Assam Rifles: India’s Only Paramilitary Force

The Assam Rifles is one of the most distinctive forces in India’s security architecture — and one of the least understood.

Its origins go back to 1835, when it was raised as the Cachar Levy with just 750 men. Created to protect British interests and settlements in the Northeast, the force went through several transformations — Assam Frontier Police, Assam Military Police and Eastern Bengal and Assam Military Police — before taking its present name in 1917.

Nearly two centuries later, the Assam Rifles remains deeply embedded in the security landscape of the Northeast.

Unlike the Central Armed Police Forces — CRPF, BSF, CISF, ITBP and SSB — the Assam Rifles has a distinctive Army-linked command structure. Its administrative affairs fall under the Ministry of Home Affairs, while its operational command is exercised through the Army. Its senior leadership is drawn from serving Army officers, with the Director General being a serving Lieutenant General.

Watch: Assam Rifles Remains Significant, With Expanded Role On China Border, Besides Traditional Duties

This unusual arrangement has also been the subject of a long-running institutional debate over administrative and operational control.

The force has an extraordinary operational history. It fought in both World Wars, was among the first Indian forces to confront the Chinese offensive in NEFA in 1962, played a major role during the Mizo insurgency, participated in Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka and has undertaken counter-insurgency operations in the Northeast and Jammu & Kashmir.

Its history is also closely linked to some defining moments in independent India. In 1951, Major Bob Khathing led an expedition to Tawang, while in 1959, Assam Rifles personnel escorted the Dalai Lama and his entourage after they crossed into India from Tibet.

Today, the Assam Rifles has another crucial responsibility: guarding India’s 1,643-km-long border with Myanmar. The frontier brings together insurgency, narcotics trafficking, refugee flows, Myanmar’s internal conflict, China’s growing influence and India’s Act East ambitions.

At the same time, the force continues its civic role in remote areas — running schools, providing healthcare and supporting communities.

In this Defence Mantra Classroom, we explore the history, structure, operations and evolving role of the Assam Rifles — a force that has spent nearly two centuries guarding India’s eastern frontier.