Chief of Defence Staff And Deradicalisation Controversy

On Friday, January 16, 2020, newly appointed Indian Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), spoke about “The Challenges Faced in Kashmir” in a symposium named “Raisina Dialogue” in New Delhi. General Bipin Rawat listed “Security Threats in Kashmir”, elaborating on Field of Radicalisation and Deradicalisation Camps that exist in India. He was brutally criticized for this by Intellectuals and Media alike, since many felt that Radicalization is a Socio economic Issue on which he should not have expressed his opinion. Further, his mention of Deracalization Camps gave them a perception that India is having facilities akin to those set up by the Chinese Government for the Uyghur Muslims and that it is cloaked in “secrecy” as there is no information in the Public Domain about any such camps to be existing in India.

 

 

 

In India, generally everybody expresses his opinion on Counter Radicalisation and Deradicalisation without much idea about how these are to be Conceptualised and Executed. First pertains to Threat from Religious Radicalism which is main shaft of terror in Kashmir. CDS elaborated with examples, as to how youth as young as 12-years old have been radicalised and are forming a part of the system that drives terror in Kashmir. Second was the mention that the “Best Method” of Deradicalisation is to isolate the newly indoctrinated youth from radicalisation in a gradual way and furthermore, those Completely Radicalised be segregated separately and taken into Deradicalisation Camps. General Bipin Rawat further added/clarified that Deradicalisation Camps do exist in our country. 

 

The comments by the CDS created full commotion in the Strategic Community, Media and Public, generating two different streams of thoughts. Many opined that CDS has overstepped his brief by delving into the Field of Radicalisation which they felt, has more Social Overtones, hence out of per view of Armed Forces. Others were shocked by information CDS gave about Deradicalisation Camps existing in India, throwing up perception that we have facilities akin to those set up by the Chinese in Xinjiang for the Uyghur Muslims. Moreover; prevailing agitative mood regarding CAA and NRC and information about perceived Detention Centres for ‘aliens’, had an added psychological impact due to high level of sensitivity generated at the mention of ‘Deradicalisation Camps’.

 

General Bipin Rawat mainly dwelled on Terrorism and Linkage of Radicalisation with International Terror. He then elaborated with suitable examples specifying how radicalisation has taken shape in Kashmir. Religious radicalisation has been troubling India since 1950s when Father Angami Zapu Phizo gave a call to take up arms for liberation of Nagaland from so called cluches of Indian Government, which later took on the form of Violent Extremism. Following same thought line/process, faith is being used as a system of Hybrid War in Kashmir. By the time Security Forces realized the game plan,it was too late. They were left fighting the symptoms and not the causes of Radicalisation. To defeat radicalisation, strong counter narratives are needed which are never easy to evolve without the assistance of informed academia and clerics. Counter radicalisation and Deradicalisation are to be conceptualised and executed as State Policy. In 2017, Counter Terrorism and Counter Radicalisation Division (CTCR) was set up under the Home Ministry to help State Governments, Security Forces, Intelligence Agencies and Communities/Leaders in preventing youth from embracing Extremist Ideologies. 

 

This was to be done by creating Counter Narratives against the Extremist Narratives which is constantly fed ‘online and institutionally’ through some Seminaries, to vulnerable youth. The essence of this is to ensure that no misinterpretations of Religious Texts are fed to youth. The idea was adopted from the “Singapore Model” which presumes that young male populations are vulnerable at their workplaces and particularly where they remain in clusters for most of the time. This vulnerability is enhanced by the mobile population. Under this program, number of Clerics assist the Government for online monitoring, education and lectures. Effort in Kashmir is still only marginal and online Counter Narratives have yet to take off. 

 

In the course of his speech, General Bipin Rawat identified Pakistan without naming, as one which resorts to extensive radicalization by setting camps to incarcerate youth or others under ideologically sanitised conditions to overcome the challenge. We do not have Radicalization Camps except in limited identified Clusters. It is for the first time a top ranking Civil/Military Official has openly talked about existence of Deradicalisation Camps in India. He pointed out that, terrorism is here to stay as long as there are Nation States which use Terror as Policy and supply weapons to their proxies. It has to end by following what Americans started after the 9/11 Terror Attacks ie by waging ” War on Terror”. To do that you have to isolate the terrorists and anybody who is sponsoring terrorism has to be taken to task, referring to Pakistan, General Bipin Rawat said, “You have to bring about accountability. Denial that they (Pak) are victims of terror is not an answer. Time has come to take the bull by its horns.” He pointed out that social media platforms are used as Propaganda Tools for promoting Violent Extremism and Hate, It is this monologue by General Bipin Rawat in “Raisina Dialogue” which drew sharp criticism from home and abroad. Some of these are listed below: 

