Border Security Force(BSF)

The Border Security Force (BSF)is the primary Border Guarding police force of India. It is one of the five Central Armed Police Forces of the Union of India, it was raised in the wake of the 1965 War on 1 December 1965, "for ensuring the security of the borders of  India and for matters connected there with"

 

The Indo-Pak War of 1965 demonstrated the inadequacies of the existing border management system and led to the formation of the Border Security Force as a unified central agency with the specific mandate of guarding India's international boundaries

KF Rustamji, from the Indian police service, was the first Director General of BSF.

 

The Border Security Force has its Headquarters at New Delhi and is known as Force Headquarters (FHQ) headed by a Director General

 

Various Directorates like Operations, Communications & IT, Training, Engineering, General, Law, Provisioning, Administration, Personnel, Medical, Finance etc. function under the DG. Each Directorate is headed by an IG.

 

BSF is charged with guarding India's land border during peace time and preventing transnational crime

 

BSF is a Union Government Agency under the administrative control of Ministry of Home Affairs

 

BSF has grown exponentially from a few battalions in 1965, to 186 Battalions with strength of 240,000 personnel including an expanding air wing, marine wing, artillery regiments, and commando units. 

It currently stands as the world's largest border guarding force 

 

BSF is the only Central Armed Police force to have its own Air Wing, Marine Wing and artillery regiments, which support the General Duty Battalions in their operations

 

Although originally charged with guarding India's external boundaries, the BSF has more recently been given the task in Counter Insurgency and Counter Terrorism Operations in Jammu And Kashmir, Punjab, North East

Every evening, at the Wagah,Husainiwala & Sadque Border - the international border of India and Pakistan, the BSF together with the neighboring country's border guarding force which is the Pakistan Rangers do a military drill which both the forces from each country participate in the daily ceremony. This ceremony attracts thousands of spectators domestically and internationally from both countries.