Students' Islamic Movement of India

The Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) was formed in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh state, in April 1977. The stated mission of SIMI is the ‘liberation of India’ by converting it to a Dar al-Islam (via violent revolutionary means if necessary [1]). This organization was outlawed by the Indian Government in 2002.[2]

Founding & Separation from JIH

SIMI's founding president was Mohammad LAUDAdullah Siddiqi, now professor of journalism and public relations at the Western Illinois University. SIMI originally emerged as a student wing of the Jamaat-e Islami Hind (JIH). Inspired by the Islamic Revolution in Iran, it stood for radical social change in India, an approach not appreciated by the leadership of JIH. The alliance was short-lived. In 1981, SIMI activists protested against PLO leader Yasser Arafat’s visitkeiguoius to India, and greeted him with black flags in New Delhi. Young SIMI activists identified Arafat as a western puppet, while the senior JIH leaders saw Arafat as a champion of the cause of Palestine. JIH decided to abandon SIMI and floated a new student wing, the Students Islamic Organization (SIO).

Philosophy

SIMI have been influenced by Deobandi Islam which is a Sufi muslim revivalist movement that started in India in 1879, it is perhaps most famous in the west as the philosophy of the past Taleban government in Afganistan. SIMI is widely believed to be against secularism, democracy and nationalism, keystones of the Indian Constitution. SIMI maintains that these concepts are antithetical to Islam. Its slogan is "Allah is our Lord, Qur’an is our constitution, Muhammad is our leader, Jihad is our way and Shahadah is our desire". This group condones terrorist acts against all civilians citing them as soft targets. This group has provided cover and support for Islamist and Pro-Pakistan terrorist groups in the past.

SIMI believes that Osama bin Laden is an outstanding example of a true Mujahid, who has undertaken Jihad on behalf of the 'ummah'. They also blame the 9/11 attacks on Israel's Mossad.

Organization

SIMI claims to have about 400 Ansar or registered members and about 20,000 supporting members. It also claims to have a separate women’s wing and a children's wing under the name "Shaheen Force". SIMI published several magazines in various languages, including al-Harkah in Urdu, Tahreek in Hindi, Iqraa in Gujrati, Rupantar in Bengali, Sedhi Madal in Tamil, Vivekam in Malayalam, Movement in English and Shaheen Times in English for children.

Clash with Right-wing Hindu Organizations

SIMI identifies the Sangh Parivar, as enemies of Islam, and claims to have exposed India’s failure to address basic human rights issues. As such, SIMI combines a social discourse with an Islamist one. In 1986 SIMI organized a national convention under the slogan "liberation of India through Islam". SIMI’s "Khilafat Campaign" denounced nationalism and advocated the return of Khilafat to the Muslim world, although SIMI’s campaign was universal, rather than pertaining strictly to India in particular.

SIMI organized violent protest against the demolition of the Babri Mosque, in the nationwide violence that followed the demolitions, SIMI activists clashed against police and the right-wing Sangh-Parivar.

Alleged Links with Foreign Organizations

Indian government alleges that SIMI is associated with Pakistan's ISI and also with numerous anti-Indian groups, fighting for independence. Charges of sedition have been brought against some members of SIMI. Part of the Indian Government's crack down against SIMI is also due to the latter's declaration that the disputed state of Jammu & Kashmir is not an integral part of India.

Allegations of Indulging in Terrorist activities

Indian authorities (federal and several state governments) frequently allege that SIMI is involved in terrorist activities. SIMI has been accused of carrying out bombing campaigns across India resulting in loss of lives. For complete list of allegations against SIMI please see the incidents section.

After the recent 11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings, there have been 300 people detained as suspects in the attack. The police have said that most of the people that have been detained are part of SIMI. Activists of the organization have also been accused of being part of a earlier bombing in Mumbai in 2003 where 55 people were killed.

