Essay : War as an Instrument for National Security Strategy

---- Rajesh Meena Bujeta

Civilisations do come and go. Nations do rise and fall. But one nation, India aka Bharat aka Hindustan has always been on the map of this world since time immemorial. India has been a land of cultures, art, love, traditions, etc all woven together into a single garland. But any nation can sustain itself only till it is able to secure its boundaries from external aggressions as well as from internal disturbances. India has been a very good example of such nation. Be it ancient Mauryas or Guptas, be it the Medieval Rajputas or be it modern war of independence, we have innumerable stories of valour and sacrifice for the sake of motherland. It is only after such innumerable sacrifices that we have stood as a nation over centuries.

But now the time is changing very fast. With the coming of industrial revolution and the imperialism, the political face of the world has been changing very rapidly. And with the ushering of modern technological revolution, developments in the field of missile technology, nuclear technology, communication and information technology, the task of protecting the national frontiers has become very difficult. This has been further complicated with the rise of international terrorism, left wing extremism, political ideological differences and other such developments in the recent past

Though India is armoured with nuclear weapons with the Pokharan-1974, but still its response to terrorists attacks in past has led to it being labelled as a "Soft State". While the American response in post 9/11 episode is a different story, Indian response post Parliament attack in 2001 is an altogether different story. But there are many things which need to be kept in mind while embarking on such a journey; and thankfully in my personal opinion, India has been slowly moving on a right track.

The biggest threat to the national security today is the rapidly changing geopolitical conditions of today's world. India has been uniquely located such that it is surrounded by the countries which are posing a direct or indirect threat to our security. Terrorism today is one of the major problems which the world is facing. There is no colour, nation or religion which can be attributed to them. The episode of 9/11 has created a new world in which we are living in a constant fear and danger of being attacked by the terrorists anytime, any day. The terrorist groups like Al Qaida, Taliban, Hijb ul Mujaheddin etc. are slowly getting access of latest tools and technology which is making them more dangerous day by day. The possibility of terrorist groups getting nuclear technology or device and Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) in near future can't be ruled out. This becomes more probable when we see some of the covert links between state agents like Pakistan and these terror groups. No doubt, Pakistan-Afghanistan belt is the epicentre of modern day terrorism. Also it has been very clear that the west played a great role in the breeding of terrorists like Osama bin Laden himself in the Afghan Wars of 1980s in order to gain materialistic gains. Such political blunders by various states are putting the lives of thousands of innocent people around the globe at stake. While Osama attacked the World Trade Centre, thereby killing scores of people, another American bred terrorist Mullah Omar has gave vent to his frustrations by destroying 1500 years old twin Buddha's statue in Afganistan's Bamiyan province [1].

South Asia has been specially affected by such terrorist attacks. They use all sorts of strategies like bombing, kidnapping, suicide, hijacking etc. in order to make their plans succeed. The response of IC-814 hijacking, in which three dreaded terrorists were handed over by the Government of India was really a victory point for them. Nowadays they are using new tactics and methods in carrying out their activities like displayed in the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, where they have used sea route to come to India.

Pakistan, since its origin has been a country which is not as unhappy with its own misfortunes, as is with India's advancements. We have engaged in armed conflicts with Pakistan more than once like in 1948, 1971, 1999 etc. More than once, India has shown its supremacy over Pakistani armed forces. So lately it has started threatening India's security through covert means. The liberation of Bangladesh in 1971, which was mid-wived by India, has not yet been accepted by Pakistan. Its anger and frustration is visible in the aid that it provides to terrorists groups indirectly against India. Even Inter Service Intelligence (ISI), the secret agency of Pakistan has open relations with banned terrorist outfits. The source of modern day Muslim extremism can be traced in the Wahabi movement of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Such extremism is still being nourished in modern day madarsas and other training groups in that belt. The hijack of Indian Airlines flight IC-814 in 1999, attack on Indian Parliament in December 2001, Mumbai attacks in 2008 have all shown directs links with Pakistan based terrorist groups. Instead of helping India in bringing such perpetrators to book, Pakistani government is indirectly helping the terror groups in escaping. Such response from a legitimate nation is completely unacceptable and this shows that Pakistan, as a nation is failing.

Bangladesh too is giving sleepless nights to India now and then. The insurgency in the North-East in general and Assam in particular can be largely attributed to the groups having bases in Bangla soil. The flip flop state of governments in Bangladesh is making it difficult for India to enter into some concrete agreement with that country. The Khalida Zia government in Bangladesh is unresponsive to the Indian demands of dismantling such bases and any positive steps taken by the Sheikh Hasina government is undone by the opposition. Illegal immigration from Bangladesh is also a major problem as it is changing the demography of all the north-eastern states very rapidly. The population of Muslims in districts adjoining Bangladesh is rising very rapidly, much faster than the normal rate of growth of other communities. For example, South 24 Pargana, South Dinajpur etc. in West Bengal; Dhubri, Goalpara etc. in Assam have showing quite significant increase in Muslim population in comparison to national figures [1]. This is also putting a huge pressure over the scarce resources of north-east.

China on the other hand has been posing a different kind of threats to us. After the 1962 debacle, our relations have been moving towards normalancy, but still grey areas persist. The border dispute with China, in the Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) are far from over. There are many instances which have hinted towards Chinese help being provided to insurgent groups operating in the North-East India. China has also been accused of giving shelter to such insurgent groups. The 'String of Pearl' theory of China has been creating unrest in the minds of Indian citizens. Establishing military, naval or other strategic establishments around India, like in Gwadar (Pakistan), Hambantota (Sri Lanka), Chittagong (Mynmar), Sittwe (Mynmar) etc, is sure to raise eyebrows in the political echelons of India. India's counter strategy of engaging with countries like Vietnam in oil exploration in South China Sea has been retaliated by the Chinese government very strongly. Under such circumstances the possibility of an armed conflict in future can't be ruled out.

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