How far are India's internal security challenges linked with border management particularly in view of the…

Question

How far are India's internal security challenges linked with border management particularly in view of the long porous borders with most countries of South Asia and Myanmar ?

Ghissu Editorial · Accepted Answer

India's internal security challenges are largely but not wholly linked to border management, since porous borders are the gateway for terror, insurgency, narcotics, fake currency and illegal migration. Left-wing extremism and cyber attacks such as the AIIMS ransomware breach of 2022 have domestic or borderless roots.

**Introduction**

India's 15,106 km land border with seven neighbours runs through riverine char lands, jungle and kin-linked hill tracts. A large share of its internal security burden is imported across these lines.

**How Porous Borders Feed Internal Threats**

1. **Cross-border terrorism**: Infiltration across the Line of Control and the Punjab border sustains militancy, as the Gurdaspur (2015) and Pathankot (2016) attacks showed.
2. **Insurgent sanctuaries**: NSCN(K) and ULFA(I) have used camps in Myanmar's Sagaing region; the Chandel ambush of June 2015 killed 18 soldiers.
3. **Narcotics and arms**: Between the Golden Crescent and Golden Triangle, India sees heroin and methamphetamine move through Punjab and Manipur, with drones now dropping arms across the Punjab border.
4. **Fake currency and migration**: Counterfeit notes enter via the Bangladesh and Nepal borders, and migration across the riverine Bangladesh border sparked the Assam Movement (1979-85).

**Where the Border Link Weakens**

SKETCH: comparison | Roots of Internal Threats
a: Border-linked
b: Largely domestic
- J&K militancy :: Left-wing extremism
- NE insurgency :: Communal violence
- Drugs, fake notes :: Cyber attacks
- Illegal migration :: Identity conflicts

1. **Home-grown drivers**: Left-wing extremism grows out of tribal land alienation and governance deficits, and communal riots out of local polarisation.
2. **Borderless threats**: The AIIMS Delhi ransomware attack (2022) and online radicalisation need no physical crossing.
3. **Border as amplifier**: Internal conflicts still worsen when borders leak, which is why the Home Ministry decided in February 2024 to fence the entire Myanmar border.

**Conclusion**

India's internal security challenges are largely, though not wholly, linked to border management: borders are the gateway for terror, insurgency, narcotics and fake currency, while Naxalism and cyber threats have other roots. Smart borders and inclusive governance together secure the nation.

How far are India's internal security challenges linked with border management particularly in view of the long porous borders with most countries of South Asia and Myanmar ?

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