The news of the existence of a Facebook group of ISIS sympathizers from Kerala has – surprisingly -- hardly made ripples in the state. The page, which mostly had Malayalam posts, also levelled a death threat against Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin whose progressive views have long riled Islamic fundamentalists and terrorists. The page, Ansarul Khilafa (The Followers of Khalifa), was quietly deactivated on Saturday morning as media started reporting about its existence.
What is surprising is the way the Kerala government and cops have chosen to ignore it, at least in public. Here is a group with jihadi sympathies, supporting a terror organization that is known for its extreme brutality, sex-slavery and bigotry, and raising a death threat against a well-known writer. The least one would have expected would be for the government to take note, the cops to say they are probing, and cultural leaders – who are waiting to be shocked at the drop of a hat – to say that they are shocked. But nothing. Just nothing.
Also read: ISIS in Kerala? Malayalam FB page levels death threat against Taslima Nasrin
Such pronouncements from the authorities would have reassured the public, encouraged moderates in the Muslim community in Kerala and India to speak up against getting influenced by terrorist ideologies, and sent a signal to the world at large that we are serious with tackling this danger that is creeping up to our door step. Because ISIS is a real threat to India. We cannot ignore that several youngsters have been arrested recently for supporting the group, even planning terror attacks, in the country. Some from India have already joined the ISIS in Syria; some have been caught trying to go there. Neighboring Bangladesh is seeing a spike in Islamic terror, with the latest and most high-profile incident coinciding with the news of the existence of ISIS sympathizers in Kerala.
Kerala has been known for its communal harmony, and although frayed a bit in the last couple of decades, it has largely remained intact. The followers of bigoted and extremist ideologies want to shatter that calm, and create a fear psychosis. That is why Ansarul Khilafa exhorted Muslims to flee India. They just want to roil the waters and use that as a pretext for bloody violence.
But who are the members of this group? Where are they operating from? Levelling a death threat is a punishable offence; are the cops trying to track the person who did it and bring him to justice? Is the Kerala government coordinating with central agencies to track down and defang these people? We don’t know. There is only silence from the authorities on this.
That is worrying. Because common citizens, assailed daily by an overdose of news on extremist violence, are already on edge. It is easy to feed their fears and push them into a climate that is conducive for extremist and fundamentalist ideologies to flourish. Only if the administration deals with such elements strictly can common citizens be reassured and feel protected. The Congress and the UPA famously failed in this; they chose the route of appeasement and accommodation. That is a route that was already travelled – by the Brits in the 1980s. The English accommodated the Mideast terror groups for fear of reprisals, and in the end created a monster that could not be controlled. That is a route that ends in failure because these bigots cannot be negotiated with.
But it is surprising even the LDF is choosing to ignore such threats. The government and the cops in Kerala owe a public statement to the people on what they are doing about this group, on what they are doing about the death threat to Nasrin.
Of greater interest here is, why is the BJP silent on this? Why is the national leadership, the union home minister, all silent?
For common citizens, there is nothing more fearful than this silence. It encourages terror and creates foreboding. The Kerala government and cops need to tell us what they are doing.
(The views expressed here are personal)
