It is time that the Indian government through its yet-to-be appointed interlocutors clearly laid the limits and boundaries of the autonomy debate to all the stakeholders.
India has been fairly successful in firewalling the radical blowback emanating from Pakistan in the past and need not be overly worried about the impending US withdrawal.
While explicit political control cannot be questioned, it is critical to involve the military as equal partners in the overall decision making process so as to leverage their knowledge, operational experience and unmatched organisational capacities for the well being of the state.
A military to military engagement between India and Pakistan could help pave the way for greater understanding and opening up in the troubled relationship.
There are no shortcuts to overcoming the grave Naxal threat to our democratic way of life. Broadening the mandate by handing over the problem to the army is neither fair nor efficacious.
The Grid-Guard-Govern strategy would do away with the sequential application of socio-economic solutions by undertaking security-led governance cum development action.
Since safeguarding the public space such as mass transportation networks, financial and industrial hubs from sporadic acts of terror is increasingly becoming difficult, socialising citizenry in democratic societies to the needs of counterterrorism assumes salience.
The hard lesson of Chintalnar is that the police are simply not investing enough in their frontline leadership and training to tackle the situation. Even when attempts have been made to bring in competence, the efforts to acquire required counterinsurgency skills have been marginal.
Inside Defense: Understanding the US Military in the 21st Century by Derek S. Reveron and Judith Hicks Stiehm (eds)
Palgrave and Macmillan, 2008, pp. 292, $95, ISBN 978-0230602601
