Mumbai Commando Operations- relevant facts

Dear Colleagues,

I had taken part in a TV programme from 2100 to 2300 hours on 28 Nov on 'Live India'. Mr Mitra, IPS the former Special Secy Security was there too. Mr Shakeel Ahmed, MOS Ministry of Home was on a phone-in. Most of you might have missed the pgme since it does not seem like a popular channel. Some of the relevant points I made are given below:

Although the NSG has a mixed composition, the NSG commandos you see slithering down into danger are all from the Special Action Group, which is a pure Army unit within the NSG. (The anchor had already introduced me as the first Chief Instructor of the NSG, which would have added authenticity to my statement).

When the crowd was shown cheering and applauding the NSG commandos, I had drawn attention to the fact that after their three year deputation with the NSG, they would revert to the Army and almost 60% of these brave men would be compulsarily retired at the age of 35 years when their family financial commitments would be at the highest. The pension being too meagre, these brave men with all their courage, skills, nationalism and their sense of sacrifice would be seeking a security job with some private agency for Rs 2,000.00.

In the two hour pgme there were many other points made. But of direct relevance to our current IESM struggle are the above two points. The first point seems to have rattled the DG NSG who kept saying later (elsewhere) that the commandos are not from the Army but from the NSG. That may not be technically wrong but neither he nor anyone else can deny that within the NSG, the risky nut-cracking job is given to the pure Army unit and the support role is assigned to the units composed of CPOs. This is also borne out by the fact that all the three (some reports say two) NSG commando martyrs are from the Army. The operations and training in the NSG come under the Army elements and a serving Army Maj Gen has the designation of IG (ops) whereas the administration comes under the police with an IPS officer being posted as the IG (Adm). It may be worth emphasizing the above facts in the prevailing public mood.

Best regards,
Lt Gen (Emeritus) Raj Kadyan, PVSM, AVSM, VSM
Chairman IESM

We thank General Kadyan for projecting the correct perspective of the Armed Forces. The nation deserves to be enlightened. It is pertinent to note that most of the brave commandos will after 15- 20 years service be consigned to a security agency for a montly pay averaging Rs 2000 (approx $40 per month). What a tragedy! The MOD and DGR need to urgently honour a Jawan and not degrade his status perpetually.
Veterans' Voice

National Security Guard

December 1999: Terrorists hijack Indian Airlines flight IC814 from Nepal, and land in Amritsar, Punjab. Within minutes of landing the Crisis Management Group (CMG), which authorizes the use of the NSG, is informed. But the CMG wastes precious hours and by the time the go-ahead is issued, it is too late. On the other hand, the NSG team on alert was elsewhere and no other team was raised during the delay. By the time the NSG reached Amritsar airport the hijackers became restless and ordered the plane to takeoff. Here too the NSG missed their opportunity by not blocking the runway or shooting out the planes tires. The plane lands in Kandahar, Afganisthan where one hostage is killed. Finally the Indian government agrees to the terrorists demands to release 3 jailed terrorists. The hostages are released and the terrorists escape to Pakistan.

Ongoing: The NSG is used extensively to guard VIPs and VVIPs, especially those in the 'Z-plus' category. Many NSG personnel are seconded to the Special Protection Group (SPG) which guards the Prime Minister. However, the use of NSG for VIP protection has spiralled out of control recently. More than 19 persons currently enjoy NSG protection, mainly as a status symbol. The Home Minister has clamped down on this misuse and is currently phasing out the use of the NSG for VIP protection in all but the most serious cases (Z-plus category). From now on, NSG coverage will be provided based on a persons threat perception rather than status. This move has freed up a large number of operators for other missions. The NSG is also in demand as security consultants and are known to be active in the Middle East.
NATIONAL SECURITY GUARDS- Bharat Rakshak
NSG- Official website