“We fight to win and win with a knock out, because there are no runners up in war”, said General JJ Singh signaling the dedication of the Indian soldiers to fight for their country and even sacrifice their lives if required. The soldiers’ dedication to their cause and their country is what allows us to have a peaceful life within the Indian territory. India has been ranked fourth most powerful military power in the world by the Global Fire Power Index in 2017. United States of America, Russia and China occupy the first three positions on the list.
The Indian Armed forces has three wings: the army, the navy and the air force. The President is the commander of the three branches.
The Army is the land based branch and is the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. It is headed by a Chief of the Army Staff. The Indian Navy is the naval part of the Indian Military. It is headed by a Chief of the Naval Staff. The Indian Air Force is the third branch of the Indian Armed Forces. It is the air wing of the Armed Forces. It contains personnel and aircrafts and is ranked fourth in the world.
In addition to the Armed forces, the Indian Military also consists the special forces. These units are under the direct control of the Indian Military and are particularly trained organised, trained and are equipped to conduct and support special operations.
Para(Special Forces) is a special operation unit of the Indian Army. It is attached to the Parachute Regiment. It is tasked with missions like special operations, hostage rescue, counter terrorism and unconventional warfare.
MARCOS is a special forces agency attached to the Indian Navy. It is created for undertaking tasks like amphibious warfare, personnel recover and asymmetric warfare.
Garud commando force is a special force of Indian Air Force and are primarily tasked with protecting the Indian Air Force installations from terrorist attacks.
Some of the major Indian Special Forces are:
 |
| Para military forces |
1) Border Security Force: The Border Security Force(BSF) is the border guarding force of India. It was established on 1st December, 1965 for “ensuring the security of the matters connected there with”. It is a paramilitary force primarily charged with the duty of guarding and protecting the Indian border during peace time and they also work to prevent transnational crime. It is a Union Government Agency and is under the control of the Ministry of Home Defence. India has many law enforcing agencies. This is one of the many. It currently has the status of being the largest border security force in the world. Its motto translated from Hindi is “ Duty Unto Death”.
The BSF has its own troop of officers. Its head, a Director General (DG) because the officer has to have a raising in the Indian Police Service. The Border Security Force has expanded rampantly from a few battalions in 1965 to 186 battalions with a strength of 257,363 personnel along with a growing air wing, marine wing, artillery regiments and commando units.
 |
| BSF |
 |
| CRPF |
2) Central Reserved Police Force: When the Central reserve Police Force came into existence, it was called Crown Representative’s Police Force. It was established on 27th July 1939. Their motto is “service and loyalty”. It’s a paramilitary force. It has been in existence for seventy nine years. It is India’s largest Central Reserve Police Force. Its authority is vested with the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Indian Government. Its main duty is assisting the State and Union Territories governments in police work involving the maintenance of law and order and in counter insurgency operations.
Besides maintaining law and order and taking up counter insurgency operations, the Central Reserved Police Force has also played an extremely important role in India’s general elections. Their role in the general elections is clearly visible in the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar and in the North east states where there is prevalence of violence, unrest and conflict. During the elections to the Indian Parliament in September 1999, the Central Reserved Police Force played a major role in the security arrangements. Currently, the CRPF is being deployed on missions for the United Nations. The CRPF has two hundred thirty nine battalions and various other establishments, it is considered the largest paramilitary force in India. It has more than thirty thousand personnel as of 2017.
 |
| NSG |
3) National Security Guard: The National Security Guard is a Federal Contingency World Class Zero Error Force to deal with anti- terrorist activities in its various manifestations. It is a special force which is specially equipped and trained to deal with special circumstances and hence should be used only in exception cases only to counteract the serious acts of terrorism in India. The National Security is a special forces under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs. It was shaped into its present form in 1984 after Operation Blue Star and the assassination of Indira Gandhi. It is not categorized under the uniform label of Central Armed Police Forces. It has a special forces mandate and its core operational capability is provided by the Special Action Group.
The Special Action Group draws this capability from the Indian Army. The Special Rangers Group(SRG) is the police component of the National Security Guard. The Special Rangers Group handles VIP security and its composed of personnel on deputation from the other Central Armed Police Forces and the State Police Forces. Their motto translated from Sanskrit is “Omnipresent Omnipotent security”. The personnel of the National Security Guard are sometimes referred to as the “Black Cats” because of the black outfit and the black cat badge worn on their uniforms. According to the Military Balance 2017, the National Security Guard had seven thousand three fifty active personnel.
Due to the dedication of the soldiers and their unremitting willingness to serve the nation, the citizens of the country are able to live life happily and peacefully. The soldiers are willing to give their lives to protect their motherland all the citizens in it. “If death strikes me before I prove my blood, I swear I’ll kill death” said by Capt. Manoj Kumar Pandey shows the extreme courage and determination of the soldiers.
- Debosmita Bhattacharya
Want to get published on EMN and join the community? Here is an opportunity to join the Board of Young Leaders Program by Eat My News. Click here to know more: bit.ly/boardofyoungleaders
Social