Comparing India's Counterinsurgency Approaches in Sri Lanka and Against the Naxalites

Abstract : India possesses a rich history of combating insurgencies throughout its country. The Naxalite movement originated when India gained its independence and now seventy years later presents the greatest insurgency threat. India also experienced a pivotal counterinsurgency experience as a third party actor in Sri Lanka. This research study sought to compare the influence of India's external counterinsurgency approaches in Sri Lanka to their domestic approaches against the Naxalites. The methodology for this research consists of analyzing each case study for the appearance or absence of twenty-four counterinsurgency approaches. This research found no evidence of counterinsurgency operations in Sri Lanka influencing future domestic counterinsurgency operations against the Naxalites. The major counterinsurgency findings include the necessity to enact political reform; to reduce insurgent support; to recruit, train, and employ local security forces; to co-opt the population; and to achieve unity of effort.