Whenever it’s the matter of security of a country, the security is discussed in 2 aspects
- External Security – It refers to security against outside elements of a country or we can say the aggression of foreign countries.
- Internal Security – It refers to security against the threats which lie within the boundaries of the country. Upholding the law & order and maintain internal peace in the Nation.
There are broadly 2 types of forces which cover both of these aspects of security,
- Armed Forces – Forces which have a proper uniform and the personnel are highly trained physically in combat and in arms & ammunation.
- Intelligence and Investigation Agencies – these forces generally dosn’t have any special uniform. The tasks of these forces include collection of various data, decode the encrypted data and perform investigation.
This article will broadly cover the Armed Forces of India, the contents of the article would be as follows
- Types of Armed Forces
- Army
- Navy
- Airforce
- BSF
- SSB
- ITBP
- CISF
- CRPF
- Assam Rifles
- Special Frontier Force
- Indian Coast Guard
- NSG
- SPG
There are mainly 2 types of armed forces in India which are termed formally
- Indian Armed Forces
- Central Armed Forces or CAPF (Central Armed Police Force)
Indian Armed Forces
Indian Armed Forces, also known as the Defence forces of India are the military forces of the Republic of India. These work under the management of the Ministry of Defence, Government of India. The president of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. The primary responsibility of these forces is to ensure external security and protect the boundaries of India.
there are 3 forces that come under the Indian Armed forces, the Indian Army, the Indian Navy, and the Indian Airforce.
Army: It has the responsibility to protect the active land borders of the country. And fight terrorism in these locations and perform Counter-terrorist operations. It has the responsibility of protecting all the land boundaries of the country. It is also called the land-based branch of the Indian Armed Forces because, in warfare situations, the Army is the one that controls from the ground.
Navy: It is the naval branch of the Indian Armed Forces. It has the responsibility of protecting all the waterways of India. Any type of Ship whether it is Cargo or passenger has to take permission from the Indian Navy before entering the ocean boundaries of India.
Indian Navy has the responsibility to protect India against any attack through waterways. For example, in a recent movie named “The Ghazi Attack”, we can acknowledge how the Indian Navy defended an attack that was planned on Vizag.
Airforce: It is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary responsibility is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during war situations against a country. Indian Airforce keeps the records of all the flights outgoing and incoming to India. It keeps track of every flight whether it is a cargo or a passenger which enters the Indian airspace. That’s why whenever an anonymous plane enters the Indian boundaries Indian Airforce takes action against it.
CAPF – Central Armed Police Force
CAPF’s primary responsibility is to counter the issues of internal security. The internal security of India is the responsibility of the Ministry of Home Affairs, that is why CAPF comes under the Home Ministry, Government of India. CAPF includes BSF, SSB, ITBP, CISF, CRPF.
Out of these forces BSF, SSB and ITBP are deployed on various borders of India and are called border guarding organizations.
BSF(Border Security Force): secures India-Pakistan and India-Bangladesh border and it was formed on 1 December 1965, in the wake of the Indo-Pak 1965 war.
SSB(Sashastra Seema Bal): secures Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bhutan border and it was originally set up as the name Special Services Bureau on 20 December 1963 in the aftermath of the Sino-Indian War of 1962.
ITBP(Indo Tibetan Border Police): secures the Indo-China border(from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh) region and it was raised on 24 October 1962, under the CRPF Act, in the wake of the same Sino-Indian War.
All these 3 border guarding forces have the responsibility of preventing trans-border crimes, unauthorized entry into or exit from the territory of India. Besides that prevention of smuggling and any other illegal activities on the border. They also collect trans-border intelligence and perform Anti-infiltration duties.
The objective of these forces is to promote a sense of security among the people living in the border areas.
CISF(Central Industrial Security Force): It was set up under an Act of the Parliament of India on 10 March 1969 with a strength of 2,800. It was subsequently made an armed force of India by another Act of Parliament passed on 15 June 1983. Its current active strength is more than 1.5 lakh personnel. The duties of CISF include guarding sensitive governmental buildings.
The CISF provides security cover to around 300 industrial units, government infrastructure projects, and facilities and establishments located all over India. Industrial sectors like mines, oil fields, and refineries, Seaports, airports, steel plants, space installations, fertilizer units, hydroelectric/thermal/atomic power plants owned and controlled by Central Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) are protected by CISF.
Apart from that, you would also see CISF personnel in the Delhi metro, because DMRC(Delhi rail metro corporation) also relies on CISF for their safety & security.
CISF also has a special unit called SSG(Special Security Group) to provide security cover to people nominated by the Home Ministry, Government of India.
CRPF(Central Reserve Police Force): It is the largest Central Armed Police Force with a strength of more than 3 lakh personnel. Its primary role lies in assisting the State/Union Territories in police operations to maintain law and order and counter-insurgency. Besides law and order and counter-insurgency duties, the CRPF has also played an increasingly large role in India’s general elections.
CRPF has 2 special forces :
RAF: Rapid Action Force
COBRA: Commando Battalion for Resolute Action
Apart from these forces, we have some other forces which are informally called Paramilitary Forces. This term is used for Assam Rifles, Special Frontier Force and Indian Coast Guard. Out of these Assam Rifles and Special Frontier Force come under the Home Ministry and Indian Coast Guard functions in coordination with the Indian Navy under Defence Ministry, Government of India.
Assam Rifles: It is deployed on the Indo-Myanmar border for security.
Special Frontier Force: It’s a Uttrakhand based force that was raised in the Sino-Indian 1962 war for special purposes. Earlier it used to work under IB, but currently, it works under the supervision of RAW.
Indian Coast Guard: It has the responsibility of security of Indian coastal borders. It performs its duties in coordination with local administration resources under the guidelines of the Indian Navy.
Apart from these forces, there are a few more special forces like NSG and SPG.
NSG(National Security Guard): It was raised in 1986 especially to fight against terrorist activities and neutralize anti-National elements.
SPG(Special Protection Guard): It is entrusted with the task of providing proximate security to the Prime Minister of India and their immediate family members.
You may refer to this video if you want the explanation in Hindi
