Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)
ITBP is a multi-dimensional force. Presently, Battalions of ITBP are deployed on Border Guarding Duties from Karakoram Pass in Ladakh to Diphu La in Arunachal Pradesh, covering 3488 km of the India-China Border. Manned border posts are at altitudes as high as 21000’ in the Western, Middle & Eastern Sector of the border. ITBP is a mountain trained force and most of the officers & men are professionally trained mountaineers and skiers. The force is under an expansion plan in order to provide relief to its troops from constant deployment in high altitude areas.
The border posts manned by ITBP are exposed to high velocity storms, snow blizzards, avalanches, and landslides, besides the hazards of high altitude and extreme cold, where temperature dips up to minus 40 degree Celsius. ITBP conducts Long Range and Short Range patrols to keep an effective vigil on inaccessible and unmanned areas on the border.
The ITBP has recently taken on a disaster management role. Being the first responder for natural Disaster in Himalayas, ITBP was the first to establish 06 ( Now 08) Regional Response Centres in HP, Uttaranchal and North East and carried out numerous rescue and relief operations in various disaster situations, which took place in our areas of responsibility as well as other parts of the country. ITBP has already trained 1032 personnel in Disaster Management including 98 personnel in Radiological and Chemical and Biological emergencies.
ITBP has established a National Centre for Training in Search, Rescue & Disaster response at Bhanu, Haryana which is imparting training to personnel of ITBP and other Paramilitary / State Police Forces. There is also a training center for the Dogs at Basic Training center situated at Bhanu. The center is known as NICD.
ITBP Commando units provide security to the Embassy and consulates of India in Afghanistan. Besides this two Companies of the ITBP are providing security in Afghanistan.
ITBP has also excelled in UN peace keeping operation. The Force personnel have been deployed for peacekeeping operations in Angola, Namibia, Cambodia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Mozambique and Kosovo. Presently 10 coy of ITBP is deployed in United Nation Mission in Congo since November, 2005. A National Centre for UNCIVPOL training has been setup at ITBP Camp, Tigri, New Delhi for providing systematic training to Indian Police Officers for deployment in UN Mission. Sh S R Roy, Comdt, served in Western Sahara as Police Commissioner and remained instrumental in imparting pre induction training to the Indian Police Officers. Sh Sanjeev Raina, Deputy Inspector General of Police has been one of the pioneer officer of ITBP, who remained with UN Missions both in Europe as well as in Africa and imparted training and helped the local police in achieving self relinace for maintaining law and order. Similarly Sh Devendra Singh, Deputy Inspector General of Police has just returned after serving in Afghanistan. A number of other officers such as Sh M K Singh, Comdt, Sh R S Pathania, DIG, Sh Jaspal Singh,DIG, Sh A J Rasool, DIG etc has served various UN Missions with distinction. Indeed ITBP has achieved glorious standards in International policing also.
ITBP is also providing security to the pilgrims during Annual Kailash Mansarovar Yatra from 1981. ITBP provides communication, security and medical cover to the yatries from Gunji to Lipulekh Pass and back to Gunji in co-ordination with MEA and Kumaon Mandal vikas Nigam. Indo Tibetan Border Police Force was conceived on 24 October, 1962 for the security of our frontiers along the Indo - Tibetan Border covering 2115 km from Karakoram Pass to Lipulekh Pass and Tri junction of India, Nepal and China. Incredible though it may sound, only four battalions were sanctioned to begin with to fill up the security vacuum that was prevalent at that time on the Indo - Tibet border. Later in view of the additional responsibilities and the task redefined in 1976, the Force was restructured in 1978.
Keeping in view the likely security scenario of the country, ITBP has established its very own Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School at an altitude of 6,400 feet (2,000 m) at the serene location of Mahidanda in Uttarkashi district. Director General, ITBP Mr. Vikram Srivastava, IPS inaugurated the school in an impressive ceremony on 26 September 2008. The school has been established under overall guidance of Sh Rajiv Mehta, IPS Inspector General of Police North Zone ITBP and will provide state of the art training to ITBP's men and officers alike to make them physically tough and mentally robust. They will also be taught to survive in difficult jungle conditions and then strike surgically. Training for the first three batches have been completedd. Sh Sanjeev Raina, Deputy Inspector General of Police ITBP has been assigned the responsibility to head the institution with a strong team of experienced instructors. CI ops, Jungle Warfare, Handling of explosives,Rock craft, Survival in adverse conditions, Un armed Combat, and Guerilla warfare will be some of the subjects in this course.The course is a tough one, both physically and mentally and requires special preparation. In its short spell of operations, the school has earned a name for itself, if the experiences of those who are trained here, are to be believed. Tough, uncompromising but professional training with a humane approach has been the very buzz word of this effort.
