* more than 500 princely states at the eve of integration
* varied widely in size and status- smallest Bilbari ( annual revenue of Rs. 8) and largest Hyderabad (80,000 square miles)
* differing levels of economic and political development
* all were indirectly controlled by the British
Efforts by British (before independence)
* direct annexation and de facto paramountcy (policy of subordinate isolation) - upto Revolt of 1857
* indirect rule and de jure paramountcy (policy of subordinate union) following GoT Act, 1858
* Chamber of Princes-1921
* Harcourt Butler Committee (alongside Simon Commission)
* Federal Scheme of GoI Act, 1935
Reasons for Integration
* termination of paramountcy would have left princes technically free to choose to accede or remain independent, a possibility suggested by Cripps Mission also
* INC wanted to avoid the 'balkanisation' of India and insisted on the incorporation of the princely states into India in its negotiations with Mountbatten
* development of trade, commerce and communications during the 19th and 20th centuries had bound the princely states to British India through a complex network of interests
* Mountbatten was convinced that integration of the princely states into independent India would to some extent assuage the wounds of Partition
Princes
* Bikaner and Jawahar were motivated by ideological and patriotic considerations
* Bhopal, Travancore and Hyderabad planned to remain independent
* some proposed a confederation of states
* many dreamt of a return to the situation in 16th century India of several independent principalities
* Baroda was the first to join the Constituent Assembly. Bikaner made an appeal which led to several states of Rajputana too joining
* lack of unity
Mountbatten's role
* Lumby and Moore take the view that Mountbatten played a crucial role in ensuring that the princely states agreed to accede to India
* enormous prestige and legitimacy - relative of the King
* personal friend of many of the rulers like the Nawab of Bhopal
* princes believed his position as Gov-Gen of Indian dominion following independence would guarantee safeguard of their interests
* assured them of the most favourable terms of accession as possible
* told them that Britain would no longer patronize or protect them
* convinced them that though technically independednt they would be rudderless on their own
* highlighted the geographic compulsions that meant most of them must choose India and also religious compulsions (otherwise would be violation of 2 Nation theory)
* dealt with the symbolic and princely courtesies of accession
Pressure and Diplomacy (Sardar Patel and V.P. Menon)
* Congress' stated position was that the princely states were not sovereign entities
* While Nehru and Rajaji took aggressive stances(said they would be treated as enemy states), Patel was more conciliatory in his approach
* policy of carrot and stick
* example of realpolitik
* policy of divide and rule - played princes against one another by winning over support of some early on which unsettled others
* used democratic tools like plebiscite (in Junagadh)
Carrot
* aroused spirit of nationalism in rulers
* promised protection of their traditional rights (during accession)
* promised autonomy in internal matters and asked only for surrender of defence, external affairs and communication subjects
* assured the provisions of a new constitution wouldn't apply to them
* offered privy purses, retention of personal property and titles, inducements of Governorships as 'Rajapramukhs' (during integration)
* emphasized that without integration their economies would collapse resulting in situation of anarchy
Stick
* used threat of popular protest
* encouraged praja mandals to agitate for accession to India - Travancore, Mysore, Kathiawar, Orissa
* cut off critical supplies and lines of communication to Junagadh
* threat of military action
* use of military occupation - Junagadh
* use of police action - Hyderabad (Operation Polo)
* Kashmir - threat of proxy war- diminished role of Patel - problem still lingers (other acceeded states - Patel has had a role - no problems since)
Process of Integration
1. Accession
* Instruments of Accession (IoA) - Defence, Foreign Policy, Communications
* produced a rather loose federation, with significant differences in administration and governance across the various states
2. Merger
* Merger Agreements - to merge the smaller states that were not seen by the Government of India to be viable administrative units either into neighbouring provinces
* Covenants of Merger - convince groups of large states to combine to form a "princely union" - Eg. PEPSU, Saurashtra, United States of Rajasthan, Travancore-Cochin
* The only princely states which signed neither Covenants of Merger nor Merger Agreements were Kashmir, Mysore and Hyderabad
* ended the discrete existence of states (except for 3)
3. Democratisation
* special covenant signed by the rajpramukhs of the merged princely unions, binding them to act as constitutional monarchs
* gave same measure of responsible government to people of erstwhile princely states as the rest of India
* but these governments still remained insulated from central control save for the 3 subjects specified in IoA
4. Centralisation and Constitutionalisation
* signed new Instruments of Accession which gave the Government of India the power to pass laws in respect of all matters that fell within the seventh schedule of GoI Act,1935
* only exception was Kashmir, whose relationship with India continued to be governed by the original Instrument of Accession
5. Reorganisation
* State Reorganisations Act, 1956
* Rajpramukhs lost their authority, and were replaced as the constitutional heads of state by Governors appointed by the central government
* privy purse, the exemption from customs duty, and customary dignities survived, but only till 1971
Post-Integration Issues
1. Colonial Enclaves
* French
* Chandernagore- 1950
* Pondicherry, Karaikal, Yanam, Mahe - 1954 (unofficial) ; 1962 (official)
* Portugese - after negotiation attempts failed despite popular protests, forced occupation in 1961
1. Remaining princely states
* Nepal - recognised by the British and the Government of India as being independent
* Bhutan - considered a protectorate outside the international frontier of India - treaty in 1949 that Bhutan would abide by India's direction in external affairs
* Sikkim
* Treaty in 1950 with Chogyal Rulers
* India had responsibility for defence, external affairs and communications, and ultimate responsibility for law and order, but Sikkim was otherwise given full internal autonomy
* 1973 - anti-Chogyal agitation broke out (led by Kazi Dorji of Sikkim State Congress) - demand for popular elections and democratic government
* 1975 - the Sikkim Assembly passed a resolution calling for the state to be fully integrated into India - endorsed by referendum
1. Secessionism
* Kashmir
* Tripura
* Manipur
1. Sub-nationalism
* Telengana
* Vidarbha
Who was responsible for integration ?
* Sardar Patel - through his wisdom, foresight, diplomacy and intrigue - guiding hand
* V.P. Menon - Patel's right-hand man, ran all the hard yards slowly chipping away at the rulers, without which accession wouldn't have been possible
* Bureaucrats - who effected the actual transition by creating the conditions for social and financial integration
* the faceless masses - through vigorous protests and active praja mandals
* without the threat of mass agitation from below there would have been no successful integration from above as states wouldnt have ceded so easily
Critical Perspectives
* Ian Copland and Ramusack - one of the reasons why the princes consented to the demise of their states was that they felt abandoned by the British, and saw themselves as having little other option
* Lumby, in contrast, take the view that the princely states could not have survived as independent entities after the transfer of power, and that their demise was inevitable. They therefore view successful integration of all princely states into India as a triumph for the Government of India and Lord Mountbatten, and as a tribute to the sagacity of the princes.
* Bipan Chandra criticizes Mountbatten for overstating his mandate and his impact on integration. Believes it to be the result of
* Sardar Patels leadership
* V.P. Menons hard work
* Urges and aspirations of the Indian people
References
1. Indias Struggle for Freedom Bipan Chandra
2. India After Gandhi Ramachandra Guha
3. Wikipedia (tried to avoid but was a good source!)
Details
Deepak Padmakumar,
Showing posts with label Bhutan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bhutan. Show all posts
Monday, January 13, 2014
Indias International Relations
Indias International Relations
Intention of this article is to cover relationships with some countries which have not been covered in mrunal.org.
1. India's relations with Bhutan
History
-Small country dependent on neighbouring bigger countries for trade,defence etc. Signed a treaty with India agreeing on consultation with India on foreign affairs. India's influence has been continuous.
-Long shared relationship. China's occupation of Tibet influenced friendliness with India. But Bhutan always wanted to be sovereign inspite of the fact that it received so much of military/economic aids from India.
-Bhutan introduced 'Gross National Happiness' to the world instead of GDP for measuring its growth based on its Buddhist background.
Recent developments
-India is said to have influenced the recently conducted elections in July. People Democratic Party's Tshering tobgay has become the second elected prime minister of Bhutan. India stopped the subsidies on oil suddenly which had a great effect in the elections. Tobgay is looked upon to be Pro-India.
-Even as India claims this to be just an economic decision, Bhutan and China see this as India's effort to maintain its influence over Bhutan.
-Jigmi Thinley, prime minister then of Bhutan, met Wen Jiaboa which is said to have this reaction from India. Also, India changed the ambassador to Bhutan for failing to stop its relations with China.
2. India's relations with Niue and PIF
Background
- Small island with a population of 1400 in the pacific near New Zealand
- Member state of Pacific island forum (PIF)
- Fully wi-fi connected and so wi-fi nation
India's interests
-India is a dialogue partner in PIF (Australia,New zealand,papua new guinea, FIJI are remarkable members). FIJI has been suspended though in 2009.
-Relations are seen as an extension of LOOK EAST policy as the pacific island members constantly support India's bid for UNSC permanent seat, in climate change negotiations and in other UN matters
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/nam-pacific-islands-summits-crucial-for-india/article3828806.ece
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/engaging-indias-far-east/article1150314.ece
3. Indias relations with Ethiopia
-Meles zenawi, the prime minister who passed away developed good relations with india
- India is the II largest FDI investor in commercial agriculture; lakhs of hectares of land used by Indian companies
- Both positive and negative criticism on this FDI but this is proving to be negative with failures.
- India sent its representative to attend the funeral of Meles zenawi
-India offers scholarships to Ethiopian students and trade has increased exponentially recently.
4. Indias relations with Bangladesh (explanation can be found in mrunal.org on individual topics)
- Farakka barrage,Teesta water sharing agreement
-Teen Bijha Corridor
-Illegal immigration
-BSF problems,Terrorism
-Elections which will be held soon will have great influence on Indias interests. Sheik Hasina is advantageous to India. Khaleda zia, the opposition leader is a spooge to Pakistan
5. Indias relations with Tajikistan
- Connect Central Asia policy
-Tajiks president invited bollywood for shooting
-Tajikistan has 1400 km border with Afghan, also borders with Uzbekistan,Kyrgyztan,China and also a small part with POK. Very strategic
-India had assisted Tajikistan in becoming 159th member of WTO
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-tajikistan-stress-stakes-in-afghan-peace/article4620799.ece
Name: Bharath Kamaraj R
Intention of this article is to cover relationships with some countries which have not been covered in mrunal.org.
1. India's relations with Bhutan
History
-Small country dependent on neighbouring bigger countries for trade,defence etc. Signed a treaty with India agreeing on consultation with India on foreign affairs. India's influence has been continuous.
-Long shared relationship. China's occupation of Tibet influenced friendliness with India. But Bhutan always wanted to be sovereign inspite of the fact that it received so much of military/economic aids from India.
-Bhutan introduced 'Gross National Happiness' to the world instead of GDP for measuring its growth based on its Buddhist background.
Recent developments
-India is said to have influenced the recently conducted elections in July. People Democratic Party's Tshering tobgay has become the second elected prime minister of Bhutan. India stopped the subsidies on oil suddenly which had a great effect in the elections. Tobgay is looked upon to be Pro-India.
-Even as India claims this to be just an economic decision, Bhutan and China see this as India's effort to maintain its influence over Bhutan.
-Jigmi Thinley, prime minister then of Bhutan, met Wen Jiaboa which is said to have this reaction from India. Also, India changed the ambassador to Bhutan for failing to stop its relations with China.
2. India's relations with Niue and PIF
Background
- Small island with a population of 1400 in the pacific near New Zealand
- Member state of Pacific island forum (PIF)
- Fully wi-fi connected and so wi-fi nation
India's interests
-India is a dialogue partner in PIF (Australia,New zealand,papua new guinea, FIJI are remarkable members). FIJI has been suspended though in 2009.
-Relations are seen as an extension of LOOK EAST policy as the pacific island members constantly support India's bid for UNSC permanent seat, in climate change negotiations and in other UN matters
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/nam-pacific-islands-summits-crucial-for-india/article3828806.ece
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/engaging-indias-far-east/article1150314.ece
3. Indias relations with Ethiopia
-Meles zenawi, the prime minister who passed away developed good relations with india
- India is the II largest FDI investor in commercial agriculture; lakhs of hectares of land used by Indian companies
- Both positive and negative criticism on this FDI but this is proving to be negative with failures.
- India sent its representative to attend the funeral of Meles zenawi
-India offers scholarships to Ethiopian students and trade has increased exponentially recently.
4. Indias relations with Bangladesh (explanation can be found in mrunal.org on individual topics)
- Farakka barrage,Teesta water sharing agreement
-Teen Bijha Corridor
-Illegal immigration
-BSF problems,Terrorism
-Elections which will be held soon will have great influence on Indias interests. Sheik Hasina is advantageous to India. Khaleda zia, the opposition leader is a spooge to Pakistan
5. Indias relations with Tajikistan
- Connect Central Asia policy
-Tajiks president invited bollywood for shooting
-Tajikistan has 1400 km border with Afghan, also borders with Uzbekistan,Kyrgyztan,China and also a small part with POK. Very strategic
-India had assisted Tajikistan in becoming 159th member of WTO
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-tajikistan-stress-stakes-in-afghan-peace/article4620799.ece
Name: Bharath Kamaraj R
India and its Neighbours - Fodder Points
For all topics, it is advisable to touch the following aspects :
* Geopolitical importance
* Strategic
* Security and Defence
* Energy
* Cultural
* Economic & Trade
* Educational
Conclusion could have: In the geo-political and strategic interest of the nation, we need to strengthen cooperation in three arenas:
* People to People (P2P)
* Government to Government (G2G)
* Business to Business (B2B)
INDIA PAKISTAN (Trade in 2012-13 ~ Rs. 10,000cr. )
* Common history and culture
* 2012: Pak Army asked Tata to supply trucks but Ratan refused
* Yearly custom: On Jan 1, both share the location of their nuclear installations under a 20 year old agreement (in force since Jan 1, 1991) that prevents attack on such places
* Pak wants NSG waiver like India (we got it in 2005). It also wants a 123 type agreement that India signed with USA in 2008
* June 2012: Def. Secr. Level talks on Siachen no result : Pak wants demilitarisation first and India wants demarcation first
* Sir Creek Issue: There is a boundary issue in this 96sq. km marshland in Runn of Kutch coz it is rich in natural gas. Pakistan claims the creek lies in its territory; with the international border falling on the east of the creek. Since 2011, it has extended its claim to Pir Sanai Creek. The landmass separating Pir Sanai from Sir Creek has disappeared, it says, and the mouths of the two water bodies have almost merged.
