The Border Security Force (BSF) is a central armed police force in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

under the

Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the i ...

. It is responsible for guarding India’s borders with

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. It was formed in the wake of the Indo-Pak War of 1965 to ensure the security of India’s borders and for related matters. The BSF has grown from 25 battalions in 1965, to 193

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

s with a sanctioned strength of 270,000 personnel including an expanding air wing, water wing, an artillery regiment and specialised units. It is currently the world's largest border security force. BSF has been termed the ''First Line of Defence'' of Indian territories.

History

Since India's

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

in 1947, the protection of its international boundaries was the responsibility of the local police in each border state, with little inter-state coordination. However, during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, Pakistan attacked Sardar Post, Char Bet, and Beria Bet on April 9, 1965, in Kutch. This attack exposed the inadequacy of the State Armed Police in coping with armed aggression. Thus, after the war, the government created the Border Security Force as a unified central agency with the specific mandate of guarding India's international borders. This act brought greater cohesion to border security.

K F Rustamji Khusro Faramurz Rustamji, better known as K. F. Rustamji, is the only police officer in India thus far to have been awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award. This award has been in recognition of his multifarious achie ...

, from the Indian Police Service, was the first Director General of the BSF. Since it was a new force, the officers had to be deputed or inducted from outside to fill the various vacancies at different levels until the force's own cadre matured sufficiently. For this reason, emergency commissioned officers and SS officers of the Indian Army were inducted in large numbers into the force, along with IPS officers who were deputed to the force for high-level appointments. The BSF's capabilities were used in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 against Pakistani forces in areas where the

Regular Forces A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a stand ...

were thinly spread. BSF troops took part in several operations, including the famous

Battle of Longewala The Battle of Longewala (4–7 December 1971) was one of the first major engagements in the western sector during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, fought between assaulting Pakistani forces and Indian defenders at the Indian border post of Long ...

. In fact, for the BSF the war on the eastern front had started well before the war actually broke out in December 1971. BSF had trained, supported and formed part of

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini, initially called the Mukti Fauj, also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was a big tent armed guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military personnel, paramilitary personnel and civilians during the Ba ...

and had entered erstwhile East Pakistan before the actual hostilities broke out. The BSF played a very important role in the Liberation of Bangladesh, which

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

and

Sheikh Mujibur Rehman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), also known by the honorific Bangabandhu, was a Bangladeshi politician, revolutionary, statesman and activist who was the founding president of Bangladesh. As the leader of Bangl ...

had also acknowledged. K.F. Rustamji, IPS, was appointed as the first Director General of Border Security Force from July 22, 1965, to September 30, 1972, and the current DG (additional charge) is

Daljit Singh Chaudhary Daljit Singh Chaudhary (born 23 November 1965) is an Indian Police Service officer of 1990 batch UP cadre. Singh is present Director General of the Border Security Force of India and former Director general of Sashastra Seema Bal, was earlier Sp ...

, IPS, since August 3, 2024.

Engagements

* Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 *

Operation Blue Star Operation Blue Star was a military operation by the Indian Armed Forces conducted between 1 and 10 June 1984 to remove Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and other Sikh militants from the Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib), a holy site of Sikhism, and i ...

* Operation Black Thunder *

Insurgency in Punjab The Insurgency in Punjab was an armed campaign by the separatists of the Khalistan movement from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. Economic and social pressures driven by the Green Revolution prompted calls for Sikh autonomy and separatism. This ...

Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir The insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, also known as the Kashmir insurgency, is an ongoing separatist militant insurgency against the Indian administration in Jammu and Kashmir, a territory constituting the southwestern portion of the larger ...

* Operation Vijay – Kargil War * 2001 Bangladeshi-Indian border skirmishes * 2001–2002 Operation Parakram – India-Pakistan Standoff * 2013 India-Pakistan Border skirmishes * 2014–15 India–Pakistan border skirmishes *

2016–2018 India–Pakistan border skirmishes The 2016–2018 India–Pakistan border skirmishes were a series of armed clashes between India and Pakistan, mostly consisting of heavy exchanges of gunfire between Indian and Pakistani forces across the '' de facto'' border, known as the L ...

