Two to Tango

R.C. Sharma

The Border Security Force (BSF) was raised based upon recommendations of expert groups instituted by government after examination of recommendations by the then Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen. J.N. Chaudhary and home secretary L.P. Singh. Acceptance of the recommendation by government paved the way for raising of professional force for border guarding and augmenting army’s war effort.

The BSF was raised to overcome the shortcomings noticed in operational performance of state police forces during the 1965 war and have a professional force for border guarding and augmenting national defence.  The excellent coordination between the BSF and the army was witnessed within six years of birth when the force played a stellar role in 1971 victory and was justifiably called by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ‘First line of defence’. She said, “As the first line of our defence, the BSF had to bear the immediate brunt of enemy onslaught. The manner in which they faced the fire and the support they gave to the army, had played a crucial role in our ultimate success”. The BSF played an important role in training and aiding covert operations of Mukti Bahini, which actually acted as preparatory for the actual war effort.

Parliamentary debates brought out that the BSF should have organisational structure similar to infantry battalion and have specific peacetime and wartime role to plug gaps in national security. In consonance with parliamentary sense and national need to have a force, which fulfils peacetime border guarding role and augment armies’ war effort, raising was a collective effort of Emergency Commissioned Officers (ECOs), regular officers and well-meaning Indian Police service officers. These officers structured the BSF on infantry pattern in terms of training, equipment and organisational structure with minor variations in strength considering vast length of borders. The BSF came out as an outstanding force and stood with the army shoulder to shoulder in defence of country during the 1971 war. The BSF Act 1968 was enacted for effective command and control of the force. Preamble of the act defines the BSF as ‘Armed force of the union for ensuring the security of the borders of India and for matters connected therewith’. In consonance with the mandate, the BSF has been assigned peace and wartime role.

Peacetime role dictate deployment pattern of the BSF on international border as per administrative needs and threat perception. The army plans wartime deployment of the BSF. The wartime role mandates development and nurturing of special relation with the army in peace for joint training, exercises, working out operational logistics to fight as one entity during war. Dilution in this relation affects national security. In the present, there is total dilution of joint training and exercises, a must for synergy and integration. Two hundred third report of the department related standing committee of  home affairs, titled ‘Border Security-Capacity Building and Institutions’ submitted to Rajya Sabha on 11 April 2017, does not talk of war time role of the BSF even once, thus is an indicator of total dilution of wartime role of the BSF by ministry of home affairs (MHA). Considering the role and task and its mandate to augment army war effort, there is a need to study the BSF deployment with the army, challenges to synergy, coordination and measures to improve the