JK News Today Analysis
There is a lot of celebration in the security apparatus that the local recruitment to terror groups in Jammu and Kashmir is reaching to a zero level. Indeed , it is something which should be rejoiced for a variety of reasons – first it saves lives of youth from getting into harm’s way, and it also speaks for new awakening in the minds of the youngsters about their future and security of it . In the same line , it removes the infection of terrorism from polity.
But there is a bigger problem staring at J&K, in particular in the areas and sections vulnerable to radicalization . These sections are being lured to different kind of militancy , which operates in silence before bursting out in acts of high-velocity terrorism . It also is working at to hollow out the narrative of success and development in the territory , aligning them to global networks of radicalization .
What happened in New Orleans, U. S. on the New Year Day should open the whole society and the security apparatus to the daunting challenge ahead : how not only to stop or prevent such attacks but also to go in for pre—emptive measures to keep the youth and place safe. Shamus- Din Jabbar , a US citizen , a self radicalized or may be assisted by others , rammed a pick up van with Islamic State flag fluttering atop into crowd , killing 15 people and leaving several others injured The horrifying images from the US and the mid of violence behind it executed by the marauder has sent a message across the world that such attacks are possible , without throwing any hint or clue in advance . This can happen anywhere in the world . The US conducted massive military operations to take revenge on the perpetrators of 9/11 terror assault that shook its foundations in Afghanistan and elsewhere , but the spirit of the potential attackers is not dead . This is despite the fact that post 9/11 , the US re-oriented and sharpened its counterterrorism machinery and intelligence network by bringing a series of laws and setting up Homeland Security.
Looking at this incident and other acts of terror going on elsewhere,, it should take the security apparatus and all the stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir to understand how the new tools of radicalization work. The days of the motivational classes of indoctrinating impressionable young minds might have faded because of the unbridled impact of the counter-terrorism measures and superb network of intelligence agencies , who have penetrated into the minds of the people and launched several measures to convince the polity about the futility of taking to guns and bombs as a solution to their problems . The central agencies and the state police’s intelligence networks have done a commendable job , but they are aware that it is not the end of the challenges . The militancy and its ideas change according to the changing situations.
The ideology of the Islamic state had inspired young minds in Kashmir, when it was in its upswing in Syria and Iraq between 2013 and 2017 . Islamic State flags were displayed at the stone throwing demonstrations , especially outside Jama Masjid after Friday congregations . This was dismissed as a sign of kid’s love for fantasy . The then Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had dismissed it as nothing but one and a half meters of black cloth . And separatist were at pains to say that this is a ploy to paint “ Kashmir’s struggle for self-determination as part of global terror network to defame it .”
There were several incidents of shooting and bombing that were owned by Islamic State operatives , and when the police officials used to trace these attacks to IS, they were made to retract their statements by their political bosses . There was a design by one and all in the political spectrum to hide the activities of the global terror networks in Kashmir. Separatists had their own interest in projecting the militancy as part of their “ indigenous movement,” and the mainstream politicians had their own logic to underplay it. They also didn’t want to acknowledge that Kashmir is offering a fertile ground for the global terror networks , as that would have forced them to take a sharper and hash stand against all the militants , which they were hesitant to do . Their own political interests , too were involved.
Now when the Islamic State or its ideology is re-emerging , there is a need to have a fresh look at the tools of radicalization . There is a strong view that it is the media, both conventional and unconventional, particularly social media fuelled by AI , which is communicating the idea of radicalization and influencing the minds.
In Kashmir , it is having two inter-linked dimensions – religio-political . The majority community is being lured into the thought of the earliest teachings of Islam , and second it is political . The religious affinity and movement will deliver political dividends too. The religious spectrum seeks to weave the Muslim community into the wider and puritan Islam. It makes them to think that how they and their land needs to preserve the Islamic values of its earliest era. Second , the activists are using the select ideas and visuals in the conventional media spotlighting Indian weaknesses- real, imaginary or a mix of both . The whole thing is aimed at weakening the image of the country , and presenting it as a vulnerable entity that can eb targeted. The social media posts are shared in which the weaknesses of the system are used as a tool to incite violence and radicalize the youth. The whole thing is not under scanner as some posts may seem quite innocuous but their potential to cause troubles is immense . The newer challenge is media transmissions of this nature in which the real face of the protagonists of violence and terror is camouflaged in innocuous looking media posts.
