Source: https://www.scribd.com/document/160516070/The-Southern-Jihad-2
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 00:02:00+00:00

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Studying an Islamist takeover Aravindan Neelakandan / In Featured / August 5, 2013 Published in Centre Right India Indian Jihad has found in South India an ideal base for operations. A network of democratic cover-up organizations has been created to shield the Jihadist capacity building. The pattern is in the sudden upsurge in preparatory Jihad activities with inter-state and international links which result in increased arrests but poor conviction rates. In parallel to this process allegedly democratic and social groups are built with oert as well as covert jihadi connections, the overt and covert nature depending upon the friendliness of the state government in question.
In August 2006, 18 Islamists belonging to proscribed Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) conducted an indoctrination-Jihad camp in Binanipuram near Kochi. The seized materials included a book titled ‘Mass Resistance in Kashmir’, published by the Institute of Policy Research in Islamabad, along with political maps of India with Kashmir left out and other documents with anti-national exhortations. The book was taken from the library of Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), the organizational mother of all fundamentalist Islamist forces. The organization made the usual customary protest. It was not a coincidence that the absconding aeronautical engineer CAM Basheer, a former SIMI president and a major logistics provider for Islamic terror hailed from the same area. He was an accused person in the 2003 bomb blasts at Mulund near Mumbai. Basher handles 50 fronts of SIMI and their funding through his network. Clearly the SIMI meeting was not only a camp but also regrouping for the launch of a new strategy for Southern Jihad. The SIMI activists who were arrested by the Kerala Police from Binanipuram were later let off without a proper perusal of the case thanks to political pressure. There were cases where the arrests showed inter-state linkages mainly between Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. In November 2006, two Pakistanis terrorists were arrested in Mysore. Mohammed Fahad, one of the two had come to Chennai and had obtained fake driver’s license from a driving school staying at his ‘uncle’s’ house. His ‘uncle’ Mohammed Koya was from Kerala.
one Koya at Tiruchur district in Kerala. The two LeT men revealed that they were going to Chennai to meet some LeT operatives. one of the psychological strategies perfected by CIA. entered the houses and shops in the Timmaiah road. They humiliated the women entering the houses. ransacking shops owned by Hindus and burning at least 15 cars. who are active in south India. Meanwhile at Bangalore 20-Jan-2007 following the US hanging of Saddam Hussein. However the .” • • The above incidents centered on Bangalore and Chennai.”  A more detailed account of the attack was given by vernacular ‘ Dina Tanthi‘ a Tamil daily known for its neutrality: “Many of the youths who participated in the march condemning the Saddam execution. A concerned Indian Naval Chief Sureesh Mehta stated gravely on the closing session of an international seminar on maritime trade and security that the Cochin seizure might only be the tip of the iceberg of the nefarious activities.• On January 1. The Reuters reported: “Muslims protesting against the execution of Iraq’s toppled president clashed with police on Friday. CIA and Jihad planners discovered that shipment of Koran copies worked better than the usual Western tactics of using atrocity stories in the case of recruitment for Afghan Jihad. two Lashkar –e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists were arrested in New Delhi. customs officials at Cochin Kerala. In a week the Special Task Force (STF) from New Delhi was at Chennai and their findings revealed that the LeT men had been to Chennai before and had established contact bases in South India far from the probing eyes of mainstream counter-terror with its center of gravity in North India . in a Karachi-bound ship and originating from Dubai. accidentally discovered that ship containment meant for a Muslim businessman. On January 6 2007. Bilal Ahmed Kota alias Imran Jalal alias Salim was arrested in Bangalore. contained along with furniture boxes.  The grenades seized from him were similar to the ones that have been used in ‘Indian Institute of Science’ (IISc) attack earlier in 2005. The foreign connection mostly came from Pakistan. • On 9th January 2007. • It is in the background of these incidents that one should see the formation of Popular Front of India (PFI). They also tried to desecrate a famous local Goddess temple. In recruiting Uzbek Mujahedeen to fight Afghan Jihad.  This is a vital indicator that the Jihad in South India is being handled by professional groups with international backing. They were fleeing to Chennai after they had failed in their mission to plant bombs at overcrowded New Year party functions in the capital. They were connected the Jihad which was being waged in North India. It was officially formed on 2007 by merging many state based Islamic bodies from Kerala’s ‘National Development Front’ (NDF) to Manipur’s ”Lilong Social Forum’. weapons.was the shipment of Koran along with supply of weapon.  Similar pattern of placing Koran as part of every ammunition package in 2007 shows that the brains behind the planning of these South Indian operations are Jihad veterans with international expertise. He had scouted the top IT establishments and observed their security arrangements for LeT. 2007. What was interesting was that copies of Koran were found with every box of ammunition.
