Leaderless radicalisation poses new security challenge in South India

New Delhi, July 10 (IANS) The nature of radicalisation in South India is undergoing a significant shift, with security agencies increasingly concerned about individuals and small groups propagating extremist ideologies without any formal links to terror organisations.

This emerging pattern has left the security agencies worried, and individuals or smaller groups running radicalisation networks are hard to track.

Recent investigations by various agencies and the raids that have taken place in the southern state point towards this new pattern. An Intelligence Bureau official said that these youths are not even associated with any terror group. They have been inspired by groups such as the Islamic State or Al-Qaeda and are independently spreading radical beliefs. They are doing so without seeking any financial or logistical support from any terror groups, the official said.

The lack of structure in their operations and the fact that none have any criminal record only make tracking these individual radical modules harder. Another official said that the scenario where radicalisation was concerned in South India has always remained a concern. For years, this issue has been ignored, and over time, with no attention paid, scores of radical elements have begun to thrive.

The Popular Front of India (PFI) had, for a long time, run radicalisation camps. The PFI’s activities were easier to track since the organisation had a structure. It had offices and its cadres were visible, thus making it easier for the agencies to track. It was thanks to a series of extensive probes by multiple agencies led by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) that led to the ban on the PFI.

Counter-terror experts say that thanks to outfits such as the PFI, Islamic State and Al Qaeda, these radicalisation modules are on autopilot mode. These modules at times are run by an individual or by a group of three to four persons. They just randomly target an individual on social media. After a couple of meetings online, the radicalisation process begins.

These individuals do not target persons from a particular state. They reach out to persons from across the country and then advise them to target more people. The experts say that the idea is to reach a large number of people and then radicalise them. The newly radicalised persons are expected to continue with this process, and in the bargain, it becomes a chain reaction, the experts also say.

An official said that the issue is very serious. These radicalisation modules do not urge the youth to undertake terror attacks. The pattern is changing, and the idea is to change the mindset of society, with the larger goal being the establishment of an Islamic State, the official said.

The official said that currently the target audience is men. Eventually, they would target women too for radicalisation. They said women may be encouraged to play a role in enforcing conservative social norms and shaping future generations through ideological influence. This would include the way they dress and the manner in which they should bring up their children. It is a fast-spreading poison, and the aim is to have a completely radicalised society which would be governed by the Sharia Law, the official said.

In each of these self-created modules, the main topic apart from radical Islam has been ways to throw out the Indian government. Through a fully radicalised society, the intention is to overthrow the democratically elected government, and let the country be governed by the radical ideology of groups such as Al-Qaeda or Islamic State, officials also say.

Such modules have been found more in the southern states. There is every chance of it spreading across the country. The PFI, which started as just a Kerala-based radical outfit, managed to spread to states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and even some parts of the northeast, officials say.

We are witnessing a similar pattern when it comes to these modules, an official pointed out.

–IANS

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