- The Indian security establishment must be aware of the significance of border villages dotting the vast swathe of land running from the western part to the eastern part of the country. As these regions are perennially prone to pose challenges from aggressive neigbours Pakistan and China, the Indian security establishment are quite aware as to what exactly our preparedness should be to tackle. We know how China has shown its intransigence and uninhibited territorial ambitions is usurping the line of actual control (LAC) along eastern Ladakh and now, Arunachal Pradesh. That our military forces are fully prepared to thwart overtly aggressive intentions of the enemy offers confidence to the nation no end.
PC: Reddit
- Also, other challenges deserve to be handled sensitively along the borders apart from Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh. The hill state of Uttarakhand too is affected by increased Chinese military activities along the LAC. One of the most common problems bogging these areas is the migration of villagers anticipating threats from across the borders. Can’t fault the villagers moving into safer places, you see. It is in this context that Chief of Defence Staff General Chauhan has emphasized the security imperative to repopulate the border villages in the state. Recollect how the previous CDS General Bipin Rawat had highlighted that migration from villages near the international border is not good for national security.
- Over the years, various CMs too have committed to tackling the outward migration that has been unusual enough to create numerous ghost villages in Uttarakhand. But given the patchiness of the countermeasures, it’s surprising that these have been thoroughly ineffective. Mind you, without a holistic road map of how the goal is to be achieved, all the talk about it will bring us a little closer to accomplishing it. The massive out-migration is from the hills to plains, be they within or outside the state. No wonder, the decline of agriculture which has been the main livelihood in the hills is profound. The fragmented landholdings and the topography of the region render it unamenable to agricultural modernization of the classic sort.
PC: Amit Kumar
- Thus, the tourism prospects that Chauhan has pointed to seem a logical trail for alternative livelihoods. How do the authorities intend to bring in the tourists then? Simply, the very infrastructure whose shortage has driven the villagers away is what is needed to bring the tourists in viz. road connectivity, electricity, drinking water, health facilities, and security. This is doable and well worth the monies that would be spent on it. Of course, all the building has to be done with ecological sensitivity, or else it will be counterproductive. Nonetheless, Uttarakhand will make the nation stronger in more ways than one, if it can crack the code of sustainable tourism. Hopefully, the central government joins hands with the state government to press ahead.
