Editorial Board Contents - Bureau of Police Research and ...

I retired in 1997 and took to reading subjectsthat I had not had the time to brush up on,and scribbled some thoughts that would shapeeventually into three books on Intelligence,meant as much for the general readers, as theywould be for the professionals. In 2004, PrimeMinister Dr. Manmohan Singh nominated meas a member of the National Security AdvisoryBoard for two years. I am happy to mention thatthe two studies that I led at the NSAB, one onNaxalism and the other on Governance, impactedthe policy in a way that helped the Governmentto move forward. Considering Naxalism notmerely as a Police problem, but as a problem ofSecurity-Development interface, and enhancingthe accountability for both decision-making andexecution, were the crucial suggestions thatfound acceptance with the Government.I am glad lB has kept up the tradition of beingin live interaction with its former Chiefs. Securityis always regarded as work in progress, since ithas to continually respond to the changing threatscenario, both past and present, to help gain aninsight into what lies ahead. End of the Cold War,success of the IT revolution that heralded theadvent of the Age of Information, and the rise ofa new form of global terror, all happening aroundthe same time, have posed an unprecedentedchallenge for India’s Intelligence, as they have allvery directly impacted on our national interests.We have to blend new technology with theIntelligence tradecraft, ensure that information ofintelligence value, produced by various agenciesconverges at a point at the national apex fromwhere coordinated response could be set off.What is equally important, is to eliminate the gapbetween information and action. It is a matter ofsatisfaction that all these matters are receivingconstant attention.In the Indian setting, all threats other than anopen attack on our borders, translate on our ownland and, therefore, rightly become a part of theInternal Security problem and the prime concernof the Intelligence Bureau, as the country’spremier counter- intelligence agency. This holdsgood for the rising threat to the security of ourEmbassies and Missions abroad too, as thelatter are an extension of the territory of India.It is important that the Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA) has a stronger framework of functionalcoordination with the State Governments andother stakeholders in areas of Internal Security.The latter include the new contributors ofeconomic security, this being in line with the newdoctrine, that national security is inseparable fromeconomic security. India is only too well awareof how the adversary can use the instrument ofterrorism to attack economic targets.The Police is a state subject, whereas, thenation’s internal security is to be acknowledgedas a concurrent matter, in which the Centrewould be the lead player. A useful tradition hasbeen built over the years, by which, the DirectorIntelligence Bureau convenes and chairs theAnnual Conference of the Directors General ofPolice and the Directors General of Intelligenceof the States. The objective of this conference is toupdate the state agencies on the security environof the country and strengthen the operationalcooperation between the Centre and the States,in the sphere of internal security. In the domain ofSecurity there is nothing that is functionally ‘high’or ‘low’, as the strength of the chain here truly liesin the strength of its weakest link. Security workswell without an excessive bureaucratic formality.A critical matter that has to be attended to, isthe functional, not organizational, integration ofState Special Branches, and through them, of theDistrict Intelligence Units, for the best interestsof the Nation’s internal security. Central agenciesconcerned with security should have the facilityto utilize the State Intelligence resources. All thisis happening already and needs to be built upon.The turf of Security is non-political.56The Indian Police Journal, October - December, 2012, Special Issue