Not only Asian countries but Europe too has been suffering from the scourge of extremism for many days. There, extremists are a major obstacle to police administration and people’s security.
Now Rishi Sunak’s government has made a big announcement and intends to crack down on extremism. The British government has recently created a new definition of extremism.
This new step taken by the British government is to protect its democratic values from right-wing and Islamic extremists.
According to the BBC report, the British government issued a new and clearer definition of extremism in view of the increased threats following the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel in October last year. Its purpose is to preserve liberal democratic principles against right-wing and Islamic extremists.
Extremism in the UK is now defined as the propagation or promotion of an ideology based on violence, hatred or intolerance, the purpose of which is to deny the fundamental rights and freedoms of others or to undermine the UK’s system of liberal parliamentary democracy and democratic rights. To weaken, reverse or replace.
This definition of terrorism issued by Britain is somewhat similar to India’s Unlawful Activities Prevention Act i.e. UAPA law.
Britain’s Secretary of State for Community Affairs Michael Gove said the definition needed to be updated to preserve Britain’s position as a success story of a multi-national, multi-ethnic, multi-faith democracy.
“But our democracy and our values of tolerance are under threat from extremism,” Gove said. “To protect our democratic values, it is important both to strengthen what we have in common and to be clear in identifying the threats posed by extremism.”