Since the fall of the Ghani Government in Afghanistan and the exit of the US forces from the war theatre, Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) has exploited this opportunity to attempt its dominance, monopolize Jihad in the Indian subcontinent and turn its low intensity asymmetric warfare into a virtual blitzkrieg approach in the region.

Over the years, IS-K has managed to build an intricate network amongst the locals in the regions where is operates. It has been seen effectively providing support to the Muslim Chinese jihadists and was lately employing Afghan soldiers, intelligence and law enforcement officers, as also the ex-Taliban recruits. Given that the outfit’s aspirations are not only limited to Afghanistan but also to additional plans which may not be aligned with its parent ISIS Central but its own, we have been witnessing an influx of recruits from India joining the IS-K in Afghanistan.

Recruitment Drive in India

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has probed over 37 terror attack cases directly linked with the IS, out of which 31 have been charge-sheeted with 27 accused convicted.

It is clear that IS targets individuals through social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. The individuals, whose ideologies resonate with the outfit, are contacted by the international handlers and are brainwashed into spreading and uploading IS-related content, knowledge on improvised explosives device (IED) making and terror funding. Even translating the IS-related texts to the regional languages is promoted.

In August 2021, an IS recruiter from Bhatkal (Karnataka) was arrested for radicalizing the youth through the ISIS published magazine “Voice of Hind (VOH)”. The magazine was conceived through the collaboration of Al-Qitaal media centre (pro ISIS media outlet) and Junudul Khilafa Al Hind in February 2020. It has, in the past months, elaborately detailed the plans on how to wage Gazwa-e-Hind (part of Pakistan`s plan to bleed India with a thousand cuts), preparations for Jihad and also praised IS terrorists killed as martyrs. Since 2020, the magazine has gained traction by stirring fear or working as a call centre to tap educated and qualified individuals for its propaganda machine.

Earlier, in July 2021, three individuals were arrested from Anantnag, who had close links with the IS. They were responsible for dissemination of false propaganda against India and for radicalizing the youth in Kashmir on the lines propagated by VOH. A large number of digital devices were seized such as mobile phones, secure digital (SD) cards, etc. Fake identities were created and the individuals responsible used several virtual private networks (VPN) to avoid tracking.

Then, in August 2021, VOH edition displayed the newsclips of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) searches, while its editor made a defiant proclamation to increase the circulation “all the more” in the face of probes carried by all investigation agencies. It became evident when the Voice of Hind mentioned the raids in Anantnag, Jammu & Kashmir, that the right targets had been hit. Prior to this, it was assumed that the magazine was circulated from Afghanistan. After the raids it has been confirmed that it has its links in South Kashmir. It is also confirmed the content editors were being recruited from Maldives and Bangladesh.

Content Collation

it is confirmed that the material is “processed, edited and approved in Pakistan.” Region specific content lacing subnational ideologies imbibing Jihad are also part of the propaganda, a philosophy IS-K uses to participate in the local conflicts and to radicalize one actor against the other, if not the whole state. In order to promote the propaganda, area specific content and material is also being made available in Tamil, Bengali and Malayalam.

Campaign Against Idolatry

The IS propaganda thrives on the success of increased sub-nationalism in the Southern States in India and caters to the likes of all those in favour of the caliphate and an all-Muslim state, marginalizing all Hindus. In a recent issue published by VOH, an image of a decapitated Shiva with the ISIS black flag on its cover went viral in the social media. The VOH captioned it as “It is time to break the false Gods.”

The idol on the cover resembles the idol of Shiva statue in the Murudeshwara temple in Karnataka and has raised concerns. ISIS has been notorious for attacking and destroying various archaeological and heritage sites. The idea to erase history or existence of a culture has been a part of their jihadist plans or of what they view as their narrative of Jihad. For years, ISIS has made efforts to go through extreme selective theological lengths to define their narrative on iconoclastism (destruction of idols).

