CRPF Academy in Gurgaon imparts some important warfare skills
The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without even fighting, a basic that the CRPF Academy in Gurgaon teaches its young soldiers. While physical fitness is one of the most important aspects of the training, professional ethics and commitment to the force are given more emphasis during the training period. Leading by example are its trainers who constantly update the training modules to tackle the most difficult tasks on the ground.
“When Maoist leader Kishenji was killed in a CRPF operation, its video feed was shown to our trainee officers on the very same day to keep them updated on the ground operations,” informed H.R. Singh, director, CRPF Academy. He talked a great deal about the updated training modules for the young trainees. He said that Computer Based tutorials (CBT) were introduced in the Academy in order to orient the officers to the new, technologically advanced training syllabus. Needless to say, the director’s focus is on updating training modules according to the growing requirements. However, there is always scope for improvement, believes Singh.
The CRPF Academy, a 200 acre sprawling campus at the foothills of the Aravalli hills, trains Directly Appointed Gazetted Officers (DAGO), who later take over as company commanders in the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) theatre. For such an important task, it is necessary for the training to have high standards.
This year, the Academy found itself in a rather difficult situation when the ministry of home affairs insensitively allotted 426 officers to be trained. From its usual strength of 150 trainees, this year the strength had to be increased to around 300. Usually, some officers are sent to the Central Training College, Coimbatore where they are trained under the same syllabus as CRPF Gurgaon Academy. The director, however, said that he ensured the training standards were not compromised.
According to him, not only the training standards of the students but also the standard of the trainers are constantly monitored. “I believe in leading by example. That is why I emphasise that the trainers are constantly evaluated. Their training skills, physical fitness, Body Mass Index (BMI), are constantly under check. They are also graded accordingly,” said Singh. He took pride in the fact that all the trainers in the Academy are highly graded as per professional training standards.
Currently, the trainee officers in the Academy have diverse educational backgrounds. Most of them are post graduates from fields like law, engineering etc. Some are even medical students. The ages range between 23-36 years. Some officers are from service background such as Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Border Security Force (BSF), Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) sub-inspectors and inspectors getting trained to become assistant commandants. More than 70 per cent of the officers are from the Northern belt while few come from south Indian states. From the Northeast, Manipur has the maximum representation in the Academy. When asked if the socio-economic backgrounds of the officers matter while training them for the LWE areas, Singh said, “As far as operational capabilities are concerned, it has nothing to do with the background of the officer. But, it would be ideal if state wise representation is taken into consideration.”
For better functioning of the CRPF training, Singh has a suggestion, “One of my proposals to the government is that the Academy should have an executive board headed by the home secretary and the home minister, so that all routine issues are decided on a priority.” There is a need for policing the police, added Singh.