It's time to roll out security studies course by varsities in TS, AP: CHSS

Hyderabad: Age-old syllabus, conventional mindset leaving the students deprived of pursuing security studies at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in the State universities in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. According to Dr Ramesh Kanneganti, founder and director of the Centre for Human Security Studies (CHSS), there is a general lack of awareness about the importance of security studies in southern States. So far, the importance of security studies has been limited to a few universities like Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi and a few others.

"We want to break the notion that national security, defence security and others are confined only to Delhi circles," he added. Further, lack of interest and giving importance to security studies was due to the absence of think tanks on security studies even in the cities like Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru and other southern States remains a big gap. Thus, the study of internal and external security, public policy and governance, peoples participation etc, took a back seat.

But, how to cruise through the 21-century world against the backdrop of evolving security scenarios around India assumes significance.

Given the sheer size and shape of India's land and maritime borders makes the study and research of security studies significant.

Comparing, the number of think tanks on the security studies that we have vis a vis USA and Japan etc., are far less in number. Human security and national security are not the burdens of only the Central and state governments, paramilitary, police and military. There should be an awareness about the importance of security studies from the school level. Students at least from the under graduation and post-graduation level should come up, equipped as national and international security designers and experts to assess the internal and external threats. Besides, the focus should also be on natural and man-made disasters, food security, human security, water security, energy security and the like.

For example, people who are there as the first layer and first line of protection along the coastline of India are the fishing community. They should have sufficient awareness about the outside threats coming into the country through the seat routes.

Against this backdrop, the CHSS has tied up with social welfare, minority welfare educational institutions in Telangana and signed Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) with national and international universities for research.

The CHSS also tied up with Andhra Pradesh Police as a knowledge partner. Besides, we have also focussed on specific issues like Andhra Pradesh coastal security, in the wake of the coastal security breach of the Mumbai Mission. Also, partnered on the issues of importance of strategic assets, police, Navy, Indian Coast Guard and other agencies.

The CHSS also focuses on Artificial Intelligence and Smart Policing, foreign affairs, and different security scenarios, which will have a huge impact on the overall security stability of the country.''

The New Education Policy-2020 opens a window to introduce the security studies for the young Indians studying in the State universities in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and other southern States. It will go a long way, to train the much-needed security experts and designers, he added.