A Fight to Win

Younis Ahmad Kaloo

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the nation

This Independence Day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about a ‘New India which is secure and powerful’ in his speech delivered from the ramparts of the historic Red Fort, he infused a sense of hope in the people. Lack of foolproof security, especially against terrorism, has been a major cause of concern for Indians in the last few decades. By reiterating that India’s security was top priority for the government, the Prime Minister has made it clear that any terror threat would be dealt with strongly.

The Prime Minister also talked of joining hands with the international community to fight terrorism. He said, “We are not alone in our fight against terrorism. Many nations are proactively supporting us. Be it hawala, or any inputs related to terrorism, the global community is supporting us with critical information. We have joined hands with other nations in the combined fight against terrorism.”

Former IGP, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) VPS Panwar explains, “Fifty years ago, the enemy was on the other side of the border. Now, the enemy is inside the border. So, the definition of enemy has changed, and so has the definition of security. Earlier you would place a rifleman somewhere (and the job was done) but today that rifleman has become defunct because of the change in the nature of attacks.” He emphasises that the need of the hour is to redefine the terms ‘enemy’ and ‘security’, and a separate law be made to deal with the former rather than deal it under normal law and order criterion.

Threats Within and Outside

The internal security situation in India, according to the ministry of home affairs (MHA) annual report 2014-15, broadly refers to the problems of terrorism in the hinterland of the country, cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, militancy in Northeastern states, and Left-wing Extremism (LWE) in some states.

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In the first six months of 2017 alone, 67 security personnel have been killed in LWE theatre, 37 of whom were killed in just two attacks in March and April. In 2016, only 65 were killed in the entire year. In Jammu and Kashmir till June 30 this year, 38 security personnel were killed as against 82 in 2016; 39 in 2015, and 47 in 2014. Nine security forces were killed in the attacks by insurgents based in the Northeast till June 30 this year. Compared to this figure,