But their main activities were outside the state. 1 / 25 .main functional components of PFI are Manitha Neethi Pasarai (MNP) of Tamil Nadu. He was given a false SIM card by an agency at Trivandrum and the terrorist had also talked to his contacts in Chennai. The FIR was filed under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. NDF of Kerala and Karnataka Forum for Dignity (KFD). in December 2007 and January 2008. Even these five – Ansar Moulavi. Nizamuddin. SIMI had not only been rebuilding but also recruiting the youths for Jihad outsourcing them to various parts of India to execute terror projects. They noticed that majority of the leaders belonged to banned SIMI. Then on 13 May 2008 Jaipur the capital of Rajastan became the target of a serial bombing similar to Coimbatore bomb blast. SIMI training-indoctrination camp is in many ways typical of what happens in most of the cases against Jihad capacity building at the early stages. SIMI fronts had become strongest in specific pockets of Kerala and had been providing modules for Jihad not only in various parts of India but also abroad. ‘Q’ branch officials did not miss the SIMI connection in the launch of PFI. According to the IB. the CPI(M) leader stated that the Jihadists were operating in Kerala. In January 2008 a Kashmiri terrorist Altaf was arrested in Kerala. On July 26 2008. often calling the Jihad terrorists of Kashmir as ‘fighters’. in Kerala’s Idukki district.were set free on bail. Tamil Nadu and Karnataka the Jihadist networks have an Islamist cover-up exploiting every inherent weakness of the pseudo-secular nature and vote-bank politics of Indian polity. In October 2008 two Kerala youths were killed in an encounter by Indian army at Kashmir. The home minister of Kerala then. Among those arrested were Shaduli and Ansar Moulavi. Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. Tamil Nadu. Shaduli. openly admitted that the state government was under “pressure” to set the SIMI men free. Once again Kerala as well as Karnataka connections came up during investigations. The main accused was trained at Wagamon SIMI training camp. He stated that there was a hue and cry from human rights activists accusing the government of targeting the minorities when police action against SIMI. Nine synchronized bomb blasts within a span of fifteen minutes left 63 dead with 216 or more people injured. The articles in the magazines advocate a radical Islamist and pro-Kashmir separatist stand. Abdul Rafeeq and Shamas.  From then onwards in Kerala. In a very blunt confession made by the Home minister before the press. During the investigations it was found that the duo had also attended two more terror camps at Vagamon. 2008: Kerala exports Terror with Political help The aftermath of the arrest in the August 2006. This was started in January 2006. Five were arrested and the rest were released free. MNP was already running a magazine in Tamil called ‘Vidiyal Velli’ (Dawn Friday) and in Kerala ‘Thejas’ (Radiance). And it was launched during a seminar and rally secularly named ‘Empower India’. serial bomb blasts at Ahemadabad killed 53 people and injured over 200.
Though the officer in question had been suspended when he was IG (Kannur) some months back for allegedly making a foreign trip without government permission. A home ministry report had stated that a senior IPS officer meeting some people with terrorist links in Qatar. Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) was formed as political wing of PFI. These are just a few instances of different chapters of IFF extending support to PFI and SDPI. The July attack prompted the government to undertake a statewide raid on various offices of PFI as well as SDPI. PFI has many frontal organizations for specific target groups like Campus Front of India (CFI) for college students and National Women Front (NWF).png ‘Popular Front of India’ takes over from SIMI In July 2009. National Committee Member of SDPI addressed a gathering organized by Kuwait India Fraternity Forum (KIFF). The government machinery itself had been infiltrated by Jihadists and the incompetency of state machinery was compromising the state security heavily. Curiously another source of steady income to PFI had been the government advertisements in their media.080413_2155_SouthernJih1. However that did not mean the PFI or its Kerala constituent NDF had been silent all those years. The raids revealed a stock-piling of arms and ammunitions at the offices of PFI/SDPI.  India Fraternity Forum (IFF) which projects itself as an organization to help Indians in the Gulf countries is based in Saudi. Executive Editor of Thejas boasted to Tehelka – a pro-Islamist magazine (which produced a half-empathetic and half-critical story on PFI) that in the past financial year PFI got more than Rs 80 lakh as revenue from government advertisements alone. NP Chekkutty. as prescribed by the service rules and suspended before in a case relating to amassing wealth disproportionate to known sources of income.On October 2011 IFF at Emirates hosted Aboobacker. the then Kerala Chief Minister talked in detail about the plans of PFI for Kerala which according to him included making Kerala a “Muslim-dominated” state within 20 years. this organization has been helping the funding of PFI activities.  IFF has hosted a series of meetings by SDPI leaders at Gulf countries. Achuthanandan. According to an intelligence report submitted to PMO. It was headed by E Abubacker. V. in a confidential communication. It was only on 14-May-2010 that Kerala government briefly stopped the advertisements only to be continued again in a few months. Though formed in 2007 PFI came to prominence only with the chopping of the head of a Christian professor in July 2010. national president of SDPI for his campaign to promote 2011 rally of PFI at New Delhi. The then Kerala home minister in his statement proclaimed that the outfit had been involved in 22 murder cases and 73 attempt to murder cases. he had been reinstated thanks to the dragging of the case by the vigilance. on October 2010. Though the Union Home Ministry has warned the government of the anti-Indian and communal nature of ‘Thejas’ publications as early as 25 November 2009. He stated that the outfit was investing money to radicalize the youths and give them weapon training. .S. who was the Kerala Zone president of SIMI in 1982-84. On January 2011 Nasarudhin Elamaram.
