- Maharashtra banned 114 radical literature items linked to terrorist groups, including ISIS and Al Qaeda
- The banned materials promoted violent extremism, jihad, and radicalisation, posing security threats
- Items include magazines like Voice of Khurasan and publications linked to Hizb-ul-Mujahideen and AQIS
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis-led Maharashtra government has banned 114 items of radical literature, including magazines and books, of terrorist organisations like Islamic State, Islamic State in Khorasan Province, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen Pir Panjal Regiment and Al Qaeda (AQIS) that "glorify violent extremism and jihad and promote radicalisation".
In a gazette notification issued by Maharashtra's Home Department on Thursday, the state government said intelligence inputs, cyber surveillance reports, and investigations conducted by the state Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) point to continued circulation, possession and transmission of "radical and extremist literature, publications, and propaganda material" linked to organisations engaged in or supporting terrorist and unlawful activities.
"Such material is found to have a content which glorifies violent extremism and jihad, promotes radicalisation, provides ideological indoctrination, facilitates recruitment, and incites or encourages acts prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India, thereby posing a serious threat to public order, communal harmony and internal security," it said.
The 114 banned literature items include 44 issues of "Voice of Khurasan" magazine, "Are you still sitting", "Why Should You Join the Islamic State" and "Nida-e-Khurasan - 1 Urdu", all linked to the Islamic State/Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) /Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)/Daish/ Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP)/ISIS Wilayat Khorasan/Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham-Khorasan (ISIS-K) and all its manifestations, it said.
Issues of "The Revolutionary Resurgence", linked to Hizb-ul-Mujahideen/ Hizb-ul-Mujahideen Pir Panjal Regiment, "Nawai Gazawa e Hind", "School Of Yusuf" and "Modern Warfare", linked to the "Al Quida/Al Quida in Indian Sub-Continent (AQIS)" have also been banned.
Devendra Fadanavis On Ban
Devendra Fadanavis on Friday said the banned material contained content promoting radicalisation, including information on making bombs and carrying out lone-wolf attacks.
"Earlier, there was no specific law in the state to ban such a material. Under the new Maharashtra Public Security Act, such content can now be banned and action can be taken against those circulating it," he told reporters.
The gazette notification said that in March last year, top police and ATS officials had informed the government that certain newspapers, books, documents and other materials, including paintings, drawings and photographs, needed to be forfeited as they were associated with activities prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India.
"The state government is satisfied that the said material is associated with terrorist organisations, including but not limited to Islamic State (IS/ISIS), Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP), Hizb-ul-Mujahideen Pir Panjal Regiment, Al Qaeda (AQIS), and other organisations listed in the First Schedule to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, including associated websites, social media platforms, encrypted channels and digital networks propagating such content," it said.
