With the Jammu & Kashmir in a
socio-political flux, it is an attractive rallying point for militants. This
has led to increased radicalisation of youth
By Col R
Hariharan | India Legal | September 8, 2019 | http://www.indialegallive.com/commercial-news/spot-light-news/de-radicalisation-in-jk-2-0-unfang-the-terrorists-71791
J&K has morphed into J&K
2.0 after Parliament passed a resolution abolishing Articles 370 and 35(a) of
the Constitution in August. It not only deprived J&K of its special status,
but downgraded it to a Union Territory. This was a watershed moment in India’s
seven-decade-long quest to fully integrate J&K with the rest of India on
equal terms.
Unfortunately, the abolition of
Article 370 provides an attractive rallying point for militants, particularly
when there is a socio-political flux. In other words, J&K 2.0 can bloom
into a “Paradise on Earth” only if jihadi terrorism and separatism cease to be
extra-constitutional agents interfering with the socio-political life of the
average Kashmiri.
Islamist militancy and separatism
are not new to J&K. However, when the J&K Liberation Front gave a call
for azadi, Nizam-e-Mustafa (Rule of Muhammad) became the call of Hizbul
Mujahideen and Jamaat-e-Islami militants supported by Pakistan’s ISI and
gingered up by Afghan militants. This led to escalated violence in 1989-90 and
resulted in the coercive eviction of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley with the
state government soft-pedalling the situation.
Since then, though separatism has
taken a backseat, Islamic radicalism continues to condition the socio-political
discourse in the state. This has been taken advantage of by PoK-based jihadi
groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) to create a
climate of fear as well as to attract young people to their fold.
Globally, there has been a
qualitative change in Islamist terrorism after the advent of the Islamic State
(IS), a clone of Al Qaeda. With its ruthless tactics and superior net-based
propaganda technique, the IS dethroned Al Qaeda from the leadership of jihadi
terrorism. Though it was defeated in Iraq and Syria over 2018-19, it still
remains a potent force attracting educated Muslim youth from all over the
world. Its successful lone wolf attacks and use of social media for propaganda
and recruitment have set new standards in refining jihadi terrorist operations,
particularly in J&K.
According to Shadi Hamid, Senior
Fellow, Foreign Policy, Centre for Middle East Policy, the IS “draws on, and
draws strength from, ideas that have broad resonance among Muslim-majority
populations. They may not agree with its interpretation of the caliphate, but
the notion of a caliphate—a historical, political entity governed by Islamic
law and tradition—is a powerful one, even among more secular-minded Muslims”.
Pakistan had been using AQ
affiliates like the LeT and JeM operating from sanctuaries on the Pakistan side
of the LoC to carry out attacks in J&K. This is part of the Pakistan Army’s
strategy to “bleed India” to compensate for limitations of its security forces.
Pakistan PM Imran Khan had admitted recently that there were 40,000 jihadi
terrorists in the country, while claiming that his country too is a victim of
terrorism.
It is not surprising that in the
charged environment, radicalisation of young people, including some well-educated
and employed youth, has been taking place for quite some time now. Their
numbers had gone up from 131 youths who joined terrorist outfits in 2017 to
over 200 in 2018. Some new terrorist outfits such as ISIS–Kashmir and Ansar
Ghazwat-ul-Hind, aligned respectively with the IS and Al Qaeda, have come up in
the past few years.
So any master plan for J&K 2.0
must have de-radicalisation (DR) at its core. It should be holistic and not
merely confined to militants in captivity. DR should not be confused with the
Army’s Operation Sadbhavana carried out since 1998. Under this programme, the
Army has tried to improve the quality of life of people in five focus areas:
education, infrastructure development, health and sanitation, women and youth
empowerment and community development. During the last decade, the Army
has spent over Rs 550 crore in J&K under the programme and runs 50 Army
Goodwill Schools and health clinics and improved communication in remote areas.
But DR
goes beyond this to remove the effects of radicalisation. Radicalisation is a
product of protracted psychological conditioning of minds. It is carried out
through madrassas, mosques, political propaganda, and print and social media.
Such venues of radicalisation need to be sanitised vigorously. DR requires an
enduring strategy that focuses not just on targeting the external and internal
actors who fuel radicalisation, but also on the processes through which it is
carried out. The International Centre for the Study of Islamic Radicalisation
and Political Violence of King’s College, London, studied DR programmes in
eight Muslim majority states. It covered Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Jordan,
Malaysia, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Radicalisation of the population in
these countries and the techniques adopted varied from soft to hybrid to hard
approaches. Though the study was done in January 2012, just before the advent
of the IS, the six “general lessons” it provides are useful while designing the
DR effort in J&K.
·
The need for a national consensus for such policies is the first
priority. So in J&K, a national consensus will have to be evolved for
undertaking DR, which has to be sustained over a period of time. Building a
consensus is likely to take time but it is a must. Saudi Arabia’s success with
DR is attributed to the national consensus.
·
Secondly, successful DR policies need committed and charismatic
leadership for initiating a change of approach to violent extremism. The study
recommends “soft” policies to build confidence and trust to create and maintain
a consensus around them. Bangladesh and Egypt carried out DR with the support
of the government.
·
The State alone does not have all the tools necessary to counter
violent extremism. Engagement with society through civil society organisations
with wide experience and resources is likely to provide new ideas and reinforce
the State’s efforts. The Bangladesh DR relies heavily on NGOs to get in touch
with vulnerable groups in local communities.
·
Violent extremists in prison require “a professional,
comprehensive and financially sustainable” DR programme. It should be designed
as part of prison policy to prevent hardening of radicals and attempts to
radicalise other prisoners.
Without
an environment of governance, successful DR cannot be carried out. Such an
environment requires the ability to sustain high growth rate, check corruption
and inequity. Any deficiencies and grievances, particularly in socio-economic
conditions, are usually exploited by extremists.
According
to the study, religious dialogue and counselling alone will not curb violent
extremism. Other non-ideological, social, economic and political factors also
may contribute to radicalisation. In an increasingly globalised world, national
DR programmes cannot be framed in isolation. This is very much relevant in
J&K as Pakistan continues to be an external source of support for
radicalisation. With the US-Taliban talks in the final stage, we can expect the
US to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan, legitimising the role of the Taliban
in the power-sharing arrangement. Its fallout on jihadi terrorism is not known;
however, this will have to be factored in in India’s overall plans for J&K.
Successful
DR has to be consistent with J&K’s culture and be sensitive to “what is
acceptable and not acceptable in their societies” as the study says. In tandem
with DR, a counter narrative has to be developed for countering radical and
extremist propaganda, particularly through social media.
—The writer is a military intelligence specialist on South Asia,
associated with the Chennai Centre for Chin
