India’s first anti-terror policy to be released soon

The Union government is finalising India’s first anti-terror policy which will provide a template for all States to combat and respond to terror-related incidents, a senior government official told The Hindu. Digital radicalisation, the misuse of open borders, and conversion networks funded by foreign players are among the key issues being discussed in the run-up to the policy’s release.

Last November, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had announced that a National Counter Terrorism Policy and Strategy would be introduced soon.

One year on, a National Investigation Agency (NIA) official told The Hindu that “the Home Ministry is finalising the document and the NIA has also given its inputs.” The NIA is organising an anti-terror conference on December 26 and 27 at Delhi where the contours of the policy are likely to be shared.

Post-Pahalgam discussions

After the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, the NIA conducted meetings with anti-terror units of all States and apprised them of the measures to be put in place to prevent and pre-empt such attacks. They also discussed the use of the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID), a secure platform for law enforcement agencies to access government and other databases.

Over the past few months, NIA director general Sadanand Date and National Security Guard chief Brighu Srinivasan have briefed a few State police chiefs on issues such as foreign-funded conversion rackets, online radicalisation, and Aadhaar spoofing, among others.

A National Policy and Action Plan for Left Wing Extremism (LWE) had earlier been introduced in 2015.

Open border concerns

An Uttar Pradesh police official said that online radicalisation and the misuse of the open border with Nepal have been flagged as priority issues likely to find mention in the new anti-terror policy.

“There have been instances when members associated with the Khalistani terrorist network came to Nepal on foreign passports. They leave the passport in the neighbouring country, enter India through the open, and go to Punjab through the U.P.-Bihar-Nepal border,” the U.P police official said.

Digital radicalisation

The interrogation of the doctors arrested in relation to the November 10 car-borne suicide attack near Delhi’s Red Fort also revealed that they were radicalised online, an NIA official said.

Another State police official said deliberations are on to get feedback from States on ways to address online radicalisation.

“An organised foreign-funded radicalisation has come to our notice. A religious centre in Canada which has links to the Pakistan’s ISI has emerged as one of the prime suspects in radicalising the youth here through social media. While there are only a handful of police officials who are trained to notice these trends, what is required is concerted efforts to strengthen the mechanism at police station level. It will lead to early detection,” said the second State police official.

Critical issues

In a post on X on September 9, the U.P. police said that senior officers of the NIA, NSG, Intelligence Bureau and the State police had deliberated on critical issues, including cross-border vulnerabilities, foreign-funded conversion networks, Aadhaar spoofing, the trafficking of arms and drugs, terror linkages, and digital radicalisation.

“This powerful convergence of NIA, NSG, IB, and UP Police reaffirms our commitment: sealing the gaps, fortifying our defences, and safeguarding the sovereignty of India’s most populous state,” the U.P. police said.