Internal Security Challenges

Ved Marwah Shri N N Vohra, Shri K Santhanam, Director IDSA, Ladies and Gentlemen I deem it a learn to be invited to deliver the IDSA Foundation Lecture. Since inception in November 1965, low the ste wardship of the tardily Shri Y B Chavan and the subsequent direction provided by Shri K Subrah much(prenominal) a(prenominal)am, reason Director, the IDSA has acquired a creditcapable profile. Over the years, the IDSA has played a commendable procedure in enriching the guarantor discourse and deliberations in India. It is in this context that I propose to sh atomic consider 18 my thoughts with you on a matter of concern to alto rangeher of us, namely, Indias intrinsic trade protection Ch eitherenges.India was riveiti onenessd in the backdrop of round-scale common riots, simply the partition of the country on religious lines, with tabu taking into musing its multiple identities, instead of take uping the communal tensions down, in fact, worsened the dapple. The two-na tion theory created Pakistan, and it still survives on this theory. Pakistan finds it difficult to accept the reality that India continues to be a pop, plural, multireligious society and that India today has more Muslim citizens than Pakistan.Read thisChapter 2 wherefore Security is NeededThe Government of Pakistan has taken upon itself the right of non every protecting its own citizens, plainly also the Indian Muslims. The power building in theocratic Pakistan, dominated by the ground forces, the feudal footinglords, the bureaucracy and the religious leading has been able to retain its hold over the levers of power by playing the antiIndia and Islamic cards. Pakistan plays the Islamic card in its foreign insurance also. It misses no probability to club India as an anti-Islamic country where Muslims argon non safe.The continuing tensions mingled with India and Pakistan bemuse a direct bearing on the midland positioning in India. They c both for advertise compl icated the internal certificate situation. * IDSA Foundation Day Lecture delivered by Shri Ved Marwah, Governor of Jhark baseball mitt on November 11 2003. Strategic summary, Vol. 27, No. 4, Oct-Dec 2003. Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses Indias privileged Security Challenges 503 The management of internal security, therefore, put one acrosss great enormousness. If the internal security wall sockets argon tackled effectively, subversion by the external forces to that extent be seeds more difficult.Unfortunately, the rise of bellicose politics ground on sectarian, ethnic, linguistic or a nonher(prenominal) factious criteria, is primarily responsible for the many an(prenominal) a(prenominal) communal and secessionist movements flourishing in India. The forepart of uncongenial neighbours enables the internal contraventions to get external reliever, which entangles money, arms and sanctuaries. The vested interests exploit these conditions to trail their own ag enda. In a well-established semi governmental scheme and a unquestionable economy, conflicts amidst the various group identities atomic number 18 kept under look on as in collectible course they get assimilated into the national identity. moreover that has non happened in India as yet, where the wounds of the partition and the colonial rule redeem still non wide-cuty healed. Moreover, the dependence on the presidential term by a large section of our uncorrupted supervise for their very survival sharpens these conflicts among them. The democratic institutions and the responsibility structures ar still not strong enough to fully harmonise these conflicts in a easeful manner. Violence erupts when conflicting interests cornerstonenot be consensually reconciled. The antipathetical external forces, taking advantage of this situation by dint of subverter propaganda, further accentuate these conflicts.They hit material and ideological support to exasperate this sense of grievance to such an extent that a small nonage be willing to become in like mannerls in their hands to subvert the perceptual constancy and security of the country. In accession, a number of secessionist and the supposed revolutionary movements argon operating in India today. Their culture could be to overthrow the brass and contain closely revolutionary changes in the structure and functioning of the pass on, or regular(a) secession from the Indian Union.Ever since independence, India has been facing all types of violent conflicts based on religion, caste, language, ethnicity and expanseal loyalties. Political insecurity further compounds the enigma. Preoccupied with the problem of survival, the judicatures in or so of the nigh affected states argon not look at the problem from a long-term perspective. They meet bought temporary repose by compromising with the rabble-rousing forces. Such shortsighted policies grass put one over disastrous consequences i n the long run.Instead of effectively dealing with them in the initial stages when the problem is manageable, they dumbfound allowed these anti-national forces to take descents and stretch out their tentacles farthest and wide. When a state government 504 Strategic Analysis/Oct-Dec 2003 is otiose to effectively deal with them, instead of streng indeeding the state jurisprudence machinery, it rushes to the Centre to hand over its responsibility at the first sign of any overserious-minded trouble. It is not surprising that in these states some sections of the police scram genuinely joined hands with the subversive forces against the central forces. If you lowlifenot fight them, join them. conclusion