Know the Anti-Nationals

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We live in an era of nation-states. Nationhood is predicated on shared sense of past and a common purpose of future. More than nation-state, India is a civilization, a complete civilization. To keep this civilization fresh and vibrant, winds from all directions are imperative for its nourishment. But, winds cannot be allowed to build into destructive storms, that threaten to uproot the civilization, the very basis of nationhood. Jihadism and Maoism are the two main destructive storms. Fueling these storms are India's enemies as well as the forces of proselytization. They have to be crushed both at ideological and physical levels.

We have been squeamish in dealing with the problems because of the misplaced notion that all ideologies are basically benign and beneficial, they are not. 73 years of our post-independence experience is testimony. This misplaced notion has caused at least a lakh lives in Kashmir alone, resulting in ethnic cleansing of Hindus from the Valley by the jihadists. Sardar Patel did crush the communist revolt in Telangana, but in the following years due to subversion of our political class, it grew into the 'Red Corridor, i.e. from Tirupati to Pashupati. These forces have to be vanquished to secure the internal or the third front.

This book 'Know the Anti-Nationals' exposes these enemies within.

RSN Singh is an alumnus of Rashtriya Indian Military College and the National Defence Academy. He was commissioned into the Indian Army (5th Battalion, The Bihar Regiment) in December 1982. He is also a graduate of Defence Services Staff College, Wellington. He undertook military and strategic analysis during his tenure with Army Headquarters and, subsequently, the Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW). He was the Associate Editor of Indian Defence Review for more than six years, and regular contributor on various television channels on issues pertaining of strategy, geopolitics and internal security.

He is the author of internationally acclaimed books, 'Asian Strategy and Military Perspective', 'The Military Factor in Pakistan', and 'The Unmaking of Nepal'.

One of the biggest lessons that can be drawn from the collapse of Soviet Union is that a country may be extremely strong on the external front but will not sustain as a nation if its internal front is weak. It is the internal front which feeds the external front. The internal front of Soviet Union had become ideologically and psychologically vitiated.

The artificial nation, Soviet Union's romance with 'Communism' had expended. The State could not ensure the physical and psychological well being of its citizens. In pursuit of hard power, the State had become imbalanced vis-à-vis internal power. Citizens cannot merely survive on a diet of tanks, aircraft, submarines or satellites. Countries implode under material and psychological stress, especially the latter.

Communism in Soviet Union had outlived its lifespan and the historical and religious ferment began to assert itself. Consequently the Soviet Union splintered. The tragedy however is that while the Russian Federation and other erstwhile Soviet States may have jettisoned communist ideology, they continue to be in grip of totalitarian leadership. It is difficult to conjecture the nature of Russia after the exit of Putin, but certainly the internal front continues to be fragile.

Shaken by the split of Soviet Union, the Chinese leadership cracked down heavily on dissent, manifesting in the massacre at Tiananmen Square. The Chinese Communist Party prevailed but for how long? A few decades is a small time in history. The process of nation-building cannot be predicated on fear and terror. The Internal front of China is as fragile as that of Soviet Union. The only difference is that China is wealthy (not rich) but the Soviet Union was not.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages