India’s Diverse Borders and Diverse Threats
| Author | Shreesh K. Pathak |
| DOI | 10.1177/0020881716654384 |
| Published date | 01 January 2013 |
| Date | 01 January 2013 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
India’s Diverse Borders
and Diverse Threats
Shreesh K. Pathak1
Abstract
As India successfully positions itself as one of the core, influential nations of the
world, its security scenario has become more vulnerable and complex. The roots
of India’s security challenges lie not only at the regional and international levels
but also from within. These threats can be dealt with by securing the borders effi-
ciently. However, the borders of India and their associated problems, geographical,
social and cultural, are vivid and varied. Each border receives a different kind of
treatment in accordance with the existing mutual relationship across the border.
If the border people cannot connect with the country’s mainstream, national
security is affected. Indian policymakers face a hard challenge to formulate an
integrated policy for borderlands and borders. While there are many common
cross-border issues, chiefly non-security threats, there are other cross-border
issues which are border specific. Besides, soft approaches to economic and
cultural cross-border interactions are beneficial. The border security approach
focuses on defending the borders from various threats but the border manage-
ment approach involves protecting the interests of the country across the border.
Keywords
Border Management, Internal Security, Cross-Border Issues, Border Studies,
Cross-Border Terrorism, Geopolitics, Border Cooperation
Introduction
Emerging India is clearly visible on various global stages. India has become able
to articulate its interests globally and garner support worldwide. India is among
the top 10 most powerful countries in the world (Bagchi, 2013). More than being
a soft power, India’s power is also evident in the economy, diplomacy, defence,
and science and technology. As India’s global prospects improve, various security
concerns are also increasing for the country. India is situated at a very crucial
Article
International Studies
50(1&2) 55–70
2016 Jawahalal Nehru University
SAGE Publications
sagepub.in/home.nav
DOI: 10.1177/0020881716654384
http://isq.sagepub.com
1 Assistant Professor, Galgotias University, Greater Noida, India.
Corresponding author:
Dr. Shreesh K. Pathak, C70, Ground oor, NSG Society, Greater Noida 201308 India.
E-mail: shreesh.prakhar@gmail.com
56 International Studies 50(1&2)
location on the globe. It is at the centre of the great Asian arc stretching from Aden
to Tokyo (Bandyopadhyaya, 2003, p. 32). All the major air and sea routes of the
world pass through India. India and the Indian Ocean are an indispensable link in
world trade and commerce. Hence, India naturally provides a connecting link
between West Asia and East Asia. However, this Asian arc also attracts formidable
security threats: in the era of globalization, trade and terrorism have both become
globalized (Blyth, 2004). Global interconnectedness creates ample scope for
greater opportunities and a wide space for security vulnerabilities. As India is a
frontrunner in the global war on terrorism, it has become a soft target for
terrorists.
The countries of South Asia share a colonial past and are still struggling with
problems that have their roots in history. After the colonial experience, a major
challenge for India was to complete the processes of state-building and
nation-building, processes that are yet to be completed. This situation has created
the scope for anti-national insurgencies. Insurgencies in Jammu & Kashmir
(J&K), in some states of the Northeast and in the Naxal-affected red corridor of
the country are potent enough to disturb the national unity and integrity of India.
Although India is trying hard to cope with these insurgencies, they are very com-
plex in nature and are intensified and fuelled by hostile forces from outside the
country.
The role of borders is very crucial to curtail this vicious link between insurgent
groups and their external connection. Borders shape the nation. Borders provide
various opportunities for cultural, social and economic interactions but at the
same time they could also provide access to people with ill intentions. Hence,
there are many problems which arise on the borders; some are common to all
borders and others are border-specific, but they also provide wide prospects for
the betterment of the country. In order to leverage benefits from the borders and
to contain ill practices, a very efficient, comprehensive and integrated border
management policy is needed. Borders should work efficiently not only as a bar-
rier and also as a bridge because borders bisect but they also bind.
From ‘Frontier’ to ‘Border’: Security of ‘Space’
Human history is an interplay of geography and politics: human beings claim the
land and its resources and deal with counter-claims. While ‘border’ is a geograph-
ical expression, ‘the idea of the border’ cannot be separated with the essentiality
of historical and political elements. Humans progress in life with the ‘sense of
space’ (Popescu, 2012). They develop a connection with the place in which they
live. People always relate themselves with the land, where they engage in various
social, cultural and economic exercises deeply linked with their very existence.
The affection of human beings towards territory is as old as the history of human-
kind. This attachment seems logical as territory is essential for human existence.
It is not possible to sequestrate ‘the sense of place’1 from the people of a place
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