PM’s Conference on Internal Security – Questions & Answers

By Col R. Hariharan


1.      Prime Minister has said Left Wing extremism remains a major challenge to the internal security of the country? What are your views? 

The Prime Minister had highlighted Left Wing extremism (LWE) as the major threat facing the country in earlier conferences on internal security also. LWE had been there for a long time because it feeds upon existing short comings of governance and works to wreck the effectiveness of the system. So it continues to thrive in states vulnerable to such weaknesses. 

Real dimensions of Hindu terror

By now it is clear there had been at least three acts of terrorism by extreme fringe elements of Hindus. It is evident that the ruling Congress Party led by Mrs Sonia Gandhi has decided to focus on this issue to demonise the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Singh (RSS) - the ideological source of the opposition  Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). At the recently concluded 83rd plenary session of the Congress party the RSS was compared to the Nazis. The timing of this 'discovery' to coincide with the opposition campaign to bring the Manmohan Singh government to book for the 2G scam is interesting. The Manmohan Singh government has been in a log jam over the 2G issue which came as the 'Mother of all Scams' after a series of scams have been unearthed. 

Is the Congress Party using the Hindu terror issue in a diversionary tactic to shift the public focus from the scam tainted rule of the Congress Paty led coalition? What are the true dimensions of Hindu terrorism? Of course, if we put these acts of fringe Hindu elements in the same terror basket of Jihadi terrorism, which is a world wide phenomenon, it would be a grave mistake. So the 'silent majority' - mostly made up of Hindus and other religions including Muslims should ponder over this question. Whatever be the provocation, Terrorism should not be used as a tool of political expendiency. So if the Congress Party is indulging in it, as it seems, it would weaken the fight against the scourge of terrorism not only in India but in other countries also; after all India has a population mix of Hindu majority and the second largest number of Muslims living anywhere in the world.

In this respect, Mr B Raman's article on the subject is reproduced here for a better understanding.

CONGRESS (I): DEMONISATION OF THE RSS

B.RAMAN

The exercise initiated by Mrs.Sonia Gandhi, the President of the Congress (I), and her cohorts at the just concluded 83rd plenary of the Congress (I) to have the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) projected and demonised as a Hindu terrorist organisation comparable to the Nazi groups of World War II vintage and the more recent Islamic terrorist organisations speaks of the mental confusion that prevails at the senior levels of her party. It also highlights the total bankruptcy of thinking and the total indifference to sensitive issues that have become the defining characteristics of the party under her leadership in recent months.

2. It is a fact that some members of the Hindu community had during the last three or four years taken to acts of reprisal terrorism against the Muslim community at Malegaon, Hyderabad and Ajmer. It also seems to be a fact that the Hindus suspected to have been involved in these acts of reprisal terrorism were ideologically close to some of the Hindutva groups, including the RSS. The suspected role of some regional office-bearers of the RSS in motivating those Hindus, who had taken to anti-Muslim terrorism, is presently under investigation.

3. But there has been no evidence so far that the RSS as an organisation had any role in encouraging acts of reprisal against the Muslims or in motivating those who had taken to terrorism. The RSS and its leaders seem to have been as much surprised and embarrassed by the activities of these Hindu elements as other sections of the Hindu society.In the past, there had been instances of some Hindus indulging in acts of sporadic violence against Muslims in moments of public anger, but there were no instances of any Hindu or group of Hindus taking to deliberately planned acts of anti-Muslim terrorism.

4.Such deliberate and pre-planned acts of terrorism by elements in the Hindu community, including one or two officers of the armed forces, have been a recent phenomenon triggered off by a growing anger in sections of the Hindu community over what they perceived as inaction or inadequate action of the Congress (I) controlled Governments in dealing with acts of terrorism by some members of the Indian Muslim community and by Pakistani jihadi organisations sponsored by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

5. These acts of reprisal terrorism by some members of the Hindu community called for two pronged action by the Government. Firstly, the arrest and prosecution of those involved. Secondly, action to address the causes of anger in the Hindu community . Instead of doing so, the Congress (I), by launching an unwise and virulent campaign against the RSS, is going to add to the anger in the Hindu community, large sections of which look upon the RSS as an organisation which has been serving the cause of Hinduism in the land of its origin through its religious, social, cultural and humanitarian work.

