‘Rad and Derad’ launched by MHA to counter radicalisation

The Ministry of Home Affairs has launched the 'Rad and Derad' programme in a bid to understand why radicalisation is taking place. The programme apart from understanding why so many youths are being radicalised would also focus on countermeasures to tackle extremism.

The Bureau of Police Research and Development, a wing under the MHA will undertake this exercise. The programme would provide the security forces with an insight into religious radicalisation and also all forms of extremism. It would not be aimed at one particular religion but would focus on radicalisation as a whole.

On several occasions, the police and the Intelligence Bureau have flagged religious radicalisation. There have also been several instances in the recent past to suggest that religious conversions are linked with terror. In Kerala, several persons out of the 21 persons had converted to Islam before leaving India to join the ISIS.

The 'Rad and Derad' programme would give an overview of the problem. The findings would be shared with the respective agencies who would find it easier to counter this problem, officials say. The team would meet with a cross-section of people including youth and elders to understand the problem. The programme would also look at ways of countering the problem, an official part of the programme explained.

OneIndia News