Role of State and Non State Actors | UPSC Mains: Internal Security & Disaster Management PDF Download

Meaning of State Actors

Those organizations that have the official support of a sovereign state to carry out any intended action are referred to as "state actors." Governments or its agencies from other nations, such as their armed forces, bureaucracies, intelligence services, etc., are examples of state actors.

Pakistan 

• International Boundary (IB) is another name for the Pakistan-India boundary. Spanning for 3,323 kilometres, it extends from Jammu and Kashmir in the north to the juncture where Gujarat, India, and Sindh, Pakistan, meet at the Zero Point.
• The border between India and Pakistan is a porous border. Therefore, it leads to various security challenges such as:
  1. Ties with the Taliban and other radical groups: These groups have recently been involved with the radicalization and groups such as the LeT, the Haqqani Network etc. have repeatedly been used by Pakistan as instruments.
  2. Covert activities: Apart from terrorist attacks in various parts of the country, include training and facilitation of armed rebels by Pakistan in various training camps.
  3. China-Pakistan nexus: It has given rise to external concerns such as modernization plans of the Karakoram highway, the development of Gwadar as a naval port and covert assistance in Pakistan’s nuclear and missile program.
  4. Pakistan military sponsorship: India is facing low-intensity conflict in J&K abetted and sponsored by the Pakistani military, in the North-East and to various fringe extremist groups within the country.
  5. Fake currency (FICN) rackets: India faces huge economic challenges due to the fake currency rackets supported by Pakistan.
  6. Reinforcing sikh separatism: ISI also trains Sikh separatists. The union government claims the ISI is seeking to resurrect the Sikh Militancy to launch terrorist acts in Punjab and beyond.
  7. Fueling Kashmiri militants: Training and facilitation of armed rebels in various training camps in Pakistan.

China 

• The border between India and China is 3,488 kilometres long. Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Sikkim all share the border.
  The McMahon Line is the effective border between China and India.
  The Line of Actual Control, or LAC, is another key aspect of the India-China boundary.
• It is a large empty zone that is mostly maintained by both countries’ armies. 

However, there are security challenges such as:

• Support to extremist groups in the northeast: Traditionally, China has provided financial aid, arms and sanctuaries to Naga, Mizo, and Meitei extremist rights since the British Era.
• Strategic alliances: China has been shrewdly following a policy of strategic containment of India by regional alliances and arming India’s neighbours Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
• Border area construction: China’s People’s Liberation Army continues to deploy construction equipment for road works. It uses spider excavators to build roads in the border area.
• Fuel to Maoist movements: The Maoist movement got ideological, moral, financial, and intellectual backing from China. This has increased the problem of Left-Wing Extremism.
• China’s growing assertiveness in the region: It may encourage Bhutan to switch Doklam. China is building military-supporting communities in uninhabited tri-junction areas between India, Bhutan, and China.

Nepal 

• Nepal shares a border of about 1850 km with five Indian States - Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim. An estimated 6 million Nepalese live and work in India.
• India and Nepal have a special connection based on open borders and profound cultural and familial ties. However, several security threats include:
  1. Open border: India and Nepal share an open border with free exchange of people and currency across the borders. This paves the way for various anti-India elements to come freely in India.
  2. Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist): The CPN (Maoists) have become a powerful political force (once non-state players, now state actors), which has major ramifications for India's internal security, especially given their acknowledged links to Indian Left-Wing Extremists.
  3. Fueling anti-India emotions: India’s hold in Nepal no longer remains the same as in the past as the Maoists have been continually upping the ante against India, accusing India of poking its nose in internal Nepali affairs.

Bangladesh 

• Bangladesh and India share a 4,096-kilometer land border, the fifth-longest in the world, with 262 km in Assam, 856 km in Tripura, 318 km in Mizoram, 443 km in Meghalaya, and 2,217 km in West Bengal.
• The border of India and Bangladesh is porous. Thus, it raises security concerns such as:
  1. Trans-border migration from Bangladesh: 15 to 18 million illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in India is a major factor for the problems in Assam and other areas of the North East.
  2. Various terrorist groups: Indian concerns regarding terrorist camps in Habiganj, Maulvi Bazaar, Chittagong, and Satcherri districts of Bangladesh, among others bordering the Indian border, have grown.
  3. Communal and minorities issue: The point that Bangladesh immigrants are a source of communal and ethnic tension, majorities, and minorities, was well proved by the Assam agitation and subsequent events.
  4. Social and economic insecurity for local communities: Transgression into land and providing cheap labour is a cause of social and economic insecurity for local communities and a cause of tension and violence.