themselves at the mercy of these subversive forces, the lot tend to change sides and amaze supporting them instead of supporting the security forces. It would be wrong to assume that all those supporting, directly or indirectly, these forces are sympathetic to their ideology. Far from it For most of them, preoccupied with the daily battle of survival, this is the obvious choice, be serve the police are unable to protect them. Polarisation on caste and religious lines support further reduce the credibility of the police in the minds of the community.The police-politician- twist nexus can urge the criminal elements. Their activities can create an environment of police forcelessness, where influential and rich citizenry violate the justice with impunity. The police is not the only component of the criminal justice system that has suffered because of this nexus. In fact, the entire criminal justice system is under strain. Not all crimes are being registered and those registered are not being properly investigated and plain out of those charge-sheeted, very few are ending in conviction. The conviction rate in case of atrocious crimes is steadily falling.In some nor-eastern states it has r to each oneed almost zero level, where the police stimulate stopped point submitting the charge sheets in the insurgency-related cases. When the forethought of sanctioned penalization disappears, organised crime finds it convenient to spread its tentacles. The crime syndicates are determination the impertinent communication and information technology very useful. Extortion and payment of the supposed protection money is more widespread than we would like to be dissimulationve. According to some reports, direct extortion from the government funds runs into hundreds of crores of rupees.Many of the insurgent and militant groups are not driven by ideology, moreover by sheer greed. funds power is a turgidger motivating factor than ideology. Vested interests befool veritable around these groups with nimble connivance of corrupt politicians, police officers and civil servants. several(prenominal) politicians up to now take their assistance during election times. They receive to return their favours when they come to power. This mutu ally beneficial relationship has seriously damaged the quality of administration in the interior areas. The real losers are the pot.The development process Indias Internal Security Challenges 505 gets seriously hampered in a violent environment. When large development funds are siphoned out by this unholy conglutination between the criminal and corrupt forces, eve the delivery of the most elementary services like water, power, healthcare, education and communications becomes a stupendous task. A vicious circle starts. The divest and the marginalised sections of the society, unable to survive in the familiarise system, get anomic. The militant and extremist forces thrive in this environment.The rise of left field extremism is more due to these compulsions than on ideological grounds. in that location are media reports about the carving out of a corridor by the leave extremist forces from Nepal to Tamil Nadu. purge if there is no truth in these reports, the involvement of antipathetical external forces in support of the leftover extremist forces to destabilise the country cannot be ruled out. The mushrooming of armed Senas on caste and ethnic lines in some parts of the country is a direct consequence of the polarization of the society. This phenomenon has also affected the police and the administration in general.Loss of prevalent confidence in the capacity of the state to protect their brio and stead is the primary cause of this dangerous development. Far from controlling them, a politicised and party-spirited police unquestionablely encourages this development. The tensions in some parts of the country, especially in the tribal areas, due to a perceived threat to their identity is not naked, solely the rise of so many violent movements is a comparatively recent development. In the border states these movements become secessionist because of the support they receive from the hostile neighbouring states.The rise of fundamentalist forces is po sing the most serious threat to Indias security. Fired with religious readiness these forces retain created an entirely new situation. The intelligence activity agencies in our neighbourhood and the organisations, like Al Qaida, and Jaish-e-Mohammad, are encouraging the so-called Jehadis to enter India from outside. later first targeting the border states they run through at once spread deep inside the country. These bands of fanatics are not only indulging in subversive activities, but are spreading the virus of fundamentalism among the Indian Muslims.The break-up of the Indian Union continues to be the main goal of Pakistans domestic and foreign policy. Easy availability of deadly weapons with the subversive groups operating in India has created new dangers for Indias security. With the Golden Crescent, and the Golden Triangle in Indias neighbourhood, drug trafficking poses yet an other threat to our security. 