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Sunday, July 18, 2010

Bleeding Within Armed Hearts!

Bleeding Within Armed Hearts!


Indian Holocaust My Father`s Life and Time - Four Hundred Twenty Four

Palash Biswas

http://indianholocaustmyfatherslifeandtime.blogspot.com/
A security lockdown and a general strike called by separatists crippled life in Indian-ruled Kashmir on Sunday after a brief calm returned to the region on Saturday.Meanwhile,Army has lodged a strong protest with their Pakistani counterparts over recent ceasefire violations, when six Indian Forward Posts along LoC in Poonch sector were targeted by mortar and small arms firing.

A railway bridge was damaged in a powerful blast in Udalguri district and an IED planted at Fancy Bazar area here exploded while being defused leading to high alert being sounded across Assam Friday. No one was injured in either of the blasts, officials said.
The bomb planted under the railway bridge over a river at Dhansiri between Rowta and Mazbat railway stations went off at 9 am damaging the bridge and the tracks, they said.Train movement over the bridge came to a halt after the blast which is suspected to have been triggered by the anti-talk Daimary faction of the NDFB, they said.

On the other hand,a drunk CRPF constable sprayed bullets from his AK-47 assault rifle on his colleagues, killing six, including an assistant commandant who had berated him for drinking on duty. The man, identified as Harpinder Singh, was gunned down at the camp, 90km from Jamshedpur, after a four-hour drama early Saturday morning.

CRPF sources said an altercation broke out between the drunk constable of the 196th battalion and others over the quantity of food being wasted in the mess. The constable was on sentry duty at the Kuchai camp in Seraikela-Kharsawan district.

Sources said assistant commandant Bikau Singh called the brawling men to his tent to sort out the issue, found Harpinder drunk, reprimanded him and ordered him to go for a medical test.

Harpinder responded by picking up his AK-47 rifle and gunning down four colleagues, including the assistant commandant. For four hours after that, he refused to surrender. He was finally shot dead after he killed a sentry atop a watchtower around 2 am, an officer said.

During mid eighties, my short story YUDDH NAHEE CHAHIYE, War Unawanted was published in Vartaman Sahitya edited by Bibhuti Narayan Roy. I ahd also written a Cover Story in PARIVARTAN, FAUZ SE MAT KHELIYE, Do Not Play with Armed Forces.I was in Ranchi during Operation Blue Star and the resultant Sikh Revolt in Indian Army. I was just joined Dainik Prabhat Khabar owned by Gyanranjan with SN Vinod as Editor. The Newpaper was not Published as yet and we were working on Dummy. Within months, I had to shift in Dainik Jagaran Meerut as I ahd to leave Prabhat Khabar as Vinod had jammed my Bank Salary account as I had gone Home for an emergency getting permission from the News editor.I simply resigned and joined Meerut Jagaran. Mind you, it was Meerut where the Blue Print of Operation Blue star was prepared.I had the real taste of Army Presence outside the Cant area in Meerut in sustained Riots.

In DSB Nainital Postgraduation days, I had a Classmate directly from the Indian Army, Lance Nayak Jagat Ram Beri Reservist who rooted in Berinag Pithoragarh and had been recruited in Kumun Regiment. He had faught the 1971 Indo Pak war as an Artllery Man. During Post Graduation, he had to attend Refresher Course in Nasic Sveral times. As Beri was my best friend in the College during those days as Mohan Kapilesh Bhoj was away in Almora College, Pawan Rakesh had left the campus and rajiv Kumar just joined as a BA Previous student and zahur Alam had already passed his M.com.We shared our experiences often. During same period, Captain Ghosh was also appeared in MA English Exams. He was stationed in Naintal cant and later , unfortunately, Untimely expired in an air Crash. His wife Mrs Ghosh was very good Host, a sweet lady.During this period, I got the feel of the HEAT of being in action on Civil Duty as a recruit in Indian Armed Forces. I had been in Meerut and Bareilly where I had friends in the Cant Area and continued to be lucky enough to be befriended with some Army Officials. I may feel well the Bleeding within the Armed Hearts. Beri had been on duty in Kashmir and North east and he was suffering fromTrauma. The Drink , Action, Passion and Psyche intermingled with my routine. We got reports from middle east very late about the Trauma sufered by US Army personnels. But I had dealt with the subject well before the Gulf War first and S Second both as a Journalist as well as Creative Writer!Later, I had a few opportunities to interact with the Armed forces Posted in the Northeast also.

Choosing the least worst option

Using the development pacakge to cover up for vacillation and prevarication by the political leadership in undertaking security operations against the Maoists is a recipe for disaster. For the UPA government, development — without security — is the abiding mantra when it comes to solving the Maoist problem. Indian Express reports that "the Planning Commission [...]

The mobile towering fallacy of development

In the Maoist-infested areas, security without development is meaningless; but development, without security, is unachievable. Even after having spent more than six years in power, the UPA government has been unable to articulate its strategy to deal with the Maoists so far; simply because the ruling alliance and the government have not yet been able [...]

IEDs kill… so what

The Maoists can continue to inflict casualties with IEDs because the government won't employ army's demining teams. The complete focus of the mainstream media continues to be on the forthcoming trip of the Union Home Minister to Pakistan. As a consequence of this obsession with theatrics, important decisions being taken by the Cabinet Committee on [...]

Hack the long rope

Ominous signs that the delicate balance of civil-military relations in this country is under strain. The perspicacious Srinath Raghavan, in his op-ed in the Telegraph, hits the nail on the head with the most damaging fallout of keeping the Henderson-Brooks report secret. The committee's approach and findings reflected the dominant view in the military regarding [...]

Defeating IEDs

Let us start with our counter-IED effort against the Maoists. Now. Two significant stories in the newspapers today highlight the criticality of countering the menace of the Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) or road-side bombs or the erstwhile booby-traps in Maoist areas. The first report is about the recovery and subsequent destruction of five IEDs containing [...]

A win-win strategy

A follow-up to the previous blogpost on a politically attractive anti-Maoist strategy. Today's Hindu has a brilliant piece by Praveen Swami explaining in great detail, and in a very rational manner, that the only way to secure victory against the Maoists is to build the local police forces and establish intelligence collection mechanisms at grassroots [...]

A politically attractive anti-Maoist strategy

A security strategy for the Maoists that the political leadership can embrace. It stalls the momentum of the Maoist onslaught, shows immediate successful results, and reinforces the success in the long-term. More than 148 Indians have been killed in a Railway accident — or incident in official parlance, whereas a Maoist attack would be a [...]

Expressing grief not good enough

The nation needs to know from the Union government what its anti-Maoist strategy is. So this was the reaction of Union Railway Minister, Ms Mamata Banerjee to the horrific mishap that took place in West Bengal's West Midnapore district on the Gyaneshwari Express. "Trains have been made soft targets. We have appealed repeatedly that rail [...]

Planning development

The new member-secretary of the Planning Commission has got the right ideas about the development-security paradigm in the areas affected by the Maoist problem. Here are a couple of extracts from an interview with Sudha Pillai, member secretary of the Planning Commission, who is responsible for planning development for areas affected by the Maoist problem. [...]

The answer that the PM never gave

To the question about his government's failure to estimate the Maoist threat. At the Prime Minister's press conference, one of the questions that evoked a lot of interest in the media coverage afterwards came from Smita Prakash, Editor (News), Asian News International. Asked if his government had underestimated the Naxals, the Prime Minister said, "We [...]

No to International Humanitarian Laws

Let us not digress from the Maoist challenge with red herrings of Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols. The latest incident of bombing the bus in Dantewada district saw some respected media commentators raise the spectre of invoking International Humanitarian Law [IHL] against the Maoists. Legally speaking, India is a signatory to the Four Geneva Conventions [...]

IAF against Maoists

Two questions. After the recent bus-bombing incident at Dantewada, there have been renewed emotional calls from some quarters for the use of offensive air power against the Maoists. It is a very sensitive issue in India which is still being debated at the highest levels. Two such questions raised then are here in an email [...]

Confusing considerations

Employment of armed forces against the Maoists is based on security and political considerations, not ethical ones. There has been some debate over the use of the armed forces against the Maoists. While the Home Minister of Chhattisgarh has explicitly demanded that army be called in to counter the Maoists, the service chiefs have publicly [...]

The right role

To begin with, can we articulate a proper role for the CRPF? The recent performance of the Central Reserve Police Force [CRPF] against the Maoists has been under the scanner. Based on the results so far, it has rightly attracted a fair share of criticism from most knowledgeable quarters. Valid questions have been raised about [...]

A la Marines: ARF against Maoists

Employing an Indian version of Aerial Reaction Force against the Maoists is an idea worthy of serious consideration. It is gratifying to hear that the government has not closed its options over use of air power in security operations against the Maoists. Indian Air Force is also debating the subject at CAPS later this week [...]

Maoists are not tribals

Demolishing the myth that Maoists are tribals. The debate about Maoists in the public space is shrill and noisy and those opposing Government of India's security offensive against the Maoists resort to subterfuge in their arguments. They interchangeably use the words Maoists and Tribals in their language. This is how it usually works. A question [...]

Reading the end-game

A précis of the new RAND monograph, How Insurgencies End. The RAND Corporation has recently released a monograph with an attention-grabbing title: How Insurgencies End. The publicly released report [pdf here] is the unclassified portion of a two-part study that undertook a quantitative examination of 89 cases of insurgencies in great detail. Here are the [...]

Air power against Maoists

Although easy in theory, the practical challenges in employing air power in a kinetic role against the Maoists are too many. Sudhanshu Sarangi, who was the head of counter-insurgency operations and intelligence in Orissa till June 2009, makes a passionate case in Hindustan Times for using the assets of the Indian Air Force (IAF) against [...]

AFSPA is not worth it

As the recent J&K beggar killing incident shows, there is a compelling case for a comprehensive amendment of, if not scrapping the AFSPA altogether. The killing of a 70-year old beggar in J&K last week — in a fake encounter by the army or while caught in the crossfire between the troopers and the terrorists, [...]

A politically incorrect idea

The government must stop all development in areas under Maoist control and redouble its development activities in areas contiguous to those under Maoist control. In a sense, it was nice to see the Parliament get down to the business of discussing Maoists. By all accounts, the debate in the Rajya Sabha [pdf] was of a [...]

http://pragmatic.nationalinterest.in/category/internal-security/


Indian Army to probe high stress levels of soldiers

Indian Army to probe high stress levels of soldiers

Daily News & Updates

Dated 3/11/2006

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India's army is investigating several recent cases of soldiers fatally shooting their colleagues in the country's Islamic terror infested portion of Kashmir, where years of heavy fighting are taking their toll on stressed, isolated troops.

In the past 10 days there have been at least four cases of distraught soldiers in Kashmir fatally shooting colleagues, then committing suicide.

Gen. J.J. Singh, the army chief, ordered the probe Wednesday after the latest incident, in which an army soldier shot and killed his unit commander one day earlier, said an army spokesman, Vijay Joshi.

"The inquiry will go into the circumstances which led to the shooting" in Srinagar, the summer capital of India's Jammu-Kashmir state, Joshi said Thursday.

Certainly some of this is about simple opportunity: Soldiers have ready access to dangerous weapons. But military officials say 17 years of bloody insurgencies in Kashmir, and to a lesser degree in India's remote northeast, are wearing down the military.

During this year's Hindu festival of Diwali, when most Indians feast with their families, a soldier in Kashmir shot dead four others, then killed himself with his AK-47 assault rifle.

The army gave no reason for the shooting, but news reports said the soldier had been refused leave to visit his family over the holiday.

More than a dozen Islamic militant groups have been fighting Indian security forces since 1989 in Muslim-majority Kashmir, seeking the Himalayan territory's independence from predominantly Hindu India or its merger with mostly Muslim Pakistan. Both countries claim of all of Kashmir, which is divided between them.

India has an estimated 700,000 soldiers in Kashmir, many along the frontier with Pakistan, but plenty more in dangerous, violence-savaged towns and villages. In many areas, the region has the feel of an occupied country, with soldiers in full combat gear patrolling streets and frisking civilians at checkpoints. Kashmiri civilians make little secret of their anger at the Indian military, which is regularly accused of human rights violations.

Living amid hatred takes its toll on the soldiers.

"This is an insurgency-wracked area. Soldiers operate in an environment where they are not sure about the future. This situation generates a lot of stress, and sometimes results in these kinds of incidents," said Col. Hemant Juneja, an army spokesman in Srinagar.

Also contributing to the pressure are changes in Indian society, like the breakdown of the tradition of men staying with their parents _ even after marrying and having their own children.

"A soldier who went off to war was sure his wife and children would be looked after in the event of his being killed in battle. With modern nuclear families, the soldier is always beset by concerns about his family's future," Juneja said.

There are other changes in India as well. The military, long a high-status profession, has been eclipsed by the far-better-paying jobs in the private sector.

But prolonged deployment in dangerous situations is the largest factor in increasing stress levels, says Brig. Harwant Singh, a retired army officer.

"In terrorist- and militancy-affected areas, the potential presence of terrorists in close proximity takes its toll," said Brig. Singh. "This makes them edgy, resulting in some taking the extreme step of either shooting themselves or their superiors whom they perceive to be the cause of all their miseries."

Military experts also say that the army is becoming "overstretched" with soldiers having to do long spells in difficult areas. The solution, they say, lies not in increasing the size of the army _ already among the world's largest with more than 1 million soldiers _ but in training paramilitary troops to take over some of the duties now left to the army.

"The army can then keep its powder dry for its real task," said retired Gen. Ashok Mehta, a military commentator.

The new inquiry will help pinpoint what plays on soldiers' minds when serving in tough areas, and what could help keep them calm.

In Srinagar, the army spokesman said soldiers were being taught yoga to help them cope.

After a spate of similar shootings in the early 1990s, the army had reformed its rules, easing conditions for leave and salary hikes for soldiers serving in difficult areas, Gen. Mehta said.

"It's time for a re-look at these issues. Clearly, more reforms are needed," he said.

7 die as fire within bleeds CRPF

                                                                                                                                                    

OUR BUREAU

                                                
                                                               

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
July 17: Seven personnel died a bloody death in a Jharkhand CRPF camp last night, falling prey not to Maoists but to a comrade who had apparently cracked under the constant strain of fighting the rebels.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
Head constable Harpinder Singh, 35, was allegedly drinking in violation of rules and when colleagues threatened to report him, went berserk. He gunned down six persons before being himself shot dead at the camp in Kuchai, some 60km from Jamshedpur, police said.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
The incident of "fragging" — Americanism for a soldier killing a colleague — suggests the strain of duty in Maoist zones may be getting as heavy to bear as that in militancy-hit Northeast and Kashmir from where most such "fratricides" have been reported.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
Many CRPF jawans are known to take a few swigs to relieve the stress although drinking is banned in camps in Maoist zones, such as the Kuchai camp in Seraikela-Kharsawan district that was set up for long-range patrols.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
CRPF sources said it all started with a fight between Harpinder and some others over food at the mess, following which assistant commandant Bikau Singh called them to his tent. Bikau found Harpinder drunk and apparently ordered someone to smell his breath, infuriating the head constable.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
Harpinder rushed to his barracks and came out spraying bullets from his AK-47, killing Bakau and four others. This was around 10pm.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
"The jawans ran helter-skelter. The lights at the camp were switched off," a police source said. "For a while, many in the camp thought it was a Maoist attack and took up position."
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
For four hours, the men at the camp tried to persuade Harpinder to surrender but when he killed a sentry atop a watchtower, the others shot him dead around 2am.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
Sources said 450 bullets were fired and that at one point, the troops had tried to surround Harpinder with armoured vehicles as he tried to rush out of the camp.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
Fragging is mostly seen among troops who, stressed out by the relentless pressure and long separation from their families, crack when they are denied leave. But Harpinder had returned from a vacation on June 18, CRPF director-general Vikram Srivastava said.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
He added that although it was yet to be established whether Harpinder had indeed been a victim of stress, his action was an example of what stress could do to jawans.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
A neighbour from the head constable's village of Baba Bakala, about 40km from Amritsar, said: "We asked his wife and other family members if Harpinder had complained against his seniors or service conditions while on leave. They told us that despite the tough conditions, he was looking forward to rejoining."
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
Harpinder, who leaves behind a son and two daughters, came from a family used to sending its men to the armed forces and had joined the CRPF nearly two decades ago. He was an introvert, the neighbour said.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
Compared with the army, stress and frustration are more rampant among the CRPF ranks. The paramilitary force's jawans have no "peace postings", which means they may be transferred around from Kashmir to the Northeast to the Maoist belt within a few months.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
Today's dead include Bi-kau — who took three bullets and died on his way to hospital -— M.L. Patil (assistant sub-inspector), I.N. Harinath, P.T. Rao and Jadhav Bhan Singh (head constables) and Vijay Kumar (constable). Sub- inspector Bandhu Oraon, shot through the palm, is in hospital.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100718/jsp/frontpage/story_12697478.jsp

Drunk CRPF jawan kills 6 colleagues

Times of India - ‎17 hours ago‎
JAMSHEDPUR/RANCHI: A drunk CRPF constable sprayed bullets from his AK-47 assault rifle on his colleagues, killing six, including an assistant commandant who had berated him for drinking on duty. The man, identified as Harpinder Singh, was gunned down ...

7 die as fire within bleeds CRPF

Calcutta Telegraph - ‎18 hours ago‎
July 17: Seven personnel died a bloody death in a Jharkhand CRPF camp last night, falling prey not to Maoists but to a comrade who had apparently cracked under the constant strain of fighting the rebels. Head constable Harpinder Singh, 35, ...

CRPF man kills 6 others, is shot dead

Hindustan Times - ‎20 hours ago‎
A Central Reserve Police Force jawan, allegedly angry at being ticked off for being drunk, turned his AK-47 rifle on his commanding officer and colleagues on Friday night, killing six of them and injuring one. Harpinder Singh (40), from Punjab, ...

MHA admits to increase in fragging incidents

Times of India - Himanshi Dhawan - ‎16 hours ago‎
NEW DELHI: The latest incident of a CRPF jawan killing six of his colleagues following a minor altercation over wastage of food has raised concern for the Centre about the increasing stress levels in paramilitary forces. The CRPF has ordered an inquiry ...

Drunk CRPF jawan kills six colleagues, is shot dead

Daily News & Analysis - Suman Sharma - ‎19 hours ago‎
Ranchi: Seven CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) troops were killed in a fratricide incident that took place in the 196 Battalion deployed in Jharkhand's Maoist-hit Kuchai area in Saraikela on Friday night. Havildar Harpinder Singh, 40, a resident of ...

CRPF orders inquiry into 'killing spree' in Jharkhand camp

Sify - ‎Jul 17, 2010‎
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on Saturday ordered an inquiry into the killing of six of its personnel, including an Assistant Commandant, by one of their colleagues in Kuchai village in Jharkhand's Saraikela District. ...

'Drunk' CRPF man kills six after mess fight

Asian Age - ‎12 hours ago‎
A drunk CRPF constable, Harpinder Singh, opened fire with an AK-47, killing six personnel over three hours, including one assistant commandant, after a brawl erupted over was-tage of food at the CRPF mess in Saraikela district of Jharkhand. ...

4-hr firing spree at CRPF camp: constable kills six colleagues, is shot dead

Indian Express - ‎15 hours ago‎
A "drunk" CRPF constable allegedly shot dead six of his colleagues at a camp at Kuchai block in Saraikela district of Jharkhand last night, before he was killed. The dead included an officer who, minutes before, had reprimanded Constable Harpinder ...
All 17 related articles »

Prabhakaran was not our enemy: Chidambaram

Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has said slain LTTE leader V Prabhakaran would have been "Mudisooda Mannan" (uncrowned monarch) of the northern and eastern provinces of Sri Lanka had he accepted the 1987 Indo-Sri Lankan agreement as requested by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Addressing a public meeting here last night, Chidambaram said he had met Prabhakaran and talked with him for hours.
"He (Prabhakaran) was not our enemy. We were opposed to the path chosen by him.
" Virudhunagar is the home constituency of MDMK chief Vaiko, a known LTTE supporter. Vaiko was defeated by Congress nominee Manick Tagore by 15,000 votes in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.
Chidambaram said a country needs peace for development. "Violence and rioting will not develop a country.
" There had been heavy loss of lives and properties in Sri Lanka (during the war against the LTTE). Claiming that peace had returned to the island nation, he said India had given Rs 3,600 crore for the benefit of the internally displaced Tamils.
The government had also allocated Rs 1,000 crore for the construction of 50,000 houses in northern Sri Lanka. The Home Minister said efforts are underway to renovate Kangesanthurai port and repair Palali airport.
He said he was confident that in another two years, 2.5 lakh displaced Tamils would get their houses and they would be rehabilitated. Chidambaram was participating in the 108th birth anniversary celebrations of former Chief Minister Kamaraj and 125th anniversary of the Congress party.

Separatist shutdown, restrictions paralyses Kashmir

A shutdown called by separatists and restrictions imposed by authorities paralysed life in Srinagar Sunday, a day after normalcy was restored following 12 days of turmoil. Baramulla town was tense after a boy drowned while allegedly being chased by security men.
In Baramulla residents alleged a Class 7 student, identified as Faizan Ahmad Buhroo, drowned in the Jhelum river after being chased by security forces.
Security personnel had reportedly chased a stone-pelting mob at Azadgunj Bridge in the town Saturday evening. The teenager, who was among the mob, jumped into the river to escape security forces, reports said.
Baramulla administration sought the help of army divers Sunday afternoon to fish out the body of the teenager.
'Army divers have been pressed into service to look for the body,' a senior police officer told IANS over phone from Baramulla.
The divers conducted searches in the Jhelum river downstream from Azadgunj Bridge in the town, from where the boy had reportedly jumped into the water, reports said.
'So far, we haven't met any success, but the search is going on,' said another official of the Baramulla district administration.
Irate youth attacked police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) contingents deployed to enforce restrictions in the town following tension triggered in the town over the reported drowning of the youth.
District Magistrate (Baramulla) Bashir Ahmad Bhat told reporters: 'Circumstances leading to the boy's drowning will be thoroughly probed once we recover his body.'
In the neighbouring Sopore town, which is the hotbed of separatist violence, authorities Sunday imposed restrictions to maintain law and order.
Life was paralyzed as the hardline separatist Hurriyat group headed by Syed Ali Geelani called for a valley-wide shutdown Sunday to protest alleged human rights violations by security forces in Kashmir.
The shutdown was part of the group's continuing 'Quit Kashmir' programme.
'Restrictions have been imposed in Srinagar's Old City areas and uptown Maisuma, Batmaloo and Humhama localities to prevent violence,' a police officer said here early this morning.
Police and CRPF contingents moved out early morning to enforce restrictions in the city.
Traffic intersections were blocked with coils of razor-fitted wire in the Old City and in Maisuma and Batmaloo areas. Both vehicular and pedestrian movement has been disallowed by security forces.
The Kashmir Valley witnessed normalcy Saturday after 12 days of separatist shutdowns and official restrictions. Hundreds of vehicles were seen on Srinagar roads. Traffic jams were reported in some areas.
People came out in large numbers Saturday to buy essential items fearing another spell of shutdowns and restrictions.
Fourteen civilians have been killed across the Valley since June 11 in incidents of firing by security forces at stone-pelting mobs.
The state government has decided to conduct an independent enquiry into the circumstances leading to the civilian deaths.

Security forces defuse two powerful IEDs in J&K

Two powerful Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) were defused by security forces in Jammu and Kashmir''s Baramulla and Anantnag districts. An IED, weighing 12 kg, was planted by militants under a culvert at Harithrath near Pattan, 27 kms from here, on Srinagar-Baramulla National Highway, a police spokesman said.
Acting on a tip-off, police detected the IED which was concealed in a tin box at around 8.50 am, he said, adding it was later defused by bomb disposal squad. Troops of 34 Rashtriya Rifles also detected a powerful IED, planted on the main road, at village Manznoo, 65 kms from here in Anantnag district, the spokesman said, adding the IED was later detonated by bomb disposal squad at an open field.
Meanwhile, one person was injured today when he stepped on a landmine in a village near the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri Sector of Baramulla district. Munir Ahmad Khatana accidentally stepped on the landmine at village Churanda, 140 kms from here, this morning, police said.

Security blitz, strike break calm in Indian Kashmir

AFP - ‎6 hours ago‎
SRINAGAR, India — A security lockdown and a general strike called by separatists crippled life in Indian-ruled Kashmir on Sunday after a brief calm returned ...

Curfew-like situation in Kashmir

Daily News & Analysis - ‎7 hours ago‎
PTI Srinagar: A curfew-like situation prevailed in Kashmir today as separatists enforced a shutdown while authorities imposed curfew in Sopore town and ...

Separatist shutdown, restrictions cripple Srinagar again

Economic Times - ‎8 hours ago‎
SRINAGAR: A shutdown called by separatists and restrictions imposed by authorities paralysed life in Srinagar Sunday, just a day after a semblance of ...

Youths enforce shutdown, streets deserted again in Kashmir

Times of India - ‎Jul 17, 2010‎
SRINAGAR: Streets wore a deserted look in Kashmir again with youths enforcing shutdown at many places as six people were injured in a clash between ...

Life returns to normal in Kashmir

Sify - ‎Jul 17, 2010‎
An uneasy calm prevails in the Kashmir Valley.Schools and business establishments have reopened after a 21 daylong strike. Vehicles too have come back on ...

Normalcy returns to Valley after days of unrest

Indian Express - ‎Jul 17, 2010‎
Vehicles plying on roads in Srinagar on Saturday as normal life resumes in Kashmir Valley after eleven days of curfew. Life in the Kashmir Valley returned ...

