INDIAN FOREIGN POLICY

Defence, Security and

Human Security Concepts

M.A, Class Lecture on

Monday, 30 March 2009

From Anurag Gangal, Professor,

International Politics, Department
29/03/2009 1
of Political Science, University of
Jammu, Jammu, J&K, India.
 Defence and Security

M.A. Second Semester, Indian
Foreign Policy, Course No. 461,
Unit-II, Indian Security Concerns;
Sub Unit-2.1.

Defence

Security

Human Security

Internal Threats

External Threats
From Anurag Gangal, Professor,
International Politics, Department
29/03/2009 2
of Political Science, University of
Jammu, Jammu, J&K, India.
 Traditional and Modern
Defence / Security
Contexts

Defence relates to defending national territorial
borders as a traditional concept.

Security, traditionally speaking, denotes
providing right to life to citizens of a democratic
nation:
1. Linkages between defence and security.
2. Security, in this sense, involves, both internal safety
and its external perspectives.

Human Security is an emerging modern concept
of defence and security
1. Human Security expands the horizon of internal and
external defence and security.
2. Human Security, as such, encompasses right to life,
liberty, employment, freedom, development, self-
reliance, defence preparedness, preventive diplomacy
and security etcetera.

From Anurag Gangal, Professor,

International Politics, Department
29/03/2009 3
of Political Science, University of
Jammu, Jammu, J&K, India.
 Defending National
Territorial Borders

Traditional understanding of defence
1. Preparing, projecting and positioning Army, Air Force and
Navy.
2. Training and procuring required weapons through research,
production and purchases.
3. Securing intelligence via human and other resources.
4. Fighting the invader at any cost.
5. Defence related guidelines are formulated in view of
compulsions of the foreign policy.

This is what Indian forces have accomplished in
1947, 1962, 1965, 1971-72, during the Kargil
Operations and in its fight against proxy wars of
terrorists.

From Anurag Gangal, Professor,

International Politics, Department
29/03/2009 4
of Political Science, University of
Jammu, Jammu, J&K, India.
 Defence and Security
Linkages – Classical Sense

Defence and Security depict how states
use force to manage threats to their
territorial integrity, their autonomy, and
their domestic political order, primarily
from other states.

But for a few developed countries, all
nations follow this concept.

India is emerging as a nation that looks
forward to go for a change. How? Is,
indeed, a question that must be looked
into.

All these are the realist classical
concepts.
From Anurag Gangal, Professor,
International Politics, Department
29/03/2009 5
of Political Science, University of
Jammu, Jammu, J&K, India.
 Human Security – Why
and What it is?

Classical notion is limited to military threats
mainly.

In view of neo-realist interpretation of international
politics in an age of WMDs, cooperating security is
needed instead of the classical unilateral security.

There are biological, nuclear, chemical,
environmental, economic and cultural threats to
national security too today.

What the world needs is an all inclusive concept of
comprehensive security.

Human Security goes a step further than the
comprehensive security: it adds the need for
protection and welfare of the individual citizen or
human being.

Individual centred conception of security is Human
Security.
From Anurag Gangal, Professor,
International Politics, Department
29/03/2009 6
of Political Science, University of
Jammu, Jammu, J&K, India.
 India’s Internal Security

There are several types of threats to India’s Internal
Security:
1. Terrorism – with internal and foreign linkages
2. Naxalism
3. Communalism
4. Sectarianism, Parochialism and Casteism
5. Perverted Politics
6. Political and Criminal Mafia networking or nexus
7. Secessionism

Major causes of such threats are poverty, over-
population, weak policing, intelligence failures, political
compulsions of democracy, illiteracy, general ignoring
of performance and merit in education, massive
unemployment, weak political leaders and governments,
weak interservices intelligence, increasing frustration
amongst youth of the country, centralised planning that
ignores needs of an individual citizen.
From Anurag Gangal, Professor,
International Politics, Department
29/03/2009 7
of Political Science, University of
Jammu, Jammu, J&K, India.
 Internal Security
Dilemmas - I

Until above mentioned causes behind internal security
threats are not addressed in a planned and
professional manner, there is no escape from ever
increasing internal chaos and threats to internal
security of the nation.

Internal security is linked to multiple factors and needs
– both from within and without.

