How inclusive model of governance kept Indian Muslims away from the ISIS

Bengaluru, Nov 25: India is on guard against the ISIS and also the al-Qaeda and there is 24/7 monitoring of its activities in a bid to prevent the youth from joining the outfit. When compared to several other countries, India has been successful in preventing several youth from joining these outfits.

Is this only because of enhanced security measures or extensive monitoring by the Intelligence agencies? While both these aspects have played a major role in combating the ISIS menace, the main reason why many Muslims have stayed away from the ISIS is because of inclusiveness.

While there are statements galore that are made about how intolerant the country has become a statement by the US ambassador to India, Richard Verma gives a better picture of why India has been successful in preventing a mass exodus into the ISIS.

Inclusive model has kept ISIS at bay:
Take for instance the recruitment spree that the ISIS was able to undertake in the Western nations. There were several thousands who joined the ISIS and made it a force to reckon with. However in the case of India, the ISIS has not been entirely successful and could manage only 23 in two years.

Other statistics would also show that the IB is monitoring around 65 youth and counselling an equal number of them who attempted to join the ISIS. Is this a large number in country which has one of the largest population of Muslims? Let us face it that the ISIS has not managed to impress the Muslims in India because of the inclusive model of governance.

In the West it is issues such as discrimination that has led to such a large population of Muslims join the ISIS. Verma made it clear that the inclusive model of the country has kept Indian Muslims from joining ISIS. ndia has been a model of inclusiveness," Verma also said.

In addition to this, several Indian Muslim organisations have openly denounced the ISIS. There have been fatwas issued against the ISIS and programmes conducted to educate the youth that the outfit does not propagate Islam but violence. The approach by the police and also the Intelligence Bureau in handling cases relating to the ISIS has been very different.

In the past false cases against Muslim youth led to the rise of outfits such as the SIMI and the Indian Mujahideen. Ask respected Muslim and he would say that they would support the police if the right case is filed, but false cases are frowned upon and leads to resentment.

This time around the agencies have taken a very different approach and chose to counsel the youth instead of imposing blanket punishments.

The IB and the police also take into account very carefully the factors behind each case. The decision to counsel and not file cases is decided on a case to case basis and would also depend on the gravity of the offence. An IB official says that this has paid off to a large extent.

There are rotten apples everywhere but to say the ISIS has created a wave in India is far from the truth.

OneIndia News