Kashmir Valley back on its feet after strikes, curfew

Economic Times - ‎Jul 16, 2010‎
SRINAGAR: Life limped back to normal in summer capital Srinagar and other parts of the Kashmir Valley Saturday after 11 days of separatist shutdowns and ...

Curfew reimposed in Held Kashmir

Daily Times - ‎Jul 16, 2010‎
SRINAGAR: Indian security forces reimposed a strict curfew in Indian-held Kashmir's summer capital on Friday after a decision to ease restrictions for the ...

Clashes After Friday Prayers in Indian Kashmir

Voice of America - ‎Jul 16, 2010‎
Photo: AP Hundreds of anti-India protesters clashed with security forces Friday in Indian-controlled Kashmir's main city, even as authorities reimposed a ...

Curfew re-imposed in Srinagar, six injured in clashes

Hindustan Times - ‎Jul 16, 2010‎
Curfew was re-imposed and strictly enforced in Srinagar city and many other districts of Kashmir on Friday as the state government feared protests in ...
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‎7 hours ago‎ - Daily News & Analysis

Kashmir Valley back on its feet after strikes, curfew
‎Jul 16, 2010‎ - Economic Times

Curfew clamped in some parts of Kashmir
‎Jul 15, 2010‎ - Indian Express

Violent protests break out in Kashmir
‎Jul 15, 2010‎ - Hindustan Times


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At CRPF camp, dispirited jawans count their blessings

Supriya Sharma, TNN, Jul 2, 2010, 03.10am IST
NARAYANPUR (CHHATTISGARH): ''Sabka mood off hai (everyone's upset),'' was the terse response of the man guarding the entrance to the CRPF camp which lost 27 of its men on Tuesday. He spoke through a thin wedge in the barricaded gates, beyond which a few jawans could be seen walking around dispiritedly. The guard stubbornly refused access to the camp.

In just three months, the CRPF has lost more than a hundred men in Bastar. Almost an entire company of 76 men was wiped out in April in Chintalnar in Dantewada district. This week, in another part of Bastar, near Dhaudai, close to Maharashtra, nearly half of a road opening party was killed.

Unlike Chintalnar, where CRPF jawans burst out in anger at journalists who landed up at the camp the day after, in Dhaudai they had decided to maintain a stubborn, difficult silence.

The Dhaudai camp functions out of a police station. The station in-charge finally allowed journalists inside
but politely said no one would talk.

But, while walking out, a jawan in a vest and khaki trousers could not resist a quick exchange. He said he survived the attack by ''crawling'' through scrub for a long distance. He knew he was lucky. Apart from the 18 bodies found in an open field, at least four were found in the bushes — the men probably shot dead as they tried, like him, to ''crawl'' to safety.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/At-CRPF-camp-dispirited-jawans-count-their-blessings/articleshow/6117260.cms

CRPF not suited for work in Ch'garh: Cops

Shishir Arya & Soumitra S Bose, TNN, Jul 1, 2010, 04.40am IST
KANKER/NAGPUR: The Naxal attack on a CRPF party on Tuesday again brought to fore the lack of co-ordination and mistrust between the paramilitary force and the local police. A senior police officer said, "We were again told a lie that only four CRPF jawans were injured and the Naxals had surrounded the party. Our intelligence sources, however, told us about 25 CRPF jawans getting killed. We were told that the Naxals had disappeared into the forests by 2 pm."

Such gaps in information -- some officials go to the extent of calling it 'mistrust' -- have persistently proved fatal for armed forces deployed in Chhattisgarh. The lack of coordination was also stated to be one of the reasons for the ambush at Dantewada in which 76 CRPF jawans were killed in April.

More than a year ago, a joint operational command was established between the paramilitary forces and the state police. Apart from CRPF, other forces like Border Security Force (BSF) and Indo-Tibet Border Police (ITBP) are also deployed in this Maoist-hit state.

However, senior officials of both CRPF and state police mince no words while criticising each other. The police say that the CRPF is not conditioned for an operation in an area like Chhattisgarh. The Dantewada incident has put them in an insulation mode. "They patrol no more than five km and simply don't go further. After the Chintalnar fiasco, there are orders that to ensure that there are no more CRPF casualties.

However, even the new strategy of playing safe is catching them off guard," said a senior police officer.
On the other hand, one of the major reasons that the CRPF does not trust the police is that they suspect that Maoists have infiltrated police ranks due to which they are getting killed, added a source. Those at CRPF also say that it's the police which does not know the rules of the game. "We are the muscle and they are the brains. There can be no operation without intelligence inputs, which the local police does not get," a senior CRPF official said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/CRPF-not-suited-for-work-in-Chgarh-Cops/articleshow/6112806.cms

Now, DGP says CRPF is a fit force

Indian Express - ‎Jul 2, 2010‎
After receiving flak for his remarks about the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Chhattisgarh Director General of Police Vishwaranjan on Friday praised ...

CRPF, police talk to work in tandem

Indian Express - ‎Jul 2, 2010‎
With Union Home Minister P Chidambaram suggesting that the heavy casualties among the CRPF in Maoist attacks had to do with the manner in which they were ...

CRPF-state police blame game begins

Hindustan Times - ‎Jul 2, 2010‎
Under attack for his disparaging remarks about the Central Reserve Police Force, Chhattisgarh's police chief Vishwa Ranjan on Friday praised the ...

Cong backs CRPF

Hindustan Times - ‎Jul 2, 2010‎
Stung by the Chhattisgarh police chief's barbs aimed at the CRPF, the Congress came out in support of the force to demand CM Raman Singh's resignation for ...

CRPF-bashing Chhatisgarh DGP may be transferred

Daily News & Analysis - Anil Anand - ‎Jul 2, 2010‎
New Delhi: Known to speak out of turn, Chhattisgarh DGP Vishwa Ranjan seems to have stepped on a landmine by questioning the style of functioning of CRPF ...

CRPF 'shocked' at Chhattisgarh cop's remark

Hindustan Times - ‎Jul 2, 2010‎
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on Friday described Chhattisgarh police chief Vishwa Ranjan's statement that he couldn't "teach the CRPF troopers ...

Can't teach CRPF to fight Naxals: top cop

IBNLive.com - ‎Jul 2, 2010‎
Raipur: There seems to be a growing divide between the Central Reserve Police Force and the Chhattisgarh Police over the way anti-Naxal operations are being ...

Naxal threat: Schools pay the price in Chhattisgarh

NDTV.com - ‎Jul 1, 2010‎
In the battle between the Maoists and the security personnel, education is a huge casualty in Chhattisgarh.

We can't teach CRPF how to walk: Chhattisgarh;DGP

Hindustan Times - ‎Jul 1, 2010‎
PTI A day after Union Home Minister P Chidambaram had suggested Chhattisgarh government redeploy CRPF in Naxal-hit areas, the state's police chief shot back ...

Orissa pays homage to martyrs

NDTV.com - ‎Jul 1, 2010‎
Orissa saluted eight of its brave men who were among the 27 CRPF jawans killed in the Naxal attack in Narayanpur in Chhattisgarh.
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If CRPF keeps getting ambushed, what can we do: Chhattisgarh DGP
‎Jul 1, 2010‎ - Indian Express

CRPF paid for straying from basics
‎Jun 30, 2010‎ - Times of India

Three CRPF men injured in landmine blast
‎Jun 30, 2010‎ - Hindustan Times

26 CRPF men killed in Chhattisgarh
‎Jun 29, 2010‎ - The Hindu

26 CRPF personnel killed in Maoists attack in Chhattisgarh
‎Jun 29, 2010‎ - Times of India


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Naxal threat: Schools pay the price in Chhattisgarh
NDTV.com  -  Jul 1, 2010 Watch video
<div class="video-thumb thumbnail"><a class="js-link thumbnail-toggle" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="return false;"><img src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/alT4TXBPhuU/default.jpg" alt="" class="thumbnail" width="120" height="90"> <div class="icon play-icon"></div></a></div> <div class="video-details"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alT4TXBPhuU">Naxal threat: Schools pay the price in Chhattisgarh</a> <span class="source">NDTV.com</span> &nbsp;-&nbsp; Jul 1, 2010 <div class="icon video-icon"></div> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alT4TXBPhuU">Watch video</a></div>





Orissa pays homage to martyrs
NDTV.com  -  Jul 1, 2010 Watch video
<div class="video-thumb thumbnail"><a class="js-link thumbnail-toggle" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="return false;"><img src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kHRc1U4-3uA/default.jpg" alt="" class="thumbnail" width="120" height="90"> <div class="icon play-icon"></div></a></div> <div class="video-details"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHRc1U4-3uA">Orissa pays homage to martyrs</a> <span class="source">NDTV.com</span> &nbsp;-&nbsp; Jul 1, 2010 <div class="icon video-icon"></div> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHRc1U4-3uA">Watch video</a></div>





CRPF will not be removed from Maoist areas: Raman Singh
Asian News International (ANI)  -  Jul 1, 2010 Watch video
<div class="video-thumb thumbnail"><a class="js-link thumbnail-toggle" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="return false;"><img src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/waVxycVPtBk/default.jpg" alt="" class="thumbnail" width="120" height="90"> <div class="icon play-icon"></div></a></div> <div class="video-details"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waVxycVPtBk">CRPF will not be removed from Maoist areas: Raman Singh</a> <span class="source">Asian News International (ANI)</span> &nbsp;-&nbsp; Jul 1, 2010 <div class="icon video-icon"></div> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waVxycVPtBk">Watch video</a></div>





Naxal attack: NDTV reports from Ground Zero
NDTV.com  -  Jul 1, 2010 Watch video
<div class="video-thumb thumbnail"><a class="js-link thumbnail-toggle" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="return false;"><img src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/PFQCd0h9_Yo/default.jpg" alt="" class="thumbnail" width="120" height="90"> <div class="icon play-icon"></div></a></div> <div class="video-details"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFQCd0h9_Yo">Naxal attack: NDTV reports from Ground Zero</a> <span class="source">NDTV.com</span> &nbsp;-&nbsp; Jul 1, 2010 <div class="icon video-icon"></div> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFQCd0h9_Yo">Watch video</a></div>





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Srinagar singes

Hindustan Times - ‎Jun 29, 2010‎
Three more youths were killed today when CRPF allegedly opened fire during clashes with protestors in Anantnag as violence spread to south Kashmir and more ...

Three more die as protests escalate in Indian Kashmir

AFP - Izhar Wani - ‎Jun 29, 2010‎
SRINAGAR, India — Indian security forces opened fire on demonstrators in Indian Kashmir again on Tuesday, killing three teenagers in violence that risks ...

Three more killed in fresh firing on Kashmir protesters

Sify - ‎Jun 29, 2010‎
Three teenagers were killed in Indian Kashmir on Tuesday when security forces opened fire on stone-throwing protesters during an anti-India demonstration, ...

Police firing kills 2 Kashmir protesters

Arab News - Mukhtar Ahmad - ‎Jun 29, 2010‎
A Kashmiri man beats up a policeman during a protest on the outskirts of Srinagar, capital of Indian Kashmir, on Monday. (AP) By MUKHTAR AHMAD | ARAB NEWS ...

Crackdown widens in Indian Kashmir

AFP - Izhar Wani - ‎Jun 29, 2010‎
SRINAGAR, India — Police in Indian-ruled Kashmir placed more towns under curfew and banned mobile phone text messages Tuesday in an attempt to dampen ...

India imposes curfew in Kashmir as protests spread

Ynetnews - ‎Jun 29, 2010‎
India imposed a curfew in parts of Kashmir and deployed thousands of troops on Tuesday to quell huge anti-India protests in a region at the core of its ...

Tense Omar dials Delhi

Hindustan Times - ‎Jun 28, 2010‎
Fresh clashes today broke out between locals protesting the killing of youths in alleged CRPF firing and security forces in parts of Srinagar, Baramulla and ...

Kashmir protesters exploiting teenagers: Home Secretary

NDTV.com - ‎Jun 28, 2010‎
New Delhi: The Kashmir Valley is tense after two more civilians, including a young boy, were allegedly killed in CRPF firing on Monday. ...

Indian Kashmir on the boil again

AFP - Izhar Wani - ‎Jun 28, 2010‎
SRINAGAR, India — Indian Kashmir is on the boil again: this time over the killing of eight young Kashmiris in less than three weeks allegedly at the hands ...

Security Forces Fire on Kashmir Protesters

Wall Street Journal - Tom Wright - ‎Jun 28, 2010‎
NEW DELHI—Indian security forces killed two protesters in Kashmir on Monday as a tense standoff between the forces and separatists threatened ...
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Srinagar singes
‎Jun 29, 2010‎ - Hindustan Times

Kid, youth killed in CRPF firing, Kashmir on boil
‎Jun 28, 2010‎ - Times of India

Tension as 2 more die in CRPF firing
‎Jun 28, 2010‎ - The Hindu

Two killed in protests as Kashmir flares up (Roundup)
‎Jun 28, 2010‎ - Sify

1 more shot, JandK says CRPF 'out of control'
‎Jun 27, 2010‎ - Indian Express

Youth killed as CRPF opens fire in Sopore
‎Jun 27, 2010‎ - The Hindu

Curfew on in Sopore, strike in rest of J&K
‎Jun 26, 2010‎ - The Hindu

Two killed as CRPF personnel open fire on mob in Kashmir
‎Jun 25, 2010‎ - Daily News & Analysis


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CRPF deployment issue sorted out: Pillay

Supriya Sharma, TNN, Jul 6, 2010, 12.19am IST
KANKER: On an overcast day, Union home secretary G K Pillai landed in Bastar to clear the air between the Chhattisgarh police and the Central Reserve Police Force, although he preferred to downplay the differences between the forces, calling media reports an over-reaction.

Speaking exclusively to TOI, he said, "My two-day visit to Chhattisgarh was planned much earlier to review the induction of paramilitary forces into Kanker and Rajnandgaon and resolve the problems of deployment.''

Deployment has been the key area of differences between the CRPF and the state cops. Last week a Maoist ambush in Dhaudai left 27 CRPF men dead, triggering off a shadow blame game between the forces. This came just three months after the CRPF lost 76 men in Chintalnar in the worst-ever Maoist attack.

Pillai said, "The issue of deployment has been mutually solved. The CRPF was deployed in Chintalnar and Dhadhai in 2006-07 to open up certain roads. But now there is a case to consolidate their posts in a grid, on the lines of their deployment at Singhbhum in Jharkhand or Lalgarh in West Bengal.''

According to Pillai, the consolidation process could involve the CRPF retreating from certain posts which would be taken over by the state police. When asked whether the state cops would face shortage of manpower as they will have to move into Bastar from other districts, he said, "The key challenge was to increase numbers of both police and paramilitary forces. You need sheer manpower to cover these areas. Right now, half of Narayanpur and Dantewada districts don't have policemen.''

He said the Centre planned to raise eight battalions of CRPF this year and the state cops needed to increase their strength by another 20,000. "Chhattisgarh has already doubled its force in a very short time,'' he said, trying to strike a sympathetic note towards a state that despite being ruled by BJP is seen as the Union home ministry's key ally in the fight against the Maoists.

Critics, however, say that the redeployment of CRPF won't make up for the laxity in its operational functions.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/CRPF-deployment-issue-sorted-out-Pillay/articleshow/6132242.cms

After Naxal attacks, CRPF desires to withdraw from Bastar
Press Trust Of India
Raipur, July 05, 2010
First Published: 21:06 IST(5/7/2010)
Last Updated: 21:08 IST(5/7/2010)
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has expressed a desire to withdraw from all interior locations of the worst-hit Naxal area of Bastar in Chattisgarh, a move opposed by the state police. Official sources, who referred to this wish by CRPF, said the para-military force has also approached Chhattisgarh Police to provide security to its camps at

related stories


Narayanpur where 27 security personnel were killed in a Naxal ambush recently.
Immediately after the attack, senior CRPF officials were up in arms and said they would be abandoning the post at Durai road if the state police did not guard the two camps in the area, about 300 km from Raipur.
Around 50 police personnel each were rushed to these two camps, a move which was seen as "strengthening of the camps."
At least 26 CRPF personnel and one state policeman were killed by Maoists on June 29 when they were returning from road opening duties.
The CRPF has also listed four places in Narayanpur and Dantewada from where they would be shifting their base, the sources said, adding initially the para-military forces wanted to shift their camps closer to the National Highways, which was, however, objected to by the state police.
The CRPF has demanded presence of one-third of district police in every operation and for road opening party. A meeting between the state authorities and the CRPF witnessed heated arguments over the issue and it was decided that road opening duty was exclusively of CRPF domain and there would be no local presence, the sources said.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has also indicated that the CRPF in Chattishargh needs to be relocated and reconfigured. Taking a cue from this, the CRPF has decided to keep a minimum strength of 200 personnel in each camp.
About the rescue and relief on the June 29 killings, the sources said the state authorities pointed out that no help was received from the two camps which were located within five kilometres of the area. The first rescue team came from a CRPF camp located nine kilometres away.

Valley not out of the woods yet, says Omar

Hindustan Times - ‎Jul 2, 2010‎
Troops noticed a group of heavily-armed militants along the LoC late last night. The intruders were challenged and in the subsequent gunbattle, ...

IHK CM urges calm as 14 more injured in skirmishes

Daily Times - Iftikhar Gilani - ‎Jul 2, 2010‎
NEW DELHI: Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday appealed to the youth to restore calm, even as reports said ...

'Job of J&K CM the most analysed one'

Hindustan Times - ‎Jul 2, 2010‎
In an exclusive interview to Hindustan Times, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah has said the situation in the Valley was difficult at the ...

Kashmir needs a political solution, says Omar

Sify - ‎Jul 2, 2010‎
Srinagar: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday said a political solution, not jobs, was needed to solve the Kashmir problem as curfew continued in the ...

Cong backs Omar, but wants him to act firmly

Hindustan Times - ‎Jul 2, 2010‎
With Kashmir reeling under a curfew for a straight fifth day today and stray protests on despite security restrictions, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah sought ...

Omar cool to PC's advice on trouble spots

Times of India - Arati R Jerath, Saleem Pandit - ‎Jul 1, 2010‎
SRINAGAR: The response from Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah to union home minister P Chidambaram's ``advice'' to visit the troubled areas was ...

Mehbooba, Mirwaiz to Delhi: Wake up

Business Standard - ‎Jul 1, 2010‎
At her home overlooking the picturesque Dal Lake, president of People's Democratic Party (PDP) Mehbooba Mufti Sayeed slamed the central and state ...

Flare up in Kashmir (Article)

Oneindia - ‎Jul 1, 2010‎
New Delhi, July 1 (ANI): No end appears to be in sight of the trouble brewing in the Kashmir valley. Protests against the killing of youth in firing ...

Kashmir hit by protest shutdown

BBC News - ‎Jul 1, 2010‎
A protest shutdown has paralysed normal life for a fourth successive day in Indian-administered Kashmir. The strike has been called in protest at the recent ...

Exercise maximum restraint in JK: Centre

Oneindia - ‎Jun 30, 2010‎
New Delhi, Jul 1: Central Government on Wednesday, Jun 30, advised Omar Abdullah, Jammu Kashmir Chief Minister and his ministers to visit the areas under ...
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Kashmir needs a political solution, says Omar Abdullah
‎Jul 2, 2010‎ - Hindustan Times

Omar cool to PC's advice on trouble spots
‎Jul 1, 2010‎ - Times of India

Three youths killed in Anantnag
‎Jun 29, 2010‎ - The Hindu

3 more die as violence spreads across Valley
‎Jun 29, 2010‎ - Times of India


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What They Said: Anti-Naxal Unified Command

Wall Street Journal (blog) - ‎Jul 16, 2010‎
India Real Time presents a round-up of commentary and analysis of one of the key news events this week: The decision by the Indian government to set up a ...

Unified command flopped last time, will it work now?

Times of India - Supriya Sharma - ‎Jul 16, 2010‎
RAIPUR: It was the Centre's big announcement this week: Unified Command for anti-Maoist operations in four states including Chhattisgarh. ...

Don't join Unified Command, Maoists appeal to Army men

The Hindu - ‎Jul 16, 2010‎
The Communist Party of India (Maoist) criticised on Friday the Centre's decision to appoint a retired Major-General of the Army as a member of the Unified ...

Rebels blow up PS in Nabarangpur

Times of India - Satyanarayan Pattnaik - ‎Jul 16, 2010‎
KORAPUT: The outlawed CPI (Maoist) blew up a police station in Nabarangpur district on Thursday night. There was no casualty. A group of around 50 armed ...

Five cops killed in Jharkhand landmine blast

Sify - ‎Jul 16, 2010‎
Five policemen were killed and 10 injured in a landmine blast triggered by Maoists in Jharkhand's Latehar district Friday, police said. ...

Two Maoists lynched in Jharkhand

Sify - ‎Jul 16, 2010‎
Ranchi: Angry villagers lynched two Maoists in Jharkhand's Latehar district after the rebels assaulted some people and demanded money, police said on Friday ...

Jharkhand: Angry villagers lynch two Maoists

Oneindia - ‎Jul 15, 2010‎
Ranchi, Jul 16: In an incident that indicates the kind of growing anger against Maoists in all spheres, angry villages lynched two red rebels in Jharkhand's ...

Orissa: Maoists blow up police station

NewsX - ‎Jul 15, 2010‎
Maoists blow up a police station at Nabarangpur in Orissa. No casualties are reported as yet.
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Unified Combatant Command
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Unified command flopped last time, will it work now?
‎Jul 16, 2010‎ - Times of India

Top cops sceptical about unified command
‎Jul 15, 2010‎ - Times of India


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Orissa: Maoists blow up police station
NewsX  -  Jul 15, 2010 Watch video
<div class="video-thumb thumbnail"><a class="js-link thumbnail-toggle" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="return false;"><img src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/v_eMm6uZw6c/default.jpg" alt="" class="thumbnail" width="120" height="90"> <div class="icon play-icon"></div></a></div> <div class="video-details"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_eMm6uZw6c">Orissa: Maoists blow up police station</a> <span class="source">NewsX</span> &nbsp;-&nbsp; Jul 15, 2010 <div class="icon video-icon"></div> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_eMm6uZw6c">Watch video</a></div>





Integrated action plan needed to tackle Maoists: Raman Singh
Asian News International (ANI)  -  Jul 15, 2010 Watch video
<div class="video-thumb thumbnail"><a class="js-link thumbnail-toggle" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="return false;"><img src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/lgsaRhb1vWo/default.jpg" alt="" class="thumbnail" width="120" height="90"> <div class="icon play-icon"></div></a></div> <div class="video-details"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgsaRhb1vWo">Integrated action plan needed to tackle Maoists: Raman Singh</a> <span class="source">Asian News International (ANI)</span> &nbsp;-&nbsp; Jul 15, 2010 <div class="icon video-icon"></div> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgsaRhb1vWo">Watch video</a></div>





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        SCENARIOS-Possible options for India in fight against Maoists                                   
   
        18 May 2010 12:52:09 GMT    
            
Source: Reuters
                                                            By Krittivas Mukherjee and Bappa Majumdar NEW DELHI, May 18 (Reuters) - Pressure is mounting on India's Prime Minister Manhoman Singh to send in the military to quell a growing Maoist insurgency after a string of attacks this year. For the main story, please click [nSGE64H05H] Here are possible options for the Indian government to tackle the decades-long insurgency which has killed thousands of people, mostly police, and has now spread to rural pockets in 20 of India's 28 states. MILITARY DEVISES STRATEGY WITHOUT GETTING INVOLVED A likely scenario is that the government asks military strategists to take over operations planning and train police and other government forces in anti-guerrilla warfare. The military is not directly involved now in tackling the insurgency, which virtually keeps the Indian state out of a large swathe of mineral-rich central and eastern regions with business potential worth billions of dollars. This move could see operations brought under the authority of a senior military commander. It could involve the use of air force planes for non-combat operations such as casualty evacuation, use of the military intelligence apparatus and the army's expertise in clearing land mines, which have killed more security men than gunfights. The government has previously used reconnaissance drones but use of any air power is unlikely. The strategy will save the government the embarrassment of conceding the failure of police while also infusing the offensive against the rebels with new expertise. The ruling Congress party is aware that failure to tackle the Maoist insurgency quickly could hurt its prospects in eight state elections lined up over the next two years. MILITARY IS CALLED IN This scenario is highly unlikely. India's ill-equipped and under-trained police, though much larger in numbers, have failed to take on the rebels who have an estimated 20,000 combatants, including up to 6,000-8,000 hardcore fighters. But it is unlikely the government will turn exclusively to the military to fight the rebels and back the offensive with air power which could result in large-scale civilian casualties. A purely military offensive could further alienate the poor in the region and send them deeper into the folds of the Maoists, and potentially lead to a loss of votes for the Congress. There is support for the Maoists among a section of urban intelligentsia and leftist liberals who warn that military action could breed further violence that spins into a civil war with the rural poor on one side and the Indian state on the other. India's military is involved in counter-insurgency operations in the disputed northern region of Kashmir and in northeast India, and in the past, was involved in the northern state of Punjab. In most cases, the presence of the military has been resented by locals and soldiers have been accused of human rights violations and other excesses. Some Congress allies, who face state elections over the coming year, may not back a move to involve the military for fear of upsetting voters. GOVERNMENT PERSISTS WITH POLICE ACTION This option is fast becoming unfeasible. A string of deadly attacks this year has exposed the limitations of police in tackling the insurgency. In many of the deadly attacks, standard operating procedures such as changing patrol routes and backup reinforcement for patrols were not followed. Most police deaths have occurred because of a lack of proper training and limited knowledge of the "red corridor" stretching from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh to the central state of Chhattisgarh and into West Bengal, bordering Nepal and Bhutan. If Prime Minister Singh persists with the current police action, he runs the risk of being seen as weak in tackling violent groups and his Congress party's prospects in upcoming state elections could be hurt.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SGE64H08P.htm