* Indian Claim :The creek should be divided between the two countries along the thalweg or the main navigable channel.
Since Indian naval assets use Pir Sanai, it is not thrilled about Pakistans latest claim either.
* Water Disputes: Issues because of the Tulbul Navigation Project (on R. Jhelum), Baglihar project (on R. Chenab)--- Water issue b/n the two were settled as per the Indus water Treaty of 1960 acc. To which: India can use Satluj, Ravi, Beas and Pak Indus, Chenab, Jhelum
* Jan 2013: Wagah Border (Amritsar) opened for supply of tradable goods. Here, as a good gesture the Pakis put Hindi hoardings along with the original Urdu ones. ---Punjab, Haryana will be the major beneficiaries here
* Another Issue: Pak is not willing to fast track the proceedings against 26/11 perpetrators, especially Hafiz Saeed. Recently, since Pak had completed an individual probe in this, therefore N. Sharif assured Manmohan Singh that itll be soon sorted out
* Off late, whenever there is a peace talk/ general meeting b/n these two countries the army gets engaged in LOC skirmishes to stall the peace progress. But, in Sept 2013 (on the side of UNGA) Manmohan Singh took a bold step by declaring to continue talks despite such incidents
* Gwadar port of Pak is now being operated by Chinese (was earlier under a Singaporean Co.) = major concern for India
* Pak involvement in 2001 attacks Afzal Guru hanged for this
* Dawood Ibrahim operates from Pak = irritant
* Indo-Pak trade (2012-13) = Rs. 9995.61cr. with a growth of 34.2% over previous years
* When Afzal guru and Kasab were hanged, Paks National Assembly condemned it we told them to shut up and mind their own business
* Nawaz Sharif was born in a village of Amritsar and was generally seen as pro India, but even his coming in as the PM hasnt change much for us
* In 2006, 2 bus services were launched to increase people to people contact (Type IV Diplomacy): Amritsar to Nankana Sahib (PUNJAAB) and Amritsar to Lahore (DOSTI)
* 2013: Relations worsened after Sarabjit (Indian) was supposedly killed in Pak jail and 3 days later Sanaullah (Pak national) died in Jammu
* Issue: India gave MFN status to Pak in 1995 and pak is still discussing it. Their experts seem to think that India is trying to buy Pak through the wallet so they are delaying it. But, in reality, high economic cooperation with India will help it also to grow and then like Ind-China, we could solve the border issues later and engage in trade now
INDIA CHINA
* Disputed territories =>
1. Aksai Chin: NW region of Ladakh
2. Depsang Plains :below Aksai Chin, occupied by China in 1962; China controls its eastern region and India controls the western region
3. Arunachal: India claims it on the basis of the McMohan line which is rejected by China. (Recently, 2 archers from the state were given stapled visatherefore, Inda did not let them go and compete in China)
* China is believed to be strategically trying to contain India through its String of Pearls Policy which includes gathering control over various ports (through a facade of economic interests) like:
1. Sitwe (Myanmar)
2. Chittagong (Bangladesh)
3. Hambantotta (SL)
4. Marau(Maldives)
5. Gwadar(Pakistan)
* May 2013: Le Keqiang visit discussed
6. Dams
7. How to set the trade deficit right
8. Staple Visa issue (of Arunachal)
9. Border Issue (because the visit was shortly after the Daulate Beg Oldie incident of April 13)
* China is trying to woo the traditional strongholds of India eg.
1. 800km natural gas pipeline from Myanmar to China- functional snice July 2013 ---Work on a similar oil pipeline has begun
2. Aynak Copper mining contract with Afghanistan in 2007
3. Supplies arms to SL at diplomatic prices
4. There were allegations of Chinese hand behind the Maldives GMR issue
* Oct 2013: Manmohan Singh vist to China Border Cooperation Agreement
* Indias ONGC VL is exploring oil in Vitnams PHU KAN basin of south China sea China opposes it
* Of late China has been making undue inroads inside Gilgit Baltistan. It is estimated that China willinvestmore than USD 30 billion in Gilgit-Baltistan in the coming years to build dams and connect Xinjiang with Gwadar via rail and road
* Trade itself has become a source of friction as Indias trade deficit with China has soared from $1 billion in 2002 to $40 billion in 2013
* India fears diversion of Brahmaputra waters if the following proposed dams are built:
INDIA SRI LANKA
* Background
1. Mahatma Gandhi called Sri Lanka Indias closest neighbour
2. More than 2500 years old relationship
* Intellectual, cultural, religious and linguistic intercourse
* India supported SL against the LTTE under Operation Pawan (1987-89)
* Indo SL Accord of 1987 between Rajiv Gandhi and Jayawardane resulted in the 13th Amendment which calls for more powers to the provincesthe amendment is based on the lines of Indian federal structure with three listsnot in force till date. After the Tamil national Alliance won the elections in the northern province of Jafna, the issue has again come up to put the 13th amendment into force.
* 2013: Sri Lanka has welcomed a whopping Rs 1,372 crore Indian housing assistance programme to build around 4000 homes in the country's eastern province. The housing assistance programme is one of the largest grant assistance projects implemented by India outside the country.
* Relations have been generally friendly, but were controversially affected by theSri Lankan civil war(1970's to 1980's) and by the failure ofIndian interventionduring the war.
* FTA in 2000
* China sells arms to SL at diplomatic prices
* India voted against SL in UNHRC strategists call it disastrous as it can push SL towards China
- 2013: Sri Lankan courts gave a clean chit to its military in HR vioaltions
* Territorial Issues
1. Killing of Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan waters
2. Kachchatheevu Island
* The island was given to Sri Lanka by India in 1974 (w/o any constitutional amendment as was made compulsory in 1960 Berubari case)
* Tamil Nadu government has been demanding the annulment of this ceding (since 2001) but SL is not ready to give it back
* India is Sri Lankas largest trade partner overall and it is also SLs largest foreign investor. Sl is our largest trade partner in Asia
* Aug 2013: UN High Commissioner for HR Navi Pillay went to SL on a 7 day fact finding mission and concluded that SL is heading in an authoritarian direction with the over involvement of military in civilian activities
* Hambantotta port being maintained by China = issue for India
* China helped SL in its first ever space mission- launched a communication satellite
* India now has 4 missions in Sri Lanka
* The consulates at Jaffna and Hambantota were opened in 2010.
* July 2011: India-Lanka begin work on the Kankasanthurai port
* This was a port near Jaffna that was earlier partly controlled by LTTE
INDIA - BANGLADESH
Background
* Longest boundary: 4096 km
* Common cultural ties and history of national movement
* 1971 liberation
* India provided haven to refugees
* Provided aid, training and shelter for the exiled govt of Bangladesh
* 1972: Treaty of friendship, cooperation and peace
* Aka Indira-Mujib treaty
* 1975: Assassination of Mujib
* Establishment of military regimes that sought to distance Bangladesh from India
* ULFA started operating its bases from the territory of Bangladesh
* Bangladesh alleged that India was supporting the Shanti Bahini insurgency in the Chittagong Hill tracts
* Some points
* Our geographical proximity makes us natural partners
* Common cultural identity can promote this partnership
Major Outstanding Issues
Table 1
IssueIndias ConcernBangladeshs Concern
SecurityBangladeshs haven to NE insurgent groups, especially ULFA: already taken care by the Sheikh Hasina government
Water sharing/Farakka Barrage, Teesta and FeniThere are 54 rivers in common and only one river water sharing agreement (Ganga River Water Sharing).Bangladesh says that it does not receive a fair share of the Ganges waters during the drier seasons, and gets flooded during the monsoons when India releases excess waters. Tipaimukhdam on R. Barak in Manipur decreases water (by diversifying water for crops) that should otherwise reach us.Less flow of water means high siltation in the deltaic nation
Enclaves (119th Amendment Bill = pending in Parliament)*51 Indian enclaves in Bangladesh (28 sq km)111 Bangladeshi enclaves in India (70 sq km)
ImmigrationThere is illegal immigration from Bangladesh to India, especially in Assam and Tripura
Maritime BoundaryThis is mineNo this is mine
South Talpatti islandIt emerged in the Bay of Bengal on theBangladeshside of river that makes the boundary betweenIndiaandBangladeshin the aftermath of theBhola cyclone in 1970, and disappeared before or duringCyclone Ailain 2009.Although the island was uninhabited and there were no permanent settlements or stations located on it, both India and Bangladesh claimedsovereigntyover it. The issue of sovereignty was also a part of the larger dispute over the methodology of settling the maritime boundary between the two nations.
Fencing of bordersIndia has fenced bordersCough syrups are smuggled to us from India
Table 2
BindersSeparators
1. Indias role in Bangladeshs liberation Indira Gandhi conferred the highest national award
2. Security concerns: India shares the longest international border with Bangladesh (4096km)
3. Share common concerns: poverty, development, corruption and terrorism
4. The issue of enclaves
5. Shared history and common heritage. Linked by culture: Rabindranath Tagore, Surya sen (Master Da), Bengali language, outflow-inflow of people
6. There is no demarcation of maritime boundary. Bangladesh went to the Tribunal of the Law of the Seas in this issue and got a ruling in its favour therefore it now has control over the St. Martins island which has possible gas reserves
7. In 1982, India had gifted the teen bigha region to Bangladesh so that it could link its two enclaves
8. Negative mindset towards India still prevails among certain Bangladeshi circles
9. Bilateral trade in 2012-13 was Rs. 27870.71cr with a growth rate of whopping 51.58% over 2011-12. India enjoys trade surplus.
11. Sheikh Hasina govt (Awami League) = pro India
12. Bangladesh National Party and Jamaat-e-Islami = anti India
13. India has started supplying electricity to Bangladesh to the tune of 200MW as of Oct will soon reach 500MW
15. Better US-Bangla relations= good for India
Recent:
* Feb 2013: Shinde signed a new extradition and visa regime treaty b/w Ind-Bangla.
* Shabagh Square protests occurred because Kader Molla (k/a Butcher of the Bengalis) = jamaat leader, was given life imprisonment and not death sentence as was expected due to involvement in 1971 war crimes. He was pro-Pak. After the protests, the judgement was reversed and he was given death. Many others also got harsh punishments for the war crimes
* 2013 : new border haats opened at Srinagar and Kamla Sagar (to improve Type IV diplomacy)
* May 2013: Pranab Mukherjee visited Dhaka
* Taslima Nasreen (novelist wrote Lajja) says about India: It feels, speaks, smells like home
* India's security establishment has been tracking radio broadcasts by Iran-Bangla Radio, a Bengali-language radio service which is part of an Iran-Bangladesh goodwill initiative, broadcasting radio programmes inside Bangladesh. The radio service has been consistently putting out anti-India polemic and messaging, which is now a matter of growing concern to the Indian government and security establishment,
INDIA BHUTAN (Trade in 2012-13 = Rs. 1092cr.)
* Friendship treaty in 1949, where India would assist Bhutan in foreign relations.
* The Indo-Bhutan Friendship Treaty of 2007 (revised) strengthens Bhutan's status as an independent and sovereign nation.
* Tata Poweris building a hydro-electric dam. This dam will greatly develop the Bhutanese economy by providing employment, and by selling electricity to India (70% of the produced amount) and fulfilling India's burgeoning energy needs. Due to this damBhutan's economy grew 20%, the second highest growth rate in the world.
* RAW keeps King Wangchuck updated on any Chinese movement on Bhutanese borders
* Bhutan = largest foreign aid receiver of India. As of 2012-13 fiscal, India's budgetary support to the Kingdom country stands at USD 600 Million, about one-third of India's overall annual foreign aid
* 2003-04: Royal Bhutanese Army conducted operations against ULFA
* Jan 26 2013: King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, was the chief guest of the Republic Day Parade in Delhi. Before that Salman Khurshid's visited Bhutan (14-15 Jan. 2013).
* Thewithdrawal of subsidiesbefore Bhutans elections reflected how India did not like the recent pro China stand taken by the nation by visiting China in 2012. The move helped Tshering Tobgay of PDP replace the earlier PM Jigme Thinley. Indian ambassador to Bhutan Pavan K. Varma was forced to resign due to his failure to prevent Bhutan developing relations with China.
* Economic and Development cooperation:
* India is the largest trade and development partner of Bhutan
* 99.9% of Bhutans export is to India (electricity + timber)
* India has been extending financial assistance to Bhutans FYPs (first plan in 1961)
* Some major projects carried out with Indian assistance
* 1020 MW Tala HEP
* 336 MW Chukha HEP
* 60 MW Kurichhu HEP
* Penden Cement Plant
* Paro Airport
* Bhutan Broadcasting Station
* Major Highways
* Electricity Transmission and Distribution System
* Indo-Bhutan Microwave Link
* Exploration of Mineral Resources
* Survey and Mapping
* GoI also provides support to Bhutan to develop various mega projects
* Tala HEP
* India to purchase at least 10000 MW of power from Bhutan by 2020
* GoI has also committed to establish a 1 million tonne cement project, Dungsum Cement Plant at Nganglam
* First ever rail link between India Bhutan announced by PM MMS during the 2008 visit to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's historic visit to Bhutan in 1958.
* The project - also called the Nehru Golden Jubliee Railway Link - was proposed as a 18 kilometres link connecting Hashimara in West Bengal to Toribari in Bhutan.
* still not functional
INDIA MYANMAR (Trade in 2012-13 ~3000 cr.)
* Myanmar = cultural ties it was separated from india in 1937
* Diplomatic relations were estd in 1948 after it gained independence under their leader Gen. Aung San.
* But relations were strained after the military junta took over since last year = improving relations
* It is imp. For our Look East Policy = land bridge to SE Asia
* 1643km border
* Access to NE : It is not so well known that Myanmarese ports provide India the shortest approach route to several of India's north-eastern states.
* Chinas share of FDI in Burma ~ 33% and Indias <1%
* Disputes:
1. Coco Island = internationally considered Burmas but we still lay claims on it.
2. Narcondum islands = part of A&N islands
* Myanmar = worlds 10th biggest gas reserves we should improve our relations to get more of it
* Talks are on for a 1575 km gas pipeline from Sitwe port in Myanmar to Gaya (Bihar)
* Acc. To the Border trade Agreement of 1994, we opened 2 border trade points at Moreh-Tamu and Zowkhatar-Rhi. In 2012, a 3rd one was opened at Somrai
* Insurgencies & Drug Trafficking in NE = major issue
* restoration of the historic 11th century Ananda temple in Bagan (Mandalay region where Tilak was sent in 1897) to be undertaken with the assistance of the Archaeological Survey of India, with the involvement of the Ministry of Culture of Myanmar.
