The dust of elections has settled. The NDA government is firmly in the saddle. The Prime Minister already has a formidable list of achievements to his credit. At the international level, India has prestige, which it probably has never had since Independence. Our economy is on a high trajectory. China has, for the first time, realised that it can no longer bully India and that, beyond a point, India would not shrink from a bloody confrontation.
The government should have a well-orchestrated plan for the next five years. On internal security, the following nine points should merit serious attention.
One, internal security doctrine. Ideally, the country should have a national security doctrine (NSD). The National Security Advisory Board has, from time to time, worked on it and prepared drafts. For inexplicable reasons, those were never approved. All significant powers have an NSD through which they describe the internal and external challenges facing the country and prescribe the policies for dealing with them. If there are any problems in developing the NSD, its internal security component at least, which is simpler, could be worked out. There is too much adhocism in dealing with the internal security challenges, especially when there is a change of government.
Two, Internal Security Ministry. The Ministry of Home Affairs has become much too heavy and therefore unwieldy. Internal security matters, which demand immediate attention, quite often do not get the prompt and thorough attention they deserve. It is high time that a young, junior minister working in the MHA is given independent charge of internal security. Rajesh Pilot showed what a difference such an arrangement could make.
Three, Jammu and Kashmir. The state is far from normal in spite of the Home Minister’s claim that terror incidents are down by 66 per cent since the abrogation of Article 370. Terrorists recently struck at four places in the Jammu region. Obviously, they are desperate to explode the narrative of “Naya Kashmir”. We cannot be complacent about the objectives of the Pakistani deep state. The government must take early steps to reorganise the security grid, restore statehood to J&K and hold elections for the Assembly.
Four, the Northeast. The Prime Minister has called the Northeast “a piece of our heart”. The beating of the heart is unfortunately not healthy. A Framework Agreement signed with the rebel Nagas in 2015 had raised great hopes, but these remain unfulfilled because of the NSCN (IM)’s insistence on a separate flag and constitution. The government should meanwhile insist on rigorous implementation of the
suspension of operations agreement and ensure that the rebels do not engage in extortion and forcible recruitments. Manipur has been a disaster. Ethnic conflicts continue to simmer with occasional outbursts of violence. The Home Ministry’s formation of a multi-ethnic peace committee has not been productive; it is time for the PM to take charge of the situation himself. The problems of illegal migration, drug trafficking and arms smuggling would require a comprehensive approach.
Five, the naxal problem. The Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityananda Rai, in a statement made in the Rajya Sabha on February 7, claimed that the implementation of the “national policy and action plan” had resulted in a consistent decline in violence and shrinkage of the geographical spread of left-wing extremism’s (LWE) influence. Violence and the resultant deaths had declined by 73 per cent from a high in 2010. Rai further stated that the number of police stations reporting LWE-related violence had come down from 465 police stations across 96 districts in 2010 to 171 police stations across 42 districts in 2023. So far, so good. With Naxals on the backfoot, it is now time for the healing touch. The government should offer them the olive branch, declare a unilateral cease-fire for a month, persuade them to come to the negotiating table, address their genuine grievances, and try to mainstream them.
Six, Intelligence Bureau/CBI. The two premier central police organisations, Intelligence Bureau and the CBI, require restructuring. The IB was set up through an administrative order on December 23, 1887. It is high time that it is given a statutory basis, with safeguards to prevent the misuse of intelligence to bolster the party in power. The CBI was set up through a resolution passed on the April Fools’ Day in 1963, and it derives the power to investigate from the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946. It is an anomalous arrangement and, as recommended in the 24th report of the parliamentary committee, “the need of the hour is to strengthen the CBI in terms of legal mandate, infrastructure and resources”.
Seven, state police. The Prime Minister wants the PMO to function as People’s PMO. Indeed, it should! But of greater value, more relevant, would be the transformation of the “Ruler’s Police” that we have inherited from the British into the “People’s Police”. Robert Peel, former British prime minister, is remembered to this day for having reformed the country’s police. It is a great opportunity and also a challenge for our Prime Minister.
Eight, Central Armed Police Forces. The CAPFs with an overall strength of more than a million are beset with serious internal problems of unplanned expansion, haphazard deployment, inadequate training, falling standards of discipline, vague criteria for the selection of top officers, friction between cadre and All India Service officers, etc. The government would do well to appoint a high-powered commission to go into these problems for their long-term solution.
Nine, technology. There is enormous scope for technological inputs into the functioning of police in the country. These inputs would act as force multipliers. As suggested by the PM himself at the DGPs’ conference held in Lucknow in 2021, there is a need to set up a high-powered technology mission to recommend the adoption of latest technologies for the new challenges which the police are already facing or are likely to face in the future.
A country projects its strength at the international level in direct proportion to its internal cohesion, its ability to resolve the differences within and not have any swamps where terrorists or extremists of any shade can breed. The internal security scenario of the country would be much better if action on the above lines is initiated with foresight and imagination.
The writer was formerly Director General of BSF, DGP UP and DGP Assam
