ananda marga terrorism

Accidental detonation blamed on obscure Hindu Sub-sect Ananda Marga At 12.40 am on February the thirteenth, 1978, a bomb detonated inside the tray of a Sydney Local Council Rubbish Collection truck. In 1978, Evan Pederick, a naive 22-year-old in the thrall of a radical religious movement, Ananda Marga, placed an enormous bomb outside Sydney's Hilton Hotel. Shortly afterwards, in June 1983, the NSW Police requested more information from ASIO, and in a subsequent meeting ASIO passed over dozens of intelligence items relating to the Hilton Hotel bombing.94, Controversy would continue for years afterwards, however. Sydney Hilton Bombing-the Accidental False Flag. On 15 September 1977, the Indian Military Attaché to Australia, Colonel Iqbal Singh, was stabbed in his own bed and then he and his wife were abducted at gunpoint and forced to drive a car to an isolated spot about 8 kilometres from the centre of Canberra. ASIO recorded that one prominent member, Michael Luke Brandon, indicated it was morally justifiable in a revolution to overthrow a corrupt government and that those circumstances existed in Australia.54 In her book, Rachel Landers speculates that Brandon, as Acharya Abhiik Kumar, may have been instrumental in the bombing—a claim he categorically denied.55 A search of the ASIO records does not provide clear corroboration. In April 1979, ASIO therefore switched its coverage to the Ananda Marga headquarters in Brunswick St, Fitzroy. It also added to ASIO’s knowledge of New Humanist Society members and their propensity for violence.89, Based on observations that the New Humanist Society in Brisbane was using multiple post-office boxes for communication, ASIO investigated whether Lawrence was doing something similar.90 But before the investigation was complete, the New Humanist Society disbanded in May 1982, as a result of its exposure and the bad publicity that had surrounded the Ananda Marga for the previous two years. Multiple users within govermental/military, corporate, and media, as well as colleges and universities, receive pro-rated subscription discounts based on the number of users. A policeman, Constable 1st Class Paul Burmistriw, standing on duty nearby died from severe blast wounds to his head nine days later. The recruitment of Seary was done independently of ASIO. The Ananda Marga were not involved in the Sydney Hilton Bombing nor any other terrorist attack. Initial police action indicated the matter could be resolved, when in September 1977, an Australian Ananda Marga member, John William Duff, was arrested. The assessment on 2 February was that there was ‘no indication of organised protest activity by subversive groups, or mass organisations influenced by subversive groups’. ASIO pointed out that while it had information about the Ananda Marga, that organisation was still not a formal ASIO target and only limited resources were employed against it. This chapter demonstrates the extent to which ASIO focused on Ananda Marga before the Hilton Hotel bombing, how ASIO came to realise that the threat from terrorism was real, and how the Organisation responded to the events as they transpired. Ananda Marga Events. The ban was initially to be in force until March 1978, although it was subsequently extended. Events were to demonstrate the importance of that warrant.22, Informed by ASIO’s concerns and the case it had mounted for telephone interception, the next day Cabinet decided to ban the entry to Australia from overseas of people known to be associated with the Ananda Marga. Ananda Marga, a religious ... Members of Ananda Marga were suspected of acts of terrorism in retaliation for the jailing of the sect's founder and spiritual leader Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar in India. In fact, ASIO’s monitoring efforts, including telephone intercepts, would prove central to much of the investigations. Universal Proutist Revolutionary Federation (UPRF), also known as Anand Marg, Central Committee of the "Universal Proutist Revolutionary Federation, Ananda Marga -- affiliated with Universal Proutist Revolutionary Federation, Path of Bliss is an inactive group formed c. 1977. As a courtesy to private researchers, TRAC offers a discounted rate to individuals who are subscribing from a personal email address and paying with a personal credit/debit card. It will also be necessary to attempt to define the term "terrorism" fairly quickly. Its members were ordered to watch for police or ASIO surveillance because they suspected ASIO had all of their telephones ‘bugged’. ASIO later came to understand that Ananda Marga activities commenced in Australia in 1970, but they did not come to ASIO’s attention until 1975 when four Ananda Marga members were jailed in New Zealand for conspiring to bomb the Indian High Commission in Wellington. As the ASIO officer admitted, ‘This incident highlights the problem of handling sensitive ASIO information in a terrorist situation.’34, International alarm bells were set off by the incident, and a couple of days after the explosion, on 15 February, three Ananda Marga members were arrested in Bangkok, Thailand, and charged with possession of explosives.35, Oddly enough, an ASIO situation report of 16 February continued to state that ‘ASIO has no specific information which could indicate a threat to CHOGRM participants.’36 But ASIO’s assessment did acknowledge that violence probably stemmed from a small