Remembering Pulwama in Srinagar on February 14, 2023. Photo credit: The Hindu
day of remembrance pulwama attack Passed again last month. In this attack on February 14, 2019, 40 soldiers of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), India’s largest paramilitary force, lost their lives. The Pulwama attack was different as it resulted in an unprecedented public outcry. The emotional response it created in the country pervaded all sections of society. As a force, the CRPF takes everything in its favour.
Prior to this dark day, 76 CRPF personnel were killed by left wing extremists in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district on April 6, 2010. It is sad that this horrific attack went unnoticed by the public, even though it was another dark day – it remains the deadliest attack on security forces in any insurgency or counter-terrorist operations in independent India.
a warning sign
The internal security scenario in the country is showing marginal improvement especially in insurgency-hit Northeast India. But one can say that there has been ‘insignificant improvement’ in Left Wing Extremism areas and militancy-hit Kashmir as well. That’s where the relevance thing about deployment levels comes in. With the void primarily filled by the CRPF, the Indian Army has returned. Therefore, the personnel of these forces continue to perform arduous duties and are overworked without any rest or respite. As a result, training becomes compromised. The need to improve tactical skills cannot be ignored as it will adversely affect the operational capabilities of any force, making them vulnerable to covert attacks by anti-national forces.
The central government has been forced to assign several tasks that are becoming risky by the day to these forces – especially to the CRPF due to the force’s versatility and flexible operational procedures. The massive and sustained deployment of the regular army would attract adverse attention from the international press and consequently, would color the perspective of other world nations as well. It is natural that CRPF should pay a heavy price for this. A look at the records in various operational theaters in India over the years reveals high casualty rates by paramilitary forces. These tested but tired forces can only achieve and maintain the optimum level of required performance if the training and morale of their personnel is taken care of. Without addressing these aspects, induction or introduction of any powerful weapon or technology is unlikely to bring about the desired change.
need for equality
What makes the observance of Pulwama Day different from previous years is that the ex-servicemen and their families reached out to the fraternity members in large numbers in different parts of the country demanding the old pension scheme. The old pension scheme for the personnel joining the service after 31 December 2003 was discontinued.
He cited the Delhi High Court order of December 2022 which reiterated their status as a force under the category of ‘Armed Forces of the Union’. It is no surprise that a day of remembrance was used to give vent to simmering feelings of discrimination between the regular armed forces (Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force), from pensions. For service facilities like Canteen Stores Department. The fraternity is saddened that despite facing a war-like situation on a daily basis – a point recognized by the public and the judiciary – the government is reluctant to extend these benefits to the paramilitary force.
The most important goal of observing Pulwama Day should be to avoid the repetition of that dark day in 2019. Lessons learned have to be analyzed and corrective measures have to be taken. For the government, it would be only fair and proper to listen to the genuine grievances of the personnel of the forces concerned as public opinion seems to be mobilizing in favor of the paramilitary forces. There is a need to keep the morale of these personnel high. It will help the security environment of the nation if the paramilitary personnel feel that they are being treated like comparable defense forces personnel.
KV Madhusudhanan is a former Inspector General of the North Eastern Region of the Central Reserve Police Force