BORDER MANAGEMENT

ISSUES IN BORDER MANAGEMENT

1. UNRESOLVED BORDER DISPUTES
 PoK, Aksai Chin in Kashmir
 Siachen Glacier- upper 2/3rd occupied by India- strategic advantage
 Arunachal Pradesh- China considers it South Tibet. China does not
recognize the McMahon Line as legitimate

2. UNRESOLVED MARITIME DISPUTES

 Sir Creek: divides the Indian State of Gujarat from the Sindh
Province of Pakistan- disputed area.

The land boundary agreement between India and Bangladesh has been resolved
through an amendment that led to an exchange of enclaves (51 to India and 111
to Bangladesh) in the 119th Constitutional Amendment of 2015.

3. CROSS-BORDER TERRORISM

4. ILLEGAL MIGRATION
 Porous borders with Bhutan, Nepal
 Partially fenced border with Bangladesh: due to riverine border,
part of it is not fenced.

5. SMUGGLING (ORGANISED CRIME)

Illegal trafficking of drugs, humans, cattle and arms, along with fake
currency.

6. INSURGENCY ACROSS THE BORDER

Free movement regime- near Indo-Myanmar border, anyone can travel

upto 16 km from the border on either side. This arrangement has been
made because of the close family ties there.

SOLUTIONS
1. PROPER FENCING OF BORDERS
 Will help in tacking illegal migration, cross border terrorism and
cross-border insurgency.
 However, there are some areas where fencing is not possible
because of geography,
 Fencing of such areas can be achieved using heat sensors, radars,
thermal images and CCTV cameras. This will also result in effective
patrolling.
2. ENGAGING THE LOCAL POPULATION IN MANNING THE BORDER
 Will provide expertise for the forces, as well as employment
opportunities for the locals.
 Eg. Sikkim Scouts

3. RELIEVE ASSAM RIFLES OF THE DUAL RESPONSIBILITY

 The agency should be assigned the sole responsibility of tackling
counter-insurgency in the region.
 Border guarding responsibility should be assigned to a separate
agency- Bhatnagar Committee (2013) suggestion of One Border,
One Force

4. DEVELOPMENT OF BORDER POPULATION

 By investing heavily in infrastructure through better connectivity
(through better roads), floodlights, etc.
 Integrated check-posts to speed up the process of clearances. Eg.
Atari border
 Inculcate values of patriotism, national unity, brotherhood in the
minds of border population because they are the first respondents of
any infiltration attempts.
 Border Area Development Programme (BADP)- under this, the
ministry of home affairs plans to develop villages 0-10 km from
international borders and make them self-sustainable

5. COASTAL SECURITY
 Three-tiered coastal security structure for maritime border
management:
i. Indian Navy
ii. Indian Coast Guard
iii. State Marine Police
 There is an overlap of jurisdiction between the ICG and the State
Marine Police forces, which can be resolved through proper
delineation of functions.
 Deployment of local fishermen for procuring information and
intelligence.