The Special Frontier Force (SFF), known as the Vikas Battalion, has recently been in the limelight for its role in fending off Chinese advances on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh. This force is largely renowned for its exceptional capabilities in the field and its rich historical background. This article aims to shed more light on this elite group, from its inception to its significant operations and controversies.
Origin and History
The SFF, also known as Establishment-22, was officially formed on November 14, 1962, as a direct response to the 1962 Sino-India war. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) of India decided to train a 5,000-strong force of Tibetans to thwart the military advances from China. The CIA, a civilian foreign intelligence service of the United States, had previously been tied to covert operations to train Tibetan guerrillas against Chinese forces in Tibet since the 1950s.
In the same decade, the CIA and IB set up Mustang Base in Nepal to train Tibetans in guerilla warfare. These trained rebels played a critical role in smuggling the 14th Dalai Lama to India during the 1959 Tibetan Uprising.
About the Special Frontier Force
The SFF now falls under the Cabinet Secretariat, led by an Inspector General who is an Army officer of the Major General rank. Known as Vikas battalions, the force consists of highly equipped special forces personnel who carry out diverse operations that are typically assigned to special forces units. The members include both men and women specializing in various tasks.
Although the SFF units are not part of the Army, they operate under the Army’s operational control. The units maintain their own rank structure, comparable to Army ranks, and have a dedicated training establishment.
Major Operations
The SFF has been engaged in significant operations namely Operation Eagle (1971 war with Pakistan), Operation Bluestar (clearing Amritsar’s Golden Temple in 1984), Operation Meghdoot (securing the Siachen glacier in 1984), and Operation Vijay (war with Pakistan at Kargil in 1999), among others. In Operation Eagle, for instance, the SFF acted against the Pakistan Army in East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh) to neutralize their positions and assist the Indian Army’s progress.
Criticisms and Controversies
Notably, the SFF faced backlash for a failed joint operation with the CIA in 1965 aimed at installing a nuclear-powered device on Mount Nanda Devi in Uttarakhand to monitor China’s nuclear weapons tests. The mission was abandoned, and the nuclear-powered device was lost on the mountain. The Indian media reported this loss in 1978, prompting a response from India’s then Prime Minister.
Last Modified: February 9, 2024