Safdar Nagori
Encyclopedia
Safdar Nagori is the current leader of the outlawed Islamist terrorist group, the Students Islamic Movement of India
.
Nagori, now in his late 30s, was born in a prominent and respected Pathan
Sunni Muslim family in Ujjain
in Madhya Pradesh
which had a history of service in the Police Force and Paramilitary Forces. His father was a gazetted Police officer in the Madhya Pradesh Police
who retired as a senior Inspector in 1987.
He joined SIMI in 1991. In 2001, when several SIMI leaders urged the organisation to renounce terror and return to academic and religious activities, he became the leader of the faction that preferred an armed struggle.
It is believed that somewhere between 2001 and 2002, he came to Delhi
. In 2003, he moved to Mumbai.
He spent the next five years in Murshidabad
in West Bengal
, where no major Islamist terrorist attacks have taken place (except the USIS attack in 2002).
When SIMI was banned in 2001, Safdar Nagori told BBC
that the allegations against the movement that it had links with Islamic militant separatist groups were baseless.
.
Survivors of the training went on to participate in several major terrorist operations. In July, 2001, police in Maharashtra
, Andhra Pradesh
, Uttar Pradesh
and New Delhi
arrested 23 SIMI-linked terrorists. Four of those held turned out to have trained in Kishtwar
.
It is alleged that organisations such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba
, the Jaish-e-Mohammad and the Harkat ul-Jihad-e-Islami use SIMI cadre for their operations. Mohammad Sabahuddin, arrested in February 2008 for attacks carried out in Bangalore
and Uttar Pradesh, was a SIMI member — as was his key associate, Fahim Ansari.
It is believed that the Malava region of Madhya Pradesh has become a major center of SIMI. Several terrorist incidents in the recent past has had some connection with the Malwa region from where Safdar Nagori hails. The briefcases used to store the explosives used in the Samjhauta Express
blasts were bought in Indore and the fake e-mails claiming responsibility for the Mumbai blasts also originated from an Indore
suburb.
's jungles were being used as a training base by Islamist terrorists.
Safdar Nagori, general secretary of SIMI and ten other militants were arrested in Indore
, near his home town Ujjain
on 26 March 2008.
A training camp has been found at a popular holiday spot at Choral, 35 km from Indore. The camp was located following a week of interrogation by Madhya Pradesh police of 13 arrested SIMI leaders. The police have also discovered the existence of SIMI's women's wing called Shaheen Force. The police were told the camp trained SIMI members from Jharkhand
, Kerala
, Karnataka and some other states. The police also found 122 super-explosive gelatine sticks, 100 detonators and switchboards buried underground in Gawali village.
Students Islamic Movement of India
The Students Islamic Movement of India is an Islamic student organization that was formed in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, in April 1977. The stated mission of SIMI is the ‘liberation of India’ from Western materialistic cultural influence and to convert its Muslim society to live according to Muslim...
.
Nagori, now in his late 30s, was born in a prominent and respected Pathan
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
Sunni Muslim family in Ujjain
Ujjain
Ujjain , is an ancient city of Malwa region in central India, on the eastern bank of the Kshipra River , today part of the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative centre of Ujjain District and Ujjain Division.In ancient times the city was called Ujjayini...
in Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
which had a history of service in the Police Force and Paramilitary Forces. His father was a gazetted Police officer in the Madhya Pradesh Police
Madhya Pradesh Police
The Madhya Pradesh Police is the law enforcement agency for the state of Madhya Pradesh in India.-Organizational structure:Madhya Pradesh Police comes under direct control of Department of Home Affairs, Government of Madhya Pradesh....
who retired as a senior Inspector in 1987.
He joined SIMI in 1991. In 2001, when several SIMI leaders urged the organisation to renounce terror and return to academic and religious activities, he became the leader of the faction that preferred an armed struggle.
It is believed that somewhere between 2001 and 2002, he came to Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
. In 2003, he moved to Mumbai.
He spent the next five years in Murshidabad
Murshidabad
Murshidabad is a city in Murshidabad district of West Bengal state in India. The city of Murshidabad is located on the southern bank of the Bhagirathi, a distributary of the Ganges River. It was the capital of undivided Bengal during the Mughal rule. Nawabs of Bengal used to rule Bengal from this...
in West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
, where no major Islamist terrorist attacks have taken place (except the USIS attack in 2002).
