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The Border Security Force (BSF) is India's border guarding organisation on its border with
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
and
Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
. It is one of the seven
Central Armed Police Forces Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) is the collective name of central police organisations in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). These are technically paramilitary forces formerly known as Central Para-Military Forces (CPMF). Sin ...
(CAPF) of India, and was raised in the wake of the 1965 war on 1 December 1965, "for ensuring the security of the borders of India and for matters connected there with". It has various active roles during an outbreak of war. It is the only CAPF to have a Water Wing, Air Wing and an Artillery Regiment. It comes under the
Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...
. The BSF has its own cadre of officers but its head, designated as a
Director-General A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer, within a governmen ...
(DG), since its raising has been an officer from the
Indian Police Service The Indian Police Service ( IPS) is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became independent from the British Raj. Along with the Indian Administrative Service (IAS ...
. The BSF has grown exponentially from 25 battalions in 1965, to 192
battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...
s with a sanctioned strength of 270,363 personnel including an expandin
Air wing
Marine wing, a
artillery regiment
and specialized units. It currently stands as the world's largest border guarding force. BSF has been termed as the ''First Line of Defence'' of Indian territories.


History

Since
independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
, the protection of India's international boundaries was the responsibility of local police belonging to each border state, with little inter-state coordination. However, during the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was d ...
, Pakistan attacked Sardar Post, Chhar Bet, and Beria Bet on 9 April 1965 in Kutch. This attack exposed the inadequacy of the State Armed Police to cope with armed aggression. So after the end of the war, the government created the Border Security Force as a unified central agency with the specific mandate of guarding India's international boundaries. This act brought greater cohesion in border security. K F Rustamji, from the Indian Police Service, was the first Director General of BSF. Since it was a new force, the officers had to be deputed or inducted from outside to fill the various vacancies at various levels until the force's own cadre matures sufficiently. Keeping in mind the above, emergency commissioned officers and SS officers of the Indian Army were inducted in large numbers in the force along with IPS officers who were deputed to the force for high level appointments. The BSF's capabilities were used in the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decem ...
against Pakistani forces in areas where the Regular Forces were thinly spread; BSF troops took part in several operations including the famous
Battle of Longewala The Battle of Longewala (4–7 December 1971) was one of the first major engagements in the western sector during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, fought between assaulting Pakistani forces and Indian defenders at the Indian border post of Longewa ...
. In fact, for BSF the war on eastern front had started well before the war actually broke out in December 1971. BSF had trained, supported and formed part of
Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini ( bn, মুক্তিবাহিনী, translates as 'freedom fighters', or liberation army), also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was the guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military, paramilitary ...
and had entered erstwhile East Pakistan before the actual hostilities broke out. BSF had played a very important role in
Liberation of Bangladesh The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali ...
which
Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...
and
Sheikh Mujibur Rehman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ( bn, শেখ মুজিবুর রহমান; 17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), often shortened as Sheikh Mujib or Mujib and widely known as Bangabandhu (meaning ''Friend of Bengal''), was a Bengali politi ...
had also acknowledged.


Engagements

*
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decem ...
*
Operation Blue Star Operation Blue Star was the codename of a military operation which was carried out by Indian security forces between 1 and 10 June 1984 in order to remove Damdami Taksal leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his followers from the buildings of ...
*
Operation Black Thunder Operation Black Thunder is the name given to two operations that took place in India in the late 1980s to flush out remaining pro-Khalistan Sikh militants from the Golden Temple using 'Black Cat' commandos of the National Security Guards and com ...
*
Insurgency in Punjab {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Insurgency in Punjab , image = Punjab in India (claimed and disputed hatched).svg , caption = Affected areas coloured in Red , image_size = 300px , date ...
*
Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir The insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, also known as the Kashmir insurgency, is an ongoing separatist militant insurgency against the Indian administration in Jammu and Kashmir, a territory constituting the southwestern portion of the larger ...
* Operation Vijay – Kargil War * 2001 Bangladeshi-Indian border skirmishes * 2001–2002 Operation Prakarm – India-Pakistan Standoff * 2013 India-Pakistan Border skirmishes * 2014–15 India–Pakistan border skirmishes * 2016–2018 India–Pakistan border skirmishes * 2019 India–Pakistan border skirmishes


