Since it was raised in 1835, the Assam Rifles has evolved in sync with the transitions in the landscape and security atmosphere.
They are considered the 'Friends of the Hill people' and also 'harbingers' of peace and often development, training and education.
Now, there is a new idea being mooted. The paramilitary force under the administrative control of the Union Home Ministry and operations wise guided by the army could see "changes in deployment" on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) if required.
Plans are afoot for critical operational changes so that it can be deployed for conventional roles along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in contingencies.
The force is of course performing its counter-insurgency duties in the northeastern states including Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram and Tripura and Assam and also guarding the India-Myanmar border.
Assam Rifles has 46 battalions and a sanctioned strength of more than 65,000 troops. Of these, 20 battalions are involved in guarding the India-Myanmar border and 26 battalions are involved in counter-insurgency roles.
Two of its battalions are deployed in Jammu and Kashmir. Needless to add, the latest plans of Assam Rifles signals India’s growing focus towards China and securing the Line of Actual Control. The government may ensure availability of more than 70 per cent of Assam Rifles men, women and officers for deployment along the LAC in case of any immediate requirement.
Over the past three years — since India and China got into the ongoing military standoff along the LAC in eastern Ladakh in 2020 — the defence establishment has taken several measures to increase vigilance and strengthen deployment along the LAC.
These include reorienting two of its four strike corps for the mountains facing China in 2021 and freeing the Army from counter-insurgency roles in the Northeast — barring a mountain brigade based in Assam — to put a greater focus on China. A strike corps is primarily responsible for undertaking offensive cross-border action against the adversary.
Assam Rifles will also procure a range of weapons in the run to the 'preparations' for a conventional war-fighting role.
The prestigious force will be also made more technology intensive in keeping with this goal. As part of the process, the Assam Rifles will procure a range of weapons, communication equipment and military vehicles. This includes equipping its battalions with additional 81 mm mortars, medium grenade launchers, passive night vision goggles and handheld thermal imagers.
In his keynote address at the fourth edition of the Bob Khathing Memorial Lecture earlier this month, Director General of Assam Rifles Lt Gen P C Nair had said that China has been expanding its influence and presence in neighbouring countries such as Myanmar, Bangladesh and Nepal, through its Belt and Road Initiative, economic aid, military assistance and diplomatic pressure.
“The proximity of the Northeast with China and its role in India’s Act East Policy makes it strategically significant. It is a gateway for India’s engagement with Southeast Asia and the broader Indo-Pacific region,” he had said.
Troops of Assam Rifles had participated in the 1962 war and fought the Chinese in Tawang, Subansiri, Siang, Dibang and Lohit of Arunachal Pradesh, close to the LAC, and won multiple gallantry awards.
During the Galwan valley clashes with Chinese troops in 2020, Assam Rifles troops were sent to support the Army along the LAC in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.
Tail piece ::
The Assam Rifles, once titled ‘Friends of the Hill People’, by its history has never been in search of a township to settle or set up its camps. Rather the townships have most of the time - if not all - have developed around the Assam Rifles camps.
These have been the case in towns like Kohima, Wokha, Mokokchung in Nagaland, Serchip and Aizawl in Mizoram, Shillong in Meghalaya and also several rural hamlets.
Going into certain details, in Kohima for instance Assam Rifles (initially 3rd Battalion and then 29th Battalion) was set up around Mid Land area – not very far from Nagaland Old Secretariat – where the Chief Minister used to sit. Now, 1st Assam Rifles, once deployed in Aizawl, is now in Nagaland capital.
With an Assam Rifles camp in the vicinity, an atmosphere of “security” prevailed in these insurgency-infested towns in the 1960s and 1970s. The fear of insurgents targeting public places even forced a Kohima privately-run cinema to suspend screening films. In search of entertainment, one would often go to the Assam Rifles compound to watch movies run by generators.
Reference an old blog: Link
No comments:
Post a Comment