By - Dr. Asangba Tzudir
As part of Operation Sindoor, following Pakistan’s retaliation, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) directed all states and Union Territories to invoke emergency powers available to them under the Civil Defence Rules, 1968, thereby empowering local administrations to implement protective measures and preventive mechanisms.
The Civil Defence Act is invoked because it provides a legal framework for organizing, managing, and deploying resources and personnel to protect citizens and maintain order during emergencies such as natural disasters, wars, terrorist attacks, or large-scale accidents.
Under The Civil Defence Act of 1968 are various Civil Defence Rules which provides sweeping powers to central and State governments in order to take preventive and protective measures while preparing India’s civilian population and infrastructure to respond to hostile attacks, whether from air, land, sea, or other means. While these rules are mainly to protect people, property, and infrastructure from hostile attacks, it also lays various preparedness plans before, during, or after the attacks. Most importantly, it employs measures to lessen the impact.
Nationwide mock Drills and simulations was announced and subsequently conducted, but it was a question of how seriously it was taken especially for Nagaland which is yet to witness even a severe earthquake, let alone a large scale war. The keyword here is the protection of citizens, and which should not be misunderstood or taken out of context. Most importantly, protection of citizens also includes the guiding framework through which one can save oneself or even reduce the impact of disasters.
As such, the public awareness campaigns which is to educate citizens on what each one should do during emergencies needs to be taken seriously and which also includes the various warning systems. Also a risk assessment plan which includes Identifying vulnerabilities and planning mitigation strategies, and also securing critical supplies are crucial to ones safety and survival.
The corona pandemic, while it claimed countless lives, it also injected a sense of preparedness in the minds of the people where issues of security and sustenance comes prior even in the face of uncertainties including death. However, war situation is not the same as pandemic or disasters arising out of natural calamities. As such, while the key focus of the civil defence Act is to save lives, yet, saving lives is at the mercy of the situation itself and also on the preparedness and awareness of the individual.
Though not easy, it calls for reducing panic. It also becomes an ‘advantageous’ situation for many to trigger others panic button by way of creating fake news. The best way to reduce panic is to be well informed and well planned especially in consideration of the need for psychological, logistical, and communication control. The frailty of humans is such that fear and panic can creep in, in the heat of the situation, with thoughts about failure of Plan A. This is where mental conditioning as well as having back-up plans can help mitigate the panic situation.
The situation is precarious, where a cease fire agreement was violated within no time. The breach of the ceasefire agreement, makes it imperative that the provisions of the Civil Defence Act and its corresponding rules be fully enforced to ensure the safety and security of all citizens. As for the general public, it is important to remain vigilant and cooperative with the authorities while also following official instructions, and thereby contribute to maintaining order and resilience during this uncertain time.
(Dr. Asangba Tzudir writes weekly guest editorial to The Morung Express. Comments can be emailed to asangtz@gmail.com)