Objectives

During peacetime * Border guard and security. * Prevention trans-border crimes, unauthorized entry into or exit from the territory of India. * Prevention of smuggling and any other illegal activities on the border. * Anti-infiltration duties. * Collection trans-border intelligence. * To promote a sense of security among the people living in the border areas. During war time * Holding ground in assigned sectors. * Limited aggressive action against irregular forces of the enemy. * Maintenance of law and order in enemy territory administered under the Army's control. * Acting as guides to the Army in border areas. * Assistance in control of refugees. * Provision of escorts. * Performing special tasks connected with intelligence including cross-border raids. * Replenishing manpower. BSF is also employed for Internal Security Duties and other law and order duties on the requisition of the State Government. Being a Central Armed Police Force it can be entrusted with policing duties at any place apart from its mandate.Page no. 636 & 637 of Chapter 20 India 2013 published by Publications Division of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India


Organisation

The Border Security Force has its headquarters at New Delhi and is known as Force Headquarters (FHQ) headed by a Director General. Various directorates like Operations, Communications & IT, Training, Engineering, General, Law, Provisioning, Administration, Personnel, Armaments, Medical, Finance etc. function under the DG. Each directorate is headed by an IG. The Eastern Theatre is looked after by Spl DG HQ (Eastern Command) at Kolkata and the Western Theatre is looked after by Spl DG HQ (Western Command) at
Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which al ...
. Field Formations in BSF are headed by an IG and are known as Frontiers Headquarters (FtrHQ). There is 13 such Frontier under which Sector Headquarters (SHQ) function headed by a DIG each. Each SHQ has under its command 4–5 infantry battalions, along with attachments of artillery, air and water wings. Presently 186 battalions are sanctioned to BSF. Five major training institutions and ten Subsidiary Training Centres (STCs) are imparting ab-initio as well as in-service training to its ranks and other CPOs/SPOs including IPS Probationers. BSF is the only Central Armed Police force to have its own Air Wing and artillery regiment, and besides
ITBP The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is a border patrol organization of India deployed along its borders with Tibet Autonomous Region. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces, established in 1962 in the aftermath of the Sino-Indi ...
to have a Water Wing. All these specialized wings support the General Duty Battalions in their operations. The Financial Adviser of the BSF has been an
Indian Revenue Service The Indian Revenue Service (IAST: ), often abbreviated as IRS, is an Indian government agency that is primarily responsible for collecting and administering direct and indirect taxes. As a central civil service under Group A of the executiv ...
officer of the rank of Joint Secretary and also has Dy Advisers from the Indian Audit and Accounts Service, Indian Civil Account Service and Indian Defence Account Service. The BSF also has a national level school for breeding and training of dogs. Dogs from other CPOs and State Police are sent to National Training Centre for Dogs (NTCD) to be trained in infantry patrol, detection of explosives, tracking and the like. The BSF maintains a Tear Smoke Unit (TSU), which is unique in India. The TSU is responsible for producing tear gas munitions required for the Anti-Riot Forces. It also exports a substantial quantity to other countries. Three battalions of the BSF, located at Kolkata, Guwahati, and Patna, are designated as the
National Disaster Response Force The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is an Indian specialized force constituted "for the purpose of special response to a threatening disaster situation or disaster" under the Disaster Management Act, 2005. The "Apex Body for Disaster M ...
(NDRF). Each battalion maintains 18 self-contained specialist search and rescue teams of 45 personnel each, including engineers, technicians, electricians, dog squads and medics and paramedics. The establishment of each battalion is 1,158 personnel. The NDRF is a multi-disciplinary, multi-skilled, high-tech force for all types of disasters and can deploy to disasters by air, sea, and land. These battalions are equipped and trained for all natural disasters including combating Chemical, Biological Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) disasters. Since 2014, As a part of modernisation, BSF also started installing infra-red, thermal imagers, aerostats for aerial surveillance, ground sensors, radars, sonar systems to secure riverine borders, fibre-optic sensor and laser beam intrusion detection systems on specific sections of border with Pakistan as well as Bangladesh. These Hi-tech systems are installed in areas where barbed wire fencing could not be installed due to treacherous terrain or marshy riverine topography. The largest section of this system is located at
Dhubri Dhubri (Pron: ˈdhubri) is an old town and headquarter of Dhubri district in Indian state of Assam. It is an old town on the bank of the Brahmaputra river, with historical significance. In 1883, the town was first constituted as a Municipal Boa ...
,
Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
, where Brahmaputra river enters Bangladesh.