6. The Hindus are in an overwhelming majority in this country and they have a right to have organisations such as the RSS to preserve the heritage of their religion and to protect and nourish their religious roots. By demonising the RSS as a terrorist and Nazi-like organisation, the Congress (I) under the leadership of Mrs.Sonia Gandhi seeks to insult millions of Hindus in this country who serve the cause of the RSS and discredit their heritage in the eyes of the rest of the world.

7. The anti-RSS campaign of the Congress (I) will not only add to the already existing anger in sections of the Hindu community,but will also play into the hands of the jihadi terrorists by facilitating their objective of aggravating the divide between the Hindu and Muslim communities. Before this campaign starts further damaging the relations between the two communities, the Congress (I) should stop its demonisation of the RSS, which would prove counter-productive. ( 22-12-10)

( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com )

Military with no weapons

Ashok K Mehta

Over the next five years, India will spend $ 50 billion on arms purchases, including the daring joint development and production of the fifth generation fighters with Russia. This would suggest that Russia might no longer be in the race for the 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft as defence acquisition involves political balancing. Still 70 per cent of all our equipment and dependency will remain Russian. As Finance Minister, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had promised that once the economy grew, funds for defence modernisation would increase incrementally. That’s what is likely to happen after a two-decade drought in military modernisation.

Given the track record, defence acquisition will be further degraded by the overkill in probity and the Byzantine procedures. On August 25 this year, heads of five defence companies from the US, the UK Germany, France and Canada wrote to Defence Minister AK Antony for better structured and more supplier-friendly defence procurement policy.

The real questions are whether the buying spree will enhance self-reliance, improve deterrence and strengthen India's clout in international affairs. So far, at least, India has underutilised its military capability for a variety of domestic political and cultural reasons, not the least, the lack of strategic thinking.

A new book, Arming Without Aiming: India's Military Modernisation by Stephen Cohen and Sunil Dasgupta of the Brookings Institution has done some excellent mind-reading of Indian policy planning failures to develop military capabilities commensurate with its rising power and also exposed the warts in planning.

It is not surprising that despite terrorist attacks on Parliament and in Mumbai and several lesser strikes across the country over the last two decades, India has not crafted a suitable response to cross-border terrorism. The international community is astonished at the amazing levels of tolerance and military restraint shown by New Delhi — making a virtue of necessity, its strategic restraint and patience. The authors say that India’s rise is welcome (except in Pakistan) as it is not seen as an assertive power.

Is strategic restraint, the term coined by Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh during Operation Parakram, an euphemism for lack of appropriate military capabilities? Twice in that year, India came close to crossing the start line but held back, according to insiders, as neither the Air Force nor the Army was deemed fit or ready for punitive operations. It is the duty of Governments to keep the armed forces in a state of operational preparedness with relevant equipment and technologies. So it may not just be the culture of military restraint but equally the lack of defence planning.

The authors argue that India’s defence acquisition process is ‘amazingly convoluted’ and coupled with its preference to acquire technology and build weapons itself has led to deep problems. The preference is also to add and expand existing structures than engage in reform. This is true as since independence there has been no defence review and the armed forces have continued to operate in a political vacuum virtually decoupled from decision-making. This has resulted in erratic and spasmodic defence modernisation unrelated to developing challenges and their priorities but contingent upon availability of funds.

