Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Various Security Forces and Agencies and their Mandate.
In news
Recently, the Delhi High Court has directed the Centre to take a decision on the issue of bringing Assam Rifles out of the dual control of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
The administrative control of the Assam Rifles is with the MHA.
Its operational control rests with the MoD.
This duality of control leads to problems of coordination.
Key takeaways of the High Court’s Direction
The issue has been pending for nearly three years.
The Centre should resolve it within 12 weeks with cooperation from all the stakeholders.
The matter involves servicemen/ex-servicemen and others whose interests are paramount as proclaimed from various platforms of the Government
Important value additions
Assam Rifles
Assam Rifles is a Central Paramilitary Force under the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF).
It came into being in 1835, as a militia called the ‘Cachar Levy’.
Initial Objective: To primarily protect British Tea estates and their settlements against tribal raids.
In November 2019, MHA proposed to merge it with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
ITBP is a specialized mountain force, raised in October 1962.
It is deployed on border guarding duties from Karakoram Pass in Ladakh to Jachep La in Arunachal Pradesh covering 3,488 km of Indo-China Border.
