The national security of India, or any other country for that matter, stands on twin pillars: one is its ability to ward off external threats, and the other to weed out internal ones.
It will not be wrong to say that all successive governments since Independence have done a good job of protecting this country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity from external threats.
The most well-known steps on this front since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi have been the Army’s surgical strikes against Pakistan-backed militant pads across the Indian Line of Control just a few days after the Uri terrorist attack in 2016, followed by the Galwan Valley border clash in 2020 where the People’s Liberation Army got the message loud and clear that our armed forces remain determined as ever to defend and salvage every inch of Indian soil from China’s expansionist ambitions.
However, with every passing year, it is becoming increasingly clear that no other government over the past seven and half decades had worked – and achieved – so much towards enhancing India’s internal security as the Modi government. And there is no doubt that the man who is leading Team Modi on this front is none other than the Prime Minister’s most trusted lieutenant, Amit Shah.
Dealing with and overcoming the serious challenges facing the nation – whether they be longstanding ones such as terrorism in Kashmir or emerging ones such as Islamic fundamentalism – demands decisive leadership. As Union Home Minister, Shah has demonstrated that in full force.
It is no secret that he was instrumental in the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A from Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019. After losing its special status (read autonomy and statehood), something that increasingly undermined its progress over the past few decades as it became a victim of Pakistan-backed terrorism and spineless leadership, Jammu and Kashmir has seen an unprecedented crackdown on militancy coincide with a marked turnaround in fortunes as a union territory (UT) over the past three years.
During his recent three-day visit to J&K, Shah was a picture of dogged determination, unbridled optimism and unequivocal reassurance as he addressed his first round of public rallies in the UT after the revocation of Article 370. While instructing security agencies to continue a zero-tolerance approach to terrorism, he also strictly directed them to make sure that innocent people were not harassed in any manner.
The five-year ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI), along with its associates and affiliates, imposed late last month, makes for an equally significant move by the Ministry of Home Affairs. After gathering substantial information from the nation’s intelligence and law enforcement agencies that the PFI had turned into a violent organisation that indulged in terror activities, hawala funding and fomenting hatred between different communities, the Home Minister wasted no time in taking due action.
Shah has been spearheading these historic steps while still playing his role – with seeming effortlessness – as a master strategist for the BJP as the 2024 elections draw nearer.
No wonder he stands tall as Prime Minister Modi’s right-hand man to protect the nation’s best interests.
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