the political equations including the vote bank considerations made the Left Front government soft pedal the issue of banning the outfit by neither seeking the ban nor opposing it. More crucially PFI was also involved in a Taliban like execution of a Dalit youth. It also submitted that it was involved in 27 murders. one of the accused in the hand-chopping case was made to stand the election in SDPI ticket for the block panchayat division in Ernakulam in the civic body elections and the accused won. He had joined PFI and was trained in the methods of indoctrinating youth and the techniques to deal with police interrogation. Even as this political buck passing with terror-accused happened. Tadiyantavide Nasir. PFI also has a battery of human rights activists and lawyers at its command and pay who are pressed into service to secure the release of their arrested cadre. The veins had been punctured both in his hands and legs and a lot of blood had oozed out. He was tortured severely before death. PFI through SDPI demonstrated how to use Indian democratic system to further the Islamist cause. Yet despite the statement of the Chief Minister who was also the polit bureau member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). No less than 22 brutal injury marks were on the body. 2010. Dalits are denied entry into PFI as only Muslims are allowed membership. According to sources in intelligence agencies. It took six months for the Kerala police to admit in the court that the youth had been tortured to death and the Investigating officer reported that the accused belonged to PFI. in a replay of Marad. . On December 2011.PFI provides the vital link between the terror-master minds across the border and reaching out to the Muslim population and radicalizing them. The responsibility was passed on to the Centre even as passing the cases to NIA was opposed. It is a highly effective symbiotic approach to thwart or vitally delay any attempt by the police to stop the investigations etc. had stayed at the PFI’s district office in Ernakulam. All these services provided by PFI are used by Jihadists effectively. Islamist forces started a campaign of using terror rumors against the North East students in the state of Karnataka. Even as evidence mounted for the PFI-LeT (Lashkar e Toiba) links the Kerala police in September 2010 informed the High Court that they were investigating the possible links. PFI and its student wing Campus Front stabbed three Hindu fishermen in Kerala. the bulk hate messages which originated from servers in Pakistan were received by the cadres of PFI who helped spread them along with the cadres of Bangladeshi Jihad outfit Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI). In October 2010. Following the riots in Assam which were triggered by attack on Bodos by Bangladesh infiltrators. August 2012 revealed additional networking capacity of PFI. On July 2012 Kerala government again submitted before the High Court of Kerala that PFI was ‘a resurrection of the banned outfit Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) in another form’. who was arrested as the master-mind behind the German Bakery blast in Pune which was executed on February 13. The same police weeks before has revealed that LeT militant. For all its high profile pro-Dalit voices PFI makes. On July 2012 PFI men stabbed to death two Hindu students Sachin Gopal(20) and Vishal Kumar (19). On April 27 2010 the body of a young Dalit worker was found hanging from the terrace of a lodge in Kannanur Kerala. His primary job was to recruit and send local Muslim youths for Jihad training in Pakistan. This is demonstrated in the case of Himayat Baig. PFI has as usual denied it.
bomb making materials. all in their twenties were caught with human shooting targets. One of the chief trainers of this camp Abdul Aziz was an accused in the murder of a Hindu activist. 2013 Kerala police stormed into the office of Thanal Charitable Trust. Many times Bangalore has been a favorite hiding place for PFI Jihadists when they had to hide from the police in murder cases.one lakh to multiple accounts to deftly escape the surveillance of the Financial Intelligence Unit functioning under the Union Ministry of Finance. The pattern of funds transfer shows that repeated transfers were done to a few persons from banks in West Asia. SDPI may do to Karnataka what AIUDF did for Assam. On April 23. Sanaulla is also a close aide of Dawood Ibrahim. which is involved in the founding of the dreaded Indian Mujahideen (IM). Funds from the Emirates National Bank of Dubai had been transferred according to the documents (which include bank account numbers) seized during the raids. PFI knows that the Congress government would go soft on the Islamists and Jihadists. apart from arms piled in a secret enclosure. with Congress in the helm of affairs the PFI striking right at the office of BJP would prove how it could act daringly and yet escape any punishment with its political clout. With SDPI becoming politically strong. Simultaneously Karnataka coastal regions saw a sudden expansion of SDPI. who belongs to the Bhatkal family. Iranian entry card in the name of Sadik Mangalodan to Kish Island free zone and leaflets of PFI and SDPI. foreign currency notes. 21 PFI activists. The funds had been transferred through Western Union as deposits of Rs.  . some vital details about Jihad financing. gun powder.Souza a political observer from Karnataka points out the emergence of SDPI in coastal Karnataka can very well have the same effect as the rise of AIUDF in Assam where the party helps the cause of illegal infiltrators from Bangladesh leading to frequent clashes which in turn can help radicalize Islamic society. one of the many fronts of PFI. Given the assured defeat of BJP. The police suspect that the PFI camp activists may have a hand in the Bangalore blast before the BJP office on 17-Apr-2013. Another important aspect that is coming to light is the way the Gulf money is being routed to fund PFI Jihadist operations. At least one of the arrested PFI activist had his bank account connected with one Sanaulla Shabandri. A preliminary investigation shows PFI involvement in real estate. The Bangalore blast may be a calculated risk by PFI in showing their ability to strike. whose Islamist party All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) is a political partner of ruling Congress coalition and is strongly pro-Bangladeshi infiltrators. Badruddin had expressed solidarity with PFI/SDPI. As C. The other chief trainer Kamaruddin had escaped from police. bombs. eight swords. in Narath. The probe has revealed that another PFI man had operated at least nine bank accounts in his name and other family members for receiving more than Rs. Such a political backing of an Islamist party from Assam and logistic network with HuJI can provide PFI the Koranic power to “strike terror into the heart” of the perceived enemies of Islam – like the student communities of North East in the southern states.80 lakh from a non-resident Indian in Dubai. A raid in his house has revealed.Even as HuJI-PFI connection gets investigated by the Assam connection to PFI comes from Badruddin Ajmal.D.
