NEW DELHI — Striking an uncompromising tone on national security, Union Home Minister Amit Shah declared that India is "not a dharamshala" (shelter house) and affirmed the Modi administration's resolve to render the country completely free of illegal infiltrators in the near future.
Addressing senior security commanders, intelligence heads, and police chiefs at the valedictory session of the Intelligence Bureau’s National Security Strategy Conference (NSSC) in the capital, Shah warned that unchecked infiltration poses a severe risk not only to sovereign borders, but also to the nation's economic stability and demographic balance.
"India is not a dharamshala, and citizens of this country alone have the right to live here," Shah stated firmly, asserting that illegal entry into the country cannot be treated merely as a routine border management issue.
Over the past eight months, the Ministry of Home Affairs conducted extensive field assessments across all Indian states sharing land borders. Out of these consultations, the central government formulated a comprehensive, four-pronged action plan to overhaul border security and handed the roadmap directly to state administrations for seamless implementation.
Underlining Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a Viksit Bharat (Developed India) by 2047, the Home Minister noted that ironclad internal security remains the primary prerequisite for national growth. He commended state police forces, Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), and central intelligence agencies for significantly curbing long-standing security challenges across three major hotspots: Naxalism, insurgency in the Northeast, and drug trafficking.
Shah urged security officials to adopt a forward-looking perspective by analyzing geopolitical trends, global supply chain disruptions, energy insecurity, radicalization, and misinformation campaigns over a 15-to-20-year horizon.
He emphasized leveraging advanced data analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) by integrating existing digital frameworks—including the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS), the Inter-Operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS), NatGrid, and the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS)—to preemptively neutralize threats.
Highlighting India’s ongoing global crackdown on international fugitives, Shah revealed that 274 absconders had been extradited or repatriated to face Indian justice between 2019 and 2026, urging state enforcement machinery to maintain pressure until full compliance with the law is achieved nationwide.
