New Delhi: In the backdrop of the recent brutal murder of a Hindu tailor in Udaipur, the government admitted on the floor of the Lok Sabha that though miniscule, there is a threat of radicalisation in India as foreign agencies are conspiring with global terror organisations.
In a reply in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, MoS Home Nityanand Rai said that “Radicalisation by the global terrorist groups like the ISIS, Al Qaeda etc. is one of the most challenging problems faced by countries all over the world.”
“In the Indian context, some foreign agencies inimical to India along with global terrorist groups have been making efforts to radicalise people.”
However, he said that the inclination towards radical ideologies is “minuscule” as compared to the population of the country owing to various factors and efforts by the government including ensuring universal coverage of various government welfare schemes without discrimination.
There are also special schemes for un-served and “underserved communities/areas”.
The government said that it is working towards the promotion of a composite culture and co-existence among various communities, constitutional safeguards to minorities and institutional efforts for ensuring fair representation of minorities and other less represented communities in all spheres of life.
The government said that it has created a Counter Terrorism and Counter Radicalisation Division in the Ministry of Home Affairs to help and coordinate with various security and law enforcement agencies.
The debate on radicalisation came to the fore after the murder of a tailor in Udaipur in the wake of controversial remarks made by some BJP leaders who have since been expelled from the party posts. Kanhaiya Lal, a tailor, was killed by cleaver-wielding men — Riaz Akhtari and Ghouse Mohammad on June 28 in Udaipur over his social media post.
The accused had then posted a video of the crime on social media platforms. The NIA is investigating the case. There were allegedly seven accused in the killing of Kanhaiya Lal in Rajasthan’s Udaipur.