Also it should be remembered that India Fraternity Forum operating from the Gulf regions was active in hosting SDPI leaders campaigning for their mega-Indian events in Dubai and other Gulf countries. Another Tamil Nadu SIMI president. PFI in Tamil Nadu In Tamil Nadu the situation is even more comfortable for Islamist-Jihadist elements. Ghulam Ahmed. This is another textbook case of how even as the security agencies of the nation and states are fighting a pitched battle against the Jihadist terror in India. PFI has used all Islamist political parties including IUML to make the ruling coalition go soft on PFI. mostly unseen by public eyes. At that time some detailed revelations were made regarding the way MNP radicalizes the Islamic youth through systematic brain washing. Earlier there were some initial conflicts between TMMK and PFI (then as MNP) over cadre poaching. According to sources. TMMK has joined the PFI-led national . Baucker.M. Arvind Reddy has been concluded superficially as real estate conflict. Now Congress lead UDF is ruling and CPI(M) LDF is in opposition. and a ‘harbouring Cell’ for shifting and accommodating them safely and a ‘Media Cell’ for propaganda. Former zonal presidents of SIMI in Tamil Nadu had started a number of fronts all working with the objective “to establish Islamic rule in India”. Already Tamil Nadu has been a focus of many pan-Islamic organizations. the camp raid has also revealed that the PFI has a highly structured and multi-layered approach. Now the opposition LDF has revealed the same attitude in the ruling UDF in tackling PFI terror.It may be pertinent to remember that the murder of Vellore BJP functionary Dr. LDF Home Minister had openly acknowledged the political pressure during their regime in taking action against terror training camp and oscillated between shelling out Government advertisements to PFI media which formed significant revenue of the organization. Jawahirullah. The training has a special ‘Encounter Group’ for combat training. S. former zonal [Tamil Nadu] SIMI president. the TMMK leader was a State SIMI president.  However over the next five years the Islamist organizations have bought their peace with PFI. As early as 2007 the Tamil Nadu police sources have warned that the misleading calmness in Tamil Nadu was covering a “deep undercurrents of Muslim extremism”. ignoring all the Central government instruction. was in the top leadership of Tamil Nadu Thouheed Jamat(TNTJ). the political leadership of the central and state level security agencies are compromised by the same Jihadist forces through Islamist forces through vote bank politics. This has made UDF government go soft on PFI/SDPI despite the police revelations and also give PRD and PSU advertisements of the Kerala Government to the SDPI/PDI mouthpiece ‘Thejas’. a ‘Legal Cell’ to provide basic legal awareness to counter police interrogation at the starting phase. The radical Islamist organizations had lent their support to IUML in the last Assembly election and IUML has 20 MLAs and 5 ministers in the present UDF government.  However the decision to hand over the case to NIA and taking decisive actions against PFI are still tempered by political considerations. was the founder of the Manitha Neethi Pasarai (MNP).
In 2008 though police declined permission the High Court bench at Madurai granted permission to PFI parade.alliance of Muslim groups and parties. The agencies in Tamil Nadu alerted the state Special Branch after they found that cadres from Assam. Already a series of attacks on Hindu leaders are happening in Tamil Nadu and bases of Jihadist activities are being created in areas like Melapalayam. PFI has also taken an active role in supporting the anti-nuclear movement in Tamil Nadu. from where the main accused in the case hailed.  Even as PFI has been accused of involvement in the Taliban style execution of Dalit youth in Kerala. this alignment can help SDPI to gain enough political clout to influence the police monitoring of the Jihadist activities of its cadre. these human rights organizations are actually part of the PFI’s larger project of using democratic institutions to weaken democracy and create an Islamist state. in Tamil Nadu the VCK does not hesitate in associating itself with PFI/SDPI. Since the Bangalore Bomb blast it has been found that PFI had been running camps in several places in Tamil Nadu. This has helped PFI to link itself with Tamil nationalist separatists. has now a presence in Tamil Nadu legislative assembly. Later. In 2009 the annual parade which PFI conducts as a show of strength and intimidation led to conflicts between TN police and PFI Jihadists. In Tamil Nadu PFI could conduct camps similar to the ones in Kerala with far more ease. Incidentally the MLA of Rameshwaram was jawahirullah of TMMK. By 2011 a pro-PFI TMMK with its own political party. In a classic coordinated move a human rights organization National Confederation of Human Rights Organizations (NCHRO) had started the campaign that their ‘fact finding committee’ had found that the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka police had fabricated evidence against 11 Muslims arrested in connection with Bangalore bomb blast. Explosives were reportedly seized from raided houses in Coimbatore. SDPI has also started working closely with VCK a militant Dalit party whose supremo Thirumavalavan endorsed the Mayoral candidate of SDPI in Chennai electoral elections. On June 2012 Tamil Nadu police booked 30 PFI cadres who participated in the PFI camp held at Ramanathapuram district in Tamil Nadu near the famous Hindu pilgrimage spot Rameshwaram. they were released on bail. NM Siddique was one of the two arrested PFI men by Kerala police in 2010. For example in the case of NCHRO the state secretary. Seemingly secular and even including many leftists and anti-Indian activists with Hindu names. According to Karnataka police the Bangalore bomb blast were masterminded in Kerala and carried out by a chain of persons based in Coimbatore. This is in line with Saudi Arabian lobby which is said to be funding anti-nuclear movements in other countries. In 2010 February Tehelka magazine executive editor Ajit Sahi delivered a speech in Madurai PFI held a two day camp and exhorted PFI cadre to continue their fight. Bihar and Kerala took part in the camp. Such human rights fronts are part of the PFI operations. some coastal areas in the east . However given the fact that VCK is a major ally of DMK coalition.
