India has several Special Forces (SF) units. The three branches of the Indian Armed Forces have separate special forces units, viz. the Para SF of the Indian Army, the MARCOS of the Indian Navy and the Garud Commando Force of the Indian Air Force. There are other special forces which are not controlled by the military but operate under civilian organisations such as the Home Ministry’s National Security Guard and Research and Analysis Wing's Special Group (India). Small groups from the military SF units are deputed in the Armed Forces Special Operations Division, a unified command and control structure.
The National Security Guard (NSG), commonly known as Black Cats, is a counter-terrorism unit of India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It was founded on 16 October 1984, following Operation Blue Star, for combating terrorist activities and protect states against internal disturbances. Formalised in the Parliament of India under the National Security Guard Act, 1986. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces of India.
On 24 September 2002, multiple terrorists attacked the Akshardham Temple Complex in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India, killing 33 and injuring more than 80. India's National Security Guard intervened and ended the siege the next day, killing the terrorists. Six accused were later arrested by Gujarat Police. The Supreme Court acquitted all six persons in 2014.
The Marine Commandos, abbreviated to MARCOS and officially called the Marine Commando Force (MCF), are the special forces of the Indian Navy. The MARCOS were originally named Indian Marine Special Force, which was later changed to Marine Commando Force to impart "an element of individuality" to it, according to the Indian Navy. The abbreviation 'MARCOS' was coined afterwards.
Surjan Singh Bhandari was a commando of the elite National Security Guards of the Indian armed forces. Bhandari hailed from Gochar, North Indian state of Uttarakhand. Bhandari was critically wounded during the operation to flush out the terrorists from the Akshardham temple complex on September 24, 2002.
Indian Airlines Flight 427, a domestic passenger flight of the Indian Airlines between Srinagar Airport and the Delhi-Indira Gandhi International Airport, was involved in an aircraft hijacking that took place in India between 24 and 25 April 1993. Commandos from the National Security Guard (NSG) rescued all 141 hostages of the Indian Airlines Boeing 737, on the ground at Amritsar airport. The lone hijacker, Mohammad Yousuf, was killed within 5 minutes of commandos entering the plane, before he could react and harm any of the hostages. The rescue was code-named Operation Ashwamedh.
Para (Special Forces), also known as Para (SF), is a group of special forces battalions of the Parachute Regiment in the Indian Army. These units specialize in various roles including counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, unconventional warfare, special reconnaissance, counter-insurgency and direct action.
The Garud Commando Force is the special forces unit of the Indian Air Force. It was formed in September 2004 and has a current strength of over 1500 personnel. The unit derives its name from Garuda, a divine bird-like creature in Hindu culture.
Bose is a 2004 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by Senthil Kumar. It stars Srikanth and Sneha and Kalabhavan Mani, Nagesh, Thalaivasal Vijay, Manikka Vinayagam, and Kalairani in supporting roles.
India and Maldives are neighbours sharing a maritime border. Relations have been friendly and close in strategic, economic and military cooperation. India continues to contribute to maintaining security on the island nation.
The 2008 Mumbai attacks were a series of terrorist attacks that took place in November 2008, when 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a militant Islamist organisation from Pakistan, carried out 12 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks lasting four days across Mumbai. The attacks, which drew widespread global condemnation, began on Wednesday 26 November and lasted until Saturday 29 November 2008. A total of 175 people died, including nine attackers, and more than 300 were wounded.
Sandeep Unnikrishnan, AC was an Indian Army officer, who was serving in the 51 Special Action Group of the National Security Guards on deputation. He laid down his life in action during the November 2008 Mumbai attacks. He was consequently awarded the Ashoka Chakra, India's highest peacetime gallantry award, on 26 January 2009.
Gajender Singh Bisht was an NSG commando and Havildar (Sergeant) who was killed during the 2008 Mumbai attacks. His act of bravery was honoured with the Ashoka Chakra award by the President of India on 26 January 2009, India's Republic Day.
Adampur Airport, is a domestic airport and an Indian Air Force base serving the cities of Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur in Punjab, India. It is located 6.7 km (4.2 mi) from Adampur town in Jalandhar district, 28 km (17 mi) from Jalandhar and 27 km (17 mi) from Hoshiarpur. It just beside NH-3. As it lies just between the cities of Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur, it serves both the cities. The airport was required by the Doaba region of Punjab for facilitating commercial operations, as the other two main airports of the state at Amritsar and Chandigarh are 100 and 145 km distant, respectively.
On January 2 2016, militants from Islamic separatist Kashmiri groups attacked the Indian Air Force's Pathankot Airbase, part of its Western Air Command.
There have been several attacks on Indian Armed Forces by militants in 2016.
All branches of the Indian Armed Forces have women in combat roles. Women are allowed in combat services and supervisory roles. The Indian Air Force had 13.09% (2018) and 8.50% (2014) women; the Indian Navy 6% (2018) and 3% (2014); the Indian Army 3.80% (2018) and 3% (2014). As of 2020, three officers have the rank of lieutenant-general or equivalent, all in the Medical Services. In May 2021, 83 women were inducted as Jawans for the first time in the Indian Army, in the Corps of Military Police.
Indian Armed Forces in Jammu and Kashmir encompass the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force, tri-service units such as the Armed Forces Special Operations Division (AFSOD), and paramilitary organisations of the Central Armed Police Forces such as the Border Security Force, the Central Reserve Police Force, the Sashastra Seema Bal and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police. Each three wings of India's military have their special forces deployed in the region including Indian Army's Para SF, the Indian Navy MARCOS and the Indian Air Force's Garud Commando Force. Apart from this, there is the elite police anti-insurgency force in the region, the Special Operations Group, of the Jammu and Kashmir Police.
State of Siege: 26/11 is an Indian Hindi-language action thriller web series on ZEE5, directed by Matthew Leutwyler and Prashant Singh and produced by Abhimanyu Singh and Roopali Singh. The series is based on journalist Sandip Unnithan's book Black Tornado: The Three Sieges of Mumbai 26/11 about the military's Operation Black Tornado during the 26/11 terrorist attacks. The series features Arjan Bajwa, Arjun Bijlani, Jyoti Gauba, Vivek Dahiya, Tara Alisha Berry Mukul Dev and Naren Kumar in prominent roles. The series was launched on 20 March 2020 on ZEE5.
Suresh Chand Yadav, AC was Junior commissioned officer of the Indian Army's Mahar Regiment who was killed in the line of duty during the Operation Vajra Shakti while on deputation to the 51 Special Action Group.He was posthumously awarded India' highest peacetime military decoration, Ashoka Chakra for his gallant action in the operation.
