Engaging border people, in securing Indian Boards

Abstract

India has land border with Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, Nepal & Pakistan covering around 15,106.7 Kms, as well as coastline of 7517 Km, of which 5422 Km on mainland. We don’t have the resources to man our Land & Coastal Borders, as India is a growing economy. Government is trying to increase budget every year, but it has its own limitations. Hence with limited budget, we have to optimize Border Management. This can be done by engaging our border people. The Security scenario across our borders is dynamic & we should respond accordingly to take care of our national security, by taking care of our strategic interests. Unless we have safe borders, we can’t grow economically& give better life to Indian Citizens. Depending on the situation prevailing on our side of border & across our border we may go for use of technology for securing our borders, improve infrastructure in borders areas or try diplomatically to resolve border disputes with our neighbors. All the wars we have fought after independence show that we should engage border people more in securing our borders. If we use excess use of technology to secure our borders, we alienate our border people. Basic infrastructure is lacking in border areas. If we invest more in Border Area Development Progress, in Border areas, we alienate the population living in hinterland. Relatively our border areas are sparsely populated. If we move diplomatically to sort our border disputes with country like China, they may feel our Defence preparedness is not upto the mark. Hence there are Pros & Cons in each option. Hence, depending on our strategic interests with our neighbours we use the right mix of actions. There is no single pill remedy for all border management issues. As border management is linked to National Security, we must select our options very carefully.