2019 India–Pakistan border skirmishes In the aftermath of the Pulwama attack on 14 February 2019, a standoff emerged between India and Pakistan consisting of cross-border airstrikes and exchanges of gunfire between India and Pakistan across the ''de facto'' border in the disput ...

2025 India–Pakistan standoff 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...

Roles

During peacetime * Border guarding and security. * Prevention of trans-border crimes, unauthorized entry into or exit from the territory of India. * Prevention of smuggling and any other illegal activities on the border. * Anti-infiltration duties. * Collection of trans-border intelligence. * To promote a sense of security among the people living in the border areas. During war time * Holding ground in assigned sectors. * Limited aggressive action against irregular forces of the enemy. * Maintenance of law and order in enemy territory administered under the Army's control. * Acting as guides to the Army in border areas. * Assistance in control of refugees. * Provision of escorts. * Performing special tasks connected with intelligence including cross-border raids. * Replenishing manpower. The BSF is also employed for internal security duties and other law and order duties on the requisition of the State Government. Being a Central Armed Police Force, it can be entrusted with policing duties at any place apart from its mandate.Page no. 636 & 637 of Chapter 20 India 2013 published by Publications Division of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India Although originally charged with guarding India's external boundaries, the BSF in the 1990s was also given the task of

counter-insurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN, or NATO spelling counter-insurgency) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the ac ...

and

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and intelligence agencies use to co ...

operations in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, and the Northeastern Seven Sister States. While in Punjab, the BSF took part in operations like Blue Star, Black Thunder 1 & 2. However, when the

insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir The insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, also known as the Kashmir insurgency, is an ongoing separatist militant insurgency against the Indian administration in Jammu and Kashmir, a territory constituting the southwestern portion of the larger ...

broke out in 1989, it moved towards the state and handed over the operations in Punjab to CRPF and local police. In

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory since 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (prin ...

, the state police and the thinly-deployed

Central Reserve Police Force The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is a central armed police force in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. The CRPF assists states and Union Territories in maintaining law and order and internal security. It is composed of the Cent ...

(CRPF) struggled to cope with the torturous violence, so it was deployed to combat these. In Jammu and Kashmir, the BSF initially suffered casualties from terrorist attacks but later saw successes. During the initial years, terrorist activity had even reached Jammu and parts of Northern Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. However, it was only due to the successful operations by BSF that by the late 1990s, their area of activity had been restricted only to the valley. BSF was also successful in setting up a robust

HUMINT Human intelligence (HUMINT, pronounced ) is intelligence-gathering by means of human sources and interpersonal communication. It is distinct from more technical intelligence-gathering disciplines, such as signals intelligence (SIGINT), imager ...

network. From arresting Maulana Masood Azhar, Bitta Karate, Yasin Malik, the BSF is also credited for killing Ghazi Baba - the chief of

Jaish-e-Mohammed Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) is a Pakistani Deobandi jihadist Islamist militant group active in Kashmir.: "as soon as he was freed, Masood Azhar was back in Pakistan where he founded a new jihadist movement, Jaish-e-Mohammed, which became one of ...

and the mastermind of the

2001 Indian Parliament attack The 2001 Indian Parliament attack was a terrorist attack on the Parliament of India in New Delhi, India on 13 December 2001. The attack was carried out by five Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists that resulted in the deaths of six Delhi Police perso ...

in August 2003, along with his deputy commander. The BSF raided Baba's hideout in

Srinagar Srinagar (; ) is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary ...

, and he was killed in the ensuing gun battle along with his deputy chief. However, with changing tactical and operational conditions, and expansion and modernisation of State police, the Government withdrew all 60 BSF battalions and redeployed them on the Indo-Pakistani border and

Bangladesh–India border The Bangladesh–India border, known locally as the Radcliffe line, is an international boundary, international border running between the republics of Bangladesh and India. Six Divisions of Bangladesh, Bangladeshi divisions and five States and ...