India Has No Military Option Against Naxals

                                                                                                                          
Manmohan Singh
Feeling of Déjà vu
Sri Lankans in this little island who had witnessed such horrendous massacres of even a greater scale with extensive damage to state and private property in a 30- year-war may have viewed this tragedy with sympathy and also with some irony. The Naxalite movement that has its origins in 1967 in the village of Naxalbari in West Bengal has continued unabated, with success and failures, despite the tremendous resources in manpower possessed by the Indian government. Today they have reached a position of strength great enough for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to say that it 'constitutes the greatest security threat now faced by India.'
Indian political analysts point out that in November 2003 it was estimated that 55 districts in 9 Indian states were listed as 'Maoist affected'. Last year Home Minister P. Chidambaram announced that 223 districts in 20 states were affected. An Indian political analyst has said that despite this spread, by no means could it be said that that the country is being captured by Maoists although some areas are seething with violence generated by Naxals. The government of India faces other insurgent and separatist movements such as in Kashmir and in the north east in the states of Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura. They have been contained to various degrees but now the Naxalite threat looms the largest of all.
Indulgence
Like in Sri Lanka where governments of the UNP and SLFP treated the JVP and even the LTTE, half-heartedly, it does appear that the Maoist movement too has been fortunate enough to be treated in a like manner. Critics of successive Indian governments' counter insurgency strategies point out to the lack of direction and coherence. The debate of whether the solution should be military or political has been on for long years. Indian politicians have shied away from resorting to a determined military effort.
In 2005, Home Minister Shivaji Patil had publicly declared that the government was not interested in using weapons to contain the movement. 'The Naxalites are our brothers and sisters and we know that this is a socio- economic problem rather than that of law and order,' he had said. Pranab Mukherjee, when defence minister had declared that while the movement caused some concern, it was manageable and there was no need for panic.
Massive effort
Following the re-election of the Sonia Gandhi government there has been severe criticism of the unplanned and ill conceived counter insurgency strategy. It led to government inspired leaks and even announcements of an intended massive push against the Naxals in the vast area in which they were now operating.
Naxalites following this announcement of a massive confrontation have resorted to typical guerrilla tactics using to their advantage the vast swathes of land across districts they operate on and the thin spread of security forces deployed against them. A recent politburo statement of the Naxals in response to the intention of the government to deploy a massive force against them have pointed out to the severe difficulties that would be experienced in implementing such a plan such as; in the immediate context the government would have difficulties in sending forces required by each state.
Taking this into consideration, the organisation called for the aggravation of the situation and creation of more difficulties to the 'enemy' by expanding the guerrilla war to new areas and intensifying attacks in other areas to disperse the 'enemy' over a sufficiently wide area. The politburo statement also says that tactical counter offensives should be stepped up and also taken to new areas to divert a section of the 'enemy forces' from attacking guerrilla bases.
Defence analysts say that this diversification of Naxalite violence has shown results in recent success scored by the insurgent groups in remote areas.
Police effort only and dialogue
Recent reports say that the Home Ministry has dismissed the intention of the government launching a 'massive operation' as a 'media invention' and said that a more coordinated effort by the state police to re- assert control over territory where the administration has lost control of would be launched.
Minister Chidambaram has also been openly calling for a dialogue with the insurgents but apparently they are not willing to abide by the Minister's call to 'abjure violence'.
Last week in a written interview with The Hindu   newspaper a spokesman for the Naxalites has said that they unilaterally rejected the call to 'abjure from violence' but were prepared to accept a mutual ceasefire with security forces across the country. They have described the demand to renounce violence as being 'absurd' and called for cessation of hostilities by both sides to create a conducive atmosphere to hold talks while also lifting a ban placed on the organisation. Another demand is to release some key Naxal prisoners now being held by the government.
All this is very familiar to Sri Lankans — no military solution, only a political solution, ceasefire on both sides, lifting of the proscription placed on the organisation backed of course by an abundance of 'winning hearts and minds' rhetoric.
The parallels
Even though some parallels on how to fight insurgencies may be evident in the Sri Lankan and Indian cases, it is evident that India cannot opt for a military solution as Sri Lanka did or even as Indira Gandhi did in crushing the Sikh rebellion and with it the call for an independent state of Khalistan. India is now attempting to enter the 'Great Power' league and claiming for a seat with veto powers in the UN Security Council. It cannot be accused of killing its own citizens by resorting to a military option and then hope to be one of the big six in the Security Council.
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http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2010/04/11/india-has-no-military-option-against-naxals/

Ending Maoist Insurgency in India: Practical Propositions

PublicationsPublished April 23, 2010 at 1:55 am
Ending the Maoist insurgency is not a mission too far. Experiences of several nations across the globe suggest that such insurgencies can be brought to an end by the State through a deft application of political and security strategies.
The CPI-Maoist, created through the merger of the People's War Group and Maoist Communist Center (MCC) in September 2004, is currently active in 20 states and 180 districts of India .  The situation is so grave in the states of Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal that the Home Minister convened an extraordinary meeting of the Chief Ministers of the four eastern states on February 9, 2010, in a bid to chart out a new strategy that tackle the insurgency. To understand the nature of the Maoist insurgency, we must first understand the nature of the challenge that it poses to the Indian State.

Sizing up the Maoists

Maoists in forest areas, Source: Udumula Sudhakar Reddy's Blog
India's Maoist insurgents do not recognize the Indian State. They decry its democratic system, pointing out its many flaws, and prefer to call for a "people's revolution". Most Maoist insurgents today have only a rudimentary plan for post-revolutionary governance and ad-hoc rule of law is the norm in areas controlled by the insurgents. However what the Maoists lack in terms of agenda, they make up for it in terms of ideological passion, as well as hard-learned tactics of guerrilla warfare. Mao believed that if the countryside were to be liberated, the cities would fall themselves. This, rather than the failed tactics of Che Guevara and other Marxist revolutionaries, is the ideology guiding the insurgents' leadership. Today's Maoists have inherited the rich experience of their predecessors such as the People's War Group in guerrilla warfare. Although police in various states cracked down on the arms supply routes of the Maoists at various points in time, lack of coordination between the various states' police forces has helped the Maoists. The LTTE was known to be a consistent supplier of arms and communication equipment to the Naxals. After the end of the LTTE in Sri Lanka, and police crackdowns on various supply routes, for a while the Maoists changed tactics. Instead of ambushes with small arms, they increasingly relied on IED/ mine attacks. These Improvised Explosive Devices were often built from explosives stolen or grabbed by force for quarry owners in the territory where they operated. However, of late, the Maoists have started manufacturing/reverse engineering their own small arms (A CRPF battalion recently found a Maoist arms factory that manufactured duplicate AK-47s and AK-56s in Jharkhand) increasing the lethality of their arsenal.
The cohesion in the Maoist ranks stems in part from the fact that it is well funded. The Maoist insurgency is believed to make as much as Rs 150 crore annually – primarily through extortion, with foot soldiers getting a stipend of upto Rs 1,500 per month. The Maoists' linkages with the Nepalese Maoists have among other things, been a source of concern, primarily because the latter have invaluable experience in fighting against the Royal Nepalese army which was trained along Indian lines which they could share.
In addition, political parties in various Maoist-afflicted states have used the movement and disaffected people to gain tactical political objectives. In some cases, these political parties have inexcusably ignored the Maoist infiltration of protest movements organized by them, as seen in the case of the People's Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCPA) in West Bengal.
The Maoists have been able to rapidly extend their base of supporters and sympathizers in the urban areas both in India as well as abroad through adept use of technology for propaganda. In addition to traditional print media, several Maoist blog sites have sprung up which use sophisticated methods to hide IP addresses and resurface with different names if blocked by the authorities. In order to reach their target population in the tribal areas with propaganda, Maoists in Chhatisgarh have even started an FM radio station. For now, the government is losing the information war against the Maoists.

The causes of discontent

What propels a youth in the Indian heartland to take up arms against the State and join the Maoists? Deprivation, unemployment and exclusion from national mainstream are common grievances among the rural population in east and Central India (especially east of the so-called "Kanpur-Chennai meridian"). States such as Chhattisgarh, Orissa, West Bengal and Jharkhand are the most mineral-rich states in India and yet Indians living in these states count among the poorest. (For instance, as against India's national per capita income of Rs 24,295, the per capita income of Chattisgarh (2008-09) stands at a mere Rs 16,740!)
India                Chattisgarh            Jharkhand             Orissa                West Bengal
Rs 24,295            Rs 16,740              Rs 15,303            Rs 16,149             Rs 23,229
Some grievances are a by-product of the nature of the Indian federal system itself. For instance, tribals (adivasis) in mineral-rich districts such as Bastar in Chattisgarh do not get a fair share of the revenues from mining in the forests that they inhabit. The Central government corners the lion's share of royalties from mining in India. Till a few years ago, the "freight equalization policy" of the government hampered these states from translating their natural resources' advantage into industrial growth. The lack of investment in industrial skill development by successive governments has rendered the local population unemployable. The capital-intensive nature of the mining and mineral processing industry meant that those who stood to lose their land to such projects opposed them fervently, as witnessed in the cases of POSCO, Tata Steel and Vedanta. However, one cannot ignore the fact, that these inequalities may only represent a part of the story. Empirical evidence suggests that in any country with robust economic growth the Gini Coefficient (a measure of economic inequality) undergoes an initial increase before it begins to decline. India is now in the first half of this cycle of growth and hence economic growth has happened in parallel with a rise in inequalities and the quantum of disaffected people.

Security or Development – What comes first?

The big debate in Indian policymaking today lies in deciding whether the Maoist insurgency should be addressed as a development issue or a security issue. Most people agree that it is both. But if so, in what sequence should development and security measures be applied?
The Indian government's traditional strategy in dealing with insurgencies is to first wear out the insurgents through a war of attrition, and then offer them the olive branch through measures such as a general amnesty, co-option into the governance structures and selective acceptance of the insurgents' demands subject to constitutional limits. This process has been employed with varied amounts of success against the Khalistani, Mizo, Bodo and ULFA separatists. However this strategy may not work in the case of Maoists.
Firstly, the Maoists are not an ethnicity or region-specific entity that can be dealt with in isolation. The Maoist agenda serves as a platform for a section of the population disaffected from or opposed to globalization, poor governance and corruption. Secondly, unlike regional separatists, the Maoists have not declared war against India, only against the Indian state. This distinction makes them use of force against them a less popular option among policymakers. Thirdly, the demands of the Maoists are not only disparate but in as much as they demand the change of the very nature of governance in India, i.e. democracy, are impossible to reconcile with. This however does not mean that the causes of disaffection cannot be addressed. It is clear therefore that only a mix of security and economic approaches can end the Maoist insurgency.

Current Situation

Red Corridor, Source: Planemad
As of now the Maoists claim to be in the process of establishing "Red Corridor" and the "Compact Revolutionary Zone" or the "CRZ". More than 6000 lives have been lost as a result of this violence and with the renewed vigor of the insurgency witnessed in 2009, things threaten to go out of hand. In the absence of well-trained police forces, Chhatisgarh state started a much criticized scheme of forming a tribal militia called "Salwa Judum". The Salwa Judum resorted to extra-legal measures for countering Naxalites and after severe reprimands from the Central government, the Chhattisgarh state government allowed the movement to wither away in 2009.
The Government of India has thus far desisted from declaring a state of emergency in the severely affected states of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand and has refrained from promulgating the Disturbed Areas Act (D.A.A) and the Armed Forced Special Powers Act (A.F.S.P.A) in these areas. Thus the insurgency continues to be treated, perhaps rightly, as an internal security problem that is to be handled through policing rather than military measures. The pitfall of this approach however lies in the intransigence adopted by the ideologues of the Maoists who mistake the response of the government to represent its weakness and who believe that the Government of India has reached the limits of its capacity.
The violence perpetrated by Maoists is also hampering the delivery of public services to the people living in the insurgency-affected areas. For instance, doctors are less than willing to travel to Maoist affected areas, social infrastructure such as schools and hospitals faces daily threats of being blown up by the Maoists, and most economic activity barring mining (often illegal) has come to a halt in the Maoist affected areas even as vigilante justice has become the norm in these areas. Given the current gridlock in terms of development activity and rising security forces' casualties, the status quo is untenable.

ENDING THE INSURGENCY

International experiences

Given the highly organized and multi-state nature of this insurgency and the complicating factor of Centre-state relations, there is no precedent to eradicating such an insurgency within India. However there are precedents in countries that have faced and eradicated similarly placed Maoist insurgencies with varying tactics and degrees of success. Columbia, after a two-decade long struggle with the FARC Marxist rebels, used sustained military action including airpower to defeat the insurgency. Philippines which fought the CPP-PLA (Huk Balaha) formed special para-military forces, enlisted local leaders and undertook reforms to eradicate the "Huk" militia and their support base. Sendero Luminoso or "Shining Path" movement in Peru is another movement similar to the Maoists. After the Senderistas enforced a widespread boycott of elections in 1980, the government declared an emergency and gave extensive powers to the Army. The authorities there too created a peasants' militia called "Rondas" (similar to Chattisgarh's Salwa Judum militia) which only led to an escalation of violence. Ultimately the movement was eliminated through military action and decapitation of the leadership. The British experience in Malaya in the early 1950s is often considered a copybook case for counterinsurgency. A national "liberation" struggle launched by the Leftist guerrillas against the British led to widespread violence and human rights abuses from both sides. The strategy eventually adopted by the British had two key elements. Firstly, extensive propaganda warfare was launched against the guerrillas and the testimonies of captured guerrillas were deftly used to sow dissension in the guerrillas' ranks. The British also adopted an "oil spot" strategy (often used when the guerrillas have extensive control over a large swathe of territory) in which small pockets were "liberated" by the government, and provided opportunities for rapid development, which slowly reduced the guerrillas' support base in the neighboring districts and helped the government then extend its control over them. The oil spot strategy has been used by the French in Algeria and the Americans in Iraq with mixed results.
When it comes to pre-empting conditions conducive to insurgencies through overwhelmingly development-based strategies, measures that significantly reduced poverty in a short span of time were successful. For instance, in Brazil, policymakers targeted inter-generational poverty propagation since it engenders a sense of injustice. Brazil started the Bolsa Familia program in 2003. The program consisted of conditional cash transfers to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families subject to their fulfillment of conditions such as school attendance of their children, vaccination etc. This program was directly responsible for a 20-25 % reduction of Brazil's recent reduction in inequality. The basic idea behind this program was to prevent a poor man's children from inheriting his poverty, illiteracy and lack of access to gainful economic activity. Since social stratification is often the fuel for socio-economic insurgencies, pre-empting insurgencies should involve rendering (through state intervention) an individual's class at birth an insignificant factor for his success in life.

Defeating the Indian Maoists

A police commando trains in camouflage for counter-Maoist operations, Source: Udumula Sudhakar Reddy's Blog
To deal with the Indian Maoists decisively, we propose a hybrid and yet nationally coherent strategy. Currently, different states in India pursue different strategies to deal with the Maoists insurgency with mixed results. For instance, Andhra Pradesh succeeded in almost ending the insurgency through the creation of a police force recruited from among the tribal population (as opposed to a mere Maoist-focused militia), state-funded microfinance schemes and improved healthcare delivery. Chattisgarh created a tribal militia aimed at dividing the recruitment base of the Maoists and to complement state security forces. The controversial measure led to an escalation of violence and has not yielded desired results thus far. Jharkhand, afflicted by constant political instability, is yet to face up to the Maoist challenge. In West Bengal, where the insurgency became a tool for games of political one-upmanship, the government is yet to evolve a political consensus against the Maoists. In Orissa, the state government, despite adequate political will, lacks the resources to carry out a successful security forces' campaign and has been negotiating with the Central government for a larger share of royalties from mineral extraction in the state.
Such varied approaches may stem from the varied nature of local grievances, but often fail given the fact that state borders and jurisdictions have little meaning for the Maoists. The Central government has taken some steps to rectify the situation. For instance, an intelligence sharing mechanism was institutionalized to improve information sharing between the police forces of different states, but this is yet to deliver comprehensive results. Schemes such as the National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREGA) have been enthusiastically implemented in the insurgency affected areas. But, this too has not delivered expected results since the Maoists have been more than ready to allow schemes that involve direct cash transfers in areas controlled by them. What is now needed is a coherent new strategy, ideally led by the central government, which can deal with the insurgency at various levels.

A layer-based strategy

There are three layers apparent to the Maoist insurgency. The first layer consists of the sympathizers and ideologues that are above ground and often resident in cities and urban areas (such as Kobad Ghandy and Gaddar). The second layer consists of operational commanders at various levels (Kishenji is one of the more senior ones among them). The third layer consists of foot soldiers who are mostly semi-literate or illiterate youth who are unemployed. These three layers have different reasons for being part of the movement, and different levels of motivation and hence need to be addressed through different strategies.
The intellectuals of the first layer are hanging onto irrelevant and redundant ideologies and are suspicious of every move of the state and distrustful of democracy in general. While their propaganda networks should be disrupted, these individuals should in general be simply ignored. The operational commanders in the second layer are vital. They can be attracted into the mainstream through co-option into democratic governance at various levels of the government. If necessary, quasi-autonomous bodies such as Tribal Area Development Councils under Sixth schedule of Constitution of India could be created. The third layer of the Maoists, the foot soldiers, can be separated from the insurgency through socio-economic initiatives in the region, such as programs which involve better distribution of mining royalties (distributive justice) and creation of employment and a sustained de-radicalization program based on human values education to prevent recidivism.

POLICY PROPOSITIONS

Even as we recognize that there is no one-size-fits-all solution the Maoist challenge, a multi-pronged policy that targets the structure, genesis and support base of the Maoists can be most effective in ending the insurgency.
Political and Governance Solutions: The government of India should co-opt and accommodate the Layer 2 Maoist cadres composed of field commanders and leaders (as described above) into the democratic mainstream to engage and empower the motivated and disaffected youth. The foot-soldiers also need to be offered a general rehabilitation package which consolidates various local amnesty schemes. Surrendered foot soldiers must be provided security guarantees against retribution, but where feasible, should also be used in crafting an aggressive information warfare campaign against the Maoists. Use of the Right to Information Act to force local authorities to yield information about developmental schemes can also increase transparency and accountability and lead to real, tangible change in governance. A responsive and responsible government can go a long way towards alleviating grievances, and the restoration of rule of law in the Maoist affected areas.
Security Solution: Security solutions within India have only been partly successful at ending insurgencies. That the Naxalbari Andolan was finished through ruthless application of force, should not be adequate reason to implement the same against the Maoists. In fact, creation of civilian militias such as Salwa Judum should be shunned because they expose civilians to unnecessary danger, and only translate into an abdication of security responsibility by the State. Instead, a special recruitment drive should be launched to take in tribal youth into the police and Army from the insurgency affected areas. If wielded well, a carrot and stick policy can wean away less motivated cadres into the mainstream.
Economic Solutions: The deprived population of the mineral rich regions should be provided conditional cash transfers that focus on hindering the inter-generational propagation of poverty and to also counter the widespread deprivation in the region thus reducing the recruitment pool of Maosists. A self sustaining economic scheme funded largely by mining revenues of the State can be implemented to provide skills, literacy, healthcare, employment and above all dignity and social justice to the people on the fringes of the national mainstream.
Civil Society: Civil society organizations comprising of intellectuals, eminent citizens, businesses, politicians, spiritual leaders and NGOs need to step forwards and mediate between GOI and the Maosists. Instead of consistently taking the path of mere protection of human rights or intercession in large scale development projects, civil society organizations should act as neutral mediators at the very local/ district level to persuade the insurgents to give up arms and convince authorities to deal justly with those that surrender.
The consequences of the Maoist insurgency are severe enough to warrant any kind of action and resources by the Indian State.  India cannot afford a "lost generation" in the insurgency-affected areas even as it takes rapid steps towards becoming a major power in the international system. Ending the Maoist insurgency needs to become a national priority.
Tags: National Security, Publications
http://tirgroup.org/pub/ending-maoist-insurgency-in-india-practical-propositions

Counter-insurgency

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Police question a civilian during the Malayan emergency. Counter-insurgency involves action from both military and police authorities.
U.S. Marines on patrol during counter-insurgency operations in Marjah, Afghanistan, February 2010
Warfare

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Counter-insurgency (COIN is a popular acronym) is a military term for the armed conflict against an insurgency by forces aligned with the recognized government of the territory in which the conflict takes place.[1] In the main, the insurgents seek to destroy or erase the political authority of the defending authorities in a population they seek to control, and the counter-insurgent forces seek to protect that authority and reduce or eliminate the supplanting authority of the insurgents.

Counter-insurgency operations are common during occupation and armed rebellions. Counter-insurgency may be armed suppression of a rebellion, coupled with tactics such as divide and rule designed to fracture the links between the insurgency and the population in which the insurgents move. Because it may be difficult or impossible to distinguish between an insurgent, a supporter of an insurgency who is a non-combatant, and entirely uninvolved members of the population, counter-insurgency operations have often rested on a confused, relativistic, or otherwise situational distinction between insurgents and non-combatants.

Contents

[hide]

[edit] Models

The guerrilla must swim in the people as the fish swims in the sea.

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     –Aphorism based on the writing of Mao Zedong [2]

Counter-insurgency is normally conducted as a combination of conventional military operations and other means, such as propaganda, psy-ops, and assassinations. Counter-insurgency operations include many different facets: military, paramilitary, political, economic, psychological, and civic actions taken to defeat insurgency.

To understand counter-insurgency, one must understand insurgency to comprehend the dynamics of revolutionary warfare. Insurgents capitalize on societal problems, often called gaps; counter-insurgency addresses closing the gaps. When the gaps are wide, they create a sea of discontent, creating the environment in which the insurgent can operate.[3]

In The Insurgent Archipelago John Mackinlay puts forward the concept of an evolution of insurgency from the Maoist paradigm of the golden age of insurgency to the global insurgency of the start of the twenty-first century. He defines this distinction as 'Maoist' and 'post-Maoist' insurgency.[4]

[edit] Legal and ethical challenges

William B. Caldwell wrote:

The law of armed conflict requires that, to use force, "combatants" must distinguish individuals presenting a threat from innocent civilians. This basic principle is accepted by all disciplined militaries. In the counterinsurgency, disciplined application of force is even more critical because our enemies camouflage themselves in the civilian population. Our success in Iraq depends on our ability to treat the civilian population with humanity and dignity, even as we remain ready to immediately defend ourselves or Iraqi civilians when a threat is detected.[5]

[edit] Strategies

[edit] B. H. Liddell Hart

The majority of counter-insurgency efforts by major powers in the last century have been spectacularly unsuccessful. This may be attributed to a number of causes. First, as B. H. Liddell Hart pointed out in the Insurgency addendum to the second version of his book Strategy: The Indirect Approach, a popular insurgency has an inherent advantage over any occupying force. He showed as a prime example the French occupation of Spain during the Napoleonic wars. Whenever Spanish forces managed to constitute themselves into a regular fighting force, the superior French forces beat them every time.

However, once dispersed and decentralized, the irregular nature of the rebel campaigns proved a decisive counter to French superiority on the battlefield. Napoleon's army had no means of effectively combatting the rebels, and in the end their strength and morale were so sapped that when Wellington was finally able to challenge French forces in the field, the French had almost no choice but to abandon the situation.

Counter-insurgency efforts may be successful, especially when the insurgents are unpopular. The Philippines, Peru, and Malaya have been the sites of failed insurgencies.

Hart also points to the experiences of T. E. Lawrence and the Arab Revolt during World War I as another example of the power of the rebel/insurgent. Though the Ottomans often had advantages in manpower of more than 100 to 1, the Arabs' ability to materialize out of the desert, strike, and disappear again often left the Turks reeling and paralyzed, creating an opportunity for regular British forces to sweep in and finish the Turkish forces off.

In both the preceding cases, the insurgents and rebel fighters were working in conjunction with or in a manner complementary to regular forces. Such was also the case with the French Resistance during World War II and the National Liberation Front during the Vietnam War. The strategy in these cases is for the irregular combatant to weaken and destabilize the enemy to such a degree that victory is easy or assured for the regular forces. However, in many modern rebellions, one does not see rebel fighters working in conjunction with regular forces. Rather, they are home-grown militias or imported fighters who have no unified goals or objectives save to expel the occupier.

In these cases, such as the Israeli occupation of Lebanon, which ended in 2000, and the current Iraqi insurgency, the goal of the insurgent is not to defeat the occupying military force; that is almost always an impossible task given the disparity in resources. Rather, they seek through a constant campaign of sneak attacks to inflict continuous casualties upon their superior enemy forces and thereby over time demoralize the occupying forces and erode political support for the occupation in the homeland of the occupying forces. It is a simple strategy of repeated pin-pricks and bleedings that, though small in proportion to the total force strength, sap the will of the occupier to continue the fight.

According to Liddell Hart, there are few effective counter-measures to this strategy. So long as the insurgency maintains popular support, it will retain all of its strategic advantages of mobility, invisibility, and legitimacy in its own eyes and the eyes of the people. So long as this is the situation, an insurgency essentially cannot be defeated by regular forces. The US in Vietnam attempted to neutralize this advantage by simply taking away the civilian population that shielded the insurgents; however, this had the foreseeable effect of alienating the populace and further fueling support for the rebels. In the current operations against insurgents in the War on Terror, such ruthless tactics are not available to commanders, even if they were effective.