Commenting on the book, Ashley Tellis of Carnegie Endowment has noted that India’s defence policy was in crisis as there is ‘internal sclerosis’ in India’s internal defence thinking. Despite the Group of Ministers report after Kargil, key reforms like appointing a Chief of Defence Staff, remain in abeyance and integration is only lip-serviced. To this self-explanatory charge can be added that funds for modernisation cannot be utilised in full due to avoidable road blocks. Tellis notes Another profundity from Tellis is that while the Indian state has the money, it does not have the capacity to spend it efficiently.“how civil-military relations restrain military modernisation and this is not accidental but deliberate”.

Every year, an average of Rs5,000 to Rs 8,000 crore is returned to the Finance Ministry months before the end of the fiscal which helps to balance the Government's books. Tongue in cheek every year, the Finance Minister ends his ritual two-line statement on defence allocation with the caveat that “more money will be provided if required”. This is followed by thumping applause!

But no amount of military modernisation will help unless there is new strategic thinking and political will to shape the environment to India’s advantage. For a rising power, a strong military is an asset if it is employed gainfully to promote political and diplomatic objectives. Cohen says: “We don't think that new hardware and weapons will make that much of a difference as diplomacy and new strategic thinking are important.” The challenge for New Delhi is transforming the strategic environment.

Interestingly, the book contains a chapter on Defence Modernisation and Internal Threat. This probably is the most relevant contribution to India’s severe domestic problems ranging from insurgencies in Jammu & Kashmir and the North-East to the Maoist threat which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh first flagged in 2004 and has since repeatedly called the most serious internal security threat facing the country. Unfortunately, we continue to look outwards without addressing cogently, the threats from within, being fixated with Pakistan.

India’s defence budget has shot up astonishingly from nearly Rs50,000 crore in 1999 to Rs1,50,000 crore in 2010 and is growing exponentially at nearly 10 per cent but still remains far below two per cent of the GDP against the prescribed three per cent. Nearly 40 per cent of the budget goes towards military modernisation and maintenance.

Given the recommendations in the book, India must revisit its defence policy, implement outstanding defence reforms, including scrapping the laughable system of Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee, and appointing a Chief of Defence Staff. Despite India’s, in Tellis’s words, “strong cultural impulses towards restraint” the dominant short-term military requirement is creating a credible response to a terrorist strike from Pakistan short of full-scale war. One hopes that Home Minister P Chidambaram’s threat of a ‘swift and decisive response’ transfers into visible military capability embodied as a deterrent.

Diplomacy and deterrence will work best when the military is encouraged in new thinking through useful strategic and political guidance. This must become a two-way street with a free flow of ideas and innovations. Arming Without Aiming is certainly not what the Army teaches its soldiers. It is ek goli ek dushman.
Courtesy: Daily Pioneer, October 13, 2010

Looking for alibis, not action

The political leadership is seized of a marked somnolence in tackling difficult situations across the country

by Col R Hariharan

I am no great admirer of Henry Kissinger. But his pithy remark, “America needs a strategy, not an alibi,” in a recent article on the US operations in Afghanistan sums up the situation. If you substitute India for America it would aptly describe the desperate straits of New Delhi in handling our own internal situation across the country, whether it is Kashmir or the Maoist and Northeastern extremists. Kashmir is in an undeclared “intifada” with the disgruntled youth indulging in “stone warfare” against the police and paramilitary forces. It does not require the World Cup Nostradamus – octopus Paul – to guess the hidden hand of jihadists in whipping up emotions there. They have now done more damage to upset the state apparatus than the terrorists ever achieved. Both the ruling and opposition political parties are dithering. And Srinagar and New Delhi appear to favour the fire fighting measure of deploying the Army rather than taking concrete action to put out the fire.

The Home Minister’s much publicized “war” against Maoists appears to be going awry. The grim scorecard of the police and paramilitary losing lives at the hands of Maoists is going up. They continue to flout elementary rules of insurgency warfare despite the Home Ministry spouting data about their special training. The Ministry tried to get the Army into action though Army men come from a similar background as the Central police troops. Veteran cop EN Rammohan, who investigated the Dantewada incident, calls the CRPF a “lathi force”. If that is so, why offer them as sacrificial goats?


