National Security Advisor Ajit Doval today said that the conventional war was no longer practical and the fourth-generation wars aimed at subverting and manipulating the civil society to hurt a nation’s interests was the latest challenge for the agencies involved in national security.

 

He was addressing the fresh batch of Indian Police Officers (IPS) at the Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVPNPA) in Hyderabad.

 

He told the Young IPS officers that given this doctrine their responsibilities of maintaining law and order and serving the people were important.

 

Doval said, “The new frontiers of war, what you call the fourth-generation warfare, is the civil society.” Explaining further, he said wars have ceased to become an effective instrument for achieving political or military objectives. They are too expensive or unaffordable and, at the same time, there is uncertainty about their outcome. “But it is the civil society that can be subverted, subsumed, divided, manipulated to hurt the interests of a nation. You are there to see they stand fully protected,” he said.

 

Congratulating the 132 officer trainees of the IPS batch and 17 foreign police officers from Maldives, Bhutan, and Nepal, Doval wanted the young probationers to develop a national perspective to effectively contribute to the nation’s service.

 

“You are for India and India is for you. Every other identity gets subsumed to this Indian identity,” he said while addressing them.

 

He asked the young officers to ensure the people are served through the implementation of laws and ensuring order. “The service of people is the greatest service, not only from the point of view of nation-building but also from the point of national security.”

 

He said, “The quintessence of democracy is not in the ballot box. It is enshrined in the laws made by those elected through those ballot boxes. You are the enforcer of the laws. Laws are not as good as they are made. Laws are only as good as they are implemented and implemented. People should get services."

 

He told the IPS probationers that if they fail to implement the laws in letter and spirit, in the spirit in which they were made, they are as good or as bad as they were made.

 

A total of 132 officer trainees of the 73rd batch of IPS and 17 officers from Bhutan, Maldives, and Nepal passed out from the academy after 46 weeks of Phase-I training.

 

The passing out parade was led by Punjab cadre woman IPS probationer Darpan Ahluwalia. Darpan, who hails from Mohali and holds an MBBS degree from Government Medical College, Patiala, is the sixth woman to lead a parade at the academy in more than seven decades.

 

Academy director Atul Karwal said that Darpan Ahluwalia is also the overall topper of the basic course Phase-I training, which includes indoor and outdoor courses.

 

Doval advised the trainee officers to develop a national approach to make their contribution. He said, "Don't forget that you are for India and India is for you. India's interest should be supreme."

 

He also stressed the need to maintain internal security. He said, “If internal security fails, no country can be great and if people are not safe and secure and cannot grow up to their potential, then no country can develop.”

 

The NSA told the police officers that they not only have to enforce the laws but also protect and maintain peace and order in 32 lakh square kilometers. He said the policing is spread along with the 15,000-km border areas with Pakistan, China, and other neighboring countries and with a variety of security-related issues.

 

Doval said that since its inception in 1948, SVPNPA has trained 5,700 officers and many of them have excelled and won respect and accolades. He said that he was a source of inspiration, as he led the central and state forces and played an important role in nation-building in the post-independence period.

 

NSA Doval, who passed out from the same academy, said, “He led brave men and women of about 21 lakh persons in the states and at the Centre. 35,480 Bravehearts sacrificed their lives. He was a great leader who was able to inspire and motivate people to make supreme sacrifices. These are the leadership qualities we expect from each one of you."

 

Doval said, “You too have a big role ahead. You all will see the 100th year of India's independence and even after that. India is moving ahead and you will be leading these police forces at a time when India will have a new place at the international level.”