The district collector even quoted A25 of our constitution in this regard. Immediately a group of professional fact-finding teams consisting of well-known pro-Islamic intellectuals and activists with ultra-left persuasion went to the place and came out with a fact-finding report which was circulated widely in the net in many Islamist websites and by Islamist bloggers. PFI/SDPI with its political clout can enhance the capacity of Southern Jihad exponentially. You can practice and propagate your religion only up to the limit that it does not affect the public safety and peace. Freedom of religion. The usual method of resolving the dispute between the two social groups is through village level peace committee meets. The district administration didn’t do anything to prevent it.coast of Tamil Nadu and Coimbatore.. V Kalathur: A case study of how radical Islamism functions in Tamil Nadu V Kalathur is a village in the Veppanthatai block of Perambalur district in Tamil Nadu. The place in question refers to the area referred to as 119/1 in local land survey and has an area of 0. Now a permanent Hindu structure is there and some temple cars are also standing in front of it. Hence a group of concerned citizens which included the current writer decided to make a detailed study of the situation. In the aforesaid village the Hindus are a minority at 5150 and Muslims number 5600. it is only the freedom of religion that is defined with some restrictions. The village witnessed severe communal tension between Hindus and Muslims in the months of January and February 2013.Kalathur. A summary of the views of the fact-finding committee was presented recently by Prof. We had to point out to the collector that of all the freedoms enshrined in our constitution. a village in Perambalur dt. We came to know this problem only a few weeks back when we happened to see a news item in the papers that a section of the Muslims of that village handed over their family cards to the district collector protesting against the administration’s actions and inaction on this matter. In 1951 there was a peace committee meet and both sides resolved the dispute by allowing the Hindus to have their . Their main demand is that no Hindu processions be allowed in their streets since those who come in the processions use abusive words against Muslims and even throw stones over them and as well on the mosque. according to our constitution is a limited freedom. 26 kms away from it. Muslims. Antony Marx a rabidly pro-Islamic human right lobbyist: Four days back we were in V.31 hectares. The district administration as well as the Hindu organisations say that as citizens they have every right to march in procession in any route in Indian soil. Hindus and Dalits are living in this village peacefully for the past many centuries. Trouble started three decades back when a part of a common property in govt puramboke land used by both Muslims and Hindus for their festivals was unlawfully occupied by the Hindus. A localized issue: We discovered that it was essentially a local dispute over a common place held as sacred space by both Hindus and Muslims (who worship at Dargha of a local Sufi shrine: something anathema to the puritanical Islamists).
20 Hindus and 19 Muslims participated in this inquiry and in the end though all Hindus . But then the municipal engineer studied the concerned road and provided certificate that both the road and the chariot were safe for the chariot ceremony. On 18-7-1990 Hindus were petitioning the Chief Minister for protection citing the speeches of Palani Baba. In 1984 with the permission of the district administration and acceptance of both sides the small chariot was made and this is clearly stated in the report of the government official dated 10-1-1985. As a result of this violation by PFI the village RDO took action and initiated an inquiry on 5-12012. Even this objection was not of religious nature but disguised in secular excuses. Hindus and Muslims were wise enough to arrive at a compromise. His speech was circulated among Muslims through a magazine Al-Mujahid dated 15-7-1990. Enter PFI The current round of problems started with radical Islamist organizations taking root in the area.temple-ceremonial car there. This is a wooden structure at least four-five centuries old with nice wooden carvings. Then there has been riot like situation in the village between the years 19841990. While both Hindus and Muslims have been adhering to the code of not using the area for any of their other activities than the ones agreed upon in peace committee agreements. In 2009 a Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhakam (TMMK) functionary in a petition to the district collector demanded that the place where Hindus keep their temple ceremonial car be converted into a public toilet. Popular Front of India (PFI) violated this by placing a 20 x 15 digital banner with radical Islamist provocation. Palani Baba ridiculed those who attended the peace meeting from both the sides and harshly attacked the officials arranging the peace meet. The local bonds created by centuries of co-existence have created such behavioral patterns as a prominent Muslim citizen of the village offering first respects to the Deity and Hindus offering worship at local Sufi shrine. The reason is not far too to seek. Yet the local wisdom and syncretic traditions prevailed. Hindus made a compromise and settled for a very small chariot. Actually in the period of 1951-1984 there has been no problem after the initial claims by both communities. Some Muslims argued that the ‘Royal path’ or ‘Raja Veethi’ now had new house structures which made chariot procession unsafe. The extraneous factor which created the situation was Palani Baba – the convener of All India Jihad Council (AIJC) who asked the Muslims to burn the chariot and the Muslim leaders to shun the peace committee meetings. 1990 was the first recorded Islamist objection to the temple procession. Enter Palani Baba A riot like situation developed during the years. Our fact finding team has recorded the memories of such bonding. So even during the 1992 Hindus and Muslims lived in this village without problems and Hindu processions as well as Muslim festivals went on without mutual conflicts and with mutual cooperation.
