Delhi: Even as the ISIS is laying claim to the  legacy of  Osama Bin Laden, his official successor has snubbed them.  However what is more disturbing is that the  Al Qaida has announced the formation of an Indian Wing. 

The Al-Qaida leader Ayman al Zawahri on Wednesday announced in a 55-minute video posted online the formation of an Indian branch of his militant group he said would spread Islamic rule and “raise the flag of jihad” across the subcontinent. Zawahri described the formation of “al-Qaida in the Indian subcontinent” as glad tidings for Muslims “in Burma, Bangladesh, Assam, Gujurat, Ahmedabad, and Kashmir” and said the new wing would rescue Muslims there from injustice and oppression

Zawahri also renewed a longstanding vow of loyalty to Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar, in an apparent snub to the Islamic State armed group challenging al-Qaida for leadership of transnational Islamist militancy.

The statement did not mention Islamic State or Baghdadi, but it appear to take a subtle dig at the group’s efforts at administering areas it has seized in Iraq and Syria.  Islamic State’s effort at state-building is something never attempted by al-Qaida’s central leaders, who traditionally have preferred to plot complex attacks on targets in the West.  Zawahri called for unity among militants and criticised “discord” — echoing a common al-Qaida complaint against Islamic State’s record of clashing with rival Islamist groups in Syria.

The statement also warned al-Qaida’s new wing against oppressing local populations another complaint levelled against Islamic State by critics in Iraq and Syria.

Al-Qaida’s ageing leaders are struggling to compete for recruits with the Islamic State, which has galvanised young followers around the world by carving out tracts of territory across the Iraq-Syria border. Islamic State leader Abu Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi calls himself a “caliph” or head of state and has demanded the loyalty of all Muslims. The group fell out with Zawahri in 2013 over its expansion into Syria, where Baghdadi’s followers have carried out beheadings, crucifixions, and mass executions.

However, while it is a snub to the ISIS movement, it can prove to be a dangerous portent of  things to come for India and a challenge to  Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As a corollary, it can also galvanize Hindu Fundamentalism to counter it.

The Ministry of Home affairs has asked the Intelligence  Bureau to verify the authenticity of the video.