Modi govt to extend ban on Students Islamic Movement of India by 5 years

In a January 31 notification, the Ministry of Home Affairs said that SIMI 'has been indulging in activities, which are prejudicial to the security of the country'

The government has decided to continue its ban on the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) for another five years for indulging in "subversive activities".

In a January 31 notification, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that SIMI "has been indulging in activities, which are prejudicial to the security of the country and have the potential of disturbing the peace and communal harmony and disrupting the secular fabric of the country".

The MHA said that if the "unlawful activities" of SIMI are not curbed and controlled immediately, it will take the opportunity to continue its subversive activities and re-organise its activists who are still absconding, disrupt the secular fabric of the country by "polluting" the minds of the people by creating communal disharmony.

The government stated that SIMI might continue to propagate anti-national sentiments, escalate secessionism by supporting militancy and undertake activities which are prejudicial to the integrity and security of the country.

SIMI activists and their known associates have been tried and convicted for a range of criminal activities like the killing of police officials, bomb blasts, jailbreaks, harbouring terrorists, etc. The group, founded in Aligarh in 1977, was first banned in 2001 and has been outlawed several times since, the last time being February 2014.