Importance of Internal Security for Good Governance

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TOPIC:  

General Studies 2

• Good Governance; Important aspects of Governance

General Studies 3

• Internal Security

Hallmarks of Good Governance: Legitimacy + Participation Distribution

What does Good Governance mean?

• Participatory, responsive, non-discriminatory and responsible administration with full accountability, honesty and transparency
• Promotion of inclusive development – education, economic and infrastructural development, employment opportunities, natural resources etc.,
• Improving the moral fibre of the population through education from the primary to the tertiary levels
• Promoting values like tolerance, secularism, democracy, accommodation, mutuality, and handling dissent.

Good Governance and Internal Security

There is always a crucial link between “Good Governance” and “Internal Security”. Governance cannot be carried out in the absence of internal security; internal security cannot be safeguarded if governance is delivered by an inefficient and corrupt administration.

Kant explained the relationship two centuries ago when he said,

“People who feel secure and free, governed by the rule of law and not of men, are much less likely to go to war with each other - either within or across borders – than those who don’t.”

It is self-explanatory that if government is responsive to the requirements of its people and is properly and justly utilizing resources whatever available to the benefit of its population will strengthen its bond with people and will lead to a strong internal structure that will help promote and sustain a national security policy based on consensus and support of the masses. If not this condition, bad governance will lead to insecurity that will lead to instability and that would certainly affect national security of a country negatively.

Internally in India, whether you talk about the Maoist insurgency or the Kashmir problem, the actual issue is a lack of governance, the lack of development. The average, ordinary person, be it anywhere in the world, wants to lead a peaceful life. So what encourages them to take up arms? It is the lack of opportunities, the lack of the hope of having a better life.

What happens is that the civil administration fails to keep up after the military has done its job. This is exactly what has been happening in Kashmir, there is no growth, no employment opportunities, and no presence of government for the people to go and complain to. In such a situation, people will happily follow whoever comes in and offers the hope, however false, of something better. This is the primary cause of such insurgencies. And ultimately, the military is forced to do the same thing over and over, it becomes an endless cycle. But ultimately, it’s a governance failure.

Good governance therefore should, and must result in decision making that is fruitful and beneficial for the masses and through which they feel secure and participative as if they themselves would have made those decisions.

Connecting the Dots:

1. Is there a relationship between good governance and internal security? Examine.
2. The line differentiating external state and non-state actors creating challenges to India’s internal security has blurred in recent times. Do you agree? Illustrate.