* Bilateral Highway India-Myanmar= Built
* Trilateral highway India-Myanmar-Thailand = under construction
* Nov 2012 = Obamas visit (1st ever by a US Pres); May 2013 = 2nd Obama visit => signs of improving relations with USA= good for India (because itll pull them away from China)
* Aung San Suu Kyi studied in LSR, Delhi. She had won the 1989 elections but was put under house arrest. In April 2012 by elections won 43/44 seats and is now the leader of opposition now.
* Myanmars Parliament still has 25% seats reserved for the army
* India and Myanmar = both part of BIMSTEC and Mekong Ganga Cooperation
* Way Forward:
* While India is concerned with the slow pace of progress on the issue of national reconciliation and the consequent delay in installing a democratically elected government in power in Yangon, the strategic scenario compels India to balance its security concerns with its support for the emergence of democratic rule.
* It is only through close engagement that India can promote leverages with the ruling regime to nudge it gently towards national reconciliation.
* India must also increase its economic footprint in Myanmar, particularly in areas that are contiguous to India.
* The fear psychosis of Myanmar's military junta is being exploited by China and this cannot be in the interest of either India or any of the other democracies of the free world.
* It is important to end Myanmar's isolation and to allay its fears that the whole world is ganging up against it.
* India's national interest lies in a strong and stable Myanmar that observes strict neutrality between India and China
* Kaladan: India and Myanmar have quietly finalised the $100-million Kaladan multi-modal link project in 2008, which will provide much-needed transit access between the north-eastern states and the rest of the country. Estimated at a cost of IC (Indian Currency) 545 crore the project proposes 826 km route by sea, river and road from Kolkata to Mizoram. The highest distance of 539 km will be covered from Kolkata port in India to Sittwe port in Myanmar encircling the coastal line of Bangladesh in the Bay of Bengal. The proposed sea route is then connected with the riverine channel through river Kaladan up to 158 km in the upstream before being linked to a land route that stretches about 129 km through the mountainous terrain in the Chin State of Myanmar before finally reaching Mizoram in India.
Harshit Narang
Sources:
* http://mrunal.org
* The Hindu
* www.livemint.com
* http://thediplomat.com
* Wikipedia
* Mea.gov.in
* Geopolitical importance
* Strategic
* Security and Defence
* Energy
* Cultural
* Economic & Trade
* Educational
Conclusion could have: In the geo-political and strategic interest of the nation, we need to strengthen cooperation in three arenas:
* People to People (P2P)
* Government to Government (G2G)
* Business to Business (B2B)
INDIA PAKISTAN (Trade in 2012-13 ~ Rs. 10,000cr. )
* Common history and culture
* 2012: Pak Army asked Tata to supply trucks but Ratan refused
* Yearly custom: On Jan 1, both share the location of their nuclear installations under a 20 year old agreement (in force since Jan 1, 1991) that prevents attack on such places
* Pak wants NSG waiver like India (we got it in 2005). It also wants a 123 type agreement that India signed with USA in 2008
* June 2012: Def. Secr. Level talks on Siachen no result : Pak wants demilitarisation first and India wants demarcation first
* Sir Creek Issue: There is a boundary issue in this 96sq. km marshland in Runn of Kutch coz it is rich in natural gas. Pakistan claims the creek lies in its territory; with the international border falling on the east of the creek. Since 2011, it has extended its claim to Pir Sanai Creek. The landmass separating Pir Sanai from Sir Creek has disappeared, it says, and the mouths of the two water bodies have almost merged.
* Indian Claim :The creek should be divided between the two countries along the thalweg or the main navigable channel.
Since Indian naval assets use Pir Sanai, it is not thrilled about Pakistans latest claim either.
* Water Disputes: Issues because of the Tulbul Navigation Project (on R. Jhelum), Baglihar project (on R. Chenab)--- Water issue b/n the two were settled as per the Indus water Treaty of 1960 acc. To which: India can use Satluj, Ravi, Beas and Pak Indus, Chenab, Jhelum
* Jan 2013: Wagah Border (Amritsar) opened for supply of tradable goods. Here, as a good gesture the Pakis put Hindi hoardings along with the original Urdu ones. ---Punjab, Haryana will be the major beneficiaries here
* Another Issue: Pak is not willing to fast track the proceedings against 26/11 perpetrators, especially Hafiz Saeed. Recently, since Pak had completed an individual probe in this, therefore N. Sharif assured Manmohan Singh that itll be soon sorted out
* Off late, whenever there is a peace talk/ general meeting b/n these two countries the army gets engaged in LOC skirmishes to stall the peace progress. But, in Sept 2013 (on the side of UNGA) Manmohan Singh took a bold step by declaring to continue talks despite such incidents
* Gwadar port of Pak is now being operated by Chinese (was earlier under a Singaporean Co.) = major concern for India
* Pak involvement in 2001 attacks Afzal Guru hanged for this
* Dawood Ibrahim operates from Pak = irritant
* Indo-Pak trade (2012-13) = Rs. 9995.61cr. with a growth of 34.2% over previous years
* When Afzal guru and Kasab were hanged, Paks National Assembly condemned it we told them to shut up and mind their own business
* Nawaz Sharif was born in a village of Amritsar and was generally seen as pro India, but even his coming in as the PM hasnt change much for us
* In 2006, 2 bus services were launched to increase people to people contact (Type IV Diplomacy): Amritsar to Nankana Sahib (PUNJAAB) and Amritsar to Lahore (DOSTI)
* 2013: Relations worsened after Sarabjit (Indian) was supposedly killed in Pak jail and 3 days later Sanaullah (Pak national) died in Jammu
* Issue: India gave MFN status to Pak in 1995 and pak is still discussing it. Their experts seem to think that India is trying to buy Pak through the wallet so they are delaying it. But, in reality, high economic cooperation with India will help it also to grow and then like Ind-China, we could solve the border issues later and engage in trade now
INDIA CHINA
* Disputed territories =>
1. Aksai Chin: NW region of Ladakh
2. Depsang Plains :below Aksai Chin, occupied by China in 1962; China controls its eastern region and India controls the western region
3. Arunachal: India claims it on the basis of the McMohan line which is rejected by China. (Recently, 2 archers from the state were given stapled visatherefore, Inda did not let them go and compete in China)
* China is believed to be strategically trying to contain India through its String of Pearls Policy which includes gathering control over various ports (through a facade of economic interests) like:
1. Sitwe (Myanmar)
2. Chittagong (Bangladesh)
3. Hambantotta (SL)
4. Marau(Maldives)
5. Gwadar(Pakistan)
* May 2013: Le Keqiang visit discussed
6. Dams
7. How to set the trade deficit right
8. Staple Visa issue (of Arunachal)
9. Border Issue (because the visit was shortly after the Daulate Beg Oldie incident of April 13)
* China is trying to woo the traditional strongholds of India eg.
1. 800km natural gas pipeline from Myanmar to China- functional snice July 2013 ---Work on a similar oil pipeline has begun
2. Aynak Copper mining contract with Afghanistan in 2007
3. Supplies arms to SL at diplomatic prices
4. There were allegations of Chinese hand behind the Maldives GMR issue
* Oct 2013: Manmohan Singh vist to China Border Cooperation Agreement
* Indias ONGC VL is exploring oil in Vitnams PHU KAN basin of south China sea China opposes it
* Of late China has been making undue inroads inside Gilgit Baltistan. It is estimated that China willinvestmore than USD 30 billion in Gilgit-Baltistan in the coming years to build dams and connect Xinjiang with Gwadar via rail and road
* Trade itself has become a source of friction as Indias trade deficit with China has soared from $1 billion in 2002 to $40 billion in 2013
* India fears diversion of Brahmaputra waters if the following proposed dams are built:
INDIA SRI LANKA
* Background
1. Mahatma Gandhi called Sri Lanka Indias closest neighbour
2. More than 2500 years old relationship
* Intellectual, cultural, religious and linguistic intercourse
* India supported SL against the LTTE under Operation Pawan (1987-89)
* Indo SL Accord of 1987 between Rajiv Gandhi and Jayawardane resulted in the 13th Amendment which calls for more powers to the provincesthe amendment is based on the lines of Indian federal structure with three listsnot in force till date. After the Tamil national Alliance won the elections in the northern province of Jafna, the issue has again come up to put the 13th amendment into force.
* 2013: Sri Lanka has welcomed a whopping Rs 1,372 crore Indian housing assistance programme to build around 4000 homes in the country's eastern province. The housing assistance programme is one of the largest grant assistance projects implemented by India outside the country.
* Relations have been generally friendly, but were controversially affected by theSri Lankan civil war(1970's to 1980's) and by the failure ofIndian interventionduring the war.
* FTA in 2000
* China sells arms to SL at diplomatic prices
* India voted against SL in UNHRC strategists call it disastrous as it can push SL towards China
- 2013: Sri Lankan courts gave a clean chit to its military in HR vioaltions
* Territorial Issues
1. Killing of Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan waters
2. Kachchatheevu Island
* The island was given to Sri Lanka by India in 1974 (w/o any constitutional amendment as was made compulsory in 1960 Berubari case)
* Tamil Nadu government has been demanding the annulment of this ceding (since 2001) but SL is not ready to give it back
* India is Sri Lankas largest trade partner overall and it is also SLs largest foreign investor. Sl is our largest trade partner in Asia
* Aug 2013: UN High Commissioner for HR Navi Pillay went to SL on a 7 day fact finding mission and concluded that SL is heading in an authoritarian direction with the over involvement of military in civilian activities
* Hambantotta port being maintained by China = issue for India
* China helped SL in its first ever space mission- launched a communication satellite
* India now has 4 missions in Sri Lanka
* The consulates at Jaffna and Hambantota were opened in 2010.
* July 2011: India-Lanka begin work on the Kankasanthurai port
* This was a port near Jaffna that was earlier partly controlled by LTTE
INDIA - BANGLADESH
Background
* Longest boundary: 4096 km
* Common cultural ties and history of national movement
* 1971 liberation
* India provided haven to refugees
* Provided aid, training and shelter for the exiled govt of Bangladesh
* 1972: Treaty of friendship, cooperation and peace
* Aka Indira-Mujib treaty
* 1975: Assassination of Mujib
* Establishment of military regimes that sought to distance Bangladesh from India
* ULFA started operating its bases from the territory of Bangladesh
* Bangladesh alleged that India was supporting the Shanti Bahini insurgency in the Chittagong Hill tracts
* Some points
* Our geographical proximity makes us natural partners
* Common cultural identity can promote this partnership
Major Outstanding Issues
Table 1
IssueIndias ConcernBangladeshs Concern
SecurityBangladeshs haven to NE insurgent groups, especially ULFA: already taken care by the Sheikh Hasina government
Water sharing/Farakka Barrage, Teesta and FeniThere are 54 rivers in common and only one river water sharing agreement (Ganga River Water Sharing).Bangladesh says that it does not receive a fair share of the Ganges waters during the drier seasons, and gets flooded during the monsoons when India releases excess waters. Tipaimukhdam on R. Barak in Manipur decreases water (by diversifying water for crops) that should otherwise reach us.Less flow of water means high siltation in the deltaic nation
Enclaves (119th Amendment Bill = pending in Parliament)*51 Indian enclaves in Bangladesh (28 sq km)111 Bangladeshi enclaves in India (70 sq km)
ImmigrationThere is illegal immigration from Bangladesh to India, especially in Assam and Tripura
Maritime BoundaryThis is mineNo this is mine
South Talpatti islandIt emerged in the Bay of Bengal on theBangladeshside of river that makes the boundary betweenIndiaandBangladeshin the aftermath of theBhola cyclone in 1970, and disappeared before or duringCyclone Ailain 2009.Although the island was uninhabited and there were no permanent settlements or stations located on it, both India and Bangladesh claimedsovereigntyover it. The issue of sovereignty was also a part of the larger dispute over the methodology of settling the maritime boundary between the two nations.
Fencing of bordersIndia has fenced bordersCough syrups are smuggled to us from India
Table 2
BindersSeparators
1. Indias role in Bangladeshs liberation Indira Gandhi conferred the highest national award
2. Security concerns: India shares the longest international border with Bangladesh (4096km)
3. Share common concerns: poverty, development, corruption and terrorism
4. The issue of enclaves
5. Shared history and common heritage. Linked by culture: Rabindranath Tagore, Surya sen (Master Da), Bengali language, outflow-inflow of people
6. There is no demarcation of maritime boundary. Bangladesh went to the Tribunal of the Law of the Seas in this issue and got a ruling in its favour therefore it now has control over the St. Martins island which has possible gas reserves
7. In 1982, India had gifted the teen bigha region to Bangladesh so that it could link its two enclaves
8. Negative mindset towards India still prevails among certain Bangladeshi circles
9. Bilateral trade in 2012-13 was Rs. 27870.71cr with a growth rate of whopping 51.58% over 2011-12. India enjoys trade surplus.
11. Sheikh Hasina govt (Awami League) = pro India
12. Bangladesh National Party and Jamaat-e-Islami = anti India
13. India has started supplying electricity to Bangladesh to the tune of 200MW as of Oct will soon reach 500MW
15. Better US-Bangla relations= good for India
Recent:
* Feb 2013: Shinde signed a new extradition and visa regime treaty b/w Ind-Bangla.
* Shabagh Square protests occurred because Kader Molla (k/a Butcher of the Bengalis) = jamaat leader, was given life imprisonment and not death sentence as was expected due to involvement in 1971 war crimes. He was pro-Pak. After the protests, the judgement was reversed and he was given death. Many others also got harsh punishments for the war crimes
* 2013 : new border haats opened at Srinagar and Kamla Sagar (to improve Type IV diplomacy)
* May 2013: Pranab Mukherjee visited Dhaka
* Taslima Nasreen (novelist wrote Lajja) says about India: It feels, speaks, smells like home
* India's security establishment has been tracking radio broadcasts by Iran-Bangla Radio, a Bengali-language radio service which is part of an Iran-Bangladesh goodwill initiative, broadcasting radio programmes inside Bangladesh. The radio service has been consistently putting out anti-India polemic and messaging, which is now a matter of growing concern to the Indian government and security establishment,
INDIA BHUTAN (Trade in 2012-13 = Rs. 1092cr.)
* Friendship treaty in 1949, where India would assist Bhutan in foreign relations.