. These troops were then replaced by fresh troops from the CRPF that had undergone specialised training in

. Some units of the BSF are also deployed in Central India to combat Naxal violence. Counter-Maoist operations are diversified. BSF is deployed in Kanker district of Chhattisgarh, where Naxal strength is comparatively thinner than that of other parts of Bastar region. At present total 15 battalions of BSF are stationed in different parts of Kanker district to combat the Naxal. After recent civilian killings in Kashmir the Home Ministry re-inducted the BSF for counter-insurgency operations and law-and-order duties in valley. The BSF units will be deployed in sensitive areas which lie in various districts of the Kashmir valley. A significant contributor to BSF success in the Kashmir Valley is Commandant Jagmohan Singh Rawat SM, KC. He has played a crucial role in counter-insurgency operations.

Organisation

The Border Security Force has its headquarters in New Delhi and is known as Force Headquarters (FHQ) headed by a director general. Various directorates like Operations, Communications & IT, Training, Engineering, General, Law, Provisioning, Administration, Personnel, Armaments, Medical, Finance etc. function under the DG. Each directorate is headed by an IG. The Eastern Theatre is looked after by Spl. DG HQ (Eastern Command) at

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

and the Western Theatre is looked after by Spl DG HQ (Western Command) at

Chandigarh Chandigarh is a city and union territory in northern India, serving as the shared capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana. Situated near the foothills of the Shivalik range of Himalayas, it borders Haryana to the east and Punjab in the ...

. Field Formations in BSF are headed by an Inspector General (IG) and are known as Frontiers Headquarters (Ftr HQ). There is 13 such Frontier under which Sector Headquarters (SHQ) function headed by a Deputy Inspector General (DIG) each. Each SHQ has under its command, 4–5 infantry battalions, along with attachments of artillery, air and water wings. Presently 186 battalions are sanctioned to BSF. Five major training institutions and ten Subsidiary Training Centres (STCs) are imparting ab-initio as well as in-service training to its ranks and other CPOs/SPOs including IPS Probationers. BSF is the only Central Armed Police Force to have its own Air Wing and artillery regiment, and besides

ITBP The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is a central armed police force in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It is responsible for guarding India’s border with Tibet . It was formed in the aftermath of the Sino-Indian War of 1962. Hi ...

to have a Water Wing. All these specialised wings support the General Duty Battalions in their operations. The Financial Adviser of the BSF has been an

Indian Revenue Service The Indian Revenue Service (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ), often abbreviated as IRS, is a civil service that is primarily responsible for tax collection, collecting and administering Direct tax, direct and indir ...

officer of the rank of Joint Secretary and also has Dy Advisers from the

Indian Audit and Accounts Service Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IA&AS) is a group 'A' central civil service under the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the supreme audit institution of India. Its central civil servants serve in an audit managerial capacity in the ...

, Indian Civil Account Service and Indian Defence Account Service. The BSF also has a national level school for the breeding and training of dogs. Dogs from other CPOs and State Police are sent to National Training Centre for Dogs (NTCD) to be trained in infantry patrol, detection of explosives, tracking and the like. The BSF maintains a Tear Smoke Unit (TSU), which is unique in India. The TSU is responsible for producing

tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymatory agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the Mace (spray), early commercial self-defense spray, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the ey ...

munitions required for the Anti-Riot Forces. It also exports a substantial quantity to other countries. Three battalions of the BSF, located at

Guwahati Guwahati () the largest city of the Indian state of Assam, and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the seat of the Government of Assam. Th ...

, and

Patna Patna (; , ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paṭanā''), historically known as Pataliputra, Pāṭaliputra, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, ...

, are designated as the

National Disaster Response Force The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is a specialized force in India, tasked with the responsibility of responding to natural disasters, natural and man-made disasters. It operates under the National Disaster Management Authority (India) ...

(NDRF). Each battalion maintains 18 self-contained specialist

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

teams of 45 personnel each, including engineers, technicians, electricians, dog squads and medics and paramedics. The establishment of each battalion is 1,158 personnel. The NDRF is a multi-disciplinary, multi-skilled, high-tech force for all types of disasters and can deploy to disasters by air, sea, and land. These battalions are equipped and trained for all natural disasters including combating Chemical, Biological Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) disasters. Since 2014, as a part of modernisation, BSF also started installing

infra-red Infrared (IR; sometimes called infrared light) is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than that of visible light but shorter than microwaves. The infrared spectral band begins with the waves that are just longer than those of ...

