JOIN USExplained | Why Army doesn't want CAPFs to wear combat uniforms
The Army on Wednesday wrote to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) demanding that the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) personnel, deployed to handle law and order situations across the country, must refrain from wearing combat uniforms.
The request comes after certain CAPF personnel, deployed along with the Delhi Police at protest sites in the national capital, were seen wearing the Indian Army pattern combat uniforms.
Why did the Army make such a demand?
After CAPF personnel and State Police personnel were seen in combat uniforms closely resembling that of the Indian Army in the violence-hit areas of north-east Delhi, the Army felt that this might be misinterpreted as the Army being deployed on internal security duties. As a result, it might adversely impact the country's image as a vibrant democratic nation.
On Feb. 23, ANI tweeted a video featuring security personnel wearing combat uniforms being deployed in the Jaffrabad metro station area. The next day, the Army clarified that the "Indian Army wasn't deployed for Internal Security Duties."
It is clarified that #IndianArmy wasn't deployed for Internal Security Duties. https://t.co/6jogdtftEo
— ADG PI - INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) February 24, 2020
What are the guidelines that the Army wants the MoD to issue?
The Army wants the Defence Ministry to deliver the following instructions:
1. Combat uniforms should NOT be worn by CAPFs pan India while being employed to handle law and order situations and while being deployed in urban areas affected by terrorism, as the surroundings do not demand such a requirement.
2. Use of distinctly different (both in colour and pattern) disruptive dress by CAPFs and State Police forces should be restricted only to employment in jungle terrain in LWE-affected areas.
3. Bullet Proof Jackets cover most of the torso and these jackets for the CAPFs and State Police personnel should be in plain Khaki colour and not in combat colour.
4. The sale of Army pattern clothes in the open market needs to be regulated. Private vendors in an open market should establish identity and maintain a record of personnel to whom the Army pattern clothes (including accessories and accoutrements) are being sold, as proposed by the MHA on March 31, 2016.
Has the Army made such demands before?
Yes, the Army has made this request repeatedly over the past several years. In 2004, the Army raised this issue citing that such a practice needs to be arrested, as it may create misplaced perceptions amongst the Indian public and international community that the Army was being deployed for policing during elections and in law and order situations.
In this regard, the MoD had taken up a case with the Ministry of Home Affairs and accordingly, the ministry had issued an advisory to all CAPFs not to wear Army pattern combat uniforms.
In 2013, the Army reported violations of these instructions, supported by a photo folder highlighting instances of CAPFs/State Police wearing Army pattern combat uniforms. The issue was discussed with the state governments in 2015.
During the Jat agitation in Haryana in 2016, the issue was raised again. To avoid confusion, Army personnel carried signs saying ‘ARMY’ in bold letters while conducting flag marches in Haryana.