India should have de-radicalisation camps: Bipin Rawat

New Delhi: Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen. Bipin Rawat on Thursday suggested that highly radicalised young people in the country could be put in de-radicalisation camps as a way to deal with terrorism.

He said that to end terrorism, ideology and radicalisation have to be addressed on priority.

“Anything that has started can be put to an end. To say that radicalisation cannot be countered, I don’t quiet agree with it. Radicalisation can be countered,” said Gen Rawat.

He said that one has to start countering radicalisation by looking where it is happening and who are the people who are radicalising people. “It is happening from schools, universities, from religious places and sites and then there are group of people who are spreading it,” said Gen Rawat. He said that one has to get to the nerve of the whole thing by identifying who is radicalising the people.

“You can start isolating these people gradually. And then start a counter-radicalisation programme by identifying people who have been radicalised to what degree. You got to segregate them in degrees and then look at those who have been completely radicalised, first target them,” he said.  

“But then also start looking at the future like what we are seeing in Kashmir. We saw radicalisation happening. Today we are seeing radicalisation being undertaken even among the people, girls and boys as young as 10 and 12, are now being radicalised,” said Gen. Rawat.

He said that these people can still be isolated from radicalisation in a gradual way. “But there are people who have been completely been radicalised these people need to be taken out separately, possibly taken into some de-radicalisation camps,” said the CDS.  

He said that we have got de-radicalisation camps going on in our country. “Let me tell you that even Pakistan is doing the same. Pakistan also has got de-radicalisation camps. They have understood that some of the terrorism they have been sponsoring is actually hitting back at them,” said Gen. Rawat.  

Gen. Rawat also said there is a need to take a hard-line approach in dealing with terrorism, the way the US went after terror groups after the 9/11 terror attacks.

“As long as there are states which sponsor terrorism, we will have to live with the menace. We need to take the bull by its horns and strike at the root cause,” he said in an oblique reference to Pakistan.

“If we think war on terrorism is going to end, we are wrong,” Gen Rawat said. He said the countries which are sponsoring terrorism cannot be part of global fight against terror networks. “You cannot have partners who are partnering global war on terrorism and yet sponsoring terrorism... There has to be diplomatic isolation of those sponsoring terrorism. Any country which is sponsoring terrorism has to be taken to task,” he said.