Assam Rifles

The Manipur police has registered a Criminal case against the Assam Rifles on the charges of ‘arrogant act’ of letting the accused Kuki militants to escape freely to a safe zone, ‘obstruction of duty’ and ‘criminal intimidation’ in the ongoing Manipur violence.

1. History of Assam Rifles:
   1. The Assam Rifles (AR) is the oldest paramilitary force in the country.
   2. Formed in 1835 as a militia called the ‘cachar levy’ primarily to protect British Tea estates and their settlements against tribal raids.
   3. The force consisting of 3000 men were sent to Europe and middle East to fight a Great War as a part of the Rifle regiments of the British Army and thus later named as Assam Rifles.
   4. Assam Rifles has grown substantially over the years from 17 battalions in 1960 to 46 battalions at present.
2. Operations carried out by Assam Rifles:
   1. It is a region-specific force with its operational role in the North East to counter insurgency but has also been deployed in other areas in the past:
      1. combat role during Sino-India War 1962
      2. operating in foreign land as part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF)
      3. Deployment in Sri Lanka in 1987 (Op Pawan)
3. Roles and tasks of ARs include:
   1. Conduct counter insurgency operations under the control of the army in the North east and other areas where deemed necessary.
   2. Ensure the security of the Indo-China and Indo-Myanmar borders during peace and ‘proxy war’ situations.
   3. Act as penultimate interventionist force of the central government in internal security situation or when the situation goes beyond the control of central paramilitary operations, under the control of army.

Link: Manipur Police register criminal case against Assam Rifles - The Hindu