Thaindian News

Agartala, July 1 (IANS) The Assam Rifles, India’s oldest paramilitary force, has decided on a new two-pronged strategy to flush out militancy from the northeast - create more close relations with the local community and reinforce the intelligence wing, officials here said Wednesday.
“To further strengthen its relationship with the public, the Assam Rifles will spend crores of rupees on various civic, developmental and humanitarian projects besides training local youths in numerous career oriented trades,” Assam Rifles Commander Brigadier S.T. Upasani told reporters here.

The 174 years old paramilitary force has 46 battalions consisting of 65,000 troopers in nine sectors across the northeast.

“Imbibing the latest weaponry and age-old human skills of our valiant jawans, the Assam Rifles remains a potent force to ensure that peace and development can flourish in the region,” said Upasani.

“This paramilitary force has not only contained militancy but also forced a large number of insurgent groups to lay down their arms and join the mainstream,” he added.

According to the commander, the Assam Rifles was first deployed in Tripura in 1947 to check infiltration from erstwhile East Pakistan, now Bangladesh.

“After the merger of the erstwhile princely state of Tripura with the Indian Union in 1949, the state force had merged with the Assam Rifles to raise the sixth battalion,” Upasani said.

The Tripura Sector (21 Sector) of the Assam Rifles Wednesday celebrated its 24th raising day.

“The Assam Rifles, which had fought both the world wars and India’s battles with China and Pakistan, has also been on the forefront of providing humanitarian assistance to the needy people and carrying out civic action programmes in the remote and extremely inaccessible areas of the region,” Upasani said.