Emerging Challenges to India’s National Security: a Domestic Dimension

National security is the primary objective of the state to survive and grow. It can be achieved through the use of economic power, diplomacy, military power projection and political power. The concern for national security is post-World War-II phenomena developed mostly in the United States, initially focusing on military might, and later including other non-military dimensions. In order to ensure national security, a state needs to possess economic, energy, and environmental security etc. Most important challenges which a nation may face include, political instability, threats to territorial integrity, economic weakness, ecological imbalance, socio-cultural disunity etc. Main internal challenges to national security also come from violent groups active within the country; organized crime, drug paddling, extortions, underworld mafias’ etc. These challenges are met through the use of diplomacy to isolate threats; marshal economic power to facilitate or compel cooperation; maintain effective armed forces, implement civil defense and emergency preparedness measures; use intelligence services to detect and defeat or avoid threats and espionage, and to protect classified information; strengthen cybersecurity; and use counterintelligence services. India faces many domestic challenges to its national security such as rising intolerance between the casts and religious communities, dwindling economic development, right and left-wing militancy, rising scarcity of water resources, increasing unemployment, drug and narcotic smuggling, corruption, riots between religious communities etc. India’s poor education and health sectors can pose grave threat to its national security. Other emerging threats include the cyber-crimes such as hacking and online attacks, financial fraud, data theft, espionage etc. This paper focuses on the new emerging domestic challenges to national security and their possible remedy.