Management Issues And Operational Planning For India's Borders (An Old and Rare Book)

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Recent attempts to explain the intricate relationship between India's borders, security environment and policy framework have failed to present a holistic picture combining geography, history, politics, development and the popular perception.

This volume is the outcome of a symposium organized by the Border Security Force Academy, Tekanpur. It combines the scholarship of the academia and the experience of those involved directly in manning the borders. It focusses on various aspects of India's borders, the strategic environment, the regional and global parameters affecting national security and the problems and issues in the management of the borders.

This volume is divided into five parts. Part I reviews the changing concepts of national security; Part II deals with the geopolitical dimensions and environmental compulsions; Part III discusses regional issues, conflicts and their consequences; Part IV searches for a management model for secured borders, peace and development; Part V considers various dimensions of inter-state co-ordination with regard to border security.

D. K. ARYA, a senior Indian Police Se vice officer, has the distinction of serving at many key positions. He combines the scholarship of academia with the expertise of management issues. As the director of the Border Security Force Academy, Tekanpur, he brought in richness of schlarship and gave a meaningful orientation to the training programme. He has participated in many conferences, symposia and seminars.

R. C. SHARMA is professor of political geography at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. His main areas of interest are geopolitics, environment, development and resource management. He has published many books and research papers, and is on the editorial board of the journal of IBRO.

INDIA'S northern borders along the ramparts of the giant Himalayan range kept us away from the developments in the rest of Asia for many centuries, but this situation was frequently challenged with a message that the values of the mountain wall are often determined as much by what lies beyond as by its own topography. No doubt there has been little trade and commerce through the inaccessible and hazardous passages.

The great geopolitical significance of India's Himalayan frontier was explained by Nehru If it is breached, the way to the Indian plains and the oceans beyond would lie exposed; and the threat to India would then, likewise, be a threat to the other countries of south and south-east Asia. India's determination to resist aggression and retain her territorial integrity is, therefore, a vital factor in the safeguarding of peace and stability throughout this whole area.

With the partition of India and the creation of Bangladesh and Pakistan, new dimensions are being added to our border ambience, both strategically and geographically (see Fig. 1). The series of events during the fifties and sixties, both in relation to Pakistan and China, have raised several geo political issues and problems, which were further aggravated because of the changes in the subcontinent during the seventies.

The evolution of boundaries and identification of border areas in the subcontinent have a long history. The colonial legacies have loomed large and frequently caused situation of conflict in the subcontinent. Several boundary disputes have resulted in actual wars. Boundary claims mean a bid for the territory lying between the line claimed and the line held to be wrong. However, there is a definite difference between territorial dispute and boundary dispute, not only in the degree but also in the quality of dispute. The boundary disputes may be categorized as the territorial, positional, functional and resource-base boundary disputes.