Set to attend all sessions of top cop’s conference, PM Modi shows how important zero terror policy is

Over the past couple of years, terror has been emerging. Today terror groups are able to orchestrate a strike through a lone wolf from the comfort of their homes

New Delhi, Jan 11: With terrorism taking newer and different forms in an evolving world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take part in the DGPs/IGPs conference to be held in Delhi from January 20 to 22.

The importance of the conference being organised by the Intelligence Bureau can be seen from the fact that the Prime Minister would attend all the sessions during the three day meet.

The main agenda of the meting would be terrorism, hybrid militancy and emerging trends in terrorism. The conference would also discuss terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, the dark web, terror funding, drug trafficking, crypto currency, Khalistan threat and the role of virtual assets. In addition to this the Chinese influence in the neighbourhood and its implications for India would also be under discussion.

Another important point of discussion would be the growing threat of radicalisation, both internally and externally.

The security concerns for India:

One of the main security concerns for India has been the rise of online radicalisation. Recent incidents in which Kanaihya Lal and Umesh Kolhe were killed by lone wolves are a signal of how deep the problem is. It took a massive raid and hard action by the Government of India to ban the Popular Front of India (PFI) which was responsible for a lot of such propaganda being circulated.

While the emerging new trends in terrorism are important to discuss, the threat from within is equally important. Since 2015-16, India has been witnessing a trend of online radicalisation. Operation Chakravyuha which was carried out by the Intelligence Bureau a couple of years back showed how the Islamic State had penetrated the internet and was able to radicalise so many Muslim youth in the country.

The problem of radicalisation:

As per the tentative agenda of the conference to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, one of the issues is also to do with radicalisation. It has been found that radicalisation and lone-wolf terror are directly connected. A lone wolf is one who is not part of a terror group, but is radicalised by a terror group's propaganda material, following which he goes out and strikes.

An article in the ORF says that radicalisation plays a crucial role in the making of a lone wolf terrorist. The radicalisation takes place online on social media platforms, encrypted chat rooms on the dark web and propaganda on instant messaging applications. The article further says that another contributing factor is feeling of alienation or animosity towards the political system brought on by perceived injustices encountered by any religious group, compounded by lack of economic possibilities and unemployment.

An official tells OneIndia that radicalisation and the dark web would be a key area for discussion during the conference. The threat keeps increasing and it becomes all the more important for the same to be countered by good intelligence, international coordination and real time information. The current government is very serious about these issues and since coming to power in 2014, plenty of emphasis has been given to security. The government follows the zero terror policy.

However over the years, terror too has changed and terror groups are able to orchestrate terror strikes from the comfort of their rooms. Hence the conference to be held on January 20 is important as the year ahead would have plenty of challenges, especially with the scenario in Pakistan changing rapidly, the official also said.