CIAO DATE: 10/05

India's National Security Challenges

V.P. Maki

CASI Working Paper
July 2004

Center for the Advanced Study of India

 

Abstract

Dr. Francine Frankel, distinguished invitees, ladies and gentleman, thank you very much for inviting me here. I have great pleasure to be here amongst you all in a very prestigious university. I'd heard so much about it. I must confess, I didn't know much about the Center for the Advanced Study of India in U. Penn. and this opportunity that you have given me, Dr. Frankel, has educated me on that. The more I see of the academic world in U.S.A., the more I find it to be fascinating and stimulating. Maybe because I've spent so much time in the army, you know, and you tend to work in a very tight compartment there. But I also find this exposure to be somewhat like our exposure to India, the more you see of it, the more you feel that you know less and less.

I'd like to start this talk with this quote from Panchatantra , which was written about 32 B.C., which makes it over 2,000 years old.

"Of all the gifts that a king can give, it is not the gift of gold, nor the gift of land, nor the gift of cows, which is important, but the gift of security."

So, I think this shows the importance of security and perhaps the importance of my talk too!

In the slide that you see I have tried to list the national security objectives of India. They are: (i) to consolidate as a secular, federal and a democratic state; (ii) to provide a secure and stable environment to promote unhindered economic growth; to (iii) to preserve and ensure sovereignty, unity territorial integrity of India; and (iv) to contribute our share in international affairs and commitments.

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