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TeaThe Border Security Force, the largest border guarding force in the world, completes 56 years of India’s service on 1 December 2021.
The invasion of Kutch by Pakistan brought a realization among the security establishment in India that the state armed forces deployed till 1965 to guard the border were neither equipped nor trained to effectively counter minor offensive actions by the enemy. Furthermore, the forces belonging to different states did not have a standardized procedure for dealing with their counterparts. Therefore, the government decided to increase the force for central control to protect India’s borders with Pakistan. Considering the experience of the 1965 Kutch invasion and the Indo-Pakistani War, a conscious decision was taken to model this force on the lines of an infantry unit of the Indian Army.
By inducting 25 state armed forces battalions, i.e. a strength of less than 25,000 personnel from various border states, the Border Security Force (BSF) now has a strength of 200 battalions comprising about 2.5 lakh personnel, apart from both having their own air wing. is also. Fixed and rotary-wing aircraft, and a water wing to dominate large river ranges both to the east and west.
A number of units are also deployed under the operational control of the Army along the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan, the force mandated to guard the 3,323-km border with Pakistan and the 4,096.70-km border with Bangladesh. The functions of the BSF are to promote a sense of security among the people living in the border areas, to prevent cross-border crimes and unauthorized entry or exit into the territory of India, and to prevent smuggling and any other illegal activities. The force also has a wartime role to assist the Indian Army in its efforts.
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BSF service
The BSF has played a very important role in the security matrix of the country, both in the civil administration, in assisting the army in dealing with external aggression as well as in controlling the various insurgency that ravaged the country. However, service by force is generally given little attention.
The multifaceted force was baptized with fire when it aided the Indian Army in the 1971 war effort on both the eastern and western borders with Pakistan. The gallantry and skill of the force was recognized in the form of one Maha Vir Chakra, 11 Vir Chakras and several other gallantry awards. The BSF personnel were also awarded two Padma Bhushan, two Padma Shri and one Ati Vishisht Seva Medal.
The contribution of BSF was appreciated by the then President VV Giri and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The PM wrote to Khusro Faramurz Rustamji, the then Director General of BSF: “As a first line of defence, the Border Security Force had to bear the immediate brunt of the enemy attack. The way they faced enemy fire and the support they extended to the army played a vital role in our ultimate success…” Around 125 BSF soldiers lost their lives, 133 went missing and 392 were injured during the battle .
The BSF had a major role in training, organizing and equipping the freedom fighters of Bangladesh – the “Mukti Bahini”. The BSF together with them launched several raids and ambushes against the enemy, demoralizing the enemy and causing heavy casualties.
During the Kargil conflict of 1999, the deployed BSF battalions were the only ones to stay on their posts, preventing the capture of a large area by enemy infiltrators. BSF’s intelligence wing had sent several inputs about unusual activities observed in the area prior to the clash.
Read also: 54 years after its formation, the role of BSF has gone far beyond protecting India’s borders
role in internal security
Since its inception, BSF has also been involved in internal security duties since the very early days of its inception. It is a little known fact that the BSF was instrumental in the surrender of the Naga rebels in the late sixties. These surrendered rebels were inducted into the BSF in three new battalions. Many personnel laid down their lives in controlling the insurgency in other northeastern states such as Mizoram, Manipur and Tripura as well as controlling the Gorkhaland movement.
The BSF was the frontline army inducted in Punjab in the eighties and nineties to control terrorism. The unique initiative of building a fencing barricade along the border with Pakistan played a key role in cutting off logistic and financial support to terrorists and thus facilitated the restoration of normalcy in Punjab. The success of the barricades in Punjab has been reiterated in controlling cross-border crimes along the remaining borders with Pakistan in the west and Bangladesh in the east.
Similarly, the force acquitted itself very well in fighting terrorism in Kashmir. One of the many success stories of BSF in Kashmir is a meticulous operation which includes Strike A dreaded terrorist known by the pseudonym “Ghazi Baba”. Several personnel received gallantry awards, including Shaurya and Kirti Chakra, while working in pursuance of the policy of “one work one force”, prior to its de-induction in Kashmir in 2004, tasked exclusively with border security to the BSF. was mandatory.
The BSF is committed to fighting Maoist insurgents in central India, where its training to empower junior leaders is manifesting in the aggressive domination of security forces. It has successfully thwarted the rebel movement and facilitated development works by the civil administration.
Read also: Worrying growth of militarization in India’s Central Armed Police Forces
Sole authority in remote border areas
Apart from counter-insurgency operations, the force has frequently been called upon to assist the civil administration in controlling several law and order situations. These include the 1974 railway strike and several communal riots. BSF also plays an important role in disaster management. There are four designated battalions located at different locations for quick response. BSF personnel also perform many disaster management tasks to overcome the problems of the local population in the border areas.
As the sole visible authority of the government in remote border areas, one of the important functions of the BSF is to identify the problems of the population and present them to the administration. They are also involved in imparting skills to the border population to make them employable.
The versatility and reach of BSF can be leveraged by the administration to identify the problems of the border population and improve the infrastructure and their standard of living. This will go a long way in ensuring integration of the border population with the rest of the country.
Sanjeev Krishnan Sood @sood_2 is a retired Additional Director General of Border Security Force. Thoughts are personal.
(Edited by Srinjoy Dey)
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