Prime Minister Manmohan Singh highlighted the threat to internal security from naxalism, terrorism, and separatist violence on Thursday while addressing a conference of state police chiefs at Delhi. His observations are valid, considering 40 per cent of the rural countryside is under naxalite domination. The country has also proved to be vulnerable to the influx of hostile elements not only from its land borders but also from coastal areas. For instance, the LTTE remains active on the high seas and therefore threatens our national
security interests.

Also the fact that the existing internal security machinery is unable to cope with the challenge is worrying. In this context, Home Minister Shivraj Patil has also pointed out the  weakness of intelligence organisations in the states. The poor police to population ratio is another aspect of the weakness in the internal security system.

These lacunae make “soft” targets vulnerable to terrorist attacks like the recent   Hyderabad bomb blasts. The preoccupation of the police services around the country, primarily with VIP security, makes them unavailable for solving common man's problems. While crimes against the common man like murder, robbery, kidnapping and violence have increased with urbanisation, the efficiency of the police has not kept pace with the corresponding increase. There are various reasons for the inefficiencies in active policing – right from bureaucratic inertia which results in large vacancies at the level of the police constabulary, to political interference and corruption.

In view of these ground realities it is necessary to strengthen the police machinery through reforms that have been long pending. Such a move would neutralise political interference in police organisational structure and ensure an effective chain of command and control. Attention to rural policing would help to combat left wing extremism which has grown in rural areas. Similarly it is also necessary for state governments to concentrate on the development of an intelligence orientation to tackle terrorism and focus on its coastal, railway and airline security aspects. The police should also stop being seen as an instrument of oppression and should instead become a citizen friendly institution to whom ordinary people can turn to in their hour of need.