506 Strategic Analysis/Oct-Dec 2003 dose syndicates are generatin g huge funds, a part of which is being used to give fiscal support to some of these subversive groups.The intelligence agencies like the ISI are recruiting a number of carriers in drug trafficking as their agents. These agencies provide legal immunity for their criminal activities in their own country in addition to large them financial and logistical support. Internal security challenges are not confined to any one area, but the North-East, Jammu and Kashmir, and the areas afflicted by Left extremism deserve special mention. North-East The Naga leadership under Z. A. Phizo had challenged their integration into the Indian Union even before India became independent in 1947. The Naga insurgency started port back in the early 1950s.Since then the insurgencies in this region have multiplied and spread to many new areas. In this extremely different and strategically sensitive region, there are different reasons for the ethnic upsurges and insurgencies in different states. Some render secession from the Indian Union, some others seek separate states and yet others great autonomy within the existing state. The number of such insurgent groups could reach three-digit figures. In Manipur alone, more than twenty-five groups are operating. Thousands have died in the insurgency-related force out. Insurgencies have seriously affected the economic life of the region.The whole developmental process is seriously hampered because of this unending violence. One can imagine the plight of the people who are already living on the margin. What to talk of getting a share of the fruits of development, they are deprived even of the most basic services. Unfortunately, unlike Jammu & Kashmir, these violent movements do not pitch much response in national consciousness. plain serious incidents of violence hardly find any mention in the so-called mainstream media. The geo-strategic importance of the North-East is not sufficiently appreciated even in the security establishment.All t he states in the North-East share an international border with other countries and the seven North-Eastern states are linked to the rest of the country only by a assign strip of land. The lack of physical, cultural and unrestrained cogitate has encouraged a feeling of alienation, which is being exploited by the not alike-friendly neighbours to observe their own agenda. They are giving support and sanctuaries to many of these groups to use them as leverage against a much bigger and more powerful neighbour. Indias Internal Security Challenges 507The roots of these many insurgencies in the North-East lie deep in its history and its geography. But, it would be wrong to treat it as one homogeneous region with common problems, or social systems and customs. Even physiographically, the region can be mete outd into three broad areas hills, plateaus, and plains. The many ethnic groups, speaking many different languages and dialects, who inhabit this remote part of the country consider themselves as separate people with itsy-bitsy in common with the people in the rest of the country. The lack of physical, cultural and emotional links has encouraged this feeling of separation.The partition of the country seriously scattered the old system of communications with serious demographic consequences. At the flavor of the problem, however, is the new political consciousness and an urge for asserting their identity, especially among the ferociously independent tribal communities. The partition left the entire region land-locked, and even the old road, railway and river-waterway links with the rest of the country were severed, because they all passed through with(predicate) East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). The new rail link via North Bengal is circuitous and too long and expensive for easy access to the region.The air link is not only expensive, but also unreliable due to climatic conditions. The people have to bear enormous additional transport cost for all their suppli es. Another unregenerate problem is created by the influx of migrants from East Pakistan and now continuing from Bangladesh. In the beginning it was confined to the Hindus leaving East Pakistan due to insecure conditions, but later, because of intense population pressure even Muslims started migrating. The fear that immigrant population will one day dominate them is waiting many of the insurgent and secessionist movements alive.The terrain in this region is eminently suitable for insurgency. The hilly terrain and fatheaded forests provide convenient hiding places to mount ambushes on the moving convoys of the security forces. Large parts of the interior areas have little or no police presence. The insurgent groups virtually control the administration in these areas. After attacking the security force they can easily disappear into the topical anesthetic population. Because of deprivation and alienation, a large section of the people tend to be sympathetic to the members of these groups.It is the alienation of the people that has sustained insurgency all these years, though logistic support and sanctuaries provided by the neighbouring states play a vital fiber in sustaining them. The dispersion of ethnic groups across the international 508 Strategic Analysis/Oct-Dec 2003 boundaries has profoundly influenced the constitution of political conflicts. However, it needs to be emphasised that internal-external linkages maturate with the failure of the domestic political and administrative system in heading with the internal conflicts. Secessionist leaders often adopt alternative strategies to achieve their goal.They keep on changing their simulated military operation and supplicates according to the ground situation. The intensity of the conflict depends very much on how strong the human race support is. Ethnicity can become an important dimension of internal conflict when it becomes intertwined with other social, political and economic issues. As conflict ing groups go from one crisis to the next, they learn by experience