Why our paramilitary should be part of future Indo-US exercises

 I WONDER : I HOPE PMF's ARE NOT TRYING A BACKDOOR ENTRY TO BE CALLED ARMY. RATHER I RECOMMEND THEY SHOULD PERMIT "LATERAL ENTRY FOR ARMYMEN" AND ALSO BE PLACED UNDER INDIAN ARMY FOR TRAINING AS AND WHEN REQUIRED. I HOPE THE AUTHOR IS READING IT.

Two separate incidents earlier this week caught my attention. The death of four CISF personnel in an Improvised Explosive Device blast in Dantewada and the Yudh Abhyas, the largest joint army exercise between the Indian and US armies.

The IED blast were part of a stepped up Maoist strategy to deter the government from carrying out a planned offensive against their central Indian strongholds by the paramilitary forces like the CRPF and the BSF. The military exercises were part of annual wargames aimed at greater interoperability between the two armies. The detection and disposal of IEDs was part of the drill. But wait, precisely what are the chances of the Indian army operating with the US military? According to a vehement Defence Minister A.K. Antony, "not now, not in the future."  So if the defence minister himself doesn't see a future for these exercises, exactly what purpose do they serve other than, perhaps, a shop window display for US military hardware. But there is another force, or a group of forces which could gain from the United States military.

Poorly equipped and trained with hand-me-down weaponry from the Indian army, the paramilitary forces are extremely vulnerable to twin threats from the Maoists- IEDs and ambushes. Maoist supreme commander Mupalla Lakshmana Rao alias Ganapathy confirmed they had received assistance from LTTE bomb makers in fashioning these deadly explosive devices.

Sure, the Indian army can train the paramilitary in the intricacies of jungle warfare but not in the high technology that goes into combating insurgency. This is where the United States comes in. Today, there is no country in the world which has as much experience in combating IEDs as the United States military. Learning from a majority of the over 4000 US troop casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan are from IEDs. The US has a Joint IED Defeat Organisation (JIEDDO) and is investing over $ 1 billion in potentially game-changing technologies like ground sensors which can detect if soil has been freshly dug to devices which can detect command wires which detonate IEDs. Practically every new counter-insurgency platform deployed in the world today--- from mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles to the hand-held mini-UAVs--- are a direct result of the Iraq and Afghanistan experience and these have considerably reduced casualties. Our paramilitaries could learn something as basic as Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) which enable western armies to sustain prolonged patrols.

Sure, critics would carp at assistance from 'foreign forces' to fight 'our own people' but would this be less than the cost of sending in the central forces as cannon fodder? If the Maoists make no bones about admitting assistance from the LTTE for making the bombs that kill policemen, why should the government have any qualms about getting global expertise in defeating the threat. Home minister P Chidambaram who controls nearly half-a-million central police forces and severely condemned the killing of the CISF troopers, recently visited the United States. But more about learning how the US manages homeland security and coordinates multiple agencies. He should start sending representatives of the BSF and CRPF for joint exercises with the US military if he is serious about saving lives.