BSF, CRPF and other Paramilitary Forces Discussion

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Aditya G
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BSF, CRPF and other Paramilitary Forces Discussion

Post by Aditya G »

15 Feb 2004: Changing the title of this thread:</font>
Old= Changing Compositon of COIN forces in J&K
New= Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces </FONT>


The composition of "security forces" engaged in CI/CT Ops has been changing rapidly since the Kargil conflict. An indication that the security mindset of the govt is finally waking up from its slumber.

The general populace believes in general that it is only the "Army" that is doing all the dirty work...Paramils rarely get the attention or credit from the junta. But things are changing. The RR is rapidly expanding, CRPF is coming in large numbers. and so on...

Some questions to be answered in this thread:

* What is the current ORBAT of our forces iengaged in CI/CT in Jammu and Kashmir?

* How will this affect our internal security outlook?

* Will things improve for the IA? Will it be better equipped to do their real job?

A brief list of the oft-mentioned "Security Forces" in Kashmir, with various roles:

Indian Army
Rashtriya Rifles
Defence Security Corps
Terretorial Army

Border Secutiy Force
Central Reserve Police Force
Central Industrial Security Force
Indo Tibetan Border Police
Special Frontier Force (Vikas Regiment)
National Security Guards
Special Services Bureau (saw picture of SSB officer in J&K)

Village Defence Comittes
Home and Hearth Battalions
Ikhwaanis

JAK Police

(These developments will deeply affect how we tackle the Proxy War in Kashmir - a separate thread is warranted. News keeps popping up every now and then but is not archived at BRF.)
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Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by Aditya G »

http://www.deepikaglobal.com/latestnews.asp?ncode=8881
BSF killed 2,040 militants and lost 668 soldiers in Kashmir

Srinagar, Nov 9 (UNI) The Border Security Force (BSF) which is being replaced by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) from November 15 in north of Jhelum in Jammu and Kashmir state and killed 2,040 militants since it was given the job of counter insurgency in 1989, said a senior BSF official.

''The force apprehended 9,525 militants, including some top commanders of different outfits in the Valley,'' Inspector General of BSF Kashmir Range, Vijay Raman said.

The BSF also motivated 918 militants to surrendered alongwith their arms and ammunition during the same period, Mr Raman said.

BSF recovered 5,495 weapons of all types, seven lakhs rounds of assorted ammunition, 785 wireless sets, 6,950 kg of explosives, including deadly RDX and 986 Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

The force lost 668 personnel and 3,191 soldiers were injured in the counter insurgency operations, he said.
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Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by Aditya G »

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=273753&Curpg=1
It's official, BSF leaves Kashmir for CRPF

MASOOD HUSSAIN

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 09, 2003 08:24:23 AM ]
SRINAGAR : Despite objections, the Border Security Forces will start its phase-out from Kashmir next week. It will be replaced by CRPF and the process begins from Old City of Srinagar where eight battalions of BSF would vacate their positions for the CRPF.

BSF inspector general, Kashmir frontier, Vijay Raman confirmed the decision. “We will be shifting to borders and would do duties for which we are meant for. We will be engaged in controlling the infiltration from across the border”, he said. The CRPF would be overall in-charge of the situation including counter-insurgency.

Raman said that the situation has improved to an extent, but the bottomline remains the same. “Unless and until the infiltration is stopped, the situation can’t come to normalcy”, said Raman.

With over 60 battalions of the BSF deployed in J&K, the state is virtually sanitised by this force. For many years now, the city of Srinagar has been manned by the BSF alone. The capital city has as many as 32 battalions deployed to fight the militants. Raman said Kashmir exhibited a great change from the days when it was handed over to the BSF in late 1989. Then, there was a complete breakdown of the official machinery and total collapse of the routine intelligence gathering networks.

Even a section of the police forces became a suspect before the security forces. They would limit their activities in maintaining the mortuary and identifying the corpses.

