Rashtriya Rifles
Encyclopedia
The Rashtriya Rifles or RR (Hindi: राष्ट्रीय राइफल्स; rarely National Rifles if fully translated into English) are a branch of the Indian Army
placed under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs
.
They are a counter-insurgency
/anti-terrorist force made up of soldiers seconded from other parts of the Indian Army
, who receive extra pay while in the Rashtriya Rifles. One half of the RR come from the Indian Army's infantry, and one half from the rest of the Indian Army. The force is deployed in Jammu and Kashmir
. Some consider it the world's largest dedicated counter-insurgency force.
Since the RR are under the authority of Ministry of Home Affairs, and furthermore were initially designated "paramilitary" to get around an army manpower ceiling, they are sometimes misidentified as part of the Paramilitary Forces of India.
, two crossed rifles with fixed bayonets. Beneath, in a banner, is emblazoned the motto of this force - Dridhta aur virta.
in 1990 specifically for fighting insurgency in Kashmir, to complement the weak local security forces in the area. By 1994 it had 5,000 troops, all of whom served in Jammu and Kashmir. Some observers expected the force to grow to thirty battalions, with around 25,000 personnel. In March 1995, Indian television referred to the Delta Force of the "fledgling" Rashtriya Rifles. It was reported that the force was operating against terrorists and foreign mercenaries in Doda
District in south-central Jammu and Kashmir.
However the grid often looked better on paper than on the ground. The obvious reason for this was the terrain. In the Wanni jungles of Sri Lanka where the grid had been successfully applied, civilians and villages were few and far between, and so attack helicopters and artillery could be used. This enabled heavy firepower to be brought in to support troops in the grid in minutes. Now the Kashmir valley is very densely populated and there is fear of collateral damage from using heavy fire support. So troops fighting CI had to do without it. To makeup for that the grid had to be more densely packed. This is where the army saw the need for additional forces such as the Rashtriya Rifles (RR).
The army got the go-ahead to create the RR from the Vishwanath Pratap Singh government in 1990. The initial sanction was for two sectors Head Quarters (HQs) each of three battalions. When General B.C. Joshi became Army Chief, the promise his predecessor - General Sunith F. Rodrigues - made about making the Pathankot-based 39 Division and the Bareilly-based 6 Mountain Division available for Kashmir was pending. He pushed a long-held army view, that India was involved in an extended counter-insurgency akin to the Naga problem in the North-East. Hence a new force - like the Assam Rifles - was needed which could be permanently located in the area to counter the insurgents. And that using these divisions for CI would be playing into Pakistani hands. He instead pushed for setting up 10 more RR sector HQs - 30 battalions or the equivalent of three divisions. It was also felt that in the bargain the Army would have three additional battle-hardened divisions, ready for rear guard action during war. In 1994, the Narasimha Rao government gave a conditional go-ahead for a period of three years.
They had four companies and retained their battalion heavy weapons since they were dual tasked. The RR on the other hand has an organization structure tailor made for CI ops. They have six infantry companies and do not have the heavy battalion weapons which the Inf Bn CI carry although RR troops do train on them. Thus they do not incur the costs of a heavier unit. Also unlike regular army units which were rotated out of the valley regularly, the RR concept was to rotate personnel after fixed periods of deputation. Currently this is for two years. The RR units are permanently located in "sectors", with each sector being the equivalent of a brigade with three battalions. To create a distinct identity, the RR has its own dress, special insignia and flag logistics.
The RR units come under four CI Force HQs. Victor Force looks after Anantnag and Pulwana districts in the south Kashmir valley, Kilo Force looks after Kupwara and Baramulla districts in the north Kashmir valley. Both these forces come under the operational control of the 15 Corps. The Delta Force looks after the Doda district and the Romeo Force after Poonch and Rajouri. These two forces come under the operational control of the 16 Corps. Each force is headed by a GOC-in-C with the rank of a Major General. In terms of their location and use, each of the units and sectors was seen as being interchangeable with a regular, equivalent army formation. GOC Victor Force in some instances would have 2 sector HQs and a regular infantry brigade in his charge. On the other hand when 8 Mountain Division moved to Kashmir, it came with 2 brigades which were then augmented by adding a sector of the RR apart from a couple of independent mountain brigades to it.
After the government gave the go-ahead to setup the RR, the army decided to milk its existing units by 10-20% of their personnel to set up it up quickly. The officers and men came on deputation from all branches of the army including the Infantry, Army Service Corps, EME, Artillery, Armoured Corps. The infantry provides 50%, services 10% and other arms 40% of the troops. In fact the army mothballed a few armoured regiments and transferred their manpower to the RR.