* The Indo-Bhutan Friendship Treaty of 2007 (revised) strengthens Bhutan's status as an independent and sovereign nation.
* Tata Poweris building a hydro-electric dam. This dam will greatly develop the Bhutanese economy by providing employment, and by selling electricity to India (70% of the produced amount) and fulfilling India's burgeoning energy needs. Due to this damBhutan's economy grew 20%, the second highest growth rate in the world.
* RAW keeps King Wangchuck updated on any Chinese movement on Bhutanese borders
* Bhutan = largest foreign aid receiver of India. As of 2012-13 fiscal, India's budgetary support to the Kingdom country stands at USD 600 Million, about one-third of India's overall annual foreign aid
* 2003-04: Royal Bhutanese Army conducted operations against ULFA
* Jan 26 2013: King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, was the chief guest of the Republic Day Parade in Delhi. Before that Salman Khurshid's visited Bhutan (14-15 Jan. 2013).
* Thewithdrawal of subsidiesbefore Bhutans elections reflected how India did not like the recent pro China stand taken by the nation by visiting China in 2012. The move helped Tshering Tobgay of PDP replace the earlier PM Jigme Thinley. Indian ambassador to Bhutan Pavan K. Varma was forced to resign due to his failure to prevent Bhutan developing relations with China.
* Economic and Development cooperation:
* India is the largest trade and development partner of Bhutan
* 99.9% of Bhutans export is to India (electricity + timber)
* India has been extending financial assistance to Bhutans FYPs (first plan in 1961)
* Some major projects carried out with Indian assistance
* 1020 MW Tala HEP
* 336 MW Chukha HEP
* 60 MW Kurichhu HEP
* Penden Cement Plant
* Paro Airport
* Bhutan Broadcasting Station
* Major Highways
* Electricity Transmission and Distribution System
* Indo-Bhutan Microwave Link
* Exploration of Mineral Resources
* Survey and Mapping
* GoI also provides support to Bhutan to develop various mega projects
* Tala HEP
* India to purchase at least 10000 MW of power from Bhutan by 2020
* GoI has also committed to establish a 1 million tonne cement project, Dungsum Cement Plant at Nganglam
* First ever rail link between India Bhutan announced by PM MMS during the 2008 visit to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's historic visit to Bhutan in 1958.
* The project - also called the Nehru Golden Jubliee Railway Link - was proposed as a 18 kilometres link connecting Hashimara in West Bengal to Toribari in Bhutan.
* still not functional
INDIA MYANMAR (Trade in 2012-13 ~3000 cr.)
* Myanmar = cultural ties it was separated from india in 1937
* Diplomatic relations were estd in 1948 after it gained independence under their leader Gen. Aung San.
* But relations were strained after the military junta took over since last year = improving relations
* It is imp. For our Look East Policy = land bridge to SE Asia
* 1643km border
* Access to NE : It is not so well known that Myanmarese ports provide India the shortest approach route to several of India's north-eastern states.
* Chinas share of FDI in Burma ~ 33% and Indias <1%
* Disputes:
1. Coco Island = internationally considered Burmas but we still lay claims on it.
2. Narcondum islands = part of A&N islands
* Myanmar = worlds 10th biggest gas reserves we should improve our relations to get more of it
* Talks are on for a 1575 km gas pipeline from Sitwe port in Myanmar to Gaya (Bihar)
* Acc. To the Border trade Agreement of 1994, we opened 2 border trade points at Moreh-Tamu and Zowkhatar-Rhi. In 2012, a 3rd one was opened at Somrai
* Insurgencies & Drug Trafficking in NE = major issue
* restoration of the historic 11th century Ananda temple in Bagan (Mandalay region where Tilak was sent in 1897) to be undertaken with the assistance of the Archaeological Survey of India, with the involvement of the Ministry of Culture of Myanmar.
* Bilateral Highway India-Myanmar= Built
* Trilateral highway India-Myanmar-Thailand = under construction
* Nov 2012 = Obamas visit (1st ever by a US Pres); May 2013 = 2nd Obama visit => signs of improving relations with USA= good for India (because itll pull them away from China)
* Aung San Suu Kyi studied in LSR, Delhi. She had won the 1989 elections but was put under house arrest. In April 2012 by elections won 43/44 seats and is now the leader of opposition now.
* Myanmars Parliament still has 25% seats reserved for the army
* India and Myanmar = both part of BIMSTEC and Mekong Ganga Cooperation
* Way Forward:
* While India is concerned with the slow pace of progress on the issue of national reconciliation and the consequent delay in installing a democratically elected government in power in Yangon, the strategic scenario compels India to balance its security concerns with its support for the emergence of democratic rule.
* It is only through close engagement that India can promote leverages with the ruling regime to nudge it gently towards national reconciliation.
* India must also increase its economic footprint in Myanmar, particularly in areas that are contiguous to India.
* The fear psychosis of Myanmar's military junta is being exploited by China and this cannot be in the interest of either India or any of the other democracies of the free world.
* It is important to end Myanmar's isolation and to allay its fears that the whole world is ganging up against it.
* India's national interest lies in a strong and stable Myanmar that observes strict neutrality between India and China
* Kaladan: India and Myanmar have quietly finalised the $100-million Kaladan multi-modal link project in 2008, which will provide much-needed transit access between the north-eastern states and the rest of the country. Estimated at a cost of IC (Indian Currency) 545 crore the project proposes 826 km route by sea, river and road from Kolkata to Mizoram. The highest distance of 539 km will be covered from Kolkata port in India to Sittwe port in Myanmar encircling the coastal line of Bangladesh in the Bay of Bengal. The proposed sea route is then connected with the riverine channel through river Kaladan up to 158 km in the upstream before being linked to a land route that stretches about 129 km through the mountainous terrain in the Chin State of Myanmar before finally reaching Mizoram in India.
Harshit Narang
Sources:
* http://mrunal.org
* The Hindu
* www.livemint.com
* http://thediplomat.com
* Wikipedia
* Mea.gov.in
Border Management
Before 1947, the Indian subcontinent was a single geographical unit comprising India, Pakistan, Nepal, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. However, political and administrative compulsions led to the division of the subcontinent and the eventual break-up of its social and economic unity on religious and ethnic identities. Consequently, people of the same village often found themselves citizens of two different countries separated by a line. Their livelihoods were severely threatened by the disruption of trade as barriers were erected.
Indias boundary with each of its neighbours runs through a variety of ecological milieus, each with its own unique setting and associated problems. For example, India-Pakistan border areas are spread across extreme climatic conditions given that the boundary runs from the hot Thar Desert in Rajasthan to the cold Himalayas in Jammu and Kashmir. Similarly, in the north, the India-China boundary runs along one of the loftiest mountain
ranges covered with snow all through the year. The India-Myanmar boundary is draped with lush tropical forests with its myriad undergrowths. The Indo-Bangladesh boundary has to
cope up with the ever-shifting riverbeds in the region. These diverse ecological and climatic conditions create immense hurdles for extending the security and administrative reach in these border areas. Coupled with this, the man-made nature of these boundaries also throws up serious issues such as border disputes, porous borders, continuance of trans-border ethnic and social ties, etc. Together, they pose a serious challenge to the effective management of the borders.
India has 15,106.7 km. of land border and a coastline of 7,516.6 km. including island territories.
Challenges to Border Management
Indo-Bangladesh Border
* Border was drawn by Boundary Commission chaired by Sir Cyril Radcliffe.
* Cyril Radcliff noted that the Bengal has very few natural boundaries. The border thus meanders through villages, agricultural lands, and rivers with many disputed pockets. Un-demarcated stretches, existence of enclaves (chhit-mohols), and adverse possessions have been causing constant friction.
Enclaves: portion of territory within or surrounded by a larger territory whose inhabitants are culturally or ethnically distinct.
Adverse possessions: another's real property can be acquired withoutcompensation, by holding the property in a manner that conflicts persist
* In most cases it was decided that the district boundary should constitute the land boundary and for the riverine boundary, the mid-stream of the main channel of the rivers.
* However, because of the nature of the boundary some old and new disputes arose leading to renewed tensions.
* To reduce tensions, the Nehru-Noon Agreement on India-East Pakistan Border was signed in 1958.
* In 1974, three years after the liberation of Bangladesh, the then prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman, inked an Indira-Mujib Agreement to settle the land boundary issue.
* Under the agreement, India retained the southern half of South Berubari Union No.12 and the adjacent enclaves and Bangladesh retained Dahagram and Angorpota enclaves. India also promised to lease corridor, Tin Bigha to Bangladesh to connect Dahagram with Panbari Mouza.
* But even after so many years, the enclaves and adverse possessions have not been exchanged. At present, there are 111 Indian enclaves in Bangladesh and 51 enclaves of Bangladesh in India.
* India does not have access to these enclaves in Bangladesh, and hence, no administrative set-up to provide facilities like police stations, courts, schools, roads, hospitals, banks, markets, etc. to their residents could be established. They are also excluded from periodic Census surveys and elections. In many instances, anti-social elements and insurgents misuse the absence of police forces and take shelter in these enclaves.
* As regards adverse possessions, 38 patches of Indian land are in adverse possession of Bangladesh and 50 patches of Bangladeshi land are in adverse possession of India.
* Various push factors such as political upheavals, religious conflicts, demographic pressures, environmental crises and pull factors such as availability of land, employment opportunities, medical care, and education have contributed to the large-scale influx of Bangladeshis into India.
* The Task Force on Border Management headed by Shri Madhav Godbole, which submitted its report in 2001 said 3 lakh Bangladeshis entering India illegally every month.
* This illegal migration has changed the demographic profile of many border states, which has resulted in separatist movements.
* Presently, the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), the All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF), the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) as well as several other insurgent outfits from the Northeast have bases in the Chittagong, Khagrachari, and Sylhet districts of Bangladesh.
* Smuggling of cattle has become a serious concern. Truckloads of cattle from Haryana, Rajasthan, UP and MP are shipped to the India-Bangladesh border for grazing purposes. From here, these cattle are smuggled into Bangladesh as they fetch more prices. Interestingly, the Bangladesh government levies custom duties on these smuggled cattle at the rate of Rs. 420 per cattle. And it is estimated that the Indian government is losing Rs. 10560 crores to cattle smugglers.
* Along with cattle, smuggling of arms, and other essential items such as sugar, salt and diesel, human and narcotics trafficking, counterfeit Indian currency, kidnapping, and thefts are quite rampant.
(Just as India leased land, Bangladesh too can lease land to India which is equivalent of the excess land that is getting along the narrow chicken neck area (Siliguri corridor). That would be of great strategic importance)
Indo-Myanmar Border
* The boundary was demarcated in 1967 under an agreement signed by both countries.
* Under the Government of India Act of 1935, Myanmar was separated from India, but the resolution of the border between them was left to the newly governments.
* The rise of insurgency and subsequent violation of the boundary by both insurgents and security forces of both countries forced India and Myanmar to negotiate a settlement on 1967.
* The rugged terrain makes movement and the overall development of the area difficult. The internal dynamics of the region in terms of the clan loyalties of the tribal people, inter-tribal clashes, insurgency, trans-border ethnic ties also adversely affect the security of the border areas. There is practically no physical barrier along the border either in the form of fences or border outposts and roads to ensure strict vigil.
* Close ethnic ties among the tribes such as Nagas, Kukis, Chin, etc., who live astride the border help the North East insurgents like Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN), the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA), in finding safe haven in Myanmar.
* The location of the boundary at the edge of the golden triangle facilitates the unrestricted illegal flows of drugs into Indian territory. Heroin is the main item of drug trafficking. The bulk of heroin enters India through the border town of Moreh in Manipur.
* The provision of allowing the tribal communities of both countries to travel up to 40 km across the border without any passport or visa has also contributed to increased smuggling in the region.
* Border trade along the India-Myanmar border is carried on from two posts viz. Moreh in Manipur and Zowkhatar in Mizoram.
Indo-Nepal Border
* India and Nepal have shared an open border since 1950.
* Provisions in the treaty, wherein citizens of both countries are given equal rights in matters of residence, acquisition of property, employment and movement in each others territory, provide for an open border between the two countries.
* During colonial times, the British had an interest in keeping the border open for two reasons. Firstly, impressed by the fighting skills of the Gurkhas, the British wanted to recruit them into the Indian Army. Secondly, Nepal was seen as a market for finished goods from India. To achieve these objectives, it was necessary to provide unrestricted cross border movement and hence the idea of an open border.
* There are many points of dispute along the Indo-Nepal border, mostly a result of the constantly shifting courses of the turbulent Himalayan rivers. Allegations of excesses such as intimidation, and forcible grabbing of land on either side add to the problem.
* An open border allows easy acess to terrorists and insurgents like United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), and the Kamtapur Liberation Organization (KLO),etc.
* Illegal activities, such as smuggling of essential items and fake Indian currency, gun-running, and drugs and human trafficking are rampant.
* Unrestricted migration over the years has produced territorial pockets dominated by people originating from the other country. The net effect of such migration, in extreme cases, is the clamour for a homeland, as was witnessed in the hill district of Darjeeling adjoining the Indo-Nepal border.
Indo-Bhutan Border
* The process of demarcation of the India-Bhutan border started in 1961 and was completed in 2006. Like with Nepal, Indias boundary with Bhutan is also an open boundary.
* The boundary is demarcated except along the tri-junction with China.
* Indian insurgent groups such as the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and National democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) established camps in the southern districts of Bhutan.
* Taking advantage of the open border, these insurgents would sneak into Bhutan after carrying out extortions, killings and bomb blasts.
* This problem has been effectively dealt with during the Bhutanese governments Operation All Clear, which saw the destruction and uprooting of all insurgent camps in Bhutanese territory but still groups are active.
* Smuggling and trafficking are also rampant along the border.
* Bhutan and China have a border dispute on the northern and western side. In 2012, they decided to move ahead with border demarcation talks. This has special pertinence for India, because the western areas of the dispute have a direct bearing on the Siliguri Corridor.
* The narrow and vulnerable Chumbi valley between India (Sikkim) and Bhutan has a single arterial road and rail-route. So, the lack of space restricts the deployment of troops. The Chinese strategy of claiming areas in western Bhutan is to widen its shoulders to facilitate military manoeuvres in the Chumbi Valley. The Siliguri Corridor is about 500 km from the Chumbi Valley.
* In this light, India needs to enhance relations with Bhutan.From 1949 onwards they were governed by a Treaty of Perpetual Peace and Friendship. Article 2 of the treaty was significant wherein the Government of Bhutan agrees to be guided by the advice of the Government of India in regard to its external relations.