Senior Congress leader and J&K’s deputy chief minister Mangat Ram Sharma had recently appealed MHA to reconsider the decision of getting BSF replaced by CRPF. “Withdrawal of the force at this juncture will have adverse affects, as the state government is successfully moving ahead for restoration of peace in the state”, Sharma said. Instead, he said, there was need to supplement the force to tackle the continued cross border terrorism more effectively. The decision of sending CRPF to replace BSF in the hinterland is part of the recommendations made by a group assigned the job to see the functioning of the security agencies after the Kargil war. It said that since BSF was meant for guarding the Indo-Pak and Indo-Bangladesh borders, and the ITBP for guarding the borders with China , the two paramilitary forces be relived of their CI duties.

“For BSF, it was not an easy job to take over Kashmir in 1989 when there were explosions everywhere”, Raman said. However, he said, the force did its best in preventing the situation going out of control and was brought into normalcy”, he said.

At the same time the BSF official admitted that the militancy continued and in fact the foreigners now were a major force in Kashmir militancy. The BSF sacrificed a lot in this process. From 1989, the forces lost 668 jawans and officers. The number of injured went up to 3000 mark. In 2003 alone, 24 BSF personnel including some officers were mowed down by militants in various counter-insurgency operations.

At one stage, the BSF was almost the only agency that represented the government. With apparent absolute authority, the BSF was the source of almost two third cases involving the human rights. The cases registered against the BSF in various police stations across Kashmir must be running in hundreds.

Describing the achievement of of the BSF, Raman said that the forces had killed 2,040 militants, apprehended 9,525 others and managed surrender of 919 others. In 2003 so far, Raman said, they mowed down 109 militants including 61 Pakistanis besides apprehending 199. As for the seizure goes, Raman said they had recovered 5,495 weapons of all types besides seven lakh rounds of assorted ammunitions, 785 wireless sets, 6,950 kilograms of explosives, 986 pieces of IEDs.

Meanwhile, some CRPF officers said that the replacement of all the BSF battalions had reached Srinagar . However, prior to complete take over, senior officers said, the incumbent force personnel will be jointly patrolling the respective areas of responsibility.

Taking over the BSF manned positions, however, will not affect the CRPF’s responsibility of being part of the CI operations with the state police’s SOG or guarding the vital installations or being deployed to secure the VVIPs. Right now, officials said, there are 24 CRPF battalions deployed in Kashmir .
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Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by Johann »

I would imagine that the biggest benefit would be in the NE where difficult terrain, heavy migration and unco-operative neighbours can soak up an enormous amount of manpower, especially if most of the technology purchases are reserved for Kashmir.

As I understand it the basic division of labour in Kashmir is that the CRPF (and the BSF before them) are responsible for COIN in the settled areas and the Kashmir Valley in particular while the RR aggressively patrols the countryside around them.

The regular IA is deployed along the LoC, and the BSF is responsible for the international borders.

Ray, or others who know better please correct me here.

The remaining Home Ministry forces are used to plug the manpower gaps and requirements like static guard duty or close protection of designated individuals.
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Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by Aditya G »

Johann,

Thats pretty accurate, Johann. Except that there are'nt enough RR units to take care of the whole country side. The Indian Army is tasked with CT duties and might be infact larger than the RR, atleast at this moment.

Indian Army IB,LoC,AGPL,LAC and country

Indian Air Force Assists the army with mostly heptr and UAV assets

Indian Navy Marine Commando Force Tasked with ops at the Wullar lake.

Rashtriya Rifles and Assam Rifles exclusively country. IIRC a small fraction of Assam Rifles is deployed in Kahmir and RR is deployed in the NE.

Defence Security Corps Basic constablary for the IAF airbases. Not sure if they have any other duties. Airbase security will be boosted when IAF's Garuda wing becomes operational.

Terretorial Army Attached to the army wherever available.

Border Secutiy Force IB,LoC will move out of urban/semi-urban areas and make way for the CRPF

Central Reserve Police Force Static policing

Central Industrial Security Force Airports and maybe other VP/VAs. Has recently been expanded to take over civilian airports all over the country.

Indo Tibetan Border Police CT ops in the J&K and Himachal Pradesh border. Probably deploayed at the AGPL as well. LAC and IB with China

Special Frontier Force (Vikas Regiment) AGPL

National Security Guards and Special Protection Group VVIP security and quick deployment for HR/Hijack etc

Special Services Bureau Saw picture of SSB officer in J&K. Anyway, changing its traditional role in the Eastern sector.

