New Delhi, Feb 23: The National Investigation Agency on Monday filed a supplementary against Dr. Sabeel Ahmed and another person in connection with a terror conspiracy case.
Part of a Lashkar-e-Tayiba, the duo along with others were planning on killing Hindu leaders in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Telangana. Ahmed is the brother of Kafeel Ahmed, who was the Glasgow bomber. Both sons are from a affluent family, highly educated, lived in a plush locality of Bengaluru.
The case of these two brothers once again puts to rest the lame argument that Islamists take to terror due to their poor background, oppression in society etc. For instance, one of the most disturbing headlines or narratives was that Burhan Wani was the son of a poor school master.
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Security experts have time and again maintained that it is ideology and the rabid mind that lures them into terror. Oppression and social background are not factors for these persons taking to terror.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said last week that many people who are spreading terror are highly educated and highly skilled. He said what you do depends on whether your mindset is positive or negative.
In this context one could also look at all the cases where youth from Maharashtra and Kerala left India to join the ISIS. Areeb Majeed who joined the ISIS and then returned to India is highly educated. Haja Fakhruddin, the Tamil Nadu operative who joined the ISIS is an engineer.
The former CEO of Natgrid, Raghu Ram writing in the Hindustan Times said, terrorists see themselves as soldiers to their cause. Terror is an instrument of war. Denunciations and condemnations do not change that fact. It is just as abominable as, say, a nuclear bomb, or napalm and yet, it is only a tool in the arsenal of a group, organisation or country seeking to dominate another group, organisation or country, he also said.
Prior to joining any terror group there is a process of radicalisation. States such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu have a high number of radicalisation camps. An Intelligence Bureau official who has worked in these states tells OneIndia that thanks to a section of the political class the word radicalisation was taboo. Files relating to radicalisation would be pushed under the table. The discourse is changing and unless the issue of radicalisation is addressed, terror will remain. It is easier to radicalise the educated.
However a man who is fending for his family and has to think of the three meals a day, will not care much about radicalisation, ideology etc, the official also says.
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In this context one must also look at the members of the Hezbollah's militant wing who were killed in the early 80s and 90s. All of them came from economically advantaged families and had a high level of education.