Force Multipliers

R.C. Sharma

India has land borders of 15,106.70 kilometres spread over 17 states. All Indian states except Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Delhi and Haryana are frontline states. India is surrounded by Pakistan to the West, China to the North and Northeast, Nepal and Bhutan to the Northeast and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the East. India has two sets of land borders--open and closed borders. Indo-China, Indo-Nepal, Indo-Bhutan and Indo-Myanmar are open borders, which comprise 50.88 per cent of land borders. Indo-Pakistan and Indo-Bangladesh borders are closed borders, which comprise 49.12 percent of the land border.

In all likelihood soon the Indo-Myanmar border may be fenced and upgraded to a closed border. There are integrated check posts manned by customs and immigration monitoring cross-border trade and people-to-people movement and by border guarding Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs). Indian border guarding is manpower intensive. Baby steps are being taken to bring technology into border guarding, compelled by hostile adversary actions. There is a need to introduce and integrate technology into border guarding. It is a fact that the terrain configuration of land borders requires high footfall of boots on the ground, which cannot be dispensed. However, the present hostile border security scenario requires border-guarding CAPFs to realise the importance of technology, and introduce and integrate technology into border guarding to strengthen border security.

Before introducing and integrating technology into border guarding, border guarding forces need an in-depth threat analysis along with terrain and weather analysis of borders. An in-depth qualitative analysis is required for the introduction of the best technology suited to address present and anticipated threats. What are the threats to Indian borders? Threats peculiar to border guarding are drugs and arms smuggling through land and aerial routes, infiltration, illegal migration, cattle smuggling, smuggling of local produce and plundering of forest wealth on eastern borders, nibbling and encroachment. The technology has to be in consonance with these threats. That the government is cognisant of threats to border security is reflected in the reply to Lok Sabha unstarred question No. 4460 from Harsimrat Kaur Badal concerning the smuggling of arms and narcotics. She asked if the government is aware that smuggling of arms and narcotics is rampantly being deployed through drones from Pakistan through the Punjab border. And whether the government has made any assessment or report to gauge the gravity of the types of smuggling carried out through drones through the India-Pakistan border and details thereof, steps taken so far and steps government proposes to take to prevent smuggling of arms and narcotics through drones.

Minister of state for home affairs Nishith Pramanik replied that drones are being used for smuggling of arms/ narcotics across the India -Pakistan border in Punjab. In the last three years until 28 February 2023, 28 incidents of recovery of drones involved in the smuggling of arms and narcotics have been detected, involving recovery of 125.174 kilograms of heroin. He listed generalised steps for effective border domination, like the erection of a border fence, border flood lights, detailed vulnerability mapping to strengthen surveillance by vehicles, special surveillance equipment, integrated surveillance technology equipped with CCTV/ PTZ cameras, IR sensors and alarm systems with command and control systems. He further said that anti-drone systems have been deployed in the border area of Punjab to counter drone threats and further an anti-rogue drone SOP (standard operating procedure) has been formulated and circulated to field units and is being followed.

The minister’s reply only talked of what is already in place for strengthening border guarding and nowhere talked of the need for introducing and integrating modern technology in border guarding. The need is to introduce modern technology and integrate it in border guarding to thwart existing and foreseeable threats to border security.

Threats generally emanate from across the borders. There are multiple threats which need to