SUMMARY

India became independent from the British Empire in 1947 and became a republic in 1950. Since then this country, being a patchwork of different ethnicities, linguistic group and religions, has been ruled as a parliamentary democracy. Despite India’s devotion to democracy, decentralisation in the form of federalism and secularism, the government has at times made use of one-sided violence to suppress dissent and armed uprisings. Much of India’s modern history has been characterised by ethnic, religious and class conflicts, with several groups in India wishing to secede or in other ways change their constitutional status.

In order to suppress such dissent the government of India has made use of most of its branches of armed forces. The police are in general responsible for internal security, being employed against both violent and non-violent demonstrations. India’s border areas, especially the ones that can be found in disputed areas such as Kashmir and the north-eastern states, are commonly patrolled by the Border Security Force, which is also at times used against rebel groups that attempt cross-border infiltration or smuggling. In certain areas, especially those that have experienced or are experiencing armed conflict, state and/or federal troops of the army are active.

The sheer vastness of Indian territory warrants the existence of a massive armed force, with the army numbering over 1 million men with 400 000 reservists, 200 000 federal paramilitary police, 200 000 border security forces, 450 000 state police and over 1 million paramilitaries (such as the Assam Rifles that operate in India’s troubled northeast).

The government of India has been involved in the interstate, intrastate and one-sided categories of UCDP organised violence.