* The 1949 Treaty was revised in 2007 as it became democratic from monarchy. Article 2 was replaced with: Both shallcooperate closely with each other on issues relating to their national interests.Neither Government shall allow the use of its territory for activities harmful to the national security and interest of the other.
Indo-Pakistan Border
* The India-Pakistan boundary is categorised under three different heads.
* The first is the international boundary also known as the Radcliff line.
* The second is the LoC, or the Cease Fire Line, which came into existence after the 1948 and 1971 wars between India and Pakistan.
* And the third is the actual ground position line (AGPL). Line that divides Indian and Pakistani troops in theSiachen Glacierregion. The line extends from the northernmost point of theLOC toIndira Col.
The LoC and the AGPL has been a scene of constant tensions
LoC has been vulnerable to constant infiltration by foreign terrorists, Kashmiri separatists and Pakistani army regulars for long.
* Like the Bangladesh boundary, the India-Pakistan boundary also does not follow any geographical barrier.
* Porosity of this border has facilitated various illegal activities such as smuggling of Heroin and fake Indian currency, drugs and arms trafficking, and infiltration.
* The villagers adjacent to the border are alleged to be involved in smuggling in a big way.
* Money laundering is also quite rampant along the border. A large scale hawala network is flourishing in Punjab, especially in Ludhiana.
* Border trade between the two countries takes place through Poonch-Rawalakote in Jammu region and Uri-Muzafarabad in Kashmir region.
* Although most trading posts are connected with fairly good roads, they remain vulnerable to landslides, insurgency, bad maintenance, etc. Also, trading through the border pass in the high mountains is restricted only to the summer months.
* The Sir Creek area, due to its peculiar terrain, makes the movement of border guarding forces very difficult and thus, provides scope for illegal fishing in the creeks. Pakistan claims the line to follow the eastern shore of the estuary while India claims a center line.
* Owing largely to the extremely sensitive state of theKashmirconflict, the Karakoram highway has strategic and military importance.
* Pakistan's Gwadar port to be connected to China. Once complete, the port, which is close to the Strait of Hormuz - a key shipping lane that serves as a gateway for a third of the world's traded oil - is seen to be opening up an energy and trade corridor from the Gulf, across Pakistan to western China, and could serve as potential Chinese naval base in the Arabian Sea. A worried India had, as a counter to China's presence in the region, announced that it will upgrade Iran's crucial Chabahar port that provides a transit route to land-locked Afghanistan.
India-China Border
* The line, which delineates the boundary between the two countries, is popularly called the McMahon line.
* In 1913, the British-India government had called a tripartite conference, in which the boundary between India and Tibet was formalised. This boundary is, however, disputed by China which terms it as illegal.
* India and China had never shared a common boundary till, China liberated Tibet in 1950. It was then that the India-Tibet boundary was transformed into an India-China boundary.
* Since 1954, China started claiming large tracts of territory and in 1957 China occupied Aksai Chin and built a road through it. This episode was followed by clashes along the border, which finally culminated in the border war of 1962.
* The boundary, which came into existence after the war, came to be known as Line of Actual Control (LAC).
* In 1993, the Agreement on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquillity along the LAC was signed.
* In 1996, the Agreement on Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) in the Military Field along the LAC was signed.
* In 2003, two special representatives (one each from India and China) were appointed to find a political solution to the border dispute. No solution so far.
* Meanwhile, China has started laying claims on areas which were thought to be settled as for example the finger area in Sikkim.
* As regards border management, the India-China border throws up only a few challenges. There is hardly any circulation of people or goods between the two countries through the border.
* Some tribes like Monpas, Sherdukpens, Membas, Khambas and Bhutias had social and cultural ties with people across the border. Many other tribes also frequented the markets of Tibet to buy and sell products, but all these stopped after the 1962 war.
* Border trade between India and China resumed in 1992-93, when Shipki La in Himachal Pradesh and Lipu Lekh pass in Uttarakhand were opened. In 2003, MoU was signed between Sikkim and Tibet to open Nathu La for trading purpose.
* The volume of trade in these trading points is not large. However, large scale smuggling of Chinese electronic and other consumer goods take place through these border points.
* The dams on Brahmaputra River. This has alarmed Indian side as it can have a major impact on ecological system. If China blocks the water in Brahmaputra it will lead to famine in North eastern region of India. Further, the dams will block the flow of minerals through water and block the fish migration. There are also reports suggesting that China in the long run wants to divert this water towards its water stressed northern and eastern regionwhich is enough to increase Indias water crisis.
* China has at least 25 nuclear-tipped medium-range ballistic missiles bases in Tibet, along with an undisclosed number of nuclear-configured short-range tactical missiles. These deployments are singularly India-specific. Thus it has become imperative for India to build credible deterrence with nuclear weapons.
Challenges to Coastal Security and Island Territories
The coastline is highly indented with numerous creeks, rivers and streams along with inhabited and uninhabited islands, sandbars, and mangrove forests. These water channels, which run deep inside the land, render the coastline porous and hence vulnerable to cross-border infiltration, smuggling, and arms and drugs trafficking.
* Existence of mangrove forests, sandbars and uninhabited islands along the coast provide ideal hideaways for infiltrators, criminals and contraband.
* In recent years, the use of sea by terrorists to carry out attacks as was seen during the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts and the November 2008 attack on Mumbai, have also added a new dimension to the vulnerability of the coastline. The matter is made worse by the existence of several high value targets such as oil refineries, atomic power plants, space stations, ports and naval bases along the coastline.
* Straying of both Indian fishermen into each others territorial waters and their subsequent arrests has also been a perennial source of concern. Since these boats have Indian make and registration number, they could easily evade attempts by Indian security agencies to track them. This is what seems to have happened when the Coast Guard let off the Kuber in which the terrorists travelled in November 2008.
* India also has Island Territories in its eastern and western seaboards. Andaman and Nicobar comprise 572 islands, but only 36 of them are inhabited, whereas ten of the 36 islands of Lakshadweep archipelago are inhabited. Their strategic location, i.e. proximity to the important Sea Lanes of Communication (SLOC) and Southeast Asian and African countries coupled with considerable distance from the mainland add to the Island Territories vulnerabilities.
* Intelligence reports have suggested that many uninhabited islands are being misused by terrorist groups and criminal gangs as transit points for smuggling arms and narcotics. Lashkar is increasingly using the uninhabited islands off Lakshadweep as launching platforms for attacks against India.
* The Andaman and Nicobar islands have seen large scale influx of illegal migrants from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka (Tamils) Myanmar, Thailand, and Indonesia.
* Indian Ocean has been a theatre of intense rivalries between great powers, mostly extra regional powers. China, in recent years has been quite active in the Indian Ocean region. China has helped Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to built ports, which could be utilised by China during adverse times.
* Today, nearly 80 % of Chinese trade, particularly oil, and 97% of Indias trade are through the sea lanes of Indian Ocean. India considers Indian Ocean as its own lake and justifies its legitimacy in these waters. On the other hand, increasing economic interest and the need to protect its trade lanes in this region has made China increase its naval presence. For this purpose China has collaborated and developed sea ports in a number of littoral states surrounding India. These ports can be used both for civil and military purposes. This strategy is popularly known as String of Pearls, which India feels is to keep India boxed within South Asia and contain its Influence over Indian Ocean.
* India has tried to counter balance this strategy with its Necklace of diamond. Under this strategy, it is building military relations with key countries in the Indian and Pacific Ocean with Australia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan, with our neighbouring countries in South Asia along the Chinese trade lanes. This will also enhance its surveillance capacity in the Straits of Malaccaand thus helps in curbing piracy. If one closely looks at the region stretching from Indonesia to Japan it resembles a necklace with Australia as its diamond.
* Further it has also developed relations with the gulf countries particularly Iran where it has invested in developing Chabahar port to counter Chinas Gwadar port in Pakistan.
Governments Response
The concept of border management entered the government dictionary only in the
wake of the Kargil conflict of 1999.
* Based on the recommendations of the Kargil Review Committee, in 2001 the Government set up a Task Force on Border Management under the Chairmanship of Madhav Godbole to review the national security system as a whole.
* It recommended that a Department of Border Management be created under the Ministry of Home Affairs, which would focus solely on border issues.
* To enforce accountability, the Report recommended that one border guarding force should be deployed in each stretch of the border and it should not be distracted from its principal task and deployed for other internal security duties as was the case since independence.
* It also recommended the establishment of a marine police force, strengthening of Coast Guard and setting up of an apex institution for coordinating various maritime issues.
Governments Approach
For Securing the Border government used 4 components
* Guarding: BSF for Pakistan, Bangladesh borders,
Assam Rifles (AR) for Myanmar border, the
Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) for China border,
Sahastra Seema Bal (SSB) for Nepal, Bhutan borders
Border out posts (BOP), floating BOPs have been deployed. Floating BOPs function as mother ships from where patrolling vessels are sent for regular patrolling of the creeks and rivers. Use of Technology like GPS, cameras, Flood lights, infrared detectors.
* Regulation: Regulating the movement of people and trade through issuance of Multi purpose national IDs (MNIC), development of integrated check post (ICPS) which would house all regulatory agencies like Immigration, Customs, border security, etc together with support facilities like parking, warehousing, banking, hotels etc. in a single complex
* Development of border areas: Lack of economic opportunities makes the border population more susceptible to take up smuggling and trafficking. Keeping in mind these problems, government initiated the border area development programme (BADP) in 1987.
Northeast India, which shares 98 per cent of its borders with Bhutan, China, Myanmar and Bangladesh, has been plagued by insurgency and under development. Its strategic location as a gateway to South East Asia has propelled the government to undertake various developmental programmes like National Highway Development Programme, Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for the Northeast Region (SARDP-NE).
* Bilateral Institutional Mechanisms
* For Securing the coast, the government implemented a three layered mechanism.
* Outermost layer: the Indian Navy patrols the high seas and carries out aerial reconnaissance with ship-based aircraft.
* Intermediate layer: comprising of the Exclusive Economic Zone is patrolled by the Coast Guard.
* Territorial waters: patrolled by the Coastal Police.
Major ports of the country made International Ship and Port Security (ISPS) Code compliant like use of Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMS) and Automated Identification System (AIS). These ports are guarded by CISF. Multi purpose identity cards for all fishermen. Navy to have Sagar Prahari
Bal force.
* For Securing Island Territories: set up a joint command in Andaman and Nicobar called the Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) comprising personnel of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and the Coast Guard. Similarly for Lakshwadeep.
* Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI): The LPAI was estd. in 2010 to provide better administration and cohesive management of entry points/land ports on the land borders and would be vested with the powers on the lines of Airports Authority of India.
* Joint Coastal Patrolling like joint patrolling of Gujarat and Maharashtra Coast
* Spy Satellites: RISAT-2 with the help of Israel (2008) and RISAT-1 which is indigenous (2011)
References
* www.idsa.in
* Google
Name Ankush Pratap Singh
Indias boundary with each of its neighbours runs through a variety of ecological milieus, each with its own unique setting and associated problems. For example, India-Pakistan border areas are spread across extreme climatic conditions given that the boundary runs from the hot Thar Desert in Rajasthan to the cold Himalayas in Jammu and Kashmir. Similarly, in the north, the India-China boundary runs along one of the loftiest mountain
ranges covered with snow all through the year. The India-Myanmar boundary is draped with lush tropical forests with its myriad undergrowths. The Indo-Bangladesh boundary has to
cope up with the ever-shifting riverbeds in the region. These diverse ecological and climatic conditions create immense hurdles for extending the security and administrative reach in these border areas. Coupled with this, the man-made nature of these boundaries also throws up serious issues such as border disputes, porous borders, continuance of trans-border ethnic and social ties, etc. Together, they pose a serious challenge to the effective management of the borders.
India has 15,106.7 km. of land border and a coastline of 7,516.6 km. including island territories.
Challenges to Border Management
Indo-Bangladesh Border
* Border was drawn by Boundary Commission chaired by Sir Cyril Radcliffe.
* Cyril Radcliff noted that the Bengal has very few natural boundaries. The border thus meanders through villages, agricultural lands, and rivers with many disputed pockets. Un-demarcated stretches, existence of enclaves (chhit-mohols), and adverse possessions have been causing constant friction.
Enclaves: portion of territory within or surrounded by a larger territory whose inhabitants are culturally or ethnically distinct.
Adverse possessions: another's real property can be acquired withoutcompensation, by holding the property in a manner that conflicts persist
* In most cases it was decided that the district boundary should constitute the land boundary and for the riverine boundary, the mid-stream of the main channel of the rivers.
* However, because of the nature of the boundary some old and new disputes arose leading to renewed tensions.
* To reduce tensions, the Nehru-Noon Agreement on India-East Pakistan Border was signed in 1958.
* In 1974, three years after the liberation of Bangladesh, the then prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman, inked an Indira-Mujib Agreement to settle the land boundary issue.
* Under the agreement, India retained the southern half of South Berubari Union No.12 and the adjacent enclaves and Bangladesh retained Dahagram and Angorpota enclaves. India also promised to lease corridor, Tin Bigha to Bangladesh to connect Dahagram with Panbari Mouza.
* But even after so many years, the enclaves and adverse possessions have not been exchanged. At present, there are 111 Indian enclaves in Bangladesh and 51 enclaves of Bangladesh in India.
* India does not have access to these enclaves in Bangladesh, and hence, no administrative set-up to provide facilities like police stations, courts, schools, roads, hospitals, banks, markets, etc. to their residents could be established. They are also excluded from periodic Census surveys and elections. In many instances, anti-social elements and insurgents misuse the absence of police forces and take shelter in these enclaves.
* As regards adverse possessions, 38 patches of Indian land are in adverse possession of Bangladesh and 50 patches of Bangladeshi land are in adverse possession of India.
* Various push factors such as political upheavals, religious conflicts, demographic pressures, environmental crises and pull factors such as availability of land, employment opportunities, medical care, and education have contributed to the large-scale influx of Bangladeshis into India.
* The Task Force on Border Management headed by Shri Madhav Godbole, which submitted its report in 2001 said 3 lakh Bangladeshis entering India illegally every month.
* This illegal migration has changed the demographic profile of many border states, which has resulted in separatist movements.
* Presently, the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), the All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF), the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) as well as several other insurgent outfits from the Northeast have bases in the Chittagong, Khagrachari, and Sylhet districts of Bangladesh.
