Of Critical Importance

R.C. Sharma

Border security is the most basic and necessary responsibility of a sovereign state” says Kirstjen Michele Nielsen, former secretary, US homeland security. Her statement implies that border security is a bedrock of national security. Secure borders enhance national pride and signify sovereignty and territorial integrity. On the contrary, weak border security creates unstable and unpredictable borders, plagued with transgressions and incursions by adversaries, which affects national security.

India has 15,106.70 kilometres of land borders and 7,516.6 kilometres of coastline. It shares land borders with Afghanistan, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar. Indian borders are well defined; however, terrain, the lay of the ground and unpredictable hostile adversaries make border guarding taxing and a complex web. Thus, border guarding is difficult, nightmarish and challenging. A professional approach is essential to strengthen border security. The nation needs to address border management concerns proactively to ensure effective border guarding.

Effective border guarding leads to effective border management and ensures peace and tranquillity at the borders. It also helps in winning the trust of the local population and better coordination with local administration, leading to inclusive border management. The border guarding force is the most vital organ of border management, with others being the local population and administration. All three need to be on one grid in the interest of national security. Border management with split stakeholders enfeebles border security, thereby debilitating national security. Therefore, unerring border management is necessary for effective national security.

There are unique challenges when it comes to guarding borders, which are compounded by climate, geographical configuration of border areas, national perspective towards the needs of border guarding forces, approach of adversaries, economics of border area, attitude of the local population and administration. Before the Kargil skirmishes, one border was guarded by more than one force. This led to issues of accountability and command and control. The group of ministers appointed in accordance with the Kargil review committee report recognised the shortcomings in border guarding apparatus and recommended the principle of ‘one border one force’. Accordingly, the responsibility for peacetime border guarding is with the Assam Rifles (AR), Border Security Force (BSF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and Shastra Seema Bal (SSB). The one border