Border Management and the ensuing threat to India’s internal security.

Nation’s economic growth as a pre-requisite demands the prevalence of a tranquil environment which in turn is ensured by state institutions of army, police and the judiciary. The different state institutions have been set up to pose a composite solution to the security challenges that disrupt the normal course of living.

It is only in an environment of peace underlined by law and order, that creative energies of the demographic dividend add to the output of the nation measured in terms of tangible as well as intangible goods, which is measured by GDP and used as a barometer to measure nation’s progress and thus a say at international forums. It is therefore essential that any threat that emanates from either internal or external sources that attempts to disrupt the entrepreneurial activities in the nation, harms human capital or targets critical infrastructure installations is neutralized with utmost severity. It is in this context that we shall discuss the issues related to border management in ensuing paragraphs.

Border management in India has been entrusted to different paramilitary agencies that work under Ministry of Home Affairs, Department of Border Management. It is also essential to understand that Indian army is not entrusted with border management but is deployed at critical points as and when threat is perceived from beyond the borders which the different paramilitary agencies such as BSF, ITBP, Assam Rifles, SSB etc. along with police are ill-equipped to redress and neutralize. Army as a guardian of our national borders is a lethal force and deployed only in exceptional times and thus their role along with different state agencies as mentioned above along with that of police needs to be seen as a collaborated effort while addressing the issue of border management.

India has a vast land border that extends from Kathiawar in Gujarat where salt marshes pose a different kind of challenge as compared to the challenges faced at the border that extends to mountainous terrain of J&K dissected by numerous rivers of Punjab and Himalayas. In Gujarat, the unsettled Sir Creek issue acts as a safe haven for brigades who operate with complete impunity as neither Indian nor Pakistani forces have jurisdiction in the disputed territory. The land boundary in Kashmir on the other hand is an unsettled issue between the two blood brothers as both lay claim to Kashmir’s land citing cultural affinity and historic roots, and this is why Pakistan has been waging a proxy war to liberate Kashmir from the clutches of India by sending terrorists and insurgents so as to incite violence in Kashmir and disrupt the normal course of living thereby compelling the Kashmiris to join Pakistan or else live in fear. In the border areas in Punjab, after unsuccessful attempts to carve out State of Khalistan by force, Pakistan has adopted a different policy of providing cheap drugs to the youth of Punjab in the hope that these drug addicts would be easily radicalized and become easy recruits to spread terrorism. Gun running and drug trafficking are prominent border challenges on India’s western border with Pakistan.

To the east of Kashmir, the Mc Mahon line demarcates the land boundary between India and China which is partly disputed and partly settled. The construction of China Pakistan Economic corridor (CPEC) would give both China as well as Pakistan a reason to defend the annexed land in Pok with more vigour and thus weaken Indian attempts to regain the lost territory in Kashmir.

India’s border with Nepal is porous and has been used by Pakistan to push terrorists into India. It was at the Katmandu airport that Pakistani terrorists hijacked Air India flight to Kandahar, Afghanistan and used it as a bargaining chip to negotiate the release of their leader jailed in India. Nepal border has also become a hot destination for sex trafficking. The last railway station – Raxaul, at Indo-Nepal border has been found to be used by sex syndicates as the popular route to move sex workers.

In North east, the terrain is hilly as well as forested and infested not only by insurgency but also by Naxalism and internal strife between different tribal communities of the area who argue that since their cultural identities are separate, it is their sovereign right to carve out an independent nation state. Apart from this, the problem of mass exodus of Bangladeshi’s into India is threatening to alter the demographic profile of the region. It is feared that these illegal immigrants would attain voter cards by fraudulent means and become a major political force in time to come and eventually demand sovereignty.

The border with Myanmar is fraught with problems of illegal trade and drug trafficking because of the proximity of ‘Golden Triangle’ that exists in the states of Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. It is a thickly forested region and thus the inaccessible terrain provides a safe haven for drug syndicates and naxalites.

In order to secure our borders, Indian government has adopted a comprehensive approach that entails the construction of border fence with flood lights, joint patrolling, construction of border roads so as to facilitate quick movement of troops in times of contingency as well as construction of border pillars especially along the Nepal border where frequent floods uproot these pillars and thus become a reason for encroachment in no man’s land by citizens of either side.

India’s maritime borders have been provided with a two tier protection wherein Indian Navy stands guard our maritime frontiers that extend twelve nautical miles into Indian Ocean and beyond, while Indian Coast guard safeguards our immediate coastal frontiers. Ajmal Kasab and other terrorists involved in the Mumbai attacks came via the sea route and since then measures have been taken to strengthen the vigilance and surveillance infrastructure all along Indian coastline.

Disruption of economic activity by military action has over the years given way to neo-imperialism wherein international institutions like IMF impose conditionalities under the pretext to gain market access and reform the domestic policies of the nation so as to benefit them. It is in this context that border management has acquired a new meaning in terms of safeguarding our domestic markets from IMF and WTO imposed policies as well as protection of our digital frontier in the wake of expanding digitalization and e-commerce.

By: Abhinav