He vows to avenge acts committed against Muslims in India – and asks if New Delhi has forgotten incidents like the Mumbai train bombings, Godhra riots, etc. That estimate is unconfirmed, however, and the actual number may be higher. “I say you have only three options – accept Islam, pay jizya or get prepared to be slaughtered”.
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A member loyal to the Islamic State waves its flag in Raqqa, June 29, 2014.
According to a report in DNA, this is the first time the IS has confirmed the presence of Indian fighters among its ranks and addressed the Muslim population directly for “mingling with polytheistic Hindus, who are trying to convert them to Hinduism”.
‘In this land your religion is safe. On this earth, nothing prevents you from doing good deeds, to preach Islam.
Another fighter then says they will come to India to liberate Muslims and avenge the violence perpetrated against them in 2002 in the western state of Gujarat as well Kashmir and the destruction of a mosque by Hindu zealots in 1992. “For us to live a life of honour and dignity, we must adopt the path of war in the way of Allah”. More than 1,000 people were killed in Gujarat.
He later formed Ansar-ul-Tawhid (AuT), which released propaganda videos claiming its members were fighting alongside Taliban in Afghanistan. But so far nothing concrete has been established as far as deciding the exact number of Indian origin fighters now serving the ISIS.
Security agencies in India have in recent months adopted a traditional, hard-nosed anti-terror approach, in particular since the November 2015 Paris attacks carried out by men who had returned from Syria and Iraq after fighting for the IS. In 2008 a militant group based in Pakistan launched a rampage through the city of Mumbai that killed 166 people. But at least another two dozen have been apprehended either in India before they could leave for West Asia, or in countries like Turkey, the UAE and even Syria.
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Indian officials have credited the country’s strong secular democracy with curbing IS’s appeal in the country, but the government has taken steps to curtail its reach, such as blocking dozens of websites – including Vimeo and Daily Motion – for hosting pro-IS content or propaganda.
