No threats from Pak, China; problem within India: Menon

October 13, 2016

Washington, Oct 13: The real threats to India are "internal" and emanate from communal and social violence, not from outside forces such as Pakistan or China, former national security advisor Shivshankar Menon has said.

menonAsked if Pakistan or China pose an existential threat to India, Menon said: "No"."In terms of national security, I think the real threats are internal," he told PTI.

"There's no existential threat to India's existence today externally, unlike in the 50s or when we were formed. And for many years till late 60s there were actual internal separatist threats, not any more. I think that we have actual dealt with," Menon said.

His long career in public service spans diplomacy, national security, and India's relations with its neighbours and major global powers. Menon served as national security advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh from January 2010 to May 2014.

Menon's first book post retirement - 'Choices: Inside the making of India's Foreign Policy' - is all set to hit book stores globally next week.

Asked to elaborate on what he meant by internal threats, he said: "If there are real threats to India, to the idea of India, India's integrity, today they actually come from within the country."

"If you look at violence in India, deaths from terrorism, from left wing extremism, declined steadily throughout this 21st century until 2014-2015. Even now the basic trend for terrorism, left wing extremism is down. What has increased is since 2012, communal violence, social violence, internal violence has increase. That is something we need to find a way in dealing with," Menon said.

"This is not a traditional law and order problem, which our traditional instruments, the police, the states know how to deal with. You look at violence against women, communal, caste violence, if you look at those firms of violence, these are all a result of tremendous social and economic change of uprooting of population, urbanization... various forms of change, which we still need to learn how to deal with," he said.

Menon said those are the threats, which in the long run, has a "potential to make real difference".

"India has changed. It is normal. It happens to most societies where there is change. But you also have to learn new ways of dealing with," he said and attributed the new threats to the rapid and fast development of the country.

When asked that some people attributed this to the BJP coming to power, Menon said even that is a consequence of the change that the Indian society is undergoing now.

Menon previously served as India's foreign secretary from 2006 to 2009 and as ambassador and high commissioner to Israel from 1995-1997, Sri Lanka (1997-2000), China (2000-2003) and Pakistan (2003-2006).

Comments

rikaz
 - 
Saturday, 15 Oct 2016

Naresh, your kesari men eat more beef then muslims....now you just shut-up okay....they are not protector but are bakshakas...better surgical attack on internal so called cow protectors....

Naren kotian
 - 
Thursday, 13 Oct 2016

Rikacha sumne irappa ...biryani ammi madavranthe hogappa ...he said external forces cannot shake India but some internal anti India forces are giving launch pads for porkis in the name of religion ...surgical strikes needed in terrorist own mini Pakistan's within India . as per latest report ....90% nationalist Indians endorse surgical strikes against enemy ...aa 10% yaaru antha bidisi helbekilla
..haha

Rikaz
 - 
Thursday, 13 Oct 2016

Killing in the name of cow, love jihad, lower castes....these should be stopped....RSS and bajrangy kind of groups should be banned from the society....these are the people who create problem around....not pakistan of china....

Shaad
 - 
Thursday, 13 Oct 2016

Pakistan Army very experienced in tackling terrorism and war since they face every minute is war like situation inside Pakistan.
Indian Army do surgical strikes once in a while and PM will take credits. Saffron terrorist got free hand in India. Our Army and skills will not grow unless they fight against saffron terrorist within India before going war against any other country.
Hemant Karkare almost reached to Army ammo on supplying IED for saffron terrorist on Malegao and other 8 blast in India before his controversial assassination.

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News Network
April 14,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 14: Bracing for post-lockdown hard times, the Karnataka government on Monday decided to auction about 12,000 BDA sites and regularise unauthorised constructions across the state in a bid to shore up its already-thin finances.