New Delhi still appears to be confused as it gropes for a common strategy. At the Chief Ministers’ meeting on July 14 in New Delhi, dissonant voices of some of the worst-affected States showed the Home Minister’s problem is far from over. Four worst-hit states – Chhattisgarh, Orissa, West Bengal and Jharkhand – agreed to form unified commands for anti-Naxal operations modelled after those existing in Jammu and Kashmir, and Assam.
In spite of the Maoists fighting the state in over 170 districts, the government recently

objected to a UN report calling it an “armed conflict” though the Home Minister has called it a “war”. The report, produced by the office of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and submitted to the Security Council, had highlighted the recruitment and use of children by the Maoist armed group in some districts of Chhattisgarh.

The core issue is, do we want to fight the Maoists or not? Or do we want to carry party politics down to the State level and carry on a slanging match on television? If not, why is there lack of professionalism in all avenues from planning to action? Clearly, there is something seriously wrong in the handling of the issue and nobody knows who is responsible.

It seems the somnolence in managing the internal situation is everywhere. Take the case of the Manipur blockade. Over two million people of the State were held to ransom for two months when the All Naga Student Association of Manipur (ANSAM) established road blocks at entry points into the State. The blockade was “suspended temporarily” at the “request” of the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister. Of course, the media, quoting government sources, reported that Central paramilitary forces “lifted” the blockade.

The ANSAM blockade was ostensibly against the ban on the visit of Th Muivah, the leader of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim – Isak Muivah (NSCN-IM) to his hometown of Somdal in Manipur. But, as the Manipur government has pointed out, the real reason was the NSCN-IM’s opposition to the holding of autonomous district council elections in Manipur.
This is a direct consequence of New Delhi’s inability to reconcile Muivah’s demand for Naga sovereignty and “greater Nagalim” with the conflicting interests of neighbouring states. This is after New Delhi’s 56 rounds of talks for the past 13 years with Muivah! The only gainer seems to be Muivah, who is calling the shots. He has established his armed followers in the heart of Nagaland in “peace camps”. They have become fat cats thriving on extortion. With this kind of governance, how can Manipuris feel they are part of this country when the state cannot ensure their right to normal life?

Not only internal security, but governance as a whole appears to be in slow motion. For instance, government inaction for political reasons has empowered khap panchayats to pass the death sentence! But the worst example is the Bhopal tragedy. Twentysix years after the disaster, a GoM deliberates on the issue for a few hours and discovers that it needs to prosecute Anderson, the then CEO of Union Carbide in the US.

IT would be charitable to describe the decision-making process as lethargic; it is best described as poodlefaking. The public is equally guilty in allowing the government to get away with it time and again. It is time we started meaning what we say and do what we mean.
The US has not covered itself with glory in the war in Afghanistan against the Taliban and Al Qaeda terrorists. It has poured in money – over $80 billion – and its Army continues to suffer casualties. All it has to show there now is a democratically elected government steeped in corruption, controlling barely 21 per cent of the country. But, even in the midst of all this adversity, in the US there is a sense of urgency of thought and action. The people held President George W Bush responsible for the failure and elected a Democrat as President. There is free airing of opinions and fixing of responsibility.

President Barack Obama continues to monitor performance of his generals. He does not hesitate to sack General McChrystal, the chief executive of operations, and appoint General Petraeus in his place. So, though Kissinger may suggest strategy rather than alibi, at least the US government shows it is alive to the situation.

Though American operations in Afghanistan are not worth emulating, the Indian government can take a cue from them on maintaining clear focus on the core issue. And that is what we are not doing. We are only looking for alibis and not action. There is not even knee-jerk reaction anymore, only paralytic spasm. At best we can hope for another Group of Ministers to sit, discuss and debate this issue. If that happens we will be where we started.


Courtesy: GFiles magazine, October, 2010
URL:http://www.gfilesindia.com/title.aspx?title_id=183