Narcotics Jihad: New threat to Indian society, secularism and national security

Jihad is a buzz word which has increasingly gained ‘popularity’ in the political and national strategic-affairs lexicon. Literal meaning of Jihad is utmost-struggle. As per Islamic-theology, Jihad has two meanings: an inner struggle (the “greater Jihad“), and an outer physical struggle against the enemies of Islam (the “lesser Jihad“) which may take a violent or non-violent form. It stems from the philosophy enshrined in the holy Quran – “I have been commanded to fight until all religion is for Allah.” Simply speaking, Jihad is a call for religious war to fight till all non-Islamists are converted into Islam-religion.

Islam, as a religious-philosophy, is a world-view which dictates a Muslim religious follower from cradle to grave as enshrined in the holy Quran. Any devout Muslim is bound by the by religious laws known as Sharia which is derived primarily from the holy Quran.

‘Sharia-law’ prescribes and proscribes certain code of conduct to be followed religiously by a Muslim. The Islamist Law is hailed above the laws of nation like constitution or other civil and criminal laws. It also gives ‘do and do nots’ as to what the relationship between a Muslim and other non-Muslim fellow human being and how and what kind of personal, religious, political and social relationship a Muslim can have per se as well as his inter se relationship with fellows of other religions.

Ironically, the dictates of Islam also ordain a Muslim to not only spread Islam but fight and convert any non-Muslim (Kafir) to Islam by use of force or any other means also.

Islamist rightist is an extreme fundamentalism where the followers are bigot and communal-jingoist. They simmer communal-identity premised on the cultural identity that they subscribe to.

Over the nation, they give priority to religion. Rather, they want to grab the power of nation-state with an aim to propagate Islamic-extremism in the form of Jihad. Islamization is a fervent religious surge which aims to impose the tenants of Quran in India i.e Islamization of India. Their main proponents are the clergy-class (Mulalh and Mollavis) and some so called religious-influencers who claim to interpret the holy Quran from a ‘scientific-point’ of view. For them, loyalty to Islam is above the loyalty or feeling of nationalism or India-nation. These religious-bigots are not only zealously protecting their own Islamic-identity but also converting other religious communities and people in to their religion aggressively through use of all means at their disposal.

Since they are enjoined upon by their scripture to stop not till they have converted whole non-believers as Muslims, they are prescribed to wage a relentless, perpetual and all-means war against the opponents. This war may be Jihad through the use of violent terrorist activities or by non-war measures. The measures of Jihad can be following:

– Through the use of violent means like terrorism. It is aimed at wresting political-power so as to make that country an Islamic-country. This form of Jihad is followed by the likes of dreaded organisations like ISIS, Taliban, LeT.

– Love Jihad-by use of allurement and emotional black-mailing. In this form, girls from ‘non-believer’ faith are converted in to Islam through marriages.

– Narcotic Jihad– It is a new form of war in which the people of non-believer faith particularly its youth is targeted through inducement of drugs and narcotics to make them vulnerable to accept Islam.

Narcotic Jihad

This is one of the methods in which the non-believers are induced in to the fold of Islam through making them drug-addicts. This is using drug as a weapon for conversion. This type of hidden, clandestine method of conversion was already going-on at a large scale. It specifically targets the vulnerable people of non-Muslim faiths who are from the weaker economic-sections and are more susceptible.

Drug-money has been used for funding terrorist activities and fueling Islamic-extremism. However, in Narcotic Jihad instead of using drug-money as mere a source of terror-funding, the vulnerable and targeted people are directly exposed to drug and are made drug-addicts. This makes them vulnerable and easy victims of terror Jihad.

In comparison to Jihad terrorism, Narcotic Jihad is slow and perpetual war through which non-believers are intoxicated and thus indoctrinated.

Narco Jihad is quite an under-current in Kashmir. In Kashmir, as per the reports, the local terrorists are initially led into the path of extremism through drug addiction. Sometimes people who smuggle drugs are also engaged in terrorist activities. Recently, the NIA arrested four drug traffickers in Kashmir for their alleged involvement in smuggling heroin in huge quantities from Pakistan and supplying it in Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of the country.

ISI controls the narcotics-trade and is well established in its hold on narcotic trade in Pakistan. The same drugs-terrorism nexus also exists within Pakistan, where jihadists are interlinked to the local population through drug supply networks. In essence, Pakistan is exporting an already well-functioning domestic industry into India.

Recently, Mar Joseph Kallarangatt, Bishop of the Palai diocese of the Syro-Malabar Church in Kerala raised the twin issues of ‘love Jihad‘ and ‘narcotic Jihad‘ as the newest ways of Jihad and a newly emerging threat to young men and women of Christian and other non-Muslim faiths. For him, narcotics jihad is Muslims supplying drugs and making Christian youth “addicted” to them, targeting young people belonging to non-Muslim faiths. He further highlighted that Love-Jihad is forcing young women belonging to Christianity and other non-Muslim faiths are subjected to exploitation, forced religious conversion and terrorist activities.

The highly learned Bishop also said that “various types of drugs are being used in ice-cream parlours, hotels and juice corners run by hardcore Jihadis. They are using various types of drugs as a weapon to spoil non-Muslims”. Bishop further cautioned that “Jihadi extremists” have cast their “nets” at almost all places where people gather, including “schools, colleges, hotels, retail shops and training centres”, with the objective of “trapping girls”. As per him, it is “a method of destroying the lives of non-Muslims, especially youth, by making them addicted to drugs”.

As per report in ET, NIA will probe involvement of International Drug Cartel following the seizure of 301 Kgs of narcotics worth Rs 3000 kgs and arms and ammunition off Kerala Coast. There has been an increase in consumption and supply of drugs in Kerala.

The tentacles of Drugs Jihad are spreading throughout the country through the nefarious designs of Islamist extremist. India must be on its guards to save its sovereignty and secularism from this onslaught.

The writer is an independent commentator. Views are personal.

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