India's Most Dangerous Military Forces Explained (Part 2)

 

Formation of Para (Special Forces)

To create this force, the army decided to create a special unit, like the British Special Air Service. The British SAS is a highly skilled special force unit that is world-famous. This unit is so skilled that it can be deployed in many situations. For example, in a strategic role, where they need to secure an area. Or in a counter-terrorism role, where they need to secure hostages. The Indian Army had Para commando units. Like 9 Para (Commando) in the Northern Command, and 10 Para (Commando) in the Western Command. But the Indian Army wanted to create a new strategic unit that wasn't assigned to just one area, but could be deployed anywhere. For this, the Indian Army took a unit of 9 Para (Commando) and called it the Experimental Commando Wing. But one Indian Army officer raised his voice. It was Lt. Gen. Inder Singh Gill, who had conducted many commando operations during World War II. He said that we shouldn't convert a unit of 9 Para (Commando). Because if there's a war, the army won't have any commando units left. Instead, he said, why don't we convert the 1st Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, known as 1 Para. And that's exactly what happened. In 1979, the conversion started, and trials were held in 1982. After which, this unit was called the Para commando. But these Para commandos couldn't become an elite unit. There were many reasons behind this. Like Lt. Gen. P. C. Katoch writes in his book, that for years, the army kept focusing on minor issues.

Shortcomings and Operation Blue Star

Like whether the special forces should wear civilian clothes or not. Whereas they should've focused on providing proper equipment and missions. Like the Para commandos used many old weapons. Like 7. 62mm self-loading rifles or Sterling submachine guns, which are not suitable for special operations. And these problems became clear in 1984, when the army was called to Amritsar for Operation Blue Star. In June 1984, many armed militants with Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale took refuge in the Golden Temple of Amritsar. The militants had many weapons and had set up their base inside the Golden Temple. Indira Gandhi's government tried to negotiate with them, but the negotiation failed. After this Indira Gandhi decided to use the Indian Army to remove the militants. On 1st June, many CRPF soldiers were martyred by the terrorists. And on 2nd June, the Indian Army was called to enter the Golden Temple. And the Para commandos were deployed here. But the problems were already clear. For instance, the Para commandos had no intelligence about the militants. Listen to the interview of Lt. Gen. P. C. Katoch, who was leading a team inside the Golden Temple. They were also using outdated weapons. During such operations, special forces would enter any structure by blasting it. But the Indian Army was not allowed to do so. This is why there were many casualties after the operation. In fact, the commanding officer of this operation himself said that he was sent to this operation, but his hands were tied. After the failure of Operation Blue Star, the government realized that they needed a special force whose main objective was to counter terrorism. This force was called the National Security Guard. In June 1984, a post of Director of NSG was created. And two years later, in August 1986, a bill was passed for NSG. Like the Para commandos, the inspiration for NSG came from the SAS of the United Kingdom. But NSG was different from the Para commandos of the army. Because NSG was not reporting to the Ministry of Defense, but to the Home Ministry. Even today, the officers of NSG come from the Central and State Police Forces, not the Indian Army. And the result of creating NSG was seen very soon. In 1988, during Operation Black Thunder 2.

