'Proxy wars, ISIS grave challenges': National Investigation Agency chief

Proxy wars and ISIS pose major challenges for India, National Investigation Agency (NIA) Director General Sadanand Date has said, underscoring that corruption within institutions responsible for national security must end to tackle new hurdles.

He was in Pune on Saturday to attend an event where he gave a lecture on “India's internal security and its challenges”.

While Naxalism, Khalistani elements and separatism remain internal challenges, proxy wars and the terror group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) pose a major threat to the nation, said the chief of the country's premier anti-terror probe agency.

“First, some countries are trying to disrupt our progress through proxy wars, and the second is ISIS. If we want to withstand new challenges, we must strengthen democracy. If we want to respond effectively to challenges, corruption within institutions responsible for national security must also end,” the senior IPS officer said.

India faces many internal threats, including terrorism, Naxalism, Khalistani players, separatism in Kashmir and infiltration from Bangladesh and Myanmar in the northeast, the NIA chief said.

“So far, we have successfully overcome many of these issues. Our Constitution and democracy are our greatest achievements, along with an independent judiciary, as it has enabled us to succeed,” he said.

Date also recalled his experience during the establishment of Force One, Maharashtra's elite counter-terror agency.

“After the 26/11 attack, extensive changes were made to the police force. The government decided to create a commando unit in Maharashtra, and I was appointed as the IG (inspector general) of Force One. At 6 am every day, I used to join them for physical training," he said.

"We understood the values of Force One directly from our personnel. Here, we realised that duty is greater than life itself. We built a value-driven organisation. The quality of work is more important than your position. We established the belief that talent is more important than rank,” Date added.