Each regimental center was given the task of raising 1-2 battalions in one year time. During this period, the units were raised and sent to the Northern Command where they got another 4 to 6 weeks to consolidate. All of them went through a structured 8 week course in special CI schools. They were then given another month to stabilize and then sent to the more dormant sectors of Kashmir and to the Punjab. To provide some experience base, 6 RR battalions were exchanged for 6 Assam Rifles units.
In raising the Rashtriya Rifles to full strength, the Army also had to dig into its war-wastage reserves, with the best available vehicles, weapons and radio sets going to the RR. In fact the RR units were even the first to receive bullet-proof jackets and patkas. With manpower drawn from all its arms and services, the Army has had to deal with serious shortages in many of its conventional units, for Rashtriya Rifles battalions are maintained at full authorized strength. However once the teething problems were overcome the RR proved it was worth the trouble.
The efficacy of an RR battalion arises from the fact that unlike conventional Army battalions, it has six rifle companies instead of four they possess and has kept its heavy weapons—useless in their sphere of activities—back at their bases.
Originally comprising a total of four Counterinsurgency Forces, each responsible for an area of the Kashmir Valley and Jammu, the RR raised a fifth force 'Uniform' in 2003-04.:
Keeping this in mind, a decision was taken to alter the basic composition of the RR battalions. Instead of its units being composed of troops from all over the Army, two RR battalions were made an integral part of each of the infantry regiments and other arms. Now not only are majority of troops of the two RR battalions drawn from the other units of the Regiment, but their Commanding Officer or the 2IC, is from the same regiment. This ensures not only functional cohesion but also the regimental esprit-de-corps. This experiment has produced excellent results even while the units were deployed in the most difficult areas.
, would consist of regular Army volunteers on deputation, ex-servicemen and lateral inductees from various para-military forces and central police organisations. However, this never happened and the force has consisted only of regular Army officers and Jawans , especially from the various Infantry regiments , like the Rajputana Rifles
, Gorkha Rifles
, Maratha Light Infantry
, Sikh Light Infantry
, and Sikh Regiment. Both officers and soldiers are sent to the RR on deputation for a period of 2–3 years. RR personnel receive 25% more salary than regular Army personnel and additional benefits, thus often making it a coveted deputation.
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. With about 1,100,000 soldiers in active service and about 1,150,000 reserve troops, the Indian Army is the world's largest standing volunteer army...
placed under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs
Ministry of Home Affairs
Ministry of Home Affairs is a name for an interior ministry. It may refer to:*Ministry of Home Affairs *Ministry of Home Affairs...
.
They are a counter-insurgency
Counter-insurgency
A counter-insurgency or counterinsurgency involves actions taken by the recognized government of a nation to contain or quell an insurgency taken up against it...
/anti-terrorist force made up of soldiers seconded from other parts of the Indian Army
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. With about 1,100,000 soldiers in active service and about 1,150,000 reserve troops, the Indian Army is the world's largest standing volunteer army...
, who receive extra pay while in the Rashtriya Rifles. One half of the RR come from the Indian Army's infantry, and one half from the rest of the Indian Army. The force is deployed in Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...
. Some consider it the world's largest dedicated counter-insurgency force.
Since the RR are under the authority of Ministry of Home Affairs, and furthermore were initially designated "paramilitary" to get around an army manpower ceiling, they are sometimes misidentified as part of the Paramilitary Forces of India.
Crest
The Rashtriya Rifles crest consists of Ashoka ChakraAshoka Chakra
The Ashoka Chakra is depiction of the Buddhist Dharmachakra, represented with 24 spokes. It is so called because it appears on a number of edicts of Ashoka, most prominent among which is the Lion Capital of Sarnath which has been adopted as the National Emblem of the Republic of India.The most...
, two crossed rifles with fixed bayonets. Beneath, in a banner, is emblazoned the motto of this force - Dridhta aur virta.
History
It was raised by General S F Rodrigues and nurtured by General B C JoshiB C Joshi
General Bipin Chandra Joshi, PVSM, AVSM, ADC was the Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army. He was born in Uttarakhand formerly known as Uttaranchal, India...
in 1990 specifically for fighting insurgency in Kashmir, to complement the weak local security forces in the area. By 1994 it had 5,000 troops, all of whom served in Jammu and Kashmir. Some observers expected the force to grow to thirty battalions, with around 25,000 personnel. In March 1995, Indian television referred to the Delta Force of the "fledgling" Rashtriya Rifles. It was reported that the force was operating against terrorists and foreign mercenaries in Doda
Doda
Doda is a town and a notified area committee in Doda district in Jammu & Kashmir of India.-Geography:Doda is located at . It has an average elevation of 1107 metres .-Demographics:...
District in south-central Jammu and Kashmir.
