BSF to commemorate its 1,927 personnel killed in action on Oct 23

By Rajnish Singh
New Delhi [India], October 19 : Border Security Force (BSF) will commemorate its 1,927 personnel on October 23 at National Police Memorial (NPM) here as they laid down their lives in the line of duty to uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India since the inception of the force in 1965.
These BSF personnel were killed during various operational engagements that include the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War while deployed both along the Western and Eastern borders, Punjab militancy, Jammu and Kashmir, North-East and Left Wing Extremism (LWE) theatres.
As India celebrates the 75th year of Independence as 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav', the BSF, the world's largest border guarding force hailed as "India's First Line of Defence", has organised the day-long event to pay tributes to its personnel who were killed upholding the sovereignty and integrity of India's borders.
Ever since the force was raised on December 1, 1965, the BSF has played a stellar role in safeguarding national interests.
In the day-long grand ceremony at the National Police Memorial, officers and families of BSF personnel will be joining the families of the personnel killed in action in paying homage at the Wall of Valour at NPM followed by felicitating next-of-kin of the bravehearts on October 23 morning.
In the evening session, a grand 'Shaheed Samman' parade will be conducted at the venue, with the Chief Guest and Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Kumar Mishra laying a wreath at the memorial. The proceeding will be followed by flagging off of the all-women Mashaal motorcycle Rally which will pass through some of the iconic landmarks in Delhi via Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House, India Gate, Red Fort and Raj Ghat before terminating at CGO Complex, New Delhi.
Commemorating the stellar role of BSF in the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh as well as the various operations in Counter-Insurgency, BSF war veterans and gallantry awardees will be felicitated following a grand band display and an audio-visual show displaying the valour and services of BSF personnel to the nation.
Raised on December 1, 1965, after the Indo-Pakistan War, BSF is the only force of the nation with a distinctly defined war-time as well as peace-time roles and has successfully proved its mettle in accomplishing every task assigned in times of war, peace and 'No-War-No-Peace' (NWNP) situation.
In addition to protecting the sanctity of our borders, BSF is also tasked to ensure policing of border areas during peace and check trans-border crimes thereby inculcating a sense of security in the border population.
Guided by its motto 'Jeevan Paryant Kartaya'(duty until the end of life), the BSF has significant contributions to its credit for its role in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War while still in the nascent years of its raising. The Force was tasked to assist preparations of Mukti Vahini well before hostilities broke out. During the Kargil conflict in May-July 1999, the BSF remained on the heights of the mountains defending the integrity of the country with all the might at its command in unison with the Army.
The BSF is guarding the 6,836.36 km long International Boundary with both Pakistan and Bangladesh which includes the most inhospitable snow-clad mountains in Jammu and Kashmir, deserts in Rajasthan, creek areas in Gujarat, Sunderban delta in Bengal, flood-prone area of Assam and deep forests coupled with malaria menace in Mizoram and Tripura.
BSF is also deployed along more than 430 km of the 772 km long Line of Control along with the Indian Army, while independently manning more than 140 km of the LoC.
Furthermore, BSF is extensively deployed for internal security and counter-insurgency duties all over the country since its raising. In March 1990, BSF was inducted for counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir.
The force remained engaged in anti-militancy operations during the most difficult phase of insurgency from 1990 to 2005 and neutralized a large number of militants, successfully apprehending more than 11,000 militants, apart from surrender of more than 1,000 militants. In the hinterland, BSF troops are also deployed in Chhattisgarh and Odisha to quell the Left Wing Extremism in these states since December 2009.
BSF has 192 Battalions including three Disaster Management Battalions, with a strength of more than 2.65 lakh brave men and women ably supported by an Artillery Regiment, Air and Water Wings, Camel Contingent and Dog Squads, Commando units, Communication set-up, robust training infrastructure and a well-equipped medical set up.