FAUJI INDIA - November 2017

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From the Editor-at-Large
With the Doklam standoff averted and Kashmir being relatively calm, the government is in a mood for talks, having assigned an interlocutor for engaging with stakeholders in the Valley. Thus, there is hope once again, that this new national security initiative might shift the discourse from purely military responses to the insurgency, to the political domain. But the jury is still out on how soon, and how effectively, that might happen.
But a new dimension has been added to the national security challenge – the Rohingyas issue. This persecuted Muslim minority that has been fleeing the ruthless actions of the Burmese Army has swamped Bangladesh and is knocking on the doors of India. Opinion in India is however divided on how to deal with the scale of this human exodus. It thus makes it difficult for India on how to balance its national security concerns with its impressive past record of humanitarian assistance to refugees over the years.
Another welcome move of the present government is appointment of former Navy Chief, Admiral DK Joshi, as the Lt Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. With China’s growing presence in Indian Ocean Region (IOR), India needs to consolidate its position here. With his past role as having headed the only tri-services command there and his understanding of the strategic importance of the Andaman & Nicobar as a forward Indian maritime position to counter China’s ambitions, he could effectively influence the decisions of the Indian government, as the US wants to lean more heavily onto India, as a partner in the IOR.