ORBAT

*Western Command, Chandigarh **Gujarat Frontier,
Gandhinagar Gandhinagar (, ) is the capital of the state of Gujarat in India. Gandhinagar is located approximately 23 km north of Ahmedabad, on the west central point of the Industrial corridor between Delhi, the political capital of India, and Mu ...
***Barmer Sector ***Gandhinagar Sector ***Bhuj Sector, **Rajasthan Frontier,
Jodhpur Jodhpur (; ) is the second-largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan and officially the second metropolitan city of the state. It was formerly the seat of the princely state of Jodhpur State. Jodhpur was historically the capital of the Ki ...
***Jaisalmer I Sector ***Jaisalmer II Sector ***Bikaner Sector ***Ganganagar Sector **Punjab Frontier,
Jalandhar Jalandhar is the third most-populous city in the Indian state of Punjab and the largest city in Doaba region. Jalandhar lies alongside the Grand Trunk Road and is a well-connected rail and road junction. Jalandhar is northwest of the state ...
***Ferozepur Sector ***Amritsar Sector ***Gurdaspur Sector **Jammu Frontier, Jammu ***Jammu Sector ***Sunderbani Sector ***Rajauri Sector ***I/Nagar Sector **Kashmir Frontier, Humhama ***Srinagar Sector ***Baramulla Sector ***Bandipore Sector ***Kupwara Sector *Eastern Command, Kolkata **South Bengal Frontier, Kolkata **North Bengal Frontier, Kadamtala **Meghalaya Frontier ***SHQ Mawpat, Shillong ***FHQ Umpling, Shillong **Tripura Frontier, Agartala **Mizoram & Cachar Frontier, Masimpur ***Aizawl Sector ***Cachar Sector ***CI Ops Manipur **Assam Frontier, Guwahati **ANO(Anti-Naxal Operation) Frontier,
Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...


Special Detachments


Creek Crocodile

The Creek Crocodile is the specialized commando unit of BSF. Primary objective of this unit is to act as
Quick reaction force In military science nomenclature, a quick reaction force (QRF) is an armed military unit capable of rapidly responding to developing situations, typically to assist allied units in need of such assistance. They are to have equipment ready to re ...
and prevent smuggling and infiltration by unwanted elements. The unit is specifically deployed at Indus River Estuaries in Gujarat and
Sir Creek Sir Creek ( ), originally Ban Ganga, is a 96-km (60-mi) tidal estuary in the uninhabited marshlands of the Indus River Delta on the border between India and Pakistan. The creek flows into the Arabian Sea and separates Gujarat state in India fro ...
. It was raised in 2009. The base of operations of this unit is located at Koteshwar outpost of BSF. They are equipped with ATVs and fast patrol boats.


Camel Contingent

BSF Camel Contingent is a specialized battalion-size
Camelry Camel cavalry, or camelry (french: méharistes, ), is a generic designation for armed forces using camels as a means of transportation. Sometimes warriors or soldiers of this type also fought from camel-back with spears, bows or rifles. Camel ca ...
Unit which have its roots in
Bikaner Camel Corps The Bikaner Camel Corps was a unit of Imperial Service Troops from India that fought for the Allies in World War I and World War II. The Corps was founded by Maharaja Ganga Singh of the Indian state of Bikaner, as the Ganga Risala after the Bri ...
. The primary purpose of this unit is to patrol the desert section of border with Pakistan. This unit has a strength of 1200 camels and 800 riders. Both camels as well as riders are trained at Camel Training Centre located at BSF Frontier Headquarters in
Jodhpur Jodhpur (; ) is the second-largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan and officially the second metropolitan city of the state. It was formerly the seat of the princely state of Jodhpur State. Jodhpur was historically the capital of the Ki ...
. However with force modernization pacing up, BSF has equipped its formation across the western border with All-Terrain Vehicles and other specialized apparatus.


List of DGs of BSF

K.F. Rustamji, IPS was appointed as the first Director General of Border Security Force from 22 July 1965 to 30 September 1972 and the current Director General is Pankaj Singh, IPS, since 1 September 2021.


