Guardians of the Nation

A delusional and poetic mind detached from reality will talk about a world without borders but a pragmatic mind will realise the importance of it and when one realises the importance of borders one also realises the integrity with which they must be guarded.

The actual guardians of our nation; Image Source- DNA India

I am someone who invites people to prove me wrong and challenge my worldview. In this quest, I have come across many who nonchalantly talk about ideas only an 18th-century English Romantic poet can think such as a world without physical borders.

In this age of post-colonialism, a pragmatic and well-exposed mind can never deny the importance of borders. In a geopolitical cauldron that is privy to numerous border skirmishes and acts of unwanted aggression, protecting the borders of the country is extremely important.

This ethos however did not percolate into the fabric of this nation till 1965. The reason was this – since the country was founded on the bedrocks of non-violence and had Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi as the father of the nation so it makes no sense to have an established Border Security Force.

The wheels of charkha and non-violence were supposed to guard a nation that got its independence around the time when Israel took birth after considerable bloodshed. The consequences of such an attitude were seen time and again during the Indo-Pak war of 1947 and the Sino-Indian war of 1962. It was only during the 1965 Indo-Pak war that the fabian socialist and idealist government of Nehru realised the importance of arming the country with modern weaponry and an established Border Security Force.

Till 1965, the responsibility of minding the international boundaries fell upon the paltry police chowkis that were situated near the boundaries. These chowkis obviously did not have adequate weaponry nor were the men trained in combat tactics. Thus the borders were at a perpetual risk which surrounding countries took advantage of time and again.

It was only after the 1965 war that the government realised that Pakistan attacked strategic posts of Sardar Post, Chhar Bet and Beria Bet and took steps to establish the Border Security Post.

Immediately, fruits bore to this decision. Border Security outdid itself in the 1971 Bangladesh War against the Pakistani forces. Nobody can forget their role in the Battle of Longewala in the Thar Desert. In fact, it was the Border Security Force that trained and supported the Mukti Bahini which was a Bangladeshi guerrilla outfit determined for the liberation of Bangladesh. Even Indira Gandhi and Sheikh Mujibur Rehman have acknowledged their role in the war of 1971.

After this, the Border Security Forces have shown their capabilities in Operation Blue Star and numerous other border skirmishes between India and its neighbours. Recently it also roped in and cooperated with the panchayats in Punjab to tackle drone threats from Pakistan. The worst one can do to this institution is to invisibility them from the public term and underestimate their integral in building up this nation.

The BSF during the 1971 war; Image Source- Times of India