A large number of foreign students, mostly from various Islamic States have applied for admissions at Kerala University. According to a report by Time of India, the university has received a record number of 1042 applications for various courses and research departments. Most of the applications have come from Iraq and Afghanistan, as per the report.
Informing about the same, Prof Sabu Joseph, director of Centre for Global Academics (CGA) at the university said, “The maximum number of applicants are from Afghanistan and Iraq and in both cases, the admission is sought mostly for PhD courses.”
Before this, the university used to get the maximum applications from Iran. Till last year, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) was the first point of contact for foreign students seeking admission to Indian universities. The council has now set up a web portal, through which students can directly select universities of their choice and apply for admission.
Intelligence agencies find it suspicious
However, a media report suggests that the Intelligence agencies have found this suspicious as Kerala has long been a breeding ground for Al-Qaeda, ISIS and many more terror groups. Therefore the agencies are investigating the matter.
Kerala a hunting ground for ISIS terrorists
Investigations have revealed that ISIS had struck roots in Kerala as far back as 2014 with modules sponsoring religious conversions and trying to motivate professionals to join its fold in Afghanistan and Syria. Last year, in its report on terrorism, the UN cautioned that there are a sizeable number of ISIS terrorists in the Indian states of Kerala and Karnataka, adding that the ISIL Indian affiliate (Hind Wilayah), which was announced on May 10, 2019, has about 180 to 200 members.
Moreover, a charge sheet filed by the National Investigation Agency in July last year, regarding the murder of Special Sub Inspector Wilson exposed the nexus of the ISIS terrorists active and flourishing in the states of Kerala and Karnataka.