Vigil on northern borders, detection and prevention of border violation, and promotion of sense of security among the local populace. Check illegal immigration, trans-border smuggling and crimes. Security to sensitive installations, banks and protected persons. Restore and preserve order in any area in the event of disturbance. In our border vigil task ITBP mans forward border posts at altitudes ranging from 9000' to 18000'. Most of the forward posts remain cut off by the surface route during winter months. The border posts are exposed to the fury and violence of nature like snow blizzards, avalanches, landslides, besides the hazards of high altitude and extreme cold where temperature normally remains below minus 40 degrees Celsius.
The force besides guarding the border, is heavily engaged in fighting Pakistan sponsored terrorism in the State of Jammu & Kashmir, where it has displayed exemplary nerve and gallantry. The "Himveers", as the personnel are affectionately called, also provide security cover to installations and to VIPs in New Delhi. Each year ITBP personnel are deployed to UN Peace Keeping Missions in Bosnia, Kosovo, Herzegovina, Angola & Western Sahara.
Adventure and dare-devilry are the required professional skill for ITBP and therefore from its ranks come world class mountaineers who have scaled more than a hundred Himalayan peaks, including the Mount Everest, four times. Its skiers have been national champions, who have done India proud in the winter Olympics. Its river rafters have created international history in rafting through the turbulent white waters of the mighty Brahmaputra, the Indus and the Ganga. The Force has created a milestone by becoming the first Central Para Military Force to grab up the Best Marching Contingent Trophy in the Republic Day parades in 1998, 1999 and 2000. It broke new ground in 1998 when it sent the first ever police tableau of the country to participate in the Republic Day Parade. ITBP is in the forefront of movement for the preservation of Himalayan environment & ecology. ITBP has taken up in a big way the task of greening the Himalayan regions especially in Inner Himalayas. Being the only human presence on forward areas, it has taken on itself the task of maintaining the delicate balance of flora and fauna.
ITBP being deployed in mountains has developed the expertise in rescue & relief operations in mountains, which entail different specialized skills of very high standard. It is always first in extending rescue & relief in case of natural calamity. ITBP conducts a large number of civic action programmes in remote border and terrorist affected areas to provide free and expert medical, health and hygiene care to the civilian population in remote villages.
It is the only police force in the country, which possesses expertise in policing the most formidable mountains of the Himalayas. The annual pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Holy Mansarovar Lake in Tibet (China) is conducted under the wings of ITBP. Indo-Tibetan Border Police Academy, the premier training institute of ITBP and a ‘Centre of Excellence’ was established at Mussoorie on ad-hoc basis in the year 1976 at the time of the re organization of the Force. This institution was earlier known as ‘High Altitude Defence and Survival Academy’. The ITBP Academy consists of two wings viz. Adm Wing and Combat Wing. The Adm Wing of ITBP Academy is the erstwhile ‘Specialist Training Centre of ITBP, which was situated in Nowgaon (M.P) prior to the year-1976. Similarly, the ‘Advanced Training Centre’, which was earlier located in Shivpuri (MP) is now forms Combat Wing.
Both these establishments had separate strength and command structure. However, after the reorganization of the Force in 1978 these were amalgamated and restructured on functional basis as Adm Wing and Combat Wing, These wings under their respective commandants work within the over all control and supervision of IG/Director. For the day-to-day administration, he is assisted by one Dy. Inspector General. The two wings of ITBP Academy are spread over an area of 243 acres (0.98 km2) of land where training infra-structure like firing ranges, obstacle course, area for field craft, tactics etc have been established.
Adm Wing is responsible to provide administrative cover to Academy and Combat Wing for conducting the training in Academy. Besides conducting the basic training of directly recruited Asstt Commandants and Sub-Inspectors, the ITBP Academy organises in-service Courses on conventional warfare, intelligence, field engineering, VIP security and commando operations, counter-insurgency operations, administration, computers, karate, map reading, rock climbing and staff duties etc for all ranks of the Force and of CPOs/ State Police Forces.
ITBP Academy has been given the status of ‘Centre of Excellence’ by the Government of India and now is on the path of modernization of its training infra- structure. Till June 2004, the Academy has trained 3785 GOs, 7776 SOs and 27476 Other Ranks from ITBP and CPOs/ State Police Forces
