George Iype
Syed Zia-ul-Hassan, Anjuman founder Deendar
Channabasaveshwara Siddiqui's son, is alleged to have masterminded the
recent bomb blasts in churches across Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
The police claim Hassan is a high-profile Inter-Services Intelligence
agent. He had migrated to Pakistan after Partition, and is now
the Anjuman's spiritual head.
Hassan had floated a militant outfit named the Jamat-e-Hizbul Mujahideen
in
Pakistan. Its aim is to recruit '900,000 Pathans who would capture India
on horsebacks and spread Islam.'
While the sect is called the Deendar Anjuman in India, in Pakistan its
name
is the Anjuman Hizbullah. Hassan used to visit India once every year to
keep
in touch with the sect's followers in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The
last time he came down was in September 1999.
At the annual gathering of Anjuman activists, Hassan is said to have
professed that a militant version of orthodox Islam was the best option
to tarnish the NDA government in India. He also spoke of the
burgeoning power of the Taliban militia in Afghanistan, and claimed that
many Gulf countries feverishly supported the Anjuman.
Hassan's mission is to create commotion across India. It may be that the
Anjuman wanted Hindu groups to be blamed for the blasts in churches.
The main blast accused, including S M Ibrahim, Siddiqui and Zakir, were
present when Hassan made the speech. Later, Hassan's son Pasha came down
to Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh many times to allegedly help with
planning the
blasts.