India's Security strategy has four broad components. Which one of the following is not a component of India's security strategy?

A. Meeting security challenges within the country
B. Acquire the territories of its neighbour, so that India can have larger geographical area
C. Strengthening its military norms
D. Strengthen international norms
E. Attempt to develop its economy in a way that vast masses are lifted out of poverty

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

B only

The correct answer is Option 4 - B only

B. Acquire the territories of its neighbour, so that India can have larger geographical area

Explanation:

India has faced traditional (military) and non-traditional threats to its security that have emerged from within as well as outside its borders. Its security strategy has four broad components, which have been used in a varying combination from time to time.

The first component was strengthening its military capabilities (Statement C) because India has been involved in conflicts with its neighbours — Pakistan in 1947–48, 1965, 1971 and 1999; and China in 1962. Since it is surrounded by nuclear-armed countries in the South Asian region, India’s decision to conduct nuclear tests in 1998 was justified by the Indian government in terms of safeguarding national security. India first tested a nuclear device in 1974.

The second component of India’s security strategy has been to strengthen international norms (Statement D) and international institutions to protect its security interests. India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, supported the cause of Asian solidarity, decolonisation, disarmament, and the UN as a forum in which international conflicts could be settled. India also took initiatives to bring about a universal and non-discriminatory non-proliferation regime in which all countries would have the same rights and obligations with respect to weapons of mass destruction (nuclear, biological, chemical). It argued for an equitable New International Economic Order (NIEO). Most importantly, it used non-alignment to help carve out an area of peace outside the bloc politics of the two superpowers. India joined 160 countries that have signed and ratified the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which provides a roadmap for reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases to check global warming. Indian troops have been sent abroad on UN peacekeeping missions in support of cooperative security initiatives.

The third component of Indian security strategy is geared towards meeting security challenges within the country (Statement A). Several militant groups from areas such as the Nagaland, Mizoram, the Punjab, and Kashmir among others have, from time to time, sought to break away from India. India has tried to preserve national unity by adopting a democratic political system, which allows different communities and groups of people to freely articulate their grievances and share political power.

Finally, there has been an attempt in India to develop its economy in a way that the vast mass of citizens are lifted out of poverty (Statement E) and misery and huge economic inequalities are not allowed to exist. The attempt has not quite succeeded; we are still a very poor and unequal country. Yet democratic politics allows spaces for articulating the voice of the poor and the deprived citizens. There is a pressure on the democratically elected governments to combine economic growth with human development. Thus democracy is not just a political ideal; a democratic government is also a way to provide greater security. You will read more about the successes and failures of Indian democracy in this respect in the textbook on politics in India since independence.