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As it savours the impressive mandate handed to it by India's multi-hued electorate, the new NDA government must remain mindful of the tremendous expectations it has raised amongst a sanguine public. Of the innumerable, often contradictory, demands that will be made on the time, energies and resources of the government, none is more critical than that of socio-economic development; with educational opportunities and job-creation for a burgeoning youth-population commanding utmost priority.
And yet, if there is one lesson we should have learnt during our 67 years as a sovereign republic, it is that security shortcomings, both internal and external, have repeatedly served to distract our attention and divert scarce resources away from the pursuit of development. The history of India's post-independence conflicts has conclusively proved that the 'guns vs butter' debate is futile. Development can take place only in a secure environment, and we must have both guns and butter.
The hawks amongst us loudly bemoan the steady decline in India's defence expenditure, which has hit a low of 1.74 percent of the GDP. The common man, on the other hand, wants to know whether the Rs. 224,000 crore ($38 billion) recently voted for defence is being spent wisely enough to buy us the security we need. He asks: are India's core national interests being safeguarded; are our borders and territories inviolate; and are our citizens protected from the threat of terror-strikes? These are all valid questions, given China's increasingly aggressive attitude and Pakistan's relentless use of cross-border terrorism as...