Village Defence Comittes For minority villages. Biggest advantage is familiarity with local terrain. Equipped with SLRs and BPJs if very lucky.

Home and Hearth Battalions :confused:

Ikhwaanis Local Kashmiris give it back to the Terrorists in their own currency

JAK Police Policing and urban duties. Not sure of the SOG's status
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Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by shiv »

Is this a topic that would be better off in the other forum?
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Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by Aditya G »

Some relevant posts from the the thread "Recent developments in the Army", launched by YIP more than a year back:

Y I Patel
Member
Member # 281

posted 07 August 2002 12:14 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Two interesting developments have taken place recently.

Firstly, the Army is going to raise a new Rashtriya Rifles division
headquartered in Reasi (Udhampur district). It has been no
secret to those who keep track to these things that the Army
has been raising RR battalions at breakneck speed since Kargil.
Before Kargil, there were 36 RR batts. About a month or so
ago, raising of 50 RR was reported. So we have about
14 batts, or 3/4 bde equivalents since Kargil. So the raising of
a new RR div equivalent was long expected.

The HQ location of the new formation is no surprise either. Reasi
is close to the infiltration interstate
of Pir Panjal. This region was previously patrolled by
39 Div, which was, by my calculations, the last IA div to be engaged
full time in counter terrorism ops. With the imminent raising o
the new RR force, there is no IA div that has full-time CT duties. Of course,
those IA divs manning LoC will still have a significant
CT role in managing the LoC, but this role would essentially
remain the same even if cross border terrorism did not take place.

In general, this event just shows how far the Army has come since
Kargil. There are other developments in this direction, but
more about them at a more appropriate time.

fanne
Member
Member # 320

posted 08 August 2002 01:16 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So how is RR staffed ?

Some % might come from retired men, but what else make up the other.

Thanks,
fanne
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advitya
Member
Member # 290

posted 08 August 2002 01:36 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No % of RR is retired men. These are full time units raised for CI ops!
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dsandhu
Member
Member # 1178

posted 08 August 2002 01:45 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FANNE

RR battalions are part of various infantry regiments.Each regiment has 2 or 3 RR battalions attached to it. 60% of the troops come from that regiment 30% come from artilleryor mechanised infantry or armoured corps. The rest 10 % are logistic troops.

The RR battalions are raised by milking some troops from other battalions and some new recruits. they are trained at the Infantry group's regimental center for about 6 months in CI duties. The troops in the RR battalions totate after 2 years to their original battalions. The CO and 2I/C and some of the officers are from the battalion which hasupplied 60% of the troops.

Hope this helps

fanne
Member
Member # 320

posted 08 August 2002 04:18 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So it means there is no addition of manpower. At the end of the day, RR battalion + army = constant even though number of RR batallion increases.

Right?

Thanks,
fanne
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advitya
Member
Member # 290

posted 08 August 2002 04:36 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by fanne:

Right?

Thanks,
fanne
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wrong. All new RR bns are entirely NEW raisings. They are additional manpower and battalions attached to Regimental and Corps centres.
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Johann
Member
Member # 132

posted 19 August 2002 04:38 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Advitya, Dave, Yogi or anyone else, whats the approximate breakdown between Army, RR, CRPF and BSF battalions engaged in COIN ops in J&K as things stand today?

Is the intention to replace Army Bns with RR Bns on a 1-to-1 ratio? Are they also replacing other Home ministry units such as the CRPF & BSF engaged in COIN ops?
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Y I Patel
Member
Member # 281

posted 21 August 2002 11:28 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Johann

As you can imagine, this is a very difficult question to answer. For example, how does one classify an Army battalion in Kupwara? Does it guard the border, does it have counter infiltration duties, or does it have an anti terrorist role? Also, deployments seem to vary seasonally. Not the least, there are so damn many of them, that even Paddy may loose track.