core of senior Ananda Marga members, while the membership at large remained in ignorance. He was a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney until early 2019. and the author of several books on independent development and anti-imperialism. Ananda Marga, also known as Path of Eternal Bliss, Ananda Marga is a group formed c. 1955. Arts & Humanities Website. Ananda Marga is a global spiritual and social service organization founded in 1955 by Shrii Shrii Anandamurti (Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar). In January 1982, the ASIO photographer reported the existence of secret writing in a letter addressed to Lawrence.86 Written in lemon juice, the writing showed up brown under ultraviolet light.87 The Attorney-General continued to extend the warrant to intercept Lawrence’s mail into 1982.88 The material intercepted between January and April, when the warrant expired, provided further information on the murder overseas, including that Lawrence had been asked to provide money and poison. This chapter addresses how ASIO responded to the emergence of domestic terrorism by people associated with the Ananda Marga. CONFRONTING A NEW FACE IN TERRORISM. On the basis that ASIO believed the New Humanist Society was linked to the Ananda Marga, it launched coordinated raids early in the morning on seven Ananda Marga houses in Sydney and five in Melbourne. ASIO was looking for confirmation of the suspected link between Ananda Marga and the Universal Proutist Revolutionary Federation, and to identify Universal Proutist Revolutionary Federation members and assess their capacity for further violence. This time the sect of Ananda Marga and their leaders couldn’t escape. Purport: Baba, among all the beauties You are the most beautiful. CONFRONTING A NEW FACE IN TERRORISM. For a long time ASIO remained uncertain as to who had conducted the attack and why, although the Ananda Marga was implicated early on. In late 1975, for instance, the Indian High Commission in Canberra reported that it had received threatening telephone calls it attributed to the Ananda Marga.8 This, coupled with John William Duff’s conviction, led to an increase in ASIO’s focus on the Ananda Marga. The Ananda Marga had been a significant focus of ASIO’s attention, but it only consumed a small fraction of ASIO’s approved telephone interception warrants at the height of its prominence. This conviction happens after 40 years, and it happened in the days of the new governments of India. As one of the Sydney City Council garbage men emptied a large bin into the truck a violent explosion ripped the back end of the truck apart, instantly killing two council workers, William Favell and Alec Carter. Founded by Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar, known as Baba, or Shrii Anandamurti, in 1955 in India, it was primarily a Hindu spiritual organisation that fiercely advocated a socioeconomic theory known as progressive utilisation theory or PROUT. These views are supported by Rachel Landers’ account, Who Bombed the Hilton? ASIO also used its intelligence to inform overseas security agencies of violence planned by the New Humanist Society overseas (including the possible murder of an Ananda Marga defector), and as a basis for advice to the Department of Immigration to deny visas to two women who were travelling to Australia to join the New Humanist Society. To the Prime Minister, however, there was no question. ASIO’s telephone interception had not established that the Ananda Marga was planning an attack. The intelligence provided ‘collateral’ for agent operations and enabled operational planning in advance with CPF and Special Branch for coverage of Ananda Marga retreats in May and September 1978.42 The warrant was again renewed on 17 October 1978,43 and produced several hundred additional intercept reports that were disseminated both within and outside ASIO.44. It killed three people. International alarm bells were set off by the incident, and a couple of days after the explosion, on 15 February, three Ananda Marga members were arrested in Bangkok, Thailand, and charged with possession of explosives. Shocked and uncertain as to what might occur next, Prime Minister Fraser realised he had a responsibility to protect overseas political leaders attending CHOGRM so, using the Constitution’s Defence Force Aid to the Civil Power provisions, he called out the Army. If you choose to subscribe at the end of the trial, the trial cost will be deducted from the price of your subscription. A massive terrorism raid that month uncovered an ISIS-related plot to behead Australians. ... Ananda Marga was later cleared of the bombing and the perpetrators have not been caught. In fact, ASIO did not conclude its own investigation into responsibility for the attack until 1982. In Australia, Woodward submitted a request to the Attorney-General for a warrant to intercept the telephone line at the Ananda Marga’s NSW office, which also acted as its national headquarters. While controversy surrounds that event, it is clear that the police acted unilaterally; ASIO information was not used in the decision by NSW police to arrest the three men.49 Despite having been provided with information from sensitive ASIO eavesdropping sources following the February hotel bombing, NSW police remained sceptical about the information received from ASIO. The group effectively lost its potency as a security challenge not long after the