* Smuggling of cattle has become a serious concern. Truckloads of cattle from Haryana, Rajasthan, UP and MP are shipped to the India-Bangladesh border for grazing purposes. From here, these cattle are smuggled into Bangladesh as they fetch more prices. Interestingly, the Bangladesh government levies custom duties on these smuggled cattle at the rate of Rs. 420 per cattle. And it is estimated that the Indian government is losing Rs. 10560 crores to cattle smugglers.
* Along with cattle, smuggling of arms, and other essential items such as sugar, salt and diesel, human and narcotics trafficking, counterfeit Indian currency, kidnapping, and thefts are quite rampant.
(Just as India leased land, Bangladesh too can lease land to India which is equivalent of the excess land that is getting along the narrow chicken neck area (Siliguri corridor). That would be of great strategic importance)
Indo-Myanmar Border
* The boundary was demarcated in 1967 under an agreement signed by both countries.
* Under the Government of India Act of 1935, Myanmar was separated from India, but the resolution of the border between them was left to the newly governments.
* The rise of insurgency and subsequent violation of the boundary by both insurgents and security forces of both countries forced India and Myanmar to negotiate a settlement on 1967.
* The rugged terrain makes movement and the overall development of the area difficult. The internal dynamics of the region in terms of the clan loyalties of the tribal people, inter-tribal clashes, insurgency, trans-border ethnic ties also adversely affect the security of the border areas. There is practically no physical barrier along the border either in the form of fences or border outposts and roads to ensure strict vigil.
* Close ethnic ties among the tribes such as Nagas, Kukis, Chin, etc., who live astride the border help the North East insurgents like Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN), the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA), in finding safe haven in Myanmar.
* The location of the boundary at the edge of the golden triangle facilitates the unrestricted illegal flows of drugs into Indian territory. Heroin is the main item of drug trafficking. The bulk of heroin enters India through the border town of Moreh in Manipur.
* The provision of allowing the tribal communities of both countries to travel up to 40 km across the border without any passport or visa has also contributed to increased smuggling in the region.
* Border trade along the India-Myanmar border is carried on from two posts viz. Moreh in Manipur and Zowkhatar in Mizoram.
Indo-Nepal Border
* India and Nepal have shared an open border since 1950.
* Provisions in the treaty, wherein citizens of both countries are given equal rights in matters of residence, acquisition of property, employment and movement in each others territory, provide for an open border between the two countries.
* During colonial times, the British had an interest in keeping the border open for two reasons. Firstly, impressed by the fighting skills of the Gurkhas, the British wanted to recruit them into the Indian Army. Secondly, Nepal was seen as a market for finished goods from India. To achieve these objectives, it was necessary to provide unrestricted cross border movement and hence the idea of an open border.
* There are many points of dispute along the Indo-Nepal border, mostly a result of the constantly shifting courses of the turbulent Himalayan rivers. Allegations of excesses such as intimidation, and forcible grabbing of land on either side add to the problem.
* An open border allows easy acess to terrorists and insurgents like United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), and the Kamtapur Liberation Organization (KLO),etc.
* Illegal activities, such as smuggling of essential items and fake Indian currency, gun-running, and drugs and human trafficking are rampant.
* Unrestricted migration over the years has produced territorial pockets dominated by people originating from the other country. The net effect of such migration, in extreme cases, is the clamour for a homeland, as was witnessed in the hill district of Darjeeling adjoining the Indo-Nepal border.
Indo-Bhutan Border
* The process of demarcation of the India-Bhutan border started in 1961 and was completed in 2006. Like with Nepal, Indias boundary with Bhutan is also an open boundary.
* The boundary is demarcated except along the tri-junction with China.
* Indian insurgent groups such as the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and National democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) established camps in the southern districts of Bhutan.
* Taking advantage of the open border, these insurgents would sneak into Bhutan after carrying out extortions, killings and bomb blasts.
* This problem has been effectively dealt with during the Bhutanese governments Operation All Clear, which saw the destruction and uprooting of all insurgent camps in Bhutanese territory but still groups are active.
* Smuggling and trafficking are also rampant along the border.
* Bhutan and China have a border dispute on the northern and western side. In 2012, they decided to move ahead with border demarcation talks. This has special pertinence for India, because the western areas of the dispute have a direct bearing on the Siliguri Corridor.
* The narrow and vulnerable Chumbi valley between India (Sikkim) and Bhutan has a single arterial road and rail-route. So, the lack of space restricts the deployment of troops. The Chinese strategy of claiming areas in western Bhutan is to widen its shoulders to facilitate military manoeuvres in the Chumbi Valley. The Siliguri Corridor is about 500 km from the Chumbi Valley.
* In this light, India needs to enhance relations with Bhutan.From 1949 onwards they were governed by a Treaty of Perpetual Peace and Friendship. Article 2 of the treaty was significant wherein the Government of Bhutan agrees to be guided by the advice of the Government of India in regard to its external relations.
* The 1949 Treaty was revised in 2007 as it became democratic from monarchy. Article 2 was replaced with: Both shallcooperate closely with each other on issues relating to their national interests.Neither Government shall allow the use of its territory for activities harmful to the national security and interest of the other.
Indo-Pakistan Border
* The India-Pakistan boundary is categorised under three different heads.
* The first is the international boundary also known as the Radcliff line.
* The second is the LoC, or the Cease Fire Line, which came into existence after the 1948 and 1971 wars between India and Pakistan.
* And the third is the actual ground position line (AGPL). Line that divides Indian and Pakistani troops in theSiachen Glacierregion. The line extends from the northernmost point of theLOC toIndira Col.
The LoC and the AGPL has been a scene of constant tensions
LoC has been vulnerable to constant infiltration by foreign terrorists, Kashmiri separatists and Pakistani army regulars for long.
* Like the Bangladesh boundary, the India-Pakistan boundary also does not follow any geographical barrier.
* Porosity of this border has facilitated various illegal activities such as smuggling of Heroin and fake Indian currency, drugs and arms trafficking, and infiltration.
* The villagers adjacent to the border are alleged to be involved in smuggling in a big way.
* Money laundering is also quite rampant along the border. A large scale hawala network is flourishing in Punjab, especially in Ludhiana.
* Border trade between the two countries takes place through Poonch-Rawalakote in Jammu region and Uri-Muzafarabad in Kashmir region.
* Although most trading posts are connected with fairly good roads, they remain vulnerable to landslides, insurgency, bad maintenance, etc. Also, trading through the border pass in the high mountains is restricted only to the summer months.
* The Sir Creek area, due to its peculiar terrain, makes the movement of border guarding forces very difficult and thus, provides scope for illegal fishing in the creeks. Pakistan claims the line to follow the eastern shore of the estuary while India claims a center line.
* Owing largely to the extremely sensitive state of theKashmirconflict, the Karakoram highway has strategic and military importance.
* Pakistan's Gwadar port to be connected to China. Once complete, the port, which is close to the Strait of Hormuz - a key shipping lane that serves as a gateway for a third of the world's traded oil - is seen to be opening up an energy and trade corridor from the Gulf, across Pakistan to western China, and could serve as potential Chinese naval base in the Arabian Sea. A worried India had, as a counter to China's presence in the region, announced that it will upgrade Iran's crucial Chabahar port that provides a transit route to land-locked Afghanistan.
India-China Border
* The line, which delineates the boundary between the two countries, is popularly called the McMahon line.
* In 1913, the British-India government had called a tripartite conference, in which the boundary between India and Tibet was formalised. This boundary is, however, disputed by China which terms it as illegal.
* India and China had never shared a common boundary till, China liberated Tibet in 1950. It was then that the India-Tibet boundary was transformed into an India-China boundary.
* Since 1954, China started claiming large tracts of territory and in 1957 China occupied Aksai Chin and built a road through it. This episode was followed by clashes along the border, which finally culminated in the border war of 1962.
* The boundary, which came into existence after the war, came to be known as Line of Actual Control (LAC).
* In 1993, the Agreement on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquillity along the LAC was signed.
* In 1996, the Agreement on Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) in the Military Field along the LAC was signed.
* In 2003, two special representatives (one each from India and China) were appointed to find a political solution to the border dispute. No solution so far.
* Meanwhile, China has started laying claims on areas which were thought to be settled as for example the finger area in Sikkim.
* As regards border management, the India-China border throws up only a few challenges. There is hardly any circulation of people or goods between the two countries through the border.
* Some tribes like Monpas, Sherdukpens, Membas, Khambas and Bhutias had social and cultural ties with people across the border. Many other tribes also frequented the markets of Tibet to buy and sell products, but all these stopped after the 1962 war.
* Border trade between India and China resumed in 1992-93, when Shipki La in Himachal Pradesh and Lipu Lekh pass in Uttarakhand were opened. In 2003, MoU was signed between Sikkim and Tibet to open Nathu La for trading purpose.
* The volume of trade in these trading points is not large. However, large scale smuggling of Chinese electronic and other consumer goods take place through these border points.
* The dams on Brahmaputra River. This has alarmed Indian side as it can have a major impact on ecological system. If China blocks the water in Brahmaputra it will lead to famine in North eastern region of India. Further, the dams will block the flow of minerals through water and block the fish migration. There are also reports suggesting that China in the long run wants to divert this water towards its water stressed northern and eastern regionwhich is enough to increase Indias water crisis.
* China has at least 25 nuclear-tipped medium-range ballistic missiles bases in Tibet, along with an undisclosed number of nuclear-configured short-range tactical missiles. These deployments are singularly India-specific. Thus it has become imperative for India to build credible deterrence with nuclear weapons.
Challenges to Coastal Security and Island Territories
The coastline is highly indented with numerous creeks, rivers and streams along with inhabited and uninhabited islands, sandbars, and mangrove forests. These water channels, which run deep inside the land, render the coastline porous and hence vulnerable to cross-border infiltration, smuggling, and arms and drugs trafficking.
* Existence of mangrove forests, sandbars and uninhabited islands along the coast provide ideal hideaways for infiltrators, criminals and contraband.
* In recent years, the use of sea by terrorists to carry out attacks as was seen during the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts and the November 2008 attack on Mumbai, have also added a new dimension to the vulnerability of the coastline. The matter is made worse by the existence of several high value targets such as oil refineries, atomic power plants, space stations, ports and naval bases along the coastline.
* Straying of both Indian fishermen into each others territorial waters and their subsequent arrests has also been a perennial source of concern. Since these boats have Indian make and registration number, they could easily evade attempts by Indian security agencies to track them. This is what seems to have happened when the Coast Guard let off the Kuber in which the terrorists travelled in November 2008.
* India also has Island Territories in its eastern and western seaboards. Andaman and Nicobar comprise 572 islands, but only 36 of them are inhabited, whereas ten of the 36 islands of Lakshadweep archipelago are inhabited. Their strategic location, i.e. proximity to the important Sea Lanes of Communication (SLOC) and Southeast Asian and African countries coupled with considerable distance from the mainland add to the Island Territories vulnerabilities.
* Intelligence reports have suggested that many uninhabited islands are being misused by terrorist groups and criminal gangs as transit points for smuggling arms and narcotics. Lashkar is increasingly using the uninhabited islands off Lakshadweep as launching platforms for attacks against India.
* The Andaman and Nicobar islands have seen large scale influx of illegal migrants from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka (Tamils) Myanmar, Thailand, and Indonesia.
* Indian Ocean has been a theatre of intense rivalries between great powers, mostly extra regional powers. China, in recent years has been quite active in the Indian Ocean region. China has helped Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to built ports, which could be utilised by China during adverse times.
* Today, nearly 80 % of Chinese trade, particularly oil, and 97% of Indias trade are through the sea lanes of Indian Ocean. India considers Indian Ocean as its own lake and justifies its legitimacy in these waters. On the other hand, increasing economic interest and the need to protect its trade lanes in this region has made China increase its naval presence. For this purpose China has collaborated and developed sea ports in a number of littoral states surrounding India. These ports can be used both for civil and military purposes. This strategy is popularly known as String of Pearls, which India feels is to keep India boxed within South Asia and contain its Influence over Indian Ocean.
* India has tried to counter balance this strategy with its Necklace of diamond. Under this strategy, it is building military relations with key countries in the Indian and Pacific Ocean with Australia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan, with our neighbouring countries in South Asia along the Chinese trade lanes. This will also enhance its surveillance capacity in the Straits of Malaccaand thus helps in curbing piracy. If one closely looks at the region stretching from Indonesia to Japan it resembles a necklace with Australia as its diamond.
* Further it has also developed relations with the gulf countries particularly Iran where it has invested in developing Chabahar port to counter Chinas Gwadar port in Pakistan.
Governments Response
The concept of border management entered the government dictionary only in the
wake of the Kargil conflict of 1999.
* Based on the recommendations of the Kargil Review Committee, in 2001 the Government set up a Task Force on Border Management under the Chairmanship of Madhav Godbole to review the national security system as a whole.
* It recommended that a Department of Border Management be created under the Ministry of Home Affairs, which would focus solely on border issues.
* To enforce accountability, the Report recommended that one border guarding force should be deployed in each stretch of the border and it should not be distracted from its principal task and deployed for other internal security duties as was the case since independence.
* It also recommended the establishment of a marine police force, strengthening of Coast Guard and setting up of an apex institution for coordinating various maritime issues.
Governments Approach
For Securing the Border government used 4 components
* Guarding: BSF for Pakistan, Bangladesh borders,
Assam Rifles (AR) for Myanmar border, the
Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) for China border,
Sahastra Seema Bal (SSB) for Nepal, Bhutan borders
Border out posts (BOP), floating BOPs have been deployed. Floating BOPs function as mother ships from where patrolling vessels are sent for regular patrolling of the creeks and rivers. Use of Technology like GPS, cameras, Flood lights, infrared detectors.
* Regulation: Regulating the movement of people and trade through issuance of Multi purpose national IDs (MNIC), development of integrated check post (ICPS) which would house all regulatory agencies like Immigration, Customs, border security, etc together with support facilities like parking, warehousing, banking, hotels etc. in a single complex
* Development of border areas: Lack of economic opportunities makes the border population more susceptible to take up smuggling and trafficking. Keeping in mind these problems, government initiated the border area development programme (BADP) in 1987.
Northeast India, which shares 98 per cent of its borders with Bhutan, China, Myanmar and Bangladesh, has been plagued by insurgency and under development. Its strategic location as a gateway to South East Asia has propelled the government to undertake various developmental programmes like National Highway Development Programme, Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for the Northeast Region (SARDP-NE).
* Bilateral Institutional Mechanisms
* For Securing the coast, the government implemented a three layered mechanism.
