Army-The Power of India: August 2014

Special Forces of Indian

Historical Special Forces in India

Chandits

Chandits

The Chindits were a British India 'Special Force'" that served in Burma and India in 1943 and 1944 during the Burma Campaign in World War II. They were formed to put into effect Orde Wingate's newly developed guerilla warfare tactic of long-range penetration. The Chindits were trained to operate deep behind Japanese lines, their operations were marked by prolonged marches through extremely difficult terrain by underfed troops weakened by diseases such as malaria and dysentery.A continuing controversy over the force has centred on its extremely high casualty rate and the debatable military value of its achievements.The Chindits were the creation of the British Army Brigadier Orde Charles Wingate, then serving under General Archibald Wavell, the Commander-in- Chief of India Command. The name was suggested by Captain Aung Thin (DSO) of the Burma Army. Chindit is a corrupted form of the Burmese mythical beast Chinthé or Chinthay, statues of which guarded Buddhist temples.In the East African Campaign of 1940–41, Wingate had begun to explore the ideas that he later used with the Chindits, when he created and commanded a mixed group of regular Sudanese and Ethiopian units together with Abyssinian partisans. Known as Gideon Force, they disrupted Italian supply lines and provided intelligence to British forces. As Commander-in-Chief of the Middle East Command in 1940, Wavell had given permission for Gideon Force for political reasons, because he had thought Wingate's idea to be militarily too unorthodox.After the disbandment of Gideon Force, Wavell requested Wingate for service in Burma in 1942, where it was intended that he raise irregular forces to operate behind the Japanese lines, in a manner similar to Gideon Force.Wingate arrived in Burma in March 1942, barely two months before the final Allied collapse and the Japanese conquest of Burma. Rather than organise irregular forces, Wingate spent his time touring the country and developing his theory of long-range penetration on paper. During the final stages of the British retreat from Burma, Wingate had himself specially flown back to India while the rest of the army walked out. Once in Delhi, he presented his proposals to Wavell.

Modern Special Forces In India

Para Commandos

Para Commandos are a special forces unit of the Indian Army mandated with special operating missions such as special operations, Direct action, Hostage rescue, Counter-terrorism, Unconventional warfare, Special reconnaissance, Foreign internal Defense, Personnel recovery, Asymmetric warfare, Counter-proliferation, Counter Insurgency, Seek and Destory special heliborne operations are its primary tasks. Formed in 1 July 1966, the Para Commandos are the most important part of the Special Forces of India. They are a part of the highly trained Parachute Regiment of the Indian Army and, generally, all the Para-Commando personnel are selected from it. Because of its specified role, the regiment needs to be kept at optimum level of operational efficiency and physical fitness. Towards this end, this specially selected manpower should be comparatively young, physically fit and mentally robust, intelligent, innovative and highly motivated so as to successfully accomplish the assigned operational tasks.The parachute units of the Indian Army are among the oldest airborne units in the world. The first such unit to be authorized was on 15 May 1966, and the 50th Indian Parachute Brigade was formed on 27 October 1941, comprising the 151st British Parachute Battalion, 152nd Indian Parachute Battalion & 153rd Gurkha Parachute Battalion.During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, an ad hoc commando unit, named Meghdoot Force, consisting of volunteers from various infantry units was organized by then Major Megh Singh of the Brigade of the Guards. The unit performed well in combat and the Government authorized the formal raising of a commando unit. Lt Col Megh Singh was selected to raise the unit which was originally intended to be a part of the Brigade of the Guards. However, recognizing parachute qualification as an integral element of special operations, the unit was transferred to the Parachute Regiment and raised as its 9th Battalion (Commando) on 1 July 1966. The erstwhile members of the Meghdoot Force formed the nucleus and the new unit was based in Gwalior. In June 1967 the unit was split equally into two to form a second commando unit, designated as 10th Battalion, both with three Companies each. 10th Battalion was mandated to operate in the Western Desert and 9th Battalion in the northern mountains. In 1969, these battalions were redesignated as 9 and 10 Para (Commando) battalions.In 1978, the 1 Para, as an experiment, was converted to become the first special forces unit of the Indian army and was kept as the tactical reserve. Already a recipient of the Chief of Army Staff Unit Citation twice and GOC-in-C Eastern Command Unit Citation once, the unit was originally 1 Punjab which was later re designated as 1 PARA (PUNJAB) and in 1978 was converted to 1 PARA (SF). The unit is well over 200 years old.1995 saw the formation of the fourth commando battalion when 21 Maratha Light Infantry was selected to convert to special forces and slated for the Eastern Command. After stringent selection and training process that spanned more than a year, on 1 February 1996, the unit under Col VB Shinde, was formally inducted as the 21st Battalion (Special Forces), The Parachute Regiment. The unit has done well in its short lifespan and is the proud recipient of the Chief of Army Staff Unit Citation twice (1992 and 2006) and GOC-in-C Eastern Command Unit Citation once (2008) among a host of individual gallantry awards.With the changing scenario in military operations and the need for more special forces units, 2 Para began the conversion process from parachute to special forces role, followed closely by the 3 Para and the 4 Para in the year 2004 and 2005 respectively. The attempt did see a little success the reason it failed to achieve it's goal was due to the stringent selection process.