Myanmar 

• Myanmar and India share a 1643-km land border and a Bay of Bengal marine boundary. Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, and Mizoram border Myanmar.
• Due to the recent political condition in Myanmar, concerns regarding security have increased. It raises security concerns such as:
  1. The normality of crossing the border: Since the 1950s, Naga, Mizo, Meitei, and Assamese militants have crossed into Myanmar to establish bases and escape Indian security forces. Recently, the Government of India has ended the Free Movement Regime(FMR) between India and Myanmar.
  2. Tacit approval of the Myanmar government: and fraternal ties with other insurgent groups have facilitated the establishment of these safe havens.
  3. Gun running and drug trafficking across the India-Myanmar border: Besides the cross-border movement of insurgents, rampant gun running and drug trafficking are other significant security challenges emanating across the India-Myanmar border.
  4. Narcotics and the ‘Golden Triangle’: Proximity to Myanmar in the ‘Golden Triangle’ (Myanmar, Thailand and Laos) makes the India-Myanmar border vulnerable to the trafficking of heroin and Amphetamine-Type Stimulants (ATS) produced in Myanmar.
  5. The 1967 boundary agreement: Border tribes reject the artificial line and maintain strong ethnic ties. Insurgents typically use such links to seek refuge over the border with family members who support their "cause."

Afghanistan 

• India shares a 106 km land border with Afghanistan. Afghanistan shares the shortest land border with India. J&K (PoK) shares a border with Afghanistan (it forms only about 0.52% of the total land border of India).
• Recently, the Taliban took over Afghanistan. Thus, it raises concerns not only for India but also for the world. It raises security concerns such as:
  1. Pakistan’s privileged position: Despite occasional strains in relationships, Pakistan enjoys a privileged status in Taliban-held Afghanistan. This can cause serious national and regional security concerns.
  2. Drug trafficking in Afghanistan: Its commerce with India bothers India. Punjab and other Indian states are plagued with "Golden Crescent" drug addiction (Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran). Drugs fund terrorism.
  3. Role of China: China seeks to play in the economy of Talibanized Afghanistan is certain to enhance Islamabad’s clout in Kabul. This has the potential to compromise the borders as well as the northern front of India.
  4. Absence of a common border: There are obvious limitations to India’s capacity to intervene effectively in Afghanistan unless Iran and Tajikistan are on board.

Meaning of Non-State Actors

Non-state actors have significant influence over international affairs but do not have official governmental support. Corporations, media outlets, corporate tycoons, liberation movements, lobbying organizations, religious organizations, aid organizations, and paramilitary forces are a few examples of non-state players.
Threats by Non-State Actors 

• Threats by Multinational companies (MNCs): Vedanta and POSCO's invasion on Adivasi lands leads to Naxal/Maoist activities.
• Religious institutions and fanatics: Increasing radicalisation because of extremist religious organisations. For ex: Popular Front of India
• Terrorism: Non-State Actors are mainly terrorist groups who execute terror attacks. In the case of India, these terrorist groups are either secessionists or Islamic fundamentalists from across the border.
• Insurgency: Many North-East insurgent organisations want separate states, regional autonomy, or independence. ULFA, Naga rebels.
• Cyber Attacks: Rising threats of cyber attacks for ransom on critical infrastructure. For ex: ransomware attack on AIIMS Delhi servers.
• Security threats by radicalised Indian diaspora: Indian (Sikh) diaspora in countries like UK, Canada, USA, Australia etc. supports the Khalistan issue.
• Islamic fundamentalism in Pakistan: Through its nexus with the Taliban and Jihadi elements, Pakistan and its affiliated groups pose a threat not only to India but to the stability of the Indian sub-continent region as well.
• Emerging threats from Afghanistan: India is concerned about the potential increase in cross-border terrorism following the Taliban's return to power. For ex: rise of ISPK.