Kerala's Radicalisation Shift: From Street Clashes to Silent, Embedded Networks

• Extremism in Kerala is moving from visible street mobilisation to quieter, deeply embedded networks focusing on consolidation, logistics, and ideological grooming.
• Investigative agencies note a tactical recalibration, not a decline in threat, since 2023, with extremist-linked networks allegedly channeling Gulf funds into real estate for asset creation and financial layering.
• NIA arrests of ISIS sympathizers between 2023-2025 revealed radicalization through encrypted Telegram groups, regional-language propaganda, and darknet manuals, with recruits often digitally savvy and invisible to communities.
• The alarming trend is the invisibility of radicalization, with families and neighbors reporting no red flags; the Thiruvananthapuram case highlighted indoctrination within homes.
• Security officials believe the PFI ban led to a tactical retreat, with former cadres resurfacing through new platforms, focusing on targeted violence and evolving Kerala into a command, funding, and logistics hub.