Get Serious About Security

Context: A National Strategy on Security is a must for India to emerge stronger and more dynamic.

Issues with India’s security governance

• Failure to understand multiple dimensions in National Security: involving domestic, external, military, economic and ecological drivers, leads to reactive decision making and suboptimal outcomes.

• Governance systems are generally hierarchical and tubular.

• Absence of systems of review and evaluation: leaves no scope of improvement and learning and leads to the formulation of security policies that lack longer-term perspective.
• National security documents are not open to public debate: and remained within the confines of government.
• Presence of illusion of discretionary power and independent agency: has thwarted our decision making and demonstrates our inability to resolve long-standing conflicts. 
• For, E.g. the Kashmir conflict and the challenge of left-wing extremism.
• Inability to identify our inadequacies and vulnerabilities: and blaming singular causes, mostly of external provenance. E.g.-  
• Links between drug smuggling, corruption and lack of accountability.
• Security gaps behind easy penetration of terrorist outfit into the defended and fortified border.

Way Forward

• Identify simultaneous solution of inter-related factors: relating to contraband trade, drug smuggling and accountability in both our armed forces and civil services.
• The integral link between domestic and external security: must be acknowledged explicitly and subjected to cross-domain approaches. 
• Inter-disciplinary and cross-sectoral National security strategy: must be formulated and implemented.
• Avoid future repetition of security loopholes: by formulating the post-attack report after careful review and investigation. 

Conclusion: Stronger National security strategy could better the chances of India emerging stronger and more dynamic in the post-pandemic era.