, thermal imagers,

aerostat An aerostat (, via French) or lighter-than-air aircraft is an aircraft that relies on buoyancy to maintain flight. Aerostats include unpowered balloons (free-flying or tethered) and powered airships. The relative density of an aerostat as a ...

s for

aerial surveillance Surveillance aircraft are aircraft used for surveillance. They are primarily operated by military forces and government agencies in roles including intelligence gathering, maritime patrol, battlefield and airspace surveillance, observation (e.g ...

, ground sensors,

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

s, sonar systems to secure riverine borders, fibre-optic sensor and laser beam intrusion detection systems on specific sections of border with

and

. These Hi-tech systems are installed in areas where barbed wire fencing could not be installed due to treacherous terrain or marshy riverine topography. The largest section of this system is located at

Dhubri Dhubri is a city and the administrative centre of Dhubri district in the Indian state of Assam. It is an old town on the bank of the Brahmaputra River, with historical significance. In 1883, the town was first constituted as a municipal board un ...

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

, where

Brahmaputra river The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Southwestern China, Northeastern India, and Bangladesh. It is known as Brahmaputra or Luit in Assamese language, Assamese, Yarlung Tsangpo in Lhasa Tibetan, Tibetan, the Siang/Dihan ...

enters Bangladesh.

ORBAT

*Western Command, Chandigarh **Gujarat Frontier,

Gandhinagar Gandhinagar () is the capital of the state of Gujarat in India. Gandhinagar is located approximately 23 km north of Ahmedabad, on the west central point of the industrial corridor between the megacities of Delhi and Mumbai. Gandhinagar ...

***Barmer Sector ***Gandhinagar Sector ***Bhuj Sector, **Rajasthan Frontier,

Jodhpur Jodhpur () is the second-largest city of the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, after its capital Jaipur. As of 2023, the city has a population of 1.83 million. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Jodhpur district and ...

***Jaisalmer (South)Sector ***Jaisalmer (North) Sector ***Bikaner Sector ***Ganganagar Sector **Punjab Frontier,

Jalandhar Jalandhar () is a city in the state of Punjab, India, Punjab in India. With a considerable population, it ranks as the List of cities in Punjab and Chandigarh by population, third most-populous city in the state and is the largest city in the ...

***Ferozepur Sector ***Amritsar Sector ***Gurdaspur Sector **Jammu Frontier,

Jammu Jammu () is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute ...

***Jammu Sector ***Sunderbani Sector ***Rajauri Sector ***I/Nagar Sector **Kashmir Frontier, Humhama ***Srinagar Sector ***Baramulla Sector ***Bandipore Sector ***Kupwara Sector *Eastern Command,

**South Bengal Frontier, Kolkata **North Bengal Frontier, Kadamtala **Meghalaya Frontier ***SHQ

Shillong Shillong (, ) is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a Indian state, state in northeastern India. It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the list of most populous cities in India, 330th most populous city ...

(at Mawpat) ***SHQ Tura **Tripura Frontier, Agartala **Mizoram & Cachar Frontier, Masimpur ***Aizawl Sector ***Cachar Sector ***CI Ops Manipur **Assam Frontier, Guwahati **FTR HQ (spl ops)Odisha *SHQ Koraput *SHQ Malkanagiri

Special Detachments

Creek Crocodile

The Creek Crocodile is the specialised

commando A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as oppo ...

unit of BSF. Primary objective of this unit is to act as

Quick reaction force A rapid reaction force / rapid response force (RRF), quick reaction force / quick response force (QRF), immediate reaction force (IRF), rapid deployment force (RDF), or quick maneuver force (QMF) is a military or Law enforcement agency, law enf ...

and prevent smuggling and infiltration by unwanted elements. The unit is specifically deployed at Indus River Estuaries in Gujarat and

Sir Creek Sir Creek ( ), originally Ban Ganga, is a 96 km (60 mi) tidal estuary in the uninhabited marshlands of the Indus River Delta on the border between India and Pakistan. The creek flows into the Arabian Sea and separates Gujarat state in India f ...

