Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 11: Union Home Minister Amit Shah said today that a new era of development has begun in Jammu and Kashmir as there has been huge reduction in terror incidents in the Union Territory following abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution of India which granted special status to erstwhile State.
“When we assess internal security scenario of the country eight years ago, the terrorist incidents in Jammu and Kashmir, insurgency inside the Northeast and increasing violence in the Left wing extremism areas, were three major challenges before us. Now, after eight years, the Government has succeeded in countering these three challenges to a large extent,” Shah said addressing the Passing Out Parade of 74th batch of the Indian Police Service (IPS) probationers at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy in Hyderabad.
He said a new era of development has begun today in Jammu and Kashmir and terror incidents have come down significantly after abrogation of Article 370.
He said under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the main reasons for reduction in terror incidents across the country, are the policy of zero tolerance against terrorism, strong framework of counter-terror laws, empowerment of all agencies and strong political will.
“Holding of the Interpol General Assembly in New Delhi and India’s leadership in the field of terrorism and finance in ‘No Money for Terror’ conference symbolises the acceptance of our security agencies globally,” the Home Minister said.
He said that at present the security scenario is changing from geographical to thematic, now multi-dimensional policing will have to be accepted instead of single dimensional policing.
“Earlier there were challenges of terrorism, extremism and day-to-day policing, but now we are faced with multidimensional challenges like terror finance, narco terror, fourth generation information warfare, etc. Our police forces have to be equipped to grapple with them,” Shah said, adding a new approach has to be devised by the authorities to counter the challenges and strengthen policing.
“Our focus should be on the security of the country’s economic centres, protection of human rights of the poor, evidence-based investigation and forensic science, and cracking down on terror links of narcotics, cyber and financial fraud,” he said.
Shah said the Central agencies, police of all the States of the country carried out a successful operation in a single day and achieved success by banning an organisation like the Popular Front of India (PFI).
Shah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set up ‘Police Technology Mission’ to meet the challenges of the future, and empower all the police institutions of our country to be in tune with the global technical challenges from the point of view of technology.
He said the mission will not only make the entire police system from constable to DGP capable to tackle the technical challenges but will also make them tech-savvy. This Police Technology Mission will make all police institutions of our country in sync with the global technical challenges from the point of view of technology, he added.
By signing peace accords with many insurgent organisations in the northeast, more than 8,000 cadre were brought to the mainstream, while settling inter-state border disputes and expanding developmental works, peace has been established in the northeast, Shah said.
The Union Home Minister said by filling the security vacuum and cracking down on the top leadership of Maoists, the number of LWE-affected districts have come down to 46 in 2021 from 96 in 2010.
“Recently by banning the Popular Front of India, we have presented a successful example for the world to see,” he said. “It shows the maturity and power of our democracy”.
Shah said that at present the National Investigation Agency is expanding in all the States and the expansion of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) is a very important step to crack down on criminals linked to international narcotics and terrorism. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a national database on crimes like terrorism, narcotics and economic offenses is being developed, he said.
Shah called upon all IPS probationers to be accessible, accountable and approachable. “You will be known as the ‘Amrit Kaal’ (golden age) batch. It will be a matter of pride for you,” he further said.
Maintain a professional and personal life balance and gain the confidence of subordinates and people, Shah added.
Congratulating all the officer trainees passing out from the Academy, he asked the officer trainees to dedicate themselves to build a stronger India by the time the country celebrates the 100th year of independence in 2047.
Shah said the IPS trainee officers have a special responsibility because no nation can be great without good law and order and impenetrable internal security.
He said that the protection of the rights of the weakest citizen, the sensitivity of the system towards him/her and a police system that can withstand all the challenges, are essential elements to lay the foundation of a developed nation.
Shah said during the past seven decades, the country has seen several ups and downs and also several challenging times in internal security.
He recalled that more than 36,000 police personnel laid down their lives during these challenging times over the last seven decades.
A total 195 officer trainees — 166 IPS officer trainees and 29 officer trainees — from foreign countries took part in the Dikshant Parade.
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