That said, one has to try

Gurmeet Kanwal reported pre Kargil (ref: http://www.ciaonet.org/olj/sa/sa_99kag02.html) that 130 odd IA+RR batts, 70 (!) BSF batts, and 40 odd CRPF batts were deployed for CT duties in J&K. Post Kargil, we already know that RR strength has gone up to 50 batts - mostly if not exclusively deployed in JK. CRPF and BSF also have new raisings. So to answer your question roughly, the ratio of regular Army to para military (including RR) deployed in CT duties may have dipped below 1:1 sometime post Kargil. The downward trend is likely to continue, esp with new raisings in CRPF and RR that are being talked about.

Even where they are still CT deployed, IA batts no longer have static duties - those seem to be almost entirely taken over by CRPF and BSF. It should be noted that Gurbachan Jagat talked about getting BSF out of CT business entirely. This may effectively mean 20 odd BSF batts, since the rest seem to be border deployed anyway.

Hope that answers your question partially. A more complete answer is well beyond my means, but it would be an interesting exercise.
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Johann
Member
Member # 132

posted 24 August 2002 02:21 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks Yogi.

In early August there was a (PTI?) story that the IA was creating a new force command for the CI grid, HQd in Udhampur to handle the Pathankot-Jammu area in time for the state elections. Going by past precedent this should be Uniform Force. The report said 12,000 men so we are looking at 10 new RR battalions at 1,150 men per bn. What wasnt clear is if this was in addition to the 30 new RR battalions ordered after Kargil.

Bishwa's(?) BRM article talked about 58 IA bns in COIN operations. It seemed like a stretch for the 30 RR bns to do the job of almost twice as many regular battalions, even taking into account the different tables of organisation. Unless of course the CRPF is raising units to replace army as well as BSF, which would be interesting.
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Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by Rishi »

<img src="http://www.outlookindia.com/images/loc_ ... 031117.jpg" alt="" />

outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20031117&fname=LOC+(F)&sid=1

LoC Logistics

490 km of the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir to be fenced by early 2004

Sensitive sections to be electrified. Total cost of the operation—approximately Rs 11,000 crore

Multi-tier security—ground sensors, thermal imagers, night-vision devices to be put in place

260 aggregate tonnage of cement, iron pickets and steel wire required to fence 1 km
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Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by Adi »

Elementary question: what is the total COIN force strength in J&K, including all paramilitary forces, army units and RR?
Guest

Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by Guest »

a good moment to thank the BSF for the thankless task they have done. Initially untrained for this role they kept the Indian state's visibility.

For a small force the resultant stress must have been terrible.

Subra
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Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by Guest »

Lookslike G branch will stay behind.

Thats sensible

SUbra
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Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by Adi »

Originally posted by Administrator:
a good moment to thank the BSF for the thankless task they have done.
I agree. It is unfortunate that even a highly respected army officer felt the urge to sling mud at the BSF by snidely mentioning that most of the allegations of HR violations were directed at the BSF and not the army.

The BSF has come a long way from the initial clueless and heavy-handed operations it performed after being thrust into the COIN grid by the Home Ministry in 1990. Apart from some ugly incidents involving rogue personnel, the BSF has done a sterling job for which we ought to be grateful.

I don't know if any of those good guys read BRF(or whether they care), but I do hope they are aware that wherever we might all be, we are firmly behind them, in spite of the heap of abuse and contempt they receive from elite "intellecuals" who are only able to maintain their affluent lifestyle due to the sacrifices made by these men who risk their lives on a daily basis away from their families.

Incidentally, I was going to suggest having someone do a complete BRM write-up on the BSF's achievements in the J&K security grid, beginning with the initial period where it was forced to build up an intelligence network from scratch. I also feel the article should deal with the human-rights issue in order to put things in perspective and demolish a few myths.

Added later: Silly me! Such an article already exists but is lost somewhere in the BRM archives.

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/MONITOR/ISSUE3-2/lns.html

Added a little later: And to top it all, aditya.g mentioned a link to it! hmm, I'd better get myself checked for attention deficit disorder... ;)
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Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by Priyank »

Originally posted by aditya.g:
Home and Hearth Battalions :confused:
This is from the Rediff interview with Lt. Gen. Patankar (link) :-
What we are trying to do is to raise Home and Hearth battalions. We mentioned this to the chief minister, who has taken it up with the Centre. We also sent messages to the Centre through our own channels and I think the proposal has been okayed.

