India a democratic
country since independence is wrecked by internal dissensions that threaten to
derail its economy & widen disparities in an unequal nation.
15th August each year brings fond memories of flag
hoisting ceremonies, cultural programmes and parades in schools, colleges,
commercial & Government establishments. On eve of Independence Day the
President addresses the nation & on Independence Day the Prime Minister
addresses the nation from ramparts of Red Fort. Address to the nation gives an
opportunity to Government to announce new plans, launch new programmes and pay
homage to freedom fighters & people who laid down their life serving the
nation. However this year address to the nation is more likely to be a
cautionary tale rather than a pep talk which will invigorate the citizens of
India. Challenges awaiting the Indian nation in its 67th year of
independence have grown tremendously from the time India regained freedom from
British rule. Immediately after independence the moment was full of opportunity
and promise of unfulfilled national desires to be satiated. The enemies on
horizon were mostly external however scenario has turned piquant in last few decades
and today internal security has come to occupy a centre stage as never before.
So how does a democratic country uninterrupted by blight of military rule or
dictatorship face off to the prospect of “internal enemies” of the state?
Unrequited Nation
India is a highly disparate country with swathes of
extreme poverty juxtaposed with islands of affluence. It’s symptomatic of a
culture where you had Rajah’s lording over the teeming masses toiling for their
daily bread with hunger & pestilence snipping at their heels Post
independence, fruits of development were not equitably distributed among the
populace. On one hand you have India clocking second highest (22.2%) growth in
high net worth individuals (HNWI) in Asia-Pacific region one of the fastest
growing HNWI market in the world as per recent World Wealth Report 2013 www.worldwealthreport.com On the
other hand India has almost 29.8% of its population deemed income poor (2009-10) and over 53.7% of the population
multidimensional poor (2005) as per United Nations Development Programme www.undp.org. This lop-sided development gap is
unbridgeable in near future and is the underlying cause for creating
fissiparous tendencies in our society. Contributing factors like culturally
prevalent development imbalances of marginalized sections of our society play a
complimentary role in fanning these flames of animosity. This cocktail of a
poor population exposed to obscene wealth has the capacity to implode entire
growth story of India.
Dance of
Democracy
India continues to face external threats from its
vexatious con-joined twin Pakistan & an increasingly bellicose China
flexing its military might to burnish its credentials as a global super power.
However internal threat to India’s growth story is likely to have a more
insidious effect than a spectre of a full blown war. As it is military misadventure or war is a
distant possibility in the new world order where economic might scores over
military might. These internal hotspots need to be analyzed & addressed so that
they don’t mar the show of a resurgent India. Broadly the two main threats confronting
India today can be categorized as under.
Religious Extremism
:- As per Pews Research Centre’s forum on Religion & Public Life http://www.pewresearch.org/ India is
home to the second largest Muslim population in world but they constitute a
minority of just 14.4% of India’s total population. The grievances of remnant
Muslim population post partition of India never found proper articulation as
majority of educated & rich elite had opted with their hearts for the new
nation of Pakistan. Those remaining in India out of choice or otherwise were
bewildered and were easy prey for the minoritism pandering politicians who view
Muslims only as a captive vote bank. Perceived grievances along with inadequate
representation in nation building contributed to fringe elements coming to the
fore and a siege mentality gripped the community. Politicians across the political
spectrum felt no compunction in hobnobbing with Muslim fundamentalists for
their personal pelf. Fundamentalists were encouraged and sane voices in the
Muslim community became subdued. Extremist thoughts became main-stream and moderate
minds withered. To add to this cauldron of simmering discontent were the
inimical intent of Pakistan which began right since partition with Kashmir
being a rallying cry for injustice to Muslims in India. Kashmir an anachronism in Indian union being the only Muslim
majority state has periodically grappled with religious extremism. Pakistan
based terror groups have contrived to create a pure & alien Wahabbi version
of Islam as against the historically prevalent harmonious Sufi strain. Hounding
of minorities the Hindu Kashmiri Pandits & Sikhs increased with incessant
killings and tensions ratcheted to such levels that minorities fled fearing for
their lives. The ploy was to set up an ‘Ummah’ state in India with connivance
of the unsatisfied local population. As is wont in media it would be a fallacy to bracket
this as Islamic terrorism since there is nothing Islamic about terror acts
being perpetrated by these extremist organizations. It is only by using the fig
leaf of Islam that these extremists seek to gain respectability and acceptance
in society to achieve their geo-political ends. Pakistan was and still
remains the main patron of religious terrorism in India aided & abetted by
their “non-state actors”. These non-state actors are not some shadowy groups
