In a bid to plug infiltration across the Line of Control, the Army has proposed raising scouts from local villages in sensitive border areas of J-K and has suggested that the population be re-located to the hinterland to improve security.It is understood that the Army wants to raise scout battalions on the lines of the existing units of the Ladakh/Dogra/Garhwal scouts, preferably recruiting manpower from among the Gujjar and Bakerwals. According to South Block sources, the Army wants to exploit the knowledge and expertise of these people as they are familiar with the traditional routes across the LoC and the Pir Panjals, used by terrorists as infiltration routes.Defence Minister George Fernandes is also known to be partial to the idea and is on record advocating greater recruitment of Gujjars and Bakerwals into the Army. During a recent visit to the border areas of J-K, Fernandes even promised locals and panchayats to discuss modalities of recruiting men from the nomadic tribes into Army battalions.In fact, a group of Gujjars raised and trained by the Army and the J-K police spear-headed the anti-terrorist operations in Hill Kaka.While Dogras and Rajputs are usually recruited into the Army’s Dogra and Jammu and Kashmir Rifle battalions, people from other communities are recruited into the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry battalions.However, Gujjars and Bakerwals, a sizable population in the border areas and the interiors are yet to be tapped as a recruitable population. Over the years, terrorists have forced the migrating population to act as guides as well as provide food and rations. By recruiting the same population, the Army hopes to deny a major source of sustenance for terrorists.The Army has also proposed that as one of the measures to improve rear area and border management, these scout battalions be placed under the operational command of the Udhampur-based Northern Command. Besides using their skills to effectively choke infiltration, they will act as a force multiplier to the regular battalions in the event of hostilities with Pakistan. Army Headquarters also point to the success notched up by the Scout battalions of the Army during recent conflicts. During the Kargil war, the Karakoram and Indus wings of the Ladakh Scouts played a key role and launched several successful assaults against Pakistani infiltrators, operating in difficult terrain and bad weather. That troops were locals familiar with the area also contributed significantly to its success.
