Assam Rifles
A view of the Assam Rifles headquarters at Laitkor in Shillong. Image credit - Twitter @official_dgar

The headquarters of the Director General of Assam Rifles (DGAR) at Laitkor in Shillong, the State capital of Meghalaya, gears up to celebrate the 184th Raising Day of Assam Rifles on Sunday.

Informing this on its official Twitter handle, the Assam Rifles, which is known as the the Sentinels of North East stated: “HQ DGAR at Laitkor, Shillong, as it prepares to celebrate “The 184th Assam Rifles Raising Day” on 24 March 2019.”

Assam Rifles is the oldest paramilitary force of India and the unit can trace its lineage back to a paramilitary police force which was formed in 1835 under the British and was called Cachar Levy.

A press release available on its official website – www.assamrifles.gov.in – said the 184th Assam Rifles Raising Day celebrations began on Friday by seeking a spiritual blessing on at HQ DGAR with a grand Mandir programme.

The 3-day event, focusing on the welfare of the Assam Rifles ex-servicemen along with other issues, continued with a Barakhana where the officers, junior commissioned officers (JCOs), jawans and invited ex-servicemen (ESM) attended along with their families.

For the first time in the history of the paramilitary force, a Sub Majors Conclave will be organised to discuss the persistent welfare issues of the soldiers of the yesteryears, it added.

Assam Rifles, which is under the control of the union ministry of home affairs (MHA), perform many roles including the provision of internal security under the control of the army through the conduct of counter-insurgency and border security operations.

They also provide aid to the civilians in times of emergency, and also provide communications, medical assistance and education in remote areas.

In Northeast India, Assam Rifles has been playing a major role in combating insurgency. This paramilitary force, since 2002, has been guarding the Indo–Myanmar border as per the government policy ‘one border one force’.