"Some 12,000 corner sites (developed by Bangalore Development Authority, or BDA) are lying idle in Bengaluru. We hope to net about Rs 15,000 crore from the auction of the sites," chief minister BS Yediyurappa said after chairing a meeting with senior ministers and officials to discuss ways to raise funds.

"The Covid-19 pandemic has thrown Karnataka into a deep financial crisis. There's a need for such measures," the chief minister said in defence of the decisions.

The sites – mainly of 40x60ft and 50x80ft dimensions – are in nine layouts. Also, the state government will auction corner and vacant sites in layouts formed by development authorities in other major cities of Karnataka.

Industry experts said that in a tepid market, it wasn’t easy to find buyers for the sites, each of which costs about Rs 1 crore. The CM said, “Since it’s an open auction, I’m confident of a good price since corner sites are always in demand. If we don’t get the expected price, then we will stop the process.”

The meeting decided to fast-track disposal of the cases related to regularisation of unauthorised constructions pending before courts. “If courts decide these cases, then thousands of people will be relieved, besides helping the government in mobilising resources to take up development works,” the CM said.

The government hopes to get about Rs 4,000 crore from the layout-regularisation move.
The government decided to amend the law to allow hundreds of private and cooperative housing societies to allot residential plots.

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August 5,2020

Shivamogga, Aug 5: Karnataka Minister KS Eshwarappa on Wednesday hailed the laying of foundation stone (bhoomi pujan) for a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya and said "Kashi Vishwanath and "Krishna Janmasthan temples have to be liberated".

"It is a good day that the foundation stone for Ram Temple has been laid. A beautiful temple will come up, but there are Kashi Vishwanath and Krishna Janmasthan temples which have to be liberated," Eshwarappa said.

The minister said that there is a "sign of slavery" at Krishna temple in Mathura and Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi.

"The whole nation is dreaming of Shri Krishna temple in Mathura and Kashi Vishwanath temple. I have visited the two temples. 

There is a sign of slavery. Mosques are there at holy places. When I visited the place at Mathura, I witnessed the wall. When we look at the wall, we feel like we are still slaves," he said.

"While visiting Kashi, there is also a structure of slavery. Dream of Hindus is fulfilled in Ayodhya. One day, it will be fulfilled in Mathura and Kashi. Mathura Sri Krishna and Kashi Vishwanath will be freed and temple will be built," Eshwarappa added.

The Places of Worship Act, enacted in 1991, says that religious character of a place of worship existing on the August 15, 1947 shall continue to be the same as it existed on that day. The Act kept Ayodhya case out of its purview.

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April 24,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 24: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday said that there is no community spread or the expected phase three spread of coronavirus in the state so far but the threat continues.

Speaking to media persons here on Thursday, Vijayan said that Kasargod, Kannur, Kozhikode, and Malappuram districts will be in the red zone with full restrictions.

"All the other ten districts in the State will be in the orange zone. With the detection of new cases today, the status of Kottayam and Idukki districts have been changed from green to orange. The district administration will decide on the hotspot areas to be closed," he said.

He said there would be an increase in the number of random tests in the red zones.

"In an effort to confirm that there is no community spread in the State, random antibody tests would be conducted among health workers, police personnel, home delivery persons, volunteers and migrant labourers," he added.

The Chief Minister said that COVID-19 labs set up at the Pariyaram Government Medical College at Kannur and the Kottayam Medical College have got the approval from the ICMR for coronavirus testing. The lab at Kannur Medical College will start functioning from Friday.

The UV sterilised lab, spread over 2,200 sq ft is equipped with four real-time PCR machines. In the first phase, this lab will be able to do 15 tests per day, which will be gradually increased to conduct 60 tests in the next phase.

"With the opening of these two new labs, tests to detect COVID-19 will be conducted in 14 government labs in Kerala. Apart from this, there are two private labs also in Kerala which are doing these tests. Since the number of coronavirus cases is again increasing in the State, the government has decided to procure ten real-time PCR machines to ramp up testing," he added.

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