New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has hurled some serious accusation against the Border Security Force (BSF) which led to an intense war of words between the ruling TMC and the opposition BJP in the state. She said that the BSF, entrusted to protect our border, was helping infiltrators to enter India to destabilize West Bengal. She accused the BSF of letting the infiltrators enter through various border areas which it controls, like Sitai, Islampur, and Chopra and added that the TMC was being blamed for the infiltration of illegal intruders into the state.
Mamata Banerjee further said that the border is in the hands of the BSF and also suggested these actions were part of a “blueprint” orchestrated by the central government. These accusations have created a storm in the Bengal political arena, especially since it is the BSF who has been at the receiving end of her tirade after having stood tall in the border protecting the security of India.
Border Security Force: Unfailingly guarding India’s border
The Border Security Force (BSF) is a central armed police force which unfailingly guards India’s border against any external threat. It comes under the Ministry of Home Affairs and has been entrusted with the responsibility of guarder our borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh. The personnel of the BSF ensure the security of India’s borders even while facing the most adverse conditions.
When and why was the BSF created?
After India got its Independence from the yoke of the British colonial rule in 1947, the local police in each border states were given the responsibility to protect its international boundaries. But the scenario changed during the India-Pakistan War in 1965 when Pakistan attacked Sardar Post, Beria Bet and Char Bet on April 9, 1965, in Kutch. It exposed the fact that state police could not protect the borders of our country on its own.
Hence, after the 1965 War was over, the government formed the Border Security Force on December 1, 1965, as a unified central agency whose sole aim is to guard the international borders of India, bringing greater cohesion to border security. The first Director General of the BSF was K F Rustamji. Since it was a new force, many personnel from the Indian Army and IPS officers were inducted into it.
The role of the BSF in the 1971 India-Pakistan War
During the 1971 India-Pakistan War, the BSF played a key role against the Pakistani forces especially in places where the Indian Army was thing thinly spread. It took part in several operation including the Battle of Longewala. In fact, the war started for the BSF on the eastern front well before it actually broke out in December 1971. It trained the Mukti Bahini of Bangladesh and entered East Pakistan before the actual hostilities started. It played a key role in the Liberation of Bangladesh, something which Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding President of Bangladesh acknowledged.
What are the roles of the BSF?
The BSF, during peacetime, is entrusted with the responsibilities of guarding India’s border and keeping it secure, preventing trans-border crimes and illegal infiltration into India, preventing smuggling and other illegal activities in the border area, collecting trans-border intelligence and promoting a sense of security among people who reside in the border areas.
During wartime, the BSF has to hold ground in assigned sectors and engage in limited aggression with the enemy. Also, it has to guide the Army in the border areas and help to control the refugees. The BSF has also been used in India to combat Naxal violence and is deployed in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district. Recently, the Home Ministry decided to re-induct BSF for counter-insurgency operations and law-and-order duties in Kashmir.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee leveled serious accusations against the Border Security Force (BSF), sparking a heated political battle with the BJP. Banerjee claims the BSF is aiding infiltration into West Bengal, citing specific border areas. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
