NATIONAL SECURITY MANAGEMENT : SOME REFLECTIONS

NATIONAL SECURITY MANAGEMENT :
SOME REFLECTIONS

SAUMITRA MOHAN*

National security is a term, which us used very loosely today in common parlance. It is often associated with safeguards either against an enemy country's hostile incursions or maneuvering or against armed non-state actors out to challenge the authority of the state and cause irreparable damages to the unity and integrity of the state. However, national security subsumes these aspects and goes much beyond them and is much more inclusive and broader than commonly understood.
The theme of this paper as mentioned at the outset includes three terms namely 'national ', 'security' and management'. Before we go on to discuss the theme in detail, it would be better if we seek to understand what these terms stand for. The first of these, i.e., 'national' means something that us related to 'nation' which is regarded as being co-terminus with the 'state'. In case of India, it has often been said that it is more of a 'state-nation' than a 'nation state. This is an allusion to the plurality of Indian society and to the fact that Indian society and to the fact that Indian state has hot evolved as a nation like the European one. Being a multi-cultu7ral and multinational State, some sections of Indian society are yet to come to terms with the ' imagined' Indian nation.
The common thread that arguably joins different ethno-cultural –linguistic groups within the Indian state (the idea of an essentially Hindu cultural unity-interpreted in cultural, geographical and religious sense) tends to have a sectional flavour and leaves out a sizable chunk and often alienates them. The historical reality of partition of British India on the principle of 'Two Nation theory' has its own corrupting influence on the making of the 'state nation '. The disaffection or dissatisfaction of ethno-cultural groups- who define themselves in national terms- often poses security threats when it matures into separatist or secessionist movement and it has to be properly factored into national security management.
The second and most important of the three terms is 'security'. Security is much more than the mere defense of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country. Security of the nation means her security in every aspect of the national life including political, economic, cultural, environmental, and social.
The last of these three terms, i.e., 'management' means the process of managing and relates to the administration and regulation of available resource to achieve the organizational goals. So, taken together, 'national security management' means the proper administration and regulation of country's entire available resources to provide effective security to the nation and its nationals in every sense of the term.

Treats
Today, India is facing threats to her security from various quarters. The threats are both from within and from without. The treats are in the forms of outright enemy incursions as reflected in such instances as Kargil, Low intensity proxy war as in Kashmir, threats like nuclear strikes from unidentified sources or non-state actors, refuge influxes from across the border threatening the country politically, culturally and economically, religious fundamentalism, narco-terrorism, proliferation of small arms, many environmental hazards flowing is an a result of indiscriminate use of earth's resources by developed and developing countries, cultural invasion through media and economic insecurity of the country induced both by instability in the world market and inability at the domestic level to cope with changes induced by the forces of globalization.
The hydra-headed problem of poverty, weak economic base, unemployment, narrow regionalism, naxalism, communalism, infranationalism, secessionism, corruption, terrorism and weak institutional structure – all pose grave threats to the national security of this country. If we really mean to ménage our national security well, then we would have to work at all these levels and take a comprehensive and holistic approach to the issue of national security in the absence of which the continued survival of India Nation may be endangered.
Before looking at threats form without, one should try to put one's own house in order. India's image as a 'soft state', as termed by Gunnar Myrdal in his celebrated work Asian drama, has to be tackled first. This negative image perhaps derives form the fact that key institutional structures of the state are either in shambles or non-functional leading to her incapacitation at many levels and this has paralyzed the economy and polity in irrevocable ways on the one hand and encouraged fissiparous tendencies along the margins on the other. A rundown bureaucracy, rickety legislature, and indecisive executive and on overall image of a non-performing government does impact negatively on national security.
The first task confronting the Indian state is to raise an effective institutional structure to manage the affairs of the state and this will have its beneficial effect on the issue of national security in the long run.
