Indian Mujahideen

Indian Mujahideen
Founding leaderAmir Reza Khan
Iqbal Bhatkal
Riyaz Bhatkal
Yasin Bhatkal (−2013)
Abdul Subhan Qureshi (−2018)
Sadiq Israr Sheikh (−2008)
Foundation2003
Dates of operation2005–
IdeologyIslamic fundamentalism
Pan-Islamism
Jihadism
Anti-Hindu sentiment
StatusIndia Designated as terrorist organisation under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (4 June 2010)[1]
New Zealand Designated terrorist organisation under the Terrorism Suppression Act 2002 (22 October 2010)[2]
United States Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (15 September 2011)[3]
United Kingdom Banned by the United Kingdom
United Arab Emirates Designated as terrorist organization[4]
Canada Designated as a terrorist organization
Part ofStudents' Islamic Movement of India (allegedly)
AlliesLashkar-e-Taiba
Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami Bangladesh
Jaish-e-Muhammad
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan[5]

Indian Mujahideen (IM) is an Islamist terrorist group which has been particularly active in India.[6] The jihadist group was founded as an offshoot of the Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) by several radicalized members including Iqbal Bhatkal, Riyaz Bhatkal, Yasin Bhatkal, Abdul Subhan Qureshi, Amir Reza Khan and Sadiq Israr Sheikh, among others.[a][b][9][10][11] It has been active since at least 2005 when it bombed the Dashashwamedh Ghat in Varanasi (where eight people were injured).[9][12] It carried out several serial-bombings in Indian cities in the following years notably the 2007 Uttar Pradesh bombings, 2008 Jaipur bombings, 2008 Ahmedabad bombings, 2008 Delhi bombings, 2010 Pune bombing, 2011 Mumbai bombings, 2011 Delhi bombing, 2013 Patna bombings,[c] 2013 Hyderabad blasts and the 2013 Bodh Gaya bombings.[12]

Investigators believe that Indian Mujahideen is one of many groups composed of lower-tier SIMI members. According to the Indian Intelligence Bureau, SIMI took new titles because the top leadership of SIMI have been detained and would be available for interrogation.[13] The change in names is believed to signal a change in tactics as SIMI-affiliated militants attempt to garner more support from India's Muslim community rather than be seen as a group consisting of foreigners.[14] Two days after the 13 May 2008 Jaipur bombings, the extremist group[15] sent an e-mail to Indian media in which they claimed responsibility for the attacks[16] and said they would "demolish the faiths (all religions apart from Islam) of the infidels of India."[17] The biggest and boldest attack to date by the group was the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts, where it gained national notoriety with a casualty of more than 50 people.

The group has been linked with the jihadist Lashkar-e-Taiba and its backer Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence. Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami Bangladesh is also closely linked with the group and was instrumental in its founding.[12][18]

Two of the founding leaders, Iqbal Bhatkal and Riyaz Bhatkal, shifted to Karachi in the aftermath of the Batla House encounter in 2008 and remain active from there, operating a faction of the group. Amir Reza Khan also fled to Karachi and is reported to run his own IM module from there.[12][18] Yasin Bhatkal was apprehended in 2013 and was sentenced to death in 2016 for the 2013 Hyderabad blasts; Abdul Subhan Qureshi was similarly apprehended in 2018.[19]

After multiple Indian Mujahideen bomb blasts in different cities of India over the years, many of which were claimed by the group itself, it was declared a terrorist organisation on 4 June 2010 and banned by the Government of India.[20][21][22] On 22 October 2010, New Zealand declared it a terrorist organisation.[2] In September 2011, the United States officially placed the Indian Mujahideen on its list of foreign terrorist organisations, with the State Department acknowledging that the group had engaged in several terrorist attacks in India and had regional aspirations with the ultimate aim of creating an "Islamic caliphate" across South Asia.[23] The group was banned by the United Kingdom as it aimed at creating an Islamic state and implementing sharia law in India, by use of indiscriminate violence.[24]

  1. ^ "Terrorism Act 2000". Ministry of Home Affairs (India). Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
  2. ^ a b "New Zealand bans Indian Mujahideen". Indian NewsLink. 31 October 2010. Archived from the original on 24 January 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  3. ^ "Terrorist Designations of the Indian Mujahideen". US Dept of State. Archived from the original on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  4. ^ "List of terror groups published by UAE". gulfnews.com. 16 November 2014. Archived from the original on 28 March 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  5. ^ Indian Mujahideen Archived 9 September 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism.
  6. ^ "What is Indian Mujahideen?" Archived 30 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine. 2008–07–27. NDTV.
  7. ^ This is Bhatkal, where commerce & religion play chicken Archived 15 April 2023 at the Wayback Machine. 19 May, 2018. Newslaundry.
  8. ^ Profile: Amir Reza Khan of Indian Mujahideen Archived 19 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Mantraya.
  9. ^ a b "Indian Mujahideen". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  10. ^ Joshi, Sandeep (29 August 2013). "It took six months to pin him down". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  11. ^ "A Profile of Iqbal Bhatkal: The First Indian Mujahideen Leader Added to India's Most Wanted List". Refworld. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Archived from the original on 15 September 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  12. ^ a b c d "A short history of the Indian Mujahideen". The Indian Express. 24 January 2018. Archived from the original on 23 January 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  13. ^ Nanjappa, Vicky (27 July 2008). "Investigators say Indian Mujahideen is SIMI, V2.0". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 7 April 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2008., Retrieved on 07–29–2008
  14. ^ Nanjappa, Vicky (29 July 2008). "Revealed: Indian Mujahideen'S two-pronged terror strategy". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 30 July 2008. Retrieved 29 July 2008., Retrieved on 07–29–2008
  15. ^ "Unknown Islamic group threatens more blasts In tourist India", Agence France-Presse, 14 May 2008. Archived 6 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ "Mujahideen sends pre−blast video footage", IndiaToday, 14 May 2008. Archived 7 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ "Outraged India set to expel migrants Archived 16 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine", The Australian, 19 May 2008.
  18. ^ a b "Profile: Amir Reza Khan of Indian Mujahideen". Mantraya. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  19. ^ "Abdul Subhan Qureshi: 2008 Gujarat blasts mastermind arrested after decade-long manhunt | India News – Times of India". The Times of India. 22 January 2018. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  20. ^ "Indian Mujahideen declared a terrorist organisation". NDTV News. Archived from the original on 26 January 2011. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
  21. ^ "Indian Mujahideen declared as terrorist outfit". Deccan Herald. 4 June 2010. Archived from the original on 24 January 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  22. ^ "List of Organisations Declared as Terrorist Organisations Under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967". Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt of India. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  23. ^ "US places Indian Mujahideen on terror list". The Express Tribune. 15 September 2011. Archived from the original on 4 September 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  24. ^ "UK bans Indian Mujahideen". 6 July 2012. Archived from the original on 7 April 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2012.


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