National

Another Upsurge?

Muslim fundamentalists join the gang

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Another Upsurge?
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WHILE New Delhi struggles to cope with mainstream insurgency, a clutch of Muslim fundamentalist organisations (MFOs) have sprung up in Assam with distressingly familiar objectives: self-defence and, yes, a separate homeland for the state’s 35 per cent Muslim population.

Admittedly, the Muslim Liberation Army, the Muslim Liberation Tigers, the Muslim Security Force and the Islamic Liberation Army of Assam are still nascent outfits. And mercifully none has yet indulged in criminal acts in their quest for an independent Islamic state. Even a meeting of MFO leaders last November to float a united front came to nought.

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But intelligence agencies feel the MFOs’ raison d’etr e, which is protection of Muslim interests, and their area of operation—ULFA-dominated districts—bodes ill for the region’s security scenario. "Take it from me," says a senior intelligence officer in Guwahati, "Muslim militancy will be a big threat in 10 years’ time." Like elsewhere in the North-east, Muslims came to Assam as mostly cheap labour and constituted a huge votebank for their political masters to encash, which ensured their survival. But native fury at the resultant ‘demographic inversion’ appears to have activated their defence mechanism.

The MFOs have come up in mostly Muslim-dominated districts like Assam Chief Minister Mahanta’s home constituency Nagaon, Morigaon, Goalpara, Dhubri, Kamrup and Barpeta. This has made it very tough for security agencies to detect and weed them out although there has been no trouble so far.

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But given the ULFA’s strong presence in all six districts (the Bodo Security Force calls the shots in the last two), intelligence sources say it’s only a matter of time before the MFOs and ULFA-BdSF are at daggers drawn. All six MFO districts are used by the ULFA as hideouts.

Not much is known about the leadership pyramids of the MFOs and their cadre-strength. They are said to be collecting funds from rich Muslims in Goalpara, Dhubri, Morigaon and Barpeta. Intelligence sources say the Jamaat-e-Islami of Bangladesh is providing the vital external support.

The MFO cadres reportedly go across the border for training, thanks to the hospitality of their backers. And there are indications that the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) too is fishing in the muddied waters, along with the Bangladeshi Field Intelligence Chief of Army Staff Shankar Roy Choudhury admitted recently that the Army had definite proof of the ISI’s involvement in providing funds, training bases and administrative support to insurgent groups in the North-east. Security agencies are hoping the picture will change with Bangladesh promising to make things difficult for groups using that country as a sanctuary.

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