By Al-Fassel | 2025-04-12

Indian authorities have been cracking down on "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) operatives across the country in an effort to expunge the group's violent extremist ideology and deny it safe harbor.

In January, India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted raids across 16 locations in Tamil Nadu in connection with an ISIS radicalization case, the World is One News (WION) reported.

The operation, which aimed to prevent further ISIS-related terror activities and attacks, came as the NIA, a law enforcement agency focused on counter-terrorism, conducted a wider probe into ISIS's network in India, it said.

It also came as pro-ISIS media released posters threatening attacks against churches and parks in India, MEMRI reported February 10.

In another sign that Indian authorities will ensure ISIS elements are held accountable for their actions, a court in Mumbai on March 29 rejected the bail plea of an ISIS supporter who was arrested in 2023.

Zubair Noor Mohammed Shaikh, who was arrested with five others accused of being members of ISIS and propagating its ideology, had sought bail on the grounds that there was no evidence to show he was a member of ISIS.

But the NIA opposed his plea, saying there was "proof including text messages and the statement of a protected witness who showed his complicity," the Express News Service reported.

Tackling online radicalization

"ISIS attempted to plant the seeds of unrest in India in June 2014 by including India in a map of its planned caliphate," Natalie Tecimer wrote for The Diplomat.

"Six months later, ISIS named former Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander Hafiz Saeed Khan as the wali of the 'Khorasan Province,' which includes India," she added.

In December 2014, India banned ISIS under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act of 1967 and the same month arrested Mehdi Masroor Biswas, the operator of one of ISIS's most prolific social media accounts.

Around the same time, India's Intelligence Bureau launched Operation Chukravyuh to respond to the growing online threat, One India reported.

During the January raids in Tamil Nadu, the NIA arrested an individual in Chennai for radicalizing youngsters through social media, the Times of India reported.

The agency was actively investigating radicalization and recruitment cases connected to ISIS across various Indian states, it said.

India has been working aggressively to tackle online extremism, in concert with the efforts of other nations.

It has promoted multilateral counterterrorism cooperation through leadership roles in regional and international bodies such as the Global Counterterrorism Forum, according to the US State Department.

"The internet has been the predominant driver of the radicalization process, and this has been a global trend," researcher Kabir Taneja wrote in a paper published by the Observer Research Foundation in July 2018.

"The internet remains the main propagator of pro-ISIS activities, and will continue to be one even after a complete 'defeat' of the so-called Islamic State."

"Building capacity to tackle this is the biggest challenge facing India, South Asia and the rest of the world collectively," he added. "It is no longer only about ISIS, but new trends in terrorism that will be replicated by others in the future."