The Home and Hearth battalions will be modelled on the Territorial Army. It has two benefits. First, it would provide immediate employment to the young people. Second, since they would be working near their homes, it would raise their self-confidence. They would understand, we don't need to be sitting ducks anymore.

The modalities are still being worked out. [like in the TA] it will have a core of regular army officers, around whom the force will be built.
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Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by ehsmang »

In the photograph, is there a raised embankment on the other side of the fence?

Isnt the fence too close to the embankment?

What would be the width of the fence as seen in the photograph?

Should the fence not be mined? no mention of that
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Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by Adi »

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Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by Surya »

Arjun Ray and respected??? :D

Fellow has not fired a shot in CI.

Ask the poor bakras who had to work for him.
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Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by Aditya G »

Rangudu has discovered another gem from the www (how does he keep doing it all the time?). This is a PDF on the 1971 conflict and primarily deals with the ground war.

http://www.ndu.edu/nesa/docs/Gill%20Atlas%20Final%20Version.pdf

After reading this I am convinced that there is no better way to tell a story. While the visual quality of Maps could be better, they are very very good - all the names of the place, Bns, Divs are all there. All the small titbits that I have read till now about the war came alive with this PDF. Super super stuff.

Now back to the topic of the thread. From the above, I realised that there were quite a few *Offensive* ops by the BSF - in both sectors. Infact they did pretty good for themselves. The freeing up of BSF gives the IA a vital boost. Apart from the armies of the two nations, paramils will also play a significant role. We often fret over the fact that the PA already has an "Army of Islam" that can be quite a hassle in Kashmir. But the sheer size of the Indian Paramilitaries is something they cannot counter.

AFAIK, the pakistani paramils, i.e. the rangers, ANF and Janbaaz Force are very small in comparison, perhaps due to PA's designs - they can cause problems while the military overthrows the civilian govt every now and then :D

In times of war the BSF is placed under Army command. Does this mean that it was army officers who were commanding them in the field? What do the BSF officers do?

PS: check out the exploits of the camel mounted troops in 1971, and do read about the SFFtoo.
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Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by ASPuar »

Its not army officers that command them in the field. The BSF is placed under strategic command of the Indian Army. Thus, the army assumes responsibility for positioning BSF as best suits the operational situation. The BSF officers do what they always did, execute the orders they are given, and command their troops.

Incidentally, BSF is under army control in all border areas even in non warlike situations.
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Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by Aditya G »

http://mynews.rediff.com/news/2003/nov/18jk.htm?mr
Militants attack CRPF facility in Srinagar

Mukhtar Ahmad in Srinagar | November 18, 2003 18:41 IST

Militants attacked the battalion headquarters of the Central Reserve Police Force in Srinagar on Tuesday, the paramilitary force's Inspector General, V B Singh, told rediff.com

The CRPF facility is located near the army's 15 Corps headquarters in Badami Bagh cantonment.

Troopers of 62 Battalion opened fire and the encounter "is continuing", Singh said.

The CRPF had sealed the area and no civilian movement was being allowed, he added.
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Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by Aditya G »

http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IEH20031118140237&Title=Top+Stories&Topic=0
56 yrs on, Home Ministry hands over J&K Light Infantry to Defence

Wednesday November 19 2003 00:23 IST

NEW DELHI: The Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry is finally coming home. An order signed and stamped this year has finally brought the regiment _ raised as a local milita to keep Pakistani intruders at bay _ to the Ministry of Defence nearly 56 years after it was hastily raised to save Srinagar and other parts of the State.

In an order passed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) following several meetings with the Army top brass, the regiment has been officially handed over to the Ministry of Defence.

Though under the operational control of the Army ever since it was raised, the regiment was maintained by the MHA as a historic legacy. The move is also part of an overall exercise by the Government to rationalise the existing force structures keeping the Group of Ministers' recommendations in mind.

While the move is more than ceremonial, for the regiment _ one of the youngest in the Indian Army's history _ it also means finding employment outside the State at par with the regular infantry battalions of the Indian Army.

