Profile of Indian Paramilitary Forces – II Border Security Force

31 Jan, 2002    ·   686

Mallika Joseph profiles the BSF which mans the Indo-Pak and Indo-Bangladesh borders
Mallika Joseph
The Border Security Force (BSF) came into existence on 1 December 1965. It was established following the recommendations made by the Committee of Secretaries set up at the end of the 1965 Indo-Pak War; they felt that the State Armed Police were quite inadequate to deal with armed external aggression. The Army could have undertaken this responsibility, but was reluctant to do so for various reasons, including the over-stretching of its resources and its unwillingness to perform functions of a police nature. The BSF was designed to perform paramilitary duties, but to be concerned primarily with manning the Indo-Pak border. Since it was manning the Indo-Pak borders in the west and east, it now monitors the Indo-Pak and Indo-Bangladesh borders.

 

 

The role of the BSF is distinct during times of peace and war. During peacetime, its duties include prevention of transborder crimes, unauthorized entry and exit, smuggling and similar illegal activities, and to help the civil administration in the maintenance of law and order and with anti-insurgency operations. In war, its mandate is to hold ground in less threatened sectors and protect vital installations against enemy attack; it is thus called upon to function as a second line of defence. Its regular duties also include border fencing, flood lighting and the patrolling of roads in the border areas to stop infiltration and exfiltration.  

 

 

The current strength of the Force is 190,000 organized into 150 battalions. 

 

 

In addition to manning the border areas and maintaining internal security in disturbed areas, BSF personnel are being seconded to other organizations including the Special Protection Group, National Security Guard, Central Bureau of Investigation, Intelligence Bureau, National Human Rights Commission, Narcotics Control Bureau, Research and Analysis Wing and various State police forces. The BSF has also been a part of the Indian contingents to UN peacekeeping missions in Namibia , Cambodia , Mozambique , Angola , Bosnia & Herzegovina , and Haiti .

 

 

As part of its aid-to-civil duties, the BSF has undertaken the construction of school buildings, roads, bridges and drains in Kashmir where it has been deployed since 1992. Additionally, it has been involved in dispensing medicines and essential commodities like rice, sugar and kerosene to the local population.

 

 

The BSF acknowledges that, in the initial stages of its deployment in Kashmir , cordon and search operations were carried out in entire localities resulting in avoidable harassment of civilians who were not connected in any way with militant activities. Since then, however, the BSF has taken special care to ensure that human values are respected, and there is no repetition of preventable embarrassment. Battalions, before being deployed in Kashmir , are imparted four weeks of pre-induction training with a special emphasis on human rights.

 

 

Tn the last decade, the BSF killed 3584 militants, apprehended 11433 and helped in the surrender of 923 militants. While recovering contrabands worth 784 crores (US$ 174 million), they have seized 13232 arms, 1078211 rounds of ammunition and 9712 kgs of explosives. In this process 967 died and 4126 were wounded. For its service, the Force has received as many as 2534 gallantry awards, including 153 President’s Police Medals for Gallantry, 157 President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service, 1 Mahavir Chakra, 11 Vir Chakra, 2 Padma Bhushan and 5 Padamshri.

 

 

Training is specifically designed and imparted taking into consideration their dual functions: border-monitoring during peace times and becoming a force multiplier in times of war. The BSF has three main Training Institutions, five Special Training Schools and eleven Subsidiary and Basic Training Centres spread across the country for imparting basic and in-service training. 

 

 

The BSF budget for the year 2001-2002 is 2700 crores (US$ 600 million). In 1991-1992, it stood at 750 crores (US$ 167 million). The roughly four-fold increase in the budget – apart from the infiltration factor, has been attributed to the changed functions being undertaken by the Force, especially in insurgency-hit areas of Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast; this has resulted in purchase of new equipment and the setting up of twenty new battalions.  

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