Threat from Rohingya terror: How Islamist agenda for Indian subcontinent is real and dangerous

Commissioned by a Government of India agency to study the magnitude of the Rohingya problem, one of the first act that this author undertook was to visit the Guwahati Central Jail and interrogate two Rohingya youths who had been apprehended in the Guwahati Railway Station as they were attempting to make their way to New Delhi. The two youths had entered Assam via Manipur. Protracted interrogation revealed that a well-oiled network had been established in the North East by which the Rohingyas fleeing from both Myanmar and Bangladesh were provided with documents that would aid their travel inside India. It also became clear that the youths were following hundreds of others whose final destination was Jammu & Kashmir. Although it was not admitted, it was clear that the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) had set up shop in Jammu and was in active touch with the radical Islamist groups operating in Jammu & Kashmir. The convergence and the unity of agenda of all Islamist groups in the Indian subcontinent that this author has been harping about for over two decades is a reality. The ISI of Pakistan along with its Al-Qaeda, Tehrik-e-Taliban, Pakistan, Islamic State of the Khorasan Province and the Haqqani Network, etc, are all coming together to foment trouble in the Kashmir Valley and eventually the rest of India. The manner in which Al Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent has entered the innards of India should be an indicator. The Rohingyas are the newest recruits in the anti-India agenda. ARSA was formed in 2012 after the riots in the Rakhine State of Myanmar. The roots were a result of an internecine war between ethnic Rohingya Muslims and the ethnic Rakhine Buddhists. The outfit, however, first came into prominence in October 2016 when it attacked three police outposts in the Maungdaw and Rathedaung townships in Myanmar, killing nine security personnel, provoking massive retaliation by Myanmarese security forces. This resulted in an almost unprecedented exodus of Rohingyas into Bangladesh. It has been reported that during 2016 and 2017, ARSA leaders started visiting certain Rohingya areas in Myanmar to recruit local youths. Each community was compelled to “contribute” five to ten individuals for “basic training” in arms and guerrilla tactics. In the meantime, on 25 August 2017, Myanmar’s Anti-Terrorism Central Committee declared ARSA as a terrorist organisation. ARSA is headed by one Ataullah Abu Ammar Jununi aka Hafiz Tohar, a Rohingya born in Karachi, Pakistan, who reportedly grew up in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. ARSA claims it is fighting on behalf of more than a million Rohingya, who have been denied the most basic rights, including citizenship, in Myanmar; as well as against the “inhuman” condition of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. However, the primary objective of the Rohingyas continues to be to be able to wrest a homeland in their traditional place of residence, i.e., Rakhine State of Myanmar. The ARSA also seeks the establishment of a “Safe Zone” under the “Responsibility to Protect". It is important to follow the money trail of any terrorist group. It is reported that the funding for the ARSA comes from an unnamed group of supporters in Saudi Arabia. During interrogation, ARSA has revealed that it had received training from Tehrik-e-Taliban, Pakistan and the Bangladesh-based Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). The global Salafi movement has clearly reached and incorporated ARSA in its nefarious ambit. The manner in which ARSA cadres have reached Assam and are making their way to the “hotspots” of terror is unimaginable. It has been seen that a number of ISIS modules have been busted in India. But these apprehensions do not augur well for India’s national security. Indeed, it is just the tip of the iceberg. A concerted agenda is in the works with their sights on the General Elections slated for May-June 2024. The threat to India’s security from ARSA cadres billeted in Bangladesh, primarily in the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar District, is not a matter to be mulled over. The Islamist agenda for the Indian subcontinent is real. The banning of the Popular Front of India has only emboldened their design and objective of instituting Nizam-e-Mustafa in India. There is absolutely no room for complacency. The security establishment of India must comprehend that insurgent groups such as Mizo National Front can (indeed as it has!) return to the mainstream and even become the chief executive of a state, but Islamism of the rabid kind will never countenance any form of negotiation. Its sole objective is Nizam-e-Mustafa or Islamic Rule. The battle would rage on until the end of time until that goal is achieved. It is this bitter truth that New Delhi has to come to terms with, and sooner the better. The writer is a conflict theorist and bestselling author. The views expressed are his own. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.