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Porous Borders
Effective border management is vital for internal security
By Subhashis Mittra
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India’s 15,000 km land border and over 7,500 km coastline poses a major challenge as proper management of the international boundary is of vital importance to national security. Though the Centre is taking all steps to check infiltration on boundaries with Pakistan and Bangladesh by strengthening surveillance and increasing forces, intrusions keep taking place.
In a candid remark, Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil admitted in Parliament recently that while illegal immigration into the country has various socio-economic implications, the danger from foreign infiltration relates mainly to their likely indulgence in subversive or terrorist activities. As per Home Ministry records, 80,000 infiltrators crossed the Indo-Pakistan and Indo-Bangladesh borders since 1947. While the border with Bangladesh is 4,097 km long, that with Pakistan stretches 3,323 km and both are highly porous.
The terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan continues to be used by outfits like Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Lashkar-e-Taiyyaba (LeT) and al-Badr, and according to a senior home ministry official handling internal security, the current strategy of these terrorist groups is to maintain continuous flow of finances from across the border to sustain terrorist network in India and target vital installations and economic infrastructure. These outfits recruit and train local modules, attack soft targets like market places, mass transit systems, places of worship and congregations.
Intelligence inputs suggest that these outfits supply hardware through land and sea routes.
Incidents of terrorist violence in hinterland reveal that LeT and JeM use territory and elements in Bangladesh and Nepal for movement of men and material. India shares 1,751 km boundary with Nepal. LeT and Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJAI) (Bangladesh) linked to LeT and JeM recruit Indian youth for training in Pakistan and PoK and re-launch them into India for sabotage and subversive activities, said the Home Ministry official. These outfits are well organised, interlinked and have the latest hardware and communication equipment. As many as 128 foreign intruders were apprehended in 2007 on the Indo-Pakistan border — the same number as in the previous year. In 2005, 202 intruders were arrested. On the Indo-Bangladesh border, 4,206 persons were caught in 2007 as against 5,130 in 2006 and 6,384 in 2005, as per figures quoted in Parliament.
Since effective border management is vital to maintenance of internal security, the government is laying emphasis on fencing and deployment of electronic surveillance equipment along the borders. On the Indo-Bangladesh border, out of a total 3,286km of fencing, 2,499 km has been completed except in Mizoram sector and in some problematic stretches. Besides, 277km of flood lighting and 3,217km of road have been completed, as per latest data available in North Block. Besides, a total of 1,912km of fencing and 1,859km of floodlighting have been completed on the Indo-Pak border. However, 93km of fencing and 108km of floodlighting is yet to be completed in Gujarat sector and Jammu International Border according to a Status Paper on Internal Security Situation as on 30 June 2007. The government has approved a scheme of deployment of electronic surveillance equipment along the borders. The BSF has been provided Rs 30 crore for deployment of these equipment along the Indo-Bangladesh border and Rs 36.53 crore for the Indo-Pakistan border.
Interestingly, while the Centre and the Assam government maintained that the infiltration from Bangladesh was not a big problem, official data laid on the table of the Assam Assembly recently revealed that 42,896 illegal migrants have been identified in the state between 1985, the year when the Assam Accord with signed, and 2007. While 12,846 of them were identified and confirmed as Bangladeshi infiltrators by the tribunal established under the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act, the rest were identified under the provisions of the Foreigners Act of 1946. What is all the more surprising is the fact that it was officially admitted by the Minister for Implementation of Assam Accord Bhumidhar Barman in the State Assembly that only 2,221 of the illegal migrants could be deported.
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