Ban and Aftermath

The Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs by notification dated 08-02-2006 has banned Students Islamic Movement of India(SIMI) for the third time. SIMI was first banned on 27th September, 2001 immediately after the bombing of twin towers of the World Trade Centre at New York, USA on 11th September, 2001. SIMI remained banned from September 27, 2001 to September 27, 2003 during which period several prosecution was launched against its erstwhile member for crimes such as putting up posters, making speeches, putting up stickers etc. SIMI's name was also dragged into several prosecutions under the provisions of Terrorist And Disruptive Activities Prevention Act(TADA) or the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act(MCOCA) or even the Unlawful Activities Provisions Act 1967 of persons who were not even members of SIMI but however, the Government of India alleged that they have been member of SIMI. In fact the erstwhile president of SIMI Shahid Badr Falahi, against whom 7 cases have been registered for putting up posters and giving speeches has already been acquitted in two. Despite the Central Government's case that they have not registered a single crime against any member of SIMI after May 2003, they have yet baned SIMI for the third time on 08-02-2006. In fact, the second ban of SIMI dated 27-09-2003 came to an end on 27-09-2005. Therefore SIMI was in existence between 28th September, 2005 and 7th February, 2006 but it was unable to function in any manner because all its members were demoralized or had crossed the age of 30 years which automatically dis-entitled them to continue as a member of SIMI, as SIMI has an age limit of 30 years for membership and due to lack of offices and as all its accounts were frozen, some of the erstwhile members also had to fight the criminal cases foisted against them by the State. No persons would of course be willing to take up membership of SIMI fearing harassment and prosecution by the Government. In the background note to the ban, not a single instance of any activity of any sort has been mentioned for the period 28-09-2005 to 07-02-2006. However, on July 27 2006, a spokesperson of the Indian government told the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal held in New Delhi that contrary to notions that SIMI's activities declined following its ban, the organization "had stepped up its subversive activities and was involved in almost all major explosions, communal violence and circulation of inflammatory material across the country."

Incidents

2006

•July 21: 3 men were arrested for the bombing in Mumbai, all three of them are part of SIMI.

•July 13: Mumbai Police arrested around 200 SIMI activists from different part of Mumbai.

•July 11: A serial blast was carried out in Mumbai, killing around 300 and hurting more than 1000 innocent commuters in the 7 different local train stations within a time gap of 11 min. SIMI has been suspected of carrying out this terror activity with the help of Inter-Services Intelligence of Pakistan and Kashmir based terrorist organizations (according to US list) like Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad.

•July 6: The Supreme Court rejects a plea by the Students Islamic Movement of India to lift the ban that the Government of India imposed on the organisation in 2001.

•July 1: The Uttar Pradesh government on 1 July withdrew a "treason" case against the banned SIMI president Dr Shahid Badr Falahi. The state government order 26-21-wc-7-Nyaya 5-2006/10wc10-14-wc-2004 ordered the withdrawal of the case. The document signed by district magistrate Bahraich adn submitted in the designated court along with an application of the special prosecution officer, Bahraich. The Bahraich Kotwali police had arrested Shahid Badr along with seven others for allegedly making an inflammatory speech at Sir Syed Girls College in Bahraich in 2001. A case (no 532/01) was registered against him on charges of sedition, creating communal disharmony, inducement for armed struggle and hurting religious sentiments, under sections 124A 120B, 153A, 153B, 505 and 298 of IPC. But the concerned authorities failed to substantiate these claims.

2005

•July 11: Police in Uttar Pradesh arrest six persons, including four of a family, from Faizabad in connection with the July 5-attack on the disputed complex in Ayodhya. The arrested family members were associated with the banned Students Islamic Movement of India, according to official sources.

•June 11: All eight accused in the Ghatkopar blast case, allegedly cadres of the SIMI, are acquitted by a POTA court in Mumbai due to lack of evidence.

•March 8: Delhi Police arrests a SIMI member, Mohammad Iftikar Ehsan Malick, from Dehradun, the capital city of Uttaranchal.

2004

•November 1: Maulana Nasiruddin, president of the Tahaffuz Shari'at-e Islam (Protection of Islamic Sharia) and allegedly linked to the SIMI, is arrested from Hyderabad in connection with his suspected links to the murder former Gujarat Home Minister Haren Pandya.

2003

•November 11: A court in New Delhi acquits SIMI president Shahid Badar Falah in a case of sedition, which was filed against him in September 2001.

•September 12: Five persons, including two SIMI activists, are arrested for the removal of railway sleeper clips from the tracks in Kumardubi-Barakar section in West Bengal.

•July 21: POTA court in New Delhi sentences two SIMI activists to a five-year imprisonment under POTA for their membership of the proscribed organization and seven years imprisonment for sedition.

•July 16: A POTA Court in Delhi convicts two SIMI activists for their active involvement with the banned outfit.

•May 26: Mumbai Police arrest two suspected activists of the SIMI in the Ghatkopar bomb blast case and remand them to police custody till June 5.

•May 14: Mumbai Police arrest three persons from Padgah village and foil a plan that envisaged a series of explosions in Mumbai and Kerala, which was allegedly hatched by the SIMI and Lashkar-e-Toiba. The accused were identified as Muzzam