India bearing the brunt as radicalisation remained a non-narrative for successive governments

New Delhi, Mar 01: The threat of radicalisation has turned out to be a menace for India. The killing of Harsha, a Bajrang Dal activist only shows how deep rooted this problem is and violence erupts over issues that have never existed at the drop of hat.

Wahhabism, the Deobandi School of Islam have all contributed to this immense problem. Protests have turned violent over CAA and now the Hijab issue has dominated headlines.

The anti-CAA protests in particular got very violent and one could see the destruction it caused in Mangaluru and other parts of the country. The fact that the ISIS found so much success in Kerala is thanks to years and years of Islamic radicalisation that went unchecked.

In January the National Investigation Agency filed a chargesheet against Deepthi Marla, Mohammad Waqar Lone, Mizha Siddeeque, Shifa Haris, Obaid Hamid Matta, Madesh Shankar, Ammar Abdul Rahiman and Muzamil Hassan Bhat in connection with an ISIS case. All these persons hail from either Kerala or Karnataka.

An official tells OneIndia that the primary agenda of these persons was to radicalise and then recruit. Maryam who converted to Islam was accused of using provocative chats to lure the youth into the ISIS.
She not just recruited, but also managed to convert many.

An officer explains that if one looks at the pattern adopted by these outfits in south, the idea is to put the radical Islamic ideology out there rather than carry out terror strikes. The radicalisation is high among the students and younger lot and hence it is so easy to provoke them against the Indian state, the official also explained.

The main contribution to this ideological mindset and the reason why the ISIS found its foothold so easily is thanks to visits by the numerous Wahhabi preachers. They put in a lot of money to change the mindset of several Muslims in South. In addition to there was a major contribution by rabid Islamic preacher, Zakir Naik who through his NGO, Peace Foundation indulged in conversions and radicalisation.

The definition of terrorism in these parts of the country is more about hitting the mind and keep the state on boil rather than carry out attacks like we have seen in the past when it came to the Students Islamic Movement of India and Indian Mujahideen.

NIA officials during the probe have learnt that the brainwashing tactics among a large number of youth is so strong that many who never subscribed to these views ended up getting convinced. They have targeted the younger working class and the educational institutions in particular for their radicalisation.

This is why one gets to witness such violent protests at the drop of a hat. The hatred towards the Indian state has been built up so strongly that they want to see it burn at every instance, another official explained.