Next man in

The appointment of J.N. Dixit as the new National Security Adviser NSA, in the wake of the inevitable hubbub over Cabinet making, indicates that the Manmohan Singh government may finally be getting down to business. Dixit8217;s credentials are impeccable. But the central point that needs to be emphasised is that the appointment meets two key requirements: That of separating the post of principal secretary to the prime minister and that of NSA; and, secondly, of underlining how seriously India undertakes its responsibilities as a nuclear weapon state. By signalling that the old structure for the management of national security would continue, at least for the time being, the new government has emphasised the crucial dimension of the traditional Congress philosophy of change with continuity.

The Congress election manifesto had promised that it would 8220;make the National Security Council a professional and effective institution8221;. The NSC, set up in 1998, was the creation of the previous government, which had itself come to power on the platform of criticising the previous governments for not paying adequate attention to national security and defence. There may have been a tendency to succumb to the temptation to institute changes in accordance with the new government8217;s philosophy of governance in this crucial area before appointing an NSA. This might even have been seen as necessary by some who have a different approach to the structures and processes required to support national security management. The fact that the NSC actually met only on two occasions formally during its nearly six years of existence could have, indeed, given some legitimacy to such an approach.

But by adopting a more evolutionary approach with the new NSA at the helm of affairs to bring in the professionalism and effectiveness that the Congress Party has promised, the new government has ensured that there would not only be no disruption in the process, but improvements could be built into a system without having to dismantle it first. It may be recalled that the NSC that was set up in 1990 had lasted just one year and two meetings. In contrast, we need to remember that the American NSC system is now 57 years old. And while the basic principles of the institution remain constant, the actual functioning and the role that people have played have varied greatly with every new president and his administration 8212; changes being sometimes effected during the incumbent8217;s term itself. This has given the US NSC the vibrancy and dynamism required to shape America8217;s strategic interests and policies while allowing the different ministries to carry out governance in their specific area of responsibility within an overall synergised framework.