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Dr. Pushpita Das is Research Fellow and Coordinator of the Internal Security Centre at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi. Her areas of research include border security and management, coastal security, drug trafficking, migration, and India’s Northeast. At IDSA she has been studying India’s approach towards the management of its international borders. She has been co-opted as an expert by the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) as well as the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on projects on Coastal Security. Dr. Das has written extensively on her areas of research including: monographs titled Illegal Migration from Bangladesh: Deportation, Fences, Work Permit (2016) and Coastal Security: the Indian Approach (2013); three occasional papers titled Status of India’s Border Trade (2014), Drug Trafficking in India (2012), Coastal Security along Gujarat and Maharashtra coasts (2009); and a number of articles and commentaries in journals and books. She has also published two edited books:India’s Border management: selected documents (2010), and Northeast India: New Vistas for Peace (2008). Dr. Das has delivered lectures at a number of training institutes including the Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy of Administration, Mussoorie; Naval War College, Mumbai; Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy, Hyderabad; Sardar Patel Institute for Public Administration, Ahmedabad; and Royal Institute for Governance and Strategic Studies, Bhutan, apart from participating in national and international seminars. Dr. Pushpita Das holds a Doctorate from the Jawaharlal Nehru University.
New Delhi's Options Post the Publication of the NRC in Assam
The best way forward for India is to initiate talks with Bangladesh and seek a mutually acceptable political solution for the issue of illegal immigrants.
Publication of the National Register of Citizens: a positive step, but what next
Since the deportation of illegal migrants is not feasible, the only option before the government is to let them reside in the country on humanitarian grounds but after stripping them of all citizenship rights.
Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System: Issues and Challenges
Implementation of high-tech solutions without adequately trained personnel is unlikely to help the Border Security Force achieve the goal of foolproof border surveillance.
Drug trafficking a challenge to India's security
Research Fellow, IDSA, Dr Pushpita Das article on the menace of drug trafficking in India, titled ‘Drug trafficking a challenge to India's security’ was published in WION on June 30, 2017.
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Illegal Migration From Bangladesh: Deportation, Border Fences and Work Permits
This monograph examines the Indian government’s perspective on the issue of infiltration/illegal from Bangladesh. It analyses the socio-economic and political impact of the presence of a large number of illegal Bangladeshi migrants on the receiving societies within India.
An Analysis of the Internal Security Budget 2017-18
For the financial year 2017-18, the Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA) has been allocated Rs. 83,823 crore, a hike of around 11.5 per cent over that of the previous year. Though the Union government has been providing substantial budget support to the MHA to aid its reform and modernisation programs, the ministry’s efforts to bring about desired reforms have shown mixed results so far.
Identity, contestation and development in Northeast India by Komol Singha and M. Amarjeet Singh
Inhabited by numerous tribes and sub-tribes with fierce clan loyalties, the north-east of India has been plagued by identity-inspired insurgencies since independence. The first of these insurgencies was that of the Naga National Council (NNC) in the mid-1950s. Subsequent decades saw the outbreak of other, similar, insurgencies among the Meiteis, Mizos, Assamese and Boroks.
Why a Central Marine Police Force is not required for Coastal Security
Raising a Central Marine Police Force and wasting resources on their training and equipment is neither necessary nor advisable given that the country already has a central organisation to protect the coast – the Indian Coast Guard.
Settling border disputes with Nepal and Bangladesh
Given that the onus for settling the border disputes with Nepal and Bangladesh is on India, the Indian government has to demonstrate political wisdom in evolving political framework that would satisfy the national interests of both India and Nepal as well as win over the domestic opposition to the LBA.
Why Marine Police remains the weakest link in India’s coastal security system?
Given that marine police has been exclusively created for coastal security, it is imperative that the force is adequately strengthened and for this to happen, it is incumbent upon the respective state governments to recognize the severity of sea-borne threats.