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| Edited By: |Source: DNA |Updated: May 12, 2016, 08:10 AM IST
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s plans to wean away young Muslim men who want to join the Islamic State army in Syria is a welcome step. Its credentials, however, might pose problems in its engagement with the Muslim youth. The RSS is widely perceived to be anti-Muslim — its anti-minority rhetoric closely follows its actions on the ground. Its militant ideology at the core of which is the aggressive assertion to turn India into a Hindu rashtra may have served its core constituency, but a vast majority of peace-loving Muslims view the RSS and its affiliates with fear and suspicion. If the Hindutva outfit wants the deradicalisation programme to be successful, it should first work on its own image and soften the belligerent rhetoric.
According to the last census, India’s Muslim population is roughly 172 million and out of that huge number, only a handful of misguided young men has been tempted by the ISIS call to arms. Recall that France, despite having a much lower Muslim population compared to India, has significantly more Muslim youths (1200 according to an International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation estimate) fighting the IS battle. On the other hand, so far only 23 Indians have travelled to the IS-dominated territories in Syria and Iraq.
Faced with reversals on the ground, IS sympathisers have infiltrated the Internet, especially the social networking sites, to brainwash impressionable youth. Looking at India as a fertile ground for recruitment, its latest video features a young IS soldier from India who had been reportedly killed in 2014. If the question is how far has the IS been successful to lure Indian youth, the answer is ‘till now very little’. Its videos may try to exhort youngsters with the message that ‘jihad is our duty’ but so far the National Investigation Agency has identified and put under surveillance only 150 Indian youth.
However, Indian authorities cannot afford to take chances with IS recruiters. There has been a significant jump in the numbers of social media users in the country, most of whom are in their teens or barely into early adulthood. Some of them might find the IS’s philosophy appealing. It’s just that the restlessness of youth drives some youngsters to take up arms for a cause. Being gullible makes them easy targets for the IS.
Investigating agencies and the police need to handle this trend, which is still at a rudimentary stage, with care and tact. Early this year, the NIA had arrested 24 people, including some top IS recruiters. The NIA and at the state level, the Anti-Terrorism Squad, also has the near-impossible task of closely monitoring the internet activities of the country’s youth — something in which even the European Union has floundered.
But a far more effective strategy would be to rope in parents, the respected faces of the community, teachers and religious leaders whose messages can steer the youth in the right direction. It cannot be a talk-down approach — that never works with the youth. What can win over hearts is love and patience. Since the IS is planning to set up cells in every Indian city and town, India also needs to step up efforts to counter the threats.
Coming back to the RSS, its affiliate Muslim Rashtriya Manch, will have to tread cautiously. Much of its success will however depend on whether the radical Hindu outfit will mend its ways and eschew violence in the name of religion.