Special Frontier Force (SFF)

The Special Frontier Force (SFF) is a paramilitary special force of India created on 14 November 1962. Its main goal originally was to conduct covert operations behind Chinese lines in the event of another Sino-Indian War.

The SFF came to be known as 'Establishment 22' due to its first Inspector General, Major General (Retd.) Sujan Singh Uban of Indian Army, who used to be commander of 22 Mountain Regiment during World War II,a Military Cross holder and a legendary figure in the British India Army. Singh commanded the 22nd Mountain Regiment during World War II in Europe and a Long Range Desert Squadron (LRDS) in North Africa.

Based in Chakrata, Uttarakhand, the force was put under the direct supervision of the Intelligence Bureau, and later, the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.

Ethnic Tibetans have been a part and parcel of the modern Indian Army for as long as it has existed. Independent formations of Tibetan (including Ladakhi, Bön, and Sikkimese) units were to patrol and police the lands they were native to. During the time of the Great Game, the British Indian Army began to employ Tibetans as spies, intelligence agents, and even covert militia in northern India and Tibet proper.
At the time of Indian independence, the Northern Hills of India remained the most isolated and strategically overlooked territory of the subcontinent. During the 1950s, the American Central Intelligence Agency and the Indian Intelligence Bureau established Mustang Base in Mustang in Nepal,which trained Tibetans in guerilla warfare. The Mustang rebels brought the 14th Dalai Lama to India during the 1959 Tibetan Rebellion.

Ghatak Force

Ghatak Platoon, or Ghatak Commandos, is a special operations capable infantry platoon. There is one platoon in every infantry battalion in the Indian Army. Ghatak is a Hindi word meaning "killer" or "lethal". They act as shock troops and spearhead assaults ahead of the battalion.

Their operational role is similar to Scout Sniper Platoon, STA platoon of the USMC and the Patrols platoon of the British Army. They can be tasked by the battalion or brigade commander to carry out tasks such as special reconnaissance, raids on enemy artillery positions, airfields, supply dumps and tactical headquarters. They are also capable of directing artillery and air attacks on targets deep within enemy lines.A Ghatak Platoon is usually 20-men strong, consisting of a commanding Captain, 2 non-commissioned officers and some special teams like marksman and spotter pairs, light machine gunners, medic and radio operator. The remaining soldiers act as assault troopers.

MARCOS

MARCOS, previously named as Marine Commando Force (MCF), is the special operations unit of the Indian Navy. created for conducting special operations such as Amphibious warfare, Counter-terrorism, Direct action, Special reconnaissance, Unconventional warfare, hostage rescue, Personnel recovery, Asymmetric warfare, Counterproliferation. The MCF is specially organised, trained and equipped for the conduct of special operations in a maritime environment.MARCOS is short for Marine Commandos. The force has gradually acquired experience and a reputation for professionalism over the two decades it has been in existence. The MARCOS are capable of undertaking operations in all types of terrain, but are specialised in maritime operations in Jammu and Kashmir through the Jhelum River and Wular Lake, a 65 square kilometer freshwater lake. Some MARCOS personnel are also attached with the Army special forces units conducting counter-terrorism operations in the area. MARCOS are widely feared among the terrorists, who call them "Dadiwala fauj", meaning the "Bearded army" because of their bearded disguise in civil areas. MARCOS have also been known to carry out wide variety of operations in foreign soil.The Indian Armed Forces wanted to establish an amphibious warfare and maritime special operations force. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, the Indian Navy supported the landing operations against the Pakistani base of Cox Bazar, Operation Jackpot, landing an army brigade using Polnochny class landing ships without significant resistance. Before this operation, Indian navy divers provided basic training in underwater demolition to Bengali insurgents. However, this did not yield expected results. Later, different Indian army units were assigned amphibious roles in exercises. In 1983, the 340th Army Independent Brigade based at Trivandrum, was converted to an amphibious assault unit.Since then, the navy has conducted various exercises to demonstrate its amphibious abilities, notably the Andaman Islands in 1984, and Goa in 1986. These assault operations included both airborne and amphibious forces. In April 1986, the Indian Navy started planning for a maritime special force which could conduct amphibious reconnaissance, raids and counter-terrorist operations.

