Indian Muslims Battle Hostile Attitudes As 'Islamic State' Seeks To Spread Tentacles

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

Midnight knocks are not alien to 35-year-old Mohammed Maqueemuddin Yasir. Having spent over four years in Indore jail till September 2012, on charges of having helped a SIMI leader from Karnataka, acquittal from the lower court has not meant freedom from the suspicious gaze of the security agencies.

Being the son of Maulana Naseeruddin, a feisty cleric in Hyderabad, means that in the police book, Yasir is a radicalised youth, with many shades of grey, if not black. In his sermons, the 66-year-old Maulana exhorts the Muslims to adopt an eye for an eye approach against aggressive Hindutva. He spent five years between 2004 and 2009 in Sabarmati jail in Gujarat, accused of plotting to kill Haren Pandya and Narendra Modi. 

Hyderabad MP & AIMIM Supremo Asad Owaisi Promised 'Legal Aid To Terror Suspects', Why To Single Him Out?

By NEWSCOP | INNLIVE

It seems a certain section of the media has forgotten that the concept of 'innocent until proven guilty' is enshrined in our legal system.

Asaduddin Owaisi, of the AIMIM, declared on Friday that he will provide legal aid to the five men arrested for by NIA in Hyderabad for allegedly being

Detentions Of Islamic State Terror Suspects Leave Hyderabadi Muslims Shaken And Kept The Community On Edge

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

'The mindset of the police force and the media is such that the guilt of a Muslim is taken for granted,' complains one man.

It's been a tumultuous couple of days for one family in Hashmabad area in Hyderabad. Early on Wednesday morning, the National Investigation Agency picked up brothers Habeeb Mohammed and Abdul Qader for having suspected links with an Islamic State terror module.

Analysis: Narendra Modi's Five-Nation Tour: India Setting New Terms Of Diplomacy Around The World

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

With the conclusion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's five-nation tour on Friday, the strategic objectives of Indian diplomacy seem to be getting a clearer focus in contrast to the ambivalence of the past.

This seems to be the dominant view of Indian diplomats, who play important roles in defining the terms of engagement with foreign countries. Apart from looking at Modi’s visit from the prism of his roaring reception in US, the Indian government is attaching equal significance to his visits to Afghanistan-Qatar and Switzerland-Mexico.

Let’s Cut Through The Hoopla: Why Modi’s US Visit Was Disappointing For India

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

Just of official talks was on two areas of immense interest to the American side.

Exceptionally long-winded joint statements following a summit meeting could be intended to celebrate the enormity of the successful event.

Or, on the contrary, to distract attention from the barrenness of the event.

The 3785-word joint statement issued after an hour’s discussion between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi falls into the second category.

Television Series: Actor Anil Kapoor's '24: India' Slots To Release On Perfect In Time

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

The local remake of the terrorism-themed American show returns at a time when there is almost nothing to watch on television.

Nearly three years after its first season, the Indian version of the American series24 is back. The television network Colors has blocked the primetime slot reserved thus far for Naagin (which will return in October) for the remake of the Fox series that starred Kiefer Sutherland in the title role. Produced by Anil Kapoor’s Rashvan Films, the second season will go on air in mid-July and will see a number of new faces such as Sakshi Tanwar and Ashish Vidyarthi.

Defeating’ India And ‘Controlling’ Afghanistan Have Been The Goals Of Pakistan’s Jihad Industry

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

The education ministry indoctrinated young minds and trained a crop of Jihadis through a special madrassa network.

…In the past few years, Pakistan has witnessed an exceptionally high level of tolerance for extremism among the middle class, which staffs Urdu media and provides intellectual direction to public opinion. Urdu newspapers glorify militant groups as the agents of local and global “Jihad” and are steeped in the Jihadist discourse that emanated from Pakistan’s concerted alliance with the USA in the 1980s to nurture the mujahideen and later efforts to seek “strategic depth” in Afghanistan and “fix” India via proactive Jihadism.

Little has changed in the past three decades except the fact that a grander version of Urdu press now exists in the shape of electronic media. The latter, barring few exceptions, has also overtly and covertly supported soft Islamism as a natural policy option for an Islamic Republic endowed with nuclear weapons.

Microsoft To Tackle Terrorist Content Across Services

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

Microsoft aims to ban online terrorist content with the help from its users and online reporting tools.

Microsoft: "We have a responsibility to run our various Internet services so that they are a tool to empower people, not to contribute, however indirectly, to terrible acts."

Microsoft has announced the action it plans to take to ban all terrorist content from a selection of its consumer services.

Terror Tactics: Why 'Saffron Terror' Is Not A Myth?

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

By shielding Hindu terror suspects, the Modi government is making a big mistake. It should learn from Pakistan’s blunders.

The National Investigation Agency recently decided to drop all terror related charges against the 2008 Malegaon blast accused, Sadhvi Pragya Thakur. The decision of the NIA to overlook earlier findings of investigative agencies against Singh has been along predicted lines under the Narendra Modi regime.

Why Islamic Banking In India Is A 'Good Idea'?

By NEWSCOP | INNLIVE

Whatever benefits Islamic banking may or may not have in its favour, public relations is not one of them. The Reserve Bank of India's recent nod to sharia-based non-banking financial houses met with resistance from the usual suspects. Objections to Islamic banking in India range from regulatory inertia and concern about the unknown toIslamophobia. This is made worse by the existence of few rigorous analyses of Islamic finance.

How India Can Counter Islamic State Recruitment Drive With A Major Conflict In Believers And Unbelievers?

