In a move to strengthen the security apparatus of the state, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath is all set to lay the foundation stone of the much-awaited Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) Commando Training Centre in Deoband town of Saharanpur District. According to District Magistrate Akhilesh Singh, the official minute-to-minute program of the Chief Minister has not been received yet, but preparations are being made.
The Training Centre will come up in Deoband which houses the Islamic school of thought, Darul Uloom. There are more than 300 madrasas in Deoband. Due to Darul Uloom, many Muslims from all over the country and the world come to Deoband. Deoband is now on the radar of the government due to terrorist activities. This is the reason why various security experts opine on why Deoband has been selected for the ATS Commando Training Centre.
For the construction of the ATS centre, 2 thousand square meters of land of UP Small Industries Corporation has been given. It is worth noting that CM Yogi had recently announced the creation of 12 ATS centres in western Uttar Pradesh.
Rising terror activities in Muslim dominated western UP districts
To curb terrorist activities in the state, the state government in August 2021 decided to increase the scope of Uttar Pradesh ATS. Several suspected terrorist activities have been coming to the fore in western Uttar Pradesh. Especially in Deoband, the ATS has been investigating the suspects. In such a situation, with the establishment of a center here, the ATS will now be able to keep a close vigil on the activities around.
The government plans to set up similar ATS centres at other places including Meerut, Bahraich, Shravasti, and Gautam Buddha Nagar. Media Advisor to the CM, Shalabh Mani Tripathi shared about the decision to open the centre in Deoband in a tweet in August 2021.
Deoband and Taliban
Deoband is the home to the Deobandi Islamic Movement. Deobandi is an Islamic revivalist movement within Sunni Islam that formed around the Darul Uloom Islamic seminary in the town of Deoband. It is worth noting that the Taliban, which captured power in Afghanistan recently draws inspiration from the Deobandi movement.
It is worth noting that the Taliban, which has recently risen in prominence in Afghanistan and effectively controls the country, draws its inspiration from the Deobandi movement. The current article on Wikipedia refers to the Taliban as a Deobandi Islamist movement and a military organization in Afghanistan, engaged in waging a jihad within the country.
Not just Wikipedia, but the Taliban’s association with the UP town of Deoband was also highlighted in an article published in the New York Times in 2002. The article titled “Indian town’s seed grew into the Taliban code” discussed how the ideology of radical Islamism that germinated in a town in Uttar Pradesh went on to influence the jihadist movement on the other side the Durand Line, the line that separates Afghanistan and Pakistan.
A recent article in the Guardian also characterised the Taliban as “employing a narrow interpretation of Islamic sharia law inspired by the Deobandi fundamentalist school”.
Deobandi is an Islamic revivalist movement within Sunni Islam that formed around the Darul Uloom Islamic seminary in the town of Deoband. The seminary was founded in 1866 by Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi, Rashid Ahmad Gangohi, and several other figures. The Deobandi movement’s political wing, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, was founded in 1919.
It is alleged that Deobandi Islam is the most popular form of pedagogy in both Afghanistan and Pakistan and several prominent Afghan and Pakistani Taliban leaders have studied in Deobandi seminaries. By some accounts, about 15 to 25 per cent of Pakistani Sunni identify themselves as Deobandi. Similarly, terror organisations such as TTP, SSP, LeJ etc., which are quite active in Pakistan draw their inspiration from Deobandi ideology. Furthermore, even a majority of Bangladeshi Sunni Muslims swear their allegiance to the Deobandi Islamic movement.