A globetrotting Professor Emeritus, an acclaimed management guru, economic advisor to many nations, Prof Dr KC Mishra was also heading the greatest risk management institute of Asia, National Insurance Academy, Pune. The recent killing of a Cabinet Minister of Odisha has triggered many discussions and debates over the security lapses in our country, especially in our State. In this context, a detailed hierarchical structure of the entire security system of the nation has been succinctly made clear by a hair-splitting analysis of Dr Mishra.
In an interview to The Pioneer, Dr Mishra reflected on our prevailing security system in his characteristic microscopic and macroscopic ways for the benefit of readers.
What constitutes the security ecosystem of our country?
The security system of India is mainly constituted with the intelligence, investigation and law enforcement wings in both the Central and the State level. The Central as well as the State agencies help to meet the security needs of the country. There are enforcement agencies which are meant for the border guarding, internal security, counter terrorism, VIP/ institution security and law and order duties. The intelligence agencies are for the particular task of intelligence gathering and investigation agencies are for the investigation purpose.
There are five main categories of information regulated by public secrecy attracting national security concerns. They are national defence; foreign policy; legal proceedings; intellectual property and patents; and privacy of citizens.
The powers and responsibilities in the country are demarcated between the Central and the States through the Seventh Schedule of the Indian Constitution. Article 246 of the Constitution distributes the legislative authority between the Central and State Governments. Policing is a State function. Due to the nature of Indian polity and the growing security threats, the Centre is compelled to set up Central police organisations to protect the territorial integrity and the security of the nation. The national intelligence process involves seven basic steps: collection, analysis, assessment, dissemination, coordination, action and evaluation. The modern security ecosystem in India has a vintage post First World War look as initiated by the British regime.
Can you describe the legal evolution of security system in India?
The British-enacted criminal laws punishing offences against the state such as sedition were first criminalised in India in 1870. The British enacted the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act 1919, also known as the “Rowlatt Act”. It authorised preventive detention and other restraints on free movement. With this extension of draconian wartime powers into an ordinary, non-emergency period, the Rowlatt Act became a focal point of the noncooperation movement led by Mahatma Gandhi in the early 1920s. Due to intense popular opposition, the government permitted the Rowlatt Act to lapse in 1922.
The Defence of India Act of 1962 authorised the Central and State Governments to engage in preventive detention extending well beyond the length of time permitted under ordinary laws, which almost brought back Rowlatt Act. UAPA - Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, MISA - Maintenance of Internal Security Act 1971, NSA- National Security Act (1980), The Anti-Hijacking Act 1982, The Armed Forces (Punjab and Chandigarh) Act 1983, The Punjab Disturbed Area Act 1983, TADA - Terrorism and Disruptive Activities Prevention Act 1985 and POTA- Prevention of Terrorism Act of 2002 repealed in 2004 due to human rights pressure. These are some of the legal evolutions in India for the Centre and specific States to ameliorate security concerns.
The NN Vohra Committee (1993) was constituted by the Government of India to examine the problems of criminalisation of politics and the nexus among criminals, politicians and bureaucrats, which posed serious security threats at all levels. The Ribeiro Committee was created in May 1998 to comply with the directions of the Supreme Court. The committee came out with two reports and suggested to create a Police Performance & Accountability Commission. It also recommended to establish a District Police Complaint Authority and a Police Establishment Board for security enhancement.
Unfortunately, India is seen as a classic example of proliferating laws because the needed clarity of purpose is absent. Therefore, India falls back to creating a new law for every new crime and a new security force for every new criminal. Focus should be on strategic solution finding.
How did security protection institutions evolve in India apart from the traditional police system?
The national intelligence institutions are Intelligence Bureau (IB), Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), intelligence units of various Central police organisations and State police intelligence. The agencies such as Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB) and National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) also constitute the part of national intelligence network. The agencies such as ED and DRI were incorporated into the Multi Agency Centre (MAC) and tasked with counter terrorism finance in the country. NIA - National Investigative Agency and Special Protection Group (SPG) evolved after security threats at high places. But institutions apart, “Citizens are police without uniform”.
How did technological evolution happen in security matters?
KPS Gill and his man Friday Gopal are attributed to widely use technology for security enforcement in Punjab which then spread all over India. The gathering of Global Positioning System (GPS) surveillance information through placement of a GPS device in a suspect's car or by obtaining location information through the meta data generated were introduced to nab miscreants. The GPS generates a precise record of a person's public movements with details about familial, political, professional, religious and associations.
The Tomographic Motion Detection Sensor technology does not require a direct line-of-sight to trigger a security warning. Tomographic motion detection utilises a mesh network of radio emitters and receivers to detect any motion within the mesh network. It is better than Passive or Active Infra-Red Sensors. A safety risk-based surveillance (SRBS) approach enables prioritisation and allocation of a State's safety management resources commensurate with the safety risk profile of each sector or individual service provider. Covert surveillance is disguised so that the subjects do not know they are being monitored. Overt surveillance is visible such as a signposted CCTV system.
What is the human rights angle in security execution?
Enforcement is varied widely from State to State, facilitating arbitrary and selective enforcement on the basis of religion, caste and tribal status; violations of protected speech and associational activities; prosecution of ordinary crimes as security risk-related offences; and severe police misconduct and abuse, including torture. In most States, prolonged detention without charge or trial appears to have been the norm rather than the limited exception. This has to be averted to escape human rights violation criticism.