'Bad governance' led to regime changes in Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka: India's Ajit Doval
He added that India has been able to establish deterrence, meaning the country can respond to any threat to its national security
India's National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval has attributed recent political instability and "non-constitutional regime changes" in neighbouring countries, including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal, to deficiencies in governance.
Speaking at the Sardar Patel Memorial Lecture on Friday, Doval emphasised that the quality of governance is the fundamental determinant of political stability. "The rise and fall of empires, monarchies, oligarchies, aristocracies, or democracies is, in essence, a history of their governance," he remarked.
Focusing on India's neighbourhood, he noted, "In the recent cases of regime change through non-constitutional methods in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and others, these were actually cases of bad governance. And that is how the governance matters."
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On the domestic front, Doval highlighted India's progress in countering terrorism. Citing the last major incident in 2013, he stated that, with Jammu and Kashmir as the primary exception, the country has largely remained secure from terrorist attacks.
"The facts are facts, and they cannot be disputed. Terrorism in this country [India] has been effectively countered. We had a major incident of terrorism on 1 July 2005, and the last one in 2013 in the hinterland. Except for Jammu and Kashmir, which had been a theatre of a proxy war or a covert warfare for Pakistan, which is a different ballgame, the whole country has remained secure from terrorist attacks," he said.
"Efforts were made. People were arrested. Explosives are recovered," ANI news agency quoted Doval as saying in his Sardar Patel Memorial Lecture on Governance.
He said that terrorist incidents have occurred in the hinterland despite enemies being active, claiming that the "left-wing extremism" has reduced to less than 11% of areas as compared to its scale in 2014.
"Enemies have remained very active, but fortunately, and it's more of a good fortune in the country that we can say that we have had no terrorist incident in the hinterland. The left-wing extremism has reduced to less than 11% areas than what existed in 2014. Most of the districts which had been declared as left-wing prone have been declared safe," Doval said.
Highlighting India's broader national security posture, Doval added that the country has successfully established deterrence, capable of responding to any threat.
In his words, "It is not sufficient to say that we have taken sufficient security measures. What is equally important is that we are able to make every Indian feel secure, both from internal and external forces. While we can deal with them effectively in accordance with government laws and policies, we can create deterrence that credibly convinces them we have the will and the strength to respond to any threat in a manner best for our national security."