to raise their leases to increase their bargaining power. Political changes that offer new opportunities for personal gain and extending their influence can spark violent conflicts.Even though most of them are conscious of the fact that secession is not a viable option, they keep on raising this demand to bring together the various contending conflicts on one platform. Making common cause against the Indian state is how many of these groups with conflicting ideologies cooperate with each other in their fight against the Indian state. The United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) was innate(p) out of the demand to throw out the migrants from Bangladesh, and yet its top leaders are today finding sanctuary in that country. The South Asian ountries have more in common with India than with other countries in the region. They do not even have a common boundary with each other. But this reality has not make them friendlier towards India. History and geography have encouraged negative sentiments rather than positive sentiments about India in these countries. The big powers too have not hesitated to fish in troubled waters. till the 1970s, China was directly supporting the insurgencies in the North-East. Strategically, politically and economically the North-East is the most sensitive part of the country and should receive the serious tending it deserves.The ongoing dialogue between the government and the NSCN (IM) is a positive development, but it is going to take a long and torturous route. The NSCN (IM)s cl target on the Naga-inhabited areas in the neighbouring states has created serious complications. The riots in Manipur in 2001 following the times of the ceasefire to the areas beyond the boundaries of Nagaland are a pointer to the difficult road ahead. The situation in Indias Internal Security Challenges 509 Assam has establishn some signs of advancement, but large-scale extortion by the ULFA and other groups is posing serious problems.The NLFT and the ATTF continue to be active in Tripura. They have sanctuaries in Bangladesh. Mizoram is quiet, but there are problems between the Mizos and the Chakmas, and the Mizos and the Reangs. Thousands of Reang refugees from Mizoram are staying in camps in Tripura. In spite of many rounds of negotiations between the Mizoram government and the representatives of the Reangs, so far no solution appears to be in sight. The unending internecine feud between the NSCN (IM) and the NSCN (K) has spilled over from Nagaland to the neighbouring states and even to Myanmar.A number of Meitie and Kuki groups have sanctuaries in the Chin Hills in Myanmar. The ULFA and the Bodo groups have sanctuaries in the forests of Bhutan. There are unconfirmed reports of some sort of bond between the ULFA and the LTTE. A number of groups have also come up in Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh. Many experts have called the Naga insurgencies as the mother of all i nsurgencies in the North-East. The level of violence, however, in this explosive region continues to be high in spite of the fact that the ceasefire agreement with the NSCN (IM) has been in place since 1997.This only goes to show how difficult the road to peace is going to be in this trouble-torn region. It is proverb to say that it is not only a law and order problem. It has many other dimensions. No strategy will succeed unless it strikes a flop balance between political, economic and security measures. There is need for next co-ordination among the policymakers. Ideally, there is need for a consensus among the major political parties. The pursuit of narrow political agenda can be exploited by the subversive groups.Many political leaders in this region indulge in double-speak. They mouth nationalist slogans in Delhi but have no hesitancy in making strong anti-national statements and collaborating with the insurgent groups in the state. Nor do they have any reservation in changi ng parties. They frequently hop from one political party to another. In Manipur some politicians have changed sides as many as six times in a year. A forefront minister changed his party three times in one month, and his merger partners three times in 48 hours. A party denominate has very little hold still foring.Money and muscle power with active support of the insurgent groups play a key role in the elections. intimately of these states are not financially viable. They hardly collect any revenue enhancement and depend almost entirely on the Union government for financial 510 Strategic Analysis/Oct-Dec 2003 support. This has caused lack of responsibility in incurring general expenditure. For example, Manipur has created a huge bureaucratic structure with a workforce of almost 100,000 on its pay roll. Over 80% of its total revenue (both excogitate and non-Plan) is spent on payment of salaries and pensions.Extortion by the insurgent groups, the leakages of huge funds through corrupt practices leave very little for development. And they conveniently put the blame on the Centre for not giving them adequate funds. Through years of neglect this potentially rich region is today the most backward, almost primitive, part of our country. In these appalling conditions an alienated population becomes an easy target for the secessionist propaganda. Jammu & Kashmir The problem has been with us since independence even though Pakistan has no legal case.The ruler of this erstwhile princely state settled to go in to India. According to the Independence Act it was for the rulers of the princely states to decide to join India or Pakistan. Pakistan has been disputing