Internal Security refers to upholding national law and maintenance of peace, law and order within a country’s territory. Internal Security comes within the realm of Ministry of Home Affairs in India. External Security refers to security against aggression by foreign countries. External Security comes under Ministry of Défense. Since the advent of independence, India is facing various issues related to internal security and over the years India’s internal security problems have multiplied due to linguistic riots, interstate disputes, caste and ethnic tensions etc.
Internal security problems at present scenario:
Hinterland Terrorism: Terrorism in the Indian hinterland is the result of a complex set of inter-related factors. The development of a jihad culture in Pakistan during the course of the Afghan conflict in the 1980s led to the subsequent Pakistani decision to employ jihad against India as a strategy. The mobilisation of the Hindu Right in India and ensuing communal violence led to the radicalisation of Muslim youth and the resort to terrorism by both Indian Islamists and Muslim criminal networks with help from Pakistan. Terrorist attacks by Pakistani jihadists and Indian Islamists, in turn, radicalised elements within the Hindu Right and set the stage for their turn towards terrorism in the last few years.
Militancy in North-East and J&K region: Militancy is a condition which experiences the use of violence, being combative or predisposed to fight. Militants can include any individual or group which takes to violence. The militant outfit like Hizbul Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, ULFA (Independent), NSCN (K) has been creating violence all over India since decades.
Left wing extremism (LWE): Left-wing terrorism is meant to overthrow capitalist systems and replace them with Marxist–Leninist or socialist societies. Left-wing extremists are also known as Maoists globally and as Naxalites in India. There are several left-wing extremist organisations in the country operating in many areas. The states most strongly affected by militant Maoist activity are West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh. This is mostly seen in the mineral rich areas where people suffer at the hands of landlords and industrialists.
Money laundering: Money laundering is the illegal process of concealing the origins of money obtained illegally by passing it through a complex sequence of banking transfers or commercial transactions. Money Laundering can be done by investing in real estate, hawala transactions, shell companies etc. It threatens internal security as it can be used for terror financing, narcotics, human trafficking, corruption etc.
Organized crime and its nexus with terrorism: Organized crime is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. The nexus with terrorism makes it as a biggest threat to internal securities.
Religious Fundamentalism and Intolerance: India has been witnessing many communal riots since British rule. Religious Fundamentalism poses yet another grave threat to India’s sovereignty and Integrity. It subverts the fundamental rule of law, tolerance of society, denies basic rights to citizens, endangers the social fabric, and threatens political and economic stability.
Drug Trafficking: India’s proximity to the largest producers of heroin and hashish- the Golden Triangle and Golden Crescent (Afghanistan-Pakistan-Iran) has made India’s border vulnerable to drug trafficking.
Regionalism and inter-state disputes: It pose a threat to India’s sovereignty. Th
Cyber-crime and cyber security: In present day situation cyber security poses threat to Internal securities. Cyber security involves protection of sensitive personal and business information through prevention, detection, and response to different online attacks. Cyber security actually protects your personal information by responding, detecting and preventing the attacks.
Porous borders: India has porous borders with Bangladesh and Nepal. Porous border aggravates the problems like counterfeit currency infiltration, human and drug trafficking.
Criminalisation of politics: The nexus between Politics and Criminal destabilizes the
(Map: India’s Current Internal Security Problems)
