A De-Radicalisation Strategy

Asia News Agency

A De-Radicalisation Strategy

The threat of radicalisation in India is pervasive and increasing exponentially.  Two ISI terror modules busted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) recently have been  found to have a pan-India presence, stretching across Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Kerala. In both cases, investigations reveal that online radicalisation played an important role in the recruitment of members as well as the preparation and/or execution of extremist activities by the members.

 

Strategy: deradicalisation, counter-radicalisation, anti-radicalisation and disengagement

G S Bajpai (Vice-Chancellor at Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab, and is leading a nationwide research project on radicalisation) and  Ankit Kaushik (Assistant Professor at RGNUL, Punjab) suggest that responses to radicalisation  “can broadly be classified under the following heads — deradicalisation, counter-radicalisation, anti-radicalisation and disengagement…..

“The problem of radicalisation in India is well past its primary stages and has entered a second stage with more defined characteristics. We have enough evidence from reports of various investigative agencies across the country that the process is now subtle, systematic, organised, programmed and structured. So far, the Indian state’s response has been characteristically security-centric……However, it seems that these responses have come too late. It is pertinent to develop strategies before violence becomes the leitmotif of radicalisation.”

 

Suggested steps

The Indian state, write the two authors  “should develop and enforce de-radicalisation, counter-radicalisation and anti-radicalisation strategies at a pan-India and pan-ideology level on a war footing. Such attempts must be informed by the fact that the battle against radicalisation begins in the minds and hearts much before it manifests in terms of violence. Any programme aimed at deterring or reversing radicalisation must focus on the ideological commitment that enables the violence, rather than the violence or the justification of violence itself.

“Efforts must be made to first stem the flow of propaganda from across the Indian borders. Second, a uniform statutory or policy framework to deal with radicalisation, de-radicalisation and its associated strategies should be developed. Third, arrested and convicted individuals must not only be prosecuted and punished as a measure of deterrence or retribution but their reformation and rehabilitation must also be prioritised. Fourth, counter-radicalisation strategies involving the rehabilitation, re-education and re-integration of those undergoing radicalisation must be developed and implemented. Fifth, anti-radicalisation measures aimed at the prevention of radicalisation must be executed……

“There is also a need to develop a definition of radicalisation that suits the needs of such an action plan and is tailored to our particular context……”

At the same time, the two authors caution that a “mere deviation from conventional thinking must not be penalised. Radicalisation becomes problematic only where it has the propensity to lead to violence. The challenge lies in preventing such radicalisation……”

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