Hilton Hotel bombing—thanks in part at least to ASIO’s close monitoring of its words and deeds. In fact, ASIO had no information to indicate that it was under threat from the Ananda Marga.56, Through its increased coverage, ASIO also noticed that the Ananda Marga group had become very security conscious. Several others nearby were injured. Responding to the Ananda Marga, 1977–1983. ASIO assessed this society to be a small but violent wing of the Ananda Marga. Several hundred intercept reports were produced within ASIO, providing pre-warning of more Ananda Marga demonstrations, this time in response to the Government’s refusal of a visa to the Ananda Marga leader in September 1979.60 The warrant was again renewed in October61 but was revoked, on the Director-General’s request, in December when the Ananda Marga again moved premises.62 With the Yagoona Three already behind bars, there seemed little to be gained by persevering with the close and continuous monitoring. Sarkar was arrested and incarcerated in India in 1971 along with four others for the alleged murder of six former members. On 15 September 1977, the Indian Military Attaché to Australia, Colonel Iqbal Singh, was stabbed in his own bed and then he and his wife were abducted at gunpoint and forced to drive a car to an isolated spot about 8 kilometres from the centre of Canberra. While Western governments today worry about the threat of Islamist extremism , the terrorism that worried the government of 1978 stemmed from the activities of the obscure Hindu sect Ananda Marga. For a long time ASIO remained uncertain as to who had conducted the attack and why, although the Ananda Marga was implicated early on. "I don't think it should be naive to report a terrorist incident and expect the police to do something about it. Police subsequently interviewed members of several communes of the organisation known as Ananda Marga, but there was nothing forthcoming from the interviews.1 This happened only three weeks after a spate of incidents occurred around the Air India offices and the Indian Consulate-General in downtown Sydney, involving splattered pig’s blood, pigs’ heads and a bomb threat against an Air India flight from Sydney.2 Together, the incidents marked a disturbing new security challenge generated by the rising prominence of the Ananda Marga that would perplex authorities for years. These initiatives echoed those undertaken by counterpart organisations in Europe and North America. ASIO did not have personnel at or near the hotel during the conference. As Ananda Marga grew, it became involved in a num-ber of violent clashes and was charged with illegal political activities and terrorism. As part of the security arrangements for CHOGRM, ASIO provided information to the Protective Security Coordination Centre (see Chapter 5), including threat assessments, daily situation reports and personal security checks as requested. Sarkar was allegedly poisoned while in government custody at Bankipur Central Jail. The New Zealand Police Terrorist Intelligence Unit (PTIU) monitored Ananda Marga for some years afterwards, but this suddenly ceased in 1979. Ananda Marga literally means ‘path to bliss’. Conversation indicates Anderson [was] stunned by the news and really shocked at the news. In ASIO’s assessment, there was a ‘remote possibility’ that Ananda Marga members would also become involved in more violent activity against ASIO premises, including throwing bricks and Molotov cocktails. Woodward made clear, in his briefing to Opposition Leader Bill Hayden in May 1978, that while the espionage problem was ‘always with us’ and subversive threats ‘were still somewhere in the distance’, international terrorism ‘now presented an ever-present danger’.45 Woodward told Hayden that neither ASIO nor the police had any conclusive evidence of who was responsible for the hotel bombing. Ananda Marga is a global spiritual and social service organization founded in 1955 by Shrii Shrii Anandamurti (Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar). In the end, ASIO did have some success in penetrating this small, tight-knit group.38, A later investigation by the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security would observe that, In ensuring that ASIO agents do not become agents provocateurs, it goes without saying that ASIO is walking a very fine line in running agents in violent organisations, and that there will be a very careful briefing of agents. Ananda Margiis are perceived by some as terrorists, while much of their social service work, positive environmental philosophy, and effective system of tantric spiritual practices are overlooked. In an account entitled Who Bombed the Hilton?, historian Rachel Landers unpicked and ordered the snippets of information and much of the innuendo surrounding the incident to present a fresh perspective on a cold case. It also demonstrated the importance of ongoing vigilance and the importance of reviewing and updating its list of targets. Conducted its own investigation into responsibility for the first time little action at an interdepartmental meeting! A bomb exploded outside Sydney ’ s telephone interception, ASIO did not have personnel at or the. December 1971, Sarkar added the political wing, known as Proutist Universal, PROUT ( Utilization. And CPF worked together to undertake a detailed investigation have a subscription ACCESS. 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