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Published by the Press, Information & Culture Wing, Embassy of India |
Opinion: Warning from NATO Feature: Interview with Prime Minister Vajpayee
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ANNUAL REPORT OF THE MINISTRY OF HOME
AFFAIRS The implementation of internal security policies toward strengthening the State Governments and overall capability of the Indian States have been accelerated according to the Annual Report of the Ministry of Home Affairs for the year 1998-99. The internal security situation in India continues to be influenced by ‘proxy war’ unleashed by Pakistan in Jammu & Kashmir, ‘insurgency’ related problems in some States in the North-East, sporadic violence indulged in by divisive forces and traditional crimes and social tensions. During the last year, several initiatives taken by the Government - both in anticipating the problems with a view to preventing them and for containing terrorism – have yielded positive results. Internal security itself has many dimensions, starting with terrorism and militancy in Jammu & Kashmir to separatist insurgency and the threat from demographic changes in the North-East. There are the so-called ‘ideological’ movements to contend with, namely, Left-Wing extremism in Andhra Pradesh, the Greater Godavari Region and parts of Madhya Pradesh, and the caste-wars spearheaded by private ‘senas’ in Bihar. Combating cross-border terrorism, countering espionage and generally foiling external conspiracies aimed at destabilizing our border region, keeping up the efficiency and morale of the Central Police Organisatins, especially those units combating militancy and terrorism on our borders, engaged constant attention of the Ministry throughout the year. Law and Order: The overall law and order situation in the country remained, by and large, satisfactory during the year under report, except for insurgent and militant activities in the North-East and Jammu and Kashmir, Left-wing extremist violence in parts of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Orissa and caste and ethnic conflicts and communal tensions in certain States. However, fundamentalist mercenaries targeted Hindu families in the Kashmir valley and in Doda. Some incidents targeted against Christians also did take place in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Orissa. Caste wars in Bihar took a considerable toll of lives. At the same time, there was a decline in communal violence and there was no large-scale sectarian flare-up in the country. Jammu & kashmir: With an overall improvement in the situation prevailing in the State of Jammu & kashmir, the drive against militancy has entered a crucial phase. The valley, which was the militants’ main base and target, is comparatively quiet. Since the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in 1996, the law and order situation has progressively improved. However, there has been considerable, if not corresponding, upsurge in militancy in Jammu region of the State which threatens to spill over to neighbouring States. There has been a significant change in the nature of militancy in the State; foreign mercenaries from across the border now dominate the scene, thereby giving Pakistan a stranglehold over prominent secessionist militant groups which are being used by ISI for extending the arc of militancy to Jammu and beyond. The four principles of Government’s policy vis-à-vis Jammu & Kashmir, being executed by the Union and the State Governments, are:
Due to operationalisation of a carefully crafted
action plan to contain, and eventually wipe out militancy in Jammu & Kashmir –
the ground situation has improved significantly. Trade and economic activities have shown
sure-signs of revival, with greater number of tourists visiting the State. An
unprecedented record of nearly 1.5 lakh pilgrims participating in the Amarnath Yatra was
established in 1998. North-East: The North-East, with its plethora of ethnic groups, each asserting its identity obsessively has been a source of worry over the last fifty years. The seven states of the North-East have international boundaries with four foreign countries, China, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Bhutan. Though insurgency movements are seen in Nagaland, Assam, Manipur and Tripura, there has been deepening of democratic process in the entire region. There is a positive signal towards peace and dialogue from this area, as can be evidenced from the state of affairs in Mizoram which is one of the most peaceful states in the country today. A ceasefire between the Security Forces and the main insurgent group, the NSCN (I/M) prevailed for most of the year and a political representative, Shri Swaraj Kaushal, is holding talks with the NSCN on behalf of the Government of India. Despite the ceasefire, kidnappings and extortions by NSCN (I/M) slightly vitiated the atmosphere. The Central Government has taken a number of measures to curb insurgency in the North-East, these include:
Punjab Militancy: Remnant of the Punjab militancy is largely sustained by terrorists based in Pakistan and some other countries. Visible improvement in the situation notwithstanding, Punjab remains vulnerable to sporadic terrorist action by the remaining militants who are under pressure from the Pak ISI to revive the separatist movement. Vigilance, therefore, is the key to preserving peace in Punjab. Left-Wing Extremism: Left-wing extremism continues to remain a disruptive force in some parts of the country, especially Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Orissa. Andhra Pradesh and Bihar are the major theatres of Left-wing extremist activities, accounting for most of the incidents and casualties. Though in terms of the number of incidents, Left-wing extremist violence has shown a downward trend since 1996, the intensity of violence continues to remain high as reflected in the number of casualties. The Union Home Ministry took the initiative of
convening a meeting of the Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra
and Orissa to review Left-wing extremist activities and the action being taken by the
concerned States. As a result of the follow up action taken on the decisions arrived at in
this meeting, the Ministry set up a Coordination Centre headed by the Union Home Secretary
with the Chief Secretaries and Directors General of Police of these four States as its
Members. Subsequently, representatives of the Government of Bihar were included in it. The
States have been advised to prepare action plans for the integrated development of the
affected areas and send these to the Ministry of Home Affairs, to be taken up with the
Planning Commission for earmarking separate funds for the purpose. The requests for
upgradation of equipment and weaponry and other security related needs of the Police
Forces are being handled on priority basis. A scheme for reimbursement of security related
expenditure to the concerned States is also under consideration. Caste rivalries have socio-economic dimension to them but something spill over into caste violence. Apart from Bihar, there were no major incidents of caste violence in the rest of the country. Major causative factors behind caste related incidents/tensions continue to be land disputes, atrocities against Scheduled Castes, molestation of Dalit women etc. The Ministry of Home Affairs has been interacting with the State Governments on a regular basis to help create adequate awareness among the States of the dimensions of internal security problems and foster greater coordination of efforts among the Central and State Governments. On the Communal front, there has been a marked decline in communal violence during the year 1998 as compared to the previous year. The year witnessed 626 incidents claiming 207 lives and 2065 injuries as compared to 725 incidents resulting in the death of 264 persons and injuries to 2503 as in the previous year. Except for Karnataka, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, which registered slight upswing in communal incidents, all other States reported a declining trend. However, Andhra Pradesh witnessed more deaths in 1998 as compared to previous year due to a major riot in Hyderabad. The Southern States are showing greater tendency to communal disturbances, particularly on account of manifold increase in activities of organisations like Al-Umma, TMMK, MIM, NDF, etc. In the year 1998, there were 84 incidents as against 30 incidents during the corresponding period of 1997. In a few cases the attacks were deliberate and dastardly, as the burning alive of Graham Stewart Staines and his two sons in Orissa would go to show. Certain religious organisations accused Christian missionaries of proselytisation activities, but this could in no way justify such ‘retaliation’. The Government has shown its determination to put down such incidents with a firm hand. ‘Public order’ and ‘Police’ being State subjects, it is for the concerned State Governments to devise various methods and take concrete steps to improve the law and order situation in the States. In the Ministry of Home Affairs, action is taken to facilitate coordination of anti-terrorist operations of different States and to improve the flow of information, useful for control of their activities, among the States. Further, help is being provided to the State Governments in terms of financial assistance for modernisation of Police, supply of improved weapons, deployment of Para Military Forces, etc. In certain special circumstances, financial assistance has also been provided to some of the affected States over and above the on-going allocations for modernisation of Police and the supply of weapons. Policy Initiatives/Responses: Several other policy initiatives were taken to help serve the cause of peace and order, harmony and social progress in the country, some of the important ones being:
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