* Outermost layer: the Indian Navy patrols the high seas and carries out aerial reconnaissance with ship-based aircraft.
* Intermediate layer: comprising of the Exclusive Economic Zone is patrolled by the Coast Guard.
* Territorial waters: patrolled by the Coastal Police.
Major ports of the country made International Ship and Port Security (ISPS) Code compliant like use of Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMS) and Automated Identification System (AIS). These ports are guarded by CISF. Multi purpose identity cards for all fishermen. Navy to have Sagar Prahari
Bal force.
* For Securing Island Territories: set up a joint command in Andaman and Nicobar called the Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) comprising personnel of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and the Coast Guard. Similarly for Lakshwadeep.
* Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI): The LPAI was estd. in 2010 to provide better administration and cohesive management of entry points/land ports on the land borders and would be vested with the powers on the lines of Airports Authority of India.
* Joint Coastal Patrolling like joint patrolling of Gujarat and Maharashtra Coast
* Spy Satellites: RISAT-2 with the help of Israel (2008) and RISAT-1 which is indigenous (2011)
References
* www.idsa.in
Name Ankush Pratap Singh
India has 15,106.7 km. of land border and a coastline
India has 15,106.7 km. of land border and a coastline of 7,516.6 km. including island territories.
Name of the country Length of the border(in km.)
Bangladesh 4,096.7
China 3,488.0
Pakistan 3,323.0
Nepal 1,751.0
Myanmar 1,643.0
Bhutan 699.0
Afghanistan 106.0
Total 15,106.7
Things generally smuggled: drugs, arms, human and fake currency
Challenges to Border Management
These include lack of coordination between various central and state agencies, uncooperative state government departments, hostile local population, vested interests, lack of political will and strained neighbourly relations.
Besides, there are many hotspots along these borders whose inherent socio-cultural and political dynamics could throw up serious challenges for border management in future. Some of these are Moreh along the Indo-Myanmar border, the Siliguri corridor along the Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bhutan borders and Sir Creek area along the Indo-Pakistan border.
The Siliguri corridor, a 22 km wide area, linking the Northeast with rest of India has also been witnessing severe unrest. The demand for a separate Gorkhaland and Kamtapur has made the entire area extremely vulnerable.
Indo-Bangladesh Border
Indira-Mujib Agreement laid down the methods for demarcating various disputed stretches of the India-Bangladesh boundary Berubari and Tin Bigha. Under the Land Boundary Agreement of 1974 between India and Bangladesh, both the countries are committed to exchange the enclaves and cede the adverse possessions.
* border extremely porous with many disputed pockets.
* population residing within 150 yards of the border
* Undemarcated stretches, existence of enclaves (chhit-mohols), and adverse possessions have been causing constant friction between the border guarding forces of India and Bangladesh.
* A major consequence of a porous border is the ease with which it is crossed illegally. The trend of illegal migration from Bangladesh into India has continued since independence. Various push factors such as political upheavals, religious persecution, demographic pressures, environmental crises and pull factors such as availability of land, employment opportunities, medical care, and education have contributed to the large-scale influx of Bangladeshis into India.
* This illegal migration has changed the demographic profile of many border states, which has resulted in separatist movements.
* The porosity of the border also allows Indian insurgents to cross over to Bangladesh and other neighbouring countries for asylum. Presently, the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), the All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF), the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB)
* Smuggling of cattle has become a serious concern. Truckloads of cattle from Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are shipped to the India-Bangladesh border everyday ostensibly for grazing purposes.
* Along with cattle, smuggling of arms, and other essential items such as sugar, salt and diesel, human and narcotics trafficking, counterfeit Indian currency, kidnapping, and thefts are quite rampant along the IndiaBangladesh border.
Indo-Nepal Border
The conception of such a border can be found in the Treaty of Peace and Friendship that the two countries signed in 1950.
* The open border between the two countries has facilitated close social, cultural, and economic exchanges and led to a special relationship between the two countries.
* There are many points of dispute along the Indo-Nepal border, mostly a result of the constantly shifting courses of the turbulent Himalayan rivers. Prominent among these are the ones relating to Kalapani and Susta. The submergence, destruction and removal of border pillars an encroachment into no-mans land by people from either side add to the problem.
* An open border allows easy egress to terrorists and insurgents. In the late 1980s, Sikh and Kashmiri terrorists sneaked into India via Nepal. In later years, many insurgent groups from the North East, such as the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), and the Kamtapur Liberation Organization (KLO), also misused the open border. Earlier, Maoists reportedly often escaped into India when pursued by Nepalese security agencies.
* Apart from insurgents and terrorists, many hard-core criminal pursued by Indian and Nepalese security forces escape across the open border.
Indo-Bhutan Border
* Indias boundary with Bhutan is also an open boundary.
* The border was peaceful till Indian insurgent groups such as the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) established camps in the southern districts of Bhutan. This problem has been effectively dealt with during the Bhutanese governments Operation All Clear, which saw the destruction and uprooting of all insurgent camps in Bhutanese territory.
* Smuggling and trafficking are also rampant along the border. Chinese made goods, Bhutanese cannabis, liquor and forest products are major items smuggled into India. Livestock, grocery items and fruits are smuggled out of India to Bhutan.
Indo-Myanmar Border
* Though the boundary is properly demarcated, there are a few pockets that are disputed.
* The internal dynamics of the region in terms of the clan loyalties of the tribal people, inter-tribal clashes, insurgency, transborder ethnic ties also adversely affect the security of the border areas. These cross-border ethnic ties have facilitated in creation of safe havens for various Northeast insurgent groups in Myanmar e.g. (NSCN), the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) but the Myanmar government appears either unwilling or incapable of flushing them out of its territory.
* There is practically no physical barrier along the border either in the form of fences or border outposts and roads to ensure strict vigil. Insurgents make use of the poorly guarded border and flee across when pursued by Indian security forces.
* The location of the boundary at the edge of the golden triangle facilitates the unrestricted illegal flows of drugs into Indian territory. Heroin is the main item of drug trafficking. The bulk of heroin enters India through the border town of Moreh in Manipur.
* The smuggling of arms and ammunition, precious stones and Chinese made consumer items finds its way into India illegally. Red Sanders, ATS (amphetamine type stimulant), grocery items, bicycle parts, etc are smuggled from India as well as human trafficking.
* The provision of allowing the tribal communities of both countries to travel up to 40 km across the border without any passport or visa has also contributed to increased smuggling in the region.
Indo-Pakistan Border
3 parts: Radcliff line, (LoC), (AGPL)
* The LoC has been vulnerable to constant infiltration by foreign terrorists, Kashmiri separatists and Pakistani army regulars for long.
* Like the Bangladesh boundary, the India-Pakistan boundary also does not follow any geographical barrier.
* Porosity of this border has facilitated various illegal activities such as smuggling, drugs and arms trafficking, and infiltration. Heroin and fake Indian currency are the two predominant items of smuggling along this border. Other items include saffron, textile, mercury, which are smuggled from Pakistan.
* A large scale hawala network is flourishing in Punjab, especially in Ludhiana.
India-China Border
* The entire boundary is disputed.
* Presently, there are only three designated areas along the India-China border through which border trade takes place; these are LipuLekh, Shipki La and Nathu La.
Governments Response
Although the Indian government had been formulating various schemes for managing these diverse challenges, the concept of border management entered the government lexicon only in the wake of the Kargil conflict of 1999, and the subsequent report submitted by the Kargil Review Committee.
Task Force on Border Management Chairmanship of Madhav Godbole:
* Concerted efforts be made to settle border disputes and demarcate the borders at the earliest opportunity.
* Department of Border Management be created
* one border guarding force should be deployed in each stretch of the border and it should not be distracted from its principal task and deployed for other internal security duties.
* establishment of a marine police force, strengthening of Coast Guard and setting up of an apex institution for coordinating various maritime issues.
* accelerated development of infrastructure along the border, especially to wean away the border population from illegal activities.
The approach as employed by the Government towards managing the borders has four important elements, viz. guarding, regulation, development of border areas, and constituting bilateral institutional mechanisms for resolving disputes and ironing out conflicts with neighbours.
Guarding the Borders
The BSF has been assigned responsibility for the India-Pakistan and India-Bangladesh borders, Assam Rifles (AR) for the India-Myanmar border, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) for the India-China border, and the Sahastra Seema Bal (SSB) for the India-Nepal and India-Bhutan borders.
To house these border guarding personnel, to send regular patrols and to interact with the nearby villages, border out posts (BOP) have been set up all along the borders.
For securing the riverine and creek areas, the water wing of the BSF is deployed (Creek Crocodiles).
Night Vision Devices, Hand Held Thermal Imagers, Battle Field Surveillance Radars, Direction Finders, Unattended Ground Sensors, High Powered Telescope are used by the border guarding forces as force multipliers for greater surveillance.
Regulation
Fencing, flood-lighting, boder roads
Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) - The Land Port Authority of India Bill was introduced and passed in 2008, which provides for the establishment of these ICPs. These ICPs would house all regulatory agencies like Immigration, Customs, border security, etc together with support facilities like parking, warehousing banking, hotels etc. in a single complex equipped with all modern facilities.
A Statutory Authority called Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI) has been set up to oversee and regulate the construction, management and maintenance of the ICPs.
Development of Border Areas
Lack of economic opportunities makes the border population more susceptible to take up smuggling and trafficking.
BADP schemes comprise of development of community-based infrastructure like forestry, pasture land, fishery ponds, floriculture parks, community centres, mobile dispensaries, mini marketing yards, etc. Funds are provided to the States as a non-lapsable Special Central Assistance
National Highway Development Programme
Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for the Northeast Region
Bilateral Institutional Mechanisms
meetings of home secretaries, area commanders of border guarding forces and the Joint Working Group on Border Management.
Border Liaison Meetings (BLMs) take place between local Area Army Commanders at designated places every six months.
The Surveyor Generals of India and Myanmar also meet to discuss the work plan for joint inspection, repairs, restoration and maintenance of boundary pillars on the border, similar institutional mechanisms with Bangladesh.
Recommendations:
Guarding
* Identify sensitive areas along the border and increase the number of border posts in these areas. Also augment the strength of the border guarding personnel in sensitive border out posts.
* Train the border guarding forces and equip them with modern gadgets and weapons for better surveillance of the border. Install alarm systems to detect breach of fence and respond quickly.
* Improve the working and living conditions of the border guarding personnel to boost their morale.
* Ensure better coordination among all agencies involved in border management such as the border guarding forces, Customs, intelligence agencies, and state police.
* Sensitise the people living along the borders and encourage them to work as eyes and ears for the border guarding forces.
Regulation
* Do not allow human habitation or cultivation in the intervening area between the border and the fence.
* Legalise trade in essential items to prevent smuggling. Open markets near the border where people can buy and sell goods without paying any duties.
* Issue multipurpose identity cards to the people residing along the borders to distinguish between Indian citizens and illegal migrants.
Development
* Work towards all round development of the border areas to wean away the border people from illegal activities as well as to dispel the feeling of alienation in them.
Bilateral mechanisms
* Strengthen bilateral mechanisms by frequently convening meetings of concerned officials to iron out tensions as well as to resolve border disputes.
Challenges to Coastal Security and Island Territories
Coastal
* The coastline is highly indented with numerous creeks, rivulets and streams along with inhabited and uninhabited islands, sandbars, and mangrove forests. These water channels, most of which are interconnected and run deep inside the land, render the coastline porous and hence vulnerable to cross-border infiltration, smuggling, and arms and drugs trafficking and provide deal hideaways for infiltrators, criminals and contraband. E.g. 1993 Mumbai serial blasts and the November 2008 attack on Mumbai.
* The matter is made worse by the existence of several high value targets such as oil refineries, atomic power plants, space stations, ports and naval bases along the coastline. While it is obvious that these installations would face a conventional threat from Pakistan in the event of war, there are growing worries about non-conventional threats as well as terrorist attacks, sabotage, etc.,
* Straying of both Indian and Pakistani fishermen - at least of the arrested fishermen could be recruited by Pakistans Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) and used as agents against India and use their boats to sneak in arms, explosives and operatives into India e.g. Kuber
Islands
* Their strategic location, i.e. proximity to the important Sea Lanes of Communication (SLOC) and Southeast Asian and African countries coupled with considerable distance from the mainland add to the Island Territories vulnerabilities.
* intelligence reports have suggested that many uninhabited islands are being misused by terrorist groups and criminal gangs as transit points for smuggling arms and narcotics e.g. Lashkar-e-Taiba in Lakshadweep.
* Instances of piracy in the Malacca straits have increased manifold.
* The Andaman and Nicobar islands have seen large scale influx of illegal migrants from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka (Tamils) Myanmar, Thailand, and Indonesia.
* String of Pearls: China, in recent years has been quite active in the Indian Ocean region. With an objective to contain its potential adversary (read India) in the region, China has helped Myanmar to construct a naval base at Haingyi and set up listening posts in Coco Island, close to Andaman and Nicobar. It has also helped Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to built ports, which could be utilised by China during adverse times.
Governments Response
At the outermost layer, the Indian Navy patrols the high seas and carries out aerial reconnaissance with ship-based aircraft. The intermediate layer comprising of the Exclusive Economic Zone (between 12 and 200 nautical miles) is patrolled by the Coast Guard. And the territorial waters are patrolled by the Coastal Police.
The fishermen deliberately cross the international border in search of a good catch. For keeping track of fishing vessels, the state governments of Maharashtra and Gujarat have made it mandatory for all the fishing vessels to install Global Positioning System (GPS) and high frequency wireless system. These equipments help the fishing vessels in ascertaining the international borders and remain within the Indian territory.
Automated Identification System (AIS) aimed at improving the security of the Port by monitoring the movement of vessels have also been installed in these ports.
To differentiate between local people and foreign elements, various coastal states have issued identity cards to all villagers residing along the coast.
speedy delivery of 204 interceptor boats,
easing of environmental norms for setting up coastal police stations,
issuance of multi purpose identity cards to all fishermen, sea-faring personnel and coastal villages,
implementation of uniform licensing of fishing boats across the country,
installation of special transponders and Global Positioning System on registered boats for identification and tracking,
deployment of commando units of Central Industrial Security Force in all ports,
constituting unified command for coastal districts to counter terrorist threats from sea.
* Sagar Prahari Bal
For the security of the Island Territories, the Indian Government has set up a joint command in Andaman and Nicobar called the Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) comprising personnel of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and the Coast Guard.
Recommendations:
Address manpower shortage(biggest problem) for the coastal police by recruiting retired Coast Guard and Navy personnel.