. It was raised in 2009. The base of operations of this unit is located at Koteshwar outpost of BSF. They are equipped with

All-Terrain Vehicles An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike or quad (if it has four wheels), as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, has a seat ...

(ATV) and fast patrol boats.

Camel Contingent

BSF Camel Contingent is a specialised battalion-size

Camelry Camel cavalry, or camelry (, ), is a generic designation for armed forces using camels as a means of transportation. Sometimes warriors or soldiers of this type also fought from camel-back with spears, bows, or firearms. Camel cavalry was a commo ...

Unit which has its roots in

Bikaner Camel Corps The Bikaner Camel Corps was a unit of Imperial Service Troops from India that fought for the Allies in World War I and World War II. The Corps was founded by Maharaja Ganga Singh of the Indian state of Bikaner, as the Ganga Risala after the Brit ...

. The primary purpose of this unit is to patrol the desert section of the border with Pakistan. This unit has a strength of 1,200 camels and 800 riders. Both camels as well as rientre located at BSF Frontier Headquarters in

. However, with force modernisation pacing up, BSF has equipped its formation across the western border with All-Terrain Vehicles and other specialised apparatus.

Rank structure

;Officers ;Personnel Below Officer Rank

Equipment

All the equipment including the uniforms, weapons, ammunition, vehicles such as the bullet proof vehicles, troop carriers, logistics vehicles, mine protected vehicles are manufactured indigenously at the

Indian Ordnance Factories The Directorate of Ordnance (Coordination & Services) (abbreviated: DOO(C&S)) is an authority under the Department of Defence Production (DDP) of Ministry of Defence (MoD), Government of India. Its primary work is to management, give instructio ...

under control of the

Ordnance Factories Board The Directorate of Ordnance (Coordination & Services) (abbreviated: DOO(C&S)) is an authority under the Department of Defence Production (DDP) of Ministry of Defence (MoD), Government of India. Its primary work is to management, give instructi ...

. Drone and anti-drone equipment is an upcoming acquisition. Japanese 20th Infantry Regiment man Carl Gustav at training exericse

* Carl Gustav 84 mm recoilless rifles

Artillery

* 51 mm Mortar * 81 mm Mortar * 120 mm Mortar * Advance Air defence Avni Gun * 105 mm Indian Field Gun

Armoured

* Mahindra Rakshak military light utility vehicle * OFD Mine Protected Vehicle *

Tata 407 The Tata 407 is a light commercial vehicle manufactured by Tata Motors. Launched in February 21, 1986, as of 2011 the 407 model sold more than 500,000 units. The 407 has a payload of 2.25 tonnes, an overall length of 4.7 metres, ...

Armoured Variant *

Maruti Gypsy The Maruti Suzuki, Maruti Suzuki Gypsy is a four-wheel-drive vehicle based on the long wheelbase Suzuki Jimny#SJ40, Suzuki Jimny SJ40/410 series. It was built at Maruti Suzuki's Gurgaon, Gurgaon, India plant. It was primarily built as an off-r ...

Armoured Variant * Mahindra Bolero Armoured Variant *

Mahindra Bolero Neo The Mahindra Bolero Neo (Formerly Mahindra TUV 300) is a mini SUV manufactured by the Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra since 2015 . History First announced by Mahindra & Mahindra in August 2015 as TUV 300, the microsite of the vehicle went ...

Armoured Variant * Armoured Agricultural Tractors

Aircraft

The aircraft fleet are distributed to different air wings at air bases of

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

or Army Aviation Corps. This includes 1 Fixed Wing (HS748, ERJ135BJ) at Palam AFS and 5 Rotary Wings (Mi-17, Dhruv) at Agartala AFS, Mountain Shadow AFS,

Raipur Airport Swami Vivekananda Airport , formerly known as Mana Airport, is a domestic airport serving Raipur, the capital city of the state of Chhattisgarh, India. The airport is located at Mana, approximately south-east of Raipur and east of Naya Raipur ...

