Meaning of Internal Security

• Internal security has remained one of the core focus areas for India. As India now aspires and rises to taking the high seat in the comity of nations, the security challenges become more compounded and complex. A host of ingredients ranging from domestic challenges to external scenarios impact internal security. 
• From independence, India has tackled home grown insurgencies, externally fuelled rebellions, militancy and terrorism.
• By using a mix of approaches tuning and combining economic, political and military approaches, it has been able to deal with these provocations threatening the integrity and sovereignty of the country with remarkable success. However, these challenges morph themselves in newer forms and configurations.
• The pace of change particularly in the past two decades has been accelerated by multiple factors. In dealing with the internal security challenges which remain the most critical, agencies of the state including CAPF have to remain relevant and effective against the new evolving scenario.

Certain challenges that keeping coming and have to be constantly factored in are as follows:

• First is the accelerated change in international geopolitics. A constantly rising India will face push back from some, in fact, many countries. The turbulent rise and nexus of various state and non-state actors, terrorism and increasing radicalisation, the emergence of psy-war etc. will all have to be taken into account while developing new doctrines, SOPs, strategies for all stakeholders in the security apparatus.
• The rapidly changing internal dynamics of the country needs to be constantly monitored. An ancient civilisation and a young modern state has to overcome the challenges of unemployment, poverty, socio-economic divides.
• Internal security issues tend to accentuate and grow out of the fissures the society faces. The legitimate aspirations of our youth, along with factoring in global yet local problems of environmental degradation and ill effects of climate change which manifest in rising frequency of disasters, economic dislocation etc. are all critical in the evolving security scenario.