Srinagar, Mumbai Youths More Interested in Following Isis-Related Activity on Internet

Srinagar and Mumbai are among the top six cities where youths closely follow the activities of the Islamic State (Isis) through social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, suggests a national survey by an Indian intelligence agency.

According to the survey, Jammu & Kashmir, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal are the top five states that generate most traffic related to Isis' activities, The Times of India reported.

The survey suggested that most activity on social media in connection to Isis was carried out by youths of Jammu & Kashmir. Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh is ahead of all other states in terms of the number of towns and cities where youths are exploring the propaganda of the Islamic group on the Internet.

In Srinagar, many people have voiced their support for the jihadist group by hoisting Isis' flag from time to time. Several such instances have been spotted in the last few months.

Jammu & Kashmir's Summer capital Srinagar tops the list of cities that generated more traffic related to the Islamic State. The list also includes Guwahati, Chinchwad -- a suburb of Pune, Howrah in West Bengal, Maharashtra's capital Mumbai and Unnao in Uttar Pradesh.

The study further suggests that the people, who have been tracking the Islamic State's activities online, belong to the age group of 16 to 30 years. The study was conducted on the activity on social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, and searches on Google and YouTube.

The survey, discussed at a meeting of chief secretaries and Director Generals of Police (DGPs) of 12 states under the Home Ministry, indicated that men as well as women are equally interested in Isis-related activities, with many of them being educated.

The study has shown that the media coverage of the four Kalyan youth, who joined the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria last year, triggered interest among others to learn more about the militant group. According to reports, one of the four youths returned home, while another died fighting for Isis in January this year.

According to a senior intelligence official, the study has shown that Isis has been successful in spreading their propaganda through the Internet.

"Overall, ISIS has been successful in evolving a potent Internet-based propaganda strategy with social media and multimedia (like YouTube) as effective vehicles... The spread and effectiveness achieved by ISIS is showing exponential proportions," the official said.