Another option in combating an insurgency would be to make the presence of troops so pervasive that there is simply no place left for insurgents to hide, as demonstrated in Franco's conquest of Republican Spain during the Spanish Civil War or the Union occupation of Confederate States with Federal troops following the American Civil War. In each of these cases, enormous amounts of manpower were needed for an extended period of time to quell resistance over almost every square kilometre of territory. In an age of ever shrinking and increasingly computerized armed forces, this option too is precluded from a modern commanders options.

Essentially, then, only one viable option remains. The key to a successful counter-insurgency is the winning-over of the occupied territory's population. If that can be achieved, then the rebellion will be deprived of its supplies, shelter, and, more importantly, its moral legitimacy. Unless the hearts and minds of the public can be separated from the insurgency, the occupation is doomed to fail. In a modern representative democracy, in the face of perceived incessant losses, no conflict will be tolerated by an electorate without significant show of tangible gains.

It should be noted that though the United States and its ARVN allies won every single major battle with North Vietnamese forces and their opponents suffered staggering losses (2 million+ casualties), the cost of victory was so high in the opinion of the US public (58,193 U.S. casualties) that it came to see any further possible gains as not worth the troop losses. As long as popular support is on their side, an insurgency can hold out indefinitely, consolidating its control and replenishing its ranks, until the occupiers simply leave.

[edit] David Galula

David Galula gained his practical experience in counter insurgency as a French officer in the Algerian War. His theory of counterinsurgency is not primarily military, but a combination of military, political and social actions under the strong control of a single authority.

Galula proposes four "laws" for counterinsurgency:[6]

  1. The aim of the war is to gain the support of the population rather than control of territory.
  2. Most of the population will be neutral in the conflict; support of the masses can be obtained with the help of an active friendly minority.
  3. Support of the population may be lost. The population must be efficiently protected to allow it to cooperate without fear of retribution by the opposite party.
  4. Order enforcement should be done progressively by removing or driving away armed opponents, then gaining support of the population, and eventually strengthening positions by building infrastructure and setting long-term relationships with the population. This must be done area by area, using a pacified territory as a basis of operation to conquer a neighbouring area.

Galula contends that:

A victory [in a counterinsurgency] is not the destruction in a given area of the insurgent's forces and his political organization. ... A victory is that plus the permanent isolation of the insurgent from the population, isolation not enforced upon the population, but maintained by and with the population. ... In conventional warfare, strength is assessed according to military or other tangible criteria, such as the number of divisions, the position they hold, the industrial resources, etc. In revolutionary warfare, strength must be assessed by the extent of support from the population as measured in terms of political organization at the grass roots. The counterinsurgent reaches a position of strength when his power is embedded in a political organization issuing from, and firmly supported by, the population.[7]

With his four principles in mind, Galula goes on to describe a general military and political strategy to put them into operation in an area that is under full insurgent control:

In a Selected Area
1. Concentrate enough armed forces to destroy or to expel the main body of armed insurgents.
2. Detach for the area sufficient troops to oppose an insurgent's comeback in strength, install these troops in the hamlets, villages, and towns where the population lives.
3. Establish contact with the population, control its movements in order to cut off its links with the guerillas.
4. Destroy the local insurgent political organization.
5. Set up, by means of elections, new provisional local authorities.
6. Test those authorities by assigning them various concrete tasks. Replace the softs and the incompetents, give full support to the active leaders. Organize self-defense units.
7. Group and educate the leaders in a national political movement.
8. Win over or suppress the last insurgent remnants.[7]

According to Galula, some of these steps can be skipped in areas that are only partially under insurgent control, and most of them are unnecessary in areas already controlled by the government.[7] Thus the essence of counterinsurgency warfare is summed up by Galula as "Build (or rebuild) a political machine from the population upward."[8]

[edit] Martin van Creveld

Military historian Martin van Creveld, noting that almost all attempts to deal with insurgency have ended in failure, advises:

The first, and absolutely indispensable, thing to do is throw overboard 99 percent of the literature on counterinsurgency, counterguerrilla, counterterrorism, and the like. Since most of it was written by the losing side, it is of little value.[9]

In examining why so many counterinsurgencies by powerful militaries fail against weaker enemies, Van Creveld identifies a key dynamic that he illustrates by the metaphor of killing a child. Regardless of whether the child started the fight or how well armed the child is, an adult in a fight with a child will feel that they are acting unjustly if they harm the child, foolish if the child harms them and wonder if the fight is necessary.

Van Creveld argues that "by definition, a strong counterinsurgent who uses his strength to kill the members of a small, weak organization of insurgents - let alone the civilian population by which it is surrounded, and which may lend it support - will commit crimes in an unjust cause," while "a child who is in a serious fight with an adult is justified in using every and any means available - not because he or she is right, but because he or she has no choice."[10] Every act of insurgency becomes, from the perspective of the counterinsurgent, a reason to end the conflict, while also being a reason for the insurgents to continue until victory. Dang Xuan Khu, second in command to Ho Chi Minh of Vietnam, wrote in his Primer for Revolt:

The guiding principle of the strategy for our whole resistance must be to prolong the war. To protract the war is the key to victory. Why must the war be protracted? ... If we throw the whole of our forces into a few battles to try to decide the outcome, we shall certainly be defeated and the enemy will win. On the other hand, if while fighting we maintain our forces, expand them, train our army and people, learn military tactics ... and at the same time wear down the enemy forces, we shall weary and discourage them in such a way that, strong as they are, they will become weak and will meet defeat instead of victory[11]

Van Creveld thus identifies "time" as the key factor in counterinsurgency. In an attempt to find lessons from the few cases of successful counterinsurgency, of which he lists two clear cases: the British efforts during The Troubles of Northern Ireland and the 1982 Hama massacre carried out by the Syrian government to suppress the Muslim Brotherhood, he asserts that the "core of the difficulty is neither military nor political, but moral" and outlines two distinct methods.[12]

The first method relies on superb intelligence, provided by those who know the natural and artificial environment of the conflict as well as the insurgents. Once such superior intelligence is gained, the counterinsurgents must be trained to a point of high professionalism and discipline such that they will exercise discrimination and restraint. Through such discrimination and restraint, the counterinsurgents do not alienate members of the populace besides those already fighting them, while delaying the time when the counterinsurgents become disgusted by their own actions and demoralized.

General Patrick Walters, British commander of troops in northern Ireland, explicitly stated that his objective was not to kill as many terrorists as possible, but to ensure that as few people on both sides were killed. In the vast majority of counterinsurgencies, the "forces of order" kill far more people than they lose. In contrast and using very rough figures, of the approximately 3000 British killed during The Troubles, 1700 were civilians and 1000 were British soldiers and members of security forces, translating into an three-to-one kill ratio in favor of the terrorists.[13]

If the prerequisites for the first method - excellent intelligence, superbly trained and disciplined soldiers and police, and an iron will to avoid being provoked into lashing out - are lacking, van Creveld posits that counterinsurgents who still want to win must use the second method exemplified by the Hama massacre. In 1982 the regime of Syrian president Hafez al-Assad was on the point of being overwhelmed by the countrywide insurgency of the Muslim Brotherhood. al-Assad sent a division under his brother Rifaat to the city of Hama, known to be the center of the resistance.

Following a counterattack by the Brotherhood, Rifaat used his heavy artillery to demolish the city, killing between ten and 25 thousand people, including many women and children. Asked by reporters what had happened, Hafez al-Assad exaggerated the damage and deaths, promoted the commanders who carried out the attacks, and razed Hama's well-known great mosque, replacing it with a parking lot. With the Muslim Brotherhood scattered, the population was so cowed that it would years before opposition groups would dare disobey the regime again and, van Creveld argues, the massacre most likely saved the regime and prevented a bloody civil war.

Van Creveld condenses al-Assad's strategy into five rules, while noting that they could easily have been written by Niccolò Machiavelli:[13]

  1. There are situations in which cruelty is necessary, and refusing to apply necessary cruelty is a betrayal of the people who put you into power. When pressed to cruelty, never threaten your opponent but disguise your intention and feign weakness until you strike.
  2. Once you decide to strike, it is better to kill too many than not enough. If another strike is needed, it reduces the impact of the first strike. Repeated strikes will also endanger the morale of the counterinsurgent troops; soldiers forced to commit repeated atrocities will likely begin to resort to alcohol or drugs to force themselves to carry out orders and will inevitably lose their military edge, eventually turning into a danger to their commanders.
  3. Act as soon as possible. More lives will be saved by decisive action early, than by prolonging the insurgency. The longer you wait, the more inured the population will be to bloodshed, and the more barbaric your action will have to be to make an impression.
  4. Strike openly. Do not apologize, make excuses about "collateral damage", express regret, or promise investigations. Afterwards, make sure that as many people as possible know of your strike; media is useful for this purpose, but be careful not to let them interview survivors and arouse sympathy.
  5. Do not command the strike yourself, in case it doesn't work for some reason and you need to disown your commander and try another strategy. If it does work, present your commander to the world, explain what you have done and make certain that everyone understands that you are ready to strike again.[14]

[edit] David Kilcullen

Three Pillars of Counterinsurgency

In "The Three Pillars of Counterinsurgency", Dr. David J. Kilcullen, the Chief Strategist of the Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism of the U.S. State Department in 2006, described a framework for interagency cooperation in counterinsurgency operations. His pillars – Security, Political and Economic – support the overarching goal of Control, but are based on Information:

This is because perception is crucial in developing control and influence over population groups. Substantive security, political and economic measures are critical but to be effective they must rest upon, and integrate with a broader information strategy. Every action in counterinsurgency sends a message; the purpose of the information campaign is to consolidate and unify this message. ... Importantly, the information campaign has to be conducted at a global, regional and local level — because modern insurgents draw upon global networks of sympathy, support, funding and recruitment.[15]

Kilcullen considers the three pillars to be of equal importance, because

unless they are developed in parallel, the campaign becomes unbalanced: too much economic assistance with inadequate security, for example, simply creates an array of soft targets for the insurgents. Similarly, too much security assistance without political consensus or governance simply creates more capable armed groups. In developing each pillar, we measure progress by gauging effectiveness (capability and capacity) and legitimacy (the degree to which the population accepts that government actions are in its interest).[15]

The overall goal, according to this model, "is not to reduce violence to zero or to kill every insurgent, but rather to return the overall system to normality — noting that 'normality' in one society may look different from normality in another. In each case, we seek not only to establish control, but also to consolidate that control and then transfer it to permanent, effective and legitimate institutions.[15]"

[edit] Tactics

[edit] Population control

With regard to tactics, the terms "drain the water" or "drain the swamp" involves the forced relocation of the population ("water") to expose the rebels or insurgents ("fish"). In other words, relocation deprives the aforementioned of the support, cover, and resources of the local population.

A somewhat similar strategy was used extensively by US forces in South Vietnam until 1969, initially by forcing the rural population into fenced camps, referred to as Strategic Hamlets, and later by declaring the previous areas as free-fire zones to remove the rest from their villages and farms. Widespread use was made of Agent Orange, sprayed from airplanes, to destroy crops that might have provided resources for Viet Cong and North Vietnamese troops and their human support base. These measures proved ineffective, as the Viet Cong often relocated activists and sympathizers inside the new communities. In any event, the Vietnam War was only partly a counter-insurgency campaign, as it also involved conventional combat between US/ARVN forces, Vietcong Main Force Battalions, and the North Vietnamese Army (NVA).

According to a report of the Australian military:

Among the most effective means are such population-control measures as vehicle and personnel checkpoints and national identity cards. In Malaya, the requirement to carry an ID card with a photo and thumbprint forced the communists to abandon their original three-phase political-military strategy and caused divisive infighting among their leaders over how to respond to this effective population-control measure."[16]

[edit] Oil spot

The oil spot approach is a descriptive term for the concentration of counter-insurgent forces into an expanding, secured zone. The origins of the expression is to be found in its initial use by Marshal Hubert Lyautey, the main theoretician of French colonial warfare and counter-insurgency strategy.[17][18] The oil spot approach was later one of the justifications given in the Pentagon Papers[19] for the Strategic Hamlet Program.

[edit] Cordon and search

Cordon and search is a military tactic to cordon off an area and search the premises for weapons or insurgents.[20][21] It is one of the basic counter insurgency operations.[22] Other related operations are Cordon and Knock[23][24][25] and Cordon and Kick.

It has taken over the old term of a simple house search. It is part of new doctrine called Stability and Support Operations or SASO. It is a technique used where there is no hard intelligence of weapons in the house and therefore is less intense than a normal house search. It is used in urban neighborhoods. The purpose of the mission is to search a house with as little inconvenience to the resident family as possible.

[edit] Air operations

Air power can play an important role in counter-insurgency, capable of carrying out a wide range of operations:

  • Transportation in support of combattants and civilians alike, including casualty evacuations;
  • Intelligence gathering, surveillance, and reconnaissance;
  • Psychological operations, through leaflet drops, loudspeakers, and radio broadcasts;
  • Air-to-ground attack against 'soft' targets.[26]

[edit] Specific doctrines

[edit] British Empire

[edit] Malaya

British forces were able to employ the relocation method with considerable success during the "Malayan Emergency". The Briggs Plan, implemented fully in 1950, relocated Chinese Malayans into protected "New Villages", designated by British forces. By the end of 1951, some 400,000 ethnic Chinese had moved into the fortifications. Of this population, the British forces were able to form a "Home Guard", armed for resistance against the Malayan Communist Party, an implementation mirrored by the Strategic Hamlet Program later used by US forces in South Vietnam.[27][28] Despite British claims of a victory in the Malayan Emergency, military historian Martin van Creveld has pointedly noted that the end result of the counterinsurgency, namely the withdrawal of British forces and establishment of an independent state, are identical to that of Aden, Kenya and Cyprus, which are not considered victories.[29]

[edit] France

France had major counterinsurgency wars in its colonies in Indochina and Algeria. McClintock cited the basic points of French doctrine as:[30]

  • Quadrillage (an administrative grid of population and territory)
  • Ratissage (cordoning and "raking")
  • Regroupement (relocating and closely controlling a suspect population)
  • 'Tache d'huile' – The 'oil spot' strategy
  • Recruitment of local leaders and forces
  • Paramilitary organization and militias

Much of the thinking was informed by the work of earlier leading French theoreticians of colonial warfare and counter-insurgency, Marshals Bugeaud, Gallieni and Lyautey.[18]

While McClintock cites the 1894 Algerian governor, Jules Cambon, as saying "By destroying the administration and local government "we were also suppressing our means of action." "The result is that we are today confronted by a sort of human dust on which we have no influence and in which movements take place which are unknown to us." Cambon's philosophy, however, did not seem to survive into the Algerian War of Independence, (1954–1962).

The sophisticated NLF/PAVN insurgent structure was embedded in the population and difficult to root out and combat. French and US Special Forces (Green Berets) saw some success in organizing tribal peoples to fight.[31]

[edit] Indochina

Post-WWII doctrine, as in Indochina, took a more drastic view of "Guerre Révolutionnaire", which presented an ideological and global war, with a commitment to total war. Countermeasures, in principle, needed to be both political and military; "No measure was too drastic to meet the new threat of revolution". French forces taking control from the Japanese did not seem to negotiate seriously with nationalist elements in what was to become Vietnam,[32] and reaped the consequences of overconfidence at Dien Bien Phu.[33]

It occurred to various commanders that soldiers trained to operate as guerrillas would have a strong sense of how to fight guerrillas. Before the partition of French Indochina, French Groupement de Commandos Mixtes Aéroportés (GCMA), led by Roger Trinquier,[34] took on this role, drawing on French experience with the Jedburgh teams.[35] GCMA, operating in Tonkin and Laos under French intelligence, was complemented by Commandos Nord Viêt-Nam in the North. In these missions, the SOF teams lived and fought with the locals. One Laotian, who became an officer, was Vang Pao, who was to become a general in Hmong and Laotian operations in Southeast Asia while the US forces increased their role.

[edit] Algeria

The French counterinsurgency in colonial Algeria was a savage one. The 1957 Battle of Algiers resulted in 24,000 detentions, with most tortured and an estimated 3,000 killed. It may have broken the FLN infrastructure in Algiers, but it also killed off French legitimacy as far as "hearts and minds" went.[30][36]

Counter-insurgency requires an extremely capable intelligence infrastructure endowed with human sources and deep cultural knowledge. This contributes to the difficulty that foreign, as opposed to indigenous, powers have in counter-insurgent operations. One of France's most influential theorists was Roger Trinquier. The Modern Warfare counterinsurgency strategy described by Trinquier, who had led anti-communist guerillas in Indochina, was a strong influence on French efforts in Algeria.

Trinquier suggested three principles:

  1. separate the guerrilla from the population that supports him;
  2. occupy the zones that the guerrillas previously operated from, making the area dangerous for the insurgents and turning the people against the guerrilla movement; and
  3. coordinate actions over a wide area and for a long enough time that the guerrilla is denied access to the population centres that could support him.

Trinquier's view was that torture had to be extremely focused and limited, but many French officers considered its use corrosive to its own side. There were strong protests among French leaders: the Army's most decorated officer, General Jacques Pâris de Bollardière, confronted General Jacques Massu, the commander of French forces in the Battle of Algiers, over orders institutionalizing torture, as "an unleashing of deplorable instincts which no longer knew any limits." He issued an open letter condemning the danger to the army of the loss of its moral values "under the fallacious pretext of immediate expediency", and was imprisoned for sixty days.[30]

As some of the French Army protested, other parts increased the intensity of their approach, which led to an attempted military coup against the French Fourth Republic itself. Massu and General Raoul Salan led a 1958 coup in Algiers, demanding a new Republic under Charles de Gaulle. When de Gaulle's policies toward Algeria, such as a 1961 referendum on Algerian self-determination, did not meet the expectations of the colonial officers, Salan formed the underground Organisation de l'armée secrète (OAS), a right-wing terrorist group, whose actions included a 1962 assassination attempt against de Gaulle himself.

[edit] Subsaharan Africa

France has had taken Barnett's Leviathan role[37] in Chad and Ivory Coast, the latter on two occasions, most significantly in 2002-2003.[38] The situation with France and Ivory Coast is not a classic FID situation, as France attacked Ivorian forces that had attacked UN peacekeepers.

[edit] India

There have been many insurgencies in India from its creation in 1947.

The Naga Insurgency was the first insurgency after the nation was formed. Addressed by both political and military means, it resulted in the creation of state of Nagaland and a peace accord between Indian government and the rebel group.

The Punjab insurgency was driven by the Khalistan movement. Kanwar Pal Singh Gill (KPS Gill), was credited with breaking the back of this insurgency in the early 1990s, after it peaked in the 1980s with widespread terrorism, bank robberies, murders and intimidation. There are allegations that this insurgency was supported heavily by Pakistan through weapons and training. The Indian border with Pakistan was fenced[citation needed] and Punjab police and Indian Government armed forces were eventually successful in suppressing the violence.

The Kashmir insurgency, which started by 1989, is largely blamed on mismanagement of polls by Indian and state governments. It was brought under control by Indian government and violence has been reduced. The Army's elite Rashtriya Rifles (RR) played a major role in putting down the insurgency. The RR was well supported by Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF) and state government police. Successful conduct of a state election was a major victory against insurgents. In a effort to keep the insurgency alive, Pakistan-based foreign militants allegedly sneak through the border.

The Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School (CIJWS) is located in the north-eastern town of the Indian state of Mizoram. Personnel from the countries such as the US, Britain, France, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Vietnam have attended this school. Soldiers from India and the United States participate in long exercises in guerrilla warfare in the Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School at Vairengte in Mizoram.[39] Graduate level, high quality education by a joint staff of highly trained special operators at Camp Taji Phoenix Academy and the Counterinsurgency Center For Excellence is provided in Iraq. This facility is used to train the US military training team members (MTT)[40] as well as many Iraqi Officers.

[edit] United States

The United States has conducted counterinsurgency campaigns during the Philippine–American War, the Vietnam War, the post-2001 War in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have resulted in increased interest in counterinsurgency within the American military, exemplified by the 2006 publication of a new counterinsurgency field manual, FM 3-24.[41]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ An insurgency is a rebellion against a constituted authority (for example an authority recognized as such by the United Nations) when those taking part in the rebellion are not recognized as belligerents (Oxford English Dictionary second edition 1989 "insurgent B. n. One who rises in revolt against constituted authority; a rebel who is not recognized as a belligerent.")
  2. ^ Mao Zedong. On Guerilla Warfare (1937), Chapter 6 - "The Political Problems of Guerilla Warfare":

    Many people think it impossible for guerrillas to exist for long in the enemy's rear. Such a belief reveals lack of comprehension of the relationship that should exist between the people and the troops. The former may be likened to water the latter to the fish who inhabit it. How may it be said that these two cannot exist together? It is only undisciplined troops who make the people their enemies and who, like the fish out of its native element cannot live.

  3. ^ Eizenstat, Stuart E.; John Edward Porter and Jeremy M. Weinstein (January/February 2005). "Rebuilding Weak States" (PDF). Foreign Affairs 84 (1). http://www.cgdev.org/doc/commentary/15_Eizenstat.pdf 
  4. ^ John Mackinlay, The Insurgent Archipelago, (London: Hurst, 2009).
  5. ^ Caldwell, William B. (8 March 2008). ([dead link]Scholar search)Washington Times. http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20070208-084406-5379r.htm 
  6. ^ Reeder, Brett. "Book Summary of Counterinsurgency Warfare: Theory and Practice by David Galula". Crinfo.org (The Conflict Resolution Information Source). http://www.crinfo.org/booksummary/10672/. Retrieved 2008-09-22. 
  7. ^ a b c Galula, David Counterinsurgency Warfare: Theory and Practice Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Security International, 1964. ISBN 0-275-99303-5 p.54-56
  8. ^ Galula p.95
  9. ^ van Creveld, Martin, The Changing Face of War: Combat from the Marne to Iraq, 2008, New York: Ballantine, ISBN 978-0-89141-902-0, p. 268
  10. ^ van Creveld, p. 226
  11. ^ van Creveld, pp. 229-230
  12. ^ van Creveld, p. 269
  13. ^ a b van Creveld, p. 235
  14. ^ van Creveld, pp. 241-245
  15. ^ a b c Kilcullen, David (28 September 2006). "Three Pillars of Counterinsurgency" (PDF). http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/uscoin/3pillars_of_counterinsurgency.pdf. 
  16. ^ Sepp, Kalev I. (May-June 2005). "Best Practices in Counterinsurgency," (PDF). Military Review: 8–12. http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/milreview/sepp.pdf 
  17. ^ Lyautey, Hubert. Du rôle colonial de l'armée (Paris: Armand Colin, 1900)
  18. ^ a b Porch, Douglas. "Bugeaud, Galliéni, Lyautey: The Development of French colonial warfare", in Paret, Peter; Craig, Gordon Alexande; Gilbert, Felix (eds). Makers of Modern Strategy: From Machiavelli to the Nuclear Age (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986), pp. 376-407.
  19. ^ "Pentagon Papers, Gravel Edition, Volume 3, Chapter 1, "US Programs in South Vietnam, Nov. 1963-Apr. 1965,: section 1". Mtholyoke.edu. http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/pentagon3/pent1.htm. Retrieved 2009-10-03. 
  20. ^ http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1995/call-95-2_peace-ops-vignettes_vign7.htm
  21. ^ "Tactics 101: 026. Cordon and Search Operations". Armchair General. http://www.armchairgeneral.com/tactics-101-026-cordon-and-search-operations.htm. Retrieved 2009-10-03. 
  22. ^ "Basic Counter-Insurgency". Military History Online. http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/general/articles/counterinsurgency.aspx. Retrieved 2009-10-03. 
  23. ^ Chronology: How the Mosul raid unfolded. Retrieved 28.07.2005.
  24. ^ U.S. Detains 6 Iranians in Irbil Raid Accessed Jan 11 2007 -- included use of "stun bombs" in the operation.
  25. ^ Used in "Operation Quick Strike" in Iraq on August 6, 2005. Retrieved 11 January 2007.
  26. ^ Sagraves, Robert D (April 2005) (PDF). The Indirect Approach: the role of Aviation Foreign Internal Defense in Combating Terrorism in Weak and Failing States. Air Command and Staff College. https://research.maxwell.af.mil/papers/ay2005/acsc/3569%20-%20Sagraves.pdf 
  27. ^ Nagl, John (2002). Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam. Praeger Publishers. ISBN 0-275-97695-5 
  28. ^ Thompson, Robert (1966). Defeating Communist Insurgency: Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam. Chatto & Windus. ISBN 0-7011-1133-X 
  29. ^ van Creveld, p. 221
  30. ^ a b c McClintock, Michael (November 2005). "Great Power Counterinsurgency". Human Rights First. http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/cchrp/programareas/conferences/presentations/McClintock,%20Michael.ppt. 
  31. ^ Pike, Douglas. PAVN: Peoples Army of Vietnam. (Presidio: 1996) pp. 37-169
  32. ^ Patti, Archimedes L.A. (1980). Why Vietnam? Prelude to America's Albatross. University of California Press. ISBN 0520041569. 
  33. ^ Fall, Bernard B (2002). Hell in a Very Small Place: The Siege of Dien Bien Phu. Da Capo Press. ISBN 030681157X. 
  34. ^ Trinquier, Roger (1961). Modern Warfare: A French View of Counterinsurgency. ISBN 0275992675. http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/resources/csi/trinquier/trinquier.asp 
  35. ^ Porte, Rémy. "Intelligence in Indochina: Discretion and Professionalism were rewarded when put into Practice." (PDF). http://www.cdef.terre.defense.gouv.fr/publications/doctrine/doctrine09/us/lessons_learned/art01.pdf. Retrieved 2007-11-26. 
  36. ^ Tomes, Robert R. (2004). "Relearning Counterinsurgency Warfare" (PDF). Parameters (United States Army War College). http://www.carlisle.army.mil/USAWC/PARAMETERS/04spring/tomes.pdf 
  37. ^ Barnett, Thomas P.M. (2005). The Pentagon's New Map: The Pentagon's New Map: War and Peace in the Twenty-first Century. Berkley Trade. Barnett-2005. ISBN 0425202399. 
  38. ^ Corporal Z.B.. "Ivory Coast – Heart of Darkness". http://www.kepi.cncplusplus.com/Ivory_Coast/Ivory_Coast.htm. 
  39. ^ Dawn Online. 10 April 2004. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/607801.cms 
  40. ^ IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency. "US army officers will receive training in guerrilla warfare in Mizoram". Globalsecurity.org. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2005/09/mil-050901-irna01.htm 
  41. ^ http://www.everyspec.com/ARMY/FM+-+Field+Manual/FM_3-24_15DEC2006_13424/

[edit] Bibliography

  • Arreguin-Toft, Ivan. How the Weak Win Wars: A Theory of Asymmetric Conflict. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005), ISBN 0-521-54869-1.
  • Arreguin-Toft, Ivan. "Tunnel at the End of the Light: A Critique of U.S. Counter-terrorist Grand Strategy," Cambridge Review of International Affairs, Vol. 15, No. 3 (2002), pp. 549–563.
  • Arreguin-Toft, Ivan. "How to Lose a War on Terror: A Comparative Analysis of a Counterinsurgency Success and Failure," in Jan Ångström and Isabelle Duyvesteyn, Eds., Understanding Victory and Defeat in Contemporary War. (London: Frank Cass, 2007).
  • Burgoyne, Michael L. and Albert J. Marckwardt (2009). The Defense of Jisr al-Doreaa With E. D. Swinton's "The Defence of Duffer's Drift". University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226080932. 
  • Callwell, C. E. Small Wars: Their Principles & Practice. (Lincoln, Nebraska: Bison Books, 1996), ISBN 0-8032-6366-X.
  • Cassidy, Robert M. Counterinsurgency and the Global War on Terror: Military Culture and Irregular War. (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2008).
  • Catignani, Sergio. Israeli Counter-Insurgency and the two Intifadas: Dilemmas of a Conventional Army. (London: Routledge, 2008), ISBN 978-0-415-43388-4.
  • Galula, David. Counterinsurgency Warfare: Theory and Practice. (Wesport, Connecticut: Praeger, 1964), ISBN 0275992691.
  • Joes, James Anthony. Resisting Rebellion: The History and Politics of Counterinsurgency. (Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 2004), ISBN 0-8131-9170-X.
  • Kilcullen, David. The Accidental Guerrilla: Fighting Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One. (London: Hurst, 2009).
  • Kitson, Frank, Low Intensity Operations: Subversion, Insurgency and Peacekeeping. (1971)
  • Larson, Luke. Senator's Son: An Iraq War Novel. (Phoenix: Key Edition, 2010), ISBN 0615353797.
  • Mackinlay, John. The Insurgent Archipelago. (London: Hurst, 2009).
  • Mao Zedong. Aspects of China's Anti-Japanese Struggle (1948).
  • Merom, Gil. How Democracies Lose Small Wars: State, Society, and the Failures of France in Algeria, Israel in Lebanon, and the United States in Vietnam. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003), ISBN 0-521-00877-8.
  • Zambernardi, Lorenzo. "Counterinsurgency's Impossible Trilemma," The Washington Quarterly, Vol. 33, No. 3 (2010), pp. 21-34.

