Internal Security Threats Faced by India

Published on 01 Feb 2025

Internal security is the act of maintaining peace within the borders of a sovereign state by countering various internal security threats occurring within the nation. These diverse threats arise due to the socio-political, economic and geographic profile of the nation and the state employs police to paramilitary forces to counter them.

Classification of Internal Security Threats Faced by India

India faces a wide range of internal security threats which are complex and often interrelated. Some of the common security threats faced by India are

• Terrorism: India has been a victim of terror attacks which are largely state-sponsored in nature. These attacks claim lives and generate terror and the often-religious nature of the attack threatens the secular fabric of the nation.

• Example: The operations by Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba in Jammu and Kashmir region.

• Separatism: Separatist movements have been common in Northeast India since independence. These movements are a threat to India’s integrity and hinder socio-economic development in the region.

• Example: The demand for Greater Nagalim by extremist groups like NSCN has resulted in a law and order crisis in the region.

• Communal violence: The religious sentiments of the people often get triggered by certain vested powers which results in religious riots.

• Example: The 2013 Muzaffarnagar riot which resulted in 62 deaths among which 42 were Muslims and 20 were Jats.

• Ethnic conflicts: The diversity of culture and the tendency of the majority to assimilate the minority into a larger whole has resulted in multiple events of ethnic violence.

• Example: The recent Manipur riots between the Meiteis and the Kuki tribes where the death toll reached 187 after 3 months.

• Left wing extremism: The economic backwardness of certain classes could be triggered to take arms against the state resulting in extremist movements among the poor and tribals.

• Example: In the last 20 years, Naxal violence has claimed over 12000 lives.

• Right wing extremism: The regressive line of thoughts associated with culture and religion has led to the strengthening of right-wing elements within India.

• Example: Instances of cow vigilantism and honour killing have been common in recent days in India.

• Organized crime: Organized criminal networks have been involved in multiple illegal activities like drug smuggling, arms smuggling, human trafficking etc.

• Example: Drug smuggling is a common organized crime in North-eastern India due to its porous border and proximity to the Golden Triangle.

• Illegal immigration: Ethnic conflicts and political instability within India and in India’s neighbourhood have increased illegal immigration to India which distorts the demography of the region.

• Example: Illegal immigration from Myanmar into North-eastern states during the Junta uprising.

• Cyber threat: The age of digitization has exposed India to a wide range of cyber-attacks like malware attacks, phishing, attacks on critical infrastructure, identity theft etc.

• Example: The cyber-attack on the AIIMS database which encrypted 1.3 TB data.

Factors responsible for internal security problems in India

• Social factors

• Ethnic diversity: The minority population often feels alienated due to their poor socio-economic standards and the efforts at integrating them with the majority. 

• Example: Manipur conflict has been against the  Meiteis from gaining disproportionate power over other tribes in Manipur

• Example: Bru Mizo conflict has been for the expulsion of Brus from the traditional Mizo land.

• Religious extremism: The religious sentiments within the people overpower human values which triggers them to act violently to protect their religion

• Example: Gujarat riot of 2002 between Hindus and Muslims.

• Caste sentiments: The social inequality and discrimination against the lower castes often result in communal riots.

• Example: 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence in Maharashtra.

• Economic factors

• Economic disparity: The lack of resources and the competition for limited resources results in violence when economic disparity is large.

• Example: The Naxal movements in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand have been due to this economic disparity.

• Unemployment: The unemployed youth are more vulnerable to get induced into extremist ideas and get easily manipulated for vested interests.

• Example: The son of soil movement in Maharashtra.

• Political factors

• Political instability: The absence of efficient state machinery creates a fertile ground for the surge of terror groups and criminal networks.

• Example: The political instability in the Northeast has been a major reason for the spread of terror outfits in the region.

• Extremist political ideology: Certain political ideologies spread extremist ideologies to attract more people to the party which results in violence.

• Example: Some of the right-wing ideas can be manipulated and misinterpreted to induce violence.

