New force in Assam

The decision of the Assam Government to raise a new force, that is Special Task Force to launch specialised operations against militants is a welcome move and such a step should have taken long back to reduce the dependence on the Army and Central paramilitary forces. According to reports, the new force, to be raised in lines of the Greyhound battalion raised by the Andhra Pradesh Government to deal with Naxal militant groups, will be headed by an officer of the rank of Inspector General of Police and as per the proposal, the personnel of the force will not be used for normal law and order maintenance duties. At present, majority of the personnel of the Assam Police are engaged in normal law and order duties and a sizeable number of the force is engaged in providing security to the persons considered vulnerable, which created a shortage of manpower to launch operations against militant groups. Over dependence on the Army and Central paramilitary forces is not a healthy sign as time and again it complicated the situation as the persons coming from outside are not aware of the local language and customs, while, the hostile terrains, particularly in the hill districts, also pose serious hurdles in the counter insurgency operations. But with the raising of the new force with specialised training, it will be easier for the police to launch operations against militants in unfavourable terrains as the local police personnel will be in a better position to deal with the terrain than the forces coming from outside. However, while raising the Force, the Government must keep in mind that raising of a commando battalion with training in Punjab in the early 1990s failed to serve the purpose to the desired extent, perhaps because of the fact that the ground situation in Punjab is different from that of Assam. Of course, the Government is now planning to train up the personnel of the new force in the Jungle Warfare Training Centre of the Army in Mizoram, while, the existing personnel of the Commando battalion will act as a back-up to the new force.In addition to the Task Force, the State Government is going ahead with raising of more new forces and one will be the Assam Industrial Security Force, which has become vital to provide protection to the vital installations and tea gardens against attacks by the militants. On the other hand, the personnel of the 23rd India Reserve Battalion, which is being raised now, will be given commando training to provide back-up support to the Task Force, while, the State Government is expecting the nod of the Government of India for raising the 24th India Reserve Battalion. At the same time, efforts should be made to fill up the existing vacancies in the Assam Police force and while doing so, the Government should ensure that the candidates are selected only on merit to avoid unnecessary controversies and delays in appointments as was the case in appointment of police constables a couple of years back. source: assam tribune editorial 08.07.08