Dispatches from Charleville

The last week saw many cultural programs at the Academy. On Tuesday, we had 'Sapatapadi, a musical rendition of seven different dance forms. This was followed by two days of India Day celebrations over the weekend which involved much rigour, vigour, passion, hard work and attention to detail. The acknowledgement of the breadth of the effort put in by so many officers would exceed one column and, because I should not miss out on acknowledging the work put in by so many officers, therefore, I will devote an additional column sometime in the middle of the week.

In terms of academia, we had a successful module on negotiation with Himanshu Rai, the director of IIM Indore and we have also signed an MoU with the institution for active engagement and collaboration on issues of mutual interest. This would include case studies on public, infrastructure and regulatory regimes and development interventions. Both institutions will also work together to support the LBSNAA alumni in their quest for higher learning, including doctoral work in public management issues. Likewise, we are working with the National Law University, New Delhi for an LLM program for officers who have cleared their law examinations in Phase-1 and Phase- 2 of their training. This is additional work and optional, with the Academy just playing the role of a facilitator.

The moot point, however, is that officers joining Administration these days are all very keen to continue their engagement with the academia and wish to pursue their interests in a well-defined pattern so that over a period of time, they will also be known as domain experts in their own right. This also fits well into the government thinking on the subject that mid-career training and foreign study should all be geared towards the broad thematic area in which the officer is interested.

We also had sessions on Adaptive leadership in which it became clear that we were often trying adaptive leadership to address issues which were best left to technical/institutional arrangements. The key message was that for a group as diverse as ours, it is best to understand the situation before planning our course of action.

Today, we need management gurus and pedagogic kits to explain what was, in our days, explained through readings in literature: Know then thyself, presume not God to scan; The proper study of mankind is Man!

Officers have also sent in their contributions to the Essay Competition on National Security and the prize-winning authors will be announced later this week. This year, we are also conducting a Special Seminar to discuss issues of Safety, Security and Defence and also understand the specific nuances and interconnectedness of these. To understand how these three terms are distinct, we take the example of a car. The seat

belt is a safety device. It protects you in the event of an accident. The car lock prevents your

car from being stolen but to defend yourself, you will need to have a bodyguard or an armed escort.

In general terms, 'Every Man's War' by Raghu Raman does set the context on why every citizen should at least have a basic understanding and an inkling of what steps should be taken to ensure the collective safety and security at the level of the individual and community. When a community agitates that public buildings should have functional and safe fire exit routes and that public spaces should have adequate lighting, they are seeking 'safety '. However, the beat policeman gives a sense of security.

Thus, while the fire brigade ensures safety, the police is there to protect you (provide security) and the army is there to defend you against external aggression. However, these classical distinctions do not work in today's security scenario where external aggression is not through conventional armed forces. On the contrary, the preferred mode of destabilising a regime is low-intensity conflict, terrorism and guerrilla tactics; fomenting trouble and exploiting the fault lines which exist in a dormant state in almost every society. These elements can be countered, not by armies but by the active engagement of citizens in general. As such, it is important for citizens to be at the forefront of defence. In fact, an active and alert public will ensure that rumours are scotched, fake news is reported and incidents in public space are captured on the smartphone to facilitate investigation and follow up.

It also bears repetition that national security is a national concern and it is not just the Army which goes to war but the nation itself which goes to war. Therefore, every facility and utility in the country must also have a clear understanding of its role in a situation of crisis. For whether it is using logistics for the transport of troops and munitions or the use of public buildings and institutions as emergency response centres or even the mobilisation of civilians to protect critical infrastructure, a proper assessment of what can be done and how is an important exposure to all members of the senior civil services irrespective of the cadre or the job profile. Also, for most issues that affect our internal security today, a three-pronged approach involving political dialogue, area dominance by security, development interventions and efficient delivery of public services by the administration is a 'necessary imperative'.

Dr. Sanjeev Chopra is the Director of LBSNAA and Honorary Curator, Valley of Words: Literature and Arts Festival, Dehradun. Views expressed are strictly personal