, Ranchi Airport, and Srinagar AFS. *

Hawker Siddeley HS 748 The Hawker Siddeley HS 748 (formerly Avro HS 748) is a medium-sized turboprop airliner originally designed and initially produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Avro. It was the last aircraft to be developed by Avro prior to its absorptio ...

- 01 * Embraer 135 BJ - 01 * Mi-17 V5 Helicopter - 08 * Mi-17 1V Helicopter - 06 *

HAL Dhruv The HAL Dhruv () is a utility helicopter designed and developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in November 1984. The helicopter first flew in 1992; its development was prolonged due to multiple factors including the Indian Army's requ ...

- 06 *

HAL Cheetah HAL may refer to: Aviation * Halali Airport (IATA airport code: HAL) Halali, Oshikoto, Namibia * Hawaiian Airlines (ICAO airline code: HAL) * HAL Airport, Bengaluru, India * Hindustan Aeronautics Limited an Indian aerospace manufacturer of figh ...

- 01

MANPADS

SA-16 Gimlet The 9K38 Igla (, "needle", NATO reporting name SA-18 Grouse) is a Soviet/Russian man-portable infrared homing surface-to-air missile (SAM) system. A simplified, earlier version is known as the 9K310 Igla-1 (NATO: SA-16 Gimlet), and the latest ...

SA-7 Grail The 9K32 Strela-2 (; NATO reporting name SA-7 Grail) is a light-weight, shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missile or MANPADS system. It is designed to target aircraft at low altitudes with passive infrared-homing guidance and destroy them with a ...

Watercraft

* Floating Border Out-Post - 10 * See BSF (Water Wing)

Criticism and controversy

Canadian controversy

In 2010, some Canadian visa officials rejected the immigration application of a retired BSF soldier Fateh Singh Pandher, terming BSF a "notoriously violent paramilitary unit engaged in systematic attacks on civilians and responsible for torturing suspected criminals." This accusation did not go down well with the Indian government. The Indian External Affairs Ministry was asked by the Home minister to take up the issue with Canada. The Home ministry of India, as well as the Indian public in general and several of India's political parties, expressed outrage at this attack and called Canada's actions

discriminatory Discrimination is the process of making unfair or prejudicial distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong, such as race, gender, age, class, religion, or sexu ...

and spurious, and denounced their charges against the BSF as baseless and unproven. The Indian government threatened diplomatic retaliation unless Canada withdrew their allegations. The Canadian government did not respond immediately. It was speculated that diplomatic retaliation from India will consist of banning Canadians going to participate the

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...

if they are doing so through India. Public outrage in India prompted Canadian authorities to express "great respect for India's armed forces and related institutions." Subsequently, India's Ministry of External Affairs summoned Canadian High Commissioner

Joseph Caron Joseph Caron (born 1947) is a Canadian diplomat. He served as the former Canadian high commissioner to India and former Canadian ambassador to China and Japan. Born and raised in the small francophone agricultural village of Pain Court in South- ...

and demanded that "the blatant discrimination against Indian security agencies" cease. India's Minister of External Affairs, SM Krishna, condemned Canada's actions and has expressed pride in the accomplishments of the BSF. Following complaints made by the Indian government and criticism of Canada's actions against India, the

Harper government The premiership of Stephen Harper began on February 6, 2006, when the first Cabinet headed by Stephen Harper was sworn in by Governor General Michaelle Jean. Harper was invited to form the 28th Canadian Ministry and become Prime Minister of ...

retracted their earlier accusations against BSF security officials. Canada's Minister of Citizenship and Immigration,

Jason Kenney Jason Thomas Kenney (born May 30, 1968) is a former Canadian politician who served as the 18th premier of Alberta from 2019 until 2022, and the leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP) from 2017 until 2022. He also served as the member o ...

, termed as "unfortunate" the incidents involving use of "foul language by the Canadian High Commission in

visa Visa most commonly refers to: * Travel visa, a document that allows entry to a foreign country * Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Vi ...

rejection letters to some individuals," Kenney said, "This language, or the inaccurate impression it has created, in no way reflects the policy or position of the

Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...

