Positive engagement with the border population will enhance security
S.K. Sood
There was a report recently that one Union minister wrote a letter to the company commander of 85 battalion of the BSF at Hakimpur post granting permission to a resident of the Hakimpur village to carry three kgs of beef for personal consumption to his home located outside the fence close to the border with Bangladesh. This system of granting permission has been in vogue for a long time in order to ensure that large quantities are not taken across the fence for smuggling into Bangladesh. This is the degree to which the lives of the people living on the border are circumscribed by national security concerns.
Even though the primary role of the BSF, responsible for guarding India-Bangladesh and India-Pakistan borders, is promotion of ‘a sense of security among the people living in the border areas,’ the security concerns and statistical approach for measuring the effectiveness of the force has given primacy to the other two tasks, which are prevention of ‘trans-border crimes, unauthorised entry into or exit from the territory of India’ and prevention of ‘smuggling and other illegal activity’. It is true that compliance of the second and third tasks do promote security, but the process involved puts several restrictions on the movement and lifestyle of the border population.
India had to resort to militaristic system of border guarding because of the manner in which the country was partitioned. The requirement of placing strict border controls was realised after the 1965 incursion in the Kutch region by Pakistan. The BSF was raised and deployed along the border with Pakistan to ensure that the illegal movement of goods and people didn’t take place. Of course, it also meant that there was a well-trained force deployed close to the border to face the initial brunt of the enemy, in case of a war, until the arrival of the military.
The BSF operates with Border Outposts (BOP) as bases for patrolling. Several restrictions were therefore imposed on the movement of civilians in the vicinity of the border in order to prevent injury or loss of life to the locals while taking action against smugglers and other trans-border criminals. Restrictions on movement near the border, especially at night prevented locals from working till late, thus adversely affecting their income. Being subjected to body searches to prevent banned items being smuggled also caused a lot of inconvenience.
These controls became stricter after the fence was constructed in the late 1980s along the border with Pakistan in Punjab because of former’s support to militancy in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. The success of the fence in Punjab led to fencing of the entire border with Pakistan and later along Bangladesh.
However, the fence created many problems for the civilian population. It led to the isolation of 150-yard-wide strip of mostly cultivable farmland as the fence was built inside the Indian border, often cutting across the farms. This meant that either the farmer had to abjure his land completely or rely upon the troops to access it. Realising the necessity of the farmers to access their fields, the fence included gates at appropriate distances, adjusted according to the needs of the locals. The residents whose farms fell outside the fence now found it even more difficult to go to their fields, as they had to enter and exit at fixed time and places. To provide security to the farmers working in their fields across the fence, the BSF started deputing patrols which remained in the area till the time farmers did not return.
Everyone going across the fence, including the BSF personnel, had to be documented and frisked. The farmers’ implements, such as tractors and cattle, were also searched for contraband. In addition to being time and manpower intensive, this exercise pitted the BSF against the civilians, each of whom was viewed with suspicion. The absence of soft skills among the troops created avoidable unpleasantness on the border. Though the situation improved with time and the troops became sensitive to the requirements of the civilian population, more needs to be done. The BSF needs to include aspects of soft skills in its training curriculum, especially for the constabulary who interacts directly with the local population.
Another issue that arose with the construction of the fence was about the movement of women across the fence. As the BSF did not have women constabulary, they could not frisk the ladies themselves and had to depend on women from local villages for this task. This was not a fool-proof system. Eventually, women were inducted in the constabulary. This eased the situation and facilitated movement of women across the fence.
The problem of locals on the eastern borders is more acute. There are about 164 villages situated along the fence on the Bangladesh border. Many of these villages are located right on the border, with some sharing a common mosque or footpath with villages on the other side. Since some houses are astride the border, it is very easy for these people to cross over and indulge in activities inimical to Indian interests. The BSF, therefore, is faced with a peculiar problem because it is not possible to keep all these villages and villagers under constant surveillance. Given the population mix, it is possible for even Bangladeshi nationals to come across and get fake Indian identity papers. The BSF personnel deployed on the gates have no system to confirm their identity. It is therefore essential that necessary equipment to verify the genuineness of the identity papers of these villagers is made available to the BSF sentries manning the gates.
Then there is the issue of restrictions placed on growing high-rising crops in the 150-yard strip ahead of the fence. This policy was ostensibly implemented earlier to ensure unrestricted observation by BSF patrols. However, in the present environment where fence has been augmented with flood lighting and raised platforms have been constructed for better observation, in addition to the availability of technological support in the shape of night vision devices and thermal imagers, these instructions need to be reviewed. During my command of the North Bengal frontier of BSF, I had given orders to remove these restrictions with good results. Our initiative created goodwill among the border population.
One more issue that bothers the villagers, especially the shopkeepers, is the restriction on the quantity of items they can take across the fence. These restrictions were placed to thwart cross-border smuggling because it was found that often traders carried quantities more than what could be consumed by the villagers in a given time frame. The BSF authorities at most places have rationalised the system in consultation with the villagers so that there is no shortage of essential items for local consumption.
The BSF authorities at the Frontier level need to examine these issues in their entirety keeping in mind the situation in their area of responsibility instead of leaving it to the discretion of local commanders. The BSF authorities must institutionalise regular interaction of BSF personnel at the BOP levels as well as senior commanders with border population in order to understand their issues and expectations. Regular interactions will also enable BSF authorities to explain the constraints of the force to the locals.
The BSF with its widespread deployment in remote areas, its patrols and observation posts are the only face of government authority visible to border residents and they expect to be helped by them in times of their need. The BSF generally does help them, especially during the times of floods, and local disasters. The BSF also helps border villagers during medical emergencies from their own resources and also by evacuating patients when required. Moreover, the BSF helps the local population by skilling drivers, mechanic, electrician, welders etc., to make them employable. The BSF also provides educators, especially computer teachers, in schools located close to the borders. At many places, the BSF also takes up training of youth to prepare them for employment in the armed forces. These actions can be executed without any requirement of additional funding.
The government also directly allots funds to the BSF to undertake civic action programmes. These funds are utilised for providing the border population with books, stationary, clothing and medicines. These funds are also used for executing small projects to benefit both the border population as well as the force. Some of these are carried out with the help of NGOs, for instance, arranging and distributing wheelchairs, tricycles, walking sticks etc., for the physically challenged. These actions go a long way in easing the problems of the border population besides, enhancing image of the force and aiding better collection of intelligence.
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