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India’s Security Changed
Perspectives
The first few chapters deal with terrorism from which India has suffered more than any other country. A chapter, Why Did 9/11 Happen, traces the recent history of terrorism. According to the author, terrorism became an international tool after the US’ Central Intelligence Agency and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence used it as a weapon during the 10-year-long Afghan war. Both the agencies established nearly 100 training camps in Pakistan to train and equip thousands of terrorists from Muslim countries to throw Soviet forces out of Afghanistan. Pakistan, in fact, became the "University of Terrorism". When Soviet forces withdrew from Afghanistan, the terrorists who had tasted success realised their importance and so did their leaders who found a new weapon system to use against other countries, including super powers like the US and Russia. The US realised it only on 9/11, while India has been its main target for years. Meanwhile, the American invasion of Iraq has made the Muslim countries anti US. On the whole, terrorism has moved the centre of gravity of international politics to Asia, which has started affecting the international relations too. The book has questioned the US wisdom of imposing democracy on countries like Iraq and Afghanistan, when it could not be rooted in Pakistan in the last 57 years. Besides, the US has supported dictators in Pakistan and other countries whenever it suited its interests. The book later discusses the international security perspective, highlighting the growing rift between the US and the NATO, the growing strength of China, the developing Indo-US relations and the Indo-Pak dialogue. According to the author, Pakistan has become an ideological centre for Muslim fundamentalism. The nuclear dimension has made Pakistan more aggressive, and so it calls the terrorists as freedom fighters. The implications and intentions of China are analysed while giving military aid to Pakistan, Bangla Desh and Myanmar. The author discusses the need to streamline the intelligence machinery of the country. India has to depend upon the intelligent assessment of various agencies. There have been quite a few intelligence failures in the past, starting from the 1962 Chinese invasion to the recent Kargil war. The book states that there has been proliferation of intelligence agencies in the country, but with marginal results only. Though the role of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) is to gather information related to the stability and security of India, it has been misused for political ends, remarks the author. The Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), which is the external intelligence agency of India, has also been involved in rendering political and military advice to the Prime Minister as well as checking the antecedents of political rivals of the ruling party. The book discusses the internal security perspective of the country and states that the primary threats to security of India originate from within. It also deals with the challenges and threat emanating from foreign countries. The author criticises the previous as well as the present government for not activating and making use of the National Security Council and instead relying upon National Security Advisers for tackling security problems. The book deals with higher defence control in India in a logical manner and recommends the adoption of the Chief of Defence Staff system and having joint commands of various services. The author also suggests the ways to streamline the existing intelligence machinery as well as internal security agencies. It concludes by discussing the role and importance of the media in a democracy, particularly regarding the security aspect of the country. It is a wide-ranging book, which makes for useful and interesting reading. |
THE book deals with
various challenges that India faces both from its neighbours as well as
from inside the country. The author feels that coalition governments in
India have failed to create an effective national security mechanism to
look after country’s interests.