Countering Threats
It is argued that a good infrastructure and a responsible government would be of no use unless and until we have a very alert, awakened, responsible and participative civil society. And to have such a civil society, there is a need to invest a lot in human resource of the state. This would also mean that everyone is well fed, well clad and well cared for. Otherwise, a starving and unemployed populace often transforms into a disaffected subject and poses new threats to national security, as was also attested by by Kautilya in his famous book, 'Arthashatra' Moreover, Indian state has to demonstrate is impartiality in the authoritative allocation of values and resources.
It is fact that Indian nation is facing lot many challenges from many disgruntled sections of India citizenry, because of a perceived bias in terms of value allocation by the Indian State power have to be careful in securing – what Rawls once said-'distributive justice' for its citizens and they have to ensure that the developmental pie does not get so unevenly distributed as to engender such circumstances which threaten the very survival of the state or nation. It is absolutely necessary to engineer developmental processes in such a manner that all the sections of Indian society are co-opted respectfully into the national mainstream. The government of the state should also see to it that there is no social injustice or inequity in the society as that often engenders social unrest leading to the break-up of the country – as was the case in East Pakistan in 1971. To misquote Machiavelli, the government should not only be doing justice but should also appear to be just.
Also, the galloping rate of population growth needs to be brought down to match the resources of the country. In the Indian case, it has definitely outpaced the resources at its command. The mismatch often creates instability and unrest in the society, which definitely is not good for the country. To ward against this, we need to have a very healthy economy with an efficient industrial and agricultural base. Again, a healthy economy requires good infrastructural base and a good mix of economic policies to support it.
Then, the political culture of a country should also be such as to provide a cushion to its national security. In a country like India, very often, competitive/populist democratic measures create problems like narrow regionalism, communalism, secessionism and infra-nationalism, which also prove suicidal to the national security. So, an effective national security management could be predicated on a reasonably responsible political culture with a very wide democratic base meaning thereby that we need to have an effective all-inclusive participatory democracy.
After we have all the above, we could think of other aspects of our national security. It is often said that India does not have a national security doctrine and it is often said to be toying with a concept of 'strategic ambivalence'. A very reputed security expert, George Tanham also feels that India lacks a 'culture of strategic thinking'. And even after the National Security Advisory Board led by the doyen of Indian strategic think tanks, Mr. K. Subrahmanyam came out with such a doctrine, we have not bothered to accept the same.
Need of a clear perspective
India's national security management continues to be ad hocish and reactive. The Kargil Committee Report pointed out many chinks in our security armour and then, there was a Group of Ministers' Report, which visualized many changes in our national security management but we are yet to see some positive changes on the security front. The National Security Council, formed to effectively manage country's security has proved to be still-born with the government hardly using it as a tool towards security management.
All one means to say here is that the government needs to be more serious and systematic about the national security management. It should not only have a crystal clear perspective and policy on national security but it should also put in place the required intuitional structures. National Security is a full time job and requires a full time national security Advisor rather that the one who also works as the Principal security to the Prime Minister. The long-felt need to have a Chief of Defense Staff for proper coordination among the different wings of our armed forces also needs to be seriously considered.
At a time when Alvin Toffler's third Wave' (i.e. communication and information revolution) is sweeping the world, we have to see to it that we are not unsettled by this phenomenon more so when we claim to be good at it and propose to make India a 'Knowledge society' And to the credit of the government, we already have the Report of the Information Task Force ( led first by Jaswant Singh and later by K.C. Pant), which has extensively talked about this aspect of national security. The point one is trying to make here is that we should be ready against an y attempt to invade our vast vital database through an informationì¥Á7
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SOME RELECTIONS
SAUMITRA MOHAN*
National security is a term, which us used very loosely today in common parlance. It is often associated with safeguards either against an enemy country's hostile incursions or maneuvering or against armed non-state actors out to challenge the authority of the state and cause irreparable damages to the unity and integrity of the state. However, national security subsumes these aspects and goes much beyond them and is much more inclusive and broader than commonly understood.
