Vivek Chadha replies: The broad contours of India’s counter terrorism policy have not changed over the years. These contours have evolved and matured through experience and very much in keeping with country’s unique socio-political conditions. The changes, however subtle, have only ensured that the policy remains localised in its approach in order to effectively address the specific conditions of a particular area.
There are certain major pillars on which the Indian counter terrorism policy rests:
Australia has remained insulated from mega terrorist attacks, but post-September 11 its involvement in the war on terror in Afghanistan, Iraq and against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has brought terrorism into its backyard. In the wake of these emerging threats, particularly home-grown terrorism (HGT), successive governments have introduced changes in the counter-terrorism (CT) laws, and expanded the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Commonwealth-Cth) at the recommendations of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG).
The Imam Shamil Battalion has claimed responsibility for the April 3 metro bombing in St. Petersburg and conveyed that the attack was retaliation against Russia’s targeting of jihadis in Syria, Libya and Chechnya.
The only way forward for India, therefore, is to decouple the Kashmir issue from that of Pakistan, and address the internal aspects: Kashmir's development, unsettled political issues, healing the wounds and alienation of the youth, promptly.
Will the Pakistani civilian leadership cease to placate the Islamist forces for their own electoral gain? Will the Army rein in the jihadis it has been using to retain “strategic depth” in Afghanistan?
One of the campaign promises of President Muhammadu Buhari was that he would eliminate Boko Haram six months after assumption of office. By December 2015, the Buhari-led government gave itself a pass mark for countering the terrorists. The government declared that the group had been ‘technically defeated’. This declaration has led to debates in the public space as to the veracity of this claim. This article aims to critically appraise the on-going attempt to eliminate the Boko Haram threat under the Buhari administration.
Adil Rasheed replies: The confusion between the terms ‘counter-radicalisation’ and ‘de-radicalisation’ was quite common even in counter-terrorism literature in the last decade. However in recent times, these terms are no longer used interchangeably, but refer to clearly enunciated and distinguishable sets of measures employed to reverse the process of radicalisation in different stages of its life cycle with characteristic behaviour, tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs).
Adil Rasheed replies: Indian Government has been taking several measures to protect impressionable minds, particularly the country’s youth, from the radicalisation and recruitment campaigns launched by the ISIS. In fact, it is ‘working out a cohesive strategy to counter attempts at radicalisation and recruitment, suitable in the Indian context’.
Analysing Aadhaar through the Prism of National Security
Though there might be several prevalent concerns over Aadhaar’s data security, these do not outweigh the benefits it has to offer.