Radical extremism is prevalent everywhere and J&K is no exception. Oxford dictionary describes radicalisation as the action or process of making somebody more extreme or radical in their opinions on political, social issues. Extreme level of radicalisation will inevitably lead to violence. Radicalization can be broadly categorized into four forms namely: Right Wing Extremism which is a form of radicalisation associated with fascism, racialism/racism; politico-Religious Extremism which is a form of radicalisation associated with a political interpretation of religion and the defence, by violent means, of a religious identity perceived to be under attack; left Wing Extremism which is a form of radicalisation that focuses primarily on anti-capitalist demands and calls for the transformation of political systems considered responsible for producing social inequalities, and that may ultimately employ violent means to further its cause; and Single-Issue Extremism which is a form of radicalisation essentially motivated by a sole issue like radical environmental or animal rights groups, anti-abortion extremists etc. There are many models which describe how radicalisation happens but there is no established process which lays down how it takes place. It is a gradual process in stages which eventually leads to a violent behavior.
There are many causes which lead to radicalisation to include ideological, social, political or economic and may take place at individual, group or mass level. In Kashmir, a wrong interpretation of jihad is being used as a fuel towards radicalisation. Radicalization may be done physically or offline through multiple mediums like maulvis, teachers, and other radicals tasked by Pakistan agencies or done online through any of the above methods. Online radicalisation is a process by which individuals through interactions with and exposures to various types of internet content come to adopt beliefs that not only justify violence but compel it to the point where these beliefs are translated into violent action.
In Kashmir, this trend started as ‘Digihad ’ or digital jihad, was propagated by ISIS. With large pressure on Hurriyat activities and fear of legal laws being imposed on those involved in such activities, the physical mode has taken a backseat. Online radicalisation has become more complex than ever before and is becoming a preferred way for radicalisation as offline mode has many restrictions and is time consuming. In online mode the perpetrator has many advantages. He does not have to worry about location, time and content. If he knows the target, he just has to attract him through a purported narrative. It can be sent directly to the target without any intermediary. Also it masks the credentials of the perpetrator.
The youth in J&K is extremely active on social media platforms. It is easy to find a prey online as these youths are in many ‘groups’ having like minded thoughts. It is also easy to identify and target the vulnerable youth by entering such groups and befriending potential targets. How do you come to know that someone is being targeted? A person being targeted undergoes a change in his behavior, like isolating himself, arguing on small issues, not talking to friends, hiding his mobile and laptop from parents and colleagues, and spending time online at odd hours.
Agencies are spreading their motives through the Dark Web. All of us are aware of the World Wide Web which is the visible portion. Below the surface is the Dark Web, the content of which is five times that of surface web and, as per studies, it is mostly illegal. It comprises of millions of websites which are using anonymity tools to conceal their identity. This is a quicker and easier way to share thoughts, spread information to all types of people across the world. Gullible youth are approached online when recruiters in Kashmir identify such youth and forward details to handlers across. These handlers approach these youth online, through a well planned strategy. Recently the handlers have started linking popular hashtag with radicalised content to gather more traction and viewership. They have their own platforms to ensure that the content is spread only to those whom they want. Once the target has been identified, the subject is approached and lured towards a particular website. Then the material is released to him in the form of audio, video and articles. This is passive online radicalisation. Slowly the subject is pulled towards active online platforms like chatroom where discussion and proliferation is done through group of people having same mindset and are talking amongst each other on live issues. The target is slowly indoctrinated to a level that he is believes in that story and is ready to commit himself to an act for which he is convinced. Offline interaction with the target may make the online context more impactful. Generally one can assume that online radicalisation is a pull function and will occur only when there is intent in his thought and some kind of offline radicalisation that is a push function has already been done.
Our focus should be ‘prevention’ of online radicalisation rather than ‘cure’, through de-radicalization programmes. For this more effort should be on detection and attacking online proliferators and systems. The Dark Web is a huge unaccounted virtual space which is anonymous, decentralized,,,jj,, and difficult to track by law enforcement agencies. Law enforcement and intelligence agencies have to establish understanding with the private sector who are engaged software designing so that identifying and tracking of those involved in spreading radical content online can be targeted. The VPN is accessed through specific routers like ‘The Onion Router’ which is able to re-route user IP through multiple servers making it difficult to identify the IP address and location. VoIP technology virtually makes it impossible to decode messages because of encryption facility. To counter this, the Law Enforcement Agencies can set up fake websites to monitor who is accessing them. They can also track individuals who are searching for VPNs, radical content and encrypted applications.
Elaborate media literacy awareness package needs to be made centrally to make the mainstream aware of the role of social media in online radicalisation. The early indicators of indoctrination need to be known to all so as to respond with correct tool. There is a need to assign responsibility to a government agency to prepare and proliferate a counter narrative to all radicalised content in the Dark Web and the open web. The agencies or companies running such websites need to be discredited openly and legal course to be adopted for closure of such websites.
To counter and deter organisations involved in spreading online radical content, the government needs to invest in artificial intelligence techniques in coordination with social media companies to detect and shutdown websites and other platforms which proliferate radical activity. For this a common definition needs to be formulated which describes what kind a radical content is legally prohibited. LG Shri Manoj Sinha, during an event, highlighted the need to spread the spirit of Kashmiriyat online and revive the diverse culture of this place as a counter to radicalisation.
A whole-of-government approach is the need of the hour to counter radicalisation of the youth especially online radicalisation. Security Forces also play an important role as they regularly check mobiles for radical content during house searches and when they establish vehicle check points, while also identifying radicalised youth through their intelligence networks. The youth thus identified are dealt with by law, if actions amounting to terrorism have been executed, or are put through, now widely recognised, de-radicalisation programs, thereby remaining committed to build a better Kashmiri society.
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