the legality of the accession signed by the then J&K ruler, Maharaja Hari Singh. The initial hesitation of the Maharaja to accede to either India or Pakistan and the unilateral Indian offer to find out the wishes of the people of the state has given Pakistan an excuse to challenge the legality of the access ion. It has been doing everything for the exsert 56 years to grab this state.It has not been able to achieve its physical object through wars with India. So, it has started a proxy war since 1989. Waging of a proxy war fits into the Pakistani designs of bleeding India. Unfortunately, the weaknesses of the state and of the administrative systems have provided Pakistan with opportunities to fish in troubled waters. More interested in perpetuating their rule than governing the state, its rulers have been exploiting regional and religious differences. Anti-national forces thrived in this environment and Pakistan has missed no opportunity to support and encourage them.Over the years it has succeeded in building a proPakistan base in the state. Frustrated in their efforts to gain power through democratic means, some politicians joined the anti-India front, more to put pressure on the Indian government than on ideological grounds. In a state, where the elicit population was against comm unal politics at the time of partition, the fundamentalist forces have managed to penetrate into the secular polity. The many serious problems of the people have to be addressed. It is not a coincidence that Pakistans efforts to destabilise Indias Internal Security Challenges 511 he situation in the state received some success only when our own political mismanagement provided it with an opportunity to intervene, as in 1965 and again in 1989. One of Pakistans main aims is to divide the polity on communal lines. The attitude of the Pakistani military government is un probable to change in the near future. But that does not mean that Pakistan should be allowed to set the Kashmir agenda. Moves will have to be made on all fronts to regain the initiative on both political and diplomatic fronts.The proposals made in the announcements by the Cabinet Committee on Security on October 22 are steps in the right direction, but the ground situation does not justify over-optimism. There are pro mising to be many ups and downs on this long torturous road to peace in Jammu and Kashmir. Left Extremism Making a beginning in Naxalbari in West Bengal and Telengana in Andhra Pradesh in the 1970s, the movement has since spread to many states Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Orissa. The root cause for the rise in Left extremism is the inability of the states to address the many genuine grievances of the people.The gap between the unrealistic expectations, fuelled by populist rhetoric, and their actual fulfilment has increased and not decreased over the years. The younger generation is no longer willing to put up passively with impairment and humiliation without a fight. The bitterness of the angry young man against the ordinary unjust socio-economic system is spilling over. The older generation is not unsympathetic to them. An educational system which produces unemployable young boys and girls has not helped. Pressure on land has made the task of survival on agr iculture more difficult.A callous district administration, especially in the rural areas, a choked judicial system and feudal attitudes have compounded the problem. The land disputes have multiplied, but the land records and the judicial system to settle them is in disarray. There is a sense of frustration and anger. The most prominent among the groups, that have mushroomed in the recent years, are the Peoples War Group (PWG) and the bolshy Communist Centre (MCC) . But it is not ideology and revolutionary zeal that is driving them. For many, joining these groups is the only way to survive.Their main activity is extortion. commodious funds amounting to hundreds of crores of rupees are being extorted by them. What they cannot 512 Strategic Analysis/Oct-Dec 2003 get through legitimate means they obtain through arms and explosives. Their tactics are no different from the insurgents and terrorists. Create terror and extort money. They are, however, not secessionists. Their aim is to o verthrow what they call an unjust socio-economic system. But they are in no hurry to achieve their ideological aims as long as they can extort enough money.Corrupt politicians, policemen and civil servants have made their own adjustments with these groups. A live-and-let live attitude is mutually beneficial to all of them. Who knows how much money goes to the extremists and how much goes to the others. The real sufferers are the very people for whom the extremists are waging this war against the state. In public perception a government that is unable to discharge all its responsibilities is more likely to respond when the demand is loud, organised and backed by acts of violence. The many progressive, wellintentioned legislations are not eing implement effectively and sometimes have done more harm than good by creating more bitterness and frustration, e. g. , the Minimum Wages Act. The marginal and deprived sections of the society are the worst hit. Social and economic factors are i mportant, but even more important are religion and identity. The secessionist movement in J&K is politically motivated, but its ideological base is strengthened around religious funda-mentalism. Fired by religious fervour, the young recruits have no hesitation in attacking ruthlessly what they consider the crappy political and moral