Grave Mismatch

R.C. Sharma

Internal security means security within the territorial borders of a sovereign state and compliance to various national and state laws enacted for the maintenance of law and order within the boundaries of a sovereign state. This clearly means that internal security encompasses law and order. That is the reason that the framers of the Constitution bestowed the responsibility for maintenance of law and order to state governments.

As per the seventh schedule of the Article 246 List-I, that is the Union list, the defence of India, deployment of any armed forces of the union falls under the domain of the Union government. Public order and the police fall under List-II, that is the state list, and is the exclusive domain of state governments. Internal security is within the state domain only until the state police exclusively maintain public order. A state requisitioning central armed police forces to tackle a situation is an indication that the police lack the capability to handle the situation.

It could also be taken as acceptance of the collapse of public order leading to an internal security situation with wider national security ramifications. That is the reason the ministry of home affairs (MHA) has its own definitions of internal security wherein every collapse of public order may not be an internal security issue requiring direct involvement of the MHA despite the fact that central armed police forces (CAPFs) have been requisitioned in aid of civil power. As per para 2.1 of the annual MHA report for 2021-2022, internal security issues in the country can broadly be categorised as terrorism in the hinterland of the country, left wing extremism (LWE) in certain areas, insurgency in the north eastern states and cross-border terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir.

If the internal security situation is analysed, large parts of the c