Eurasia Review
24 March 2015
- RSIS
- Media Mentions
- Rise of Extremism in Tamil Nadu: ISIL’s New Hunting Ground – Analysis
Rise of Extremism in Tamil Nadu: ISIL’s New Hunting Ground – Analysis
The discovery of groups and individuals in south India pledging allegiance to various militant factions in Syria’s civil war has led to a deterioration of security of that region. What is the implication of this new phenomenon for Southeast Asia?
Tamil Nadu in south India, which comprise 65 million people (88% Hindu, 5.5% Muslims, 5.4% Christians), has enjoyed relative peace in recent years despite historical tensions between its various ethnic and religious communities. The last major incidents of communal violence were the Hindu-Muslim riots of 1993 and 1998. Yet the threat of terrorism by contemporary jihadist groups — rife in other parts of India — never gained traction there. The northern states of Jammu and Kashmir have been hotbeds of jihadist militancy fighting for independence from India. There have also been pockets of Islamic insurgent groups in the Northeast and the ‘national’ jihadi groups such as the Indian Mujahideen.
…Vikram Rajakumar is a Senior Analyst with the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research at S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University.
ICPVTR / Online
Last updated on 23/11/2015
