Teach inter-faith tolerance to counter ISIS threat: Home Ministry to suggest

New Delhi, Nov 2: Schools in India may have a new curriculum on inter-faith tolerance. This is one of the many proposals to be made by the Union Home Ministry to the states in a bid to counter the ISIS radicalization threat.

The Home Ministry had met with the officials of various states where the ISIS threat was high and it learnt that the problem was due to radicalization.

During the meeting and subsequent interaction, various states have been several suggestions on how the menace of the ISIS can be countered. Telangana alone which has identified 60 ISIS sympathizers in the state is of the view that a surrender policy and also a dedicated class in schools on religion and tolerance of inter-faith be introduced.

Students to learn tolerance:
The Union home Ministry is of the view that the radicalization of youth who have been leaning towards the ISIS is largely due to religious intolerance. Preachers or recruiters have been drilling into recruits intolerance towards other religion and this has been the crux of the problem.

A circular will be issued to all states to introduce in schools a lesson on the ill-effects of religious intolerance. If accepted by all states then the schools would have to teach the students about religion and also the ill-effects of intolerance.

Among the other suggestions that the Home Ministry is working is a policy of surrender. It was suggested that being too harsh on those who get misguided by ISIS radicals would not be the answer to the problem. The Home Ministry too is of the view is that the better approach would be to take such persons into the fold and ensure that they are de-radicalised.

Further it has also been suggested that if any of the youth have strayed and feel that they have done wrong, then they should be given a chance to reform and surrender before the police. The approach towards such persons should not be harsh. However this would depend on the gravity of the offence.

New unit to come up:
The Home Ministry feels that the threat of radicalization cannot be handled alone by the regular police. The police have other issues too on hand and hence there is a need for a specialized unit to handle the problem.

This team would comprise experts who would be able to track online material apart from representatives of NGOs who could help towards the reformation process. This specialized team would coordinate with the Intelligence Bureau and also the police. Currently the United Kingdom has such a specialized unit to tackle the ISIS menace.

OneIndia News