Counter-Insurgency Operations

Although, originally charged with guarding India's external boundaries, the BSF in the 1990s was also given the task in
counter-insurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the activities of guerrillas or revolutionar ...
and
counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...
operations in Jammu andnd Kashmir, Punjab, and the Northeastern Seven Sister States. While in Punjab, BSF took part in operations like Blue Star, Black Thunder 1 & 2. However, when the
insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir The insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, also known as the Kashmir insurgency, is an ongoing separatist militant insurgency against the Indian administration in Jammu and Kashmir, a territory constituting the southwestern portion of the larger ...
broke out in 1989, it moved towards the state and handed over the operations in Punjab to CRPF and local police. In Jammu and Kashmir, state police and the thinly-deployed
Central Reserve Police Force The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is a federal police organisation in India under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) of the Government of India. It is one among the Central Armed Police Forces. The CRPF's primary role li ...
(CRPF) struggled to cope with the spiraling violence, so it was deployed to combat these. In Jammu and Kashmir, BSF initially suffered casualties from terrorist attacks but later saw successes. During the initial years, terrorist activity had even reached Jammu and parts of Northern Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. However, it was only due successful operations by BSF that by the late 1990s, their area of activity had restricted only to the valley. BSF was also successful in setting up a robust
HUMINT Human intelligence (abbreviated HUMINT and pronounced as ''hyoo-mint'') is intelligence gathered by means of interpersonal contact, as opposed to the more technical intelligence gathering disciplines such as signals intelligence (SIGINT), imager ...
network. BSF is also credited for killing
Ghazi Baba Ghazi Baba (also spelt as Gazi Baba; born as Rana Tahir Nadeem), was a top ranking commander of JeM and deputy commander of the terrorist group Harkat-ul-Ansar. He was the mastermind of the Indian Parliament attack on 13 December 2001. He was ...
- chief of
Jaish-e-Mohammed Jaish-e-Mohammed ( ur, , literally "The Army of Muhammad", abbreviated as JeM) is a Pakistan-based: "The JEM is a Pakistan-based, militant Islamic group founded by Maulana Masood Azhar in March 2000." Deobandi: "Deobandis like Masood Azha ...
and the mastermind of the 2001 Indian Parliament attack in August 2003, along with his deputy commander. The BSF had raided Baba's hideout in
Srinagar Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its natu ...
and he was killed in the ensuing gun battle along with his deputy chief. However, with changing tactical and operational conditions, and expansion and modernization of State police, the Government withdrew all 16 BSF battalions and redeployed them on the Indo-Pakistani border and
Bangladesh–India border The Bangladesh–India border, known locally as the International Border (IB), is an international border running between Bangladesh and India that demarcates the eight divisions of Bangladesh and the Indian states. Bangladesh and India share ...
. These troops were then replaced by fresh troops from the
CRPF The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is a federal police organisation in India under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs (India), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) of the Government of India. It is one among the Central Armed Police F ...
that had undergone specialised training in
counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...
. Some units of BSF are also deployed in Central India to combat Naxal violence. Counter-Maoist operations are diversified between. BSF is deployed in Kanker district of Chhattisgarh, where Naxal strength is comparatively thinner than that of other parts of Bastar region. At present total 15 battalions of BSF are stationed in different parts of Kanker district to combat the Naxal menace. After recent civilian killings in Kashmir the Home Ministry reinducted BSF for counter-insurgency operations and law-and-order duties in valley. The BSF units will be deployed in sensitive areas which lie in various districts of the Kashmir valley.However, A great work done By Commandant Jagmohan Singh Rawat SM,KC in the Kashmir valley.He has significantly played a crucial role in such kind of operations.


