Papers flagging concerns about Islamist, Hindutva groups removed from police website
The articles were submitted at the annual Director Generals and Inspector Generals of Police Conference held last week.
Papers flagging the role of Islamist and Hindutva organisations in connection with growing radicalisation in the country were among a group of articles that have been removed from an official website on Wednesday, The Indian Express reported.
The articles were submitted at the annual Director Generals and Inspector Generals of Police Conference organised by the Intelligence Bureau held from January 20 to January 22. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had attended the conference.
The article submitted for the 2022 conference have reportedly been removed from the website. However, articles from 2021 remain available.
Some of the articles submitted by police officers in 2022 also referred to the situation along the India-China border and China’s aggressive behaviour in forward areas, and said that these constituted key challenges to national security, reported PTI.
Leh Senior Superintendent of Police, PD Nitya said in her paper that India lost access to 26 out of 65 patrolling points in the eastern Ladakh region. She said that Indian security forces are no longer able to patrol 26 patrolling points located between the Karakoram Pass and the Chumur region in eastern Ladakh – a major flashpoint of border conflicts between India and China.
Another article identified Hindutva groups Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal as radical organisations, reported The Indian Express.
“Far-right individuals or groups…have an authoritative concept of the state, in which the state and the people, all of which are ethnically homogenous, should merge into a single unit,” one of the papers said, reported the newspaper. “India though being a plural society as well, is being portrayed as inching towards majoritarianism. To name a few are Anand Marg, VHP, Bajrang Dal, Hindu Sena, etc.”
An officer of the rank of Superintendent of Police flagged Islamic fundamentalism and Hindu extremism as challenges, among others. The official flagged Islamic organisations Jamaat-e-Islami and Jamiyat Ahle-Hadith, as also Hindu extremism, as reasons for radicalisation.
“The demolition of the Babri Masjid along with the growth of Hindu nationalism, cases of beef lynching and ‘ghar vapsi movement’ has been a breeding ground for extremist groups to recruit and radicalise young minds,” the article read.