Author: Rahul K Bhonsle
Publisher: Knowledge World
Year: 2004
Language: English
Pages: 381
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8187966211
Description
The continuum of conflict is ever expanding. Just as the world was settling to a three point paradigm of high, mid and low intensity conflicts, a fourth subtle nuance of asymmetrical warfare has emerged setting the tone for low lethality, slow burner wars gnawing at the very roots of civil society today. These conflicts cannot be called wars; stratagems may be more appropriate and are primarily being waged by non-state actors either independently or at the behest of inimical states. Their low ebb renders a nation purblind to their existence until these puff up to cause large-scale bloodshed and mayhem as has been seen in the state of Jammu and Kashmir over the past decade. Then, there are inherent insecurities due to poor governance and state infirmities, wherein the very dimensions of public management render a large margin of the population beyond the scope of a state’s safety net and thus vulnerable to the vestiges of poverty, environmental disasters, disease and deprivation. Finally, we have the paradoxes of technology information and non lethal warfare.
India, the vortex of the South Asian community is uniquely affected by these new threats. It appears that all forms of discord have affected the nation over the past few years. On the other hand, floods and heat waves kill hundreds every year, and man made environmental disasters and disease account for thousands. The need is, therefore, to review our very understanding of security and view these emerging threats, which have assumed diabolical proportions with the rigour reserved hithertofore for conventional wars. A detailed analysis of asymmetrical challenges to India’s national security to include its political, social, economic and environmental dimensions is, thus, being carried out in this monumental work to throw fresh light on the security paradigms of today and of the future.