SIMI members: Anti-nationalists or just fall guys?

THE BEGINNING: SIMI started as the Muslim Students Organisation in university towns like Aligarh.

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New Delhi: Yasin Patel has no qualms admitting to his SIMI links.

"In 1983 in Jamiat-ul-Falah Azamgarh, I joined as an initial member. And in 1987, I became an Ansar which was the basic membership," he says.

For this 40-year-old US Green Card holder, and for many youth like him, SIMI's ideology proved more attractive than any other.

They don't smoke, they don't drink, they don't go after girls. They are just so serious about how to improve themselves and how to improve the condition of the country," says he.

SIMI started as the Muslim Students Organisation in university towns like Aligarh in the late 70s. But over the years the group acquired extremely radical stances on issues like Chechenya, Palestine and invasion of Iraq.

Another reason why the group appeared more subversive than any other was its vocabulary, which was littered with words like Jehad.

Community leaders feel lack of guidance is what proved disastrous for SIMI.

Edtior The Milli Gazette, Zafar-ul-Islam says, "You see the problem with SIMI is that in the beginning they were supervised by Jamiat-e-Islami. The problem is that very soon they saw it as a burden and didn't want any supervision from elders. They started doing whatever they wanted and since they were young people, they they got carried away by the freedoms that India offers - you can print anything, publish anything and express your views."

The demolition of the Babri Masjid was a turning point. And in the aftermath of the 1993 Mumbai blasts there were clear signs that some elements of SIMI had crossed the thin line between activism and terrorism.

Yasin Patel ended up by paying a very heavy price for his association with SIMI. From 2002 to 2004, he spent over two years in Tihar Jail after he was charged with sedition. But he remains convinced SIMI is not what many believe.

"I haven't changed a bit, becasue what I have embraced it as the best in the world. You tell me this is illegal, I will quit it. I used to smoke I quit it, I used to do other things but I quit them all because of SIMI," Yasin Patel says.

Anti-Nationals or just fall guys? SIMI actvists now look more like revolutionaries without a revolution to attend.