Abstract
This article discusses the growing overlap between organized crime and terrorism in India and highlights the key factors that explain this process. It begins with a summary of the Mumbai attacks of 2008 as an example of growing overlap between organized crime groups and terrorism in India. Organized crime groups that traditionally focused on money-making opportunities and stayed away from extreme forms of large-scale violence have increasingly been converging with terrorist outfits, especially in case of sectarian violence and religious terrorism. Some of the more obvious factors that facilitate this process are drugs and arms trafficking, while the less explored but equally dominant are socio-cultural, politico-religious and historical factors. The global war on terrorism has also increased networking opportunities and incentives for organized crime and terrorist groups that provide each other goods and services, while also adapting to each other’s business and methods.
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Notes
Lashkar-e-Taiyba is a terrorist organization with its headquarters in Pakistan, and networks across South-Asia. Its main mission is to establish an Islamic state in Kashmir. It has been involved in a number of terrorist attacks and was banned by Pakistan after 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, India.
According to some reports, Jamaat-ud-Dawa has started doing business under the new name, Tehreek-e-Tahafuz Qibla Awal, since the UN Security Council resolution to ban it (Times of India, 2009).
D-Company is the name given to Dawood Ibrahim crime syndicate.
Hawala is an informal means of money transfer that carries legal, illegal and criminal connotations mainly related to purpose of transaction.
SIMI had started as a student organization but many extremist elements have crept into the organization since its inception, and some of its leaders share close ties with LeT and JeM, while hailing Osama bin Laden as a true mujahid (South Asia Terrorism Portal, 2009). Nanjappa (2009b) notes that the D-Company is preparing to play a larger role on LeT's behalf in India and carry out the activities that SIMI and IM have not been able to fulfill to full impact.
Hawala system has existed in the Middle East since early 1300s, but in the Indian subcontinent the term became popular just in the last century only. Therefore, it also carried a different connotation in Indian subcontinent as compared to its original function and meaning in the Middle East. In South-Asia it has become synonym to the Hundi system, which also lost its place as a legitimate bill of exchange that ethnic Indian bankers had used for centuries. The Hawala as known today is an off-shoot of Hundi system that continued to flourish despite the British banning its use, and therefore, deemed illegal. According to Sharma (2006), in a typical Hawala transaction a person in New York would give money to a Hawala dealer, with the name and contact information of the recipient in Delhi, India. The Hawala dealer in New York would collect such money and information all day long, and then send it to his counterpart in Delhi through email, phone or fax. The Hawala dealer in India would then make payments in local currency within 24 hours.
Though it would be impossible to study organized crime and terrorism in India without discussing opium trade in South-West Asian countries, especially in Afghanistan, this article maintains focus on India, and therefore, the discussion on the drug trade is only in relation to organized crime groups funding terrorism through drug money in India.
Under the 3rd June Plan or Mountbatten Plan in 1947, the British divided India on the religious grounds and created India, Pakistan and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). That is, the Hindu-majority areas were designated as India, while the Muslim-majority areas became part of Pakistan. As a result, there were massive population exchanges between India and Pakistan. The exchange, however, was far from peaceful and most people had a sense of betrayal about being pushed out of the land of their ancestors. Subsequently, riots broke out in parts of newly created Pakistan and India leading to about a million dead and many million injured and displaced. The number of people killed at the time of India’s partition vary from one source to another. Brass (2003) notes that the estimates vary from 200 000 to million and a half, with most people settling for 500 000, while others with a closer understanding of the conflict put the number of dead at 350 000. The Mountbatten Plan also included provisions for aristocrats and royals to choose between India and Pakistan, which was decided before the implementation of the plan except in case of Kashmir. It was a Muslim-majority state ruled by a Hindu King, Hari Singh, who did not want to make a rushed decision and chose not to go with either India or Pakistan. Meanwhile, in October 1947, Pakistan attacked Kashmir to support a coup against the King. Hari Singh then asked India for help. India, however, put the condition that the King must first sign The Instrument of Accession to the Union of India, which he did on 26 October 1947 (Lavakare, 1999). Pakistani forces eventually retreated, but since then there has been a political struggle in Kashmir to ascertain the will of the people of Kashmir without under any duress.
Following the 11/26 Mumbai attacks, despite the reports about the role of the ISI, LeT, D-Company, and other groups and agencies based in Pakistan, the government's official stance seems to be that it was an act carried out by non-state actors.
Muslims make up 13.4 per cent of India's population. Source: Religious Composition, Census of India.
In 2002, a sleeper coach on a passenger train in Godhra, Gujarat (India) was set on fire by a Muslim mob resulting in 59 deaths. The particular coach was carrying Hindu pilgrims.
The court found 31 people guilty, and acquitted the rest (BBC News, 2011).
Francois Gautier is a writer and journalist of French origin. He is a Catholic by faith, but has been a strong critic of aggressive conversion practices carried out by Christian groups in India.
Not related to Mohandas Karamchamd Gandhi aka Mahatma Gandhi.
Following Rahul Gandhi's claim of 70 feet of ashes with dead bodies inside it, and women being raped, the Nationl Human Rights Commission carried out its investigation, but found his claims as false in an interim report (Shakil, 2011).
Myanmar and Nepal also face their share of violent communist movement, while in parts of India, such as north-east and south-east, Naxalite-Communist movement presents constantly growing threats.
In Pakistan and Bangladesh it is more commonly known as Hundi, while in Srilanka, it is called Undiyal. Other similar systems include chits and chop shops, fei ch’ien (Flying Money), casa de cambio (stash house) and phoe kuan (message houses).
It predates the Western banking system. It worked on the basis of trust, and that trust among ethnic players still exists, and makes it a paperless system. But that also poses difficulties in investigating the source and purpose of money.
It was owing to the news reports that alleged that part of money for terrorist attacks may have been sent through Hawala from the Middle East.
It would be beneficial to put an end to all informal banking systems, but it cannot be done overnight, and without providing viable options of money transfer, and in general creating awareness, may even push people towards criminal enterprises.
Hawala is now under the civil purview and carries financial penalties and no prison, unless convicted for more serious crimes.
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Sharma, D. Growing overlap between terrorism and organized crime in India: A case study. Secur J 26, 60–79 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1057/sj.2011.33
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/sj.2011.33