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Internal Security Trends and Incidents

Why India needs a single agency to guard its borders

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: CAPF

Mains level: Paper 3- Issues with multiple agencies guarding borders

Context

Recent developments warrant a comprehensive review of border management to ensure the all-weather security of our borders.

What makes India’s border management difficult?

  • India shares land borders with Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar, which stretch approximately 15,106 km.
  • In addition, we have an approximately 3,323 km-long LoC with Pakistan, which further extends to the rechristened 110 km stretch of “Actual Ground Position Line” (AGPL) dividing the Siachen glacier region.
  • Further east, we have the 3,488 km LAC with China.
  • We share maritime boundaries with Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Myanmar and Indonesia; we have a 7,683 km coastline and an approximately 2 million sq km exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
  • This makes India’s task more complex than most other countries.

Multiple agencies securing borders

  • Complexity is accentuated by the fact that along with the army, we have multiple other security agencies — the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) and the Paramilitary Forces (PMF) — sharing the responsibility.
  • While the army is deployed along the LoC and AGPL, the Border Security Force (BSF) looks after the international border with Pakistan and Bangladesh.
  • Guarding the LAC has been assigned to the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and Assam Rifles.
  • The Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) is responsible for guarding the borders with Nepal and Bhutan.
  • The Assam Rifles looks after our border with Myanmar.
  • In a nutshell, in addition to the army, we have four agencies guarding borders with six neighbours.
  • Conversely, maritime borders are guarded by a single agency — the Coast Guard.

Need for review of the border management

  • There is a lack of a coherent policy on training, planning and the conduct of guarding operations among various outfits.
  • Overall coordination is also affected.
  • Our adversary on the western border has often escalated violations by resorting to the prolonged use of military resources.
  • Chinese provocations along the LAC are military operations.
  • Clearly, the peace-time scenario is now by and large militarised.

Way forward

  • Single security agency: In this scenario, India needs a single security agency adequately equipped, suitably armed and trained in advanced military drills and sub-unit tactics to guard our borders.
  • Manpower from Army: Further, to augment the battle efficiency, a fixed percentage of manpower, including the officer cadre, should be drawn on deputation from the army.
  • Paramilitary force under Ministry of Defence: To ensure the desired training and operational standards, this single security agency should be designated as a paramilitary force under the Ministry of Defence and operate under the army.
  • Mergers: The ITBP and the SSB should be fully merged into the new outfit; the BSF and CRPF still have important internal security duties and can be partially merged.
  • The reorganised Assam Rifles too should retain its role of conducting counter-insurgency operations and act as a reserve for the army for conventional operations.
  • Most countries have raised specialised and dedicated armed bodies for border security.
  •  Iran has the Border Guard Command, Italy has the Border Police Service, Russia has created a Border Guard Service, whereas in the US, it is under Homeland Security.
  • Most of these countries, based on threat perception and for better combat cohesion, have placed these organisations under the command of the armed forces.

Conclusion

India should adopt a single agency with adequate resources and training to deal with the evolving challenges.

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Anti Defection Law

How to fix the anti-defection loophole

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Tenth schedule

Mains level: Paper 2- Loopholes in anti-defection law

Context

It is time that we took a fresh look at the Tenth Schedule to our Constitution.

Shortcomings of the anti-defection law

  • Partisan nature of Speaker: Paragraph 3 of the Tenth Schedule was omitted by the Constitution (91st Amendment) Act, 2003, which came into effect on January 1, 2004.
  • Paragraph 3, as it existed prior to the amendment, protected defectors as long as one-third of the members of a political party formed a separate group. 
  • In the context of small assemblies, one-third of the members could easily be cobbled together.
  • Often, the speaker of the assembly was seen to be collaborating with the political party in power to protect the defectors under the one-third rule.
  • Such partisan conduct of the speakers is at the heart of a non-functional Tenth Schedule.
  • The seeming political bias of the speakers acting as tribunals is apparent from how disqualification petitions are dealt with.
  • We have seen this happen in Manipur, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and other jurisdictions.
  • Allowing two-third members to merge with another party: After the omission of paragraph 3, paragraph 4 allowed for the protection of defecting members provided two-thirds of the members of the legislative party merged with another political party.
  • This provision has invariably been misused.
  • Constitutional flaw in provisions of paragraph 4: Third, there is a constitutional flaw in the manner in which the provisions of paragraph 4 have been enacted.
  • Paragraph 4(1) stipulates that a member of the house will not be disqualified from his membership where his original political party merges with another political party and he claims that he and other members have become members of the other political party or a new political party is being formed by such merger.
  • However, paragraph 4(2) provides that such a merger would be deemed to have taken place only if not less than two-thirds of the members of the legislative party agreed to such a merger.
  • This allows for clandestine corruption where two-thirds of the members of the legislative party are bought over, by means fair or foul, to either topple governments or to strengthen a razor-thin majority of the party in power.
  • This makes the entire provision unworkable and unconstitutional.
  • Prolonging the proceedings: We have witnessed situations where, even though the provisions of paragraph 4 are not ex-facie attracted, the speaker of the assembly makes sure that the proceedings are interminably prolonged so that the term of the assembly comes to an end before the proceedings under the Tenth Schedule against those ex-facie defectors have been concluded.

