Home Again

Subhashis Mittra

For 40 years, Amit Shah has been Narendra Modi’s brain and brawn. Today, he is India’s second-most powerful person, entrusted with the task of heading the sensitive ministry of home affairs (MHA) for the second consecutive time.

In his first tenure, Shah ensured that key decisions taken by the Modi government were implemented without any hitch. His second term signals continuity. If he holds office for another year, the 59-year-old Shah is set to be the country’s longest-serving home minister. Congress’ Govind Ballabh Pant and BJP's LK Advani served as Union home ministers for a little over six years.

Shah, and Rajnath Singh, who handled the portfolio in Prime Minister (PM) Modi’s first term, have spent five years each in the North Block. Shah, who has been holding the key portfolio since 2019, has returned to the Modi 3.0 government in the same capacity. His tasks include internal security, border management, running armed police forces and keeping the lid on militancy in the troubled region of Kashmir—all ingredients with the potential to ignite or exacerbate communal tensions.

The Union home ministry will have to ensure smooth conduct of assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) this year. The promise to restore statehood in J&K after the polls rests on Shah, who would first like to focus on ensuring Pakistan’s proxy war does not disrupt peace. Soon after Prime Minister Modi assumed office for the third time on June 9, terrorists struck at four places in the Reasi, Kathua and Doda districts of J&K within four days, claiming the lives of more than a dozen people, including a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawan. The bloody encounters sent ripples of fear through the region which is fast becoming a hotbed of cross-border terrorism in the restive union territory.

The terror incidents, particularly the attack on a bus ferrying pilgrims galvanised the entire security establishment into action. The Union home minister himself reviewed the security situation in the union territory at a high-level meeting attended by national security adviser Ajit Doval, lieutenant governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha, top officials of the army, CRPF and others. Noting that the fight against terrorism in J&K is in its decisive phase, Shah said the recent incidents show that terrorism has been forced to shrink from highly or