Notes Lt Gen V R Raghavan (retd) in his seminal book Infantry in India: "India's first Light Infantry regiment was born out of people's response in 1947."

The population of Jammu and Kashmir formed local defence committees to fight the Pakistani tribal invaders and were later organised into militia battalions responsible for specific sectors.

Since 1947, the regiment has built up a formidable reputation for operations in subsequent wars fought on the State's borders, as well as winning a Param Vir Chakra in Siachen.

Then Naib Subedar Bana Singh's herculean effort on the Northern Siachen Glacier in taking out a Pakistani post is the stuff modern military legends are made of.

While he was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, the captured post _ considered the highest and the most difficult to maintain on Siachen _ has been renamed as Bana Post in his honour.

As Raghavan also notes, the regiment has 50 per cent Muslims and the balance are Hindus and Buddhists. The regiment's soldiers are recruited exclusively from J&K. Impressed with the hardiness the Ladakhi fighters showed at high altitude, the Army raised two Ladakh Scout battalions from the regiment.

Both wings of the battalion performed with elan during the Kargil war. "The move means a greater confidence in the regiment and it will probably mean that it will now be employed elsewhere outside the state," says Raghavan.

Two battalions were also awarded the Chief of Army Staff's unit citation after the Kargil War.
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Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by Aditya G »

from RajeevT's link above. why has the story been filed from Orissa - is the HQ of CRPF?
CRPF raising 64 new battalions

PTI[ THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2003 07:31:31 PM ]

BHUBANESHWAR: The CRPF, entrusted with counter insurgency role, is raising 64 new battalions which would make it the largest para-military force in the world.

Seventeen battalions had already been raised during the last two years and this year the recruitment process had already started to raise 22 new battalions, an official release said here on Thursday.

With raising of 25 new battalions in 2004, the CRPF's strength would be more than 200 battalions which would make it the largest para-military force in the world, it said.

CRPF was taking over counter insurgency responsibility as per the 'one border, one force' envisioned by the committee on Kargil and recommendations of the group of ministers.

The release said the CRPF had already replaced five battalions of Border Security Force in Manipur and replacement of eight battalions of BSF in Jammu and Kashmir had started this month.

The CRPF had taken up a Rs 543 crore five year modernisation plan to gear up the force to fight insurgency independently and had started improving its weaponry, equipment, mobility, communication system and training, it said.

The release said the CRPF had the 'unique' experience of tackling suicide attacks in Jammu and Kashmir where these started in the beginning of 2000 with an attack on the BSF headquarters at Bandipora.

During the last 17 months, CRPF had achieved a major success in respect of CRPF-militant killed ratio in Jammu and Kashmir . The ratio, which stood at 1:6 during June 2002, had improved to 0:11 in October 2003, it said.

The CRPF was deploying 140 companies of the force to ensure smooth elections to Assemblies in Chhattisgarh, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh.

In a major step towards total computerisation of operations, CRPF had launched the first phase of a project group centres.

The project would be extended to CRPF battalions in the field in the next phase to be completed by July 2004.

The CRPF had recruited about 1700 persons during the last three years and during the current year, it had already initiated action to recruit 936 persons including ten women from Orissa, the release said.
Another item related to CRPF but not focussed on J&K:

http://in.rediff.com/news/2003/nov/17george.htm
Special force to tackle Naxal menace

George Iype in Kochi | November 17, 2003 15:01 IST
Last Updated: November 17, 2003 16:09 IST

The series of claymore mine blasts triggered by the outlawed People's War that nearly killed Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in October has provoked the central government to set up a special security unit to check the Naxalites.

...

A senior government official told rediff.com that the special security unit will be raised out of the Central Reserve Police Force. "We will give special training to these units and deploy them in the nine states that are badly hit by Naxal extremism," the official said.

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'The Left-wing extremist groups have been making concerted efforts to militarise their cadres through formation of special guerrilla squads,' the report said.

Last year, the terror unleashed by the Communist Party-Marxist Leninist, People's War and Maoist Communist Centre led the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government to set up a coordination committee headed by the Union home secretary to coordinate with various state governments to check Naxal activities. Director generals of police and chief secretaries of the affected states are members of this committee.

