India 2018

388 India 2018
of prisoners of war camps; (v) acting as guides to the army in border areas; (vi)
assistance in control of refugees; (vii) provision of sectors; and (viii) performing
special tasks connected with intelligence including raids.
O. W.: http://www.bsf.nic.in
Assam Rifles
The Assam Rifles raised as Catchar Levy in 1835 is the oldest Central Para
Military Force in India. The Force was raised primarily to guard the alluvial
plains of Assam from the wild and unruly tribes inhabiting the surrounding
hill tracts. This was the earliest embodied unit of what eventually developed
into the Assam Rifles. Gradually more such units were raised and employed
for establishing posts in the interior and thus acted as the strong arm of the civil
administration in extending the authority of the Britishers. The Force also helped
in opening up these inaccessible and isolated areas and in undertaking
development activities; earning many accolades from the administration. The
Assam Rifles' contribution towards assimilation of the people of the north-east
into the national mainstream is truly monumental. Their long association with
the region reflects in the force being fondly called "The Sentinel of the North-
East" and "Friends of the Hill People" security in the north-eastern region and
guarding the Indo-Myanmar border.
It has its headquarters at Shillong and the Force is completely deployed in
the North East for guarding the Indo-Myanmar Border, spread over 1,631
kilometers. It functions under the control of Ministry of Home Affairs. The Force
comprises a Directorate General headquarter, three Inspectorate General
headquarters, 12 sector headquarters, 46 battalions, one training centre and the
administrative elements with a total strength of 63,747 personnel.
O. W.: http://www.assamrifles.gov.in
National Security Guard
Terrorism, both national and international raised its head in the west during
the seventies. It manifested in many forms including hijacking of aircraft, taking
of hostages, assassination of dignitaries and others. The normal law and order
machinery and the defence forces of the West were found wanting to deal with
this menace. Specially equipped and trained forces like SAS of UK, Delta Force
of USA and GSG-9 of West Germany were raised abroad. The need for creating
a special force for executing surgical operations based on tactical intelligence
was felt in India when Operation Blue Star was carried out by the army at the
Golden Temple, Amritsar in 1984. National Security Guard (NSG) was
conceptualised and created after studying and analysing Special Force like SAS
in the United Kingdom, GIGN in France, GSG-9 in Germany, Shar-et-matkal in
Israel and Delta Force in the USA. Accordingly, NSG was raised in October,
1985 as a Federal Contingency Force under the MHA. It consists of selected
and highly motivated personnel from the army as well as the central armed
police. 53 per cent of the personnel are drawn from the army while the central