Internal security is not merely a “Law and Order”
problem of normal prevailing pattern of policing in India
today.

For a successful internal security setup, it is necessary
that every Indian citizen is satisfied and happy.

Political and bureaucratic self-aggrandisement at the
cost of every poor Indian citizen must stop.

Otherwise, to paraphrase Captain Alfred Thayer
Mahan, ‘Even if Indian Navy rules the oceans of the
world, Internal Security Threats will continue to rise’.
From Anurag Gangal, Professor,
International Politics, Department
29/03/2009 8
of Political Science, University of
Jammu, Jammu, J&K, India.
 Evolving a Visionary and
Comprehensive Approach to Internal
Security Linkages

WOMP (1960s), Club of Rome reports (1970s), Willy
Brandt’s North-South Dialogue and Olof Palme’s
Common Security reports (1980s), Common
Responsibility (1991) by Stockholm Initiative on Global
Security and Governance, Our Global Neighbourhood
(1995) by Commission on Global Governance,
Launching of Human Development Index (HDI) by
Mahbub ul Haq and UNDP, Humane Governance
Index (HGI) (1994), Canadian Approach (1997-1999)
by Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy (1997) and Middle
powers’ conference at Lysoen, Norway organised by
Canada and Norway (1999).

For Mahbub ul Haq, David Baldwin and Arnold
Wolfers, major questions anent every type of security
are: 1. Security for whom? 2. Security for which
values? 3. How much security? 4. Security from what
threats? and 5. Security by what means?
From Anurag Gangal, Professor,
International Politics, Department
29/03/2009 9
of Political Science, University of
Jammu, Jammu, J&K, India.
 How to Address Above
Mentioned Fundamental Five
Questions

For Haq, following five actions need to be
attended to:
1. Developmental – sustainability, equity of opportunities,
social safety nets, employment, restructuring of
world’s income, consumption and life style patterns.
2. Military – reducing arms and arms race, diverting
military aid to economic needs, closing military bases,
retaining workers in arms industry, eliminating arms
export subsidies.
3. North-South Context – Interdependence instead of
dominance.
4. Institutional – Restructuring IMF, IBRD and UN,
Empowering the poor, Environmental and Energy
Security, Personal and Political Security.
5. Evolving a Global Civil Society - Grassroots
participation, Changing to democracy from
authoritarian rule.

From Anurag Gangal, Professor,

International Politics, Department
29/03/2009 10
of Political Science, University of
Jammu, Jammu, J&K, India.
 Canadian Approach to
Internal Security Linkages

Canadian Approach adds to the UNDP’s
concept the following aspects:
1. Acceptable Quality of Life
2. Guarantee of Fundamental Human Rights
3. Satisfaction of basic needs
4. Freedom from fear
5. Freedom from want
6. Rule of Law
7. Good Governance
8. Sustained Economic Development
9. Social Equity

From Anurag Gangal, Professor,

International Politics, Department
29/03/2009 11
of Political Science, University of
Jammu, Jammu, J&K, India.
 Where India stands between
traditional and human security
concepts of internal security?

According to Shrikant Paranjpe (Ed.), India's Internal
Security : Issues and Perspectives, New Delhi, Kalinga
Pub., 2009: "The problem of internal security came
to be addressed as a ‘security policy issue’ in
India only in the 1980s. This area is one of the
important non strategic concerns of security
policy. It presents the critical debates on the
application of the principle of self determination in
its political, economic and socio-cultural
dimensions. At the political level, it focuses on
the degree of autonomy within the framework of
national integration; at the economic level, the
problem of decentralization of economic power;
and at the socio-cultural level, the issue of the
state and civil society.” (See its jacket cover).

From Anurag Gangal, Professor,

International Politics, Department
29/03/2009 12
of Political Science, University of
Jammu, Jammu, J&K, India.
 Other Views on Internal
Security in India

“Security is not a luxury and is not merely a function of the
state; it is a way of life. India has to and can overcome the
general inability of democracies to put together the political
will, the resources and the strategies that are necessary to
prevail over all internal security threats. Real reforms that
would remove or minimize economic and religion/caste-based
inequalities, good and honest governance and effective
policing are pre-requisites for the marshalling the total
resources of the nation in these efforts. The Govt of India
should also be prepared to lower the threshold of tolerance in
relation to cross-border terrorism and to serve credible notice
that India has the capabilities and the determination to inflict
prohibitively high and unacceptable cost on the state
sponsors of terrorist acts against Indian interests.” See R.
Swaminathan, “India’s Internal Security Dimensions”,
http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers27%5Cpaper26
29.html, 17, March, 2008.

