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WHAT'S HOT?
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ANALYSIS OF
RECENT HAPPENINGS |
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Centre for Study of National Security (CSNS) Analysis
by IDC |
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IDC
has often reported on the lack of intellectual activity in the field of
national security. We were therefore heartened by the launch of a new
organisation in the capital on 14 Nov, the birthday of Nehru, called the
Centre for Study of National Security (CSNS), a joint enterprise of JNU
and ICSSR. The set up has the blessings of the Ministry of Human Resources
whose Minister Murli Manohar Joshi has a penchant for creating
controversies on account of his saffron leanings. This event is proving no
different, with allegations upon him of encroaching on the MEA’s turf
being made in the media. Apparently this is a result of personal rivalry
and the tendency of the foreign service to keep ‘national security’
its sole domain or monopoly. IDC
quotes and fully agrees with, "The mediocrity in Indian diplomacy
stems from too much reliance on the bureaucracy which in turn keeps all
progressive thinkers out of turf it perceives as its exclusive." The
stated aim of this Centre is to provide a link between universities,
specially non-Delhi based and think tanks on strategic issues. It has
already forged a linkage with the prestigious US-Russian think tank, the
Mikhail Gorbachev Foundation. It will focus on five broad areas: new
technologies, comprehensive security, maritime security, culture and
strategy and mega trends from the Indian perspective. It
doesn’t require fertile brains to see that a major element of national
security is the state of human and socio-economic development. Hence an
initiative by the HRD ministry to create a facility for more thinking
people to ponder and participate in building ideas on national security is
not only valid but most welcome. One must draw inspiration from that
leader of free thought, the USA, where countless institutes, groups and
think tanks flourish and bring out multisided views of all hues and
interests. It is for the policy makers to draw upon what is in the genuine
interest of the country. IDC
wishes CSNS well with only one reservation –– that it should not
become a vehicle of RSS ideology and thought. Let there be greater all
round awareness and debate on matters affecting India’s security without
prejudice or bias. The right decision comes out of the best of options
available. |