This could be discerned from one such narrative it spread after destruction of the Palmyra features in Syria. The ISIS magazine Dabiq carried a double spread of the images of the destroyed Palmyra site, while its French edition, Dar-al-Islam, quoted the text “Baal is a false divinity for which people sacrificed their children as indicated in the Old Testament. But, by the Grace of Allah, soldiers of the Caliphate destroyed it.” The entire act of destruction of the heritage sites was justified as combating “shirk” – the sin committed by practicing polytheism or worshipping idols other than Allah. ISIS views its approach as cleansing of Islam through the establishment of the caliphate, while returning to the roots of Islam (a view which is contested worldwide by the Muslim community). However, it does not eliminate the threat and the “built in brutality” it inflicts towards the non-Muslims. The recent attacks on the mosques in Kandahar, Kabul and Kunduz are a clear indication of the extremist attitude ISIS is maintaining towards its narratives, where it refuses to even identify with the beliefs of Shias or Muslims, who remain different from them. It prefers to eradicate them.

Given the pictures of decapitated Shiva statue have gone viral on social media platforms, this comes as no surprise but as confirms the ISIS aspirations in India. It is imperative to exercise caution in face of this looming and persistent threat. It is expected that IS-K, like its parent IS Central, will replicate a common strategy to wipe out other religious iconography and heritage sites. This can exacerbate communal tensions in India.

Hate-filled Newsletters

In December 2021, VOH has upped its antics and has published another inflammatory hate-filled propaganda in its Vol 23 issue – Hinduism, In the Mire of Delusion. The issue attacks Hinduism as the nullifier of Islam, calls to take back Babri Masjid, makes suggestions to kill and terrorize Hindus calling it the verdict of Allah “Jihad for the sake of Allah.”

The 15-page newsletter reiterates its hate for Hindus and killing of all Kuffars worldwide. An excerpt from the magazine reads “on the mainland of India, the sons of Ghaznavi and Ibn Qasim, who subjugated the subcontinent to the rule of Islam. Whose swords chopped the heads of the Somnaths, the idols in the temples trembled and fell face down at the sound of their footsteps.”

The issue furthers urges its readers to carry Dawah activities on social media as “internet is cheap,” to raise the flags of jihad on streets, spread the word by uploading through USBs and use necessary security means to remain untraceable online.

Amidst these nefarious suggestions, an entire page is dedicated to “O Muwahhid take back Babri Masjid from the Hindus.” The entire section directly attacks the Jews and the Hindus, stating the “unholy alliance” between the Jews and the Hindus must be attacked. It talks of genocide and brute force to be utilized against the non-Muslims. While the entire section uses derogatory slander for non-Muslims, it provokes its readers to fight against the sons of “Khilafah” by painting a sorry picture of the jihadists, a bait easily to be bitten by the ISIS sympathizers.

It is not hard to foresee a radicalized youth playing into the hands of such inflammatory narratives, which not only spread hate but dispels the notion of secularism or diversity of India and seeks to ignite communal hatred and riots.

George Orwell said “The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history”. Hence, it is not farfetched to think the ISIS modus operandi relies heavily on its propaganda warfare while executing its plans physically. While conventional war may or may not be on the horizon, the war of perception continues to be waged daily. The proof lies in the virulent content of this IS propaganda organ, VOH.

The post “Voice of Hind” ISIS Propaganda Machine appeared first on IMR.

A nation’s security is a fickle phenomenon. India is that juicy plum, the Islamists have been fruitlessly trying to pluck for over a thousand years now. Having failed with the sword, they have turned to economical, educational and indoctrinational methods. These are innocuous and apparently harmless activities designed to destabilise and disintegrate India. These are smartly cloaked to evade public attention. Like the hour hand of a clock, that appears stationary but is moving all the time, these activities are not noticeable until they are too late to remedy. The unnatural and shocking death of actor, Sushant Singh Rajput and the emerging machinations of Bollywood mafia with the tacit abetment of state government has opened an overflowing can of worms. The tectonic fallout of this event will have far-reaching results and may even bring down the government in Maharashtra.

Cinema is considered a mirror of society. In India, however, cinema has not so much reflected society as it has shaped and altered it. A nation’s psyche is as intimately linked to a nation’s security as ego is hitched to power. Cinema is a huge commercial cow too, providing fame and moolah of Rs 1,650 crore yearly (2018) to those involved in film-making. Its reach is far and wide with movies in 23 languages penetrating every nook and corner of India. Where trade is a religion; profit invariably becomes God !!

