Sashastra Seema Bal Act: Maintaining Service, Security, and Brotherhood

The Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), which is under the Ministry of Home Affairs, is an armed police force that is in charge of protecting India’s border regions with Nepal and Bhutan. Guarding an open border is just as challenging as protecting a closed border. Because of the enormity of the border and no-visa policy between nations, ensuring the safety and security of the border remains challenging.

However, the SSB’s vast previous expertise and work at the grassroots level in remote areas helps it to mobilise support from the public and work together in addition to protecting the border to preserve its integrity.

Converting the Special Service Bureau, which was earlier an organisation, to Sashastra Seema Bal turned it into a powerful force capable of ensuring the security situation along the Indo–Nepal and Indo–Bhutan borders.

SSB

The SSB was established on 15 March 1963 after the Sino–Indian Conflict of 1962 . The SSB offered armed assistance to the Intelligence Bureau’s foreign research section, which was subsequently known as the Research and Analysis Wing after its founding in 1968. SSB is a part of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and falls under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

With ongoing encouragement, training, development, welfare initiatives, and tasks, another objective was to foster a sense of national attachment among the border community and help them build their capacity for such struggle.

Numerous insurgent activities and Naxal action were initiated in some parts of the nation, Therefore, the army is stationed in such areas. The SSB Act was enacted to regulate the activities of these forces.

History of the Act

The SSB Act, 2007 was sanctioned by the President on 20 December 2007 and was enacted on 1 August 2009 by publishing it in the official gazette on 20 December 2007. This Act was passed by the Indian political coalition, the United Progressive Alliance, led by the Indian National Congress(INC). The SSB Act, 2007 has 11 Chapters and a total of 156 Sections.

The Act was formulated by India as a response to the Chinese military aggression. China was regarded to be stronger than India, and in the case of a war, Chinese forces could easily overwhelm India’s forces. The SSB force was formed to bolster India’s forces.

SSB successfully prepared Mukti Bahini in Bangladesh, conducted counter-insurgency operations in the northeast, tracked rebel groups and neutralised them, arrested criminals, disrupted terrorism networks, and extended protection at high altitudes during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 and the Kargil War.

Role of SSB

Section 4 of the SSB Act, 2007, details the Constitution of the Armed Forces of the Union, which states the reason for assuring the protection of the borders of India and for the issues arising in the same context.

• The primary responsibility of SSB is to protect the safety of India’s designated borders with neighbouring nations Nepal and Bhutan.
• To foster an understanding of security among people residing in those border communities.
• To stop smuggling, illegal immigration, and other transnational crimes.
• To stop unlawful entry or exit on or from the Indian Border.
• To implement social responsibility initiatives in the relevant jurisdiction, for instance, establishing schools, buildings, restrooms, and roads by a border region development plan.
• To perform any additional tasks, such as UN missions, Law & Order missions, Counter The uprising Operations, Election duty, the central government may assign.

As per Section 5 of the SSB Act,2007, The Central Government will exercise general supervision, control, and authority over the Force, and the Central government will appoint the Director General of the Force.

Section 7 of the SSSB Act 2007 states that the person coming under this Act is liable to work inside and outside India.

Section 10 of the Act states that the service can be terminated by the Central government of any person coming under this Act.

Any person pursuant to this Act who is not an officer can be fired from the work, removed from the workforce, or demoted by the Director-General, Additional Director-General, or Inspector-General under Section 11 of the Sashastra Seema Bal Act, 2007.

Ranks under SSB

SSB has two wings, and each wing has a distinct cadre.

1. Combatised Wing (Uniformed Personnel)

In a paramilitary organisation, people engaged in combat roles are in charge of launching operations on the enemy, going on investigation missions, and taking part in other duties that place them near the enemy. The Combatised Wing performs tasks in Battalions on the Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bhutan Border.

2. The Area Wing (Non-Uniform OR Civil Personnel)

The Area Wing collects information and is engaged in ‘Non-combat’ roles, which are not actively associated with field action operations. These people are responsible for administrative duties, logistics, information gathering, and other support functions and in charge of directing and instructing the combat-trained members of the organisations.

Recruitment and Training Center

Assistant Commandants are recruited through a competitive examination conducted by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) as it is a Group “A” gazetted central service.

Sub-Inspectors are recruited by the competitive exam conducted by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), and constables are recruited by the commission.

Training Centres and Additional Training Centres

The candidates qualifying for these exams are sent to the training centres for the recruitment process.

Instruction to force employees takes place in the following training locations on the counter subversion, border management, perception management, and survival, as well as additional professional training is given to them, which is intended to improve performance:

• SSB Academy Srinagar Garhwal (Uttarakhand), CTC Salonibari (Assam)
• MTC Shimla (HP)
• CIJW School Gwaldam (Uttarakhand)
• CTC, Sapri (Himachal Pradesh)
• Telecom TC, Kasumpti (HP)
• ITS Ghitorni (Del)
• IT&T TC, Faridabad (Haryana)
• DTC Palampur (HP)
• RTC Gorakhpur (UP)
• RTC Bhopal (MP)
• RTC Alwar (Raj)

Conclusion

The SSB is a Central armed police body and protects the nation from any insurgency arising in any part of the nation. The Act gives the process of its functioning, its limitations, and how it acts under the administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

The government recognised that solid border defence required the cooperation and firmness of a committed border population, a thorough understanding of the surroundings, and the values and customs of the frontier community. Therefore, the SSB was envisioned as a distinct but specialised organisation for operating in strategically important, remote, topographically challenging, and susceptible border areas, using personnel from the border people in several states.