located in hill ranges of Karakoram but are prominent organizations that
operate with impunity from cities of Pakistan in spite of being banned
worldwide. The Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari is on record admitting that
terrorist groups were created to achieve its foreign policy objectives and claimed
now they have turned rogue. The question remains which is the state to which
these non-state actors report – the civilian government, the Pakistani Army the
de facto ruler or the Directorate for
Inter-Services Intelligence its powerful intelligence agency. Pakistan’s
conundrum of a state within a state is the main reason the country has evolved
as top terror exporter in the world. The continuous supply of motive, men,
and money for carrying out terror attacks in India has been the avowed stated
policy of all these supposedly Islamic organizations. Prominent among these
which are involved in terrorist activities against India are Lashkar-e-Toiba,
Jaish-e-Mohammed Harkat-ul-Jihad Islami (HuJI), and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM)
besides a host of other fringe groups. These groups are responsible for
carrying out some of the worst carnages like the 1993 Mumbai bombings, 2005 serial
blasts in Delhi, 2006 train blasts in Mumbai, 2008 Jaipur bombings, 2008 Mumbai
massacre etc. This earned India the dubious
distinction of fourth most affected in the world by terrorism according to
Global Terrorism Index. With a view to
provide legitimacy to their claim that terrorism is purely an indigenous
phenomenon Pakistan propped up the now banned Students Islamic Movement of
India (SIMI). In its latest deadly avatar it has morphed into a Jihadi sounding
Indian Mujahideen. This outfit has been responsible for some of the recent
attacks perpetrated like 2011 Mumbai serial blasts and the latest 2013 bombings
in Bodh Gaya where Lord Buddha attained enlightenment. However all logistics for terror acts are
provided by Pakistan for which balkanization of India remains the ultimate
aphrodisiac avenging their vivisection in 1971 with the birth of Bangladesh.
Left Wing
Extremism :- As somebody aptly quipped “Gandhians with Guns” the Naxalites
or left wing insurgents evoke a romantic notion of a idealist taking on an unjust
society for greater good of the “have not’s”. This facile description denotes
the goodwill these merchants of death enjoy among the liberal gentry. It’s
ironic to know that these idealists are progenitors of a mayhem that affects
182 districts in 20 Indian states out of a total of 640 districts in 28 states
as per reply filed by Ministry of Home Affairs in lower house of Indian parliament
on 22nd November 2011. It’s no wonder that Indian Prime Minister
described them the biggest challenge to our national security. It originally
began as a struggle for rights of landless labourers, marginal peasant’s,
tribal’s & depressed classes and got transformed into a mindless armed
insurrection against the state. In a macabre twist the worst affected by this
cycle of violence were the same people who these idealists wanted to empower. It
bloomed as a revolutionary movement in 1967 inspired by people’s war of Mao
Zedong in Naxalbari in West Bengal state of India and has now degenerated into
a violent uprising against the state and its machinery. Intimidation and threats
were used as the primary weapons for recruitment besides the aggrieved people
who joined to avenge social and personal injustices. By targeting local
government and police officials, institutions, schools and health centres in
their areas of influence the leftist extremists create a governance vacuum so
that the local population comes under their sway. In the process they are responsible
for the fruits of development not reaching these vulnerable pockets and enhancing
their backwardness. As reiterated earlier the India we inherited from British
had large pockets of land where there were no administrative footprints. With
industrialization & development demanding more land, minerals & forest
wealth the lower sections of society marginal peasants, forest dependent
tribal’s & farm labourers came under increasing pressure. This was the
fertile ground in which Maoists or Naxalites started reaping their rich harvest
of “people’s soldiers”. Their roll call of killings is equally chilling with almost
1500 killings in the last 8 years along with rampant destruction of government
property & infrastructure. To be fair even though the Maoists have their
areas of influence they were never able to create a mass base and with their
incessant killings they have further alienated the general population. It’s
surprising while carrying out attacks on civilian population or security forces
the Naxalites are ruthless but when targeted seek refuge under pretext of human
rights violations. This ruse of upholding fundamental rights doesn’t hold water
when faced with barbaric savages. It’s with conviction we can say that Maoists
will never be able to overthrow the Indian government but their propensity to
strike at will is a huge deterrent to India’s economic progress. It’s
imperative that they are effectively contained at the earliest.
Besides the above two main threats there are various
ethnic insurgents that operate in north east India. Geographical isolation led
to the belief of a step motherly treatment and people here developed angst
against the Indian state. These groups either fought amongst themselves for
dominance or waged a war against the Indian state. However being restricted to only
their area of influence the threat perception has not reached a national level.
