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Mock drill impact on public life: Amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam attack, the Centre on Monday directed all states and Union Territories to conduct mock drills on May 7 and strengthen civil defence mechanisms across 244 categorised Civil Defence Districts in the event of a hostile attack.
States and UTs have been asked to operationalise air raid warning sirens, implement crash blackout measures in selected areas and train civilians, including students, on safety protocols to follow during an aerial or ground assault.
Other key measures include conducting rehearsals of evacuation plans and early camouflaging of vital installations such as power plants and military-linked infrastructure.
Civil Defence Districts are demarcated areas or regions, including towns and districts, which the government designates for implementation of civil defence programmes. These are demarcated on the recommendation of the Ministry of Defence. These demarcations are made based on the location of the towns or districts (such as near the borders), vulnerability to attacks, location of vital installations (such as defence installations, nuclear plants, thermal power plants, key government buildings, etc) and critical infrastructure (such as key highways, railways, ports etc.).
There are in all 259 Civil Defence Districts, notified by the MHA in 2010. These are spread across all states and UTs and divided into three categories. Category I districts (13) require full implementation of civil defence programmes, while category II (201) and Category III (45) require partial implementation in varying degrees.
The maximum number of such districts (32) are in West Bengal, followed by Rajasthan (28), Assam (20), Punjab (20) and J&K (20). Category I districts are notified in Delhi (including cantonment), Gujarat (Surat, Vadodara and Kakrapar), Maharashtra (Mumbai, Uran and Tarapur), Orissa (Talcher), Rajasthan (Kota, Rawat Bhata), Tamil Nadu (Chennai) and Uttar Pradesh (Bulandshahr).
According to an MHA communication of January 2023, however, Centre has “identified total of 295 vulnerable towns/ districts of the country where Civil Defencé measures needs to be implemented during the peace time”.
In its communication to states and UTs sent on May 2 and May 5, the Ministry of Home Affairs has asked them to ensure operationalisation of Air Raid Warning Sirens; operationalisation of Hotline/Radio Communication Links with the Indian Air Force; activation and Manning of Control Rooms / Shadow Control Rooms; training of civilians, students, etc, on the Civil Defence aspects to protect themselves in the event of hostile attack; activation of Civil Defence Services, especially, warden services, firefighting, rescue service, depot, etc,; provision of crash black out measures (a sudden switching off of lights to reduce a potential target’s visibility); provision for early camouflaging of vital plants / installations; updation of Civil Defence Plan and its rehearsal; updation of evacuation plan and its rehearsal; and cleaning of bunkers, trenches, etc.
How will these impact the general public?
While Civil Defence preparedness involves direct participation civil defence units such as district controllers, various district authorities, civil defence wardens/volunteers, home guards, National Cadet Corps, National Service Scheme volunteers, Nehru Yuva Kendra volunteers and students in general, normal life of the public tends to get affected in notified districts.
For example, notified towns and cities may have to deal with sudden power outages for a brief period. Following an air raid warning, all vehicular traffic in a notified area would have to come to a hault and passenger would be expected to take shelter and other precautionary measures. Occupants of vulnerable villages and towns may be evacuated and moved to shelters, bunkers or trenches.
The Civil Defence Act of 1968, under which these mock drills would be conducted, empowers the government, in times of emergencies, to restrict movement, impose curfews, control assemblies or gatherings, close roads, ports, and transport services as needed. The government may detain or arrest a person without the usual legal processes and even order killing of animals.
It also allows the government compulsory acquisition of property, requisitioning services, and controlling the supply and distribution of goods (especially essentials).
The government under the law can direct individuals or classes of persons to perform certain work or duties, and control industries crucial to national security. It also empowers government to regulate or censor communications, publications, and broadcasts.
While the MHA communication to states has come in the wake of the Pahalgam attacks, it does not make any specific mention of an impending threat. It merely says that “this exercise aims to assess and enhance the readiness of Civil Defence mechanisms across all States and Union Territories”. It does, however, mention “training of civilians …in the event of hostile attack”.
It says the issue of strengthening of Civil Defence set up had been emphasised by PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah during their address at the ‘Chintan Shivir’ held at Surajkund, Haryana in October 2022, following which the MHA sent a DO Letter to states and UTs on January 16, 2023 regarding the same.
Yet, the timing of the communication and the emphasis on conducting drills (which was not part of the 2023 communication) cannot be ignored. The last time such elaborate drills were conducted in the country were during the build-up of the 1971 war. It also comes amid Pakistan test-firing two missiles over the past two days.
South Korea had similarly conducted a nation-wide civil defence drill in August 2023, after North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile. Similar drills were carried out in Ukraine ahead of its war with Russia.
What is the history of such drills in the world?
Civil defence has a long history, though it became more formalised and organised in the 20th century.
The idea of protecting non-combatants during conflict dates back centuries. Ancient cities often had walls, shelters, and plans for sieges, but these were basic forms of civil defence. It began to take shape in a formal sense during the World War I as the experience of air raids (like Zeppelin bombings in the UK) highlighted the need for public safety measures. Some rudimentary air raid precautions began to appear.
In the 1920s and 1930s, nations foresaw the threat of aerial bombardment in future wars. The UK, for example, set up its Air Raid Precautions (ARP) system in the late 1930s. Other countries also started planning for civilian protection.
However, it was not until World War II that modern Civil Defence programmes started being organised. This is when civil defence became a global, large-scale effort. Countries like the UK, the US, Germany, Japan, and the Soviet Union organised extensive civil defence systems: air raid shelters were built, evacuation plans moved millions (e.g., children from London to the countryside), and volunteers were trained in firefighting, first aid, and bomb disposal.
During the Cold War era, the focus shifted to nuclear threats. Countries developed new civil defence strategies, including fallout shelters, warning systems (like sirens), and public drills.
Today, with less emphasis on military threats and more on natural disasters, terrorism, and technological accidents, civil defence has evolved into broader “emergency management” or “disaster risk reduction” systems.
India’s first experience with civil defence preparedness and drill dates back to World War under British India. In Independent India, it was initially confined to making the states and UTs conscious of the need of civil defence measures and to ask them to keep ready Civil Defence Paper Plans for major cities and towns.
However, the Chinese aggression in 1962 and war with Pakistan in 1965 led to re-thinking about the policy and scope of Civil Defence. As a result, the Civil Defence Act 1968 came into being. During the 1971 war with Pakistan, these established mechanisms came in handy in saving civilian lives. Since then, as per policy, the revision and renewal of categorised towns is done at regular intervals, with the basic criteria of categorisation remaining the threat perception.
Up to 1985, all Civil Defence peparedness was restricted against threat of conventional weapons. Following this, government also took into consideration nuclear threats. More recently, natural disasters too have come to inform government categorisation of civil defence districts.
