Who is Deccan Mujahidden?

BBC: Mumbai Attacked

A group called "Deccan Mujahiddeen" has claimed responsibility. Nobody knows who they are, but the name and some background gives some pointers.

Deccan is Southern Plain of India. It was ruled by several Islamic rulers in the course of history. Deccan Mujahiddeen means "Strugglers of South India"

Over the last two years, many readers and friends from pockets of South India have privately told me of the increase in suspicious activities in Muslim neighborhoods. Of course, I didn't have any proof that the activities were anti-social, and I attributed such complaints to the deep distrust among Hindus and Muslims.

I did have some hints though. Last year as we drove though a forest, the local driver told us of a Islamic target practice center. I thought that if it is such a common knowledge, something's was being done by the authorities about that anyway.

Earlier this year, I tried to photograph some young students on way to a Madrassah, and was told that the youngsters had been advised not to part with identifiable information such as their names or pose for photographs. To me it seemed incredible that village kids would know about such sophisticated privacy matter. It was obvious that there was a bigger hand in the running of the school.

The Mumbai attacks are bad news for Muslims of India, who are mostly poor and underprivileged. It is truly unfortunate, because they get branded.

My guess is that Deccan Mujahidden is a loose group of Indian domestic volunteers who feel bonded to the Al-Qaeda movement. It is hard to fathom that these were engineered from outside of India as claimed by some sources (including the Indian Prime-minister), but it is obvious that they had training or funding from a sophesticated godfather -- either the Indian Mafia, or the Al-Qaeda or both.