Proposal regarding guarding the Indo-Myanmar border

The
Cabinet Committee on Security The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) of the Government of India discusses, debates and is the final decision-making body on senior appointments in the national security apparatus, defence policy and expenditure, and generally all matters of Ind ...
(CCS) has been considering a proposal to entrust the border-guarding duty along the Indo-Myanmar border to the Border Security Force (BSF). Presently, the Indo-Myanmar border is being guarded by
Assam Rifles The Assam Rifles (AR) is a central paramilitary force responsible for border security, counter-insurgency, and maintaining law and order in Northeast India. It guards the Indo-Myanmar border. The Assam rifles is the oldest paramilitary force ...
. The proposed move to guard the Indo-Myanmar border follows a proposal from the BSF to take over the role by raising 45 new battalions, one headquarters of additional director general, four frontier headquarters to be headed by an IG rank official and 12 sector headquarters to be headed by DIG level officials. However, as of 1 March 2015, it was decided by the Ministry of Home Affairs to keep the authority of this border with Assam Rifles only. Proposed ORBAT for Myanmar Border *Northeast Command HQ, Imphal **Mizoram Frontier **Manipur Frontier **Nagaland Frontier **Arunachal frontier


Rank structure

;Officers ;Enlisted ranks


Awards

The BSF personnel have been recipients of the following awards:


Military awards

*
Mahavir Chakra The Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) () is the second highest military decoration in India, after the Param Vir Chakra, and is awarded for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy, whether on land, at sea or in the air. It replaced the B ...
*
Kirti Chakra The Kirti Chakra is an Indian military decoration awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the field of battle. It may be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel, including posthumous awards. It is the ''pe ...
*
Vir Chakra Vir Chakra (pronunciation: ʋ iː ɾ a tʃ a kɾa) is an Indian wartime military bravery award presented for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy on the battlefield and is third in precedence in wartime gallantry awards a ...
* Ati Vishisht Seva Medal *
Shaurya Chakra The Shaurya Chakra is an Indian military decoration awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice while not engaged in direct action with the enemy. It may be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel, sometimes posthumously ...
*
Sena Medal The Sena Medal is awarded to members of the Indian army, of all ranks, "for such individual acts of exceptional devotion to duty or courage as have special significance for the Army." Awards may be made posthumously and a bar is authorized for s ...
*
Vishisht Seva Medal The Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) is a decoration of the Indian Armed Forces. It is awarded to recognize "distinguished service of a high order" to all ranks of the Indian Armed Forces. From 1980, the Yudh Seva Medal was introduced to recognize exc ...
*
Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...


Civil awards

*
Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...
*
Padmashri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred ...
* Prime Minister's Medal for life saving *
Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...
s


Police medals

* President's Police Medal for Gallantry * Police Medal for Gallantry * President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service *
Police Medal for Meritorious Service A list of awards given to members of the Hong Kong Civil Service: Medal for Bravery (Silver) (MBS) : Hong Kong Police Medal for Distinguished Service (PDSM) 1998 * Mr Chau Foo-cheong, PDSM 1999 * Mr Lam Kin, Lionel, PDSM 2000 * Mr Michael Ha ...


Arjuna awardees

# Comdt (Retd) Nripjit Singh, Volleyball-1962 # Dy Comdt (Retd) Udham Singh, Hockey-1965 # Dy Comdt (Retd) Praveen Kumar, Athletic-1967 # Inspr (Retd) Jagjit Singh, Hockey-1967 # Asst Comdt (Retd) Ajit Pal Singh, Hockey-1970 # Dy Comdt (Retd) Balwant Singh, Volleyball-1972 # Sec-in-Command Anil Kumar, B/Ball-1974 # Dy Inspr Gen (Retd) Mohinder Singh, Shooting-1983 # Asst Comdt Mahabir Singh, Wrestling-1985 # Asst Comdt Subhash Verma, Wrestling-1987 # Inspr Rajesh Kumar, Wrestling-1990 # Inspr Sanjay Kumar, Wrestling-1998


Equipment

All the equipment including the uniforms, weapons, ammunition, vehicles such as the bullet proof vehicles, troop carriers, logistics vehicles, mine protected vehicles are manufactured indigenously at the
Indian Ordnance Factories Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), consisting of the Indian Ordnance Factories, now known as Directorate of Ordnance (Coordination & Services) was an organisation, under the Department of Defence Production (DDP) of Ministry of Defence (MoD), Gover ...
under control of the Ordnance Factories Board. Drone and anti-drone equipment is an upcoming acquisition.


