As Amit Shah took charge as the new Minister of Home Affairs in the Modi 2.0 cabinet, debate and discussions and speculations over his tenure have already begun. Considered a hard taskmaster, Amit Shah’s role is now transformed from just being the party chief to handling one of the most important portfolios in the Cabinet. Under the leadership of Amit Shah, BJP was successful in making deep inroads in new states where it had virtually no presence coupled with successful retention of previous political holds, his tenure can surely be considered among the best in BJP’s history.
Now following his trend of diligent and efficient performance, Amit Shah has constituted a team of 16 officials to take on the critical issues like security in Jammu and Kashmir and National Register of Citizens (NRC) head-on. This handpicked team of 16 officials includes officials from both the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS). The list includes two Secretaries, three are Special Secretaries, three Additional Secretaries and eight Joint Secretaries.
Rajiv Gauba the current home secretary is set to retire on 31st August and will be replaced by newly-appointed Home Secretary, Ajay Kumar Bhalla who was appointed as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Ministry of Home Affairs on July 24. Ajay Kumar Bhalla is a 1984 batch Assam-Meghalaya cadre IAS official, under whom the new team of 16 officials has already started functioning.
Members of this team include Secretaries of Official Language and Border Management, Shailesh and B.R. Sharma respectively. Special Secretary, Internal Security, A.P. Maheshwari, Special Secretary and Financial Advisor Bhupendra Singh, Special Secretary, Centre-State, Satpal Chouhan, Additional Secretary, Jammu and Kashmir, Gyanesh Kumar, Additional Secretary, Union Territories, Govind Mohan and Additional Secretary, PM, Vivek Bhardwaj.
Joint Secretary, Women Safety (with additional charge of Internal Security-II), Punya Salila Srivastava Joint Secretary, Border Management-II, Nidhi Khare, Joint Secretary, Left-Wing Extremism, Praveen Vashista, Joint Secretary, Northeast, Satyendra Garg, Joint Secretary, Foreigners, Anil Malik, Joint Secretary, Border Management-I, A.V. Dharma Reddy, Joint Secretary, Police-I and Police-II, Amitabha Kharkwal and Joint Secretary, Internal Security-I, S.C.L. Das are among others in the team of 16 officials. Saket Kumar, Amit Shah’s private secretary will also be part of the team.
Areas where Amit Shah along with the team is expected to push Modi governments agenda of robust national security include –
A holistic amalgamation of Kashmir:
The government has already indicated towards a critical review of Articles 370 and 35A. PM Modi in his Mann ki Baat address on Sunday also gave out subtle hints in this regard.
These constitutional provisions for long have been used by a major part of local political leadership and separatist organizations to perpetuate the secessionist narrative. Government’s call for a review of theses Articles has also been meeting stiff resistance from local political parties like National Conference and the PDP, with their leaders even indulging in blatant fear-mongering and in a sense blackmailing by leveraging the security situation in the Kashmir valley region. Security forces over the past few years have been successful in dismantling the terror mechanism which has been functional in the state.
Now as the Modi government proceeds to further its efforts towards the holistic amalgamation of Kashmir with the mainstream Indian population, firm hold on the security situation in the state is indispensable.
NRC:
The NRC, which is poised to weed out illegal immigrants, also requires a firm administrator like Amit Shah for its smooth execution, and NRC will also be among the top agendas of the Home Ministry during his tenure.
Some other areas where the Home Ministry under Amit Shah will work on Modi government’s agenda include –
Counter-Insurgency in North East India:
At present, unlike Kashmir, violence in the Northeast has almost ended. States like Meghalaya and Tripura are completely free from militancy now. As a result, AFSFA was abolished from Tripura in 2015 and from Meghalaya in 2018. Steps taken by the security forces against terrorist and insurgent elements in Northeast India have been fruitful, with major terror outfits now defunct or at their weakest. Nonetheless, a lot of issues still remain unsolved to have any conclusive benchmark.
The terror attack in which Arunachal Pradesh’s Lawmaker Tirong Aboh, his son and 9 others were killed by NSCN (IM) terrorists in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tirap district, earlier this year, only point towards the unfinished business that needs urgent attention. Counter-insurgency in Northeast is surely one of the top agenda under Amit Shah’s leadership.
Anti-left-wing extremism measures:
India over the past few years has witnessed massive efforts to counter left-wing extremism in affected areas. This menace of Maoists which has been perpetuating for long is still short of total eradication. Maoist attack in Gadchiroli earlier this year also indicated towards the work which remains to be done in order to eradicate Maoism from India. Amit Shah along with this team, given his administrative experience and firm stand against urban-naxals, is also poised favorably to further India’s efforts towards eradication of Maoism.
Counter radicalization measures:
With increased digital penetration terror outfits have been using this new space to forward their agenda and radicalize youth thought the world. It is evident from a number of lone-wolf attacks which were executed in Europe by individuals radicalized over digital platforms. Similar reports have also surfaced in India reports which indicate towards a significant number of individuals from states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu getting radicalized over the internet and going forward to join terror organizations like ISIS. NIA and IB which report to the MHA are sure to increase their proactive counter-radicalization efforts under Amit Shah’s tenure.
Empowering of the security agencies through the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill 2019 and The National Investigation Agency (Amendment) Bill 2019 is a clear indication in this direction, where PM Modi’s motto of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikaas, Sabka Vishwaas’ synergizes perfectly with the muscular and firm approach of the Home Minister ensuring a robust national security profile for the nation; and now this special team of 16 officials will surely give the Home Ministry a huge boost forward. Amit Shah is also joined in the MHA by G.Kishan Reddy and Nityanand Rai as ministers of state who will also be playing a critical role in this regard.