ISIS, or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, is a notorious terrorist organization that emerged in the early 2000s, gaining global attention for its brutal tactics and extremist ideology. Founded on the principles of a radical interpretation of Islam, ISIS seeks to establish a caliphate governed by its strict interpretation of Sharia law. Its mission involves imposing its authority over territories, enforcing its version of Islamic law, and spreading its ideology globally through propaganda, recruitment, and violence.
The dangers posed by ISIS to the internal security of countries, including India, are manifold. Firstly, ISIS exploits social media platforms to propagate its extremist ideology, targeting vulnerable individuals, particularly youth, and indoctrinating them with radical beliefs. This phenomenon has been observed in India, where religious indoctrination via social media has led to the recruitment of Indian youth into ISIS ranks. Once recruited, these individuals may engage in terrorist activities, both domestically and internationally, posing a significant threat to internal security.
Moreover, ISIS has demonstrated its capability to carry out terrorist attacks with devastating consequences, as seen in various parts of the world. Its tactics include suicide bombings, armed assaults, and targeted killings, aimed at instilling fear, destabilizing governments, and inciting sectarian violence. In India, the infiltration of ISIS sympathizers or operatives could lead to similar acts of terrorism, disrupting peace and stability within the country.
Furthermore, ISIS’s global network and connections with other extremist organizations pose challenges to national security agencies in tracking and thwarting their activities. The influx of foreign fighters returning from conflict zones adds another layer of concern, as these individuals may bring back combat experience and extremist ideologies, further exacerbating security threats.
Tag: Role of external state and non-state actors, in creating challenges to internal security. Challenges to internal security through the communication network, role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges.
Decoding the Question:
- In the Introduction, define the concept of religious indoctrination.
- Body,
- Discuss what ISIS is and its mission
- Discuss how ISIS can be dangerous to India’s internal security.
- Try to conclude the answer as per context with suggestions.
Answer:
Religious Indoctrination means teaching someone to accept a set of religious beliefs or teachings without questioning them. This religious indoctrination goes against the basic human nature of questioning and reasoning about any beliefs. It has been proven that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is playing a religious indoctrination card to make an Islamic state and this indoctrination is also used to make terrorists jihad against their own community and other communities and establish a caliphate.
ISIS has been partially successful in attracting Indian youth to join their mission to create Caliphate and establish an Islamic state. This shows that the reach of ISIS even arrived within Indian boundaries.
Threat to India’s Internal Security from ISIS:
- India-centric Propaganda: In early 2020 the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) published an India-centric propaganda material called Voice of Hind. This special report examines the first issue of the publication, which openly recruits Indian Muslims by manipulating the fears and grievances they harbour owing to certain political developments in the country.
- Sense of Alienation: The increasing sense of alienation among Indian Muslims can be used by ISIS to create dedicated cadres to carry out attacks in India. For example, in Kashmir, many youngsters are taking ISIS flags on roads to show sympathy towards the terrorist group, which again shows the affections of Kashmiri youth towards ISIS.
- Communal Violence: Days after the Delhi riots in February, ISIS released an online poster justifying “retaliatory action” in the Wilayat e Hind, or the “Indian Province” of its supposed caliphate. This type of sympathy from a terrorist group can create a big challenge for the internal security of India.
- ISIS Propaganda: ISIS propaganda has shown the ability to tap into the “pull factors” of radicalization, including the innate desire in human beings to find a sense of purpose. The group targets Indian Muslims by appealing to such desires and invoking a sense of obligation amongst them towards the values of the ‘ummah’ (community). This propaganda got some support from youth because thousands of youths went to Syria to join ISIS.
- Mob Lynching: Mob lynching like the incident in India created a feeling of disrespect among the Muslim community, These communal tensions can be utilized by ISIS to create group/ cadres/ workers for carrying out lone-wolf attacks against security establishments, in public places even they can be used to target VVIP’S. This can be a dangerous scenario if lone wolf attacks are carried out.
- Internet Penetration: ISIS is known for its smart and effective tools to attract youths and given the fact that currently, India has more than 400 million active internet users this can become a real threat for India as ISIS can propagate its ideology and spread its ideology in a lightning-fast manner.
Thus, ISIS can become a potential security threat for India in the future but tackling these problems needs planning and all the measures to eliminate any ideological influences on the Indian masses. The Indian culture, values, and idea of religious equality in the constitution can be used as the biggest weapon against ISIS. At the same time, India should try to make political, social, and economic solutions in Kashmir and other disturbed areas of the country. Constant monitoring on suspicious social media accounts, intelligence sharing, capacity building of state and central security agencies will key in tackling ISIS.
In case you still have your doubts, contact us on 9811333901.
For UPSC Prelims Resources, Click here
For Daily Updates and Study Material:
Join our Telegram Channel – Edukemy for IAS
- 1. Learn through Videos – here
- 2. Be Exam Ready by Practicing Daily MCQs – here
- 3. Daily Newsletter – Get all your Current Affairs Covered – here
- 4. Mains Answer Writing Practice – here
