Radicalisation of youth flagged as threat to security at key meet

New Delhi, January 23

The recently concluded annual conference of DGPs and IGPs that Prime Minister Narendra Modi also attended, flagged radicalisation, especially of Muslim youth, as a major security challenge in the country and suggested taking the help of moderate Muslim leaders and clerics to counter the trend.

DGPs raise concerns

• The conference has noted radical Muslim organisations have been active in India and are radicalising Muslim youth
• Such elements have inherent tendency to corrupt minds of the Muslim community and push them on the violent path
• Tackling radical organisations becomes imperative and priority in the interests of social harmony and national security

The papers submitted at the conference noted that the rise in religious fundamentalism in India was primarily because of high level of indoctrination, easy availability of modern means of communication (including encrypted form), cross-border terrorism and Pakistan encouraging radical groups, sources say.

Apart from Modi, the three-day annual conference was attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and nearly 350 top police officers.

A source, while quoting one of the papers said, “Radicalisation, particularly of the Muslim youth, is one of the important challenges for national security in the country.”

It also noted that several radical Muslim organisations had been active in India and were radicalising Muslim youth.

The sources said the papers noted that such elements and organisations had inherent tendency to corrupt minds of the Muslim community and push them on the violent path. It further noted that in view of this, “tackling radical organisations becomes imperative and priority in the interests of social harmony and national security”, they said.

In India, the papers revealed, the recently banned Popular Front of India, another banned group SIMI, Wahdat-e-Islami, Islamic Youth Federation, Hizb-ut-Tahrir and Al Ummah are some Muslim organisations, which fit in this category.

The papers noted that to tackle radical organisations, a multi-pronged approach was required, including creating a database on leaders and other entities of interest.