 

1) “After 9/11 attacks the US invaded Iraq. Which country has CDS in mind for India to invade? Rawat Sahib think before you say something like this. More important, let politicians take political decisions. You can advise them in military matters when asked. It is bad for Indian Armed Forces and it is bad for India” is what General Qamar Jawed Bajwa, Pakistan Army Chief has adviced.

 

2) “This is not just a General speaking off-the-cuff; this is a general letting people know what his country has planned to set into motion” were the comments of Pakistan Strategist, Faheem Hamid Lone.

 

3) “India’s top military commander has created shock waves by suggesting that Kashmiris could be shipped off to “deradicalization camps,” which rights activists consider an alarming echo of what China has done to many of its Muslim citizens”. Was the By Line in New York Times of Washington.

 

4). “It’s shocking he would even suggest this. It reminds me of the Uighur camps in China. Over the past three years, the Chinese government has corralled as many as a million ethnic Uighurs, Kazakhs and others. Uighurs, like Kashmiris, are Muslims who are part of a minority that is often viewed with suspicion by the Government in Bejing” said Siddiq Wahid, a Kashmiri Historian who earned his Ph.D. from Harvard and is an Associate Professor there.

 

5) “India was taking its cue from China and might now try to crush all political dissent. Kashmir is a political issue; it needs a political resolution, not deradicalization camps. And where is the radicalization?” asked Noor Ahmad Baba, who has studied Patterns of Radicalization and presently is a Professor of Political Science at Central University of Kashmir.

 

6) “Former PMs such as Vajpayee would never approve of such military chiefs. What Rawat said goes beyond his brief” is the opinion of Manvendra Singh Congress Leader and Editor-in-Chief of Defence & Security Alert.

 

7) “CDS’s remarks not out of place. India is facing a hybrid warfare at conventional and sub-conventional levels” opined Adil Rasheed, Research Fellow, IDSA’

 

8) “CDS Gen Bipin Rawat didn’t overstep his brief but he did speak loosely on a sensitive issue” is what Snehesh Alex Philip, Senior Associate Editor of The Print, wrote in his paper magazine. 

 

9) “Pakistan strongly condemns Indian Chief of Defense Staff General Bipin Rawat’s remarks about “deradicalization camps” for Kashmir children and seeking to place Pakistan on FATF blacklist “ was the official comment by Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui.

 

10) “Countering security threats arising from terrorism in Kashmir is the responsibility of Armed Forces” opined Lt Gen. Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd) Former GOC of Srinagar-based 15 Corps who is associated with the Vivekananda International Foundation and the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies.

 

Notwithstanding the criticism of speech by CDS, most of us are not aware of what exactly Counter Terrorism and Counter Radicalisation Division (CTCR) does. What it has done so far is;

 

1) It formulated Countering Strategy for Violent Extremism (CVE), designed after a careful examination of CVE approaches in the West and in the Muslim world which also employ Deradicalization Programs. 

 

2) It has a mechanism to differentiate between Religious, Ethnic, Linguistic, and Cultural Grievances which affects sociopolitical manifestations of extremism, of both the violent and nonviolent variety with a view to establish a program for Socio Cultural Engineering of affected community.

 

3) It will aim at 'Harmony' or 'Harmonization' through legislative/administrative reform, including 're-education' strategies to achieve compatibility between religion, patriotism and social cohesion. It will strive to imbibe the fact that Islam has no space for the evils like extremism and separatism in the minds of participants emphasizing that those who preach/ teach them extremism through/in accordance with 'fabricated religious law' and 'domestic discipline', defy country's constitution and laws.

 

The observations of CDS should be viewed through this perception as senior officers/luminaries like him cannot usually afford to make mistakes in factual information they give on public platforms. The idea of ‘De-radicalisation Camps’ existing in India appeared to give a perception that India and China are in the same boat in handling this ideology and hence this clarification as per my thought process.