Mumbai: The Maharashtra Police are preparing a set of Marathi books to help its personnel tackle radicalisation, extremism and terrorism, in a first such initiative, an official has said.
The exercise involves compiling in Marathi the gist of experts' writings on terrorism in various languages, including English, to train policemen in handling such cases, a senior official of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) said.
The initiative, that envisages compilation of three books in Marathi on terrorism-related subjects, has also come in praise from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, he said.
A 350-page book, first in the series, was published last week, the official said, adding that it draws on as many as 30 books on contemporary terrorism in English and other languages, widely read all over the world.
These books cover issues such as psychology of a terrorist, training methods of militant outfits, accounts of some major attacks, and how the youth should be deradicalised.
One of these books is "The Islamist- Why I Joined Radical Islam in Britain, What I Saw Inside and Why I Left", written by UK-born Ed Husain.
The memoir, published in 2007, is about Husain's five years as an Islamist activist.
"The other two books in the series will be published soon. These series will contain a gist from at least 100 books on terrorism," state ATS chief Atulchandra Kulkarni said.
The books ATS is publishing are meant for circulation only within the police department. They will be provided to the anti-terror cell personnel in all districts, he said.
Apart from English, the ATS also pored over books on terrorism in Urdu, Hindi and Marathi to prepare the series.
The set of three books in Marathi will be very helpful for the ATS personnel as well as local anti-terror cells to understand the phenomenon of extremism, radicalisation and terrorism, Kulkarni said.
The ATS is also planning a public awareness campaign on terrorism, he said.
"We will be releasing eight short films on terrorism. They will make people understand the issue and realise their responsibility as citizens," he said.
"We are always ready to deal with any terror-related challenge, but we also need public support (in tackling the menace)," the ATS chief said.