Bangladesh border killings

According to the Bangladeshi government, 136 civilians were killed and a further 170 others suffered injuries in 2009. The Indian government has said that 67 were killed and 80 injured in 2009. The Bangladesh government and Bangladeshi organizations protested heavily against these alleged killings. Media reports claim that in August 2008, Indian BSF officials admitted that they killed 59 persons (34 Bangladeshis, 21 Indians, rest unidentified) who were trying to cross the border illegally during the prior six months.India says 59 killed over last six months on Bangladesh border
, Reuters, 24 August 2008. Indian media claimed that, in 2001,

Bangladesh Rifles Border Guard Bangladesh (abbr. BGB; ) is a paramilitary force responsible for the border security of Bangladesh. The BGB is entrusted with the responsibility to defend the border of Bangladesh with India and Myanmar. It was formerly known as th ...

ambushed and killed 16 BSF soldiers while they were chasing some Bangladeshi smugglers back into the Bangladesh. Since then, the BSF has been compelled to act tough against Bangladeshi illegals. There was perceived retaliation by the BSF but was averted after Home Ministers of both countries had talks on the issue. In July 2009

Channel 4 News ''Channel 4 News'' is the main news programme on British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since Channel 4's launch in November 1982. Current productions ''Channel 4 News'' ''Channel 4 News'' ...

reported that apparently "hundreds" of Bangladeshis and Indians are indiscriminately killed by the BSF along the Indo-Bangladeshi Barrier. The BSF claims that the barrier's main purpose is to check

illegal immigration to India An illegal immigrant in India is a foreigner who has entered India either without valid documents or who initially had a valid document, but has overstayed beyond the permitted time, as per the general provisions of the Citizenship Act as amende ...

, and prevent cross-border terrorism from Islamists. Bangladeshi media accused the BSF of abducting 5 Bangladeshi children, aged between 8 and 15, from the Haripur Upazila in

Thakurgaon District Thakurgaon District () is a district in northwestern Bangladesh. It is part of Rangpur Division and borders India to the west. It was established as a mahakuma in 1860 consisting of 7 thanas named Thakurgaon sadar, Baliadangi, Pirganj, Ranishanka ...

of Bangladesh, in 2010. The children were setting fishing nets near the border. In 2010,

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

(HRW) issued an 81-page report which alleged "over 900 of abuses by the BSF" in the first decade of the 21st century. The report was compiled from interviews with victims of BSF shootings, witnesses and members of the BSF and its Bangladeshi counterpart. According to HRW, while most of them were killed when they crossed into Indian territory for indulging in

cattle raiding Cattle raiding is the act of stealing live cattle, often several or many at once. In Australia, such stealing is often referred to as duffing, and the perpetrator as a duffer.Baker, Sidney John (1945) ''The Australian language : an examination ...

or other

smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...

activities. In February 2012, the BSF website was hacked by Bangladeshi hackers in retaliation. The hackers later shared the news in the internet and also in the other social sites where they claimed to have defaced the sites asking the BSF to stop killing Bangladeshis at border. The site became normal sometime on 15 February 2012.

Challenges

Working conditions

Working conditions of the BSF have been questioned. " Zero Error Syndrome" adds stress. A home ministry standing committee report on the "Working Conditions in Border Guarding Forces" was published in December 2018, it was chaired by

P. Chidambaram Palaniappan Chidambaram (born 16 September 1945), better known as P. Chidambaram, is an Indian politician and lawyer who currently serves as Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha. He served as the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee o ...

Health

Health of employees remains a challenge, and given the numbers of the force, more employees, as compared to operational deaths, die of diseases, illness; and mental health issues have also been raised and addressed by the force.

In Media

* BSF has appeared in ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

'' channel's documentary BSF : The first line of defence.

References

External links

*

Border Security Force at India Defence

Tear Smoke Unit
{{Authority control 1965 establishments in India Border guarding forces of India Central Armed Police Forces of India Federal law enforcement agencies of India Military units and formations established in 1965