The theme of this paper as mentioned at the outset includes three terms namely 'national ', 'security' and management'. Before we go on to discuss the theme in detail, it would be better if we seek to understand what these terms stand for. The first of these, i.e., 'national' means something that us related to 'nation' which is regarded as being co-terminus with the 'state'. In case of India, it has often been said that it is more of a 'state-nation' than a 'nation state. Thiity management. And this is an ea of 'complex interdependence' as described by security experts Joseph Nye and Robert Keohane . Today, it is difficult to define security in terms of in terms of 'mine and thine' Today, security manes mutuality of approachesì¥Á7
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b¬j††×0†ÓÓ†(fŽJ[1]ÙNATIONAL SECURITY MANAGEMENT :
SOME RELECTIONS
SAUMITRA MOHAN*
National security is a term, which us used very loosely today in common parlance. It is often associated with safeguards either against an enemy country's hostile incursions or maneuvering or against armed non-state actors out to challenge the authority of the state and cause irreparable damages to the unity and integrity of the state. However, national security subsumes these aspects and goes much beyond them and is much more inclusive and broader than commonly understood.
The theme of this paper as mentioned at the outset includes three terms namely 'national ', 'security' and management'. Before we go on to discuss the theme in detail, it would be better if we seek to understand what these terms stand for. The first of these, i.e., 'national' means something that us related to 'nation' which is regarded as being co-terminus with the 'state'. In case of India, it has often been said that it is more of a 'state-nation' than a 'nation state. Thishould try to build defenses against war by investing more and more in peace, As the preamble to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and cultural Organization says, " It is in mind that war starts and it is there that the defenses of peace should be built". So, while a country needs to guard against the unwarranted invasion of its national culture, it should also see to it that an international culture or peace and prosperity develop through mutual cooperation and collaboration.
A country not only needs to manage her bilateral and multilateral relations well through effective confidence building measures but should also try to promote international treaties in disarmament and arms regulation aiming at the larger goal of international peace and security. For this, we also need to have strong international organizations in place and need to provide more teeth to organizations like the United Nations. Besides, potential of such established forums as Non-aligned Movement, G-77,G-24.G-15,G-8. ASEAN, SAARC and APEC need to be properly harnessed towards national and international security management as both the issues are intertwined.
Also, as far as possible a nation should try to use its diplomatic resources to the best. It should not only try to presume and neutralize possible enemy moves and maneuverings through confidence building measures and through proper preparations but should also try to expand here area of cooperation by either co-opting neutral and friendly countries to its side or by trying to get a toe-hold in their area of influence. As about India, one can say that India should strive to be a part of influential regional and international groupings like APEC, Asia-Europe Meetings and United Nations Security Council.
Diplomatic resources should be properly harnessed and deployed fro wooing the powerful members of international community to a country's own point of view, for promoting its values, for cooperation in such fields as technological exchange and economic cooperation.
Also, India should utilize Indian Diaspora and its resources abroad in such diplomatic exercises. India also has to realize that she cannot make much headway in national security management as long as South Asia remains hostage to the continuous confrontations between India and Pakistan. So, national security for any member country of South Asia should also mean rapprochement between India and Pakistan and only then can the vast resources of the region be properly channeled towards development. Hence, India, as the most powerful country in the region has to see to it that Cold War, which has ended elsewhere, ends in South Asia as well.
Apart from all the above, it is always advisable to have an inner circle of close allies and in India's case, such allies could be Russia, Israel, china and France and at the same time India can improve its strategic relationship with the USA. There is already a talk of a 'strategic triangle' among India, Russia and China. India should seriously explore the feasibility of such a concept.
To conclude, on can say that an effective national security management requires strong institutions, a responsible government, an effective national security policy, a participative and vibrant civil society, a just social structure, a well-oiled economic and political system with a sense of 'distributive justice', a healthy culture of peace, a better war-preparedness, a good diplomatic machinery and cascading international cooperation in different spheres through continuous confidence building measures.