Views about India and its democracy
In an interview with Sayantan Chakravarty in 2001, he expressed his views. At that time, the government had not banned SIMI.:"Let me explain the concept of JihadJihadJihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
as detailed in the Quran. It is not when an individual is harmed but when an entire community finds itself collectively persecuted that the cry for Jihad is given. ... Warn. If nothing works then one is forced to revolt, take to arms.
- ...When we are told that there is a rashtrapita in Gandhi, and another great statesman in Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal NehruJawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...
, we feel it is a direct attack on our fundamentals. Nehru wanted Muslims to recognise Ghulam Ahmed QadianiMirza Ghulam AhmadMīrzā Ghulām Aḥmad was a religious figure from India and the founder of the Ahmadiyya Community. He claimed to be the Mujaddid of the 14th Islamic century, the promised Messiah , and the Mahdi awaited by the Muslims in the end days...
as our Prophet. He was forcing us to alter our religious belief and we have no regard for such a man.
Not once, but dozens of times. We believe that he has shown great character in standing up to the Americans, the biggest terrorists in the world.
We link up with him in Pakistan through phones and the speeches are amplified for the audience. The Qazi wants us to take IslamIslamIslam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
to non-Muslims.
When SIMI was banned in 2001, Safdar Nagori told BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
that the allegations against the movement that it had links with Islamic militant separatist groups were baseless.
Alleged activities
It has been alleged that in autumn of 2000, SIMI cadre drawn by Nagori’s network had begun training with the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen in Jammu and KashmirJammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...
.
Survivors of the training went on to participate in several major terrorist operations. In July, 2001, police in Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
, Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
and New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
arrested 23 SIMI-linked terrorists. Four of those held turned out to have trained in Kishtwar
Kishtwar
Kishtwar is a town and a notified area committee in Kishtwar District in Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state of India.-Geography:Kishtwar is located at...
.
It is alleged that organisations such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba
Lashkar-e-Taiba
Lashkar-e-Taiba – also transliterated as Lashkar-i-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Lashkar-i-Taiba, Lashkar Taiba or LeT – is one of the largest and most active militant Islamist terrorist organizations in South Asia, operating mainly from Pakistan.It was founded by Hafiz Muhammad...
, the Jaish-e-Mohammad and the Harkat ul-Jihad-e-Islami use SIMI cadre for their operations. Mohammad Sabahuddin, arrested in February 2008 for attacks carried out in Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
and Uttar Pradesh, was a SIMI member — as was his key associate, Fahim Ansari.
It is believed that the Malava region of Madhya Pradesh has become a major center of SIMI. Several terrorist incidents in the recent past has had some connection with the Malwa region from where Safdar Nagori hails. The briefcases used to store the explosives used in the Samjhauta Express
Samjhauta Express
The Samjhauta Express commonly called the Friendship Express, is a twice-weekly train Tuesdays and Fridays that runs between Delhi and Attari in India and Lahore in Pakistan. The word samjhauta means "Understanding","accord" and "compromise" in both Hindi and Urdu.Until the reopening of the Thar...
blasts were bought in Indore and the fake e-mails claiming responsibility for the Mumbai blasts also originated from an Indore
Indore
Indore is one of the major city in India, the largest city and commercial center of the state of Madhya Pradesh in central India. Indore is located 190 km west of the state capital Bhopal. According to the 2011 Indian census, Indore city has a population of 1,960,631...
suburb.
Arrest
It was reported in 2007 that KarnatakaKarnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
's jungles were being used as a training base by Islamist terrorists.
Safdar Nagori, general secretary of SIMI and ten other militants were arrested in Indore
Indore
Indore is one of the major city in India, the largest city and commercial center of the state of Madhya Pradesh in central India. Indore is located 190 km west of the state capital Bhopal. According to the 2011 Indian census, Indore city has a population of 1,960,631...
, near his home town Ujjain
Ujjain
Ujjain , is an ancient city of Malwa region in central India, on the eastern bank of the Kshipra River , today part of the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative centre of Ujjain District and Ujjain Division.In ancient times the city was called Ujjayini...
on 26 March 2008.
A training camp has been found at a popular holiday spot at Choral, 35 km from Indore. The camp was located following a week of interrogation by Madhya Pradesh police of 13 arrested SIMI leaders. The police have also discovered the existence of SIMI's women's wing called Shaheen Force. The police were told the camp trained SIMI members from Jharkhand
Jharkhand
Jharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east...
, Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, Karnataka and some other states. The police also found 122 super-explosive gelatine sticks, 100 detonators and switchboards buried underground in Gawali village.