It pointed out that they had changed even the door of the new structure they were building giving respect to the feelings of the Muslims. going peacefully before the mosque etc. Those new conditions were as follows: . The court not only refused to stop the procession but directed the police officials to give proper protection to the Hindu procession. Following this Hindu side agreed to certain conditions laid by the district administration which included making no instrumental sounds before the mosque. Violence against the Hindus After these events throughout 2012 all conventional Hindu processions in the main street were objected by Muslims. The PFI at once started the disinformation campaign that the people coming in the marriage procession raised objectionable slogans and threw stones at the Muslims. Going through the peace committee documents the fact finding committee could see that reasons are being invented by Muslims to stop Hindu processions. This led to widespread arrests by the police. This time some additional conditions were added to which the Hindus promptly agreed. some Muslims of PFI persuasion walked out. For example on 11-Dec-2012 Muslims objected to Hindus taking the usual Ayyappa Swami procession in the main street stating that in 1990 the house of one Basheer Ahmed was stoned and that the Muslims feared the repeat of the event. Hindu side agreed to all the conditions. it is simply unimaginable that those coming in that procession would have indulged in violent provocations. The Hindu side has shown that subsequently even during the 1992 and after there has been no untoward incident and hence the fear was unfounded. The district administration clearly states that the stone throwing was started by Islamists. However the aforesaid marriage procession was part of the ceremony that involved mainly women and was from the bride’s side. Further the Hindu side stated that it was amenable to changes. Conditions imposed by the district administration on Hindus Following this the Masi-Maham an important village festival celebrated throughout the rural Tamil Nadu was to be celebrated at the village for which the peace committee was convened. Still the Islamists went to the court challenging the permission given by the district administration for the Hindu procession. The Islamists now started objecting to even marriage and death processions of Hindus going by the main street. Following this on 21-Jan-2013 a Hindu marriage procession was savagely attacked by Islamists.and majority of Muslims agreed to the settlement arrived at in the inquiry. Further given the fact that any riot would lead to the cancellation of marriage which was fixed at 23-Jan-2013. Adhering to the 2012 conditions for the Hindu processions the district administration decided to give permission for the Hindu religious procession on 25-02-2013. Most of the people we talked to agreed that the problems started when PFI supported Islamists took over the local Jammat.
The reality at V. Box loud speakers are allowed to be placed only in six places. Almost for all festivals such conditions have been imposed upon by district administration on Hindus and Hindus have agreed to these restrictions. There should be no fire cracker entertainments near the mosque. All digital boards should be shown to the district administration and should get prior permission before being placed. Cone shaped loud speakers are prohibited. 8. But the team fails to state what triggered the current riot like situation. Only loud speaker boxes are allowed. Marx et al’. During the Namaz or prayer time of the Muslism Hindus should not use loud speakers and should not have dance entertainments and use fire crackers. without them causing any disturbance to the Muslims. We obtained information that a Dalit woman counselor (Ms. 3. Cone shaped loud speaker should not be used. 7. 2. Distortions of Pro-Islamist ‘Fact’ Finding Team: The ‘facts finding committee’ headed by Prof. In all other places Hindus are refused permission to place any loud speakers. Hence Islamists made the next move of instigating some Muslim women to agitate against the district administration by submitting their ration cards to the district collector. Vanita Subramaniam) was elected defeating an Islamist candidate Sheikh Abdulla. 9. Yet the Islamist demand has been to stop Hindus from using the public space and making them subservient to the Islamist forces. Only one reference is made to the PFI – that too in the passing. strictly in the area between Siva temple and Ganesa temple alone the Hindus are allowed to have light and sound arrangements. The Hindus and Dalits are separated and the report states that the demand for the religious procession and car festival are restricted to caste Hindus. Also the so-called caste Hindus have elected another Dalit woman counselor to The central role of the new entrant PFI in the present conflict has been totally ignored. 6. Here it conveniently glosses over the fact that it was the provocation of TMMK in a way hurting the Hindu religious sentiments and PFI violating the common space and placing its digital banner which caused the present conflict situation.1. the procession should proceed silently. 5.Kalathur The fact finding team accepts that there was no conflict from 1990 for the next two decades. When going through the streets where Muslims live. of which some are tabled below: Distortion of the ‘Facts Finding Committee of Prof. Antony Marx a pro-Islamist intellectual makes many distortions. From 23-Feb-2013 to the morning of 26-Feb-2013. A. When our team visited the village we found the Dalit society leaders not only stood as part and parcel with the remaining section of the Hindus in the village. 4. No digital boards can be placed which may hurt the religious sentiments of the others. . There should be no slogans in the procession that may hurt the Muslim religious sentiments.