Teaching By Narrative

One of the most surreptitious and effective methods of teaching is through narrative, ie, via story-telling, plays, novels, movies, etc. This learning is far more effective than through any classroom lecture. Of these, cinema and TV are, by far, the most effective as they teach while entertaining, a powerful combination. The power of visual-media in shaping the mind is profound and surprisingly under-rated. Courtesy Bollywood, Hindi is largely understood in most parts of non-Hindi speaking regions of India. Even devout opposers of Hindi willingly watch Hindi cinema and inadvertently pick-up the language – something no act of parliament could expect to do. (Here, Bollywood is used in a generic sense and includes Indian cinema of all languages and regions).

Impact on Security

How can films and mass-media affect India’s security? The biggest threat to India’s security is her potential loss of Hindu identity, via Islamisation and Communism. No nation is as ashamed of its religious identity as India is of Hinduism. India is as much a Hindu nation as USA is Christian and Saudi Arabia is Islamic. India was partitioned on religious grounds – India for Hindus and Pakistan for Muslims – to satisfy the ambition of three Muslim cousins, who each wanted to be prime minister of independent India. Nehru, with the copious advantage of a Hindu name, got India; Jinnah got the smaller Pakistan and Sheikh Abdullah had to be content with an autonomous Kashmir. Their descendants have pursued the goal of Islamising India, with the tacit support of the comity of Muslim nations. Similarly, China, that views India as its sole regional competition, is determined to undermine India’s Hindu identity through Communism, peddled via its strongholds in West Bengal and Kerala. Success of either Islam or Communism will spell the death knell of India as a nation. India may de jure be a secular nation, de facto she is a torchbearer of Hinduism and abode of the Hindus for over 5,000 years, surrounded by nations converted to Islam via the sword. China’s ire with India is irreligious and fulcrumed on Asian leadership. Both, Pakistan and China, are convinced India can be subjugated only by annihilating her Hindu culture. So, their target is mockery and denigration of Hindu rites, rituals and practices. While Pakistan has taken the filmy route, China has focussed on economic, political and military onslaught.

Genesis of Muslim Dominance

The seeds of surreptitious Islamisation of India were sown in 1926 through the creation of Tableeghi Jamat in New Delhi. The Jamat was tasked to quietly unite and prepare the Muslims for takeover of India through mass erection of mosques, forcible conversions, marriage with Hindu girls (love jihad), creating ever increasing pockets of Muslim strongholds and physically evicting or eliminating Hindus. This was most remarkably successful in Kashmir, Punjab and Bengal along with the Awadh region of UP, which had immense Muslim influence in society. Ironically, these regions happened to be the pioneers in Indian film industry. Prominent Hindus of these regions followed the Ganga-Jamuni tahzeeb – a one-way traffic of Hindus celebrating Muslim way of life while not getting any reciprocal response from the Muslims. This tahzeeb sowed the seeds of Muslim dominance in Bollywood, whose roots, over time, have spread wide and deep. Earlier, Muslims were loath to use their Muslim identity, hiding behind Hindu names. That cloak has come off ever since blood-money of Pakistan-based drug-smuggling-prostitution-extortion mafia came into Bollywood in the 1970s. Today, Muslims flaunt their surnames with aplomb and dominate the film industry. The apparently Hindu tycoons of Bollywood, viz, the Kapoors, Johars, Bhatts, etc, are themselves more Muslim than Hindu through marriages and affiliations. Their surnames – an effective camouflage of their identity and intent.

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Though Islam scoffs at music and dance, except in praise of Allah (Ishq-e-Haqiqi), Bollywood has been flooded with Muslims. Dada Saheb Phalke may have pioneered film-making in India, it was Ardeshir Irani who blazed the path with Alam Ara, the first talkie. Muslim producers, directors, actors, actresses and music directors have dominated the field out of all proportion to their population in India, viz, Mehboob Khan, KA Abbas, Kamal Amrohi, Abrar Alvi, Abdul Rashid Kardar, Saadat Hassan Manto, Ismat Chugtai, Ghulam Haider, Khayyam, Sahir Ludhianvi, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Shakeel Badayuni, Mohammed Rafi, Talat Mahmood, Shamshad Begum, Dilip Kumar, Meena Kumari, Madhubala, Johnny Walker, Mehmood, Rahman, etc, to name some pioneers. Zealous nepotism has ensured the continuance of their breed to the modern-day.