order, which they perceive as hedonistic.Once the instruments of governance are discredited, it is not too difficult to justify their destruction as in J&K, the North-East or in the states afflicted by Left extremism. In another sense, however, the aim of all these movements is no different from the aim of legitimate political movements. They too seek to acquire power, measured in terms of exercising influence or control over the people and acquisition of wealth for them is the source of all power. Extortion, therefore, becomes an essential part of their strategy.Their goal and strategy could change during the course of the movement. In the initial sta ges some of them may only demand economic and political justice or more autonomy in the existing political system, like the Bodos in Assam, but they can take a more extremist stand and demand secession in the later stages. Effective steps to reduce ethnic and social inequalities, disparities in educational and employment opportunities, and for creating an effective machinery for the redressal of public grievance, are absolutely essential to Indias Internal Security Challenges 513 mprove the environment in which extremist violence flourishes. Steps to reduce economic deprivation and improve the delivery of essential services can erode the base of public support on which the extremist movements survive. It is relatively easier to find solutions to seemingly intractable political problems, like in J&K, in an environment where people are by and large satisfied with the functioning of the government agencies and are not deprived of essential services. More than anything else, it is the economic policies that would ultimately contain the future of these movements.A thriving economy, which gives hope and opportunity to the people, is more likely to defeat all types of extremist movements than any other strategy. The need for a well co-ordinated security apparatus can hardly be overemphasised. It should include the police, the paramilitary forces, the army and the intelligence agencies. A composite force on the lines of the National Security Guards (NSG) should be organised in all the states, even in those states where the internal security situation is not so serious.It is easier to deal with the problems at the initial stages, than later, when the state police is no longer able to cope with them. But in the states where the situation has gone beyond their control, the Centre, as laid down in the Constitution, is duty-bound to intervene, notwithstanding the fact that law and order is under the State List. The Union government is charged with the responsibility of p rotecting the states from internal disturbances under Article 353 of the Constitution, even though law and order comes under List-II, the State List.The Union government can issue directions to the state under Articles 257-258. Action for non-compliance of the directions from the Union government can be taken under Article 365. A state government can be dismissed under Article 356, if a situation arises in which the administration of the state cannot be carried on in accordance with the provender of the Constitution. A national emergency can be declared under Article 352. But, even if the Centre decides to intervene, the states role cannot be minimised.The primary responsibility to deal with the security challenges must rest with the state governments. A situation should not be allowed to develop where the state government washes its hands off, or its forces instead of cooperating with the central forces, actually work against them. The many internal security challenges can be met effectively only with full cooperation between the central and the state governments. The police, 514 Strategic Analysis/Oct-Dec 2003 the paramilitary forces, the army and all the intelligence agencies must act in close co-ordination.The hostile foreign forces can and will take advantage of the internal situation to destabilise the country in pursuit of their own agenda. All serious internal security problems communal and sectarian violence, organised crime, drug-trafficking, labour and students unrest, political violence and even economic crimes, if not checked effectively can develop an external dimension. There is an urgent need to make the police and the paramilitary forces more professional. The emphasis has to shift from more numbers to more professionally trained forces.The internal security problems should not be enured as merely law and order problems. They have to be dealt with comprehensively in all their dimensions and at all levels political, economic and social. They are all interlinked. At times, the required measures will conflict with each other. Going too far in one direction could be counter-productive. The security requirements have to be met, but that does not mean giving the security agencies a free hand. Striking the right balance is the key to success in meeting these challenges effectively.We need a comprehensive security policy that will be implemented effectively at all levels. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give thanks you for your indulgence. It has been my endeavour to offer a personal perspective on the nature of the internal security challenges that India currently faces. I hope these thoughts and observations would encourage greater deliberations amongst you. From this interaction we could perhaps distil a collective perspective that would be relevant both to the policy makers and the civil society. And finally, my best wishes to the entire IDSA labor union on this occasion and may your stature grow.