Events & Issues

New Delhi, 29 September 2014

Radicalisation Of Youth

NEED FOR CLARITY, INCLUSIVENESS

By Dr S Saraswathi

(Former Director, ICSSR, New Delhi)

A recent report on the aborted attempt of four youth from Hyderabad to cross over to Bangladesh with the intention of joining the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) raises concern about the options available today to the youth in India. Investigations suggest that more youngsters may follow suit, as the ISIS is recruiting young members of both sexes worldwide.

India is believed to be a soft and easy target that has a considerable size of disgruntled youth population, ready to be mobilized for good or bad.  Rumours circulate that school kids are kidnapped for indoctrination and recruitment by terror groups.

The need to check radicalisation of youth is often mentioned in recent discussions on terrorism, communalism, national security and integrity and so on. Threat perception being rather high in India, some urgency is felt in insulating the youth from being drawn to terror outfits.

Security and intelligence experts have recently called for inclusive schemes to wean away youth population from extremist ideology. This suggestion comes as a strategy to prevent radicalisation of youth.

Since the beginning of this century, the concept of “radicalisation” has become central in studies on terrorism and in policy making by official authorities to counter terrorism.    

The epithet “radical” is applied generally to denote one who advocates fundamental or revolutionary changes in the existing policies, practices, conditions, norms and institutions. The word means “root” and in botany means proceeding from near the root. In politics, a radical is one who advocates total changes from top to bottom of anything. As such, there seems to be nothing intrinsically dangerous or even undesirable in being a radical. 

It follows, therefore, that the process of making or becoming a “radical”, i.e.  radicalisation is not by itself an anti-social development by just being non-conformist in aims, goals, or methods. The problem is the mixing up of “radicalism” with “extremism”. The two are different. All radicals are not extremists while all extremists are radicals.   

Extremists think and act without a sense of belonging to a given society. They are on the edge of either side of a spectrum like right wing and left wing extremists. As such, they are far removed from mainstream politics.  They are enemies of moderates and centrists. They have no belief in consensus, conciliation, understanding, adjustment and similar methods based on “give and take”. Extremism is known and identified by the perception of others and not by extremists themselves. Currently, the terms “extremism” and extremists” are used in connection with “terrorism”.

A radical, on the contrary, wants to change the society from within. He is conscious of his radical ideas to change the status quo. Radicalism substantially refers to ideology. Extremism is mainly the quality of the method. We need not fear radical ideas that are needed to purge the society of many outmoded and irrelevant beliefs and practices. But, we have to guard against conversion of these ideas into violent extremist form of actions.

Radical thinking is by no means problematic in a liberal society. It has a right to exist. It becomes a threat to national security and the safety of citizens when it influences people to propagate or engage in violence or direct action as a means of promoting political, ideological or religious extremism. 

The chances of radicalism joining hands with extremism or turning into extremism are high wherever ideologies permit. This is the reason for denouncing the increasing trend of radicalisation of youth. Groups of young men and women brainwashed with radical doctrines for establishing a new world order are said to be spreading a deadly virus across the globe that has the power to engulf the thought process of young minds. 

This trend spreading among youth is not a worry of India alone. It is talked about in several western countries and may or may not be linked with   violence. Many European countries are taking steps to prevent radicalisation of youth as a preventive to withstand terrorist incursions. For, in many instances, radicalisation is en route to extremism or terrorism.

Danish intelligence service, defines “radicalism” as “a process by which a person, to an increasing extent, accepts the use of undemocratic or violent means including terrorism in an attempt to reach a specific political/ideological objective”. In Canada, the Mounted Police defines “radicalism” as the process by which usually young people are introduced to an overtly ideological message and belief system that encourages movement from moderate mainstream beliefs towards extreme views.

To the British government, radicalisation is the process by which people come to support terrorism and violent extremism and sometimes join terrorist groups.

However, we cannot overlook the fact that many radical thinkers have contributed a great deal for reforming our society. Periyar EVR was a radical thinker who wanted to abolish all vestiges of the caste system. The movement he founded – the Self-Respect Movement – has made a lasting impact on the politics of Tamil Nadu. He was not an extremist, but a non-violent rebel. Kanshi Ram was a radical politician who was instrumental in building a strong political party that has succeeded remarkably in empowering the backward classes.

Feminist movement all over the world in certain stages was a radical movement, but not extremist. It has achieved recognition of equal rights for women along with men in several fields. It has introduced radical changes in the patriarchal notions of gender differences.

Anti-superstition movement is considered a radical movement in a traditional society.  But, it is needed to rid the society of many blind beliefs that go against democratic principles and human rights. Rationalist schools do not indulge in violence as a policy, but traditionalists often resort to violence to curb rationalism.   

As a contrast, Naxalites constitute extremists who believe in violent methods to bring about the changes they want. Several extremist groups thrive all over the country.

There is a lurking fear in many countries that radicalisation of young people is a prelude to extremism in various forms. Self-identification and indoctrination are considered to be the processes of radicalisation that lead to terrorist thinking and violence-prone actions. 

Indoctrination of youth with extremist thinking requires certain favourable conditions as in cases of mass religious conversions which do not just happen without provocation. 

In the case of the youth arrested in Hyderabad, it is reported that they were from middle class background and were motivated by extremist propaganda on social network sites. Following this arrest, it is reported that the processes to monitor the activities of fringe radical groups are being watched closely. 

The theory that poverty, lack of education, unemployment, and inequalities within a society are some major causes behind grievances with the status quo may not be false. At the same time, affluence, higher education, luxurious life, and knowledge of high technology also breed extremism through the route of radicalisation of mostly the young. Internet plays an important role in this global problem. The presence or absence of a feeling of alienation is a vital factor in the presence or absence of terrorist-oriented radicalism which is what we are afraid of. The grievances may widely vary between localities and between groups.

Radicalisation, in essence, is a complex phenomenon. Counter-radicalisation, therefore, has to adopt expensive, advanced and sophisticated methods to prevent degeneration of radicalism into violent forms. ---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)