Bollywood has evolved an entire genre, “Muslim Social”, devoted to promoting superiority of Muslim culture. It started in the 1950s, focussing on the life of the Muslim elite. Films were made about the Mughals – Humayun (1945) by Mehboob Khan, Shahjehan (1946) by Abdul Rashid Kardar, Mughal-e-Azam (1960) by K Asif, Taj Mahal (1963) by M Sadiq and Jahan Ara (1964). Another popular theme was the nawabi culture of Awadh (Lucknow), marked by elaborate production and music, highlighting the sophistication of language and lifestyle of Muslims, like Mirza Ghalib (1954), Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960), Mere Mehboob (1963), Dil Hi To Hai (1963) and Pakeezah (1972) by Kamal Amrohi. This was in sharp contrast to that time’s cinema that projected the trials and tribulations of poor and the under-privileged Hindus through Mother India, Pyaasa, Do Bigah Zamin, Boot Polish, etc. There was no riposte from the Hindus by way of Hindu Social cinema. The Muslim Social cinema was embraced by India as reflective of her secular and tolerant fabric. This was later to be exploited by the Islamic fundamentalist dons, both in India and abroad, to not just boost Muslim culture, but to also denigrate Hindus in a camouflaged fashion. Here, cinema was not reflecting society as much as trying to influence it through indoctrination. Muslims were shown rich and powerful and Hindus as poor and helpless, somewhat like a white crow and black snow.

Threat From Pakistan

Film-making requires a lot of money. There is a lot of money in crime – smuggling, extortion, drugs, prostitution and hawala, etc. Criminal dons with easy moolah found a convenient vent in Bollywood for converting the colour of their blood-money to a pious white. This brought them power in the film world besides glitz, glamour and girls, for their personal gratification. Soon, money-power resulted in Pakistani dons influencing the story, screenplay, casting, set-design, music and direction of Indian movies. Openings for Pakistani actors and singers became a necessity. All the perps, rascals, scalawags, varlets and rogues had to have pious Hindu names like Seth Dharamdas, Dharma, Kishna, Ram Bharose, etc, and all the good Samaritans, the sacrificers, the do-gooders and the selfless martyrs had to have Muslim names like Khan Chacha, Abdul, Mustafa, etc. Hindu temples were shown hiding criminal cash (Hera-Pheri) while mosques symbolized hope and piety. Songs to Maula answered all prayers while Bhagwan was no good.

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In the last 70 years, not a single movie has been made depicting life of a poor Muslim family or on Muslim taboos like triple talaq, halala or polygamy or where a Muslim character has been a villain. If an odd movie, like Nikaah, on the evils of triple talaq, saw the light of day, the careers of its cast perished. Even notorious criminals like Allaudin Khilji have been romanticised by no less an actor than A-lister Ranveer Singh, in Padmavat. Indian movie-makers do not have the gall to portray any Muslim in bad light. They can, however, sully Radha, the courtesan of Lord Krishna and one of the most worshipped devis of Hindus, as some street harlot in the song Radha Teri Chunri (Student of the Year) describing her thumka and sexy body rather lewdly. A similar song on Virgin Mary or Fatimah, the daughter of Prophet Muhammad, the closest a Muslim woman can come to adulation, would result in certain genocide. It is intriguing that there is not a single villain in Indian film industry with a Muslim name. Hamid Ali Khan adopted the screen-name Ajit to enact villainous roles. Villainous roles by Muslims have been on a grand, almost heroic, scale like Amjad Khan’s Gabbar or Emraan Hashmi’s Gangster. Crimes like murder, rape, molestation, embezzlement, etc, are the preserve of Hindu actors.

