Pallab Bhattacharyya
(Pallab Bhattacharyya is a former director-general of police, Special Branch and erstwhile Chairman, APSC. Views expressed by him is personal. He can be reached at pallab1959@hotmail.com)
'Whoever kills an innocent human being, it shall be as if he has killed all mankind, and whosoever saves the life one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind — Quran" 5:32.
The recent arrest of one Bangladeshi national Muhammad Suman alias Saiful Islam alias Harun Rashid along with four persons of Kalgasia Howli having clandestine link with Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), an affiliate of proscribed Al Qaeda organization and subsequent interrogation of one Maminul Rashid, Principal of Shaikhul Hind Mahmudul Hasan Jamil Huda Islamic Academy from Barpeta District has thrown open the floodgates of speculations in social and print media about likely danger to the safety and security of Assam. The involvement of all Qaeda in 1998 US Embassy bombings, 9/11 attacks, 2002 Bali bombings etc indicates its presence in all these areas and prompted the USA to launch the "war on terror". However, affiliates closer to the organization are in sleeper cell mode in various parts of the world in general and India in particular. At the time of its formation in September 2014, Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) specifically listed Assam among the target for jihad, along with Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir.
The arrest of Islamist militants is, however, not a new phenomenon in Assam. The Khagragarh blast in West Bengal on 2nd October 2014, and the unveiling of the surreptitious presence of the JMB Module in Assam is still fresh in the minds of the people. A long list of Islamist outfits had been operating in Assam since the 1990s. The rise of Islamist militancy started in North Eastern India in the wake of the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition and the subsequent communal disturbances; the Manipur's infamous Meitei-Muslim riot in 1993 is also a contributing factor. Pakistan's' Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was relentless in its design to exploit India's vulnerabilities and it received help from the Khaleda Zia regime in Bangladesh, which, at that time, was deeply hostile to India. Bangladesh was a hotbed of Islamist radicalization and militancy then and it was used by ISI to extend its 4th Generation Warfare against India. However, the situation has changed dramatically in New Delhi's favour since the Sheikh Hasina Government assumed office in 2009. However, there is no denial of the fact that at the present moment there are two Bangladesh-one based on Bengali Nationalism and the other identifying itself to the Islamic world and the constant tussle between the two has a spillover effect in Assam.
A majority of Islamic militant groups in the Northeast were founded between 1990 and 1996, with the proclaimed objective of 'safeguarding the overall interests of the minority Muslim communities in the region. More groups surfaced in the early 2000s, but these were short-lived. Riots between Bodos and Bengali-speaking Muslims happened sporadically in the BTAD and at that time the Central Government identified at least 19 Islamist organizations to watch in connection with violence in the State. The subsequent advent of Kerala-based organization Popular Front of India (PFI) and its ingress into Goalpara, Karimganj, Silchar, Hailakandi, Kamrup, Barpeta, Baksa, Chirang, Kokrajhar, Dhubri, South Salmara, Lakhimpur, Nagaon and Tinsukia Districts of Assam in the process of updating of NRC paved the ground for the germination of radicalization in Assam.
In the year 2016, efforts were made to counter the radicalization process and a "Handbook of Counter Radicalization" was published for the benefits of law-enforcing officers in Assam as well as in India with the initiative of Assam Police. This was followed up with another "Handbook of Resurgent Radicalism in Assam" in the year 2019. There is no denying the fact that the main driver of radicalization is the "Ideology". The internet, social media and in some cases the print media, some charity organizations and NGOs contributed to its growth. It is strongly felt that instead of allowing a person to be "radicalized" first and then, on the discovery of the same, steps for his "de-radicalization" is taken, the better course of action will be to ensure "counter-radicalization". In other words, creating an environment where radicalization cannot take place. It is clear that in the instant case in Barpeta the youths arrested were radicalized by foreign thoughts which are manifestly in dissonance with the syncretic culture of Sankar-Ajan. The following steps, which are indicative and not exhaustive, may be initiated for implementation by Government in collaboration with society:
(1) Countering the radical ideology through Ijtihad or the use of individual reasoning to counter radical thoughts. Effective use of qualified Muslim intelligentsia, after gaining their confidence, will be a sine-qua-non.
Establishing a Counter-Radicalization Forum within existing Police District Headquarters or think tanks with the following missions (i) Monitor and analyse global, national and regional radicalization trends (ii) Adopting best practices from global counter-radicalization models (iii) Train Counter Radical Teams consisting of Imams, Maulavis and Hindu Priests (iv) Promote Ijtihad in all forms (v) Build and maintain a radical database fusion centre (vi) Promote counter-narratives through all relevant media channels (social media, print, TV/Radio). An appeal by the Imams of Guwahati and syncretic songs sung by Nahid Afrin was initiated by Assam Police under this category.
(2) Involve and embolden the Indian Ulema to counter-radical ideology through a closely monitored system.
(3) Highlighting the global counter-narratives
(4) Closely monitoring and controlling the foreign idealogues visiting India-study global precedence in this regard.
(5) Incorporate the study of Islam and other religions in the curriculum of police for better appreciation of the problems.
(6) Monitoring and social-controlling of activities of radical theologians.
(7) Anti-extremist scholar Sultan Shahin through his website www.newageislam.com is taking on the fundamentalists and such efforts should be encouraged.
(8) Stopping glamourizing of World Jihadis and countering radical literature.
(9) Countering radicalization through the internet-Special Branch and its Project Cyberdom incorporating Digital Intelligence and Training and Analysis Centre (DITAC) should be adequately strengthened to tackle this menace as one of its verticals.
(10) India cannot fight radicalization without the active support of its neighbours. Engaging the neighbourhood will be essential.
(11) Some counter-radicalization operations are creating institutional forums in Intelligence agencies to deal with emerging threats, deregistration of radical sites, providing training workshops for law enforcement agencies, Think Tanks, Students, media personalities etc, carrying out Human Terrain Analysis etc.
For successful implementation of the above measures, wholehearted coordination of all agencies of Government, print and electronic media and society will be necessary. Gaining the trust of the minority community is the essence of such counter-radicalization policy in line with American community builder and activist Radhanath Swami's saying "Trust cannot come unless one is honest."