JOIN USNational security election
In the run up to the 2019 general elections, national security has been made into a major election issue. The ruling party has sought to attract voter attention by highlighting its national security track record in tackling internal and external threats, the opposition parties have questioned the BJP on its failures and expressed doubts over the timing of certain actions and achievements claimed by the government. The ruling BJP has sought to convey to voters that no other earlier government had handled cross-border terrorism as muscularly as Modi has done.
The September 2016 commando raid across the Line of Control (LoC) and the February 2019 aerial strikes on Jaish-e-Mohammad bases in Balakot are cited as examples of a departure from the policy of the previous non-BJP governments in response to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.
The rise of Modi’s popularity after the aerial strikes was essential to the BJP, which was trying to come to terms with the loss of three key Hindi heartland states -– Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh –- in the 2018 assembly elections. The February 2019 Pulwama terror attack on a paramilitary convoy agitated the sentiments of people across the country to a level where the bread-and-butter issues of the election campaign got relegated to the background. BJP president Amit Shah boasted that India, like the US and Israel, did not hesitate to cross sovereign borders into hostile territory to counter terrorism.
The BJP also highlighted the 1998 nuclear tests under the Vajpayee regime despite the threat of sanctions and the 1999 Kargil conflict. The BJP government also announced the test of an anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon system on March 27 and declared that India is now more secure than before, thanks to its ‘Mission Shakti’.
India’s security environment is peculiar not only because it is a developing country, but also due to its geostrategic location, historical hangovers, socio-cultural milieu, political and economic systems, and not the least, its external policies and world view. India’s long struggle with various forms of politicized violence has created a “chronic crisis of national security”. Since security is perceived as “an integral component of India’s development process,” it has become part of the very “essence of India’s being.”
Few other countries in the world face the full spectrum of threats to their national security as India does. Apart from external security threats, which emanate from near and distant neighbourhood, internal security threats to India come principally in four major forms: militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, insurgency in the North-East of India, Left-wing extremism that pervades the central parts of the country, and jihadist terrorism that threatens almost any part of the country. Then there are other threats, but overlapping with the above identified main forms, namely illegal migration, drug-trafficking, counterfeit currencies, small arms proliferation, and cyber warfare.
The security situation in the North-East region of India has significantly improved over the years, with fewer insurgent attacks now. Similarly, in Central India, the number of districts affected by Left-wing extremism has decreased by around 50%, from over 200 districts to 90 districts. Also, the absence of major jihadist terror attacks across the rest of the country is projected as a major achievement on the internal security front.
The 73-day stand-off with China at Dhoklam in 2017 was advertised as the “biggest geostrategic win,” especially against an adversary which had humiliated India in the 1962 debacle under a Congress government. Considering all these accomplishments, Prime Minister Modi launched the “Main Bhi Chowkidar” campaign in mid-March, referring to himself as the country’s security guard. The appeal, therefore, is to vote for a “strong nationalist party” led by a “strong and decisive leader”.
The opposition parties, on the other hand, questioned the BJP government’s use of cross-border strikes as an “election gimmick”. They raised doubts over the claims that the government made on the number of terrorist casualties in the Balakot airstrike.
Questioning the government
Elements in the opposition went to the extent of questioning if the very terror attack at Pulwama had been orchestrated by the government to gain electoral mileage. The opposition also accused the BJP of focussing the election discourse solely on national security and conveniently excluding other equally important issues like unemployment, poverty, education, health, agrarian crisis and such other key socio-economic issues. The volatile situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the feeling of insecurity among the minority communities are cited as negatives on the national security score-card.
While the decision to politicize national security may help to garner votes in the short term, it will be detrimental to the very body politic in the long run. Political parties cannot afford to hold partisan views on core issues like national security affairs. Instead, political parties need to reflect on the national security situation, the strategic environment and the state of institutions that are responsible for both internal and external security of the country.
Wide-ranging reforms are required in every sphere of the security sector –- police, defence technology, and even the articulation of a national security policy. Surprisingly, none of the parties have referred to cyber threats, despite the fact that India is identified as the third most vulnerable country, after the US and China, to cyber attacks. The BJP’s own website was down for several days in March due to one such attack. It is about time political parties debated on how to promote India’s national security interests. Unfortunately, that is not happening.
(The writer is Associate Professor, Department of International Studies & History, Christ Deemed to be University, Bengaluru)