INTERNAL SECURITY CRISES IN
PUNJAB, KASHMIR AND JAFFNA:
THE POWER OF MODERATION
Ali Ahmed


South Asian Survey 17 : 2 (2010): 283–294
SAGE Publications Los Angeles/London/New Delhi/Singapore/Washington DC
DOI: 10.1177/097152311201700207


The article argues that the militarised nature of India’s initial reaction to an internal security
crisis contributes to deterioration in the situation. The resulting full-blown insurgency, usually
complicated by proxy war, takes several years to wind down due to the political prong of
strategy not keeping pace with the military prong. This is to the detriment of the legitimacy
of the state and exacts a high human price. Learning lessons from India’s initial reaction to
insurgency outbreak therefore helps to highlight the importance of prevention and possibilities
in non-militarised alternatives. The article considers the initial phases of three of India’s major
counter-insurgency engagements—Punjab, Kashmir and in Tamil areas of Sri Lanka—to
arrive at the conclusion that moderation in facing crisis prevents confl ict outbreak.
Keywords: India, counter-insurgency, internal security, Kashmir, Punjab, IPKF, Sri Lanka,
Jaffna, Indian Army, Khalistan, LTTE, national security