HVK Archives: A rude awakening
A rude awakening - Outlook
Venu Menon
()
May 4, 1998
Title: A rude awakening
Author: Venu Menon
Publication: Outlook
Date: May 4, 1998
With the Central government's concern over the spread of
terrorism in Kerala, a clutch of local Islamic organisations have
come under close scrutiny. Chief minister E.K. Nayanar, while
contesting Union home minister L.K. Advani's claims on the scale
of their activity, admitted that terrorist groups have been
operating in the state.
On the government's shortlist are radical Islamic outfits such as
the National Development Front (NDF), Jam-Iyathul Ehsaniya and Al
Umma, whose base of operations covers Malappuram, Kozhikode and
Thrissur districts. The recent arrest of People Democratic Party
(PDP) chairman Abdul Nasser Madani for allegedly harbouring Al
Umma militants involved in the Coimbatore blasts has spawned
speculation about a nexus between the PDP and the extremists.
In police perception the militant groups, which sprang up after
the Babri Masjid demolition, pursue a subversive agenda:
advocating violence and aggressive proselytisation. Their cadre
consist of young men from impoverished families and discontented
elements from mainstream Muslim groups.
Though active in Kerala, the Al Umma's roots lie in Tamil Nadu.
The porous border between the two states helps AI Umma activists
slip across and blend with the Muslims of Malappuram in Kerala.
Al Umma's bid to establish itself directly in the state fell
apart following a 1996 police crackdown when its activists were
rounded up on suspicion of complicity in a spat of killings of
RSS workers. According to the police, Al Umma regrouped under
the NDF banner.
The NDF, the police say, projects a human rights facade but
pursues the hidden agenda of the Al Umma. Its 20,000 crore
activists are suspected to be behind last year's arson attacks on
cinema houses in Malappuram and the cache of pipe bombs recovered
>from the Kadalundi river.
The organisation's suspected links with the perpetrations of the
Coimbatore blasts surfaced when NDF office-bearer Zubair was
arrested on the grounds that he had harboured Al Umma activist
Ommai Babu, prime accused in the blasts case. Babu was picked up
by the police in Kozhikode and his interrogation brought Madam
into the picture. The scenario put together by the police is that
Babu arrived in Kollam two days after the Coimbatore blasts and
took shelter at the Anwarseri Trust, a sprawling educational
complex run by Madani.
Madani's inclusion in the terrorist network took the state's
political establishment by surprise. Till his arrest on March
31, he had been coveted by both the state coalition fronts for
his political support. Madam had started as a radical Islamic
leader, but mellowed after the Supreme Court banned his Islamic
Service Sangh. He then floated the Pop and carved a niche for his
new party by mounting a modest challenge to the Muslim League.
His militancy was limited to inflammatory speeches. The police
now think he was in touch with the fundamentalist underworld and
abetted the Coimbatore disturbances. However, Madani says he is
being framed for opposing the CPI(M) in the last polls.
The PDP leader will find it hard to shake off the perception of
complicity created by his arrest. The Kerala public, rudely
awakened to the spectre of terrorist violence by the bomb that
exploded on the Chennai-Alappuzha Express train on December 6, is
not sympathetic to suspected terrorists.
This is what worries the NDF leadership. "We are not a communal
organisation, but a human rights group. We have no connection
with AI Umma or the PDP," NDF chairman B. Aboobacker told Outlook
in Kozhikode. The 45-year-old school teacher is committed to an
agenda of opposing 'fascism' as represented by the RSS. He says
his other agenda is to free society from hunger. The NDF leader
is unhappy at the terrorist tag. "Let the police prove we are
indulging in terrorism. We carry no guns, we do not incite
violence through pamphlets or speeches. What is the basis of the
charge?" Aboobacker disclaims any knowledge Of NDF activist
Zubair's link with Al Umma militants: "The moment he was held as
a suspect we threw him out of the organisation. What more can we
do?"
The authorities are not convinced. And the NDF is under watch.
Meanwhile, probes into the Thrissur train blast have identified
the culprit as Ayub, a 22-year-old native of Coimbatore who heads
the Kerala chapter of the Islamic Defence Force, the group behind
the three train blasts. Ayub is still at large. So are most
suspects involved in the Coimbatore upheaval who took shelter in
Kerala. As of now, the terrorists seem to be several steps ahead
of the police.
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