Assam Rifles is one of the six central armed police forces (CAPFs) under the administrative control of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).  Assam Rifles is the oldest paramilitary force raised way back in 1835 in British India with just 750 men.  It was raised as a militia to protect British tea estates and its settlements from the raids of the North East tribes, the force was first known as Cachar Levy. It was reorganised later as Assam Frontier Force as its role was expanded to conduct punitive operations beyond Assam borders.  In 1870, existing elements were merged into three Assam Military Police Battalions, named as Lushai Hills, Lakhimpur and Naga Hills.  In 1917, recognising their work during World War I, fighting shoulder to shoulder with Rifle Regiments of the regular British Army, the name of the force was changed to ‘Assam Rifles’. it has gone on to fight in two World Wars and used as an anti-insurgency force against militant groups in the North East.

Dual control:

It is the only paramilitary force with a dual control structure. While the administrative control of the force is with the MHA, its operational control is with the Indian Army, which is under the MoD. This means that salaries and infrastructure for the force are provided by the MHA, but the deployment, posting, transfer and deputation of the personnel is decided by the Army.  Officers– All its senior ranks, from DG to IG and sector headquarters, are manned by officers from the Army. The force is commanded by Lieutenant General from the Indian Army.

Tasks

It is tasked with the maintenance of law and order in the North East along with the Indian Army and also guards the Indo-Myanmar border in the region. It has a sanctioned strength of over 63,000 personnel and has 46 battalions apart from administrative and training staff.  It remains the most awarded paramilitary force in both pre- and post-independent India. During World War I, the force was awarded 76 gallantry medals. Since Independence, the force has won 120 Shaurya Chakras, 31 Kirti Chakras, five Vir Chakras and four Ashok Chakras, apart from 188 Sena Medals.

In News:

Recently, The Delhi High Court granted 12 weeks to the Union government to decide on whether to scrap or retain the dual control structure for Assam Rifles, which comes under both the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

• Both MHA and MoD have wanted full control of the force for a long time and opinions to this effect have been expressed by both Army and police officers from time to time in the public domain.
• In 2013 MHA first made a proposal to take operational control of the Assam Rifles and merge it with the BSF. There were discussions held between MHA and MoD, however, no agreeable ground could be found.
• In 2019, the proposal was renewed and this time with a plan to merge Assam Rifles with the ITBP. The matter is said to be pending with the Cabinet Committee on Security and discussions are on between the two ministries concerned.

Petition: 

Meanwhile, Assam Rifles Ex-Servicemen Welfare Association filed a petition in the Delhi High Court seeking its intervention in the matter. Its plea expressed difficulties faced by the personnel due to the dual control structure and even called the force’s categorisation as a police force as arbitrary. 

Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Stand on it

MHA has argued that all the border guarding forces are under the operational control of the ministry and so Assam Rifles coming under MHA will give border guarding a comprehensive and integrated approach.  MHA sources also say that Assam Rifles continues to function on the pattern set during the 1960s and the ministry would want to make guarding of the Indo-Myanmar border on the lines of other CAPFs.

Ministry of Defence (MoD)Stand on it : 

MoD is of the opinion that the Assam Rifles has worked well in coordination with the Army and frees up the armed forces from many of its responsibilities to focus on its core strengths. It has also argued that Assam Rifles was always a military force and not a police force and has been built like that.  It has argued that giving the control of the force to MHA or merging it with any other CAPF will confuse the force and jeopardise national security. It has actually been pushing for total control of Assam Rifles and also operational control over ITBP, which guards the Sino-Indian border and is currently engaged in a standoff with the Chinese PLA in eastern Ladakh.