India Must End Protracted Conflicts to Create a Stable Environment for Development

Abstract

India has been suffering from protracted internal armed conflicts in different theatres for the last nearly fifty years. Indigenous and
Transnational terrorism, pose a formidable challenge to the country’s security. The separatist movement in Jammu & Kashmir, aided and abetted by Pakistan, has forced India to deploy huge security forces in the state. The northeast has been having multiple insurgencies. Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura have all been affected by insurgencies at different periods of time. Nagaland continues to fester. The Maoist movement, which had engulfed large areas of central India, has since been contained to an extent, but it continues to be a major threat. Security forces have generally established their dominance, but the socio-economic dimensions of the problem still remain unresolved and needs to be addressed more comprehensively. The protracted conflicts
are essentially due to flaws or lacunae in our doctrinal approach, strategic vision and tactical handling of the challenges. The country
must have an internal security doctrine and the security architecture must be completely revamped.