[edit] External links


Indian Armed Forces

 

 



 

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 Security Environment - An Overview

India 's security concerns are defined by a dynamic global security environment and the perception that South Asia region is of particular global security interest. The continuing presence of terrorist and fundamentalist forces in its neighbourhood  has prompted India to maintain a high level of defence vigilance and preparedness to face any challenge to its security.

The security challenges facing India are varied and complex. The country faces a series of low intensity conflicts characterized by tribal, ethnic and left wing movements and ideologies as also the proxy war conducted by Pakistan and various radical jehadi outfits through the instrumentality of terrorism. India is also affected by the trafficking in drugs and proliferation of small arms and the fact that it is surrounded by two neighbours with nuclear weapons and missiles and history of  past aggressions and war. There is also the ever present possibility of hostile radical fundamentalist elements gaining access to the weapons of mass destruction in Pakistan . The country has experienced four major conventional border wars besides an undeclared war at Kargil. India 's response to these threats and challenges has always been restrained, measured and moderate in keeping with its peaceful outlook and  reputation as a peace loving country

 

National Security Objectives

India's national security objectives have evolved against a backdrop of India's core values namely, democracy, secularism and peaceful co-existence and the national goal of social and economic development. These are:-

  • defending the country's borders as defined by law and enshrined in the Constitution;  

  • protecting the lives and property of its citizens against war, terrorism,  nuclear  threats and militant activities;

  • protecting the country from instability and religious and other forms of radicalism and extremism emanating from neighbouring states;

  • securing the country against the use or the threat of use of weapons of mass destruction;

  • development of material, equipment and technologies that have a bearing on India 's security, particularly its defence preparedness through indigenous research, development and production, inter-alia to overcome restrictions on the  transfer of such items;

  • promoting further co-operation and understanding with neighbouring countries and implementing mutually agreed confidence-building measures; and

  • pursuing security and strategic dialogues with major powers and key partners 


Salient Features of the Security Environment

India is strategically located in relation to both continental Asia as well as the Indian Ocean region. India 's geographical and topographical diversity, especially on its borders, poses unique challenges to our armed forces in terms of both equipment and training.

It's peninsular shape provides India a coastline of about 7600 kms and an exclusive economic zone(EEZ) of over 2 million sq kms. The island territories in the East are 1,300 kms away from the main  land, physically much closer to South East Asia . The peninsular India is adjacent to one of the most vital sea-lanes stretching from the Suez canal and Persian Gulf to the Straits of Malacca through which much of the oil from the Gulf region transits. This is an area which has attracted super power rivalries in the past and continues to be a region of heightened activity by extra regional navies on account of current global security concerns.  

India's size, strategic location, trade interests and a security environment that extends from the Persian Gulf in the west to  the Straits of Malacca in the east and from the Central Asian Republics in the north to near the equator in the south, underpin India's security response. In view of this strategic spread, it is essential for the country to maintain a credible land, air and maritime force to safeguard its security interests.

The Regional Picture

Though there have been positive developments in Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, a closer look at the neighbourhood and the wider region continues to present a disturbing picture.  Many of the countries face internal instability  threatening their economic progress and peace.  However, the single greatest threat to peace and stability in the region is posed by the combination of terrorism nurtured in and by Pakistan for its strategic objectives, and the ingrained adventurism of the Pakistani military motivated by its obsessive and compulsive hostility towards India. Virtually every terrorist act anywhere in the world today has a Pakistani fingerprint somewhere. It is the root and epicentre of international terrorism in the region and beyond.

Afghanistan has, with the intervention of the international community, only just emerged from the dark years of a reactionary, medieval and fundamentalist regime essentially created by Pakistan. While the new Government has international legitimacy, the task of reconstruction and rebuilding the institutions is formidable. Pakistan has a vested interest in a weak and unstable Afghanistan which provides it an opportunity to meddle in the internal affairs of the country in pursuit of its quest for strategic depth vis a vis India and Central Asia .Any revival of jehadi activities supported by Pakistan is of direct security concern to India in view of their linkages with terrorism and the proxy war against India. India is also committed to international engagement in Afghanistan so that Pakistan cannot exploit the neglect and inattention of the international community, as it did after the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, to sponsor jehadi politics and training in the region.

In Pakistan, fundamentalist political parties have taken advantage of the manipulated elections that debarred the two most popular political leaders from contesting, to seize power in two provincial governments and a share in the coalition government at the Centre.  Reports and evidence mount of both inward and outward proliferation of nuclear weapon technologies. Pakistan has also not lived up to its much-publicised promises to the international community to cease cross-border terrorism against India reversing even those cosmetic steps that it took at the beginning of the year, under international pressure, against fundamentalist organizations. Worse still, periodic Pakistani nuclear sabre-rattling, veiled and unveiled, has passed virtually unreprimanded by the international  community.   

In Bangladesh too, conservative, right wing, religious fundamentalist political parties now have a place in the coalition government. Pakistan continues to take advantage of a favourable environment in Bangladesh and of weak government in Nepal , to promote fundamentalist thinking and ISI activities in India in both these countries. In Sri Lanka, the ceasefire between the LTTE and the government is a positive development though the LTTE remains a potent non-state military force that continues to arm itself, and the danger of backsliding of the political process remains. In Myanmar, the tussle between the forces of democracy and the military government remains alive.

Further west of the region, the US-led war against Iraq has generated a series of security concerns for India notably in relation to the security of the large Indian community resident there, and of oil and energy supplies. There is also a very real risk that the US-led coalition war in Iraq will distract attention from Pakistani behaviour in its neighbourhood, particularly in India but also Afghanistan, which Pakistan will use to step up its adventurist activities in the region as it did after the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan .  The war against Iraq could also aggravate the divide between the Muslim and non-Muslim world.

Against this backdrop, India remains fully committed to maintaining peace with its neighbours and stability in the region through a combination of defence-preparedness and unilateral restraint, confidence building and dialogue and expanding bilateral interactions.

In the area of defence-preparedness, it has reformed its higher defence management and streamlined procurement procedures. Its defence policy and force postures remain defensive in orientation while its nuclear policy is characterized by a commitment to no-first-use, moratorium on nuclear testing, minimum credible nuclear deterrence, and the rejection of an arms race or concepts and postures from the Cold War era.

 

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Pakistan

Pakistan's polity has been repeatedly hijacked by the military who have a vested interest in tension with India as it strengthens their pre-eminence in the Pakistani power structure. The past year witnessed a progressive consolidation of the role of the military, and in particular that of Gen. Musharraf, in the Pakistani polity through the " referendum" of April 2002, the Legal Framework Order (LFO) of August, the enhanced and institutionalized role of the army in the strengthened National Security Council of Pakistan, and the patently manipulated elections of October. Together with the rise of fundamentalist MMA, these developments do not augur well for India's security.

India has been on the receiving end of Pakistan 's policy of a proxy war against India using terrorism for several decades now, first in the Punjab and then in Jammu & Kashmir and elsewhere. Pakistani provocation reached a dangerous point with the December 13, 2001 attack on the Parliament. A more forceful response became necessary. Additional troops were  moved along the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Boundary in a state of readiness, inter-alia  to prevent further infiltration of terrorists into India.

In response to these measures and international pressure, Pakistani President, General Pervez Musharraf  announced in a speech on January 12, 2002, that  "Pakistan will not allow its territory to be used for any terrorist activity anywhere in the world", that "no organization will be allowed to indulge in terrorism in the name of Kashmir" and that "anyone found involved in any terrorist act would be dealt with sternly". There was a temporary crackdown on extremists in Pakistan . Terrorist groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Tayyaba were banned and some of their financial assets were frozen. Some leaders were placed under house arrest and around 2000 low-level cadres of terrorist organizations were arrested. 

There was a temporary decline in cross border infiltration and terrorist violence linked to it in the months of January-March 2002 while 'jehadi' cadres were advised to lie low.  However, cross border infiltration and terrorist violence continued and increased as the measures were relaxed with time. On May 14, 2002 , terrorists attacked family lines of an army camp in Kaluchak, Jammu district, killing 32 civilians including 11 women and 11 children.  On May 18, 2002 , India asked the Government of Pakistan to recall their High Commissioner in New Delhi in view of Pakistan's continued support to cross border terrorism. Once again, under pressure, General Musharraf responded in his speech of May 27, 2002 with a commitment to stop cross border infiltration and terrorism on a permanent basis.

Despite Gen. Musharraf's commitments, cross border infiltration and related terrorist violence increased from July 2002 onwards. On July 13, 2002 Pak-based terrorists attacked a low-income neighbourhood in Qasimnagar. Attacks on soft targets calculated to inflame sentiments have continued . These include the attacks on temples at Akshardham,  and in Jammu and on  women in J&K. As recently as on March 20, 2003 , Kashmiri Hindus living in Nadimarg, Jammu were targeted in which 24 Pundits, including 11 women and 2 children were massacred in cold blood. These incidents underscore once again that there has been no respite in terrorism from Pakistan . They also underline the need for Pakistan to take decisive steps to end infiltration on a permanent basis and wind down the infrastructure of support to terrorism.

Cross border infiltration and linked terrorist violence reached a height in the run up to the Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly election. However, the successful conduct of elections to the Jammu & Kashmir Assembly with a voter participation of 43.70&percnt; in the face of terrorist threats and intimidation, and public satisfaction with the results, was seen as a vindication of the desire of the people of Jammu & Kashmir for peace and  of  the credibility of the elections.

On October 16, 2002 , the Government decided to re-deploy the troops from positions on the international border as the Armed Forces were deemed to have achieved the immediate objectives assigned to them.  It was also decided that there would be no lowering of the vigil in Jammu & Kashmir. 

India remains  firmly  committed to the path of dialogue and reconciliation in keeping with the Simla Agreement and the Lahore Declaration and   has repeatedly called upon Pakistan to end its sponsorship of terrorism in India so that a conducive environment can be created for the resumption of bilateral dialogue. Should Pakistan move purposefully towards eradicating cross border terrorism,  India will be prepared to resume bilateral dialogue to address  differences and enhance cooperation. It should not be forgotten that the two most bold and meaningful initiatives for dialogue at Lahore and Agra came from India . With this in background the latest peace initiative of Prime Minister will make worthwhile progress only with end of cross-border terrorism.

China

China, India's largest neighbour, is passing through a period of rapid economic growth and modernization with the aim of achieving great power status in the shortest time possible. India 's border with China is almost 3,500 km long. China continues to occupy approx. 38,000 sq. km of Indian territory mainly in the Aksai Chin Area, and claims yet another 90,000 sq km in the Eastern Sector. Further, 5,180 sq. km of territory under Pak occupation in Northern Kashmir was illegally ceded to China by Pakistan in 1963.  (Whilst several rounds of Border Talks have been held with China, a number of disputed pockets remain ).

China is rapidly modernising its Armed Forces. In its White Paper on National Defence issued recently, China has stressed the vital importance of maintaining international stability and a global strategic balance, as also a legal regime governing international arms control and disarmament, in order to address an international situation that is undergoing profound changes including a serious disequilibrium in the balance of military power especially between the developed and developing countries.  As reported by the Chinese Government to the 16th National Party Congress in November 2002, strengthening of national defence is a "strategic task in China's modernization drive".

As far as India is concerned, it cannot be ignored that every major Indian city is within reach of Chinese missiles and this capability is being further augmented to include Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles(SLBMs). The asymmetry in terms of nuclear forces is pronouncedly in favour of China and is likely to get further accentuated as China responds to counter the US missile defence programme. China's close defence relationship with Pakistan takes a particular edge in view of latter's known belligerence and hostility to India and its acquisition of nuclear assets.

Notwithstanding these concerns, India continues its endeavour to seek a long term and stable relationship with China, based on the principles of Panchsheel, mutual sensitivity to each other's concerns and equality and is committed to the process of dialogue to resolve all outstanding differences. Some Confidence Building Measures(CBMs) have been initiated and while these are bearing fruit incrementally, the pace of progress has been less than satisfactory. A number of high level visits have taken place in recent years. The President of India visited China in the year 2000. This was followed by Mr. Li Peng's visit to India in January 2001. These high level visits have improved bilateral relations and understanding of each other's viewpoint thereby contributing to further reduction in tension.

Important developments marking the progress of India-China relations in 2002-03 included the initiation of direct Delhi-Beijing flights, the first meeting of the India-China dialogue mechanism on counter terrorism, the completion of the process of exchange of maps for clarification of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Middle Sector, the implementation of the MOU (signed during Premier Zhu's visit) on sharing hydrological data from the upper reaches of the Brahmaputra and accordance of 'Approved Tourist Destination Status' to India by China. The Joint Working Group on the Boundary Question met in its 14th session in November 2002.  The first informal Foreign Minister level India-China-Russia dialogue took place in September 2002 on the sidelines of the UNGA.  Interaction in other agreed dialogue mechanisms also continued.    

India has, of  late, commenced some cooperation with the armed forces of China . Naval Ships of both the countries have been exchanging visits and some of India 's mid level officers are undergoing courses in Chinese institutions. During 2002-2003, exchange of high level defence delegations continued.

Bangladesh

India's relation with Bangladesh is characterized by both affinity and occasional friction. Key security concerns relate to the problem of uncontrolled migration, which Bangladesh refuses to recognize, across the 4,000 kms common boundary, the presence and activities of Indian insurgent groups and leaders from the north-east of India on Bangladeshi soil which it refuses to acknowledge, the rising influence of political parties and organizations of radical Islamic and fundamentalist orientation within and outside the coalition government led by the Bangladesh National Party, and border demarcation and border management problems which give rise to ugly incidents from time to time. Border management problems, such as smuggling, illegal immigration, insurgency, trafficking of women and children, and the construction, repair and maintenance of boundary-related structures are addressed through Border Coordination Conferences between the Border Security Force (BSF) and Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) while issues such as exchange of enclaves and adverse possessions are addressed by the Joint Boundary Working Groups (JBWGs) constituted for the purpose. Following the elections, India continued with its policy of close engagement with its eastern neighbour discussing all issues in a forthright manner.

 

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Nepal

Relations between India and Nepal have consistently been close and extensive, reflecting the historical, geographical, cultural and linguistic links between the two nations. In keeping with this close relationship, several high-level interactions took place between India and Nepal . Defence relations too have been traditionally close.

During the year, Nepal was beset on the one hand by a political and constitutional crisis and on the other, by a growing Maoist insurgency and violence that had spread to almost all the districts of Nepal, with mid-West to Western districts as thrust areas.  

Another  area of growing concern for India's security is the increased activities of Pak ISI and terrorist organizations amongst Nepal's Muslim minority.

Sri Lanka  

The ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka has, over the years, extracted a severe political and security cost for India, internally and externally, that goes beyond the assassination of a former Prime Minister through a terrorist act and serious casualties incurred by the Indian Armed Forces in an effort to ameliorate the situation. It has created the possibility for countries hostile or unfriendly to India to establish a foothold there in a manner inimical to India 's security interests. The LTTE remains a proscribed terrorist organization in India and its leader, a proclaimed offender under the law.  

The keystone of the Government of India's policy towards the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka is a firm commitment to the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka and to the restoration of a lasting peace through a peaceful, negotiated settlement that meets the just aspirations of all elements of Sri Lankan society. On the political front, India continues to support the activities of the Sri Lankan Government towards the Peace Process. The Government of India welcomed the ceasefire agreement stating that it would provide an opportunity to both sides to move forward towards a substantive dialogue for a negotiated political settlement of the ethnic conflict.

Myanmar  

Myanmar remains an area of security interest for India not only on account of the activities of north-eastern insurgent groups that have set up camps across the Indian border, but also because of the activities of countries working against India's legitimate security concerns and the repercussions of the tussle between the forces of democracy and military government on these interests. India welcomes the greater openness of the Myanmar government in its external relations and steps towards political reconciliation, internally.                                                     

Bhutan  

India shares a relationship based on close friendship, good neighbourliness and mutual trust with Bhutan underpinned by a strong and diverse mutually beneficial partnership in the sphere of economic and social development and a tradition of high-level visits, most recently the vist to New Delhi by King of Bhutan.

Traditionally, Bhutan has been sensitive and mindful of India's security concerns. The two countries continue to be in close touch with each other on the issue of presence of ULFA-Bodo militants in Southern Bhutan .  

Afghanistan  

India is closely watching the changing scenario in Afghanistan since it has ramifications on the security scenario of the region and the country, including in the state of Jammu and Kashmir . India would not like to see Afghanistan once again becoming a breeding ground for terrorism, or a victim of terrorism sponsored from across its borders. India was amongst the first countries to appoint a Defence Attaché in Kabul . India-Afghanistan ties continued to expand and strengthen during the year .

In general, the situation in Afghanistan has improved. However, the security situation in crucial parts of Afghanistan is still not stable. Two senior ministers have been assassinated. Armed clashes have been taking place between different groups in  Northern and Western Afghanistan . Of particular concern are the signs of the regrouping of the Taliban and Al Qaeda remnants and the forces of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar in the southern and eastern Afghanistan .  

Central Asian Republics (CARS)

The strategic map of Central Asia has changed almost unrecognisably since the disintegration of the former Soviet Union . Post Cold War, it has become a theatre of a new 'great game' not only because of its strategic location but also its natural resources, notably oil and natural gas. Since 9/11, it has also acquired a new layer of strategic interest because of its vantage point vis-à-vis the central security concerns of the region namely terrorism in its local, regional and global aspects.  Pakistani vanguards, including the ISI are widely viewed as continuing their destabilizing activities of recruiting and training fundamentalist elements and encouraging radical movements in the Central Asian Republics . This has the twin objectives of  extending their influence in the region and promoting  anti-India activities. Major players are actively using defence diplomacy to advance their interests.

Central Asia is an area of vital importance to India not only on account of its geographical proximity and India's historical and cultural links with the region, but also because of the common challenge they face from jehadi terrorism.  Relations, based on a shared commitment to open and progressive societies, secularism and democracy, have been reinforced by similarity of views in the fight against terrorism. India and countries of Central Asia also share views with regard to checking the menace of drugs trafficking.

Relations with Central Asian countries have been informed by a shared interest in mutual benefit and all round growth. Economic relations are showing steady improvement.  Raksha Mantri visited Tajikisthan in April 2002 and Uzbekistan in February 2003. Other senior level visits also took place. In the sphere of defence, cooperation is taking the form of a security dialogue and training of armed forces personnel many of whom are presently undergoing courses in Indian defence training establishments.  

The Asia-Pacific  

Reverberations  of religious fundamentalism and terrorism were heard in parts of South East Asia too especially in Indonesia where a blast in October 2002 took toll of about one hundred tourists in Bali. The Bali bombings focussed international attention on South East Asia as a nodal point in international terrorism and an emerging hub of militant Islam. This prompted the US to step up its military presence in, and assistance to  the region and to seek alternative solutions to the problem of terrorism ranging from cooperative security to controversial pre-emptive doctrines. Elsewhere in Asia , the stand-off on DPRK's nuclear programme set off alarms  regarding DPRK's nuclear intentions and the source of some of its nuclear technologies. 

Given that India shares maritime boundaries with some of the countries of the South East Asia and is within the periphery of the Asia-Pacific, these developments have relevance for India. Keeping this in view, India has initiated discussions with the governments concerned on terrorism and related issues such as trafficking in drugs, people and small arms, piracy etc.  At the India-ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh in November 2002, the Prime Minister conveyed India's decision to subscribe to the ASEAN Declaration on Terrorism, and also willingness to enter into a similar declaration on India-ASEAN cooperation in this field.

Defence cooperation relationships with countries of South-east Asia and the Pacific have  been growing steadily focussing mainly on exchanges of high-level visits, strategic dialogues, port calls, training exchanges and some sourcing of defence equipment. Prospects of their further development are good. Mechanisms for defence cooperation already exist with Malaysia, Vietnam , Indonesia,  Australia and Laos, and more are under process of conclusion. The 4th Malaysia-India Defence Committee meeting held in September 2002 and the 2nd India-Australia Strategic Dialogue held in March 2003 provided opportunities to discover new areas of convergence and cooperation in security matters. Defence exchanges between India and Japan and also the ROK reflected the mutual recognition that strengthened cooperation between them was a positive factor for maintenance of peace and stability

West Asia / Gulf

India's security environment is closely linked to that of the neighbouring West Asia region.  As a  member of the international community, India has been gravely concerned with the vicious cycle of violence and counter-violence  and the consequent serious deterioration of the security situation in West Asia and has repeatedly called for de-escalation of tensions.  

In the Persian Gulf, the growing tension between the US and Iraq finally exploded into war on March 20, 2003 with the failure of diplomatic efforts under the auspices of the UN Security Council.  The full political and security implications are still to unfold and will take some time to assess, but it would be  safe to assume that they will be far reaching in terms of their strategic  impact.                                                                         

Europe  

India's relations with the European Union and individual member countries in the field of defence and security cover a broad spectrum of activities including training exchanges, joint exercises and defence procurement, production and R&D. A mechanism for a security dialogue exists with France at the highest executive levels. Mechanisms for  defence cooperation also exist with  the UK and Italy. Fresh agreements on defence cooperation providing for an enhanced level of cooperation were signed with Italy and Poland in February 2003 during the visits of the Italian Defence Minister and the Polish Prime Minister to India . Defence-related exchanges have also been expanding with other countries in Europe like Germany, the Czech Republic, Ukraine and Belarus . Cooperation with Europe on defence procurement and production could be greater still if it were not for mechanisms that introduce uncertainties in the fulfilment of contracts on extraneous political grounds. The evolving relationship with France shows that there is a good potential for a path-breaking defence-industrial relationship in areas of advanced technologies cutting across the normal grain of North-South relations as epitomized during  the visit of the Prime Minister of France to the Aero India Air Show in Bangalore in February 2003.

 

Russia

Indo-Russian relations pursued a steady, all-round and strategic course during the year covering the gamut of political, defence, security and economic fields. The two sides continued to deepen their consultations on strategic and mutual security concerns.

