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Identity Crisis |
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Instead of enhancing CRPF’s operational effectiveness, MHA is bent upon downgrading it
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With enemies within, self-destruction is assured. Given the recent ministry of home affairs (MHA) thoughtless order instructing all uniformed forces under it to be called Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), the identity crisis of these forces has increased. These include the Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reverse Police Force (CRPF), Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). With the exception of the CISF and CRPF, these forces meant for specific quasi-military tasks were collectively referred to as paramilitary forces and the like to underscore the needed ethos.
The CISF is meant for airports and industrial security, and the CRPF at
present the largest force with 217 battalions, about three lakh personnel, has
been in the doghouse. It has mindlessly been flogged across the entire spectrum
of internal stability; from being a reserve police to guard duties to combating
terrorism and Naxalism. Given such disparate tasks, the force should prepare
itself for the most difficult tasks, instead of the other way round. Not only
should the CRPF (and others) continue to be called a paramilitary force, it must
organisationally re-structure itself on the army’s pattern to satisfactorily
fulfil its mandate. This is the stark lesson from the unfortunate Dantewada
massacre where 75 CRPF personnel lost their lives on 6 April 2010. Three
observations regarding the dastardly incident say it all. One, most CRPF
constables butchered by the Naxals were in their forties. Two, they have little
intelligence, comm- |
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-nication means and reserves to call. And three, there was scant camaraderie within the
CPRF personnel; had they fought together, casualties would have been less. |
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MAY 2012
Issue
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