Need for urgent attention to Article 164(1B)

  • This allows for the toppling of governments by inducements of various kinds.
  • The motivation is that a fresh election allows the disqualified member to be re-elected.
  • He then becomes a member of the assembly once again, as its term is not over and can also be appointed a minister.
  • Under Article 164(1B), such a defection has no real consequences.

Way forward

  • 1] Ensure impartiality of Speaker: Speakers, when elected must resign from the party to which they belong.
  • At the end of their term, there should be a cooling-off period before they can become members of any political party.
  • 2] Omit Paragraph 4 through Amendment: Paragraph 4 of the Tenth Schedule should be omitted by moving a constitutional amendment.
  • 3] Make disqualification for 5 years: All those disqualified under paragraph 2 of the Tenth Schedule should neither be entitled to contest elections nor hold public office for five years from the date of their disqualification.
  • Article 164(1B) should be omitted by moving a constitutional amendment.
  • Set time limit to decide petition for disqualification: All petitions for disqualification of members under paragraph 2 of the Tenth Schedule should be decided, by adopting a summary procedure, within a period of three months.

Consider the question “Has anti-defection law succeeded in curbing the defections and ensuring the stability of the elected governments? Give reasons in support of your argument.”

Conclusion

If our polity wants to get rid of open corruption, it needs to take urgent steps to plug existing loopholes that have made the Tenth Schedule unworkable.

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Back2Basics: Article 164(1B)

  • A member of the Legislative Assembly of a State or either House of the Legislature of a State having Legislative Council belonging to any political party who is disqualified for being a member of that House under paragraph 2 of the Tenth Schedule shall also be disqualified to be appointed as a Minister under clause (1) for duration of the period commencing from the date of his disqualification till the date on which the term of his office as such member would expire or where he contests any election to the Legislative Assembly of a State or either House of the Legislature of a State having Legislative Council, as the case may be, before the expiry of such period, till the date on which he is declared elected, whichever is earlier.

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Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

Amar Jawan Jyoti and its Relocation

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Amar Jawan Jyoti, National War Memorial

Mains level: Read the attached story

The iconic Amar Jawan Jyoti (AJJ) at India Gate was extinguished as a part of its merger with the flame at the National War Memorial (NWM). This has sparked a political controversy.

What is the Amar Jawan Jyoti?

  • The eternal flame at the AJJ underneath India Gate in central Delhi was an iconic symbol of the nation’s tributes to the soldiers who have died for the country in various wars and conflicts since Independence.
  • Established in 1972, it was to mark India’s victory over Pakistan in the 1971 War, which resulted in the creation of Bangladesh.
  • The then PM Indira Gandhi had inaugurated it on Republic Day 1972, after India defeated Pakistan in December 1971.

Description of the bust

  • The key elements of the Amar Jawan Jyoti included a black marble plinth, a cenotaph, which acted as a tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
  • The plinth had an inverted L1A1 self-loading rifle with a bayonet, on top of which was a soldier’s war helmet.

How the eternal flame was kept burning?

  • For 50 years the eternal flame had been burning underneath India Gate, without being extinguished.
  • But on Friday, the flame was finally put off, as it was merged with another eternal flame at the National War Memorial.
  • Since 1972, when it was inaugurated, it used to be kept alive with the help of cylinders of liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG.
  • One cylinder could keep one burner alive for a day and a half.
  • In 2006 that was changed. Though a project that cost around Rs 6 lakh the fuel for the flames was changed from LPG to piped natural gas, or PNG.
  • It is through this piped gas that the flame marking the tribute to Indian soldiers had been kept alive eternally.

Why was it placed at India Gate?

  • The India Gate, All India War Memorial, as it was known earlier, was built by the British in 1931.
  • It was erected as a memorial to around 90,000 Indian soldiers of the British Indian Army, who had died in several wars and campaigns till then.
  • Names of more than 13,000 dead soldiers are mentioned on the memorial commemorating them.
  • As it was a memorial for the Indian soldiers killed in wars, the Amar Jawan Jyoti was established underneath it by the government in 1972.

