This Roundtable Discussion will examine the question of how organized crime and political militancy interact in the Indian context. It will look at the role of mafia syndicates in perpetrating international terrorism, and will focus on Mumbai’s D-Company and drug gangs along the India-Pakistan border. The Mumbai bombings of 1993, which were carried out by D-Company, remain perhaps the strongest example of a crime-terror convergence but their sheer destructiveness has tended to make them an outlier case. This Roundtable will set the example of D-Company in perspective, by looking at the broader geopolitical and socio-economic context within which criminals turn to political violence. 

Speakers

Junaid Qureshi, Director European Foundation for South Asian Studies

Geeta Datta, News 9 Plus

Dr. Prem Mahadevan, Specialised in research on organised crime, intelligence and irregular warfare.

Kartikeya Tripathi, University College London

Michela Mutovciev, Research Analyst, European Foundation for South Asian Studies