New Variant of the 0.5 War

On 10 November 2025, India was jolted by the news of a devastating bomb blast that took place near the historic Red Fort in New Delhi, killing more than 8 people and injuring around 19 people. Around this time, raids carried out by the National Investigation Agency in Faridabad unveiled a much larger conspiracy involving 2900 kilograms of Ammonium Nitrate, which had the potential to kill hundreds, injure thousands, and damage multiple crores worth of property. Thanks to the efficient coordination and investigation by our security forces, India was able to avert a dastardly attack that could have damaged the entire socio-economic fabric of India, which would have taken years to recover. Simultaneously, the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad discovered a chilling plot to carry out a mass operation of injecting food with ricin (a highly potent toxin with no known antidote). in various public and Hindu religious places. This could have led to severe gastrointestinal symptoms, multi-organ failure, and potentially death for thousands of people.The common thread among all these operations, which also brought to light a new variant of Islamic radicalism in India, is that all the perpetrators involved in the above operations are medical doctors. Dr Muzammil Shakeel, Dr Adeel Ahmad Rather, Dr Umar Un Nabi, Dr Shaheen Sayeed, and Dr Ahmed Mohiyuddin Saiyed are certified medical practitioners who have been trained and instructed by radical organisations to carry out terror operations in India. For decades, India has worked to heal internal divisions that hostile forces have attempted to exploit. The virus of separatism that spawned in the early years of independence has been largely contained through efficient economic policies and welfare schemes that ensured inclusive development. Caste-based fissures have gradually narrowed through sustained social reform initiatives by contemporary Hindu organisations, ensuring that the historically wrongfully oppressed communities feel included in the cultural landscape of this Indian civilisation. The virus of language chauvinism has failed to gain traction largely due to the advent of globalisation, which has resulted in migration and thereby spurred the need to be proficient and welcoming of multilingualism. The attempt to divide India by region, specifically, the north-south divide, has steadily softened through the shared cultural roots of Sanatan Dharma, which acts as a bridge between people across all of Bharat..As India was healing from the sociological bruises of multi-front divisive tactics of the anti-India forces and marching towards being a self-reliant powerhouse of economic activity and cultural rejuvenation, a new variant of this ‘virus’ has come to light in India. This ‘virus’ is titled ‘White-collar radicalisation’. It seems to be the latest modus operandi of radical forces to select, brainwash, and operate vulnerable individuals from educational institutions, who are experts in any one of the STEM streams. The incidents that unfurled in Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Faridabad, and Delhi between November 10 and 12 are a product of the massive underground white-collar radicalisation that seems to be taking place in India. To counter this emerging threat of white-collar radicalisation, India must adopt a multi-layered approach that combines vigilant intelligence gathering with robust institutional oversight. It is imperative to develop ideological resilience in students through structured civic awareness activities based on the Indian civilisational ethos and constitutional norms. Facilitating community involvement, technology surveillance, and counterterrorism training will, to a great extent, ensure that extreme elements are stopped before they can use their technical expertise against the country.The Government must also consider introducing stringent laws that ensure perpetrators of such terror activities and those who abet or support them face consequences that not only punish them but also send a strong message to anyone who may even contemplate carrying out acts of terror against India. Finally, protecting our country necessitates a shared commitment from the government and people to preserve unity, cultural pride, and economic independence so that we can jointly create a society where radicalism finds no refuge and ensure that India Stands First.

New Variant of the 0.5 War

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