Reasons for its relocation

  • The correct perspective is that the flame will not be extinguished, but just moved to be merged with the one at the National War Memorial.
  • The flame which paid homage to the soldiers killed in the 1971 War, does not even mention their name, and the India Gate is a “symbol of our colonial past”.
  • The names of all Indian martyrs from all the wars, including 1971 and wars before and after it are housed at the National War Memorial.
  • Hence it is a true tribute to have the flame paying tribute to martyrs there.
  • Further, it can also be seen as part of the government’s redevelopment of the entire Central Vista, of which India Gate, the AJJ and the National War Memorial are parts of.

What else is planned with the extinguish?

  • The canopy next to the India Gate will get a statue of the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
  • The new statue will be 28 feet high.
  • Till the statue is completed, a hologram statue of Bose will be placed under the canopy, which he will unveil on January 23.
  • The canopy used to have a statue of Kind George V, which was removed in 1968.

Why Netaji?

  • January 23 this year marks his 125th birth anniversary.
  • From this year onwards, Republic Day celebrations will start on January 23, as opposed to the usual practice of starting it on January 24, to mark the birth anniversary of Bose.
  • It will end on January 30, the day Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated.
  • The government had earlier announced that Bose’s birth anniversary would be celebrated as Parakram Divas.

What is the National War Memorial and when was it made?

  • The National War Memorial, which is around 400 meters from India Gate was inaugurated in February 2019, in an area of around 40 acres.
  • It was built to commemorate all the soldiers who have laid down their lives in the various battles, wars, operations and conflicts of Independent India.
  • There are many independent memorials for such soldiers, but no memorial existed commemorating them all at the national level.
  • Discussions to build such a memorial had been ongoing since 1961, but it did not come up.

Its architecture

  • The architecture of the memorial is based on four concentric circles.
  • Largest is the Raksha Chakra or the Circle of Protection which is marked by a row of trees, each of which represent soldiers, who protect the country.
  • The Tyag Chakra, the Circle of Sacrifice, has circular concentric walls of honour based on the Chakravyuh.
  • The walls have independent granite tablets for each of the soldiers who have died for the country since Independence.
  • As of today, there are 26,466 names of such soldiers on these granite tablets etched in golden letters.
  • A tablet is added every time a soldier is killed in the line of duty.
  • The final is the Amar Chakra, the Circle of Immortality, which has an obelisk, and the Eternal Flame.
  • Busts of the 21 soldiers who have been conferred with the highest gallantry award of the country, Param Vir Chakra, are also installed at the memorial.

 

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Forest Conservation Efforts – NFP, Western Ghats, etc.

Declaration on Forests and Land Use

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Declaration on Forests and Land Use

Mains level: Not Much

At COP-26 in Glasgow, countries got together to sign the Declaration on Forests and Land Use (or the Deforestation Declaration). However, India was among the few countries that did not sign the declaration.

What is this Deforestation Declaration?

  • It was signed by 142 countries, which represented over 90 percent of forests across the world.
  • The declaration commits to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030 while delivering sustainable development and promoting an inclusive rural transformation.
  • The signatories committed $19 billion in private and public funds to this end.

Why did India abstain from joining?

  • India had concerns about the linkage the declaration makes between deforestation, infrastructure development and trade.
  • Any commitment to the environment and climate change should not involve any reference to trade, cited India.
  • Analysts in India have linked the decision to a proposed amendment to the Forest Conservation Act 1980 that would ease the clearances presently required for acquiring forest land for new infrastructure projects.

India abstained from many things

  • A look at India’s positions on some other recent critical pledges and decisions related to climate change reveals a clear pattern of objections or absence.
  • At CoP26, India was not part of the dialogue on Forests, Agriculture and Commodity Trade (FACT).
  • FACT, which is supported by 28 countries seeks to encourage “sustainable development and trade of agricultural commodities while protecting and managing sustainably forests and other critical ecosystems”.
  • India also voted against a recent draft resolution to allow for discussions related to climate change and its impact on international peace and security to be taken up at the UNSC.

Why should India join this declaration?

  • Broadly speaking, all of India’s objections are based on procedural issues at multilateral fora.
  • Although justifiable on paper, these objections seem blind to the diverse ways in which climate change is linked to global trade, deforestation, agriculture, and international peace, among other issues.
  • For context, consider India’s palm oil trade. India is the largest importer of crude palm oil in the world.
  • Palm oil cultivation, covering roughly 16 million acres of land in Indonesia and Malaysia, has been the biggest driver of deforestation in the two countries.

 

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