Pistols and handguns

*
Glock Glock is a brand of polymer- framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military and police service by 1982 after it was th ...
9mm Pistols * Pistol Auto 9 mm 1A 9mm Pistol


Sub-machine guns and carbines

*
Heckler & Koch MP5 The Heckler & Koch MP5 (german: Maschinenpistole 5) is a 9x19mm Parabellum submachine gun, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch. There are over 100 variants and clones of the MP5, ...
9 mm ×19 mm SMG *
Beretta Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta (; "Pietro Beretta Weapon Factory") is a privately held Italian firearms manufacturing company operating in several countries. Its firearms are used worldwide for a variety of civilian, law enforcement, and milita ...
MX4 Storm submachine guns. 68000 SMGs procured and replaced the SAF Carbine 1A.


Assault rifles

*
AKM The AKM () is an assault rifle designed by Soviet small arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov in 1959. It is the most ubiquitous rifle of the Kalashnikov rifles. It was developed as a replacement to the AK-47 introduced a decade prior. Introduc ...
: 7.62x39mm assault rifle. *
INSAS INSAS or Indian Small Arms System is a family of infantry arms consisting of an assault rifle and a light machine gun (LMG). It was designed by the Armament Research and Development Establishment and manufactured by the Ordnance Factories Boa ...
: 5.56 mm × 45 mm Assault Rifle. Service rifle of the force. *
Tavor The IWI Tavor TAR-21 is an Israeli bullpup assault rifle chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO caliber with a selective fire system, selecting between semi-automatic mode and full automatic fire mode. The Tavor is designed and produced by Israel Weap ...
: X95 or the MTAR-21 version used as the standard issue carbine *
Tirchy Terchey is a village in the Leh district of Ladakh, India. It is located in the Nubra tehsil. Demographics According to the 2011 census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listin ...
7.62x39mm Assault Rifle


Machine guns

* INSAS LMG *
FN MAG The FN MAG is a Belgian 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, designed in the early 1950s at Fabrique Nationale (FN) by Ernest Vervier. It has been used by more than 80 countries and it has been made under licence in several countries, inc ...
MMG * NSV
HMG HMG may refer to: Businesses and organisations * His Majesty's Government (term), a Commonwealth state's executive **Government of Canada **Government of Gibraltar **Government of New Zealand **Government of the United Kingdom * Holland Media Groe ...
Tripod Mounted *
Bren Gun The Bren gun was a series of light machine guns (LMG) made by Britain in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1992. While best known for its role as the British and Commonwealth forces' primary infantry LMG in World War II, it was also use ...
Gun Machine 7.62x51mm OFB Made


Sniper rifles

*
Vidhwansak Vidhwansak (Sanskrit: "The Destroyer") is an Indian multi-caliber anti-materiel rifle (AMR) or large-caliber sniper rifle manufactured by Ordnance Factory Tiruchirappalli. It can be used in the anti-materiel role for destroying enemy bunkers, light ...
anti-materiel rifle (AMR) or large-calibre sniper rifle * Steyr SSG 69 * FN FAL Completely phased out as the service rifle by the
INSAS INSAS or Indian Small Arms System is a family of infantry arms consisting of an assault rifle and a light machine gun (LMG). It was designed by the Armament Research and Development Establishment and manufactured by the Ordnance Factories Boa ...
rifle but still used as a DMR. *
Barret M82 The Barrett M82 (standardized by the U.S. military as the M107) is a recoil-operated, semi-automatic anti-materiel rifle developed by the American company Barrett Firearms Manufacturing. Also called the Light Fifty (due to its chambering of ...
12.7 Sniper Rifle


Multi-role recoilless rifle

* Carl Gustav 84 mm recoilless rifles


Grenade launchers

* AGS-30
Automatic Grenade Launcher An automatic grenade launcher (AGL) or grenade machine gun is a grenade launcher that is capable of fully automatic fire, and is typically loaded with either an ammunition belt or magazine. These weapons are often mounted on vehicles or helicopt ...
*
Milkor MGL The Milkor MGL (Multiple Grenade Launcher) is a lightweight 40 mm six-shot revolver-type grenade launcher (variations also fire 37/38mm) developed and manufactured in South Africa by Milkor (Pty) Ltd. The MGL was demonstrated as a concept to the ...
Multi Grenade Launcher * 40mm UBGL Under Barrel Grenade Launcher


Artillery

* 51 mm Mortar * 81 mm Mortar * 120 mm Mortar * Advance Air defence Avni Gun * 105 mm Indian Field Gun


Armoured

* Mahindra Rakshak Bullet Proof Vehicle * OFD Mine Protected Vehicle * Tata 407 Bullet Proof Vehicle * Maruti Gypsy Armoured Variant