mean PFI) are creating the unrest without understanding the traditional co-existence. There is nevertheless a strong undercurrent of fear regarding the PFI. A. communal harmony and good belonging to the Muslim community. Both Hindus and Muslims we talked to corroborated what the District Collector and SP had stated.Marx and the report consisting mainly of women attacked of the events in the PFI official organ in Tamil ‘Vidiyal Muslims. Marx. They fear the outfit which has lured many youths with fundamentalist . As explained earlier. A. A. Superintendent of Police T. All these facts have been hidden by the ‘Facts’ finding team of Prof. The District Administration: District Collector Dr. traders etc. et al.K. there are many sane Muslim voices in the local population who want and cherish their fraternal relations The voice of the Muslims who want with Muslims. These include village elders. He compared the Islamist prevention of Hindu use of the public space for their religious and secular processions as similar to the upper-caste denial of Dalit civil rights to use the common streets. such untenable after-fabrications including the untenable claim that a have not been subjected to any cross-verification.local bodies. refuted the allegations and stated that the actions taken were needed actions to prevent communal flare-up. Many appreciate the actions taken by the district administration. These saner voices demand a prominent space in any endeavor really aimed to bring communal harmony.Rajasekaran who was accused by Islamists as targeting the minority community (which is actually the dominant community in the area of conflict). The unheard voice of Muslims: The Muslims want the area 119/1 to be used collectively by both Hindus and Muslims.Darez Ahmed IAS had earned the wrath of Islamists for his unflinching commitment to Indian constitution. are accepted by Prof. They do not feel either frightened or intimidated or disturbed by the Hindu processions. Marx Velli’ (April 2013) show a great similarity. Already he has been targeted by obscurantist forces for having stopped no less than 110 child marriages. A bride-side marriage procession comparison of the report by Prof. He typically divides the Dalits from the rest of the Hindus. As the alternative fact finding team has discovered. In the commonly owned area 119/1 Dalit Hindus have ceremonial rights as they are part as trustees in the temple management team. relations with Hindus has been ignored They all agree that the new elements (by which they and given a minimal space. Almost all Islamist allegations.
Kalathur the Hindu representative told the commission that the Hindus are the minorities in V. The stubborn resistance to Islamist takeover by the district collector Dr. PFI takeover of the Jammat was followed by restricting progressively the Hindu rights to public space. he stated before the commission. exclaimed to the commission that the fundamental rights of Hindus were trampled upon being disallowed to take their processions through the traditional routes.Ramaswamy. Hindus feel betrayed that they have to face such threats and humiliations. He also blames PFI for the present conflicts.propaganda. This leads to complete isolation of the Islamic community which is now more connected to the Global Islamism than with their local Hindu brethren. Economic bonds are also systematically removed.Kalathur. The aligning of so-called progressive seculars with the Islamist forces against real communal harmony is another important feature in this development of events. They also made the poignant observation that the Islamist forces are trying to remove each and every common bonding in the public space between the Hindu and Muslim communities. In an extreme state of desperation and defeatism. Darez Ahmed is a real problem not only for the Islamists but also for their pseudo-secular supporters. In fact the Muslims who strive against Islamism and want co-existence with Hindus are becoming the suppressed minorities within the minority community. Later when minority commission came to V. In fact he made an important observation that the PFI is continuing the Jihadist legacy of Palani Baba.Kalathur shows the kind of problems and phases a village with a considerable Islamic population in South India undergoes during an Islamist take over. enjoys a very friendly relations with the elders of Muslim community. PFI as the inheritor of Palani Baba’s Jihad legacy lures the youth with high pitch fundamentalist propaganda which is professionally crafted. Ramaswamy who had been astutely documenting the events from the beginning for the last two decades. “But for the protection offered by the district administration. The relations between Hindu Muslim communities in a typical village in South India have been built on various village level syncretic practices which are targeted and removed one by one. They pointed out that their specific rights to the place would be lost if the Islamist demands like building a bus stand or public toilet is built in the place.” Some Observations: V. Mr.Kalathur. The general opinion of the Hindus: There is a feeling of intimidation and denial of rights. This uncomfortable feeling is shown in the . They stated that there are attempts to create a separate market for Muslims instead of the common village market where both communities have common bonds through trading. we will find it difficult to live in the village and I am in half a mind to get myself converted. These are all typical stages of the Islamist take over catalyzed by PFI. Members of the Dalit community strongly took objection to them being portrayed as separate from the rest of the Hindu community and stated that this was the mischief of PFI that had created the present problem. speaking on behalf of the Hindus at V. Mr.
Ahmed points out the basic paradox of Islamist movement whose isolation of the community leads to what he terms as ‘ghettoization’ of the community. The New Indian Express. Dinakaran (Tamil Daily).  Kerala goes soft on Simi.Kalathur conflict in which he carefully avoids mentioning the fact that the district collector is a Muslim.221&223  Kochi arms haul tip of iceberg: navy chief. Afghanistan The Bear Trap.p. It is not long before the determined resolve of the district administration to safeguard the basic human rights and communal harmony will be checkmated by the Islamists by a clever manipulation of pseudo-secular politics and lobbying at different levels. The Times of India. IANS. 17-Feb-2007  Kerala ‘slip’ under glare. 27-Oct-2008: accessed on 25Jul-2013 . Rediff. Casemate 2001. The Telegraph. 4-Nov-2006  LeT men held with IEDs. Attack. The Indian Express. Reuters. The Economic Times. The Hindu. IT firms operate. In fact Dr. Quran found in each packet .01-Sep-2007  Mohammad Yousaf & Mark Adkin. Dinakaran (Tamil). 14-Jan-2007  Police patrol riot-hit Bangalore. 20-Jan-2007  Boxes of weapon seized from a ship container from Dubai to Kerala . HK Correspondent. 18-Aug-2008  Why Kerala youth are part of fight for Kashmir.Marx at Madras University where he talks about V. The Indian Express. 16-Jan-2007  Concern over one more outfit. 22-Jan-2007  “Saddam Execution Condemnation Rally : Police Fires“. country pays. 10Jan-2007 also More Rifles & Air Guns seized in Cochin. But such a feeling of ghettoization and alienation of Islamic community even where it is numerically dominant is needed for the Islamists to make these places their fortresses from where they can operate to spread their Jihadist tentacles elsewhere in the state.com.17-Aug-2006  Mysore terrorist got driving license from Chennai. 17-Aug-2008  ‘Person arrested for giving fake SIM card to Kashmir terrorist’. Hindustan Times. 01-Jan-2007  Suspected militant went to Pakistan for training.aforementioned lecture of Prof. 06-Jan-2007  Grenades seized from Imran similar to those used in IISc.A. References:  18 SIMI activists held with ‘incriminating documents’. Dinadanthi (Tamil Daily).