The decision to set up the special security force is based on the coordination committee's recommendations.

The committee said Left extremist groups are restructuring their organisational framework to establish their domination in areas like the north coastal, south coastal and Rayalaseema regions of Andhra Pradesh and southern parts of Orissa, Jharkhand, north Bihar and coastal areas of West Bengal and Orissa.

...
Adi
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Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by Adi »

Sorry for this whine, but when the news of CRPF's induction into the CT grid was announced, one assumed the Centre had ensured they would be adequately equipped. Instead you have CRPF troops with the same cowboy hats and zero body armour they were wearing during the parliament attack.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/031120/ids_photos_wl/r109950010.jpg

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/031121/photos_wl_sa_afp/0311 21053156_k66ibc89_photo0
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Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by davidn »

on the bright side they seem to have moved upto the INSAS from the FAL.

On the not so bright side...yeah the rest of their gear does leave a little to be desired.
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Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by JCage »

Like I noted, the forces are short of some 2.5 lakh BPJ's. The latest requirements are for Dyneema jackets.
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Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by Aditya G »

looks like those troops have come from a tour in the desert...

http://in.rediff.com/news/2003/nov/21jk1.htm
CRPF to replace BSF in Kashmir by March 2004

November 21, 2003 15:32 IST

The Central Reserve Police force will raise nearly 50 more battalions over the next two years to completely take over counter-insurgency operations in the Kashmir valley by March 2004 and within the country by 2005, a senior official said in Jammu on Friday.

...

So far, six CRPF battalions have replaced the BSF in Srinagar.

"At present, we have 152 battalions but by March 2005, the number would reach 200," the ADG disclosed
Guest

Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by Guest »

Yup looks like they have been shifted from the plains.

Anyway they look pretty calm and composed.

Keep emailing the Home ministry to provide them with body armour.

Subra
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Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by ASPuar »

nitin... what is a "dyneema jacket"? Is it a brand, or a specific type? isnt the standard body armour the kavach?
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Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by ASPuar »

The bush hats and potbellies will start disappearing double quick. So far, the CRPF's duties have included mostly riot control, and election duties. Consequently,. the CRPF is not a very well trained and dynamic force (save for the RAF batallions), and is rather like a provincial armed constabulary. The BSF and ITBP have always had a more demanding job cut out for them, involving active duty on the border, and so have always been more on the "military" side of paramilitary than the police side.

With CRPFs changing duties, one can expect that they will also have to revamp and gear up. It is rather a pity that they currently dont look too geared up to what theyre going to face in kashmir.

I assume they will be oriented, and guided in by either the RR or some other organisation.
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Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by Aditya G »

http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/web1/03nov24/news.htm#2

Press Conference by GOC Indian Army Northern Command Lt Gen Hari Prasad...
In addition to the barbed-wire fencing and installing high-tech surveillance devices, Army had created second-tier of defence along the borders. Gen Hari Prasad said that seven battalions of Territorial Army were currently being raised for the purpose of putting a decisive end to the unending menace of infiltration from Pakistan.
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Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by Aditya G »

Whats the difference b/w "Home and Hearth Batts" and VDCs and TA?

Also, is it possible that some batts might be carved out of the BSF and handed over to the CRPF, thus reducing itssize?
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Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by ASPuar »

I doubt very much that th BSf will be handing its batallions over to the CRPF. The home and hearth batallions, I had thought were going to be batallions raised in border areas for local dfence. Sort of like a militia. The TA batalions are a part of the army with national duty liabailities in times of war like any other unit. VDC are village defence comittees, which are groups of villagers who have been armed with some small arm type weapons (.303, SLR).
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Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by JCage »

Originally posted by ASPuar:
nitin... what is a "dyneema jacket"? Is it a brand, or a specific type? isnt the standard body armour the kavach?
Its just a material like kevlar, more recent genesis -as far as BPJ 's are concerned provides kevlar level ballistic protection at approx 1 kg lesser weight. Standard BPJ is moreorless the Tata one (check defstand website for details on it), but we imported others previously. Kavach is passe'.(And thank Heavens for that) :)
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Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by Aditya G »

http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=36430
Assam Rifles rusts as MoD, MHA battle it out for control

SAIKAT DATTA

NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 1: A running spat between the Defence Ministry and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has put the future of the Assam Rifles in limbo while putting on hold further expansion of the Rashtriya Rifles raised specifically for counter-insurgency duties in the N-E and J-K.

