combination of Jihadism and Islamism. As it isthe Indian pseudo-secular polity has developed an intrinsically Hindu-

phobic political discourse. It is more pronounced in the South with theDravidian discourse which has elements of racial hatred towardsHindus.

Islamism has been consistently drawing upon these resources in India using every fault line in Hindu polity, whether the Dravidian in TamilNadu or Marxist-Congress in Kerala to the maximum advantage offurthering the cause of Islamization of the state. In the next article inthis series we will see a case study of Popular Front of India whichprovides a text book example of how an Islamist organization functionsin India.

References:

[1] Junior Vikatan 28-July-2013

[2]Dinakaran, 2-July-2013

[3] Dinakaran, 26-Apr-2013 [Nagercoil Edition]


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[4] One held in the recent assault on senior RSS cadre, Times of India,16-Nov-2012

[5] Report on Islamic Terrorism in India, A study conducted by AkhilBharathiya Vidhyarthi Parishad, Tamil Nadu, 1999

[6]41 years of imprisonment for four Al-Umma activists, The Hindu,10-Apr-2008

[7] `NDF received aid from foreign countries, The Hindu, 30-Oct-2005

[8] ISI, Iran funded NDF: Rawat, The Hindu, 14-May-2005

[9] Al-Umma enjoyed AIADMK support, alleges BJP report, The IndianExpress, 26-Apr-1998

[10]Several vernacular news paper reports: 3 arrested for the violence(that killed 5 persons), Dinamani (Tamil Daily),9-Sep-2007: TwoMuslim militants arrested for hate posters, Dinamani, 13-Dec-1997: Amuslim militant arrested for attack on police station, Dinamani, 1-Jan-1998

[11]Malai Murasu, Evening Tamil daily, 28-Jan-1997

[12] Sunday 5-11-May-1995 referred in Srikanta Gosh, Pakistans ISI:Network of Terror in India, APH Publishing, 2000, p.59

]13] A Ganesh Nadar,The Al-Umma has finally united the Hindus,Rediff Special, Accessed: 23-Jul-2013

[14] History of Coimbatore City Police:90s,http://www.coimbatorecitypolice.com/ccp-history-90s : accessed on 23-Jul-2013

[15] Conviction in blasts case, Frontline, vol. 20 no. 4, February 15-28, 2003.

[16] 3 held for ABVP workers murder, UNI, 13-Apr-1998

[17] All accused in Paramasivam murder case acquitted, The Hindu,11-Jul-2002

[18] All 8 Al-Umma men acquitted in Selvaraj murder case, TheHindu, 27-Feb-2003
http://www.coimbatorecitypolice.com/ccp-history-90shttp://www.coimbatorecitypolice.com/ccp-history-90s


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[19] 5 Al-Umma activists acquitted, The Hindu, 05-Apr-2003 and 11Al-Umma men acquitted in bus burning case, The Hindu, 27-May-2003

[20] Abdul Nasser Madani Godfather of Terrorists, Junior Vikatan(Tamil Magazine),8-Apr-1998

[21] Syed Munir Hoda new Home Secretary, The Hindu, 13-Aug-2002

[22]Jayalalithaa angers Tamil Nadus Muslims with remarks on SyedMunir Hoda, 23-Sep-2006, webIndia.com, accessed on 24-07-2013

[23] Thomas P Joseph Commission of Inquiry-Marad CommunalDistrabances, Chapter IV, p.55

[24] Marad: tribunal examines NIA SP, The Hindu, 23-Mar-2011

[25] Fundamentalist outfit busted at Nellikuppam, The Hindu, 29-Oct-2004

[26] MHA confirms arrest of LeTs southern commander Nazeer, IndiaToday, 3-Dec-2009

[27] Kerala polls: UDF, LDF woo rabble-rousing Abdul Nasser Madani,India Today,17-Apr-2006

[28] DMK turns jail into spa for Coimbatore terror accused, The IndianExpress, 23-Jul-2006

[29] DMK bends for MNP, Intelligence officer transferred , The IndianExpress,8-Aug-2006

[30] DMK govt ordered six cases dropped against Muslim hardliners inTN, The Indian Express, 8-Aug-2006

[31]Melapalayam Attack on Head Constable, Dinakaran (Nellaiedition), 20-Jul-2006

[32]6 Imam Ali aides shifted out of Madurai prison , The New Indian

Express, 26-Nov-2006

[33] Attack and threat to burn alive BJP leader, Malaimalar (Tamil,Nagercoil edition), 18-Dec-2006

[34] TN: Hindu Munnani leader hacked to death, Rediff News, 18-Dec-2006


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[35] Al-Umma targets attractive women, Tamizhan Express, (Tamil),14-May-2007

[36] In Tamil Nadu town, fundamentalists play moral cops, even kill tohave way, The Indian Express, 26-Mar-2007

[37] Inaugurated: The Malabar Moral Police!, 13-Jan-2010,www.kafila.org : accessed on 24-Jul-2013

[38]I shall continue to serve minority communities, The Hindu, 25-Sep-2007

[39]Six killed in Thenkasi violence Malaimalar, 14-Aug-2007: Thisreport filed immediately from the spot clearly state that the Hinduyouths were stopped and attacked by Islamists in a pre-plannedattack.

[40] No direct evidence in Coimbatore blasts: Judge, IANS, 30-Oct-2007

[41] Men guilty of Coimbatore blasts released early from jail,NDTV.com, 17-Sep-2009: Accessed on 24-Jul-2013

[42]PDP chief Madani arrested in Bangalore blast case, PTI, 17-Aug-2010

[43] Spa treatment for Madani costs govt Rs 8 lakh , Times of India, 8-

Jun-2011

[44]Congress win bades well for Madani, Arab News, 11-May-2013

[45]Supreme Court denies bail to Bangalore blast accused Madani,India Today, 3-Jan-2012

[46]List of organizations prohibied from receiving foreign funds:http://mha.nic.in/fcra/NGOS_ProhibitedCategory.pdf(accessed on 23 Jul2013)

[47] MH Jawaharullah, 4 other TMMK leaders sentenced in a cheatingcase, TCN News, 8-Oct-2011

[48] Row over Thuppakki ends after Jayas intervention, DeccanHerald, 28-Nov-2012

[49] Protest turns violent, city police chief shifted, The Hindu, 18-Sep-2012
http://www.kafila.org/http://mha.nic.in/fcra/NGOS_ProhibitedCategory.pdfhttp://www.kafila.org/http://mha.nic.in/fcra/NGOS_ProhibitedCategory.pdf


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[50] Vishwaroopam may be released soon, compromise on the cards,Times of India, 31-Jan-2013

[51] URL: http://youtu.be/fNa5qI-KLjQ accessed on 24-Jul-2013

[52]Ameer becomes FEFSI president, IndiaGlitz, June 20, 2012]

[53] Sitaram Goel, The residue of Islamism in The Hindu Societyunder siege, Voice of India, 1989,pp 7-8

[54] Tufail Ahmed, The Rise of Global Isamism, The Indian Express,25-Jul-2013

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Aravindan Neelakandan

Co-author of acclaimed book "Breaking India", Aravindan Neelakandan has worked for

the past decade with an NGO in Tamil Nadu serving marginalized rural communities in

sustainable agriculture. He is also a popular science writer in Tamil and is part of theeditorial team of highly popular Tamil web portal www.tamilhindu.com.
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