SECURING  INDIAN BORDER

WAS NOT A PRIORITY OF NEHRU

A GEO-POLITICAL BLINDNESS

“PANCHA SHEEL” -THE INTOXICANT

SARASIJ MAJUMDER

 

‘India would have progressed at faster pace if…’: NSA Ajit Doval was saying,….

National security advisor Ajit Doval on Friday (24-05-24) said that India would have progressed at a much faster pace if the borders had been more secured, defined and not in an ‘adversarial dispossession’.

VERY CORRECT. We have POROUS EAST, and ACTIVE  WEST FLANK, and INSECURED NORTH, at the south of HIMALAYA, with a breakable “CHICKEN NECK” in the North-East.

Let us review the Indian Border:-- +

BORDER WITH PAKISTAN:  Radcliffe line,  3,320 km (2,063.0 mi) , as per PBS, and LOC:- 740 K.M. in JAMMU & Kashmir. We had three wars along this line.

BORDER WITH CHINA:- Mc-Mahon Line, 3,488 km (2,167 mi). We have one Major war, and constant border skirmishes with China, along this line. This line is disputed by China.

THE ABOVE TWO ARE RED HOT BORDERS.

COLD BORDERS:-

BANGLADESH:- Bangladesh and India share a 4,096-kilometre-long (2,545 mi) international border, the fifth-longest land border in the world, including 262 km (163 mi) in Assam, 856 km (532 mi) in Tripura, 318 km (198 mi) in Mizoram, 443 km (275 mi) in Meghalaya, and 2,217 km (1,378 mi) in West Bengal. These Borders are highly porous, and having threat of Smuggling, DRUGS, & Illegal Immigration by Bangladeshis, and ROHINGYAS.

MYANMAR:-- The India–Myanmar border is the international border between India and Myanmar (formerly Burma). The border is 1,643 kilometres (1,021 mi) in length and runs from the tripoint with China in the north to the tripoint with Bangladesh in the south. This border is prone to smuggling, DRUGS TRAFFICKING, INSURGENCY, and illegal migration.

The trijunction between India, China and Myanmar is not yet agreed between the three Nations.

AFGHANISTAN:-  We have 134 km border, mostly inaccessible.

OPEN INTERNATIONAL BORDER:

BHUTAN:-- The Bhutan–India border is the open international border separating the Kingdom of Bhutan from the Republic of India. The border is 699 km (434 m) long, and very peaceful.

NEPAL:- DURAND LINE,- Nepal also  shares an open international border of over 1850 km with five Indian states – Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand of INDIA. Recently, minor disputes are raised by NEPAL on this border.

SEA BORDER:--

We have Sea -Border (WET BORDER)  due to EEZ and the Coastal Fisheries Zone. This also includes the area between the atoll boundary and the 75 miles zone. India's EEZ is bordered to the west by Pakistan, to the south by the Maldives and Sri Lanka and to the east by Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and, maybe even Indonesia.

COAST LINE:-

The total length of the coastline of the Indian mainland along with the islands of Andaman and Nicobar as well as Lakshadweep is 7,516 km. We need a strong Navy to protect our Shore Line, and EEZ. In Arabian Sea—we have Industrial Assets in Bombay (MUMBAI) HIGH.

We also have over 1,300 Islands, as declared by P.M.

We also have lost two Islands due to Geo-Political oversight.

BORDER LENGTH UNDER HOT DEFENSE:-- Presently we are heavily DEPLOYED  with High Level Alert  in Pakistan, and China Border—a total length of  approximately 7,550 km. This is a huge burden on our Economy.

“In the foreseeable future, I don't think our borders are going to be as secure as we will require for our fast economic growth. So, the responsibility on border guarding forces has become very, very heavy. They have got to remain on alert 24X7 in perpetuity. They have got to see that our national interests and country are protected,” Doval was quoted by PTI as saying during his address at the Rustamji Memorial Lecture organised by the Border Security Force (BSF) on its 21st investiture ceremony.

Doval added,"Jameen par jo kabja hai wo apna hai, baki to sab adalat aur kachehri ka kaam hai, usse farak nahi padta (The land which is in our possession is ours, the rest is the matter of courts and that is immaterial)."

The NSA asserted that the present  government paid very high attention to border security in the last 10 years and the country's “comprehensive national power has grown immensely”.

India’s defence import is partially balanced by  ARMS EXPORT. “The country, which was a sole importer of arms, exported USD 2.5 billion worth of arms until March 31, 2023, emerging as a big exporter because of the government's policy of self-reliance and Atmanirbhar Bharat,” Doval added.

The budget for maintaining, and servicing this border as approved: The approved cost of the scheme during the period 2021-22 to 2025-26 is Rs. 13,020 crore.

Mr. Doval’s statements are correct.

NOTE:-- I will answer query, but not get engaged in a  Chat debate in WhatsApp.

SOURCE:-

1.0 Rustom Jee Memorial Lecture—by Ajit Doval. Organized by BSF. Available in YOU TUBE.

2.0 DATA:- OXFORD ATLAS,  Geography Book.

Image:- MAPS WORLD