Para Commandos in India
During hostility, the Para Commandos are a special troop regiment of the Indian Army tasked with special requirements to operate operations such as direct intervention, hostage retrieve, counter-terrorism, guerrilla warfare, special intelligence gathering, and international domestic defence, personnel retrieval, irregular warfare, and counter-proliferation.Â
The Para Commandos, established in 1966, is the biggest and arguably the most significant component of India’s Special Forces. They are members of the Indian Army’s specially trained Parachute Regiment, from which all Para-Commando troops are drawn. They are the elite force, assisting the larger force in infiltrating enemy lines without causing too much harm.
The Objective of Having a Para Commando
The primary objective of obtaining a Parachute Division is to quickly dispatch Troops behind enemy territory to strike an ambush and demolish the opponent’s first line of defense. The Parachute Regiment, comprised of PARA (SF) and PARA (SF) Airborne battalions, is the Indian Army’s special reserve unit.
Due to its specific mission, the unit must maintain peak operating effectiveness and physical condition. In order to effectively complete the given operational responsibilities, this particularly chosen personnel ought to be relatively youthful, physically strong and psychologically resilient, clever, ingenious, and extremely driven.
History of Para Commando Unit
While the Indo-Pakistan War was on in 1965, Major Megh Singh of the Brigade of the Guards established an ad hoc commandos organization called the Meghdoot Force, which consisted of recruits from multiple infantry regiments.
The force excelled admirably in combat, and the government sanctioned the official formation of a commando unit. Lt Col Megh Singh was chosen to build the regiment, which was initially planned to be part of the Division of the Guards. Considering parachute training as an essential component of Special Forces, the group was assigned to the Parachute Regiment and established as its 9th Battalion (Commando) on 1 July 1966.
In June 1967, the unit was divided into 2 separate units to establish a second commando force, the 10th Battalion, with three Companies each. The 10th Battalion was tasked with operating in the Western Desert, while the 9th Battalion was tasked with operating in the northern mountains. These battalions were renamed 9 and 10 Para (Commando) battalions in 1969.
In the mid-1980s, there had been proposals to separate the three para commando units from the Parachute Regiment and combine it into a single specialized organization, the Special Forces Regiment. Nevertheless, because of logistical and bureaucratic challenges, those initiatives were shelved, and the Parachute Regiment continues to train and recruit them.
A soldier is not automatically drafted through into Special Forces. Rather, soldiers from various regiments opt to serve the Special Force. To actually qualify, the volunteers must go through a six-month evaluation period. They are allowed to consider leaving and returning to their respective units during this time.
Also Read: Advance Tax Payment In India