Terrorism Special

Assam Rifles ready to march in, N-E edgy

Come 2005, and the responsibility of carrying out counter-insurgency operations in the entire Northeastern region, barring Assam, will be vested with the Assam Rifles, the oldest paramilitary force of the country. The Army will be withdrawn from deployment in internal security operations and sent back to the barracks.

The change is being effected following a recommendation of the Group of Ministers that was set up in the wake of the Kargil conflict, with the government also implementing another significant recommendation, of ‘‘one border, one force’’. With this the Assam Rifles, in existence since 1835, has taken control of the Indo-Myanmar border and the Border Security Force has moved to guard the Indo-Bangla border.

Meanwhile, the Special Service Bureau (SSB), another formation that has been deployed for long at the Indo-Chinese border in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, has been shifted to the Indo-Bhutan border. The SSB will also man parts of the Indo-Nepal boundary.

Called ‘Sentinels of the Northeast’ as well as ‘Friends of the Hill People’, the Assam Rifles is under the administrative control of the Union Home Ministry, but manned by Army officers. With its new role, Assam Rifles is engaged in an exercise to increase its strength over five years. By 2008, the strength of Assam Rifles would go up from the existing 36 battalions to at least 60, said Lt Gen H S Kanwar, director-general, Assam Rifles.

With the changes coming into effect soon, the Assam Rifles DG will also be like a full-fledged Corps Commander of the Army with all the paraphernalia, including logistics, intelligence and administrative powers coming under an officer of Lieutenant General rank.

The new arrangement, once completed, will strengthen counter-insurgency operations in the Northeast, which is separately on in different states. Assam’s counter-insurgency operations has been kept out of immediate purview of the Assam Rifles after the state government objected to handing over decision-making powers in law and order to an agency which is not under its control.

‘‘The national security environment is fast changing, and we have to prepare for challenges ahead. Assam Rifles is on the verge of a major upsurge in its size in the forthcoming years. We have thus undertaken modernisation in surveillance, equipment, weapons, information technology, communications, automation and mobility. This will enhance the operational efficiency of the Force,’’ Lt Gen Kanwar added.

The story of this magnificent force begins with the British attempt to extend their rule into the North Eastern Tracts in the latter part of 18th century and early 19th century. A small force of 750 combatants, called the Cachar Levy, was raised in 1835, within nine years of the Brahmaputra Valley’s annexation by the British Empire.

This small force was conceived as an armed police unit to guard settlements and tea estates against marauding tribals. In recognition of its contribution, the force had come also to be recognised as ‘‘the right arm of the civil and left arm of the military’’.

While small townships grew around outposts established by the force, almost all old Assam Rifles posts are now state capitals or district headquarters, including Aizawl, Imphal, Lungleih, Kohima, Mokokchung, Tuensang, Haflong, Cherrapunji and Tura.

The name of the Force also underwent changes: Cachar Levy in 1835, Frontier Police in 1883, Assam Military Police in 1891, East Bengal and Assam Military Police in 1913 and then, finally, Assam Rifles in 1920. From its inception, the force has been involved in various operations and the jawans have grown up amid expeditions and combat.

Lt Gen Kanwar said the Assam Rifles is uniquely placed to work in the region since about 30 per cent of its troops are recruited from the Northeastern states. ‘‘We are a force of and for the people of the Northeast and therefore we understand the sentiments of the people better,’’ he said.

The new role of the Assam Rifles has not been accepted very easily. Assam CM Tarun Gogoi had recently said he was against the creation of a unified command for counter-insurgency operations covering the entire Northeastern region. ‘‘We have no objection to sharing intelligence and conducting joint operations. But handing over the entire responsibility of conducting counter-insurgency operations to Assam Rifles is not acceptable,’’ Gogoi said.

Gogoi’s reaction came in the wake of a presentation made by Lt Gen Kanwar at a conference of chief ministers of the Northeastern states in Gangtok recently, where the North Eastern Council (NEC) wanted all states to join in the fight against insurgency. Lt Gen Kanwar is also the NEC’s security advisor.

Manipur CM Okram Ibobi Singh shares Gogoi’s views. The Manipur government has been trying to evict the Assam Rifles from the historic Kangla Fort in the heart of Imphal to outside the capital. The Manipur CM is of the view that handing over ‘‘full control’’ to the Assam Rifles would amount to usurping the state government’s powers, as far as law and order was concerned.

Guwahati, Oct 26, 2003, Samudra Gupta Kashyap(India Express)