Community Participation in Border Management

India's territorial borders, both land and sea, are a complex amalgamation of diverse physical, ethnic and cultural paradoxes. The populations along territorial peripheries can play an important role in effective border management and policy maker must make sure that local people became the centre of gravity of all actions. The Government along with border guarding forces has to device mechanisms to mainstream the local population in the management of the border areas.

Challenges of People living in territorial peripheries

India has extremely complex borders. It has 14,818 kilometres of land borders and a coast line of 7516.6 kilometers. All states except Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Delhi , Telegana and Haryana have an international border or a coast line. Indian borders run through plains, hills and mountains, deserts, riverine territories and marshes. Managing such a diverse border is a complex task but vital from the point of view of national security. The terrain, climatic conditions, dense vegetation, improper design and alignment without taking into consideration the traditions and culture of the border population, has further led to its repeated breaching. Many border regions have their own ethnic, cultural, religious and racial configurations distinct from the mainland and some areas depict an overwhelming affinity with the people across the borders. Furthermore, there are many villages between fencing and the International Boundary, where people are in conspiracy with the criminals, making detection of illegal migrants and criminal difficulties. Moreover, India’s neighbourhood is in turmoil and Several of India’s neighbours are undergoing political and economic instability therefore, making border management a tedious task .
The people living on India's international border particularly on land borders face myriads problems like difficult terrain, harsh living conditions and lack of access to public amenities. Frequent shelling from across the border, thinly spread out administration and inadequate social and economic infrastructure make life difficult in these area. Further, concerted efforts are being made by our hostile neighbours through allurements, subversion and promotion of religious fundamentalism to generate a feeling of alienation among the border population. The border population has many other disadvantages like vulnerability to actions of border criminals , restriction or control over movement by forces ,threat of aggression by enemy, cross border shelling or firing , lack of industrialisation , economic progress , lack of infrastructure, means of communication, education, medical, water and remoteness.

Trust Deficit between Border Guarding Forces (BGF) and Local Community

While, most of the developed countries have adopted participative and multi-national integrated border management system, India's border management is still emphatic to security centric border guarding system by deploying the Central Para Military Forces (CPMF) specially organised as a Border Guarding Police Force (BGF). The BGF are the most visible face of Governance in bordering areas. They have been mandated with primary tasks of maintaining territorial integrity and ensuring the sense of security to border population.
However, despite of all these safeguards and arrangements, India's border population in general quite often feel dissatisfied, alienated and show hostile attitude towards BGFs. Such attitude of population is owing to the restrictive and preventing nature of tasks performed by forces, which is generally against the interest of local population like; restriction in movement across the border where they still have farmlands and relatives, prevention of smuggling activities which is a Means of Livelihood to Border Population, absence of respect for local Language and culture and Operational annoyances like causing inconvenience to local people while combating terrorism .

Development of Border Area

BGF are an extension of Central Government in far flung territories. The relationship between BGF and border population should be viewed from the prism of management and government should re-orient its outlook towards identifying the problems and policies and programmes of action to earn good will, understanding and acceptance of the community. The BGF-community relationship can essentially survive on Government support. Political will is first and foremost to fill this chasm. The concept of 'border guarding' has to be replaced by 'border management' and the responsibility has to be shared by the Central as well as State Governments and the spirit of cooperative federalism must be kept alive while dealing with such sensitive issues .

There is unemployment and abject poverty due to lack of economic opportunity, hence, people resort to smuggling. If repressive measures are taken by BGF, ignoring the ground realities, the only source of income is denied the people get alienated. The BGF is not therefore seen as a friend but as the enemy who is impinging upon in earning their daily bread.
Therefore government should relentlessly strive for improvement of basic amenities, infrastructure and living conditions of people in border areas.
Provisions should be made for creating the resource and dignified employment.

Border Area Development Programme - The programme aims to meet the special development needs of the people living in remote and inaccessible areas situated near the international border and to saturate the border areas with the entire essential infrastructure through convergence of Central/State/BADP/Local schemes and participatory approach.
BADP is a major intervention strategy of the Central Government to bring about a comprehensive development of border areas by supplementing the State Plan Funds to bridge the gaps in socio-economic infrastructure on one hand and by improving the security environment in border areas on the other. Planning and implementation of BADP schemes should be on participatory and decentralized basis thorough the Panchayati Raj institutions/Autonomous Councils/Other local bodies/councils.

Engaging BGFs and Local Community

The BGFs must protect the bordering villages and communities from the threats emanating across the border .Adequate funds must be provided either directly to BGF or through State Government. Role of civil society must now be undermined while formulating policy and program of these areas .However, these programmes may be executed through State Government or NGOs but identification and selection of projects and its monitoring should be the domain of the BGF.

A strict adherence to code of conduct, ethical standards of discipline and
integrity and attempts on attitudinal changes in the foremost requirement from the BGFs . Further , government must work towards building mechanisms for monitoring grievances against the BGF .The BGF should give up the mindset that, everyone living in the border region is a criminal. They must imbibe the idea of involving the local community in border guarding. The widening divide between BGF and population in bordering areas is cause of concern, since effective border guarding is not possible without community support. It is , therefore, of paramount importance that, BGFs evolve ways and means, whereby people develop a feeling of attachment toward them. The community should serve as force multiplier in border management. Once the local population along the bordering areas is integrated in the mainstream, a certain amount of moral responsibility would automatically come in. The realistic 'community's participation in India's border management' can be achieved only thereafter. An effective communication with the villagers leading to better understanding, win public trust and to encourage public co-operation . Village Defence and Development Committees at the base level with cooperation of the local populace would go a long way in enhancing security and development of the borders besides providing a sense of belonging to these people. There would be a requirement of training the locals as well as motivating and providing incentives for engaging the locals in the task of border management.
Civic Action Programme in the border areas is a very important task. If undertaken well, it will infuse confidence among the border area populace, develop infrastructure there and promote the feeling of national integration. Once this is done, Local people will be cardinal in managing localised border problems like - reporting of any illegal activities and infiltration along the border ,keeping allotted areas under surveillance and participate in construction of roads, tracks and maintenance of border
fencing.

By: Vinay Joshi