Genesis
The last decade of the 20th century was particularly bloody for Kashmir. By May 1990 it was clear that Kashmir valley was in the grip of an insurgency of intensity not seen before. It started out in the urban areas and then spread to the countryside. The army which till then was the guardian of the international border (IB) and the line of control (LOC) was called in to assist in Counter Insurgency (CI) ops. Based on its experience with low intensity conflicts in Nagaland, Sri Lanka and Punjab, the Indian Army was quite wary of trying to replicate strategy and tactics successfully used elsewhere. By 1993 the army had got together a doctrine for the low intensity conflict in Kashmir. In Nagaland for example, the army had learnt that physical domination of each and every village was one way to combat insurgency. Long experience had taught the army the value of the grid system. In this system the whole terrain was divided into a grid. Each node at any given time would have a platoon worth of ready to move soldiers, the so called quick reaction team which would mutually reinforce other nodes. All would be covered with heavier fire support and have adequate logistics.However the grid often looked better on paper than on the ground. The obvious reason for this was the terrain. In the Wanni jungles of Sri Lanka where the grid had been successfully applied, civilians and villages were few and far between, and so attack helicopters and artillery could be used. This enabled heavy firepower to be brought in to support troops in the grid in minutes. Now the Kashmir valley is very densely populated and there is fear of collateral damage from using heavy fire support. So troops fighting CI had to do without it. To makeup for that the grid had to be more densely packed. This is where the army saw the need for additional forces such as the Rashtriya Rifles (RR).
The army got the go-ahead to create the RR from the Vishwanath Pratap Singh government in 1990. The initial sanction was for two sectors Head Quarters (HQs) each of three battalions. When General B.C. Joshi became Army Chief, the promise his predecessor - General Sunith F. Rodrigues - made about making the Pathankot-based 39 Division and the Bareilly-based 6 Mountain Division available for Kashmir was pending. He pushed a long-held army view, that India was involved in an extended counter-insurgency akin to the Naga problem in the North-East. Hence a new force - like the Assam Rifles - was needed which could be permanently located in the area to counter the insurgents. And that using these divisions for CI would be playing into Pakistani hands. He instead pushed for setting up 10 more RR sector HQs - 30 battalions or the equivalent of three divisions. It was also felt that in the bargain the Army would have three additional battle-hardened divisions, ready for rear guard action during war. In 1994, the Narasimha Rao government gave a conditional go-ahead for a period of three years.
Mission
The main role of the formation is to allow the Indian Army to ensure its primary task of defending the borders and the state's territory unhindered by action from Guerrilla forces.Organization
All units of the Army have an organizational structure called the War Establishment (WE). According to the WE are laid down the number of men, vehicles, weapons etc which the unit is authorized for carrying out it's assigned role. The infantry battalions (inf bns) in the Indian Army have a standard organization called the Inf Bn Standard. Other types of inf bns according to their assigned role are called by various modifications to the Inf Bn Standard like Inf Bn CI, Inf Bn Mountains, Parachute Inf Bn, Para Commando Bn and even (till 1975) Camel Mounted Bn. Till the RR came into the picture, the infantry battalions tasked for CI ops were on the Inf Bn CI.They had four companies and retained their battalion heavy weapons since they were dual tasked. The RR on the other hand has an organization structure tailor made for CI ops. They have six infantry companies and do not have the heavy battalion weapons which the Inf Bn CI carry although RR troops do train on them. Thus they do not incur the costs of a heavier unit. Also unlike regular army units which were rotated out of the valley regularly, the RR concept was to rotate personnel after fixed periods of deputation. Currently this is for two years. The RR units are permanently located in "sectors", with each sector being the equivalent of a brigade with three battalions. To create a distinct identity, the RR has its own dress, special insignia and flag logistics.
The RR units come under four CI Force HQs. Victor Force looks after Anantnag and Pulwana districts in the south Kashmir valley, Kilo Force looks after Kupwara and Baramulla districts in the north Kashmir valley. Both these forces come under the operational control of the 15 Corps. The Delta Force looks after the Doda district and the Romeo Force after Poonch and Rajouri. These two forces come under the operational control of the 16 Corps. Each force is headed by a GOC-in-C with the rank of a Major General. In terms of their location and use, each of the units and sectors was seen as being interchangeable with a regular, equivalent army formation. GOC Victor Force in some instances would have 2 sector HQs and a regular infantry brigade in his charge. On the other hand when 8 Mountain Division moved to Kashmir, it came with 2 brigades which were then augmented by adding a sector of the RR apart from a couple of independent mountain brigades to it.
After the government gave the go-ahead to setup the RR, the army decided to milk its existing units by 10-20% of their personnel to set up it up quickly. The officers and men came on deputation from all branches of the army including the Infantry, Army Service Corps, EME, Artillery, Armoured Corps. The infantry provides 50%, services 10% and other arms 40% of the troops. In fact the army mothballed a few armoured regiments and transferred their manpower to the RR.
