India’s internal security landscape is intricately intertwined with its border management strategies, especially given the vast and porous borders it shares with neighboring countries in South Asia and Myanmar. The country faces a multitude of challenges ranging from cross-border terrorism, smuggling of arms and narcotics, to illegal immigration and insurgent activities. These challenges are not only detrimental to India’s national security but also pose significant socio-economic and political ramifications. The porous nature of India’s borders, stretching over thousands of kilometers, makes them susceptible to exploitation by various non-state actors and criminal organizations. Furthermore, the diverse geographical terrain along these borders presents additional challenges for effective surveillance and enforcement. The security situation is further compounded by historical and geopolitical tensions with certain neighboring countries, exacerbating border disputes and creating fertile ground for security threats. Therefore, addressing India’s internal security challenges necessitates a comprehensive approach that integrates robust border management strategies with diplomatic efforts and regional cooperation initiatives. Failure to effectively manage these borders not only compromises India’s territorial integrity but also undermines its efforts towards achieving peace, stability, and development in the region.
Tag: Security challenges and their management in border areas- linkages with organized crime with terrorism. Various security forces and agencies and their mandate.
Decoding the Question:
In Intro, try to write about the land border of India and general information about it.
In Body,
- Discuss various security related challenges and also correlate points with respective countries in South Asia and Myanmar.
- In Conclusion, try to give some suggestions for border management.
Answer:
India shares land boundaries with China, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan, and Myanmar in the east. The total land boundary of India is more than 15000 km.India’s border is highly porous, unmarked and unfenced with dangerous mountains, and other natural barriers becoming real challenges to border guarding.
These inefficient problems lead to issues in border management and related to internal security challenges as follows:
- Drugs: Illegal drugs are brought into India from these porous areas such as the Nepal border along with some areas in Pakistan that have been known for it. Illegal drugs in Punjab and other states have been sold for funding organised crime groups and terrorist organizations.
- Illegal Arms: Unfenced borders lead to smuggling of arms within and outside the country. Punjab, most of the north-eastern states along with Nepal and Bangladesh border are known for this. It has been a known fact that even Naxals use some Chinese made weapons and many extremist groups in north east states are using outside weapons.
- Illegal Migration: Illegal migration of the people across the border leads to problems of increased crimes, carrying illegal activities which can be dangerous for national security as well as for internal security.
- Ethnic Conflicts: Ethnic conflicts in north eastern states is not new for India but illegal migration has made this a very critical issue. Ethnic conflicts lead to riots, killing of people, etc.
- Change in Demography: Illegal migration becomes a challenge when migrants come into India without having legal documents and passports. They come and settle here which leads to change in the demography of the region. Examples include the demography changes in Assam.
- Myanmar border: It is known for safe passage for the insurgent groups of the north eastern state like NSCN-K, NSCN-IM, etc. They carry their operations and take shelter in the jungles of Myanmar.
Hence, it is very much needed to fence India’s border with all the land boundary nations. Taking various measures such as capacity building of the security forces, fastening, and implementing smart fencing of India’s border in difficult regions, is the need of the hour. Use of drones, strengthening surveillance with use of thermal imaging cameras could also add to this management. Also, borders need to be converted into frontiers, which can bring prosperity in the bordering regions.
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