Red Corridor Gets Bloodier Amid Inaction

The fundamental flaw in the anti-Maoist operations today is that the state police forces in most states are heavily dependent on the Central Government, which doesn’t even have a defence minister to begin with

- Anil Singh

India’s national security is vulnerable to threats both from across the border as well as home-grown terrorism and Naxal violence. The country has been victim of cross-border jihadi terrorism for more than a decade. Jammu & Kashmir continues to be a boiling pot kind courtesy the proxy war launched by Pakistan and due to spread of religious fundamentalism. 83 districts in the hinterland spread across 9 states, referred to as “Red Corridor” are engulfed with Naxalism and are engaged in conflict with the State. The North East continues to simmer with ethnic conflicts and insurgencies. Issues like “Intolerance”, Dalit versus Non-Dalit and minority appeasement are often used as tools by the vested interests to engineer internal disturbances in the country.

India’s national security is confronted with a wide range of threats such as transnational threats, “proxy war” in J &K and left-wing extremism in various parts of the country. India’s strategic interests along the Northern, Western and Eastern borders and sensitivities along the Line of Control (LoC) and Line of Actual Control (LAC) need to be protected with effective deterrent capabilities. Undoubtedly, maintaining territorial integrity and preserving national sovereignty continues to remain a major strategic challenge for India; nonetheless, India’s threats primarily emanate from the disputed land borders with certain neighbours and that warrants the need to address consequences of instability and volatility in parts of India’s extended and immediate neighbourhood.