The Students Islamic Movement of India: The Story So Far

The Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) continues to pose serious threats to the national security of India. Despite having been banned for 12 years, SIMI, it has been alleged, works through radical outfits like the Popular Front of India (PFI) and its front organizations. It has also been charged with having links with terror outfits such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami Bangladesh (HuJI-B), and the Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS) of Bangladesh. At the same time, the government’s decision to ban SIMI has been questioned by one section of its members. It is thus necessary to examine issues such as the factors leading to the formation of SIMI and its radicalization, whether SIMI as an organization can exist peacefully, in order to better understand and analyse the ways and means of dealing with it.