• Technological factors

• Poor incorporation of technology: Increasing incidents of cybercrime and border infiltration have been due to less prominence of technology-based defence mechanisms in India.

• Example: The majority of India’s border is still mechanically managed which results in infiltrations.

• Technology at the hands of militants: Militant groups are having better access to cyber weapons and other technologically superior weapons which increases the potential for massive attacks.

• Example: The use of drones and AI by non-state actors makes their attacks more fatal and harder to detect.

• Spread of misinformation: The connectivity offered by social media aids in the spread of fake news which creates polarization within the society and eventual conflict.

• Example: Fake news was crucial in escalating the scale of violence in Manipur.

Government initiatives and policy measures

• Legislative mechanism: The Parliament passes legislation to address critical security threats to ensure national security and integrity.

• Example: The Unlawful Activities (Prevention Act), 1967 to address the threat of terrorism.

• Example: Rajasthan and West Bengal state governments passing legislation to prevent mob lynching.

• Policy formulation: The government can bring out a policy framework for specifying the guidelines to the following for preventing a security threat.

• Example: National Cyber Security Policy, 2013 on the efforts to be taken to prevent cyber-attacks.

• Security forces: The government may form specialized security forces who are better trained to counter security threats. They conduct various operations to quickly curb social security threats.

• Example: The formation of NIA as a specialized force to counter-terrorism.

• Example: Operation Green Hunt was a noted anti-Naxal operation to weaken Left wing extremism.

• Institutional mechanism: Institutions are being formed to develop a planned approach towards addressing a security threat in a holistic manner.

• Example: National Cyber Coordination Centre to monitor and analyse internet traffic data to enhance cybersecurity.

• Government schemes: Better infrastructure can address the development deficit and create more opportunities for the locals, thus driving them away from militant groups.

• Example: Vibrant village programme along the India-China border.

• Example: PM Gram Sadak Yojana to improve road connectivity

• Community engagement programmes: Involvement of communities to bridge the trust deficit between locals and the forces to have a coordinated approach against security threats.

• Example: Civic action programmes by CRPF personnel in areas threatened by Left Wing Extremism.

• International efforts and diplomacy: Many of the security threats are global in nature and therefore require cooperation among like-minded countries to address them.

• Example: India’s push for a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism has shown India’s willingness to promote global cooperation to counter terrorism.

International initiatives

• International conventions: Nations come together to share the best practices and adopt common policies to address global security threats

• Example: Budapest convention of addressing cyber threat.

• Example: UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime to combat various forms of organized crimes.

• Bringing global strategies: These could guide nations in formulating effective strategies at the national level to counter security threats.

• Example: UN Global Counter Terrorism Strategy.

• International task forces: Security forces funded and trained to deal with security threats across the globe

• Example: Joint Interagency Task Force South: A US-led task force for countering drug trafficking.

• Regional alliances: Many of the security threats have regional ramifications which demand regional partners to work together to address them.

• Example: Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure within SCO has been formed to reduce the impact of terrorism in the region.

Way forward

• Bring social cohesion: The government and civil society must strive to build upon community sentiments and create a sense of brotherhood within the society despite differences in culture and religion

• Skill development and employment: Generation of a stable employment opportunity can divert the youth from extremist groups thus creating a peaceful society.

• Bridge development deficit: The government should bring about more infrastructure and social welfare schemes to erode the fear of alienation.

• Prevent hate speech: The Spread of ideas which violate the social fabric of the nation and which spreads violence must be curbed.

• Better regulation of technology: Technology must be ensured not to be misused to aid the spread of hate spreading content.

Thus, there exist diverse internal security threats that could result in large-scale violence and generate a sense of fear within the society. These could threaten the cardinal social values and spread hatred within the society. To address them there have been efforts at both national and international levels which must be further reinforced through similar practices to reduce the impact of such internal security threats to the society.

Tags:
Security

Keywords:
Internal security Left wing extremism Terrorism Internal security initiatives Internal security threats

Syllabus:
General Studies Paper 3

Topics:
Internal Security