Strong State and Rule of Law Key to Countering Radicalisation, Says GK Pillai

December 09, 2015

New Delhi: Giving an in depth assessment of radicalisation as a security threat to India, former Home Secretary, Mr GK Pillai today said that a ‘strong state and rule of law’ are the two key elements of the Indian counter-radicalisation strategy. Shri Pillai was delivering a keynote address at the 3rd Annual Internal Security National Seminar on ‘Radicalisation: A Growing Security Challenge for India’ organised by the Institute for Defence Studies & Analyses (IDSA), on December 9, 2015.

Defining radicalisation in the context of an important security challenge for India, Shri Pillai said that it is a process of changing people’s perception to the extreme extent, where it may manifest itself in violence and curbing the freedom of expression of others.

‘Radical ideas are part of all multi-cultural democracies’ and ‘radical ideas bring about social change’, noted Shri Pillai. India is confronted with violent radicalisation due to a number of factors – alienation of youth, unemployment, fear, grievances etc. What is required, most of all, is a strong ‘redressal mechanism’ at the ground level to address grievances, he reiterated.

‘Traditional family structures and communities’ can play a crucial role in countering radicalisation in India, he insisted. ‘Our family and community structures prevent people from switching to extreme ideologies’, he reflected. All communities within themselves should work out anti-radical strategies, said Shri Pillai.

The former Home Secretary also referred to ‘effective communication’ as a prerequisite for a successful counter radicalisation strategy, with equal emphasis on a swift legal system. ‘Institution building’ and ‘capacity building’ were also cited by him as important measures to counter radicalisation in the country.

Speaking further, Shri Pillai stressed upon the need for empirical studies on radicalisation in India, to gauge the reasons why people adopt extreme ideas and the number of people so affected. Detailed analyses should be undertaken to study the causes and processes of radicalisation before getting into the process of countering radicalisation, he noted.

Earlier in his welcome address, Director General, IDSA, Shri Jayant Prasad said that in order to deal with terrorist radicalisation and to develop effective social, legal, and institutional instruments for de-radicalisation, we have to better understand the processes and dynamics of radicalisation, and the conditions in which it can prosper ideologically and organisationally.

The conference offered a common platform for the representatives of academia, administration, legal experts and the media to discuss growing security challenges for India.