Operation Black Thunder 2: A Success for the NSG

After Operation Blue Star in 1984, many Sikhs were very angry with Indira Gandhi. After Operation Blue Star, Indira Gandhi was assassinated. And many Sikh terrorists committed political violence in the country. In May 1988, 30 such groups were active in Punjab. And they had captured many rooms of the Golden Temple. On May 11, 1988, many NSG commandos were sent to Amritsar. Before the arrival of the NSG commandos, there were CRPF soldiers around the Golden Temple. As soon as the commandos arrived, they secured these positions. And they were waiting for the time when they would enter the Golden Temple. Outside the Golden Temple, NSG positioned snipers in different locations. Along with snipers, they were given night-vision goggles. With these, they were able to kill many terrorists at night. This time, NSG learned from the mistakes of the para-commandos during Operation Blue Star. So instead of entering the temple immediately, they played a wait-and-game. They took time to secure the building and gather intelligence about what was happening inside. As soon as they secured the entire area, NSG commandos entered the Golden Temple. And they continuously fired machine guns. So many continuous shots were fired that even the terrorists were shocked. NSG commandos' strategy was to fire continuously and then stop for a while. At that time, they would announce that if anyone wanted to surrender, they could. And because of this, during the 7-day operation, many terrorists and civilians were able to escape. Because of NSG's continuous machine gun firing, the morale of the terrorists had dropped. So on 18th May, just 7 days after the operation began, the last terrorists left the Golden Temple. During the entire operation, only 3 NSG commandos were injured. This was a huge victory for NSG. The entire Indian security system understood that a special force could be effective against counter-terrorism. So the Indian Army had Para commandos and the Home Ministry had NSG. But the Air Force saw the need for a special force only when there was another war between India and Pakistan.

Formation of the Garud Force

The Kargil War. The need for a special force became even clearer when in 2001, two terrorist attacks were carried out on Indian Air Force bases in Jammu and Kashmir. They showed that the Indian Air Force bases were not that secure. And that's why they needed a special force. In 2002, a special force was formed. It was originally called the Tiger Force, which was later changed to the Garud Force. In September 2003, the Indian government authorized the Garud Force. And a few months later, in 2004, the first batch of training was completed. Working along with the NSG, the Garud Commandos killed the terrorists who attacked the Pathankot Air Base in 2016. On 31st December 2015, Ikkagar Singh, a taxi driver, was driving his car. But at 9 pm, he was stopped by several terrorists. The terrorists had an AK-47, and they wanted to hijack his car. The 35-year-old Ikkagar fought a lot, and the terrorists killed him. The terrorists hijacked another car and went to the Pathankot Air Base. The terrorists hid behind the grass of the air base and attacked the Indian soldiers. Seven soldiers were martyred, like Corporal Gursewak Singh of the Garud Force. India had evidence that Jaish-e-Mohammad had carried out this attack. The notice you see on the screen was issued by the Ministry of External Affairs. It clearly states that the evidence was shared with a Pakistani team who had come to India to investigate the attack. But nine months later, the Indian government realized that inviting a Pakistani team was a big mistake. On 8th September 2016, the four terrorists of Lashkar-e-Toiba attacked the Indian Army Brigade Headquarters near Uri, Jammu and Kashmir. 19 of our soldiers were martyred. It was clear that a response had to be given. And the Indian Special Forces would respond.

The Surgical Strike Post-Uri Attack

Two battalions of the Indian Army's Para Special Force, 9 Para SF and 4 Para SF, were given the responsibility of conducting a surgical strike. After the attack, the Northern Army Commander, Lt. Gen. D. S. Hooda, in Udhampur, was very sad. He said that he was responsible for the lives of the soldiers who were martyred. And it was clear to him what the next step would be. Along with him, Army Chief of Staff General Dalbir Singh and Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, all knew what the next steps would be. A year earlier, Lt. Gen. Hooda had conducted an Operation Hot Pursuit in Myanmar. This gave everyone the idea of a surgical strike. In this operation, the Indian Army's Para SF unit, which was based in the Northeast, had located the NSCN camp, which was inside Myanmar, and had killed 60 terrorists. Lt. Gen. Hooda knew that Uri would respond in the same way. In fact, a few months before the Uri attack, Lt. Gen. Hooda had told his two colonels, Col. H. and Col. K. , to search for targets on the other side of the LOC. Col. H. and K. are being referred to it this way because these colonels' names are not mentioned in the book. During the winter of 2015, two battalions of Para SF, Para 4 and Para 10, trained for such attacks. In September 2016, it was time to execute the operation for which these battalions were training last year. Col. H. and Col. K. return to their bases and pick up the people from these two battalions to execute the mission.

