By fundamentalism, a person or group adopts increasingly radical views in opposition to the political, social, or religious status quo. This is when someone begins to believe in or support extremist ideas and then participates in extremist groups or acts. Online platforms have become powerful tools for extremist groups to spread their ideology, recruit individuals, and plan terrorist acts. Therefore, intelligence and counter-terrorist agencies must keep pace with the ever-changing digital landscape and adapt their functioning accordingly. This requires regular evaluation of their existing strategies to identify deficiencies and areas for improvement.
Recently, India witnessed a series of extremist acts by some radicalized youth in various cities such as Udaipur, which later escalated to “Sar tan se juda” sloganeering and related controversy. Last year too, the NIA made several arrests in a suspected ISI module that was playing a role in radicalizing Indian youth and carrying out extremist acts in India. The above incidents highlight the issue of radicalization of Indian youth which can pose a serious challenge to India’s internal security. NIA has intercepted information about recruitment propaganda for terrorist groups like AQIS, and Lashkar-e-Taiba on Telegram. Daesh is using the internet to spread its propaganda using platforms like Twitter, YouTube, etc. Through ‘cyber-planners’, who would be responsible for planning terror attacks, identifying recruiters, acting as “virtual coaches” and providing guidance and encouragement throughout the process?
India has also suffered in recruitment from other countries, though less severely. In many areas, the cases of propagating hatred and violence by influencing the youth through social media are increasing. Spreading false propaganda and fraudulent ideologies on India’s sensitive and provocative issues, using morphed videos or false claims of proof of injustice, etc. Manipulation is easy on the internet and more youths are falling prey to it, especially in the northeast, Kashmir. The NIA had reported the recruitment of over 300 Indian youths by the Pakistan-based Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) in 2014, who had joined hands with ISIS. ISIS has published recruitment materials in Hindi, Urdu, Tamil, and other languages are spoken in India.
To promote research in the area of radicalization relating to different regions of India for a deeper understanding of the issue and to develop better solutions. Ensuring adequate funding for these programs, capacity building of intelligence forces, and creation of modern infrastructure to combat radicalization, especially virtual radicalization. Capacity building of the State Police as they are the first line of defense. State police forces need to work in good coordination with central security agencies to better counter the growing radicalization. Coverage of various welfare schemes of the government without discrimination, special schemes and areas for communities, promotion of mixed culture and co-existence among different communities, and constitutional safeguards for minorities are some of the steps that the government is taking to keep people away from radicalization. Launching a de-radicalization program that focuses on states with high intensity of radicalization and also developing counseling and rehabilitation centers for radicalized youth under police custody.
Increase involvement of family and religious leaders not only in the process of rehabilitating radicalized youth but also in preventing youth from moving towards radical ideologies. To prevent people from falling into the trap of extremists, to raise awareness in society about these threats through school and college education or social media accounts of security agencies. A coordinated South Asian effort to counter radicalization can also be of great help to the region as all countries in the region are facing the heat of radicalization.
The ever-evolving landscape of online recruitment and radicalization requires intelligence and counter-terrorism agencies to be flexible, adaptive, and proactive. By constantly reviewing their strategies, leveraging emerging technologies, and staying informed about the latest trends, these agencies can effectively reduce the threat posed by online radicalization in India.
Author is a TV Panelist. He can be mailed at satywansaurabh333@gmail.com
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