Security Challenges along India-Bangladesh Border

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• BSF
• What is Border Security Force (BSF)?
• What are the role and responsibilities of BSF?
• India – Bangladesh Border (IBB)
• What are the Security challenges along India-Bangladesh Border?
• News Summary: Mizoram, Assam new active sectors for infiltration

Why in news?

• Mizoram and Assam have emerged as the new active sectors in 2022 among the five states that share the international border with Bangladesh, which has seen a four-fold rise in intruder apprehension by the Border Security Force (BSF).
• This has been highlighted by the new data released by the BSF.

BSF

What is Border Security Force (BSF)?

• It is one of the five Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) of India and was raised in December 1965.
  • It was raised in the wake of the 1965 War to ensure the security of the borders of India.
• It is the only CAPF which has its own Water Wing, Air Wing and other ancillary units.
• The Force Headquarters is in New Delhi.
• It works under the administrative control of Ministry of Home Affairs.

What are the role and responsibilities of BSF?

• Its operational responsibility is spread over 6,386.36 km of International Border with Pakistan and Bangladesh.
• Peace Time Role
  • Promote a sense of security among the people living in the border areas.
  • Prevent trans-border crimes, unauthorized entry into or exit from the territory of India.
  • Prevent smuggling and any other illegal activity.
• War Time Role
  • Holding ground in less threatened sectors so long as the main attack does not develop in a particular sector
  • Protection of vital installations particularly air-fields
  • Limited aggressive action against Para military or irregular forces of the enemy within the overall plan of the Armed forces
  • Guarding of prisoners of war cages.
  • Assistance in control of refugees
• It is also deployed on Line of Control (LoC) in J&K under the Operational control of the Army.
• Overseas Deployment:
  • BSF contributes its personnel every year for UN Missions.
  • It is handling the security issues on the famous Kartarpur Corridor.
• At the time of natural disaster/calamities, BSF provides assistance in areas of deployment such as
  • Kashmir flood in 2014,
  • Kerala flood in 2018 and
  • Kedarnath Tragedy in 2013.

India – Bangladesh Border (IBB)

• The India-Bangladesh border is India’s longest border measuring 4,096.7 km.
• It passes through West Bengal (2216.7 km), Assam (263 km), Meghalaya (443 km), Tripura (856 km) and Mizoram (318 km).
• The entire border consists of varied geographical features like plains, hills, riverine stretches, and forests with hardly any natural obstacles.
• The India-Bangladesh border is highly porous and a hotspot of illegal immigration, cattle smuggling, human trafficking and other illegal cross border activities.

What are the Security challenges along India-Bangladesh Border?

• Illegal Immigration
  • Illegal migration from Bangladesh is a contentious issue in Indian polity today because of the socio-political conflicts it has brought in its wake.
• Terrorism and Insurgency
  • The problematic terrain and porous borders with Bangladesh have provided a congenial environment for insurgency in the North-Eastern states.
  • The insurgents maintain cross-border links, procure arms, recruit and train their cadres, and indulge-in unlawful activities in India.
  • Terrorist groups United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), People’s Liberation Army (PLA) etc. have bases in Bangladesh.
  • The border areas of West Bengal are also becoming the hub of terrorist groups looking to strike hinterland including Indian Mujahideen (IM) and Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT).
• Cattle Smuggling
  • The Home Ministry has no authoritative figures available about the number of cattle being smuggled out of India, but an average of 1-1.5 lakh cattle are seized by the BSF every year.
• Other activities
  • Activities including smuggling of arms, human and narcotics trafficking, counterfeiting Indian currency etc. are also quite rampant along the India–Bangladesh border.

News Summary: Mizoram, Assam new active sectors for infiltration

• As per the recent data released by the BSF, Mizoram and Assam have emerged as the new active sectors in 2022 for infiltration along international border with Bangladesh.
• Four-fold rise in intruder apprehension
  • Mizoram and Assam, that share the international border with Bangladesh, has seen a four-fold rise in intruder apprehension — from 41 in 2018 to 721 in 2022 — by the Border Security Force.
• Increased apprehension due to better vigilance
  • The reason Mizoram and Cachar have seen a significant apprehension is increased vigilance and better fencing.
  • To prevent the intruder, the BSF personnel have dug up several ditches at vulnerable points along the border.
  • They also installed intruder alarm systems in 2020 along the border.
  • As part of a strategy to secure the India-Bangladesh border, several initiatives have been taken. This includes:
    • Construction of fence, floodlighting, Border Out Posts/ Company Operating Bases, building roads and development of Integrated Check Posts.

Q1) Where is Bangladesh geographically located?

Bangladesh is a country located in South Asia. It is bordered by India to the north, east, and west, Myanmar to the southeast, and the Bay of Bengal to the south. The country has a total area of 147,570 square kilometers (56,977 square miles) and is home to a population of over 164 million people, making it the eighth most populous country in the world. The capital city of Bangladesh is Dhaka, and other major cities include Chittagong, Khulna, and Rajshahi.

Q2) What is Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs)?

Central Armed Police Forces is a term used to refer to the uniformed security forces in India that are under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs. The CAPFs include the Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), and the National Security Guard (NSG). These forces are responsible for maintaining law and order, counter-terrorism, border security, and other related duties. The CAPFs play a crucial role in ensuring the internal security of the country and are considered to be among the best paramilitary forces in the world party.

Source: Mizoram, Assam ‘new active’ sectors for infiltration: BSF | BSF