Execution and Significance of the Surgical Strike

The commanding officers of these two battalions, also known as COBs, are called and told that there are two objectives of this mission. To instil fear and to seek revenge. Col. H. says that the idea was to tell them that we know where they were based and, most importantly, we know how to kill them. On 28th September 2016, Lt. Gen. Hooda launched Operation X. He called Col. H. and Col. K. and wished them good luck. The team to execute Operation X went to the LOC in the evening. But they were waiting till the dark to cross the LOC. In Delhi, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Dalbir Singh briefed National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. And he was told about the mission's plan. But when night fell, Col. H. and Col. K's teams were on their own. Because they had crossed the LOC. Their mission was to attack the terrorist camps near the Peer Panjal Range. To reach those camps, they had to cross several outposts of the Pakistani Army. Meaning, they were in the enemy's territory. But apart from one injury, Operation X was successful. Terrorists were surprised by this strike. And the next day, on 29th September, internally, everyone knew that this surgical strike was a success. And gradually, the entire country realized how important Special Forces are. Because of such specialized missions, Special Forces are often called the army with a beard. Because to blend in with the terrorists, they often keep a beard. Major Mohit Sharma, who is from Para-1 Special Force, was given the Ashok Chakra. He grew his beard. And infiltrated the terrorist group. For weeks, he collected intelligence. This is just one example of how Special Forces work 24 hours a day.

The Four Main Special Forces and Selection Process

Today, there are many Special Forces in our country. But there are four main ones. The Para-1 Special Forces of the Army, which have many battalions. The Marcos of the Navy. The Garud of the Air Force. And finally, the National Security Guard, which is under the Home Ministry. To join the Special Forces, all the candidates have to pass the CDS exam, which is conducted by the UPSC. After this, they go through an interview by the Service Selection Board. And they have to pass the physical test. And only after that, you can apply for the Special Forces. Colonel Kaushal Kashyap said in an interview that Special Forces soldiers are those who have no fear in their minds. "The purpose is that you want to select such people who are not afraid. " "Who wants to take up challenges in life. " "That I have to take up this challenge. " "I am not afraid. " Even after selection, you are permanent only when you pass the 90-day probationary period. "Probation is a 3-month selection process. " "In which you will be tested physically and mentally to your limits. " NSG training is also challenging in the same way. They're told about minor details. They are told how doors work, how to remove obstacles in cities, and how to stay awake all night. Along with these four special forces, there's another special force. Special Frontier Force, which doesn't even report to the army. It reports directly to the PMO. When this force was formed, there were only Tibetans in it. But today, there are both Tibetans and Gorkhas. SSF's training center is located 100 km away from Dehradun in Chakrata. They're not trained under the army, but under India's external intelligence agency, RAW. Even today, SSF is deployed in the border areas of India against China. SSF is so important for India that in November 2020, India sent a very harsh message to China when BJP's General Secretary Ram Madhav went to a funeral for Subedar Nyima Tenzin, a special frontier force Tibetan. It was a slap on China's face because China said that Tibet was a part of India. But Tibetans are fighting against China alongside the Indian army. This special frontier force is so secretive that even the army officials don't know about it. It's never revealed how big this force is and what operations it has participated in. Today, many retired soldiers from this force are running shops in Delhi's Majnu Ka Tila area or Dharamshala. If you find a retired soldier in these areas, who is over 80 years old, it's possible that he was the bodyguard of Dalai Lama who brought him to India. If you meet such a person, do thank him. Do you remember Lt. Col. Megh Singh, who wanted to make a special force for the Indian army? In 1973, he settled in his village near Jodhpur. He was the president of Rajasthan's Farmers' Union for many years. He gave his time to solve the problems of the farmers. He was awarded the Veer Chakra. In 2010, he died.

The blog was getting too long, so I didn't talk about Marcos. But their story is equally interesting.

For Part 1 Click Here