Bilateral defence cooperation was fortified through several meetings and  visits by the high dignitaries of the two countries. Raksha Mantri visited the Russian Federation in April 10-13,  2002 The third session of the Inter-Governmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation (IGC-MTC) was held in Moscow in January, 2003, co-chaired by Raksha Mantri and the Minister of Science and Technology and Industry of the Russian Federation Mr. Ilya Klebanov. Discussions covered acquisition, licensed production, R&D, product support and new areas and forms of cooperation in the defence field.

United States of America

Following the end of the Cold War and in response to the changing international environment, Indo-U.S. relations are undergoing a qualitative transformation. Cooperation and consultations have broadened and diversified considerably. Both the countries have recognised that closer Indo-US relations would be an important and a positive factor both for stability of the region as well as in the global affairs.

There has been a significant progress in defence and security relationship between India and the United States during last year. As part of the enhanced bilateral engagement on these matters, there were several important bilateral visits and meetings in the context of cross-border terrorism by Pakistan and in pursuit of a shared objective of building a strategic relationship. With a view to accelerating the pace of Indo-U.S. defence cooperation, the apex level Defence Policy Group (DPG) met for a second time in May 2002 after its resumption in December 2001. Apart from the DPG, bilateral Executive Steering Groups of the Army, Navy and Air Force, the Security Cooperation Group (to advance a defence supply relationship) and the Joint Technical Group (to advance R & D collaboration in defence) have also been meeting or are scheduled to meet. The two countries have conducted mutually beneficial combined exercises in India and United States besides stepping up training exchanges. 

The terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001 and on the Parliament on December 13, 2001 have led to a deepening of Indo-US cooperation in combating international terrorism.  

Terrorism

India has been a victim of terrorism for many decades, much before the West experienced its deadly reality on September 11, 2001 . The terrorist menace in Jammu and Kashmir has its roots in Pakistan and is supported financially and materially by the government and institutions of that country. The Indian Armed Forces have dealt with the problem of cross-border terrorism with a multi-pronged strategy that includes psychological warfare, innovative military tactics and counter intelligence methods. These efforts have met with reasonable success but this is a prolonged battle. India's long experience in tackling terrorism can be of valuable help to other countries that are facing similar challenges now.  

Infiltration: Despite the assurances of the Pakistani Government, infiltration continues across the border. 

For any terrorist movement to be contained, the Government's resolve and the security forces' firmness are a must. India 's fight against terrorism has been a long and arduous one and the Indian Armed Forces are fully geared  to handle any problem that may arise in future. It is important that the state support for any form of terrorism must cease. Terrorist organisations have long arms and global reach. The world, therefore, has to fight a united battle by pooling resources in order to remove this scourge from the face of the earth.  

India's  Nuclear Policy  

India remains a firm and consistent proponent of general and complete disarmament and attaches the highest priority to global nuclear disarmament. India's policy on disarmament also takes into account changes that have taken place in the world, especially in the 1990s.  The nuclear tests of May 1998 do not dilute India 's commitment to this long-held objective. As a nuclear weapon State ,  India is even more conscious of its responsibility in this regard and, as in the past, continues to take initiatives in pursuit of global nuclear disarmament both individually and collectively. The steps that were announced after the tests and the initiatives that India has taken since, strengthen this commitment.

India's nuclear weapons capability is meant only for self-defence and seeks only to ensure that India's security, independence and integrity are not threatened in the future. India is not interested in a nuclear arms race.  This is the rationale behind the two pillars of India's nuclear policy – minimum deterrence and no-first use. The determination of the profile of this deterrent, including accurate and refined delivery systems, is a sovereign responsibility.

After concluding the series of tests of May 1998, India announced a voluntary moratorium on further underground nuclear test explosions. In announcing this moratorium, India accepted the core obligation of a test ban and also addressed the general wish of the international community to foreswear testing.  This moratorium continues, subject to the supreme national interests, a provision granted under the CTBT to every country. India has also announced its willingness to move towards a de jure formalisation of this voluntary undertaking.

 

Planning Considerations

The  security environment that has been highlighted above clearly brings out four key elements that are fundamental determinants of our security planning. These are:   

(a)  the Indian Armed Forces have a two front obligation, which require them   to   safeguard the security of our borders with Pakistan as well as with China ;

(b)  India is not a member of any military alliance or strategic grouping, nor is this consistent with our policies necessitating  a certain independent deterrent capability;

(c)  due to external abetment, India's Armed Forces are involved in internal security functions on a relatively larger scale than is normal requiring a force structure that will be able to cope with it; and

(d) India's interests in the North Indian Ocean, including the security of our EEZ and Island territories, highlight the need for a blue water Naval capability commensurate with our responsibilities.

 

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Indian Army  

The basic responsibility of the Army is to safeguard the territorial integrity of the nation against external aggression. Due to the country's long borders encompassing different geographical and climatic conditions such as desert terrain on the west, snow-covered mountains in the north and thick rainfed mountainous jungles in the east, the Army has to constantly prepare itself for diverse challenges. In addition, the Army is often required to assist the civil administration during internal security disturbances and in the maintenance of law and order, in organising relief operations during natural calamities like floods, earthquakes and cyclones and in the maintenance of essential services. Demands on the Army have increased manifold due to continuous deployment of its forces in intense counter insurgency operations in Jammu & Kashmir and the North East parts of the country. To achieve these objectives, the Army has to be constantly modernised, suitably structured, equipped and trained.

The Indian Army is organised into five regional commands

  • HQ Central Command, Lucknow ;
  • HQ Eastern Command, Calcutta ;
  • HQ Northern Command, Udhampur;
  • HQ Western Command, Chandimandir; and
  • HQ Southern Command, Pune.

In addition, there is a Army Training Command at Shimla for the purpose of laying down the training policy for the Army.

The Indian Army is divided into the following two broad categories:-

Arms

Arms cover those troops which carry out actual operations. They consist of

  • Infantry (including air-borne and mechanised)
  • Armoured
  • Aviation
  • Artillery
  • Air Defence Artillery
  • Engineers
  • Signals and
  • Intelligence

These are organised into units and sub-units at various echelons of commands.

Services

The remaining components of the Army are the Services. Their primary duty is to provide the logistic and administration for the Army.

For more detail please do visit http://armedforces.nic.in/

 

Indian Navy

India is a maritime nation strategically straddling the Indian Ocean with or substantive seaborne trade. The country's economic well being is thus very closely linked to our ability to keep our sea-lanes free and open at all times. Besides, India has other maritime interests as well. Our island territories situated on our Western and Eastern seaboards are at considerable distances away from the mainland. To ensure their sustained development, umbilical linkages with the mainland and maritime security protection are essential pre-requisites of our maritime security. Our offshore assets within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 2.02 million sq. kms, fisheries and deep sea interests, major and minor harbours and the overall seaward security of long coastline and island territories are other vital aspects of our maritime dimension and Navy's responsibilities.

Indian Navy has consciously taken the difficult route of indigenisation in consonance with the national endeavour towards self-reliance. The Navy embarked upon a programme for indigenous construction of ships and development of major sub systems, sensors and weapon systems with the help of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Defence Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).  

The Indian Navy is organised into three regional commands

  • HQ Eastern Naval Command, Visakhapatnam
  • HQ Western Naval Command, Mumbai; and
  • HQ Southern Naval Command, Kochi

The Indian Navy is divided into the following broad categories

  • Administration
  • Logistics and Material
  • Training
  • The Fleets
  • The Naval Aviation and
  • The Submarine Arm

For more detail please do visit http://armedforces.nic.in/

 

Coast Guard

The Coast Guard (CG) was set up as an Armed Force of the Union in 1978 on recommendations of Rustamji Committee for preservation and protection of our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The CG is responsible for keeping India's EEZ measuring over 2.02 million sq. kms. under regular surveillance in order to prevent poaching/ smuggling and other illegal activities in the EEZ. Besides, the CG's charter of duties includes pollution control at sea, search and rescue (SAR) and protection of marine environment.

INDIAN COAST GAURD DEVELOPMENT PLANS  2002–07 (CGDP 2002–07) :

Emergence of the Coast Guard in India on 01 Feb 1977 as a new service was the result of an awareness that had been growing for some time in the Government for the requirement to enforce National Laws in the waters under national jurisdiction and ensure safety of life and property at sea. It was also considered desirable that these law enforcement responsibilities should be undertaken by a service suitably equipped and modeled on the Coast Guards of advanced nations like USA , UK etc leaving the Navy to exercise the fleet for its wartime role. A committee was, therefore, constituted in Sep 1974 with Mr KF Rustamji as its chairman to study the problem of seaborne smuggling and the question of setting up a Coast Guard type of organization. The Coast Guard in its present shape was formally inaugurated on 18 Aug 1978 as an independent armed force of the union under Ministry Of Defence with the enactment of the Coast Guard Act 1978 by the Parliament with its motto as `VAYAM RAKSHAMAH; which means `WE PROTECT ' .

The Maritime Zones of India Act was passed on 25 Aug 1976, under which, India claimed 2.01 million sq km of sea area in which India has the exclusive rights for exploration and exploitation of resources, both living and non-living at sea. The Exclusive Economic Zone of India is in the safe hands of Coast Guard for prevention of smuggling and other illegal activities, to conduct Search and Rescue operations, to protect and prevent the maritime environment of India and surveillance of the Indian Territorial Waters.

The Command and Control of the India Coast Guard lies with the Director General, Indian Coast Guard, at New Delhi . The organisation has three Regional Headquarters at Mumbai, Chennai and Port Blair. The entire coastline of India is covered by the 11 District Headquarters and 09 Coast Guard Stations under the command of respective Regional Headquarters. A full fledged air wing of Coast Guard operates from two Air Stations at Daman and Chennai, five Air Enclaves at Mumbai, Goa, Kochi , Kolkatta and Port Blair.

The Primary duty of Indian Coast Guard is :

  • To protect our ocean and offshore wealth including Oil, Fish and Minerals.
  • Protect the artificial Islands and off-shore installations.
  • To assist Mariners in distress and safeguard life and property at sea
  • To enforce Maritime Laws with respect to sea, shipping, poaching, smuggling and narcotics.
  • To preserve marine environment and ecology and to protect rare species.
  • To collect scientific data
  • To assist Indian Navy during war situation

The Major Achievements of ICG during the last few years in implementing the Maritime Law is as follows:

Sl.

Achievement

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008*

(a)

Poaching boats apprehended

21

20

27

21

27

(b)

Smuggling vessels apprehended

01

--

03

Nil

04

(c)

Contraband confiscated

03 Crores

--

238.58 Crores

Nil

5.5 Lakhs

(d)

Lives saved at sea

1111

789

321

195

247

(e)

Ships saved from distress

24 (Merchant Ships –05, Fishing Vessel-19)

13 (Merchant Ships –01 Fishing Vessel-12)

23 (Ship - 01, Fishing Vessel-22)

20 ( Marchant Ships --09 Fishing Boats --11)

19 ( Marchant Ships --02 Fishing Boats --17)

(f)

Sea pollution averted

--

01

11

01

--

(g)

Sea pollution combated

02

03

02

Nil

Nil


* till 30 Jun 2008

 

To know more about Indian Coast Guard please visit www.indiancoastguard.nic.in

 

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The Indian Airforce

The Indian Air Force (IAF) today, having completed more than six decades of dedicated service to the nation, is a modern, technology-intensive force distinguished by its commitment to excellence and professionalism. Keeping space with the demands of contemporary advancements, the IAF continues to modernise in a phased manner and today it stands as a credible air power as the nation marches into the next millennium. 

With the ever escalating costs of operations, great emphasis is being placed on cost effective training, reducing expenditure, optimising output and minimising wastage. The Air Force has implemented a number of measures to enhance the quality of life of its personnel in Key welfare areas of housing, education and hostel facilities.

In addition to the traditional wartime roles of the IAF of counter air, counter surface, strategic and combat support operations, the Air Force has provided significant aid to civil authorities during natural calamities. The Siachen glacier lifeline continues to be monitored by the Indian Air Force, fully supporting the Indian Army in fighting on the world's highest battlefield. The IAF has also provided aid to civil authorities for the large scale movement of military and para military personnel to maintain law and order as well as to cater for the needs of a large number of airmen and jawans in remote and inaccessible outposts.

The Indian Air Force has seven commands, of which five are operational and two functional, namely :

  • HQ Central Air Command, Allahabad
  • HQ Eastern Air Command, Shillong
  • HQ Western Air Command, New Delhi
  • HQ Southern Air Command, Thiruvananthapuram
  • HQ South-Western Air Command, Gandhi Nagar
  • HQ Maintenance Command, Nagpur and
  • HQ Training Command, Bangalore

The Indian Air Force is divided into the following broad categories :

- Flying operations
- Maintenance & Logistics
- Administration and
- Training

For more detail please do visit http://armedforces.nic.in/


Analysis 
India's Internal Security Management:
Putting People First

by Col. Rahul K. Bhonsle

 India's internal security management has undergone a full cycle from, "masterly inaction," adopted by former Home Minister Mr. Shivraj Patil to the proactive approach of the current Home Minister Mr. P Chidambaram. A new trajectory appears to be in the offing given the recent discourse on tackling resurgent Left Wing Extremism. To the credit of the current national security managers there has been considerable capacity building in countering the challenge from terrorism in the hinterland not with standing the recent incidents in Pune and Bangalore. While a terror free India is 'work in progress', we seem to be going in the right direction.

However in other spheres particularly in tackling Naxalism there has been a setback. The 'Quiet Diplomacy' heralded in Kashmir has not taken off partly due to clear signals for non cooperation to moderate separatist leaders from Islamabad. The Prime Minister's recent visit to the Valley on 7 and 8 June was under curfew like conditions, a painful experience no doubt for the head of government of the World's most populous democracy. While the cold response was partially due to allegations of a fake encounter by the security forces on the Line of Control, the larger reality of disconnect with the people cannot be lost sight of.

In the North East, the overland route to Manipur, where a festering ethno-nationalist insurgency continues to thrive was cut off from rest of the country since 12 April and has been reportedly restored on 19 June. The people of the state stoically bore the brunt even as the Centre and the State government have locked horns over visit of the 'rebel' Naga leader T Muivah to his native village in Somdal, Manipur.

The Naxals seem to be expanding their foot print exploiting the hiatus from the ongoing strategic debate to advantage. A study of recent incidents of violence in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal indicates some amount of grass roots support to the movement.

The Central Government on the other hand is engaged at present on deciding whether to expand the security foot print against Naxalism by directly employing the Armed Forces. Given the intense debate in the media which has focused more on differences between the Ministry of Home and Defence rather than highlighting core issues, the Centre may be forced into taking a hasty decision of deploying the military in case another major Naxal incident occurs.

A common trend in these events in the past few months is possible loss of faith and support of the people to the Government be it in Kashmir, Manipur or in Naxal affected Central India. In each case the reason appears to be different. In Kashmir inability to transform drop in violence into a security dividend so that people can live without fear of the uniformed in their alleys and by lanes, in Manipur lack of sensitivity to the delicate ethnic balance between the Nagas and Meiteis and in Naxal areas vacuum of an empathetic state administration has resulted in the people turning to those who are seen more proximate to their needs even though they may wield the gun or foster separatist ideology.

No state despite the best instruments of law and order or the military can be secure if it has lost the confidence of a section of its people. Therefore the first priority of a reviewed internal security strategy has to be reconnecting with the people and not just the number of helicopters and Unarmed Aerial Vehicles required for counter Naxal operations. While civil society voices have been speaking about this primary necessity including luminaries of the National Advisory Council, a serious effort to reestablish connectivity except through deployment of security forces and prime pumping development by allotting four figure sums in Crores of rupees to security stressed areas has not been evident.

As the government reviews the internal security strategy, people centricity must form the underpinning principle be it of security or development. Such a movement will have to be led politically by leaders and parties at the grass roots in the states. Success in counter terrorism in Punjab for instance came about only when the State took the lead with the Centre providing a firm backing.

Today the perception is that North Block is leading the charge treading on what is essentially state charter. This was more than evident when the Chief Minister of Manipur refused to allow Mr. Muivah access to his home village though reportedly issued instructions from New Delhi. Another trend is direct monitoring of development projects in a district by the Centre through the District Administration which undermines authority of the State government and will have serious long term implications.

The Centre will have to invest more political capital in motivating state and local leadership to claim ownership of internal security management rather than taking on the mantle so that measures taken are people sensitive. Given the complexity of Centre State relations in India, winning over support of the State government may not be easy in all cases but there are adequate political and administrative instruments available including the coercive one of Article 355 in an extreme case.

Thus winning over people in an area affected by militancy is no doubt a long process with many ups and downs but this will have to be the centre of gravity of government action administered through political connectivity and grass roots governance, even as other components as security and development unfold.

June 20, 2010

http://www.boloji.com/analysis2/0606.html

Challenges Before India's Internal Security: Countering Terrorism

Kriti Singh
Research Officer, IPCS
email: kriti@ipcs.org

The dawn of the 21st century has witnessed the rise of a most serious crisis in the form of global terrorism. Irrespective of their position, power, influence and progress, all nations across the globe have experienced the disastrous impact of terrorism. India has been a particular victim of this form of warfare for at least the last four decades. In the backdrop of the growing and altering non-conventional and conventional threat perception and the metamorphosis of the world into a global village coupled with easier access to technology, today terrorism is one of the most challenging internal security threats that India is dealing with. 

The term 'terrorism' is exceedingly difficult to explain. A Chinese philosopher describes it as, "to kill one and frighten a thousand". In simple words, "terrorism is the indiscriminate use of force to achieve a political aim". It involves committing outrageous acts in order to precipitate political change. Terrorism is also distinguished by its non-state charter even when terrorists receive military, political, economical and other means of support from states. The object of a terrorist act is to deliberately target the innocent with surprise use of violence.

Terrorism in India has had a long and violent history going back several decades. But, in the recent past it has witnessed a series of strikes in many parts of the country. The last decade has witnessed lethal strikes on the Indian Parliament on 13 December 2001, synchronized series of attacks in the economic hub of India, Mumbai on 26 November 2008, and the bomb blast in the technology, educational and real estate hub of India, Pune on 13 February 2010. As per the Annual Report of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) 2009-2010, "there are subversive/extremist/terrorist activity in Jammu and Kashmir and various States in the North- Eastern region particularly Assam and Manipur; Left Wing Extremism is concentrated in five or six States but is found at some places in other States also."

As terrorism emerges as one of the greatest threats to India's internal security, the government, policy makers and strategic community continue their efforts to find an anti-dose to counter the menace of terrorism. Poignantly, the Mumbai terror strike in 2008 exposed the fissures in the India's internal defense apparatus as it was caught unaware and unprepared. However, the incident provided the Indian government an important lesson to prepare itself and deal with the new-age terrorism. A stringent series of measures have since been initiated to revamp its existing homeland security apparatus to shield and secure the country against future terror aggressions.

The Annual Report of the MHA 2009-2010, has identified a number of new measures undertaken by the government to strengthen the country to meet the grave challenge posed by global terrorism. These include operationalization of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), establishment of four National Security Guards (NSG) hubs to ensure quick and effective response to any possible terror attack, augmentation of the strength of Intelligence Bureau (IB), strengthening of the Multi-Agency Centre in the IB to enable it to function on a 24X7 basis and strengthening coastal security.

With an alarming rate, the threat of terrorism is changing and becoming more and more deadly. Terrorism is no longer confined to a particular region or state, but it has become globalized and operates in a network system. With globalization and advancement in technologies, terrorism has also spread in the veins of all nations and India is no exception. Before 11 September 2001, terrorism was perceived as a local affair. It was condemned but not seriously dealt with by the international community. However, the massive blow of 9/11 came as a wake-up call to the international community and shattered the earlier complacency. Today terrorism is no longer considered an internal affair of one state, but one that has an international connotation. Each act of terror, no matter where, is often linked to, or supported by terrorists somewhere else.

Working together in the fight against terrorism and supporting India's active role in its fight against it, the Obama Administration has recently asked Congress to double its anti-terrorism budget to India. While testifying before a Congressional Committee, the Coordinator for Counterterrorism in the Department of State Daniel Benjamin said, "Under our fiscal year (FY) 2011 request, India's Anti-terrorism assistance (ATA) bilateral budget would almost double, to US $4.5 million, to meet the increasing political will on the part of the Indian government, which has requested more and higher-level training in the aftermath of the Mumbai attack." However, apart from providing India with funds, the Obama Administration should help India in its battle with cross border terrorism and bring the brain behind terrorist strikes against India to books.

 
Related Article
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Impending Crisis in Nepal—I: Likely Scenarios
Impending Crisis in Nepal—II: Options for India
http://www.ipcs.org/article/india/challenges-before-indias-internal-security-countering-terrorism-3126.html



Armed Forces Special Powers Act:

A study in National Security tyranny



1. INTRODUCTION

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act of 1958 (AFSPA) is one of the more draconian legislations that the Indian Parliament has passed in its 45 years of Parliamentary history. Under this Act, all security forces are given unrestricted and unaccounted power to carry out their operations, once an area is declared disturbed. Even a non-commissioned officer is granted the right to shoot to kill based on mere suspicion that it is necessary to do so in order to "maintain the public order".

The AFSPA gives the armed forces wide powers to shoot, arrest and search, all in the name of "aiding civil power." It was first applied to the North Eastern states of Assam and Manipur and was amended in 1972 to extend to all the seven states in the north- eastern region of India. They are Assam, Manipur, Tripura, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland, also known as the "seven sisters". The enforcement of the AFSPA has resulted in innumerable incidents of arbitrary detention, torture, rape, and looting by security personnel. This legislation is sought to be justified by the Government of India, on the plea that it is required to stop the North East states from seceeding from the Indian Union. There is a strong movement for self-determination which precedes the formation of the Indian Union.


2. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

As the great Himalayan range dividing South and Central Asia runs down the east, it takes a southward curve and splits into lower hill ranges. The hills are punctuated by valleys and the valleys are washed by the rivers that drain into to the Bay of Bengal. Waves of people settled in these blue hills and green valleys at various times in history. They brought with them cultures and traditions. The new interacted with the old and evolved into the unique cultural mosaic that characterizes the region.

Through the centuries, these hills and valleys have bridged South, South East, and Central Asia. On today's geo-political map, a large part of the original region constitutes the seven states of the Republic of India, but its political, economic and socio-cultural systems have always been linked with South East Asia. The great Hindu and Muslim empires that reigned over the Indian sub-continent never extended east of the Bhramaputra river.

India's British colonizers were the first to break this barrier. In the early 19th century, they moved in to check the Burmese expansion into today's Manipur and Assam. The British, with the help of the then Manipur King, Gambhir Singh, crushed the Burmese imperialist dream and the treaty of Yandabo was signed in 1828. Under this treaty, Assam became a part of British India and the British continued to influence the political affairs of the region.

This undue interference eventually led to the bloody Anglo- Manipuri conflict of 1891. The British reaffirmed their position but were cognizant of the ferocious spirit of independence of these people and did not administer directly but only through the King.

It was during the Second World War, when the Japanese tried to enter the Indian sub-continent through this narrow corridor, that the strategic significance of the region to the Indian armed forces was realised. With the bombing of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a disenchanted Japanese had to retreat from Imphal and Kohima fronts, however the importance of control over the region subsequently remained a priority for the Government of India.

With the end of the war, the global political map was changed over night. As the British were preparing to leave Asia, the Political Department of the British Government planned to carve out a buffer state consisting of the Naga Hills, Mikir Hills, Sadiya Area, Balipara Tract, Manipur, Lushai Hills, Khasi and Hills in Assam, as well as the Chin Hills and the hills of northern Burma. The impending departure of the British created confusion and turmoil over how to fill the political vacuum they would leave behind. Ultimately, the various territories were parceled out to Nehru's India, Jinnah's Pakistan, Aung Sang's Burma and Mao's China according to strategic requirements. As expected, there were some rumblings between the new Asiatic powers on who should get how much - India and Burma over Kabow valley, India and East Pakistan over Chittagong Hill Tracts, and India and China over the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA), present day Arunachal Pradesh.

Compromises were made, and issues were finally settled in distant capitals, to the satifaction of the new rulers. The people who had been dwelling in these hills and valleys for thousands of years were systematically excluded from the consultation process. The Indian share of the British colonial cake in this region constitutes the present "Seven Sisters" states of the North-East.

Over the years, thanks to the British, the advent of western education and contact with new ideas brought about the realization that the old ways had to give way to the new. Indigenous movements evolved as the people aspired to a new social and political order. For example, in the ancient Kingdom of Manipur, under the charismatic leadership of Hijam Irabot, a strong popular democratic movement against feudalism and colonialism was raging. After the departure of the British, the Kingdom of Manipur was reconstituted as a constitutional monarchy on modern lines by passing the Manipur Constitution Act, 1947.

Elections were held under the new constitution. A legislative assembly was formed. In 1949, Mr V P Menon, a senior representative of the Government of India, invited the King to a meeting on the pretext of discussing the deteriorating law and order situation in the state at Shillong. Upon his arrival, the King was allegedly forced to sign under duress the merger agreement. The agreement was never ratified in the Manipur Legislative Assembly. Rather, the Assembly was dissolved and Manipur was kept under the charge of a Chief Commissioner. There were protests, but the carrot-and-stick policy launched by the Indian Government successfully suppressed any opposition.

The Naga Movement

At the beginning of the century, the inhabitants of the Naga Hills, which extend across the Indo-Burmese border, came together under the single banner of Naga National Council (NNC), aspiring for a common homeland and self-governance. As early as 1929, the NNC petitioned the Simon Commission, which was examining the feasibility of future of self-governance of India. The Naga leaders were adamantly against Indian rule over their people once the British pulled out of the region. Mahatma Gandhi publicly announced that the Nagas had every right to be independent. His assertion was based on his belief in non-violence, he did not believe in the use of force or an unwilling union.

