Editorial
Portents of radicalisation
What runs common between a middle class Indian mother of three and a
Delhi college student, as also an obscure religious group based in a
Goan village and a militant group in the northeast? They are all
manifestations of a renewed radicalisation that is gripping major
religions, as old divides come to life and new gashes open. Afsha
Jabeen, who was deported to India
for her evangelisation efforts, and some youngsters from Kerala who
were sent back by the UAE for sharing radical posts on social media, do
not represent isolated instances of a new acceptance that Islamist
fundamentalism has found among many Indians. There have been reports of
several Indian youth joining Islamic State, and more wanting to do so.
The latest is the case of a young woman from the national capital, a
Delhi University graduate and daughter of a retired Army officer, who
wanted to join the ranks of the regressive, violent movement in Syria
that is behind one of the biggest humanitarian catastrophes of our
times. These could still be cited as isolated instances for now, but
they could well turn into a tide. India’s experience with radical
religious tendencies is still far better than that of many other
countries that have seen hundreds of youngsters leaving modern comforts
and heading for the ‘battle-front’. What Indian society at large should
worry about is also that the fundamentalism is not limited to Islam.
Obscure groups such as Sanatan Sanstha are trying to impose their irrational arguments,
often through violent means, infringing upon the fundamental rights and
seeking to subdue India’s celebrated diversity. In the northeast and in
Kashmir too fanaticism is finding new life and vigour, its ripples felt
beyond immediate geographical boundaries.
The signals are clear: religious radicalisation is not a distant threat
anymore but a reality closer home. Forces of obscurantism are feeding on
global and local discontent to create narratives that appeal to even
those brought up on a liberal education. Religious fanaticism has found
new vigour not just in the clash of civilisations being played out
across continents, but also in the dangerous political atmosphere
created by some mainstream parties domestically. The vigour of movements
in one religion feeds similar ones in others. Their misleading messages
find roaring life on the information highway. As governments, political
leaders, and society at large reap the benefits of globalisation, they
cannot ignore its dark underbelly where obscurantist ideas flourish. One
of the fallouts of the information revolution propelled by the Internet
is that messages of fanaticism could also spread like wildfire, and
governments could be overwhelmed by their power. India needs to wake up
to this threat.