INTRODUCTION

Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of

extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or
religious sense, to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by
some implied shared social consensus) to be far outside the mainstream
attitudes of society. It can also be used in an economic context. The term may
be used pejoratively by opposing groups, but is also used in academic and
journalistic circles, in a purely descriptive and non-condemning sense.
Extremists' views are typically contrasted with those of moderates. In Western
countries for example, in contemporary discourse on Islam or on Islamic
political movements, the distinction between extremist and moderate Muslims
is commonly stressed. Political agendas perceived as extremist often include
those from the far-left politics or far-right politics as well as radicalism,
reactionism, fundamentalism and fanaticism. Political extremism can be
defined as those policies that violate or erode international human rights
norms as found in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Religious Extremism
With Context to Religious Extremism That India Faces we can contest giving
reference from the aftermath of recent terrorist attacks in Kashmir, executed
by local militants owing allegiance to Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM), debate
surrounding home grown radicalisation has raised whose sources of inspiration
may be abroad.Recently NIA busted an Islamic State (IS) ‘inspired’ module in
Amroha, in conjunction with several other instances discovered earlier.A huge
local population engulfed by systematic radicalisation can create a major
challenge as there seems not much preparedness in this direction.
Types of Radicalisation
Right-Wing Extremism – It is characterized by the violent defence of a racial,
ethnic or pseudo-national identity, and is also associated with radical hostility
towards state authorities, minorities, immigrants and/or left-wing political
groups.

Politico-Religious Extremism – It results from political interpretation of religion

and the defence, by violent means, of a religious identity perceived to be
under attack (via international conflicts, foreign policy, social debates, etc.).
Any religion may spawn this type of violent radicalization.

Left-Wing Extremism – It focuses primarily on anti-capitalist demands and calls

for the transformation of political systems considered responsible for
producing social inequalities, and that may ultimately employ violent means to
further its cause. It includes anarchist, maoist, Trotskyist and marxist–leninist
groups that use violence to advocate for their cause.

Spreading Radicalisation
There are many different theories and models describing how radicalisation
happens. However there is no single process in which someone becomes
radicalised, and it is dependent on a number of different circumstances.

Extremist groups often try to recruit new young members online through the
use of social media, people become radicalised because of the people they
associate with, some are exposed to extremist views at home, sometimes it is
completely based on one’s understanding of events and experience.

Instances of radicalisation in India

Cases have revealed instances of internet-facilitated indoctrination and active
radicalisation in multiple states.
Instances of Left Wing Extremism (LWE) have grown despite the continued
government intervention. Encounters, ambushes and arrests still occur with
regular frequency in the red corridor districts.
On the other end of the spectrum increased incidents of mob lynching, cow
vigilantism and the string of assassinations of rationalists such as Narendra
Dabholkar, Govind Pansare and Gauri Lankesh point towards rising extremism
in the right wing cadres.
These instances signify the stark reality of the threats to internal security that
stare India in the face, from both the right wing as well as the left.
Tackling Extremism
The threat from radicalisation remains highly underestimated and
understudied in India. In the absence of official Indian policy on radicalisation
and de-radicalisation situation has turned even worse, aggravating the
problem.
In order to face and counter such threats effectively and conclusively, policy
addressing and trying to reverse the process of radicalisation that forces an
individual or a group to idealise and act upon extremist ideas is needed.
The programme should focus upon the four aspects of the individual, family,
religion and psychology and seeks to bring about a lasting change in the
individual’s belief system.
However, instead of seeing it as a rehabilitative, reformative and preventive
approach it is looked with a security centric perspective severely undermining
the gravity of the problem.
Challenges in Formulating a Policy
Initiatives have been taken to counter the menace of growing radicalisation by
state governments through their respective De-radicalisation programs;
however the programs have turned out to be weak in many ways:

Firstly, they aim only at those individuals who under goes radicalisation and
does not deal with people who have not crossed the boundaries of law under
the influence of the radical doctrine.
People or communities affected by radicalisation often belongs to marginalised
and neglected section having little or no trust on law enforcement agencies,
blocking any attempt at constructive dialogues with minority communities.
Any policy in isolation without a comprehensive policy or legal framework from
the Centre makes policy weak and results in delays in intelligence gathering
and swift action.
In the absence of a central policy or legal framework, any efforts at countering
radicalisation will only be dealing with superficial aspects as radical content is
primarily disseminated through the internet which requires greater
cooperation from centre given the pan-Indian nature of the problem.
Way Forward
Programme with respect to radicalisation must be based upon objectively
researched conclusions based on strong evidence and not merely the
subjective experience of an officer.
India’s federal structure requires the Centre to develop an umbrella of legal
framework aimed at facilitating, guiding and coordinating efforts of individual
states to combat radicalisation therefore any such framework should not be
limited to any one community or source of radicalisation.
The problem of radicalisation has seen an uptrend and in absence of any clear
policy will continue to spread. It is important therefore to conduct meaningful
research to aid the development of a framework that not only deals with de-
radicalisation but also rehabilitate the misguided youth of the nation.
Fundamentalism
Fundamentalism usually has a religious connotation that indicates unwavering
attachment to a set of irreducible beliefs. However, fundamentalism has come
to be applied to a tendency among certain groups – mainly, although not
exclusively, in religion – that is characterized by a markedly strict literalism as it
is applied to certain specific scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, and a strong
sense of the importance of maintaining ingroup and outgroup distinctions,
leading to an emphasis on purity and the desire to return to a previous ideal
from which advocates believe members have strayed. Rejection of diversity of
opinion as applied to these established "fundamentals" and their accepted
interpretation within the group often results from this tendency.
Depending upon the context, the label "fundamentalism" can be a pejorative
rather than a neutral characterization, similar to the ways that calling political
perspectives "right-wing" or "left-wing" can have negative connotations.

Fundamentalism in strict sense of meaning describes an ideology of religious or

other social groups which calls for adherence to literal meanings of sermons or
scriptures or doctrines and apply them to all aspects of life.
They strongly believe in one and only one true explanation.
Whenever there are drastic changes in society and change of pace which
disturbs community life, very often there is a loss of identity and rootlessness
among people.
In such situation people clutch any support for solace. Fundamentalism
promises certitude and restitution of an earlier better age.

FEATURES OF FUNDAMENTALISM

Fundamentalism stress on infallibility of a scripture (e.g. the Bible, Granths, the

Gita or the Quran) in all matters & faith of Religion and doctrine. Second,
fundamentalists assert that all aspects and areas of life are to be governed by
the true, revealed religion as embodied in the original texts.
It is opposed to reason and rationalism, humanism and secularism.
According to T N Madan, fundamentalist movements are of a collective
character. They are often led by charismatic leaders who are usually men

UNDERMINING OF RELIGION

Modernisation has undermined religion in at least three ways:

Social life has become separated from religious life (linked to the process of
differentiation).
Rationalisation means that people are more likely to seek scientific
explanations for behaviour rather than religious explanations.
Steve Bruce argues that in certain societies ‘religious traditionalist’ feel as if
their way of life is under threat, and so they take steps to defend their
traditions against the erosive influence of modernisation.