Under the Hydari Agreement signed between NNC and British administration, Nagaland was granted protected status for ten years, after which the Nagas would decide whether they should stay in the Union or not. However, shortly after the British withdrew, independent India proclaimed the Naga Territory as part and parcel of the new Republic.

The NNC proclaimed Nagaland's independence. In retaliation, Indian authorities arrested the Naga leaders. An armed struggle ensued and there were large casualties on either side. The Armed Forces Special Powers Act is the product of this tension.

In 1975, some Naga leaders held talks with the Government of India which resulted in what is known as the Shillong Accord. The Naga leaders who did not agree with the Shillong accord formed the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) and continue to fight for what they call," Naga sovereignty".

Problems of Integration

Much of this historical bloodshed could have been avoided if the new India had lived up to the democratic principles enshrined in its Constitution and respected the rights of the nationalities it had taken within its borders. But in the over-zealous efforts to integrate these people into the "national mainstream", based on the dominant brahminical Aryan culture, much destruction has been done to the indigenous populations.

Culturally, the highly caste ridden, feudal society is totally incompatible with the ethics of North-East cultures which are by and large egalitarian. To make matters even worse, the Indian leaders found it useful to club these ethnic groups with the adivasis (indigenous peoples) of the sub-continent, dubbing them "scheduled tribes". As a result, in the casteist Indian social milieu, indigenous peoples are stigmatized by higher castes.

The languages of the North-East are of the Tibeto- Chinese family rather than the Indo-Aryan or Dravidian. Until the recent Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, none of the Tibeto- Chinese languages were recognized as Indian languages. The predominantly mongoloid features of the people of the North-East is another barrier to cultural assimilation.

Politically dependent, the North East is being economically undermined; the traditional trade routes with South East Asia and Bangladesh have been closed. It was kept out of the Government of India's massive infrastructural development in the first few five-year-plans. Gradually, the region has become the Indian capitalist's hinterland, where local industries have been reduced to nothing and the people are now entirely dependent on goods and businesses owned predominantly by those from the Indo- Gangetic plains. The economic strings of this region are controlled by these, in many cases, unscrupulous traders.

All the states of the North-East are connected to India by the "chicken's neck", a narrow corridor between Bangladesh and Bhutan. At partition, the area was cut off from the nearest port of Chittagong, in what is now Bangladesh, reducing traffic to and from the region to a trickle. The states in the region are largely unconnected to India' vast rail system.

India freely exploits the natural resources of the North-East. Assam produces one-fourth of all the petroleum for India, yet it is processed outside of Assam so the state does not receive the revenues. Manipur is 22% behind the national average for infrastructural development, and the entire North-Eastern region is 30% behind the rest of India.

Observers have pointed out that "...it is clear that in the North East, insurgency and underdevelopment have been closely linked; in such a situation strong-arm tactics will only help to further alienate the people."

The shifting demographic balance due to large-scale immigration from within and outside the country is another source of tension. The indigenous people fear that they will be outnumbered by outsiders in their own land. Laborers from Bihar and Bengal who live under rigidly feudal, casteist socio-economic conditions in their states are ready to do all kinds of menial jobs at much lower wages. As they pour in, more and more local laborers are being edged out of their jobs. Illegal immigration from Bangladesh and Nepal is also percieved as a threat. In Tripura, the indigenous population has been reduced to a mere 28% of the total population of the state because of large scale immigration from then East Pakistan and now Bangladesh.

In Assam, a similar fear of " immigrant invasion" was at the root of a student movement in the early eighties. The student leaders formed a political party called the Assam Gana Parisad (AGP) and contested state elections and won. In 1984, the Assam Accord was signed with the Central Government. However, the provisions of the Accord were never implemented. The failure of the AGP to bring about change in the state of Assam fostered the growth of the armed and overtly seccessionist United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA).

Mizoram

In the Lushai hills of Assam in the early sixties, a famine broke out. A relief team cried out for help from the Government of India. But there was little help. The relief team organized themselves into the Mizo National Front (MNF) and called for an armed struggle, " to liberate Mizoram from Indian colonialiasm." In February 1966, armed militant groups captured the town of Aizawl and took possession of all government offices. It took the Indian army one week to recapture the town. The army responded viciously with air raids. This is the only place in India where the Indian Security Forces actually aerially bombed its own civilian population. The armed forces compelled people to leave their homes and dumped them on the roadside to set up new villages, so that the armed forces would be able to better control them. This devastated the structure of Mizo society. In 1986, the Mizo Accord was signed between the MNF and the Government of India. This accord was identical to the Shilong Accord made with the Nagas earlier. The MNF agreed to work within the Indian Constitution and to renounce violence.

The Government of India's primary interest in the North East was strategic, and so was its response to the problems. A series of repressive laws were passed by the Government of India in order to deal with this uprising. In 1953, the Assam Maintenance of Public Order (Autonomous District) Regulation Act was passed. It was applicable to the then Naga Hills and Tuensang districts. It empowered the Governor to impose collective fines, prohibit public meetings and and detain anybody without a warrant.

On 22 May 1958, a mere 12 days after the Budget Session of Parliament was over, the Armed Forces (Assam-Manipur) Special Powers Ordinance was passed. A bill was introduced in the Monsoon session of Parliament that year. Amongst those who cautioned against giving such blanket powers to the Army included the then Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, (Upper House of the Indian Parliament), Mr P N Sapru. In a brief discussion that lasted for three hours in the Lok Sabha and for four hours in the Rajya Sabha, Parliament approved the Armed Forces (Assam- Manipur) Special Powers Act with retrospective from 22 May 1958.


3. THE ACT AND ITS PROVISIONS

Section 1: This section states the name of the Act and the areas to which it extends (Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram).

Section 2: This section sets out the definition of the Act, but leaves much un-defined. Under part (a) in the 1972 version, the armed forces were defined as "the military and Air Force of the Union so operating". In the 1958 version of the Act the definition was of the "military forces and the air forces operating as land forces". In the Lok Sabha Debates which led to the passing of the original Act, Mr Naushir Bharucha commented, "that probably means that the Government very mercifully has not permitted the air forces to shoot or strafe the area ... or to bomb." The Minister of Home Affairs did not confirm this interpretation, but certainly "acting as land forces" should rule out the power to resort to aerial bombardment. Nevertheless, in 1966, the Air Force in Mizoram did resort to aerial bombardment.

Section 2(b) defines a "disturbed area" as any area declared as such under Clause 3 (see discussion below). Section 2(c) states that all other words not defined in the AFSPA have the meanings assigned to them in the Army Act of 1950.

Section 3: This section defines "disturbed area" by stating how an area can be declared disturbed. It grants the power to declare an area disturbed to the Central Government and the Governor of the State, but does not describe the circumstances under which the authority would be justified in making such a declaration. Rather, the AFSPA only requires that such authority be "of the opinion that whole or parts of the area are in a dangerous or disturbed condition such that the use of the Armed Forces in aid of civil powers is necessary." The vagueness of this definition was challenged in Indrajit Barua v. State of Assam case. The court decided that the lack of precision to the definition of a disturbed area was not an issue because the government and people of India understand its meaning. However, since the declaration depends on the satisfaction of the Government official, the declaration that an area is disturbed is not subject to judicial review. So in practice, it is only the government's understanding which classifies an area as disturbed. There is no mechanism for the people to challenge this opinion. Strangely, there are acts which define the term more concretely. In the Disturbed Areas (Special Courts) Act, 1976, an area may be declared disturbed when "a State Government is satisfied that (i) there was, or (ii) there is, in any area within a State extensive disturbance of the public peace and tranquility, by reason of differences or disputes between members of different religions, racial, language, or regional groups or castes or communities, it may ... declare such area to be a disturbed area." The lack of precision in the definition of a disturbed area under the AFSPA demonstrates that the government is not interested in putting safeguards on its application of the AFSPA.

The 1972 amendments to the AFSPA extended the power to declare an area disturbed to the Central Government. In the 1958 version of the AFSPA only the state governments had this power. In the 1972 Lok Sabha debates it was argued that extending this power to the Central Government would take away the State's authority. In the 1958 debates the authority and power of the states in applying the AFSPA was a key issue. The Home Minister had argued that the AFSPA broadened states' power because they could call in the military whenever they chose. The 1972 amendment shows that the Central Government is no longer concerned with the state's power. Rather, the Central Government now has the ability to overrule the opinion of a state governor and declare an area disturbed. This happened in Tripura, when the Central Government declared Tripura a disturbed area, over the opposition of the State Government.

In the 1972 Lok Sabha debates, Mr S D Somasundaram pointed out that there was no need to extend this power to the Central Government, since the President had "the power to intervene in a disturbed State at any time" under the Constitution. This point went unheeded and the Central Government retains the power to apply the AFSPA to the areas it wishes in the Northeast.

Section 4: This section sets out the powers granted to the military stationed in a disturbed area. These powers are granted to the commissioned officer, warrant officer, or non-commissioned officer, only a jawan (private) does not have these powers. The Section allows the armed forces personnel to use force for a variety of reasons.

The army can shoot to kill, under the powers of section 4(a), for the commission or suspicion of the commission of the following offenses: acting in contravention of any law or order for the time being in force in the disturbed area prohibiting the assembly of five or more persons, carrying weapons, or carrying anything which is capable of being used as a fire-arm or ammunition. To justify the invocation of this provision, the officer need only be "of the opinion that it is necessary to do so for the maintenance of public order" and only give "such due warning as he may consider necessary".

The army can destroy property under section 4(b) if it is an arms dump, a fortified position or shelter from where armed attacks are made or are suspected of being made, if the structure is used as a training camp, or as a hide-out by armed gangs or absconders.

The army can arrest anyone without a warrant under section 4(c) who has committed, is suspected of having committed or of being about to commit, a cognisable offense and use any amount of force "necessary to effect the arrest".

Under section 4(d), the army can enter and search without a warrant to make an arrest or to recover any property, arms, ammunition or explosives which are believed to be unlawfully kept on the premises. This section also allows the use of force necessary for the search.

Section 5: This section states that after the military has arrested someone under the AFSPA, they must hand that person over to the nearest police station with the "least possible delay". There is no definition in the act of what constitutes the least possible delay. Some case-law has established that 4 to 5 days is too long. But since this provision has been interpreted as depending on the specifics circumstances of each case, there is no precise amount of time after which the section is violated. The holding of the arrested person, without review by a magistrate, constitutes arbitrary detention.

Section 6: This section establishes that no legal proceeding can be brought against any member of the armed forces acting under the AFSPA, without the permission of the Central Government. This section leaves the victims of the armed forces abuses without a remedy.


4. LEGAL ANALYSIS

The Armed Forces Special Powers Act contravenes both Indian and International law standards. This was exemplified when India presented its second periodic report to the United Nations Human Rights Committee in 1991. Members of the UNHRC asked numerous questions about the validity of the AFSPA, questioning how the AFSPA could be deemed constitutional under Indian law and how it could be justified in light of Article 4 of the ICCPR. The Attorney General of India relied on the sole argument that the AFSPA is a necessary measure to prevent the secession of the North Eastern states. He said that a response to this agitation for secession in the North East had to be done on a "war footing." He argued that the Indian Constitution, in Article 355, made it the duty of the Central Government to protect the states from internal disturbance, and that there is no duty under international law to allow secession.

This reasoning exemplifies the vicious cycle which has been instituted in the North East due to the AFSPA. The use of the AFSPA pushes the demand for more autonomy, giving the peoples of the North East more reason to want to secede from a state which enacts such powers and the agitation which ensues continues to justify the use of the AFSPA from the point of view of the Indian Government.

A) INDIAN LAW

There are several cases pending before the Indian Supreme Court which challenge the constitutionality of the AFSPA. Some of these cases have been pending for over nine years. Since the Delhi High Court found the AFSPA to be constitutional in the case of Indrajit Barua and the Gauhati High court found this decision to be binding in People's Union for Democratic Rights, the only judicial way to repeal the act is for the Supreme Court to declare the AFSPA unconstitutional.

It is extremely surprising that the Delhi High Court found the AFSPA constitutional given the wording and application of the AFSPA. The AFSPA is unconstitutional and should be repealed by the judiciary or the legislature to end army rule in the North East.

  • Violation of Article 21 - Right to life

    Article 21 of the Indian Constitution guarantees the right to life to all people. It reads, "No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law." Judicial interpretation that "procedure established by law means a "fair, just and reasonable law" has been part of Indian jurisprudence since the 1978 case of Maneka Gandhi. This decision overrules the 1950 Gopalan case which had found that any law enacted by Parliament met the requirement of "procedure established by law".

    Under section 4(a) of the AFSPA, which grants armed forces personnel the power to shoot to kill, the constitutional right to life is violated. This law is not fair, just or reasonable because it allows the armed forces to use an excessive amount of force.

    The offenses under section 4(a) are: "acting in contravention of any law or order for the time being in force in the disturbed area prohibiting the assembly of five or more persons or the carrying of weapons or of things capable of being used as weapons or fire-arms, ammunition or explosive substances". None of these offences necessarily involve the use of force. The armed forces are thus allowed to retaliate with powers which are grossly out of proportion with the offence.

    Justice requires that the use of force be justified by a need for self-defense and a minimum level of proportionality. As pointed out by the UN Human Rights Commission, since "assembly" is not defined, it could well be a lawful assembly, such as a family gathering, and since "weapon" is not defined it could include a stone. This shows how wide the interpretation of the offences may be, illustrating that the use of force is disproportionate and irrational.

    Several incidents show how the Border Security Force (BSF) and army personnel abuse their powers in the North East. In April 1995, a villager in West Tripura was riding near a border outpost when a soldier asked him to stop. The villager did not stop and the soldier shot him dead. Even more grotesque were the killings in Kohima on 5 March 1995. The Rastriya Rifles (National Rifles) mistook the sound of a tyre burst from their own convoy as a bomb attack and began firing indiscriminately in the town. The Assam Rifles and the CRPF who were camped two kilometers away heard the gunshots and also began firing. The firing lasted for more than one hour, resulting in the death of seven innocent civilians, 22 were also seriously injured. Among those killed were two girls aged 3 1/2 and 8 years old. The injured also included 7 minors. Mortars were used even though using mortars in a civilian area is prohibited under army rules.

    This atrocity demonstrates the level of tension prevalent in the North East. For a tire burst to be mistaken for a bomb proves that the armed forces are perpetually under stress and live under a state of siege.

    In the Indrajit Barua case, the Delhi High Court found that the state has the duty to assure the protection of rights under Article 21 to the largest number of people. Couched in the rhetoric of the need to protect the "greater good", it is clear that the Court did not feel that Article 21 is a fundamental right for the people of Assam. The Court stated, "If to save hundred lives one life is put in peril or if a law ensures and protects the greater social interest then such law will be a wholesome and beneficial law although it may infringe the liberty of some individuals."

    This directly contradicts Article 14 of the Indian Constitution which guarantees equality before the law. This article guarantees that "the State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India." The AFSPA is in place in limited parts of India. Since the people residing in areas declared "disturbed" are denied the protection of the right to life, denied the protections of the Criminal Procedure Code and prohibited from seeking judicial redress, they are also denied equality before the law. Residents of non-disturbed areas enjoy the protections guaranteed under the Constitution, whereas the residents of the Northeast live under virtual army rule. Residents of the rest of the Union of India are not obliged to sacrifice their Constitutional rights in the name of the "greater good".

     

  • Protection against arrest and detention - Article 22

    Article 22 of the Indian Constitution states that "(1) No person who is arrested shall be detained in custody without being informed, as soon as may be, of the grounds for such arrest nor shall he be denied the right to consult, and to be defended by, a legal practitioner of his choice. (2) Every person who is arrested and detained in custody shall be produced before the nearest magistrate within a period of twenty-four hours of such arrest excluding the time necessary for the journey from the place of arrest to the court of the magistrate and no such person shall be detained in custody beyond the said period without the authority of a magistrate." The remaining sections of the Article deal with limits on these first two sections in the case of preventive detention laws. On its face, the AFSPA is not a preventive detention law therefore the safeguards of sections (1) and (2) must be guaranteed to people arrested under the AFSPA.

    Section (2) of Article 22 was the subject of much debate during the framing of the Indian Constitution. There was argument over whether the time limit should be specified or whether the words "with the least possible delay" should be used. Dr Amedkar, one of the principal framers of the Indian Constitution argued that "with the least possible delay" would actually result in the person being held for a shorter period of time, whereas "twenty- four hours" would result in the person being held for the maximum time of twenty-four hours. The application of these terms has since shown that a specified time period constitutes a greater safeguard. Under the AFSPA, the use of "least possible delay" language has allowed the security forces to hold people for days and months at a time. A few habeas corpus cases in which the court did find the delay to be excessive are indicative of the abuses which are occurring in practice. It should be noted that habeas corpus cases are only filed for those who have access to lawyers and the court. In all the seven states of the North East only the Guwhati High Court bench in Assam can hear habeas corpus cases. So although in the two following cases the time of delay in handing over the arrested person was found excessive, it can only be imagined what types of abuses occur in the states of Manipur and Nagaland where the people do not have access to the court. In Nungshitombi Devi v. Rishang Keishang, CM Manipur, (1982) 1 GLR 756, the petitioner's husband was arrested by CRPF on 10 January 1981, and was still missing on 22 February 1981. He had been arrested under AFSPA Section 4(c). The court found this delay to have been too long and unjustified, even under Section 5 of the AFSPA. In Civil Liberties Organisation (CLAHRO) v. PL Kukrety, (1988) 2 GLR 137, people arrested in Oinam were held for five days before being handed over to magistrates. The court found this to be an unjustified delay.

    In its application, the AFSPA does lead to arbitrary detention. If the AFSPA were defended on the grounds that it is a preventive detention law, it would still violate Article 22 of the Constitution. Preventive detention laws can allow the detention of the arrested person for up to three months. Under 22(4) any detention longer than three months must be reviewed by an Advisory Board. Moreover, under 22(5) the person must be told the grounds of their arrest. Under section 4(c) of the AFSPA a person can be arrested by the armed forces without a warrant and on the mere suspicion that they are going to commit an offence. The armed forces are not obliged to communicate the grounds for the arrest. There is also no advisory board in place to review arrests made under the AFSPA. Since the arrest is without a warrant it violates the preventive detention sections of article 22.

    The case of Luithukla v. Rishang Keishing, (1988) 2 GLR 159, a habeas corpus case, exemplifies the total lack of restraint on the armed forces when carrying out arrests. The case was brought to ascertain the whereabouts of a man who had been arrested five years previously by the army. The court found that the man had been detained by the army and that the forces had mistaken their role of "aiding civil power". The court said that the army may not act independently of the district administration. Repeatedly, the Guwahati High Court has told the army to comply with the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), but there are is no enforcement of these rulings.

    Army officers have accused High Court judges of weakening military powers in the North East, exemplifying that the armed forces are not interested in complying with civil law standards. Any attempt by the courts to oblige compliance with police procedure is ignored. (see further section on the lack of independence of the judiciary)

    In the habeas corpus case of Bacha Bora v. State of Assam, (1991) 2 GLR 119, the petition was denied because a later arrest by the civil police was found to be legal. However, in a discussion of the AFSPA, the court analyzed Section 5 (turn the arrested person over to the nearest magistrate "with least possible delay"). The court did not use Article 22 of the Constitution to find that this should be less than twenty-four hours, but rather said that "least possible delay" is defined by the particular circumstances of each case. In this case, the army had provided no justification for the two week delay, when a police station was nearby, so section 5 was violated. Nevertheless, this leaves open the interpretation that circumstances could justify a delay of 5 days or more.

     

  • The Indian Criminal Procedure Code ("CrPC")

    The CrPC establishes the procedure police officers are to follow for arrests, searches and seizures, a procedure which the army and other para- military are not trained to follow. Therefore when the armed forces personnel act in aid of civil power, it should be clarified that they may not act with broader power than the police and that these troops must receive specific training in criminal procedure.

    In explaining the AFSPA bill in the Lok Sabha in 1958, the Union Home Minister stated that the Act was subject to the provisions of the Constitution and the CrPC. He said "these persons [military personnel] have the authority to act only within the limits that have been prescribed generally in the CrPC or in the Constitution." If this is the case, then why was the AFSPA not drafted to say "use of minimum force" as done in the CrPC? If the government truly means to have the armed forces comply with criminal procedure, than the AFSPA should have a specific clause enunciating this compliance. Further it should also train the armed forces in this procedure.

    The CrPC has a section on the maintenance of public order, Chapter X, which provides more safeguards than the AFSPA. Section 129 in that chapter allows for the dispersal of an assembly by use of civil force. The section empowers an Executive Magistrate, officer-in-charge of a police station or any police officer not below the rank of sub-inspector to disperse such an assembly. It is interesting to compare this section with the powers the army has to disperse assemblies under section 4(a) of the Act. The CrPC clearly delineates the ranks which can disperse such an assembly, whereas the Act grants the power to use maximum force to even to non commissioned officers. Moreover, the CrPC does not state that force to the extent of causing death can be used to disperse an assembly.

    Sections 130 and 131 of the same chapter sets out the conditions under which the armed forces may be called in to disperse an assembly. These two sections have several safeguards which are lacking in the Act. Under section 130, the armed forces officers are to follow the directives of the Magistrate and use as little force as necessary in doing so. Under 131, when no Executive Magistrate can be contacted, the armed forces may disperse the assembly but if it becomes possible to contact an Executive Magistrate at any point, the armed forces must do so. Section 131 only gives the armed forces the power to arrest and confine. Moreover, it is only commissioned or gazetted officers who may give the command to disperse such an assembly, whereas in the AFSPA even non-commissioned officers are given this power. The AFSPA grants wider powers than the CrPC for dispersal of an assembly.

    Moreover, dispersal of assemblies under Chapter X of the CrPC is slightly more justifiable than dispersal under Section 4(a) of the AFSPA. Sections 129-131 refer to the unlawful assemblies as ones which "manifestly endanger" public security. Under the AFSPA the assembly is only classified as "unlawful" leaving open the possibility that peaceful assemblies can be dispersed by use of force.

    Chapter V of the CrPC sets out the arrest procedure the police are to follow. Section 46 establishes the way in which arrests are to be made. It is only if the person attempts to evade arrest that the police officer may use "all means necessary to effect the arrest." However, sub-section (3) limits this use of force by stipulating that this does not give the officer the right to cause the death of the person, unless they are accused of an offence punishable by death or life imprisonment. This power is already too broad. It allows the police to use more force than stipulated in the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials (see section on International law below). Yet the AFSPA is even more excessive. Section 4(a) lets the armed forces kill a person who is not suspected of an offence punishable by death or life imprisonment.

    Under the Indian Penal Code, at Section 302, only murder is punishable with death. Murder is not one of the offenses listed in section 4(a) of the AFSPA. Moreover the 4(a) offences are assembly of five or more persons, the carrying of weapons, ammunition or explosive substances, none of which are punishable with life imprisonment under the Indian Penal Code. Under section 143 of the Penal Code, being a member of an unlawful assembly is punishable with imprisonment of up to six months and/or a fine. Even if the person has joined such unlawful assembly armed with a deadly weapon, the maximum penalty is imprisonment for two years and a fine. Moreover, persisting or joining in an unlawful assembly of five or more persons is also punishable with six months imprisonment, or a fine, or both. The same offence committed by someone in a disturbed area under the AFSPA is punishable with death. This again violates the Constitutional right to equality before the law. Different standards of punishment are in place for the same act in different parts of the country, violating the equality standards set out in the Constitution.

    Supposedly the military do have instructions on the procedures they are to follow when they act in aid of civil power. In People's Union for Democratic Rights v. Union of India, (1991) 2 GLR 1, when the court reviewed the army's powers it referred to two sets of instructions issued to the military when acting in aid of civil power. The first was a 1969 pamphlet issued by the Government of India as guidance for military but it was confidential and the court was not allowed to review it. A 1973 basic book instructions for army acting in aid of civil power was also referred to in the case. In a personal meeting with Justice Raghuvir, former Chief Justice of the Guwahati High Court, and the Justice who wrote the opinion in People's Union for Democratic Rights, SAHRDC asked for details on the nature of these instructions. Justice Raghuvir told us that he was only able to see a few pages and that the whole booklet was not available to non-military personnel. He believes that the military keeps these instruction manuals confidential so that it can not be shown that the armed forces fail to comply with their own standards. This is another example of the lack of judicial review and allows the armed forces to remain above the law.

     

  • Military's Immunity / Lack of Remedies

    The members of the Armed Forces in the whole of the Indian territory are protected from arrest for anything done within the line of official duty by Section 45 of the CrPC. Section 6 of the AFSPA provides them with absolute immunity for all atrocities committed under the AFSPA. A person wishing to file suit against a member of the armed forces for abuses under the AFSPA must first seek the permission of the Central Government.

    In a report on the AFSPA to the UN Human Rights Committee in 1991, Nandita Haksar, a lawyer who has often petitioned the Guwahati High Court in cases related to the AFSPA, explains how in practice this leaves the military's victims without a remedy. Firstly, there has not been a single case of any one seeking such permission to file a case in the North East. Given that the armed forces personnel conduct themselves as being above the law and the people are alienated from the state government, it is hardly surprising that no one would approach Delhi for such permission. Secondly, when the armed forces are tried in army courts, the public is not informed of the proceedings and the court martial judgments are not published. In a meeting with the government National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), a representative of SAHRDC was able to discuss cases where BSF and armed forces in Jammu and Kashmir were punished for abuses. Yet, the results of these trials were not published and the NHRC representative stated that it would endanger the lives of the soldiers.

