Rising jihadi killings in neighbouring Bangladesh are a cause of concern in India. At least eight people have been murdered since May 1, the last being 60-year old Nityaranjan Pandey of the Thakur Anukul Chandra Satsanga Paramtirtha Ashram in Pabna district in the north-western Bangladesh. The intelligence sleuths in India are already finding a strong network of recruiters for the Islamic State (IS) and for other jihadi groups. An active support apparatus across it’s eastern border would simply exacerbate the security scenario further in the country. First of all, the incremental growth of jihadi murderers must be stopped by the Sheikh Hasina Government of Bangladesh, and it should not let the killing spree continue particularly on the Hindu and all other minorities in the country. It is a challenge for the Prime Minister to keep a check on the IS elements who are already making a well-connected network across Bangladesh.
The IS has added a new element in India’s long battle against Islamic terror in the past. The National Investigation Agency had made an arrest of around 14 IS operatives and sympathisers in January 22 and 23 — which was considered as one of the significant operations so far and the agency is nabbing one after another terror suspects since then. It is a strong testament that the IS is spreading its influence and getting a section of youth for its mission of global jihad in India. It is learnt that the IS module has wider plans to carry out attacks on important religious sites, malls, train stations in Delhi and across the country. Today, with the intensification of the global network of information and communication technology, India’s fight to first prevent and then to put an absolute brake on the radicalisation of the youth, seems an uphill task. The country has witnessed an upward momentum of IS recruitment with the establishment of the Islamic Caliphate in Iraq which is now being almost decimated as it is losing both its territory and influence very fast on the face of mounting attack from the US allies. But for India, Bangladesh can play the role of an exfiltration route for fresh recruits and can help the wannabe jihadis to travel next to Dubai and then to Turkey easily. It seems the IS is envisioning to unleash the apocalyptic ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’ in India sooner or later.
Starting from releasing a video in Bengali to attract more recruits both from India and Bangladesh, last year IS in its mouthpiece Dabiq had given a clarion call for jihadi campaign in Bangladesh. Hence this serves as the first instance of the IS trying to spread jihad in the Indian sub-continent, confirming the presence of its ghastly terror in Bangladesh and posing a serious national security threat for India. It is expected that the Hasina Government will carry out country-wide operations against the perpetrators of jihadi violence at the earliest. Hasina, being an old ally of Delhi, must rein in the jihadis who are spreading their network across South Asia. The Indian Government must raise alarm about the rising menace of the IS and other Islamic terror groups. The nationalist Government at the Centre headed by a leader of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s stature, who has made reference to terrorism at all global forums, must not allow Bangladesh to be the next “terror incubation centre” like Pakistan.
Source : Daily Pioneer
