There is a misleading assumption that national security is a domain strictly for the Governments, Police, and Military. In a democratic setup like ours, national security should be the concern of every citizen. In this framework, we can’t and should not have at least one liberty – to say that the government will take care of everything. A vibrant and consciously thinking society acting in unison for the betterment of the nation is the criteria for a strong and secure democratic nation. We may have our differences in political thinking. But when it comes to national security and national interests, all our differences must fade away. We have a collective responsibility towards challenges that the nation faces. In this sense, secure nationhood can be achieved only if our every citizen is safe and well-informed on matters of national interests.

Yes, Government has a decisive role to secure the nation, but we can help in making that security setup more robust and effective. And when we look at the future challenges presented by Information Age, the role of every citizen becomes extremely significant & citizen participation is a must! We should no longer say that our Defence Minister and our armed forces will take care of everything. We must contribute to their efforts. We can support them in their decisions, taken in national interests.