From Anurag Gangal, Professor,

International Politics, Department
29/03/2009 13
of Political Science, University of
Jammu, Jammu, J&K, India.
 Indian Prime Minister on
Internal Security - I


“…We confront a wide array of complex internal
security problems and threats. Each of these
need to be dealt with in different ways.
Increasingly also, they call for closer cooperation
between the Centre and the States, since
problems are no longer confined to a single State
but encompass several States. Integrated
functioning in a federal set-up such as ours,
where law and order is a State subject, is not
easy but we must find ways and means to deal
with this situation and rethink some of our past
practices…”

From Anurag Gangal, Professor,

International Politics, Department
29/03/2009 14
of Political Science, University of
Jammu, Jammu, J&K, India.
 Indian Prime Minister on
Internal Security - II

“…..Without effective law and order, economic development
would be impossible. We must not, therefore, neglect this
aspect.”


“…..I also recommend to you paying more attention to
improving the 'software' needed for the maintenance of
peace. I mean by this, improving intelligence generation and
collection, as also the overall strengthening of your
intelligence mechanism. Analytical capabilities need to be
enhanced. Proper benchmarks need to be established
against which progress and performance can be measured.
Unless you devote personal attention to these matters,
results cannot be expected.”

“…..I propose today to concentrate mainly on Left wing

extremism, terrorism, and how to assuage feelings of
insecurity among our minorities, specially Muslims. We will
also review developments in the North East and Jammu &
Kashmir.” (See http://www.india-defence.com/reports/2463),
05 September, 2006.
From Anurag Gangal, Professor,
International Politics, Department
29/03/2009 15
of Political Science, University of
Jammu, Jammu, J&K, India.
 Internal Security
Dilemmas - II

Internal Chaos, insecurity and instability
of a neighbouring country becomes an
internal security threat to another
neighbouring country.

Example – India and Pakistan.

In poor countries like India, there is
defence and development paradox.

Another dilemma, as pointed out by John
Herz (1950) and later Jack Snyder
(1989) emerges when every nations
security becomes a cause of insecurity
to another nation or a group of nations.
From Anurag Gangal, Professor,
International Politics, Department
29/03/2009 16
of Political Science, University of
Jammu, Jammu, J&K, India.
 Internal Security:
Concluding Observations

Hegemony is yet another source of greater
internal security but it can involve a nation in
several other conflicts and mutual suspicions
quite like United States. (John J. Mearsheimer,
The Tragedy of Great Power Politics, New York:
W.W. Norton, 2001).

India’s apparent hegemony in South Asia and
growing role in Central Asia is not able to
streamline her internal security challenges.

Indeed, the human security
perspective is required for dealing
with the Indian internal security
threats.
From Anurag Gangal, Professor,
International Politics, Department
29/03/2009 17
of Political Science, University of
Jammu, Jammu, J&K, India.
 Bibliography

Newman, Edward and Oliver P. Richmond, eds. The United
Nations and Human Security. New York: Palgrave, 2001.

Schnabel, Albrecht and Hans - Georg Ehrhart, eds. Security
Sector Reform and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding. Tokyo:
United Nations University Press, 2005.

Schumann, Willy. Being Present: Growing Up in Hitler's
Germany. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1991.

Smith, Martin A. and Graham Timmins, eds. Uncertain
Europe: Building a New European Security Order?.
London: Routledge, 2001.

Ollapally, Deepa M. "4 India's Strategic Doctrine and
Practice: the Impact of Nuclear Testing." In India's Nuclear
Security, edited by Thomas, Raju G. C. and Amit Gupta, 67-
82. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2000.

Thomas, Raju G. C. and Amit Gupta, eds. India's Nuclear
Security. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2000.
From Anurag Gangal, Professor,
International Politics, Department
29/03/2009 18
of Political Science, University of
Jammu, Jammu, J&K, India.