4 years of Modi sarkar: When terror went out of the mainland

One of the biggest poll promises that Narendra Modi made ahead of the 2014 elections was a major thrust on internal security. The first high-profile appointment he made after taking over as Prime Minister was that of Ajit Doval, the National Security Advisor.

Doval who is often referred to as India's James Bond is well aware of the nuances of internal security as he had held the top post in the Intelligence Bureau. So, how has the Modi sarkar fared on the internal security front in the past four years?

ISIS:

Handling of the ISIS issue is probably one of the biggest hits for this government. The strategy itself while dealing with this foreign terror outfit prowling on citizens across the world was a good one.
Modi along with his national security advisor, Ajit Doval have been meeting with the moderate Muslims time and again in a bid to spread the message to the youth that the ISIS does not stand for Islam.

Giving those who have been radicalised on the internet, but have actually not joined the ISIS the benefit of the doubt is also a move that paid off. Such persons are counselled and the return rate has been hardly one per cent.

Border security:

Although there have been lapses, the government has taken measures to ensure that border security is not compromised. The formation of a committee under former Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta to suggest measures to step up border security was one good move.

There is a lot of work on the borders still remaining, but the government is moving in the right direction to make it more fool proof. The Bangladesh border was a perennial problem for all governments. However under this government, the situation is improving considerably.
The decision to seal the India-Bangladesh border is another good move. It not only curbs illegal immigrants, but also stops the free flow of terrorists from Bangladesh.

United agencies of India:

Under this government there is a great deal of coordination between all the agencies dealing with terrorism. The NIA has been given a free hand and cases of interference from the Home Ministry have not been found.

Moreover the NIA gets ample support from the Intelligence Bureau and the Research and Analysis Wing. Investigations seem more coordinated and unlike the past officials do not murmur about interference and lack of coordination any more.

Intelligence sharing:

The sharing of intelligence with other countries has marginally improved. India's decision to coordinate on intelligence sharing where the ISIS is concerned has paid dividends. Another good decision by India was not to join the global war against the ISIS. This is a good move as any such decision would have led to sectarian violence among the Muslims in India.

The Gulf nations are also a crucial part of the fight against terror. It is a well known fact that the who is who in the terror circles from India end up taking shelter in these nations. However the number of people who have been sent back from the Gulf for their involvement in various acts of terror has gone up.

The other change in scenario when dealing with the UAE is the manner in which India has an upper hand over Pakistan. In a recent incident, Pakistan had tried to pressurise UAE into not sending Ahmed Siddibappa an alleged Indian Mujahideen operative to India. However India got the better of Pakistan and the alleged operative was back in India recently.