Aircraft

* Embraer 135 BJ - 01 * Mi-17 V5 Helicopter - 08 * Mi-17 1V Helicopter - 06 * ALH/Dhruv Helicopter - 06 *
HAL Cheetah HAL may refer to: Aviation * Halali Airport (IATA airport code: HAL) Halali, Oshikoto, Namibia * Hawaiian Airlines (ICAO airline code: HAL) * HAL Airport, Bangalore, India * Hindustan Aeronautics Limited an Indian aerospace manufacturer of fight ...
- 01


MANPADS

*
SA-16 Gimlet The 9K38 Igla (russian: Игла́, "needle", NATO reporting name SA-18 Grouse) is a Russian/Soviet man-portable infrared homing surface-to-air missile (SAM) system. A simplified, earlier version is known as the 9K310 Igla-1 (NATO: SA-16 Gimle ...
*
SA-7 Grail The 9K32 Strela-2 (russian: Cтрела, "arrow"; NATO reporting name SA-7 Grail) is a light-weight, shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missile (or MANPADS) system. It is designed to target aircraft at low altitudes with passive infrared homing guid ...


Watercraft

* Floating Border Out-Post - 03 * See BSF (Water Wing)


Criticism and controversy


Canadian controversy

In 2010, some Canadian visa officials rejected the immigration application of a retired BSF soldier Fateh Singh Pandher, terming BSF a "notoriously violent paramilitary unit engaged in systematic attacks on civilians and responsible for torturing suspected criminals". This accusation did not go down well with the Indian government. The Indian External Affairs Ministry was asked by the Home minister to take up the issue with Canada. The Home ministry of India, as well as the Indian public in general and several of India's political parties, expressed outrage at this attack and called Canada's actions
discriminatory Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, rel ...
and spurious, and their charges against the BSF as baseless and unproven. The Indian government threatened diplomatic retaliation unless Canada withdrew their allegations. The Canadian government did not respond immediately. It was speculated that diplomatic retaliation from India will consist of banning Canadians going to participate the
War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see al ...
if they are doing so through India. Public outrage in India prompted Canadian authorities to express "great respect for India's armed forces and related institutions". Subsequently, India's Ministry of External Affairs summoned Canadian High Commissioner
Joseph Caron Joseph Caron (born 1947) is a Canadian diplomat. He served as the former Canadian high commissioner to India and former Canadian ambassador to China and Japan. Born and raised in the small francophone agricultural village of Pain Court in South ...
and demanded that "the blatant discrimination against Indian security agencies" cease. India's Minister of External Affairs,
SM Krishna Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna (born 1 May 1932) is an Indian politician who served as Minister of External Affairs of India from 2009 to October 2012. He was the 16th Chief Minister of Karnataka from 1999 to 2004 and the 19th Governor of Mahar ...
, condemned Canada's actions and has expressed pride in the accomplishments of the BSF. Following complaints made by the Indian government and criticism of Canada's actions against India, the
Harper government The premiership of Stephen Harper began on February 6, 2006, when the first Cabinet headed by Stephen Harper was sworn in by Governor General Michaelle Jean. Harper was invited to form the 28th Canadian Ministry and become Prime Minister of ...
retracted their earlier accusations against BSF security officials. Canada's Minister of Citizenship and Immigration,
Jason Kenney Jason Thomas Kenney (born May 30, 1968) is a Canadian former politician who served as the 18th premier of Alberta from 2019 until 2022 and the leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP) from 2017 until 2022. He also served as the member of ...
, termed as "unfortunate" the incidents involving use of "foul language by the Canadian High Commission in
visa Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...
rejection letters to some individuals", Kenney said, "This language, or the inaccurate impression it has created, in no way reflects the policy or position of the
Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...
."


