Counter Insurgency in India

Counter-insurgency is a military strategy used to deal with different types of insurgencies, such as guerilla insurgency, a form of war fought by irregular combatants. The technique is unique in that it uses various ways to stop uprisings. It is a long-term strategy that may not always be successful but is much more economically viable than fighting an insurgency through conventional methods.

Counter-insurgency is the process of understanding how to counter any threat to the security of a nation and its citizens. This includes, but is not limited to, terrorism, guerrilla warfare, and conventional warfare.

Insurgency

An insurgency occurs when a section of the population, which constitutes a political entity, is denied rights to which it is entitled under its membership of that political entity. It’s an act of violence by a group or groups against the authorities.

Key to COIN

The key to counter-insurgency (COIN) is understanding the adversary’s mindset. Often, those who own significant military power are also those who tend to be the most oppressive and are the ones who use their strength to control the population.

Requirements for successful counter-insurgency

To be successful at counter-insurgency, the leader must understand the behaviour of the enemy and that of the people. The leader must anticipate where the enemy will attack and predict what the forces fighting insurgency would do to gain an advantage against the enemies. During counter-insurgency operations, the leader must always be two steps ahead of the enemy and lead the forces accordingly.

Counter-insurgency in India

The Union Home Ministry manages India’s counter-insurgency programme (CI) to tackle the various internal security threats posed by several insurgencies throughout the country. The CI programme’s primary objective was to contain the spread of militancy in Punjab, Kashmir, and northeastern areas of India. Combatting the Maoist insurgency is also one of its principal objectives.

Maoist insurgency

The Maoist insurgency has been a constant threat to both the government and the citizens of India. This insurgency is based on ultra-left Maoist ideology; therefore, the Maoist uprising is a communist rebellion aiming to achieve a communist revolution.

Manipur insurgency

Manipur has suffered from a long history of insurgencies, with some of the most violent cases in the country reported here. Since the mid-90s, the state has been fighting against secessionist movements that want to secede from India. Since then, a counter-insurgency campaign has been underway in Manipur. 

Jammu and Kashmir insurgency

India began a counter-insurgency operation in the Kashmir valley following an upsurge of a secessionist movement in 1990. The Indian Army launched a major operation in the disputed region of Kashmir at the end of April 1990. The operation was called off after three months and resulted in a stalemate. 

Administrative arrangements 

During the counter-insurgency, special military units are tasked with defeating the most notorious insurgents. India has faced several challenges in developing and maintaining a viable counter-insurgency policy as a developing economy. The counter-insurgency doctrine in India describes the administrative arrangements for counter-insurgency in the country, primarily securing the country internally.

Counter-insurgency doctrine in India

A doctrine is a theory or system, set of principles, or methods used to guide individuals and organisations in their decisions and actions. In warfare, the counter-insurgency doctrine is designed to enable law enforcement and military forces to deal with insurgents or terrorists and reestablish government authority. In the Indian context, the counter-insurgency doctrine was developed in the early 1960s to primarily deal with the insurgencies in the northeastern parts like Mizoram and Nagaland. The counter-insurgency strategy of India has been continuously evolving due to a plethora of challenges the country faces internally.

Consequences of violence

Violence related to the insurgency is a major internal security threat for India, especially in Jammu and Kashmir. The conflict between India and the neighbouring country Pakistan over the control of the state has been ongoing since 1947. This has resulted in major bloodshed and losses to both countries.

As a result of the continuing violence, the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir has steadily deteriorated, and the overall threat level is constantly high. A large number of security forces are deployed in the region, making it the most militarised zone in the world. This, inadvertently, has seriously affected the lives of the people in the region, with an ever-increasing number of cases of violence reported each year.

Conclusion

It can be concluded from the analysis of the data that counter-insurgency is a tactic and a strategy that aims to destroy the insurgencies that seek to destroy a country’s socio-cultural fabric. The counter-insurgency system aims to weaken the enemy’s support base at the local level.