Saidabad is a suburb of Hyderabad, India. It was known by the name Sayeedabad during the Nizam rule. It is located on the fringe of the old city. This place have known for a hub of many terrorist activities in India, as it comprises of Islamic clerics and fundamentalists alongwith the sheer rationalists, creates lot of fuss over any simple issue. Hence it is a quite communally sensative area of old city in Hyderabad.
Why is Saidabad, a middle-class cosmopolitan neighbourhood, considered in some circles as breeding ground for militancy?The neighbourhood has become a subject of debate ever since Viquar Ahmed, the terror suspect who was involved in the shooting of a policeman on December 3, was tracked by intelligence sleuths in Santoshnagar, a locality bordering Saidabad.
According to sources, Saidabad and its surrounding localities such as Madannapet, Santoshnagar, Malakpet etc. have been on the police radar since the early 1990s following the rath yatra of BJP leader L K Advani. The police had declared the entire area as communally sensitive as clashes had become too frequent.
Saidabad is home to some controversial persons like Maulana Naseeruddin of Tehreek Tahffuze-Shuaer-e-Islam, who is now in Sabarmati Jail in Gujarat, facing charges of criminal conspiracy, alleged SIMI patron Maulana Abdul Aleem Islahi, whose son Mujahid Saleem was shot dead by the Gujarat police while he was protesting the arrest of Maulana Naseer and Shaikh Mahboob Ali, DJS chief.
Mahboob Ali and Moulana Naseeruddin also happen to be in-laws. Also, six youngsters from this area were picked up in connection with the twin blasts of August 25, 2007.
With the RSS having a strong presence in Madannapet and other nearby localities, communal friction and flares up had been rocking the area. Formation of Islamic fundamental organisations as a counter to RSS activities brought in massive changes.
Communal tension rose in 2004 after the killing of Mujahid, when his relatives, friends and some residents vowed to take revenge, which the police say is one of the main reasons for the upsurge in militancy.
Civil society activists who have been working in the area for long confirm that the militancy factor will not go away easily. It was the frequent tensions between the members of the two communities which resulted in the formation of DJS in 1983 and the body got a shot in the arm in 1992 post Babri Masjid violence across the country.
Devender, an RSS worker, was shot dead in the mid 90s in Saidabad. Interestingly, N Indrasena Reddy, senior BJP leader, won from the Malakpet Assembly constituency in which Santoshnagar, Madannapet and Saidabad fall, in the 1999 elections.
DJS operations are now restricted to a rally that it takes out on the anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition on December 6 and the weekly 'Ijtema,' (sessions of religious preachings) it conducts every Saturday at its headquarter at Moghalpura. It is also alleged that Abdul Aleem Islahi and Maulana Naser used to run classes glorifying 'jihad' and that the DJS conducts physical training at Ujale Shah Ki Darga even now.
Saidabad was a laid-back place till the early 1980's. However, post 1992, it underwent a massive transformation. A dozen madarsas, including for girls, came up. There are three major madarsas for girls -- Jamiat-ul-Banath, Jamiat-ul-Quran and Jamiat-ul-Furqan -- and three for boys -- Ashraf-ul-Uloom, Shamsul-Uloom and Jamiat-ul-Quran. The strength of each of them vary from 500 to 700. Several small ones too have mushroomed in its nook and cranny. Girls started getting oriental languages training as well after madarsas classes and got modern education too.
As against the madrasas, there is also an RSS school, Sarasvathi Seshu Mandir for girls and boys, in a nearby locality, Sarasvathinagar. It appears that the continuous communal tension, militant activities and frequent police raids have begun to take its toll on Saidabad. The residents of this 'sensitive area,' are being isolated by their relatives. Girls are not getting good alliances. Families do not get invites for functions and no well-wisher is making any social call.
"Saidabad is under the scanner. Small incidents like protests by youngsters over religious events have transformed into such big issues where innocent youths are being suspected as terrorists. The police influenced by some politicians is causing tensions for political gains," claims Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee president Prof Dr Rehana Sultana.
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