Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday reiterated that India was “not a dharamshala”, saying only citizens had the right to live in the country and that infiltrators posed a threat to India’s security, economy and demographics.
Shah’s take on India’s security policy
Our goal is to make the country free of infiltrators in a very short period. “If India is to emerge at the forefront in every field, its internal security will have to be further strengthened. Shah made similar remarks in Lok Sabha on March 27 while replying to the debate on the Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025. Earlier reporting noted: Identify, eliminate threats before they grow big: Amit Shah urges security agencies Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday (August 25, 2026) said India’s security policy must be framed keeping in view emerging global challenges, including geopolitical instability, energy and resource insecurity, supply chain disruptions, rising radicalisation and cyber misinformation campaigns, while urging security agencies to anticipate threats before they become major crises. Shah said the forum should study trends over the next 15-20 years and identify potential security challenges and strategies to counter them.
“This country is not a dharamshala (charitable rest house); only citizens of the country have the right to live here,” Shah said, speaking at the valedictory session of the National Security Strategy conference of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), attended by chiefs of central agencies and state police forces. Also Read I CM Vijay told Amit Shah to continue freeze on Lok Sabha seats, says TN minister amid row over his delimitation stand Stressing that infiltrators threatened the country’s “security, economy and demographics”, the home minister said: “Over the past eight months, after visiting all states sharing land borders, we have shared a document outlining a four-pronged approach to border security with the states. Shah said India’s security policy had to be framed against the backdrop of global instability, insecurity around energy and resources, supply-chain disruptions, rising radicalisation and the warfare of cyber misinformation. A strong internal security apparatus, he said, was a prerequisite for a developed India. On that occasion, he had said India was “not a dharamshala where anyone can come and stay for any purpose”, arguing that Parliament had the right to bar those who posed a threat to national security, and that sensitive locations and army establishments along the borders could not be left open to all. Those who came legally to contribute to India’s prosperity were welcome, he had said, but illegal entrants would be dealt with strictly. He said the challenges in the country’s three internal security hotspots had been eliminated, and credited state police forces, central agencies and the central armed police forces (CAPFs). Shah said he had visited all land-border States over the past eight months and shared with them a document outlining a four-pronged border security strategy. Stating that the government aimed to make the country “infiltrator-free” in a short period, he said illegal immigrants posed threats to national security, the economy and demographic balance. “This country is not a dharamshala and only citizens of the country have the right to live here,” he said. “We have to identify challenges in advance and destroy them before they become major problems,” he said, calling for the creation of an ecosystem capable of delivering a secure, infiltrator-free and narcotics-free India.
Earlier reporting noted: Mr. Earlier reporting noted: Addressing the valedictory session of the Intelligence Bureau’s National Security Strategy Conference (NSSC), Mr. Attacking previous governments, Shah on Tuesday said had they anticipated the problems of narcotics, Naxalism and insurgency in the northeast before they became enormous challenges, “the country would not have had to suffer their consequences for decades.
