Violent Non-State Actors and Internal Security of India –
In international relations, violent non-state actors (VNSA) are individuals and groups that are wholly or partly independent of state governments and which threaten or use violence to achieve their goals. VNSAs vary widely in their goals, size, and methods.
India faces four major threats such as Separatism in Jammu and Kashmir, Insurgency in North East India, Left Wing Extremism and Terrorism in the Hinterland.
Separatism in Jammu and Kashmir is being promoted and supported by Pakistan which is the main backer financially, diplomatically and morally of the various terrorists groups that are operating in Jammu and Kashmir. It is Pakistan’s policy to use terrorism against India in order to weaken India internally as Pakistan has not been able to defeat India militarily.
In the North East, there are various separatist groups such as National Liberation Council of Taniland (NLCT) in Assam, United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) in Assam, United People’s Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) in Assam, National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) and many more in other northeastern states. It must be noted that China is also supporting the various northeastern separatists groups as part of China’s strategy to weaken India internally. Chinese support for separatism in the northeast has existed since the 1962 India-China war.
The actions of VNSA to internal security of India include:
- Bomb blasts, attacks on major establishments/public places (Akshardham, 26/11 etc.) which partially dismantles India’s stability
- They bring fake currency to India and try to hit Indian economy
- They smuggle weapons, drugs (in Punjab/Northeast) in India, directly targeting the youth
- Extremist non state actors also include religious fanatics which propagate religious hatred which can led to communal tensions in the country
- They can also incite people for regionalism thus demanding their separate state which further increases secessionist tendencies
India faces VNSA threats from China in the east and Pakistan from the west, as well as internal Maoist threat which operate in India’s hinterland. In the case of northeast, the Indian Govt. has perused political dialogue with the separatist groups in order to reach a peaceful resolution to these conflicts.