Assam Rifles

Why in news?

• Manipur Police have registered a criminal case against the Assam Rifles for obstruction of duty and criminal intimidation.
• The police have accused the personnel of the Assam Rifles of the arrogant act of giving a chance to the accused Kuki militants to escape freely to a safe zone.

About Assam Rifles:

• The Assam Rifles are a central armed police force.
• It is one of the six central armed police forces (CAPFs) under the administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
  • The other five forces are the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).
• Assam Rifles are tasked with maintaining law and order in the Northeast along with the Indian Army.
• It also guards the Indo-Myanmar border.

Historical Background:

• Assam Rifles is India’s oldest paramilitary force. It was formed in 1835 as a militia called the ‘Cachar Levy’ to primarily protect British Tea estates and their settlements against tribal raids.
• Since its formation in 1835, Assam Rifles has gone on to fight in two World Wars, the Sino-Indian war of 1962.
• The Post-Independence role of the Assam Rifles continued to evolve ranging from conventional combat role during Sino-India War 1962, operating in foreign land as part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to Sri Lanka in 1987 (Op Pawan) to peacekeeping role in the North-Eastern areas of India.
• Hence, it remains the most awarded paramilitary force in both pre- and post-independent India.

Dual Control:

• Assam Rifles is the only paramilitary force with a dual control structure. While the administrative control of the force is with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). But its operational control is with the Indian Army, which is under the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
• This means that salaries and infrastructure for the force is provided by the MHA, but the deployment, posting, transfers, and deputation of AR personnel is decided by the Army. All its senior ranks, from DG to IG and sector headquarters are manned by officers from the Army. The force is commanded by a Lieutenant General of the Indian Army.

Add ons:

• A large section within the Assam Rifles wants to be under the administrative control of the MoD as that would mean perks and retirement benefits that are far better than those enjoyed by the CAPFs under MHA.
• However, Army personnel retire early — at age 35 — while the retirement age of CAPFs is 60 years.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Consider the following statements:

1. Administrative control of the Assam Rifles is with the Ministry of Home Affairs

2. Assam Rifles guards Indo-Myanmar border

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer