The Author is Former Director General of Information Systems and A Special Forces Veteran, Indian Army

During his three-day tour of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) in April this year, Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated that an electronic surveillance system would be installed along the India-Pakistan border and then on the India-Bangladesh border. He said the electronic surveillance system would reinforce border security and the work will be completed on the entire India-Pakistan border within the next three to four years. Elaborating that the surveillance technology will be utilised to detect underground cross-border tunnels and also destroy them, he said, "You serve the nation in adverse weather and challenging conditions. The two models of electronic surveillance system we want to establish will help you receive information about infiltration and cross-border tunnelling and assist you in responding in case of any incident. The system will detect the cross-border tunnels."

Electronic Surveillance System would be installed along the India-Pakistan border and then on the India-Bangladesh border to reinforce border security and the work will be completed on the entire India-Pakistan border within the next three to four years

Amit Shah was addressing the Border Security Force (BSF) at Jammu. Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, Union Minister Jitendra Singh, Home Secretary Govind Mohan, DG BSF Daljit Singh Chaudhary and other senior officers were present during his address. Shah's three-day visit was to assess the security situation in J&K, particularly in the Jammu-Samba-Kathua areas that have witnessed heightened terror activities in the past few months. He also visited Kathua where a massive operation against Pakistani terrorists was underway.

Global technologies being used to detect underground tunnels were also covered: Synchronized Electromagnetic Gradiometer – using a low-frequency electromagnetic (EM) signal to illuminate the area of interest, followed by seismic refraction tomography to locate the tunnel; electromagnetic gravity: ground-penetrating radar (GPR); seismic refraction-diffraction; surface-wave methods; GPRS using the Impulse Radar Pin-Point GPR Scanner; Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) - capable of scanning the tunnel in three dimensions; Sound Navigation and Ranging (SONAR), and the like.

India has been rather lackadaisical on border security and vigilance despite suffering the menace of infiltration and cross-border terrorism for the past several decades. Ironically, 24x7 satellite cover along all land borders is still 8-10 years away, since we are focussing more on missions to the Moon, Mars, Venus, Saturn and space. News reports have quoted Amit Shah saying in Jammu that electronic surveillance system would be installed along the India-Pakistan border and 'then' on the India-Bangladesh border. Why are we not installing electronic surveillance systems simultaneously both along the Pakistan and Bangladesh borders? Surely, we can find the resources to take on both borders together.

The border with Bangladesh needs special attention because of the radical Islamist agenda being followed by the Mohammad Yunus-led regime

The need to address the security and vigilance along the Bangladesh border is as crucial, if not more, During the last Parliament session, Union Minister Amit Shah had told Parliament that 450-km of our border with Bangladesh is not even fenced. Two days after Amit Shah addressed the BSF at Jammu and announced the decision to instal electronic surveillance system along the border with Pakistan, followed by the border with Bangladesh, a major breach in national security surfaced after seven Bangladeshi nationals were arrested for infiltrating into India by crossing the star fencing at the Amjad Nagar area near Belonia. This incident cast doubts over the sanctity of the border and the vigilance of the border guards, as the illegal crossing took place despite the presence of three active Border Out Posts (BOPs) at Amjad Nagar, Sarasima and Belonia in the South Tripura District.

The border with Bangladesh needs special attention because of the radical Islamist agenda being followed by the Mohammad Yunus-led regime, Yunus is the CIA-installed Chief Advisor to the Interim Government of Bangladesh. Minorities, especially Hindus, are facing genocide in Bangladesh. Selective killings of Hindus is continuing; the most recent victim was Bhabesh Chandra Roy, 58, was the vice-president of the Biral unit of Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad, a hugely respected figure within the Hindu community of Bangladesh. Roy was abducted after receiving a phone call, following which four men arrived on two motorcycles and abducted him from his home in Basudebpur. He was taken to Narabari village, where he was brutally assaulted according to eyewitnesses. Later in the evening on the same day his body was brought back home in a van. He was then rushed to a nearby hospital in Dinajpur with the help of family members and local residents, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.

India must also take note that Yunus has sought drones and drone technology from China

Public rallies and calls are being made in Bangladesh to launch jihad against India. Terrorist leaders from both Bangladesh and Pakistan are conspiring to launch terrorist attacks in India, amid calls for Ghazwa-e-Hind. Notably, both Pakistan and Bangladesh have the full backing of Pakistan. While India is looking at installing electronic surveillance systems along the borders, these countries will be looking for technologies, in conjunction with China, how to counter electronic surveillance. India must also take note that Yunus has sought drones and drone technology from China. Chinese drones in Bangladesh would add to our border security challenges.

China has not only developed and deployed hi-tech 'Dove' drones for surveillance of population but some 30 military and government agencies were using these birdlike drones and related devices in at least five provinces in recent years. Under this new "spy birds" program, code-named "Dove", some 2000 test flights were conducted before deploying the drones in real-life situations. Unlike unmanned aerial vehicles with fixed wings or rotor blades, the Dove drones actually mimic the flapping action of a bird's wings to climb, dive and turn in the air; replicating about 90 per cent movements of real doves, also producing very little noise, making them hard to detect especially since they attract actual birds to fly alongside them. Bangladesh may deploy such drones across the border with India, in addition to other Chinese and Turkish drones.