Source:

https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/op-ed-snap-to-keep-india-safe-bsf-must-get-leaders-from-its-own-ranks-not-the-ips/

Model Answer:

The Border Security Force, the world’s largest border guarding force, recently celebrated its 54th Raising Day. The Border Security Force is facing myriad challenges, ranging from the reassessment of operational philosophy and a personnel management dilemma to an acute disconnect of the leadership with ground realities.

Border Security Force:

• BSF is primary border guarding organisation of India and termed as First Line of Defence of Indian Territories.
• It came into existence on 1st December, 1965.
• BSF is one of the five Central Armed Police Forces of Union of India under the administrative control of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
• It is mandated with guarding India’s land border during peacetime and preventing transnational crime.
• BSF currently stands as the world’s largest border guarding force.
• It was created by merging various State Armed Police Battalions for achieving a better coordinated synergy between the border guarding functions in peace time and fighting the war during the eventuality on both Western and Eastern fronts.
• BSF is deployed on Indo-Pakistan International Border, Indo-Bangladesh International Border, Line of Control (LoC) along with Indian Army and in Anti-Naxal Operations.
• Since its inception, BSF has proven its credentials during various counter insurgency and anti-militancy operations, internal security duties, natural calamities etc.

Challenges in front of BSF:

Hostile border conditions:

• A proxy war by Pakistan has kept the western borders alive, necessitating militaristic border guarding structures and border management practices
• Troops face life-threatening situations daily on account of militant threat and high stakes drug smuggling. “Shoot to kill” and “One Bullet, One Enemy” are the prevalent philosophy on these borders, particularly at night
• A 150-yard area across the fence remains generally unpatrolled, especially at night
• As for the Bangladesh border, high population density and lack of development and employment opportunities make it prone to crime.

Need for in-house leadership:

• An important factor for the efficient functioning of the force relates to leadership
• The Indian Police Service leadership is completely out of depth in comprehending the complexities of managing a specialised unit like the Border Security Force
• Trained in policing and law and order, they have no comprehension of the dynamics of border management

Poor personnel management:

• Since 1965, the strength of the force has grown from a mere 25,000 to about 2.5 lakh
• But this ten-fold growth has not been uniform, causing severe personnel management dilemma
• Such sporadic expansion has caused acute stagnation. It now takes anywhere between 20 years and 24 years for a jawan to earn his first promotion
• A chunk of the blame for this state of affairs lies with faulty policy decisions such as the abolition of ranks like naik and lance naik and the introduction of ineffectual ranks like assistant sub-inspector
• Stagnation among cadre officers is even more acute. Most officers retire much before their rich experience can be garnered at policy-making levels.
• Adverse service conditions and the inability to meet urgent family obligations cause a great deal of stress, reflected in the high rate of attrition – 12,096 personnel have either resigned or proceeded on voluntary retirement from 2015 to 2018 while 121 have committed suicide in the same period.

The civil-military dilemma:

• Treated as civilian employees, their salaries, allowances and post-retirement benefits are regulated by civil rules
• However, unlike civil employees, they lose out on three years of service and pension benefits as they retire at the age of 57
• They frequently encounter life-threatening situations but are not entitled to pension, unlike their counterparts in the defence forces
• Additionally, when a soldier of the Border Security Force dies in the line of duty, his family receives none of the benefits available to the families of Army jawans in similar situations. This is because there is no provision for a Border Security Force soldier to be declared a martyr.

Reforms required:

• It is high time the reins of the force are handed over to cadre officers who are connected with ground realities and well-versed in the ethos of the force
• With inculcating a sense of security being an important task, the Border Security Force should have a larger role in the government’s “Border Area Development Programme”
• The force is the sole face of the government in remote areas, and the government should take advantage of its reach to plan development programmes and infrastructure in border areas
• Technology must be introduced extensively to ease the burden on troops, who put in long hours, sometimes stretching to 16 hours a day. This technology must be user-friendly, suit terrain conditions, and not be vendor-driven
• There is a need for setting up a border security operation cum intelligence centers, for better cooperation and coordination among various agencies involved in border security. Operations should be intelligence driven.
• The trial of the “Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System” in Jammu and Assam should be extended to ascertain the suitability of such costly technology
• In view of increased interaction with civilians both at the borders and in counter-insurgency areas, soft skills attain importance besides the conventional training
• The organisation needs to take a fresh look at arming policy. Heavier weapons systems should be authorised only when needed
• Orders, which are against the mandate of BSF forces, must be reviewed and functional autonomy restored to the troops.

The Border Security Force, as an important player in the country’s security matrix, is in urgent need of reforms, failing which there is imminent threat of the force losing its edge. A cadre review has been ordered by the Government of India in order to find long term solutions with BSF. This is a step in right direction. All the stakeholders have to come out with innovative solutions to reform the force which is our first defence against our adversaries.