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| Security challenges before Modi government | | 
Brig(retd) Anil Gupta
The "Decade of Decay" is thankfully over and a new era of hope and change has dawned on India. After depressing last couple of years, smile has reappeared on the faces of majority of 1.2 billion hopeful Indians. The Modi government has got its task cut and it has to deliver as promised on all fronts- economy, governance, diplomacy, foreign policy, security and border safety. Early indicators like allocation of portfolios, invitation to SAARC heads for the swearing in ceremony, appointment of National Security Advisor(NSA) and FDI in Defence sector are positive and reflect the focussed approach of the new government. The new government appears to be determined to tackle head on the many critical and urgent challenges facing the nation. Security both external and internal, needs immediate attention of the government because a secure environment is mandatory for addressing all other challenges.
Internal Security Challenges
Doval's appointment as NSA is indicative of Moldi's resolve for strong internal security mechanism. Famous American General Douglas MacArthur had once said, " I am concerned for the security of our great Nation; not so much because of any threat from without, but because of insidious forces working from within." It is to some extent true for our great Nation as well. Nation's internal health is in a precaurious state. With left wing extremism dominating the 'Red Corridor' in the heart land, proxy war in J&K, ISI's desperate attempt to revive militancy in Punjab, outfits like SIMI raising their ugly head in many states including South, insurgency in the North-East, increasing sectarian violence and rise in crime against helpless women; a very strong and effective dose is needed to bring it back to rail. Thus, separatism, counter terrorism, counter insurgency and law and order are the main internal security challenges confronting the new government.
Separatism
The Maoist insurgency or left wing extremism is spread over 40% of the country encompassing 223 out of a total of 640 districts. This also is the mineral rich belt of the country. The state police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) are battling the Maoists for the last forty years but to no avail. The avowed aim of the Maoists is the armed overthrow of the Indian State and the creation of a socialist-communist government. The Maoists term it as a 'Democratic Revolution' directed against imperialism, capitalism and feudalism. The successive UPA governments failed to enunciate a clear and well coordinated response to the secessionist threat to the nation. 'Operation Greenhunt', a brain child of Chidambaram, has been a total failure due to lack of proper planning, leadership and coordination. The Adivasis, who form the backbone of the Left Wing Extremism, have been alienated due to absurd poverty, poor development and gross misgovernance. No doubt insurgencies take time to die down but at the same time require a visionary approach to bring back the aggrieved populace to the main stream. Use of force is only a mean to an end but not the end itself. The new government should adopt a three pronged appraoch,ie, elimination of armed groups, winning hearts and minds of the populace through civic action programmes and planned development of the affected districts. Simultaneously, efforts should be made to bring the Maoists to the negotiating table.
Counter Terrorism
The withdrawal of US and allied forces from Afghanistan, release of five hard core terrorists by Obama and ISI's continued anti-India policy make counter terrorism a big challenge for the new government. Increased violence in Afghanistan and Pakistan, frequent cease fire violations and infiltration attempts demand a very strong and robust counter terrorism mechanism. Pakistan needs to be told in no uncertain terms that India would no longer condone the use of Pak territory or territory under its control to be used for terrorist attacks on Indian soil or our interests abroad. India's perception as a 'soft' state would have to be changed. Our response to acts of terror anywhere would have to be punitive and graded.
Counter Insurgency
Insurgencies in the North East also need to be tackled in the similar manner as the Left Wing Extremism. However, local issues like inter tribal rivalry, illegal migration, Naga nationalism and covert Chinese support would also have to be factored in. Poor governance and political patronage are the other factors that have fuelled insurgency in the North East. An efficient intellegce mechanism provides oxygen to counter terrorism and counter insurgency operations. The intelligence apparatus needs to be modernized and technologically upgraded. We should possess the capability to preempt a terrorist attack. Forewarned is forearmed. The agencies like NIA, DIA, RAW and IB need to be made more professional and provided with more teeth. The use of technology needs to be maximised to acquire, assess, analyse, synthesise and disseminate real time information down to operational level.
Law and Order
The inimical forces would spare no effort to sponsor/encourage communal clashes and sectarian violence in the country to portray the Modi government as non-secular and pro-Hindu. All radical forces need to be dealt with an iron hand so that they are unable to fulfill their divisive agenda. The politician-criminal-bureaucrat nexus also needs to be dealt with firmly for an improved law and order environment. The state police forces need to be modernized and made a professional outfit with a people friendly approach. The 'Raj' mindset of the police needs a radical change. Local police is the best suited to gather grassroots level information and enable nipping in the bud of the anti social and anti national elements.
There are plethora of central armed police forces( CAPF) like BSF, CRPF, ITBP, SSB, CISF, SPG, NSG etc working under the home ministry in addition to the Assam Rifles and Rashtriya Rifles under the defence ministry. These are meant for guarding international borders, combatting insurgencies, VIP protection, protection of vital installations and airports and metros, and specialized tasks like anti- hijacking and anti-terrorism. They function on the concept of interoperability. Though interoperability provides flexibility, it undermines specialization. The present day is an era of specialization and super specialization. In my view all CAPF must be amalgamated into three specialized forces; Border Security Force, Internal Security Force and Special Tasks Force. This would enable the Force DGs to formulate specialized training programmes based on assigned roles. Such a reorganisation would lead to better operational efficiency, tailor made organisations, specialised equipment and manpower policy, human resource management and cost effectiveness.
A few other internal security challenges include drug trafficing, narco terrorism, money laundering, counterfeit currency, illegal migration and misuse of social media.
External Security Challenges
By inviting the heads of all SAARC nations to the swearing ceremony of the new Council of Ministers, the Modi government has reaffirmed its faith in our national policy of "Vasudeva Kutumbakam". A nation can choose its friends but not its neighbours. India is bordered by two hostile neighbours with outstanding disputes. Incidentally India and both her hostile neighbours are in possession of nuclear weapons. With a nuclear back drop, the possibilty of an all out war is minimised. However, India must prepare militarily to fight a two front war in case China and Pakistan collude. Presently, we do not have this capability and this is a big challenge for the new government. The threat of a limited war or localised war like Sumdrong Chu or Kargil is a possibility that can not be wished away. To ward off these threats from the hostile neighbours, the new government would have to address on priority the issue of operational preparedness of the Indian Armed Forces. Apart from new acquisitions for modernisation, there is a need for; making up existing deficiencies of critical equipment, minimising the off road state of warfighting equipment, maximising night fighting capability, preparedness to operate in a NBC environment, procurement of critical spares and indigenisation of the defence industry. There should be no delay in raising and equipping of the Mountain Strike Corps. Our Special Forces must be integrated and provided with the state of the art wherewithal and develop capability to operate in hostile /enemy territotry. The yawning gap in our air defence capability due to obsolete equipment and weaponry needs immediate remedial measure. The fighting strength of the air force needs to be made up with by fly by wire multi role aircraft. While we should strive for parity with China, we should continue to maintain our conventional edge over Pakistan. Our submarine fleet is also crying for modernisation.
Maritime Security
Apart from the threat from China and Pakistan along our land frontiers, we also have to strengthen our maritime security including protection of our island territories. Though India wants to remain neutral in the 'new great game' between China and America in the Asia-Pacific region, it can not afford to remain a mute spectator to whats happening in her area of interest. India also needs to safeguard her sea lanes of communication and maritime interests in the South China Sea while countering the growing Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean. To counter the growing Chinese influence and decline in American power many nations like Japan, Phillipines, Vietnam and the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) are looking towards India for help. "India's strategic foot print covers the region bounded by the Horn of Africa, West Asia, Central Asia, South-East Asia and beyond to the far reaches of the Indian Ocean," said former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh while describing India's strategic frontiers. Conversely, Indian Armed Forces must be capable of safeguarding nation's security concerns in these areas far away from the main land. We need to develop "Out Of Area" operations capability by raising rapid deployment forces equipped with light and air portable support weapon systems as well as have a strong blue water navy backed with amphibious capability, a nuclear powered submarine fleet, long range drones and stealth fighters. The formation of National Maritime Mission by the new government is a step in the right direction.
Outer Space
The use of outer space for military purposes is another cause of concern for India whose national security concerns are no more confined to her land borders. The Indian Armed Forces are now relying more and more on space-based assets for communication, guidance of air craft and missiles, reconnaissance, navigation and surveillance. It is incumbent on us to ensure safety of these assets. China continues to develop technology to disable or destroy satellites and other space -based assets. USA and Russia already possess these capabilities. Asian countries like Japan, North Korea, Israel, Iran are also investing heavily in space programmes. In fact some security analysts term it as an " Asian Space Race." We no longer can afford to treat it lightly and have to evolve our own response to threat to our space-based assets. While we need to considerably enhance our capabilities for military use of space, at the same time we should also develop counter space capabilities. While continuing our commitment to peaceful use of space, our scientists need to focus on development of counter space weapons like, destruction/damage of satellite, laser dazzling, jammers, interceptors and stand-off weapons.
The previous government established an Intergrated Space Cell in 2010 for more effective utilisation of our space-based assets for military purposes and look into threat to these assets. The cell is to act as an integrating window between the miltary, space department and Indian Space Research Organisaion (ISRO). This decision needs a review by the present government in view of the challenges highlighted and establish a joint tri-service Aerospace Command for effective integration of space and counter space assets.
Cyber and Digital Security
Both China and Pakistan have developed advanced hacking capabilites. We therefore need to develop capabilities to provide freedom for unhindered use of cyber space by the military and for e governance and at the same time deny its use to our adversaries before or during the conflict. Cyber and digital security is another challenge before the new government.
Conclusion
The time for homilies is over. Now the new government has to get down to the serious business of governance and work diligently towards achievement of the pronounced goal 'Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat'. To facilitate this, a trouble free hinterland and safe and secure borders are required. Security of the nation is a prerequisite for economic development- overarching strategic goal of the Modi government. "Of all the gifts that a King can give, it is not the gift of land nor the gift of cows which is important, but the gift of Security"- Panchtantra.
( The author is a retired brigadier, political commentator, security and strategic analyst)
(Opinions expressed in write-ups/articles/Letters are the sole responsibility of the authors and they may not represent the scoopnews.in)
Editor, Scoop News
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