Do we actually know why terrorism or even why radicalisation was spread in the beautiful valley of Kashmir? Statistical reports state that terrorism is one of the major causes of radicalisation of youth in any developing nation. The Government of India has concluded that terrorism and extremism are the major causes for radicalisation of the society especially the youth. To start with, terrorism initially emerged in the ill-fated state of Jammu & Kashmir with serial blasts in the city of Srinagar in year 1988. Further, the ideology of incompatibility of co-existence of Hindu-Muslim community was the cover story for four unsuccessful attempts by the Pakistan to annex Kashmir with the most recent one in 1999. Jammu & Kashmir has a male youth base of approximately 14.24 Lakhs (January 2022) in the age group of 15 to 35 years which is well educated, possess better situational awareness owing to better access to social media and come from reasonably economically stable families but stand highly susceptible to religious & political propaganda and subsequently radicalisation and terrorism.
After multiple humiliating defeats in conventional engagements, the cheaper option of terrorism and radicalizing Indian youth was adopted by Pakistan. Initially, terrorists included Pakistani and a few Afghan nationals, but there has been cases of involvement of the local population as well. The initial stage of radicalization, recruiters adopted the already existing religious strife and gained success in attracting a lot of young men and boys towards terrorism from Kashmir. To trap such gullible minds the seed of the hatred would have to be sown at a very early stage and the easiest target was the ‘Education system of the state’. The Jamaat ran Madrassas which schooled children and made them into the weapons of radical ideology. It was very evident in the decade from 1980 to 1987 when the terrorists deliberately torched 35 government run schools to ensure that liberal education was not available to the young population. There was also a significant rise of 15.76% in the number of Jamaat run schools in the entire Kashmir valley back then.
The educated youth find their source of motivation in literature, films, documentaries and fiery hate speeches by the likes of Maulana Masood Azhar. Intermittent pull of radicalistaion - Name, fame, dame and money remain the prime motivating factors for the choice of this line of life. The families of these terrorists are respected a lot in their villages as their sacred fight is aimed at liberation of the oppressed Kashmiris. Most of the youth are also in the profession to secure their life after death. With a mind altering illusion of the infamous 72 virgins waiting to embrace them after attaining martyrdom in the course of jihad the motivation level of these men push them towards their death when the need arises.
Kashmiri youth are educated, have a better situation awareness, come from reasonably economic-stable families and are well exposed to social media through easy internet access.
However, only a few are employed thus majority of them stand highly susceptible to religious & political propaganda. So what are the hopes and aspiration of a Kashmiri youth today?
The Kashmiri youth of today finds that he has no political space to vent his views, suffers from a persecution complex, looks to secure a future for him but finds no opportunities in the valley, finds that his voice is stifled, fears losing his Kashmiriyat identity and sees the calls of guns as mesmerizing. It is ultimately the responsibility of the government and the society to ensure that these ignited young minds are not fuelled further to the point of extremism.
Soft approaches such as counseling, guidance and de-radicalisation programmes for the suspected misguided youths, supporters, sympathsers are now being adopted instead of detaining them behind prison walls to follow a radical ideology being justified in the name of religion. Rehabilitation programs at the national level involving all agencies to curb the spread of radicalisation being feasible option is in place. Counter narrative to engage a narrative that dissects, de-legitimizes, disaggregates, de-globalizes and de-glamorizes the terrorists' narrative. A sustained, comprehensive, integrated and effective effort to counter violent Islamist extremism is a crucial element of statecraft on counter terrorism.
The first step towards the push back is to dissect and expose the false teachings, so as to properly understand and rebut it. De-aggregate and de-globalise involves brokering in fighting between terror organisations, its affiliates and the broader jihad orbit in which they reside. This will damage violent extremists’ capability to propagate their message and organise plans both at home and abroad. The Government should help to magnify the voices of others who reside at the grassroots and possess the credibility and authenticity necessary to affect the results. De-glamorising involves undertaking deeper efforts to pay tribute to the memory of victims of terrorist acts, such as through Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms. The fourth response option is one of the last resorts to deny & destroy, that is to be considered only in very limited circumstances as it is to invoke computer network attack methods and tools in order to end the terror organisations' efforts to use the internet to further their own ends.
Certain surprising facts about Jammu & Kashmir claim that the state prospered economically even during terrorism, being the only state other than Punjab with hired labour for agriculture, has the highest per capita saving, has the highest consumption of animal protein, the only state with every family owning a house, state has an average house hold assets worth 11 lakhs. Jammu and Kashmir despite being socially and economically well off has not been able to curb the menace of terrorism over last four decades. Though many still feel that de-radicalisation of Muslim youth base in Kashmir will alleviate security situation which could eventually aid in improvement of the overall security situation of the nation.
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