The New "Sikkim Scouts" to be raised by 2015
With the India's Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) clearing the proposal, the Indian Army will raise by 2015 a new 900-man Sikkim Scouts battalion, primarily to guard the 200-km border with Tibet along the Himalayan state at a cost of $600 million. The Sikkim Scouts will be on the lines of Ladakh Scouts, raised in 1973 in Jammu and Kashmir, for mountain warfare. The force, to be deployed in the high altitudes of Sikkim, will draw its manpower from the eligible youth of the 540,000 population of the state. The census lists about 60 per cent of the state's population as youth less than 24 years of age. "The Sikkim Scouts will guard some key passes and sectors in the mountainous areas of the state, apart from routes of ingress and egress," a senior Indian Army officer said.
As sons of the soil, the youth of Sikkim will fight to protect their land with much vigour, and it is an advantage that they have good knowledge of the terrain, adapt to weather and environment quickly. "This will aid in better border management," the officer said, noting that it is a good employment opportunity to the state's youth. India's focus on raising such localised units around the 4,057-km Line of Actual Control with China is a good strategy from its defence point of view. The first of the five Ladakh Scouts units in Jammu and Kashmir was raised in 1973. It has also raised a Dogra unit in Jammu and Kashmir, a Kumaon and Garhwal unit in Uttarakhand and two Arunachal Scouts units in Arunachal Pradesh. The Ladakh Scouts units are affiliated to the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles. One of the Arunachal Scouts units, which were raised in 2010 after government nod in 2009, is attached to Assam Rifles. The second Arunachal Scouts unit, being raised at present after approval in July 2012, will be affiliated to the Naga Regiment.
Keep Vigil along India-China Border
The army’s reasoning is that local boys know the terrain, language, adept at weathering the conditions and would be at home, at work. The Sikkim Scouts will guard some key passes and sectors in the mountainous region .The boys will train at Gorkha Training Centre, Lucknow, and then be placed under the command of 17 Mountain Division for deployment on international borders. To start with Sikkim Scouts battalion, to be reday by mid 2015, will have 28 officers, 44 junior commissioned officers and 862 jawans.
Its formation comes in sync with India’s policy of integrating local populace with Indian army to guard its frontiers — like Ladakh Scouts and Arunachal Scouts. In fact, a demand for Sikkim Scouts had come from state chief minister Pawan Chamling. The army, too, is elated at the response of the youth. Sikkim’s 60 per cent of six lakh population is below 24 years of age. At present, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and other Indian army units stand guard on Indo-China borders in East and North Sikkim.
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