Enlist people from coastal villages in the Coastal Police Force. Their seafaring experience is likely to be an asset.
Consider incentives such as special allowances and insurance to overcome the reluctance of police personnel to carry out coastal patrolling.
Impart extensive and specialised training to the Coastal Police personnel to change their indifferent attitude towards coastal security.
Impose steep fines on fishermen found violating the international boundary. On repeated violation, cancel the licences of offending fishing boats.
Sources:
Border Management Report of IDSA, MHA Report.
Name: Anjneya Varshney
Preference: No such preferences. I already have each of these books. Thanks.
Name of the country Length of the border(in km.)
Bangladesh 4,096.7
China 3,488.0
Pakistan 3,323.0
Nepal 1,751.0
Myanmar 1,643.0
Bhutan 699.0
Afghanistan 106.0
Total 15,106.7
Things generally smuggled: drugs, arms, human and fake currency
Challenges to Border Management
These include lack of coordination between various central and state agencies, uncooperative state government departments, hostile local population, vested interests, lack of political will and strained neighbourly relations.
Besides, there are many hotspots along these borders whose inherent socio-cultural and political dynamics could throw up serious challenges for border management in future. Some of these are Moreh along the Indo-Myanmar border, the Siliguri corridor along the Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bhutan borders and Sir Creek area along the Indo-Pakistan border.
The Siliguri corridor, a 22 km wide area, linking the Northeast with rest of India has also been witnessing severe unrest. The demand for a separate Gorkhaland and Kamtapur has made the entire area extremely vulnerable.
Indo-Bangladesh Border
Indira-Mujib Agreement laid down the methods for demarcating various disputed stretches of the India-Bangladesh boundary Berubari and Tin Bigha. Under the Land Boundary Agreement of 1974 between India and Bangladesh, both the countries are committed to exchange the enclaves and cede the adverse possessions.
* border extremely porous with many disputed pockets.
* population residing within 150 yards of the border
* Undemarcated stretches, existence of enclaves (chhit-mohols), and adverse possessions have been causing constant friction between the border guarding forces of India and Bangladesh.
* A major consequence of a porous border is the ease with which it is crossed illegally. The trend of illegal migration from Bangladesh into India has continued since independence. Various push factors such as political upheavals, religious persecution, demographic pressures, environmental crises and pull factors such as availability of land, employment opportunities, medical care, and education have contributed to the large-scale influx of Bangladeshis into India.
* This illegal migration has changed the demographic profile of many border states, which has resulted in separatist movements.
* The porosity of the border also allows Indian insurgents to cross over to Bangladesh and other neighbouring countries for asylum. Presently, the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), the All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF), the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB)
* Smuggling of cattle has become a serious concern. Truckloads of cattle from Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are shipped to the India-Bangladesh border everyday ostensibly for grazing purposes.
* Along with cattle, smuggling of arms, and other essential items such as sugar, salt and diesel, human and narcotics trafficking, counterfeit Indian currency, kidnapping, and thefts are quite rampant along the IndiaBangladesh border.
Indo-Nepal Border
The conception of such a border can be found in the Treaty of Peace and Friendship that the two countries signed in 1950.
* The open border between the two countries has facilitated close social, cultural, and economic exchanges and led to a special relationship between the two countries.
* There are many points of dispute along the Indo-Nepal border, mostly a result of the constantly shifting courses of the turbulent Himalayan rivers. Prominent among these are the ones relating to Kalapani and Susta. The submergence, destruction and removal of border pillars an encroachment into no-mans land by people from either side add to the problem.
* An open border allows easy egress to terrorists and insurgents. In the late 1980s, Sikh and Kashmiri terrorists sneaked into India via Nepal. In later years, many insurgent groups from the North East, such as the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), and the Kamtapur Liberation Organization (KLO), also misused the open border. Earlier, Maoists reportedly often escaped into India when pursued by Nepalese security agencies.
* Apart from insurgents and terrorists, many hard-core criminal pursued by Indian and Nepalese security forces escape across the open border.
Indo-Bhutan Border
* Indias boundary with Bhutan is also an open boundary.
* The border was peaceful till Indian insurgent groups such as the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) established camps in the southern districts of Bhutan. This problem has been effectively dealt with during the Bhutanese governments Operation All Clear, which saw the destruction and uprooting of all insurgent camps in Bhutanese territory.
* Smuggling and trafficking are also rampant along the border. Chinese made goods, Bhutanese cannabis, liquor and forest products are major items smuggled into India. Livestock, grocery items and fruits are smuggled out of India to Bhutan.
Indo-Myanmar Border
* Though the boundary is properly demarcated, there are a few pockets that are disputed.
* The internal dynamics of the region in terms of the clan loyalties of the tribal people, inter-tribal clashes, insurgency, transborder ethnic ties also adversely affect the security of the border areas. These cross-border ethnic ties have facilitated in creation of safe havens for various Northeast insurgent groups in Myanmar e.g. (NSCN), the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) but the Myanmar government appears either unwilling or incapable of flushing them out of its territory.
* There is practically no physical barrier along the border either in the form of fences or border outposts and roads to ensure strict vigil. Insurgents make use of the poorly guarded border and flee across when pursued by Indian security forces.
* The location of the boundary at the edge of the golden triangle facilitates the unrestricted illegal flows of drugs into Indian territory. Heroin is the main item of drug trafficking. The bulk of heroin enters India through the border town of Moreh in Manipur.
* The smuggling of arms and ammunition, precious stones and Chinese made consumer items finds its way into India illegally. Red Sanders, ATS (amphetamine type stimulant), grocery items, bicycle parts, etc are smuggled from India as well as human trafficking.
* The provision of allowing the tribal communities of both countries to travel up to 40 km across the border without any passport or visa has also contributed to increased smuggling in the region.
Indo-Pakistan Border
3 parts: Radcliff line, (LoC), (AGPL)
* The LoC has been vulnerable to constant infiltration by foreign terrorists, Kashmiri separatists and Pakistani army regulars for long.
* Like the Bangladesh boundary, the India-Pakistan boundary also does not follow any geographical barrier.
* Porosity of this border has facilitated various illegal activities such as smuggling, drugs and arms trafficking, and infiltration. Heroin and fake Indian currency are the two predominant items of smuggling along this border. Other items include saffron, textile, mercury, which are smuggled from Pakistan.
* A large scale hawala network is flourishing in Punjab, especially in Ludhiana.
India-China Border
* The entire boundary is disputed.
* Presently, there are only three designated areas along the India-China border through which border trade takes place; these are LipuLekh, Shipki La and Nathu La.
Governments Response
Although the Indian government had been formulating various schemes for managing these diverse challenges, the concept of border management entered the government lexicon only in the wake of the Kargil conflict of 1999, and the subsequent report submitted by the Kargil Review Committee.
Task Force on Border Management Chairmanship of Madhav Godbole:
* Concerted efforts be made to settle border disputes and demarcate the borders at the earliest opportunity.
* Department of Border Management be created
* one border guarding force should be deployed in each stretch of the border and it should not be distracted from its principal task and deployed for other internal security duties.
* establishment of a marine police force, strengthening of Coast Guard and setting up of an apex institution for coordinating various maritime issues.
* accelerated development of infrastructure along the border, especially to wean away the border population from illegal activities.
The approach as employed by the Government towards managing the borders has four important elements, viz. guarding, regulation, development of border areas, and constituting bilateral institutional mechanisms for resolving disputes and ironing out conflicts with neighbours.
Guarding the Borders
The BSF has been assigned responsibility for the India-Pakistan and India-Bangladesh borders, Assam Rifles (AR) for the India-Myanmar border, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) for the India-China border, and the Sahastra Seema Bal (SSB) for the India-Nepal and India-Bhutan borders.
To house these border guarding personnel, to send regular patrols and to interact with the nearby villages, border out posts (BOP) have been set up all along the borders.
For securing the riverine and creek areas, the water wing of the BSF is deployed (Creek Crocodiles).
Night Vision Devices, Hand Held Thermal Imagers, Battle Field Surveillance Radars, Direction Finders, Unattended Ground Sensors, High Powered Telescope are used by the border guarding forces as force multipliers for greater surveillance.
Regulation
Fencing, flood-lighting, boder roads
Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) - The Land Port Authority of India Bill was introduced and passed in 2008, which provides for the establishment of these ICPs. These ICPs would house all regulatory agencies like Immigration, Customs, border security, etc together with support facilities like parking, warehousing banking, hotels etc. in a single complex equipped with all modern facilities.
A Statutory Authority called Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI) has been set up to oversee and regulate the construction, management and maintenance of the ICPs.
Development of Border Areas
Lack of economic opportunities makes the border population more susceptible to take up smuggling and trafficking.
BADP schemes comprise of development of community-based infrastructure like forestry, pasture land, fishery ponds, floriculture parks, community centres, mobile dispensaries, mini marketing yards, etc. Funds are provided to the States as a non-lapsable Special Central Assistance
National Highway Development Programme
Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for the Northeast Region
Bilateral Institutional Mechanisms
meetings of home secretaries, area commanders of border guarding forces and the Joint Working Group on Border Management.
Border Liaison Meetings (BLMs) take place between local Area Army Commanders at designated places every six months.
The Surveyor Generals of India and Myanmar also meet to discuss the work plan for joint inspection, repairs, restoration and maintenance of boundary pillars on the border, similar institutional mechanisms with Bangladesh.
Recommendations:
Guarding
* Identify sensitive areas along the border and increase the number of border posts in these areas. Also augment the strength of the border guarding personnel in sensitive border out posts.
* Train the border guarding forces and equip them with modern gadgets and weapons for better surveillance of the border. Install alarm systems to detect breach of fence and respond quickly.
* Improve the working and living conditions of the border guarding personnel to boost their morale.
* Ensure better coordination among all agencies involved in border management such as the border guarding forces, Customs, intelligence agencies, and state police.
* Sensitise the people living along the borders and encourage them to work as eyes and ears for the border guarding forces.
Regulation
* Do not allow human habitation or cultivation in the intervening area between the border and the fence.
* Legalise trade in essential items to prevent smuggling. Open markets near the border where people can buy and sell goods without paying any duties.
* Issue multipurpose identity cards to the people residing along the borders to distinguish between Indian citizens and illegal migrants.
Development
* Work towards all round development of the border areas to wean away the border people from illegal activities as well as to dispel the feeling of alienation in them.
Bilateral mechanisms
* Strengthen bilateral mechanisms by frequently convening meetings of concerned officials to iron out tensions as well as to resolve border disputes.
Challenges to Coastal Security and Island Territories
Coastal
* The coastline is highly indented with numerous creeks, rivulets and streams along with inhabited and uninhabited islands, sandbars, and mangrove forests. These water channels, most of which are interconnected and run deep inside the land, render the coastline porous and hence vulnerable to cross-border infiltration, smuggling, and arms and drugs trafficking and provide deal hideaways for infiltrators, criminals and contraband. E.g. 1993 Mumbai serial blasts and the November 2008 attack on Mumbai.
* The matter is made worse by the existence of several high value targets such as oil refineries, atomic power plants, space stations, ports and naval bases along the coastline. While it is obvious that these installations would face a conventional threat from Pakistan in the event of war, there are growing worries about non-conventional threats as well as terrorist attacks, sabotage, etc.,
* Straying of both Indian and Pakistani fishermen - at least of the arrested fishermen could be recruited by Pakistans Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) and used as agents against India and use their boats to sneak in arms, explosives and operatives into India e.g. Kuber
Islands
* Their strategic location, i.e. proximity to the important Sea Lanes of Communication (SLOC) and Southeast Asian and African countries coupled with considerable distance from the mainland add to the Island Territories vulnerabilities.
* intelligence reports have suggested that many uninhabited islands are being misused by terrorist groups and criminal gangs as transit points for smuggling arms and narcotics e.g. Lashkar-e-Taiba in Lakshadweep.
* Instances of piracy in the Malacca straits have increased manifold.
* The Andaman and Nicobar islands have seen large scale influx of illegal migrants from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka (Tamils) Myanmar, Thailand, and Indonesia.
* String of Pearls: China, in recent years has been quite active in the Indian Ocean region. With an objective to contain its potential adversary (read India) in the region, China has helped Myanmar to construct a naval base at Haingyi and set up listening posts in Coco Island, close to Andaman and Nicobar. It has also helped Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to built ports, which could be utilised by China during adverse times.
Governments Response
At the outermost layer, the Indian Navy patrols the high seas and carries out aerial reconnaissance with ship-based aircraft. The intermediate layer comprising of the Exclusive Economic Zone (between 12 and 200 nautical miles) is patrolled by the Coast Guard. And the territorial waters are patrolled by the Coastal Police.
The fishermen deliberately cross the international border in search of a good catch. For keeping track of fishing vessels, the state governments of Maharashtra and Gujarat have made it mandatory for all the fishing vessels to install Global Positioning System (GPS) and high frequency wireless system. These equipments help the fishing vessels in ascertaining the international borders and remain within the Indian territory.
Automated Identification System (AIS) aimed at improving the security of the Port by monitoring the movement of vessels have also been installed in these ports.
To differentiate between local people and foreign elements, various coastal states have issued identity cards to all villagers residing along the coast.
speedy delivery of 204 interceptor boats,
easing of environmental norms for setting up coastal police stations,
issuance of multi purpose identity cards to all fishermen, sea-faring personnel and coastal villages,
implementation of uniform licensing of fishing boats across the country,
installation of special transponders and Global Positioning System on registered boats for identification and tracking,
deployment of commando units of Central Industrial Security Force in all ports,
constituting unified command for coastal districts to counter terrorist threats from sea.
* Sagar Prahari Bal
For the security of the Island Territories, the Indian Government has set up a joint command in Andaman and Nicobar called the Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) comprising personnel of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and the Coast Guard.
Recommendations:
Address manpower shortage(biggest problem) for the coastal police by recruiting retired Coast Guard and Navy personnel.
Enlist people from coastal villages in the Coastal Police Force. Their seafaring experience is likely to be an asset.
Consider incentives such as special allowances and insurance to overcome the reluctance of police personnel to carry out coastal patrolling.
Impart extensive and specialised training to the Coastal Police personnel to change their indifferent attitude towards coastal security.
Impose steep fines on fishermen found violating the international boundary. On repeated violation, cancel the licences of offending fishing boats.
Sources:
Border Management Report of IDSA, MHA Report.
Name: Anjneya Varshney
Preference: No such preferences. I already have each of these books. Thanks.
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