Country Report on Terrorism 2023 - Chapter 1 - India

Overview:  Terrorism affected the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), the northeastern states, and some parts of central and southern India in 2023.  Terrorist groups active in India include ISIS, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Hizbul Mujahideen, al-Qa’ida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), the Communist Party of India-Maoist, and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh.

Terrorist attacks were directed at civilians and government officials, and security forces in particular.  Tactics included attacks on security installations, ambushes on convoys, and use of IEDs.

The Government of India (GoI) made significant efforts to detect, disrupt, and degrade the capabilities of terrorist organizations.  India held the G-20 presidency in 2023 and hosted hundreds of meetings throughout the country, capped by a summit of global leaders in Delhi in September, with no serious security incidents.  U.S.-India counterterrorism cooperation included special forces exercises.  India participated in the Quad Counterterrorism Working Group in Hawaii in December.

2023 Terrorist Incidents:  In J&K, 94 terrorism-related incidents resulted in 117 deaths, consisting of 73 alleged terrorists, 30 security personnel, and 14 civilians, according to Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) data.  In Maoist-linked violence, 61 civilians, 31 security forces, and 58 alleged Maoists were killed, according to data compiled by South Asia Terrorism Portal.

Among India’s terrorist incidents in 2023, two stood out:

• On April 20, five soldiers from the Indian Army’s CT force were killed in an ambush by terrorists linked to designated terrorist group JeM.

• On April 26, 10 members of Chhattisgarh state security forces and a civilian driver were killed by Maoists in an IED attack.

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security:  In December, India’s Parliament passed three criminal laws that expanded the definition of terrorism.  While these laws are yet to come into force, reforms include requiring forensic evidence for criminal charges that carry a sentence of more than seven years.  Existing terrorism-related laws such as the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967 (the UAPA), remain in force.

India implements UNSC resolution 2396 by using watchlists, implementing biographic and biometric screening at ports of entry, and prioritizing information sharing.  The U.S. and Indian governments collaborate on border security, aviation security, and information sharing, including data collection consistent with UNSC resolution 2309.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is the lead federal agency investigating terrorism.  The National Security Guard is the federal counterterrorism security force.  Some Indian states have dedicated CT units in their police forces.

Significant law enforcement actions included the following:

• On January 5, LeT-linked The Resistance Front was designated as a terrorist organization, followed by the JeM-linked People’s Anti-Fascist-Front on January 6.

• On February 10, four AQIS members were convicted of recruiting members to carry out terrorist attacks for AQIS in India.

• On February 25, eight ISIS members were convicted of making and testing IEDs to use in terrorist attacks across the state of Uttar Pradesh.

In 2023 the NIA investigated 21 cases related to terrorism and arrested 65 people with suspected links to ISIS.

India’s capacity to secure its extensive land and maritime borders is improving, but budgetary, staffing, and equipment constraints remain.

The GoI opposes differentiating terrorist acts based on motivation and does not recognize racial and ethnically motivated violent extremism.

Countering the Financing of Terrorism:  India is a member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering, and the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism.  Its Financial Intelligence Unit is a member of the Egmont Group.  In 2023 the NIA seized real estate and bank accounts worth $7.2 million in cases related to terrorism.

Countering Violent Extremism:  The MHA is the lead federal ministry and has a Counter-Terrorism and Counter-Radicalization Division.  No new national CVE strategies or programs were adopted in 2023.  India does not have a national CVE coordinator.  State governments and state police lead local CVE and disengagement programs.

Federal and state police monitor online platforms for violent extremist content and messaging because of concerns over online terrorist radicalization and recruitment.  CVE programs target demographics at the highest risk of vulnerability for terrorist recruitment.  Civil society organizations reported that terrorism-related laws, such as the UAPA, as well as police monitoring activities, are increasingly used against civic actors, members of minority groups, and others perceived as critical of the government for their exercise of freedom of expression, rather than because of legitimate terrorist activity.

In J&K the Indian Army operates schools and medical camps and provides training to deter radicalization to violence.

India has no national policy or planned activity to repatriate the small number of foreign terrorist fighters or their associated family members from northeast Syria, having repatriated none to date.  Rehabilitation and reintegration programs for Indians who have joined domestic terrorist or violent extremist organizations operate informally at the state or local levels.

International and Regional Cooperation:  India cooperates on terrorism-related issues with Bangladesh, Egypt, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kenya, the Kyrgyz Republic, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, the UAE, and Uzbekistan.

India’s defense relationships with Australia, Bhutan, Burma, France, Israel, Japan, Russia, and the UK extend to CT issues, as do its military exercises with Nepal and other countries.  Five Indian cities/municipalities – Delhi, Mumbai, Patna, Raipur, and Shimla – are members of the Strong Cities Network.

India promoted multilateral CT cooperation in the following groups:

• The G-20
• The UN
• The Quad
• The Global Counterterrorism Forum

• The Gulf Cooperation Council
• The Colombo Security Conclave
• The Association of Southeast Asian Nations
• The United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime
• The ASEAN Regional Forum
• The Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia
• The Council of Regional Antiterrorist Structure of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization