As many as 626 BSF recruits took oath to serve the nation at an attestation-cum-passing out parade at the Subsidiary Training Centre (STC) in Jammu and Kashmir”s Udhampur district on Saturday.
This is BSF”s second passing out parade at the STC here within a fortnight. On March 20, 636 candidates passed out of the centre and the parade was presided over by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Dilbag Singh, who was the chief guest of the event on Saturday, congratulated the recruits on completion of their two-year-long training. He said he was proud to start his career with the BSF, considered as the country”s first line of defence, some 34 years ago when he was posted in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district.
“That was a very difficult period (1990s) as Kupwara became the gate of militancy with large groups of terrorists going across the border (into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir) and returned after training. “We suddenly found ourselves in a situation, for which in my opinion, we were not ready,” Singh said.
However, the police chief said it was the sacrifice, dedication and devotion of the BSF officers and personnel in the late 1980s and early 1990s due to which there was a “remarkable improvement” in the overall security situation in the erstwhile state. He hailed the BSF for securing the borders, and fighting terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, insurgents in North East and Maoists in Central India.
“Today is a golden moment in your lives and the training you received will help you overcome any challenge,” he said. The DGP also lauded the role of officers and training staff of the STC in shaping the future of the recruits. “The basic training is the bedrock of your career. You should always be ready to learn new things with an open mind,” he said, asking them to respect the human rights of the people as taught in the training programme.
While the DGP acknowledged that there will be differences in the training atmosphere and the challenges they face during the service, he said quality training will never let them down.