Army Chief Gen N.C. Vij reportedly met Home Secretary N. Gopalaswami last month over the matter but the meeting was inconclusive. While the MHA would like to take a final decision on the future of the Assam Rifles, it is opposing further raising of more Rashtriya Rifles battalions.

According to South Block sources, the MHA wants complete command and control over the forces since it foots the bill of the force’s deployment in counter-insurgency operations in the N-E. The ministry is irked over the fact that while they are paying for the force, its officers, drawn from the Army, refuse to deal with it directly. Every query from the MHA is directed through the Army’s Director General of Military Operations.

The Army, sources said, is keen to take over the complete command and control of the Assam Rifles and withdraw their regular Army formations in the N-E from counter-insurgency duties. Army headquarters’ sources say the Army wants to retain the Assam Rifles.

The Group of Ministers, set up after the Kargil war to review all aspects of security, had also recommended that the Assam Rifles be handed over to the MHA which assumes sole responsibility for maintaining internal security.

A similar uncertainty hangs over the expansion of the Rashtriya Rifles which has been adding five battalions every year. This time round, the MHA has refused to clear any further raising of battalions, saying that it is uneconomical. :roll: Do these expect guys the war in J&K to be over next week? [/i])

The MHA is reportedly also looking at several proposals to clear the impasse. One of the proposals looks at handing over the internal security of J-K to the Army while it looks after security in the N-E.
http://mod.nic.in/samachar/oct15-03/html/ch9.htm

(From NE news section:)
Peace Tenure for 9 Grenadiers

After a four-year stint with 181 Mountain Brigade, 9 Grenadiers bade ‘adieu’ to this formation and left for its peace tenure.

During the tenure, 9 Grenadiers killed 54 hardcore militants, apprehended 147 and recovered a large number of arms and ammunition.

While bidding farewell to the troops at Railway Station, Tinsukia, Brig AK Gulati, Commander, 181 Mountain Brigade congratulated Col Jai Singh and his unit for their outstanding performance.
http://mod.nic.in/samachar/oct15-03/html/ch9.htm

A misc news item on the TA:
Terriers Celebrate Raising Day

The 119 Infantry Battalion, Territorial Army (Assam) also known as 'Assam Terriers' celebrated its 54th raising day at Shillong. The two-day celebrations included inauguration of Terriers' Institute by Lt Gen SK Pillai (Retd), ex-Colonel of Assam Regiment, mandir services, barakhana, mess functions and sainik sammelan.

Lt Gen JR Mukherjee, Colonel of Assam Regiment, presided over the celebrations. The celebrations were attended by a large number of serving and retired personnel of the battalion and their families.

The 119 Infantry Battalion with its soldiers drawn from all the North-Eastern states is highly regarded. The battalion has recently returned to Shillong from Srinagar where it carried out its tasks successfully.
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Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by Jagan »

The December issue of Force has soem good details on the numbers in Kashmir. IIRC it states that

It gives the numbers of RR , CRPF and BSF bns and i think the approx total is 120 or so. (The mag gives more specific figures). It also says that RR Bns are larger at 1200 men per bn (is this correct?) and there are now five 'Force HQs' in J and K together (Equiv to five divisions!)
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Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by Rupak »

Originally posted by Jagan:
The December issue of Force has soem good details on the numbers in Kashmir. IIRC it states that

It gives the numbers of RR , CRPF and BSF bns and i think the approx total is 120 or so. (The mag gives more specific figures). It also says that RR Bns are larger at 1200 men per bn (is this correct?) and there are now five 'Force HQs' in J and K together (Equiv to five divisions!)
Yes, the RR bns have six rifle companines.
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Re: Reorganizing India's COIN & Border Mgmt Forces

Post by ASPuar »

but 6 rifles companies do not total to 1200 men.
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