Urban radicalisation is a serious concern and can be controlled through a focussed approach

Sanjiv Krishan Sood

The strategic community and media have added a new phrase ‘white collar terrorists’ to our lexicon after the Red Fort bombing on 10 November 25.

The investigations have revealed that the Red Fort bombing was carried out by a set of radicalised urban, well-educated professionals who were competent medical practitioners. The normal lifestyle of the perpetrators, besides their reported humane approach and competence in their profession kept them below the radar of intelligence and security agencies. Everyone known to them as also their relatives have stated that it was beyond their imagination to even envision that they could be involved in such a monstrous plot that could take several lives and spread terror among masses. 

The perpetrators of the heinous crime do not fit the profile of a terrorist that we normally associate with. The terror acts, especially the ones where suicide bombing is involved, have been carried out by the youth who generally belong to deprived background besides being uneducated. Such impoverished youth is easily lured by small amounts of money. They are easy targets for indoctrination and radicalisation by subversive elements and religious preachers who present them with a rosy scenario of higher purpose of life through sacrifices for protection of religion. 

Involvement of youth from the educated strata appears to have taken everyone by surprise, hence the label ‘white collar terrorists’. However, this narrative of educated professionals carrying out acts of terrorism being a new phenomenon is contrary to the facts. The ideological fountain heads of militant movements have largely been persons from elite backgrounds. Osama Bin Laden, besides being highly educated, belonged to one of the richest families of West Asia. Ayman al-Zawahiri, who headed al Qaeda from June 2011 until his death in July 2022 and was the main plotter of 9/11 attacks, was a doctor and belonged to an elite family in Egypt. Omar Sheikh of Harkat-ul-Ansar had studied in London School of Economics. The perpetrators of 9/11 in the US were all very well educated including some being engineers. Other militant organisations like the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and Ku Klux Klan too had educated elements both among the leadership as well as ground level operatives.

Closer home in India, Burhan Wani, despite being a school dropout, was intelligent and proficient in computers. The Maoist movement is led by many extreme Left-wing thinkers who have often led operations against security forces and public authorities. Many terrorists in Punjab were highly qualified. In fact, the defences in the Golden Temple in 1984 were organised by a decorated ex-serviceman—Maj. Gen. Shabeg Singh. Many militants in the Northeast India also come from wealthy families.

We should therefore not get persuaded by the narrative that involvement of people from the educated strata of society is a new phenomenon. The fact is that the establishment and the strategic community is extremely fond of inventing fancy phrases and nomenclatures like ‘urban Naxals’, ‘love jihad’, ‘vote jihad’ and even ‘UPSC jihad’ etc as propaganda to capture public imagination.

Red Fort Blast 

The underlying impact of this narrative is that a particular group or community gets typified and branded for all ills, even though only a miniscule minority belonging to that religion or professional group are the actual culprit. We already find slogans like ‘doctors of