The force was initially trained by the other special forces of the country, including those under the Home Ministry and the Army. Three officers were then sent to undergo a hard training schedule with US Navy SEALs and further training was then acquired through exchanges with the British Special Air Service. The officers formed the first nucleus of the Indian Marine Special Force (IMSF) which was officially established in February 1987. The first batch of marine commandos qualified in February 1987. It was later renamed as the Marine Commando Force (MCF) in 1991.The exclusivity of the unit lies in its competence to operate in all three mediums namely Sea, Air and Land. The MCF is specially organised, trained and equipped for the conduct of special operations in a maritime environment. Personnel from unit are deployed round the clock from Kashmir for CI/CT ops to GoA, Somalia for anti-piracy operations. The unit has always been at forefront in providing diving / civil assistance during times of natural disaster. The core tasking of MARCOS include:-

Conduct clandestine attack against enemy ships,offshore installations and other vital assets behind enemy lines.
To support amphibious operations including pre-assault ops.
To conduct unconventional warfare.
Conduct of surveillance and recce missions in support of military operations.
Conduct of clandestine diving operations.
To conduct hostage rescue operations in maritime environment.
Combating terrorism in a maritime environment

Garud Commando Force

The Garud Commando Force is the Special Forces unit of the Indian Air Force. It was formed in September 2004 and has a strength of approximately 2000 personnel. The unit derives its name from Garuda, a divine bird-like creature of Hindu Mythology.
Garud is tasked with the protection of critical Air Force bases and installations; search and rescue during peace and hostilities and disaster relief during calamities.Presently, Garud's are deployed in Congo as part of the UN peace keeping operations.
Garuds have diverse responsibilities. Besides base protection force to protect airfields and key assets in hostile environments, some advanced Garud units are trained like Army Para Commandos and the Naval MARCOS to undertake missions deep behind enemy lines. Note, that the security of IAF installations like radars, airfields and other establishments in border areas is generally performed by the Air Force Police and the Defence Security Corps (DSC).

Wartime duties

During hostilities, Garuds undertake combat search and rescue, rescue of downed airmen and other forces from behind enemy lines, suppression of enemy air defence (SEAD), radar busting, combat control, missile and munitions guidance ("lasing" of targets) and other missions in support of air operations. It has been suggested that they undertake an offensive role including raids on enemy air bases etc. during times of war.
Apart from protecting air bases from sabotage and attacks by commando raids, they are also tasked to seal off weapons systems, fighter hangars and other major systems during intrusions and conflicts.

Peacetime duties

During peace time, apart from protecting the air bases and other vital infrastructure from terrorist attacks, Garud roles include counter terrorism, anti-hijacking, hostage rescue, aid during natural calamities and military tasks in the interest of the nation.
As in the case of the failed attack on Awantipur AFS in October 2001, Garuds act as an emergency terror-response team.

National Security Guard (NSG)

The National Security Guard (NSG) (Hindi: राष्ट्रीय सुरक्षा गार्ड) is an elite high-profile counter-terrorism and special operations tactical unit in India created by the Cabinet Secretariat under the National Security Guard Act of the Indian Parliament in 1986. It works completely within the Central Armed Police Forces structure. The NSG is an elite force providing a second line of defence to the nation. They have played a pivotal role in safeguarding the unity of India and have commendably foiled attempts of anti-national elements to tear apart the social fabric of the country. The NSG has maintained an edge over terrorist outfits in possession of latest technology and are considered among the finest special operations units in all of Asia.

The National Security Guard (NSG) was set up in 1984 as a Federal Contingency Deployment Force to tackle all facets of terrorism in the countryand has acquired considerable experience from the intense insurgency operations it has faced – from the present conflict in the state of Kashmir to the cradle of its birth, the state of Punjab. Adopting a variety of roles from counter-terrorism to hostage rescue to VIP protection, the NSG proudly wears the mantle of being one of the finest counter-terrorist units in all of South Asia. The NSG's roles include conducting anti-sabotage checks, rescuing hostages, neutralising terrorist threats to vital installations, engaging terrorists, responding to hijacking and piracy and protecting VIPs.
The NSG's specific goals include:

Neutralization of terrorist threats
Handling hijacking situations in air and on land.
Bomb disposal (search, detection and neutralisation of IEDs).
PBI (Post Blast Investigation)
Engaging and neutralizing terrorists in specific situations.
Hostage Rescue

The NSG was established under the National Security Guard Act of 1986. The NSG was formed after an analysis of 1984 Operation Blue Star. During this operation, in which the Indian Army removed Sikh militants who had seized control of the Golden Temple, there was significant civilian collateral casualties. The temple also suffered damages during that operation. The operation highlighted the need for a force specialising in counter-terrorist operations with greater efficiency.
The NSG commandos were first used to combat the insurgency movement in the Indian state of Punjab in 1986. They are now primarily utilised for counter-terrorist activities and have seen combat operations in Jammu and Kashmir, though sparingly.
NSG deployments are usually not made public, with most of its operations remaining classified.