Is the BSF Fighting Its Own Private War in Jammu & Kashmir?

By resorting to tit-for-tat firing, the BSF appears to be fighting its own private war with the Pakistan Rangers.

(Photo: Reuters)

It is indeed tragic to the see the intermittent loss of precious lives as well as the agony of our border area civilians on account of unnecessary firing across the IB in J&K. I just do not know why the BSF added fuel to the fire and escalated firing across the IB and thus fell into a situation that Pakistan actually wants us in.

By resorting to tit-for-tat firing and killing some Pakistani rangers, the BSF, which is under the Home Ministry, appears to be fighting its own private war and thereby (through some misplaced sense of bravado) seeking to draw a parallel to the situation that exists across the Line of Control (LC).

Respecting the Boundaries

Pakistan has always addressed the portion of the IB in J&K as a ‘working boundary’, contrary to our stand that it is an International Border upto the point from where the LC commences near Akhnoor. The two situations (LC & IB) are entirely different and any incident on the IB portion of the border should be dealt with by the BSF as it does in the rest of the IB shared with Pakistan. This will be in keeping with our larger legal and moral position with regard to the unfinished business of our state of J&K.

It has also to be remembered that the BSF is basically a Central Police Organisation in ethos and character and it is officered at the higher levels by IPS Officers. It is thus better used for policing on the IB in peace, but in war, it has to be trained to operate under the control of the Army.

This is the case even now with the BSF Battalions deployed under the control of the Army on the LC where active war-like conditions continue to exist in eyeball-to-eyeball contact with the regular Pakistani Army. However, in case it is our national policy now to treat the IB and LC in J&K on par, then these BSF units/formations would be better off placed under control of the Army/MOD who are actually trained and oriented to deal with Pakistan in war-like situations.

Reorganise and Thrive

In any case, such reorganisation or transfer of responsibility from the Home to Defence Ministry is the need of the hour if we are to bridge the disconnect and ensure a smooth transition from peace to war. This reorganisation should happen with regard to the control of all other border-guarding forces across the entire IB and even Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. If the Coast Guard being a sea-border-guarding force can be under the MOD, I do not see why other land border guarding forces cannot be similarly controlled by the MOD.

The principle that I would like to advocate is that ‘we must live and train in peace as we would expect to fight in war’.

Resorting to an inter-ministry transition from peace to war in the face of a spiraling crisis and a future era of short, sharp, intense wars/conflicts can prove costly, if not downright disastrous.

(The author is a retired army officer. He can be reached @kakar_harsha. This is a personal blog and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)