By IANS,
New Delhi : The Indian Army’s involvement in the country’s internal security is more than normal, army chief Gen. Deepak Kapoor said here Thursday.
Notwithstanding its multi-front obligations, the Indian Army is being called in to tackle many issues ranging from law and order to providing aid during natural or man-made disasters.
“Due to external abetment, the Indian Army is involved in internal security functions on a relatively larger scale than is normal,” said Kapoor.
Kapoor was delivering a lecture on “Changing global Security Environment with specific reference to our region and its impact on the Indian Army” at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis here.
“The primary obligation of the army is to defend the borders of the country and internal security is the secondary duty,” Kapoor added.
The internal engagements of the Indian Army include training police and paramilitary forces to combat the menace of Maoist insurgency.
Currently, the army is proving to be instrumental in strengthening police and paramilitary forces like Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and reserve police battalions in various states.
“The army has been providing advice and training in counter-Naxal (Maoist) operations and counter-IED (Improvised Explosive Device) operations. We are rendering assistance in the establishment of counter-terrorism schools in the analysis of violent incidents to help the police and the paramilitary forces to formulate an operational framework,” Kapoor said.
The army has trained 150 companies of police and paramilitary forces till June this year.