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"The federal government in conjunction with the state administrations is formulating a multipronged strategy to counter terrorism, giving priority to political dialogue, democratic process and the rule of law," said an internal report of India's Interior Ministry.
The report, prepared to suggest measures to improve the law and order situation, tighten internal security and firm up intelligence mechanisms to counter militancy and terrorist activities that have fanned in various parts of the country, especially Jammu and Kashmir and the country's northeast, was presented to Interior Minister Shivraj Patil recently.
The report dealt specifically with Kashmir, the northeast and the Maoist-hit central and southern states. The report said the overall security situation was under control.
It said the level of violence in Kashmir continues to decline and the overall security situation in the northeast has shown signs of improvement. It said there was a definite improvement in the situation in Manipur state where local citizens fought against a draconian law that gave sweeping powers to security forces.
Notwithstanding the crusade launched by the Manipuri people and human rights activists, the Interior Ministry has refused to repeal the act, but asked security forces stationed there to respect human rights.
Incidents of violence have declined in Kashmir, which is also claimed by Pakistan. The Interior Ministry said the militant activities have declined since New Delhi initiated a peace dialogue with Islamabad to resolve bilateral issues.
"During the year 2006, the number of terrorist-related incidents lowered by 16 percent and killing of civilians declined by 30 percent," the report said. "The killings of civilians by security forces have also come down by 20 percent over the corresponding period of the past year."
This is the first time India has acknowledged the killing of civilians by security forces.
India banned at least nine terrorist outfits operating in Kashmir. It has also labeled a large part of the state as a disturbed area. India, however, has been unable to handle the growing influence of Maoist rebels who have been striking at will in at least 10 Indian states, killing several thousands of people in the last five years.
Their activities have registered an alarming increase during the current year when rebels struck more than five times in the states of Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh.
Separately, the outbreak of Hindu-Muslim violence in various Indian states is a serious concern for the government and for policymakers. Several such incidents have occurred in states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Goa and Rajasthan. This has a serious implication for internal security.
Aimed at curbing such violence, the Interior Ministry is considering introducing legislation in Parliament's next session beginning Aug. 10 that would deal with two specific issues: religious violence and compensation to the victims of such violence.
In the northeast, militancy and insurgency have been gaining ground for some time. The government's move to outlaw a large number of insurgent groups has not yielded the desired results, as they have fled to neighboring Bangladesh. The northeast accounts for 8 percent of the total land surface of India. More than 15 rebel groups operate in the region's seven states demanding separate ethnic nations.
The government has initiated talks with some groups, including the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland.
"What the government needs is to take a holistic approach to deal with terrorism and insurgency to address areas of concern on political, security and development fronts," said Rajiv Sharma, a security analyst.
Sharma said the government should pursue comprehensive confidence-building measures with Pakistan on the diplomatic front directed toward facilitating more people-to-people contact, especially with Pakistani Kashmir.
He advocated similar steps with insurgent groups that are willing to talk and steps to identify the roots of resentment among the people of these areas and formulate policies to minimize their grievances.