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

The calculus of Islamist terrorism is undergoing a transformation, from a state controlled strategy, through al Qaeda’s Millenarianism, to culminate in the Islamic State’s (formerly, Islamic State of Iraq and al Sham, ISIS) apocalyptic vision that actively seeks an end of world confrontation between ‘believers’ and ‘unbelievers’. Millenarian and apocalyptic Islamism accepts no limits to its violence, and has brought new levels of virulence and barbarity to contemporary conflicts. 

Focus: 'Nicky Joseph' Now As 'Aeysha Jabeen' - An ISIS Recruiter Extradicted in Dubai, Arrested in Hyderabad

By LIKHA VEER | INNLIVE

An Indian woman allegedly involved in recruiting people for the dreaded Islamic State terror outfit was on Friday deported by UAE and subsequently arrested in Hyderabad.

A 37-year-old Afsha Jabeen alias 'Nicky Joseph' hails from Hyderabad but had been portraying herself as a British national while luring youth for IS through social media, officials said. She was deported along with husband and children.

Why In UP Madrasas Are Teaching An Anti-Terror Course?

To dispel any notion that madrasas breed terrorists, a seminary in Uttar Pradesh has introduced an anti-terrorism course in its curriculum.

Jamia Rizvia Manazar-e-Islam in Bareilly hopes its course 'Islam and Terrorism' will help students understand how terrorists misuse the Quran and the Islamic law to further their agenda.

The madrasa is run by Dargah Aala Hazrat, which made news last month for issuing a fatwa prohibiting funeral prayers for "any person associated with terrorism".

Exclusive: A Pakistani Man Admits 'Naved' Is His Son, And 'Lashkar-E-Taiba' Is After Their Family And Attack!

Even as India and Pakistan wrangled over the nationality of a militant captured after a deadly attack in Udhampur, INNLIVE spoke to a Pakistan-based man who identified himself as the “unfortunate father” of the attacker.

“I’ll be killed. The Lashkar is after us and the fauj is after us,” Mohammad Yakub told in chaste Punjabi when contacted on a phone number disclosed to interrogators by the arrested gunman Mohammad Naved.

“You are calling from India. We’ll be killed. I am the unfortunate father,” said Yakub, who sounded flustered when he answered the call.

Policy Watch: Will Indian 'Black Money' Act Really Work?

Talk to high net worth individuals (HNIs) and non-resident Indians (NRIs). They express tremendous anxiety over the provisions of the government’s new piece of legislation.  This spells trouble for all of us, even if we are largely law-abiding, they grumble.  

At the same time, many wonder if the recently promulgated laws will succeed in unearthing black money. 

All eyes are on the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Bill, 2015, which received Presidential assent May 26 2015 and thus became an Act (commonly referred to as the “Black Money Act”).

Gurdaspur Terror Attack: Revival Of Khalistan Or ISI Plot?

By Likha Veer in Delhi

On a clear day, the dome of Gurdwara Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur is visible from the rooftop of Gurdwara Sri Kartarpur Sahab in Pakistan. It would be, naturally, tempting for Pakistan to eye Gurdaspur as a soft target.

Geographically, Gurdaspur is vulnerable to infiltration. On paper, anybody willing to enter the town from Pakistan would just have to navigate the Ravi and cross into adjoining Dinanagar, the third largest municipality of Gurdaspur and erstwhile summer capital of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. This is the route terrorists currently holed up inside a police station in Dinanagar seem to have taken.

Salman Khan Redefines Himself With 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan'

By M H Ahssan - Group Editor in Chief

After doing similar mindless blockbuster action comedies for years, Salman Khan has redefined himself in Bajrangi Bhaijaan. INNLIVE spoke to the actor about his latest film that deals with the issue of humanity and religious identity.

Salman Khan's Eid releases are a festive celebration for his mammoth fan base in India and overseas. Over the last seven years, every film of the superstar has been shattering box office records even though critics panned each of those films. When INNLIVE spoke to Salman Khan this time, he sounded different. After a long time, it felt that Salman really cared about the content and subject of his movie.

Alert: Is Yasin Bhatkal Planning To Escape From Hyd Jail?

By Abdul Rehman

SECURITY ALERT: World's notorious terrorist outfit, Indian Mujahideen's co-founder, Yasin Bhatkal, who is lodged in the high security Cherlapally central prison in Hyderabad, dropped a major bombshell when he reportedly told his wife that he would soon be out of jail with the help from Damascus.

According to intelligence sources, they had this information a couple of days back and it is said that the first information in this regard had come from New Delhi. It is learnt that the security agencies had kept a tab on the phone of Bhatkal’s wife Zahida.

Special Report: MHA - A 'Ministry for Hounding Activists'?

By Kajol Singh in Delhi

The recent government crackdown on Greenpeace in particular, and the activism sector in general, reeks of arbitrariness and illegitimacy in a scathing critique, INNLIVE quotes. The question is will the people give in to the state’s tactics?

Civil society organisations are gearing up for possibly one of the most important struggles of resistance since the Emergency in the mid-1970s. 

At stake are the democratic freedoms of speech, dissent and association, all guaranteed to us in one way or the other by the Constitution of India, and all threatened by a government that wants to brook no challenge to its agenda.

Opinion: Legacy Of 'Tax Terrorism' In Mod's 'One Year' Rule

In its first year, Modi government has undertaken a major economic restructuring. But it has also scored policy self-goals.

There is a restructuring of the economy underway by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and this is not just short-term cyclical stuff. The restructuring involves a change in the socialist mindset, and despite all the faults of this government, Modi’s first year has been remarkably good. You may not know it or believe it but the revolution being ushered in, while not quite here, will get there.