Countering “People’s
War”
Challenges to the Indian Union are many and varied but
are not insurmountable. Recent examples being insurgency in Punjab state which
reached its zenith in the 1980’s was rooted out by a resolute administration
with an iron hand. This was balanced with recognizing valid aspirations of Sikh
community and assuaging hurt feelings caused due to Army action necessitated by
extremists taking refuge in Golden temple. Terrorist’s fire power was matched
by the security forces that were given a free hand by the Government. Situation
is largely peaceful today and democratic process is thriving with jettisoning of
the demand for an independent Sikh nation of “Khalistan”. Mizoram Peace Accord
of 1986 paved way for peaceful resolution of the secessionist movement in Mizo
areas of Assam, The movement was born in aftermath of a severe famine in 1959
to protest Government inaction which resulted in large number of deaths. After
decades of militancy the insurgents realized that an armed struggle was futile
and Indian government rose to the occasion and Mizo Accord was signed. Formation
of separate state of Mizoram enabled local population to participate in the
administrative process of their community which was getting subsumed in Greater
Assam state. Key steps for effectively countering threat from extremists
whether home grown or foreign are as under.
Political Will :- The politics of appeasement which
results in mere tokenism rather than any socio economic advancement of the
community needs to be discarded. Efforts should be made to realize genuine
aspirations of communities which are feeling neglected. The Justice Rajinder
Sachar report highlighting developmental backlog in Muslim community is a good
example. Rather than pandering to Islamic fundamentalists and indulging in ‘Iftar
diplomacy’ which contributes zilch to the Muslim cause effective implementation
of this report will go long way in ameliorating backwardness among the community.
Instead of vociferously championing flippant issues that arouse atavistic
passions political parties should focus on implementing the Sachar committee
recommendations. This indeed would be a
yeomen service to overall advancement of the Muslim community. Kashmir the
eternal bugbear of India was effectively handed over on a platter to religious extremists
by a weak kneed response of Indian Government. For fear of offending perceived Muslim
vote bank the actual minorities there Hindus & Sikhs were exposed to
machinations of extremists. Their aim being establishing an Islamic state and
eventually get it to cede from the Indian Union. Even today Article 370 while
awarding special privileges effectively bars Kashmir from becoming part of
India growth story with deficit in governance hall mark of the state. Rule of
law should not be sacrificed at the altar of political expediency. In Assam the
recent spat between Hindu tribal’s & Muslim settlers was triggered due to
incessant illegal migration from Bangladesh changing the demographic character
of the region. In Tripura insurgency took birth due to huge migration of
Bengali speakers making local people a minority in their own region. Strong political
will to take decisive action is a prerequisite so that the issue doesn’t
conflagrate into a sore that keeps on bleeding the nation.
Augmenting Security
& Intelligence Network :- Counter insurgency and counter terrorism operations are key
to tackle extremists who have a healthy disregard for human lives. However our
frontline of defence against these insurgents the security forces suffer from
weak infrastructure and lack of professional training, On top of it a resource
crunch has prevented recruiting the desired numbers as per our requirement. According
to IndiaSpend a non-profit journal analyzing open data to foster better
governance http://www.indiaspend.com currently there is a shortage of 5,00,000
police men. In spite of this dire situation we have 47,000 police personnel exclusively
deployed to protect VIP’s. The 2006 police reforms as directed by Supreme Court
of India are still lying unimplemented by the political establishment. They don’t
want to dilute their stranglehold on the police forces and make them
independent and professional. All these factors definitely affect morale of the
police force and results in improper tackling of situations that require quick
& adequate response while facing an unforgiving enemy.
Timely and accurate intelligence is the key to any successful
operation irrespective of the theatre of operation. Whether tackling Naxalites
in jungles or terrorists in cities advance intelligence can be the difference
between success and failure. It will not be farfetched to say that Indian
intelligence has been found wanting, resulting in recurring attacks on our
cities and key institutions. Post the 2008 audacious attack on Mumbai the
government belatedly woke up to requirements of modern counter terrorist
operations. The recent Sukma attack in Naxalite infested Chattisgarh state brought
home the realization that Naxalites have developed an intelligence network to
carry out big strategic strikes. Better co-ordination among the central
intelligence agencies with their state counter parts and timely sharing of
intelligence inputs with on field forces will go a long way in remedying the
worsening situation. On the basis of timely intelligence data our forces will
regain the upper hand in fight against extremists that has been lacking in
spite of our superior fire power.
Advantage India
India being a democratic country there are legitimate forums
for grievance redress and taking up arms is not the solution. All round
development is the touchstone which will go a long way in eliminating disquiet
in minds of unsatisfied communities. If Indian citizens have reasonable
opportunities to increase their standard of living then the contrarian thought
process will be curtailed. Internal threats can be effectively countered but
time has come for India to evaluate its options about the external elements
bent upon raking up imaginary bogeys.
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