    This section of the AFSPA was also reviewed in Indrajit Barua. The High Court justified this provision on the grounds that it prevents the filing of "frivolous claims". The court even said that this provision provides more safeguards, obviously confusing safeguards for the military with safeguards for the victims of the military's abuses.

    Instances of human rights abuses by the army have shown that unless there is public accountability there is no incentive for the army to change its conduct. This was exemplified in Burundi when security forces killed 1,000 people in October 1991. Amnesty International reported, "The failure to identify those responsible for human rights violations and bring them to justice has meant that members of the security forces continue to believe that they are above the law and can violate human rights with impunity." Without the transparency of the public accounting, it is impossible to be sure that perpetrators are actually punished.

    Habeas corpus cases have been the only remedy available for those arrested under the AFSPA. A habeas corpus case forces the military or police to hand the person over to the court. This gives the arrested person some protection and it is in these cases that legal counsel have been able to make arguments challenging the AFSPA. However, a habeas corpus case will not lead to the repeal of the act nor will it punish particular officers who committed the abuses. Also, only people who have access to lawyers will be able to file such a case.

    Section 6 of the AFSPA thus suspends the Constitutional right to file suit. Mr Mahanty raised this crucial argument in the first Lok Sabha debate on the AFSPA in 1958. He said that Section 6 of the AFSPA "immediately takes away, abrogates, pinches, frustrates the right to constitutional remedy which has been given in article 32(1) of the Constitution." This further shows that the AFSPA is more than an emergency provision because it is only in states of emergency that these rights can be constitutionally suspended.

    Section 32(1) of the Constitution states that "the right to move the Supreme Court by appropriate proceedings for the enforcement of the rights conferred by this Part is guaranteed." In the Constitutional Assembly debates, Dr B R Ambedkar said, "If I was asked to name any particular article of the Constitution as the most important - an article without which this Constitution would be a nullity. I would not refer to any other article except this one (Article 32). It is the very soul of the Constitution and the very heart of it."

    During the emergency in 1975 the right to file for writs of habeas corpus was suspended as ruled by the Supreme Court in A.D.M. v. Shivakant Shukla, (1976) 2 SCC 521. The Emergency had been declared under Section 359 of the Constitution. This section has now been amended, stating that the fundamental rights of section 20 and 21 cannot be suspended, even in a state of emergency. Therefore, should an emergency be declared today, the right to file habeas corpus on the grounds that the fundamental right to life has been denied should be allowed. Nevertheless, the 1975 case exemplifies the court's deference for the executive, even if it means a total suspension of individual liberty.

    In the 1958 Lok Sabha, debate also occured about whether the right to file suit was a guaranteed right under the Constitution. The Speaker said, "Now who is to decide whether a right is one which has been guaranteed under this article? (article 32) The Supreme Court will decide it." Turning to this argument later, the Home Minister pointed out that under the Criminal Procedure Code and the Civil Procedure Code that the Government's consent was already required before a member of the armed forces could be sued in connection with their duties. This remains the case under both Codes today. Since, as seen above, the Supreme Court so readily defers to the executive and legislative branches, if the legislature does not pause to ask if a provision is constitutional, should the court review it once the legislature has passed it, it will most likely be deemed constitutional.

     

  • The Army Act

    The 1950 act was a revision of the 1911 Indian Army Act. One of the goals of this revision was "to bridge the gap between the Army and civil laws as far as possible in the matter of punishments of offenses." The High Courts of the country have a limited right to interfere with the court-martial system. Court-martial proceedings do not have to satisfy Article 21 of the Constitution. In chapter five of the Army Act, the members of the services are granted privileges, including immunity from attachments and arrest for debt. The only civil acts committed by members of the army which are not triable by court-martial are murder or rape of a civilian, unless this was done while on active service. This means that soldiers operating under the AFSPA will, if tried at all, be tried by court-martial, leaving no civil law remedy for the victims. Section 6 of the AFSPA only further reinforces the army's immunity.

     

  • States of Emergency

    The declaration that an area is disturbed essentially amounts to declaring a state of emergency but by-passes the Constitutional safeguards. The point that this bill invokes a state of emergency was raised immediately by Mr Mahanty (Dhenkanal) in the 1958 Lok Sabha debates. He said the Assembly could not proceed if Section 352(1) of the Constitution was not fulfilled. In response, Mr K C Pant, then Home Minister, attempted to argue that the powers granted under the AFSPA do not resemble a state of emergency. He said that in an emergency fundamental rights can be abrogated and that the AFSPA does not abrogate those rights. But under Section 4(a) the right to life is clearly violated. An officer shooting to kill, because he is of the opinion that it is necessary, does not conform, even prima facie, with the Article 21 Constitutional requirement that the right to life cannot be abridged except according to procedure established by law. The Home Minister said the AFSPA powers stem rather from Article 355 of the Constitution, which gives the Central Government authority to protect the States against external aggression.

    Dr Krishnaswanmi (Chingleput) also made the argument that the AFSPA was outside the powers granted in the Constitution, since it was declaring a state of emergency without following the Constitutional provisions for such a declaration. He argued that this Bill would take away the State's power by bringing in the military. The Speaker responded that this did not take away the State's power, rather it granted the States more power because it allowed them to decide to "hand over thoroughly, entirely and completely to the Armed Forces". This argument is circular - the Speaker was saying that the States are given more power because they are now able to freely hand over their power. And because this was explained as granting power to the States, no Presidential proclamation was necessary (the proclamation is only made when the State powers are restricted). So the emergency provisions in the Constitution were cleverly by-passed.

    In a state of emergency, fundamental rights may be suspended under Article 359, since the 1978 amendment to this article, rights under Articles 20 and 21 may not be suspended. As shown above, the AFSPA results in the suspension of Article 21 right to life, therefore AFSPA is more draconian than emergency rule. Emergency rule can only be declared for a specified period of time, and the President's proclamation of emergency must be reviewed by Parliament. The AFSPA is in place for an indefinite period of time and there is no legislative review.

    The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention noted in its report of 17 December 1993, that states of emergency tend to be a "fruitful source of arbitrary arrests." In its report of 21 December 1994, the Working Group concluded that preventive detention is "facilitated and aggravated by several factors such as ... exercise of the powers specific to states of emergency without a formal declaration, non-observance of the principle of proportionality between the gravity of the measures taken and the situation concerned, too vague a definition of offenses against State security, and the existence of special or emergency jurisdictions." This describes exactly the situation under the AFSPA. The AFSPA grants state of emergency powers without declaring an emergency as prescribed in the Constitution. The measures taken by the military outweigh the situation in the North East, notably the power to shoot to kill. The offences are not clearly defined, since all of the Section 4 offences are judged subjectively by the military personnel. And the AFSPA is a "special jurisdiction" provision.

B) INTERNATIONAL LAW

Under relevant international human rights and humanitarian law standards there is no justification for such an act as the AFSPA. The AFSPA, by its form and in its application, violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (the "UDHR"), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (the "ICCPR"), the Convention Against Torture, the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, the UN Body of Principles for Protection of All Persons Under any form of Detention, and the UN Principles on Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra- legal and summary executions.

A UDHR argument would just be repetitive with ICCPR so SAHRDC has not done it but the UDHR articles which the AFSPA violates are the following: 1 - Free and Equal Dignity and rights, 2 - Non- discrimination, 3 - Life, liberty, security of person, 5 - no torture, 7 - equality before the law, 8 - effective remedy, 9 - no arbitrary arrest, 17 - property.

  • International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ("ICCPR")

    India signed the ICCPR in 1978, taking on the responsibility of securing the rights guaranteed by the Covenant to all its citizens. The rights enunciated by the ICCPR are those which must be guaranteed during times of peace by the member states. In times of public emergency, the ICCPR foresees that some rights may have to be suspended. However, the ICCPR remains operative even under such circumstances since certain rights are non- derogable. The AFSPA violates both derogable and non-derogable rights.

    This first article of the ICCPR states that all people have the right to self-determination. As discussed previously, the AFSPA is a tool in stifling the self-determination aspirations of the indigenous peoples of the North East.

    Article 2 imposes an obligation on the states to ensure that all individuals enjoy the rights guaranteed by the Covenant. This includes an obligation to provide a remedy for those whose rights are violated. When India gave its second periodic report to the UN Human Rights Committee in March 1991, members of the Committee pointed out that the AFSPA violates this right because article 2 foresees more than just a legal system which provides such remedies, but requires that such a system work on the practical level.

    Article 4 of the Covenant governs the suspension of some of the Covenant's rights. Derogation of the ICCPR has three conditions. Firstly, it is only "in time of public emergency which threatens the life of the nation and the existence of which is officially proclaimed" that states may derogate from their obligations under the ICCPR. Also, such derogation must be "strictly required by the exigencies of the situation" and cannot be inconsistent with other international law obligations nor "involve discrimination solely on the ground of race, colour, sex, language, religion or social origin." The AFSPA has been enacted without such an official proclamation of emergency and goes beyond the requirements of the situation. Moreover, the fact that the AFSPA targets the population of the North East shows that it does discriminate on the basis of social origin. Secondly, there can be no derogation from articles 6, 7, 8 (paragraphs 1 and 2), 11, 15, 16 and 18. As discussed below, the AFSPA violates three of these, article 6 guaranteeing the right to life, article 7 prohibiting torture and article 8 prohibiting forced labour. Thirdly, any state which derogates from the ICCPR obligations must inform the other states party to the Covenant. India has not met this obligation as regards the AFSPA.

    The AFSPA comes within the purview of article 4 as understood by the Human Rights Committee. The members found that since it "enables the army to supplement ... [the] civil authorities [in] powers of arrest, powers of search" the AFSPA is the equivalent of emergency legislation. Moreover, a committee member stated that the AFSPA had actually created a "continuous state of emergency" since it has been in application since 1958.

    The greatest outrage of the AFSPA under both Indian and international law is the violation of the right to life. This comes under Article 6 of the ICCPR, and it is a non-derogable right. This means no situation, or state of emergency, or internal disturbance, can justify the suspension of this right. Committee members insisted on this particular point in regards to the AFSPA. They found that the powers to kill under the Act are simply too broad. As pointed out by a member of the committee, the offences under Section 4(a) for which the soldier may shoot do not threaten the soldier. The Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials only foresees the use of deadly force when the officer is threatened with force. Under Section 4(a) of the AFSPA, the officer can shoot when there is an unlawful assembly, not defined as threatening, or when the person has or is suspected of having a weapon. Since "weapon" is defined as anything "capable of being used as a weapon", a committee member pointed out that this could even include a stone, further bringing out the lack of proportionality between the offence and the use of force by the army.

    The armed forces in the North East have systematically tortured the people they arrested under the AFSPA. Article 7 of the ICCPR prohibits torture and this also is a non-derogable right. Moreover, the prohibition against torture is a "norm of customary law". Under the UDHR, torture is defined as "any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted by or at the instigation of a public official on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or confession, punishing him for an act he has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating him or other person."

    During Operation Bluebird, the Assam Rifles committed gross abuses of this right. The Operation was launched in the wake of an attack on an Assam Rifles outpost in Oinam, a village in Manipur. The attack is believed to have been carried out by the NSCN. The armed forces retaliated by perpetuating atrocities on the village people of Oinam. The Amnesty International report found that more than 300 villagers claimed they were beaten, "some torture victims were left for dead ... others were reportedly subjected to other forms of torture including inserting chili powder into sensitive parts of the body, being given electric shocks by means of a hand operated dynamo ... or being buried up to the neck in apparent mock executions." The headman of the village was also tortured and reported, "I was called out and repeatedly interrogated throughout the day ... I was beaten by the officers an jawans ... they also indiscriminately attack[ed] the villagers - ... chili powder dissolved in water [was] rubbed into the nostrils, eyes and soft parts of the body and [officers and jawans] took sadistic pleasure from the cries of pain by the victims."

    Under similar circumstances in "Operation Rhino", Rajputana Rifles surrounded the village of Bodhakors on October 4, 1991. An extensive house to house searched was conducted during which women were sexually harassed and men were taken to interrogation camps. They were beaten up and kept without food or water. During this combing operation not a single insurgent was found. The People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) noted, "It is very difficult to understand the logic such useless raids, mass torture and interrogations, unless the purpose is taken to be the creation of pure terror for some sinister and ulterior motives."

    During Operation Bluebird, the military also forced the villagers of Oinam to work for them and provided them with no compensation. This violates article 8(3) of the ICCPR which prohibits forced labour. The Assam Rifles "rounded up villagers for forced labour for such tasks as porter service, building new army camps, washing clothes and carrying firewood."

    Article 9 of the ICCPR guarantees liberty and security of person, and the AFSPA violates all five sub-parts of this right. Sub- part (1) guarantees that "Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be subject to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of his Liberty except on such ground and in accordance with such procedure as are established by law." All the residents of a disturbed area are subject to arbitrary arrest. The military can arrest them on mere suspicion and detain them for unspecified amounts of time before handing them over to the nearest magistrate. Sub-part (2) states "Anyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of arrest, of the reasons for his arrest and shall be promptly informed of any charges against him." The AFSPA does not require the arresting army officer to inform the person of the reason for their arrest. This is a requirement under Indian criminal procedure, but the military are not trained in this procedure. Sub-part (3) requires that "Anyone arrested or detained on a criminal charge shall be brought promptly before a judge or other official authorized by law to exercise judicial power and shall be entitled to trial within a reasonable time of release." The AFSPA requires less than this since it states that the person should be brought to the nearest police station "with the least possible delay". Moreover, requiring the person to be handed over to the police station does not assure that they will be brought promptly before a judge.

    Article 26 of the ICCPR, like article 14 of the Indian Constitution guarantees equal protection for all persons before the law. The AFSPA violates this right because the inhabitants of the North East do not have equal protection before the law. They live under a virtual but undeclared state of emergency and are given no remedy for the injustices they suffer at the hands of the military. Inhabitants of the rest of India, with the exception of Punjab and Kashmir are not subject to this law.

    In response the UN Human Rights Committee in 1991, the Attorney General from India did not address the specific points of these various ICCPR articles. He justified the AFSPA under Section 355 of the Indian Constitution which makes it the duty of the Union to protect each state from external aggression. He said the AFSPA was necessary given the context of the North East where there is "infiltration of aliens into the territories mingling with the local public, and encouraging them towards this [secession]." He stated that the ICCPR does not encourage secession and governments are not encouraged to promote it. He said the AFSPA is a "temporary measure", not addressing the concern of committee members that the AFSPA has proven to be a longterm provision as it has been in force for over thirty years.

     

  • International Customary Law

    The UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, the UN Body of Principles for Protection of All Persons Under any form of Detention, and the UN Principles on Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal and summary executions all form part of international customary law because they were passed by UN General Assembly resolutions. They lend further strength to the conclusion that the AFSPA violates basic human rights standards.

    1. The UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials was adopted by the UN General Assembly in resolution 34/169 of 17 December 1979. This code applies to all security forces stationed in the North East since "law enforcement officials" are defined as all those who exercise police powers, and it can include military officers. The first article requires that, "Law enforcement officials shall at all times fulfil the duty imposed upon them by law, by serving the community and by protecting all persons against illegal act, consistent with the high degree of responsibility required by their profession." A high degree of responsibility is sadly lacking in the troops stationed in the North East. As exemplified by the atrocities noted above, the BSF, CRPF and Assam Rifles are not concerned with the requirements of the law enforcement profession, rather they are operating on a "war footing".

      The second article of the code requires that, "In the performance of their duty, law enforcement officials shall respect and protect human dignity and maintain and uphold the human rights of all persons." As demonstrated above, multiple provisions of the basic human rights standards in the ICCPR are violated under the AFSPA. The AFSPA encourages the military officers to violate human rights because it allows the armed forces to base arrests, searches and seizures on their subjective suspicion. The armed forces know their actions will not be reviewed and that they will not be held accountable for their actions. They have neither the training nor the incentive to comply with this article of the Code.

      Under Article 3 of the Code, "Law enforcement officials may use force only when strictly necessary and to the extent required for the performance of their duty." The Attorney General of India tried to convince the UN Human Rights Committee that the use of force under the AFSPA is strictly necessary and is "squarely within the requirements of Article 3 [of the Code]." However, this argument ignores the sub-sections of Article 3 which stipulate that "(a) This provision emphasizes that the use of force by law enforcement officials should be exceptional; while it implies that law enforcement officials may be authorized to use force as is reasonably necessary under the circumstances for the prevention of crime or in effecting or assisting in the lawful arrest of offenders or suspected offenders, no force going beyond that may be used." This provision aims at establishing proportionality between the use of force by an officer and the use of force by an offender. Under 4(a) of the AFSPA, the military personnel can use force against people who are not presenting any force. Under 4(c) they can use any amount of force necessary to arrest someone who is suspected of having committed, or being about to commit, an offence. Under 4(d), this same excessive use of force can be justified in entering and searching premises without a warrant.

      Sub-section (c) of the code further clarifies that "in general, firearms should not be used except when a suspected offender offers armed resistance or otherwise jeopardizes the lives of others and less extreme measures are not sufficient to restrain or apprehend the suspected offender." When armed forces fire upon an unlawful assembly under Section 4(a) they are violating this basic provision. Moreover, the fact that the armed forces have begun firing into crowds and lob mortar shells in the middle of a town in the North East proves they are not interested in "less extreme measures".

      Under the Code, the armed forces have no grounds on which to justify their broad powers in the North East. Article 5 of the code reads, "No law enforcement official may inflict, instigate or tolerate any act of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, nor may any law enforcement official invoke superior orders or exceptional circumstances such as state of war or a threat of war, a threat to national security, internal political instability or any other public emergency as a justification of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." (emphasis added) This sweeps aside all the arguments made in the Lok Sabha to justify the original passage of the AFSPA, as well as the Attorney General's arguments before the UN Committee. Even if the North East is a "disturbed area" there is no justification for the human rights abuses being carried out by the military in the region.

    2. The Body of Principles on Detention or Imprisonment was passed by UN General Assembly resolution no. 43/173, on 9 December 1988. This body of principles applies to all persons under any form of detention. It further strengthens several of the points raised under both Indian and international law.

      Principle 10 states that "Anyone who is arrested shall be informed at the time of his arrest of the reason for his arrest and shall be promptly informed of the charges against him." The armed forces are not obliged to provide this information under the AFSPA. Moreover, under principle 14, "A person who does not adequately understand or speak the language used by the authorities responsible for his arrest, detention or imprisonment is entitled to receive [information] promptly in a language which he understands". Since the armed forces stationed in the North East are foreign to the region they are unable to comply with this principle. Under principle 32 the right to habeas corpus must be absolutely guaranteed.

    3. The Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-Legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions adopted by Economic and Social Council also offer guidance for the use of force. Principle 3 says, "Governments shall prohibit orders from superior officers or public authorities authorizing or inciting other person to carry out any such extra-legal, arbitrary or summary executions. All persons shall have the right and the duty to defy such orders. Training of law enforcement officials shall emphasize the above provisions." The armed forces operating in the North East should therefore not follow the excessive power to shoot to kill granted in the AFSPA.

     

  • International Humanitarian Law

    The four Geneva Conventions of 1949 along with the two optional protocols, constitute the body of international humanitarian law. These provisions are suited to human rights protection in times of armed conflict. Under these conventions the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is given access to all international conflicts. In non-international armed conflicts, the ICRC can only offer its services.

    The ICRC's mandate in the context of non-international armed struggle is based on Protocol II to the Geneva Conventions. However, India has not signed either protocol to the Geneva Conventions. Nevertheless, the ICRC can offer its services in such a conflict based on Article 3, paragraph 2, common to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 ("an impartial humanitarian body, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, may offer its services to the Parties to the conflict"). When the ICRC offers its services in such a situation, a state does not have to accept them, or consider it an interference in its internal affairs. However, "in situations of internal disturbance, the rules of international humanitarian law can only be invoked by analogy."

    C) COMPARATIVE LAW STANDARDS

    The British armed forces presence in Northern Ireland is an apt comparison to the Indian military presence in the North East. The British carry out arrests under the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act or the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act. When detainees were held for seven days without charge the European Court of Human Rights found this to be in violation of the European Human Rights Covenant.


5. CONCLUSIONS

The Supreme Court of India reached a low for its lack of enforcement of fundamental rights in the Jabalpur case of 1975. The country was in a state of emergency and the high courts had concluded that although the executive could restrict certain rights, people could still file habeas corpus claims. The Supreme Court rejected this conclusion and said the high court judges had substituted their suspicion of the executive for "frank and unreserved acception of the proclamation of emergency." Noted Legal luminary, H M Seervai notes that this shows the lack of judicial detachment. Indeed, it exemplifies a deference to the executive which leaves the people with no enforcement of their constitutional rights. Jabalpur has since been deemed an incorrect decision, but it remains an apt example of the judiciary's submission to the executive.

The Supreme Court has avoided a Constitutional review for over 9 years, the amount of time the principal case has been pending. The Court is not displaying any judicial activism on this Act. The Lok Sabha in the 1958 debate acknowledged that if the AFSPA were unconstitutional, it would be for the Supreme Court to determine. The deference of the Delhi High Court to the legislature in the Indrajit case also demonstrates a lack of judicial independence.

The Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary was adopted by the seventh UN Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders and was also adopted by the UN General Assembly. Principle 2 of this document says, "The judiciary shall decide matters before them impartially, on the basis of facts and in accordance with the law, without any restrictions, improper influences, inducements, pressure, threats or interferences, direct or indirect, from any quarter or for any reason." The Indian judicial system is not subject to direct interference. It seems to function independently, but under the surface it is possible to discern indirect pressure. For example, the practice of appointing retired judges to commissions may well influence judges while they are on the bench. There may not be direct pressure to render decisions favorable to the executive, but certainly a judge who has "towed the government line" is more likely to be appointed by that same government to a position of prominence upon retirement.

Moreover, there is an absence of creative legal thinking. When the Guwahati High Court was presented with international law argument in People's Union for Democratic Rights, the court ignored it. Justice Raghuvir said in a personal interview that the court could not use international law. If the government has signed an international convention like the ICCPR which requires the government to guarantee rights to its citizens, how can these be enforced if the judiciary does not turn to the text of the convention in its rendering of decisions? The courts are not turning to the spirit of the law which guarantees the fundamental right to life to all people and as a result violations of human rights go unchecked.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence and Impartiality of the Judiciary, Jurors and Assessors and the Independence of Lawyers, Mr Param Cumaraswamy, stated in the 51st Session of the Commission on Human Rights on 10 February 1995, at the United Nations in Geneva that," The power of judicial review is vital for the protection of the rule of law." He also quoted from Mr L M Singhvi's 1985 report that "the strength of legal institutions is a form of insurance for the rule of law and for the observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms and for preventing the denial and miscarriage of justice."


6. RECOMMENDATIONS

The only way to guarantee that the human rights abuses perpetrated by the armed forces in the North East cease is to both repeal the AFSPA and remove the military from playing a civil role in the area. Indeed with 50% of the military forces in India acting in a domestic role, through internal security duties, there is a serious question as to whether the civil authority's role is being usurped. As long as the local police are not relied on they will not be able to assume their proper role in law enforcement. The continued presence of the military forces prevents the police force from carrying out its functions. This also perpetuates the justification for the AFSPA.

Among the recommendations made by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, from 1994 was the statement that "Governments which have been maintaining states of emergency in force for many years should lift them, limit their effects or review the custodial measures that affect many persons, and in particular should apply the principle of proportionality rigorously."

The National Human Rights Commission is now reviewing the AFSPA. Hopefully, the NHRC will find that the AFSPA is unconstitutional and will submit this finding to the Supreme Court to influence its review of the pending cases. However, the NHRC has a very limited role. In past cases, the Supreme Court has not welcomed such intervention by the NHRC. This was evident when the NHRC attempted to intervene in the hearing against the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA).

If the AFSPA is not repealed, it must at a bare minimum comply with international law and Indian law standards. This means the powers to shoot to kill under section 4(a) must be unequivocally revoked. Arrests must be made with warrants and no force should be allowed in the search and seizure procedures. Section 5 should clearly state that persons arrested under the Act are to be handed over to the police within twenty-four hours. Section 6 should be completely repealed so that individuals who suffer abuses at the hands of the security forces may prosecute their abusers.

Moreover, the definition of key phrases, especially "disturbed area" must be clarified. The declaration that an area is disturbed should not be left to the subjective opinion of the Central or State Government. It should have an objective standard which is judicially reviewable. Moreover, the declaration that an area is disturbed should be for a specified amount of time, no longer than six months. Such a declaration should not persist without legislative review.

Armed forces should not be allowed to arrest or carry out any procedure on suspicion alone. All their actions should have an objective basis so that they are judicially reviewable. This will also assist those who file suit against the security forces.

All personnel acting in a law enforcement capacity should be trained according to the UN Code of Conduct for law enforcement personnel. The instructions and training given to the armed forces should be available to the public. Complete transparency should be established so that a public accountability is rendered possible.

Having the armed forces comply with the Indian CrPC would also be a bare minimum. The CrPC itself does not fully comply with international human rights standards, so making the AFSPA comply on its face with the CrPC provisions for the use of minimal force, arrest, search and seizure would only be a rudimentary step in reducing the abuses committed under the AFSPA.

If the Indian Government truly believes that the only way to handle the governance of the North Eastern states is through force, then it must allow the ICRC to intervene. This can only have a calming influence. Acceptance of ICRC services would demonstrate that the fighting parties want to bring an end to the violence. The ICRC's involvement could help protect the residents of the North East who are currently trapped in the middle between insurgents and the military.


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