Film industry is now divided into two verticals: those owing allegiance to the dons and the others. The former, being more powerful, call the shots in loaded movie scripts, unfair awards functions, biased film critiques and ratings, partial film magazines and filmy functions. Consequently, film careers of the faithful soar, whilst those of the others, even if better, nosedive. The Khans, the Kapoors and the Johars are supremos and the Ranauts, the Rajputs and their ilk must suffer. Those, like Bharati, Sridevi, Jia Khan, Disha Salian, Sushant Singh Rajput, etc, who opposed or became aware of the dirty tricks of the faithfuls were systematically eliminated. The outreach of the dons extends to the state police and the local government who abet and connive at all the wrongdoings of this mafia. The current furore in the Sushant Singh Rajput-Rhea Chakravarty-Kangana Ranaut imbroglio is but a tip of the Bollywood-Pakistan crimeberg.

Future Threat From China

China is the largest movie consumer of the world. By 2026, it is expected to hold 40-50 per cent of global market share of box-office. It holds the global weekly box-office record of US $557 million in tickets since Feb 2016. No wonder, Hollywood panders to Chinese audiences and censors. So far, China has focussed only on Hollywood; arm-twisting the American producers and distributors into adapting their screenplays to suit Chinese government policies. Chinese companies are investing and brazenly controlling film production in Hollywood. Now, there can be no reference to Taiwan and Tibet as China does not believe in their separate existence. Japan cannot be shown in good light as China abhors Japanese domination of China of the past. Villains can no longer have Mongoloid features. Chinese can only be shown as good Samaritans and performing heroic acts, as in Gravity, disaster movie 2012, Doctor Strange, etc. China must be portrayed as a benign country, as normal as any Western nation. USA has readily capitulated as the Chinese moolah is too lucrative to ignore. The film career of an actor no less than Richard Gere has been finished, thanks to Chinese boycott of his films ever since his affinity to the Dalai Lama became public.

The recent success of Hindi films in China – PK, 3 Idiots and Dangal – proves China’s next target is bound to be India, the largest movie producer in the world. Using its strongholds, West Bengal and Kerala, as launch pads, China can influence and control movie-making in India. This is a serious threat to India’s potential communist indoctrination. There is unlikely to be any resistance from the moolah-driven film industry. The onus is on Indian government to recognise this threat and take preventive measures, as it has done against Chinese apps and Chinese imports.

China and India are engaged in a wary competition for regional leadership. But more and more, the two Asian giants are competing to project soft power — cultural influence — outside their borders. The success of Dangal has raised concerns in China that it is falling behind. China’s development has been very comprehensive in terms of politics, economics and military but in terms of soft power, India has done better through her emphasis on promoting her culture, like yoga, Buddhism, Ayurveda and Bhagvad Gita.

The Remedy

Not much can be expected from the film industry where box-office rules the roost and blood-money finances film-making. Central and state governments must devise methods to plug the ingestion of black money into filmdom. It may be easier to contain Chinese influence as it comes via their government-controlled and identifiable companies. Curbs on cash inflows from China and ban of known film-finance corporations of China could be undertaken.

The Pakistan-Dubai influence is more difficult to tackle, largely due to the ethnic affinity of the Punjabis, Bengalis and Awadhis, among others, with the culprits. Here, it is essential for Hindu organisations like Karni Sena, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang Dal, etc, to play a role in education and awakening the population against loaded films.

The most potent tool available with the government is, of course, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). It should be manned by diligent and sincere nationalists who can censor camouflaged and contrived agenda from the movies. Sex, nudity and violence are not as damaging to society as indoctrinating propaganda projected on the screen, without so much as a kiss.

The ultimate weapon is certainly in the hands of the movie-goer. No mafia can counter boycott of a film by the public. Awareness is slowly but surely growing in this direction as exemplified by the discard of recent movies of Deepika Padukone and Salman Khan recently.

Postscript

There is no better example of cinema turning a narrative on its head than the Samar Khan directed Shaurya (2008) in which Kay Kay Menon’s heartfelt angst against widespread Muslim atrocities against innocent Hindus seems overly villainous while a Hindu Army officer’s cold-blooded murder by a Muslim colleague is made amply heroic. This modus operandi has been used repeatedly in Indian films.

The post NATIONAL SECURITY: Bollywood And India’s Security appeared first on IMR.