Times of India. 07-Sep-2012  Vicky Nanjappa. “Outfit involved in 22 murder cases”.com (accessed on 25-07-2013)  Shridseep Biswas. 20-Oct-2010  Three fishermen stabbed in Azhikkal. Media Release 24-Oct-2011 (Daijiworld. The Indian Express. SDPI’s emergence in Dakshina Kannada poses threat in the long run. Daily Pioneer. 2-Jul2013 .10-Dec-2011  PFI is SIMI in another form. Jan-2011  VK Shashikumar. 04-Aug-2010  Haul hints at arms stockpiling. The New Indian Express. Deccan Chronicle. 08-Sep-2010  Kerala: Accused in professor’s hand-chopping case wins civic poll. 14-Jul-2010  Kerala Chief Minister’s press conference at New Delhi on July 24.com: accessed on 25-Jul-2013) and Kuwait India Fraternity Forum organised public program. HuJI helped spread the panic! . recruiter: ATS chief. URL: http://enarada. http://vickynanjapa. Kerala govt tells HC. 26-Jul-2012  ABVP men’s killing: Call to ban PFI. 2010  Concern in govt over PFI’s growing outfits’ spread.com/?p=4932. The Hindu. feeder outfits intensifies. 11-May-2013 C. Tehelka. PFI. (accessed 25-Jul-2013)  Narath accused had links with Dawood.com.wordpress.Souza. PTI. 28-Apr-2013  Bengaluru-Narath links strengthen. 05-Apr-2011  Dubai: EIFF Holds Grand Reception for SDPI Leader . Rediffmail. 07-Sep-2010  Banning PFI: Government double standard exposed. The New Indian Express. The Indian Express. In God’s Own Country. 10-Sep-2010  Kerala: Probing if PFI is linked to Lashkar. Indian Express. The Hindu. 23-Nov-2010  Kerala Police unmasks PFI’s terror face. Here Come the Pious. 28-Oct2010  Dalit youth executed ‘Taliban-style’ in Kerala. The Times of India. claims government .D. The New Indian Express. 09-Oct-2010  Baig was the mastermind. Outlook.
The New Indian Express.24. URL: http://amarx. Subramanian.popularfrontindia.org/pp/image/mukundan-c-menon-award-presented-drudayakumar-nchro [accessed as on 25-Jul-2013] James Lovelock in Creel Commission Interview with James Lovelock VCK Supremo Introduces SDPI Candidate for Chennai Mayor election. 6-Jul-2009. Vol. of Christian Studies.blogspot. Khaleej Times. 20-Feb-2010 Intelligence widens net to nab PFI activist. Mathrubhumi.com/?p=11060 (accessed on 25-Jul-2013)  A. 07-May-2013  T.vkalathur. http://tmpolitics. http://www. Building new bases. 24-Jul-2010 http://www.popularfrontindia. says report . The New Indian Express. The Hindu.com/ (accessed 25-Jul-2013) A. Newswala. 15-May-2013 Bangalore bomb blast: Cases filed against 11 Muslims were foisted. 8-Mar-2013. accessed on 25-Jul-2013 URL:  Kanchan Lakshman.in/2006/06/blog-post_21. 21-Dec-2007  Manitha Neethi Pasarai [MNP]. Frontline. 32. 28-May-2013  Two PFI men held. (Tamil) June 21.Marx et al. Government Actions and Fact Finding Team findings’. 6. Vol. ‘V.Kalathur Hindu-Muslim conflicts.S. The Hindu.24 Iss.Marx. @ the seminar on the same subject at Madras University. South Asian Intelligence Review. Religion and Media Today: Introductory note. No. Police suspect use of foreign funds. ‘Expanding Jihad‘. 5-Aug-2012  Seizure of arms fromPFI camp raises alarm. url: http://www.org/?p=836 (accessed on 01Aug-2013)  Muslims want protection. 01-May-2013  UDF Govt playing game in Narath case: Kodiyeri.20-May-2013  ‘Foreign links’ of Kerala’s Islamist camp under lens. Daily Pioneer. 26-Apr-2013  Bomb blast: Explosives seized in Coimbatore. curbs on Hindu processions. Times of India  Muslims must continue their fight for justice: Ajit Sahi.html. Dept. 18Feb-2008  Police and PFI activists argue over holding I-Day rehearsal. The New Indian Express. 2006. 11-Apr-2013 . Times of India.
tamilhindu. .com. He is also a popular science writer in Tamil and is part of the editorial team of highly popular Tamil web portal www.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.

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