National Security Decision Making Structures in India: Lessons from the IPKF Involvement in Sri Lanka

N. Manoharan

Dr N. Manoharan is Director, Center for East Asian Studies, at Christ University, Bangalore. He earlier served at the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS), Prime Minister’s Office. read more

A critical appraisal of the national security decision making (NSDM) during IPKF operations is revealing. At every stage, the NSDM was found wanting. The fact that none of the actors possessed the delicate skill or means by which to control events proved that not much thought had gone into the decisions. Involvement of numerous actors made the decision making challenging, which was further complicated by varied and cacophonous inputs and assessments. Overconfidence also created an opaque in the clarity of decisions taken. Lessons from the IPKF involvement are numerous. The study identifies eight important ones: assessment of the situation, NSDM structure, Intelligence, personality factor, political consensus in India and Sri Lanka, inter-ministerial cooperation, interservices coordination, and operational aspects.

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