Bangladesh border killings

According to the Bangladeshi government, 136 civilians were killed and a further 170 others suffered injuries in 2009. The Indian government has said that 67 were killed and 80 injured in 2009. The Bangladesh government and Bangladeshi organizations protested heavily against these alleged killings. Media reports claim that in August 2008, Indian BSF officials admitted that they killed 59 persons (34 Bangladeshis, 21 Indians, rest unidentified) who were trying to cross the border illegally during the prior six months.India says 59 killed over last six months on Bangladesh border
, Reuters, 24 August 2008.
Indian media claimed that, in 2001,
Bangladesh Rifles Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) are a paramilitary force responsible for the border security of Bangladesh. The force is known as "The Vigilant Sentinels of the National Frontier". The BGB is entrusted with the responsibility to defend the borde ...
ambushed and killed 16 BSF soldiers while they were chasing some Bangladeshi smugglers back into the Bangladesh. Since then, the BSF has been compelled to act tough against Bangladeshi illegals. There was perceived retaliation by the BSF but was averted after Home Ministers of both countries had talks on the issue. In July 2009
Channel 4 News ''Channel 4 News'' is the main news programme on British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since Channel 4's launch in November 1982. Current productions ''Channel 4 News'' ''Channel 4 News'' ...
reported that apparently "hundreds" of Bangladeshis and Indians are indiscriminately killed by the BSF along the Indo-Bangladeshi Barrier. The BSF claims that the barrier's main purpose is to check
illegal immigration to India An illegal immigrant in India is a foreigner who has entered India either without valid documents or who initially had a valid document, but has overstayed beyond the permitted time, as per the general provisions of the Citizenship Act as amend ...
, and prevent cross-border terrorism from Islamists. Bangladeshi media accused the BSF of abducting 5 Bangladeshi children, aged between 8 and 15, from the Haripur Upazila in
Thakurgaon District Thakurgaon ( bn, ঠাকুরগাঁও জেলা, ''Thakurgaon Jela'' also ''Thakurgaon Zila'') is a district in the north-western side of Bangladesh. It is a part of the Rangpur Division and borders India to the west. It was established ...
of Bangladesh, in 2010. The children were setting fishing nets near the border. In 2010,
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
(HRW) issued an 81-page report which alleged "over 900 of abuses by the BSF" in the first decade of the 21st century. The report was compiled from interviews with victims of BSF shootings, witnesses and members of the BSF and its Bangladeshi counterpart. According to HRW, while most of them were killed when they crossed into Indian territory for indulging in
cattle raiding Cattle raiding is the act of stealing cattle. In Australia, such stealing is often referred to as duffing, and the perpetrator as a duffer.Baker, Sidney John (1945) ''The Australian language : an examination of the English language and English ...
or other
smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...
activities. In February 2012, the BSF website was hacked by Bangladeshi hackers in retaliation. The hackers later shared the news in the internet and also in the other social sites where they claimed to have defaced the sites asking the BSF to stop killing Bangladeshis at border. The site became normal sometime on 15 February 2012.


Challenges


Working conditions

Working conditions of the BSF have been questioned. " Zero Error Syndrome" adds stress. A home ministry standing committee report on the "Working Conditions in Border Guarding Forces" was published in December 2018, it was chaired by
P. Chidambaram Palaniappan Chidambaram (born 16 September 1945), better known as P. Chidambaram, is an Indian politician and lawyer who currently serves as Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha. He served as the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee ...
.


Health

Health of employees remains a challenge, and given the numbers of the force, more employees, as compared to operational deaths, die of diseases, illness; and mental health issues have also been raised and addressed by the force.


See also

*
Assam Rifles The Assam Rifles (AR) is a central paramilitary force responsible for border security, counter-insurgency, and maintaining law and order in Northeast India. It guards the Indo-Myanmar border. The Assam rifles is the oldest paramilitary force ...
* Border Security Force (Water Wing) *
Central Industrial Security Force The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) is a federal police organisation in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It is one among the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF). CISF provides security to over 356 industrial units (including ...
*
Central Reserve Police Force The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is a federal police organisation in India under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) of the Government of India. It is one among the Central Armed Police Forces. The CRPF's primary role li ...
*
Indo-Tibetan Border Police The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is a border patrol organization of India deployed along its borders with Tibet Autonomous Region. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces, established in 1962 in the aftermath of the Sino-Indian ...
*
Sashastra Seema Bal Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB; ) is a border guarding force of India deployed along its borders with Nepal and Bhutan. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces under the administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The fo ...


References


External links

*
Border Security Force @ India Defence





Tear Smoke Unit
{{authority control 1965 establishments in India Border guarding forces of India Central Armed Police Forces of India Federal law enforcement agencies of India Military units and formations established in 1965