Each regimental center was given the task of raising 1-2 battalions in one year time. During this period, the units were raised and sent to the Northern Command where they got another 4 to 6 weeks to consolidate. All of them went through a structured 8 week course in special CI schools. They were then given another month to stabilize and then sent to the more dormant sectors of Kashmir and to the Punjab. To provide some experience base, 6 RR battalions were exchanged for 6 Assam Rifles units.
In raising the Rashtriya Rifles to full strength, the Army also had to dig into its war-wastage reserves, with the best available vehicles, weapons and radio sets going to the RR. In fact the RR units were even the first to receive bullet-proof jackets and patkas. With manpower drawn from all its arms and services, the Army has had to deal with serious shortages in many of its conventional units, for Rashtriya Rifles battalions are maintained at full authorized strength. However once the teething problems were overcome the RR proved it was worth the trouble.
Structure
The Rashtriya Rifles comprises 65 battalions.The efficacy of an RR battalion arises from the fact that unlike conventional Army battalions, it has six rifle companies instead of four they possess and has kept its heavy weapons—useless in their sphere of activities—back at their bases.
Originally comprising a total of four Counterinsurgency Forces, each responsible for an area of the Kashmir Valley and Jammu, the RR raised a fifth force 'Uniform' in 2003-04.:
- Counter Insurgency Force (CIF) R / Romeo Force - Rajouri and Poonch
- Counter Insurgency Force (CIF) D / Delta Force - Doda
- Counter Insurgency Force (CIF) V / Victor Force - Anantnag, Pulwama and Badgam
- Counter Insurgency Force (CIF) K / Kilo Force - Kupwara, Baramulla and Srinagar
- Counter Insurgency Force (CIF) U / Uniform Force - Udhampur and Banihal
Evolution
The initial RR units performed well despite certain inherent weaknesses in their class and composition. They were raised on All India/All Class basis with troops from all over the Army. The logic being that since the units were going to fight an insurgency, there should be no scope for vested interests in accusing a battalion of bias based on a class or regional attributes. Unfortunately, this setup created problems in the field. The initial RR units were like transit camps, with troops coming and going at regular intervals. There was little camaraderie and cohesion among troops. There were also numerous problems of administration and even of indiscipline. COs of infantry battalions who were asked to provide manpower generally used to use that as a chance to get rid of trouble makers. If the initial battalions performed well in hostile conditions, it was mainly due to the professional competence of officers who were asked to lead them.Keeping this in mind, a decision was taken to alter the basic composition of the RR battalions. Instead of its units being composed of troops from all over the Army, two RR battalions were made an integral part of each of the infantry regiments and other arms. Now not only are majority of troops of the two RR battalions drawn from the other units of the Regiment, but their Commanding Officer or the 2IC, is from the same regiment. This ensures not only functional cohesion but also the regimental esprit-de-corps. This experiment has produced excellent results even while the units were deployed in the most difficult areas.
Recruitment
The RR was raised as a para-military force and it was envisaged that its personnel, like the Assam RiflesAssam Rifles
The Assam Rifles are one of the Paramilitary forces of India. The unit can trace its lineage back to a paramilitary police force that was formed under the British in 1835 called Cachar Levy. Since then the Assam Rifles have undergone a number of name changes before the name Assam Rifles was finally...
, would consist of regular Army volunteers on deputation, ex-servicemen and lateral inductees from various para-military forces and central police organisations. However, this never happened and the force has consisted only of regular Army officers and Jawans , especially from the various Infantry regiments , like the Rajputana Rifles
Rajputana Rifles
The Rajputana Rifles is the most senior rifle regiment of the Indian Army. It was originally raised in 1921 as part of the British Indian Army, when six previously existing regiments were amalgamated together to form six battalions of the 6th Rajputana Rifles...
, Gorkha Rifles
Gorkha regiments (India)
The Gorkha regiments have been serving in the Indian Army ever since independence in 1947, when the Tripartite Agreement was signed. The regiments primarily consist of soldiers from India's Gorkha community and from the Gorkha tribes of Nepal...
, Maratha Light Infantry
Maratha Light Infantry
The Maratha Light Infantry is a light infantry regiment of the Indian Army. It was formed as the 103rd Maharattas in 1768, making it the most senior light infantry regiment of the Army....
, Sikh Light Infantry
Sikh Light Infantry
The Sikh Light Infantry previously known as The Mazabhi and Ramdasia Sikh Regiment is an elite Regiment of the Indian Army. Its name was changed to the Sikh Light Infantry in 1944. The Sikh Light Infantry is the successor unit to the Mazhabi Sikh Pioneers 23rd, 32nd and 34th Sikh Pioneers...
, and Sikh Regiment. Both officers and soldiers are sent to the RR on deputation for a period of 2–3 years. RR personnel receive 25% more salary than regular Army personnel and additional benefits, thus often making it a coveted deputation.