Sudhir Kumar asked: What steps should the Indian Government take to counter threats arising from the ISIS?

Prasanta Kumar Pradhan replies: The ISIS has emerged as a major security threat in the West Asian region. As India has huge stakes in the region, the rise of the ISIS and its implications has been of concern for India. So far the ISIS has not been a direct physical challenge for India, but India needs to remain cautious of the potential threat. The ISIS has in the past threatened to launch attacks on India. In fact, Indian nationals have been captured by the ISIS in Iraq and Libya. Further, there have been reports of some Indian youths joining the ISIS.

Security and intelligence cooperation with the countries of the West Asian region could provide important and critical information regarding the activities and the strategies of the ISIS. Information and intelligence exchange can help India formulate effective strategies to deal with the further spread of the ISIS.

India also needs to check radicalisation of some sections of its youth. Monitoring the radicalisation taking place in the cyber space particularly through the social media is important as it has emerged as the easiest means for communicating radical ideologies and also for finding new recruits.

There are around seven million Indians living in the Gulf region. There is always a possibility of some them coming in contact with the radical elements at the local level. The government should make coordinated efforts to keep a tab on such elements. Effective de-radicalisation programmes would also help in bringing the radicalised youth back into the social mainstream.

Posted on September 17, 2015