The United States of America (USA) in its latest report on terrorism acknowledged India’s significant effort to scale up counterterrorism infrastructure but at the same stated the law enforcement agencies, including at the border, “face budgetary, staffing, and equipment constraints”.

Not just that, “Country Reports on Terrorism 2021: India,” prepared by US Bureau of Counterterrorism and released on Monday, observed the “Capacity to patrol and secure extensive maritime and land borders is improving but not adequate, given India’s extensive coastline”.

The report, however, appreciated that “the Indian government made significant efforts to detect, disrupt, and degrade operations of terrorist organizations”. It also stated that terrorist tactics showed a shift toward attacks on civilians and greater reliance on IEDs, including an explosives attack using drones on an Air Force base. Terrorist groups active in India include Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Hizbul Mujahideen, ISIS, al-Qa’ida, Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh.

‘Lacking new strategies’

The US report also questioned lack of new counter-radicalisation strategies and stated that even the ones piloted by states are “uneven and based on local interests and contexts”.

“India did not adopt any new strategies or programs for countering terrorist radicalization and recruitment. The Ministry of Home Affairs is the lead agency for CVE (counter violent extremism). There is no national CVE policy or national CVE coordinator. State governments have the lead on CVE and deradicalization strategies,” it stated.

Media reports and security experts claim donations from private groups in western countries and the Middle East earmarked for religious institutions, social organizations, and schools in India contribute to radicalization to violence, the Bureau of Counterterrorism stated.

In Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian Army runs schools, training courses, recruitment drives, medical camps, and emergency services to prevent “radicalization.” Only five of the 28 Indian states have formulated a CVE strategy but the “efforts are uneven and vary based on local interests and contexts,” it pointed out. CVE programs target demographics and cohorts, as per the report , at the highest risk of vulnerability for terrorist recruitment.

Terror attacks

In 2021, there were 153 terrorist attacks in J&K, causing 274 deaths that included 45 security personnel, 36 civilians, and 193 terrorists. Other notable attacks which caught the attention of Bureau of Counterterrorism included an attack on November 1 in Manipur, in which the People’s Liberation Army of Manipur and Naga People’s Front killed seven persons in an ambush, including an Indian Army officer and with his wife and minor son.

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