West Bengal’s Governor earlier this week said that the twin spectre of radicalisation and militancy poses a serious challenge for West Bengal, especially in two of the several districts sharing a border with Bangladesh - Murshidabad and Malda.
The comment comes at a time when efforts are on to drive radicalisation programmes aimed at both fuelling communal tensions and carrying out terror strikes.
Intelligence agencies have, on numerous occasions, flagged these issues, especially in the two areas mentioned above, for the last several years.
The agencies say that illegal immigration into these areas has been so high over the years that these persons are the dominant lot. They have managed to effect demographic changes in several zones and even grabbed land of the majority community.
An Intelligence Bureau official said that the illegal immigrants not only have the numbers in these areas, but also money and power. Money has been earned through cattle smuggling, narcotics smuggling, and counterfeiting Indian currency.
The official said that a fresh push is underway to expand crime networks. In addition to effecting demographic changes and creating communal tensions, a major push is also being made to nurture terror modules.
The agencies have also flagged the increasing number of illegal madrasas in these areas, which are being used as safe houses. In the run-up to the elections, the ISI-backed elements have attempted several times to ramp up the illegal immigration drive.
The ISI has also roped in the services of the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation and Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army to help further this operation. The Ansarullah Bangla Team, too, has been operating in these areas, an official said.
He added that if one looks at the pattern, the aim is clearly to keep the security agencies on their toes and then attempt a hit.
In the border areas of West Bengal, the plan is not to carry out a single operation. It would be multifold, and these would include ramping up smuggling, illegal immigration, counterfeiting, demographic changes, and also setting up terror modules of the Ansarullah Bangla Team.
In addition to creating trouble in West Bengal, these elements are also planning to infiltrate the northeastern states, such as Assam, and carry out operations there.
Apart from trying to hurt stability and internal security, the aim is also to derail ties between India and Bangladesh.
Ties that had soured briefly are back on track following Bangladesh's national elections, which resulted in a win for the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has stressed the importance of maintaining good ties with India.
The ISI aims to destabilise this equation and hence is using its cells in Murshidabad and Malda to foment trouble in India. The ISI has always looked to hurt India from all sides.
It is trying to deploy terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, while also aiding the setting up of homegrown modules in Delhi and other places.
Further, it is using the Khalistan terror groups to create trouble in Punjab.
It has similar ideas for states such as West Bengal and the northeastern states. An official said that the heightened activity in Murshidabad and Malda should not be viewed only in the context of West Bengal’s security.
The bigger game plan is to use the modules here to conduct large-scale operations in the Northeast. The aim is to disturb peace in these states.
Trouble in states that share an international border is dangerous and deeply affects national security, the official also added.
