Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)

=== POST 45685 Polity0134 — Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) ===

India’s largest Central Armed Police Force did not start out as an Indian force at all. It began under the British as a tool for controlling princely states. This article traces how it became the backbone of India’s internal security.

Timeline

• On 27 July 1939, the British raised the Crown Representative’s Police. It had just one battalion, formed to help control unrest in princely states.
• On 28 December 1949, the CRPF Act was enacted. The force was renamed the Central Reserve Police Force, on the initiative of Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
• In October 1992, the Rapid Action Force (RAF) was raised as a specialised CRPF wing for riot and crowd control.
• In 2008, the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) was raised. It is CRPF’s specialised jungle-warfare unit for anti-Naxal operations.

Must Know

• The CRPF is one of the Central Armed Police Forces, surveyed together in Polity0116. Here, it gets standalone treatment.
• CRPF is India’s largest Central Armed Police Force. As of 2026, it has over 3 lakh personnel organised into more than 240 battalions.
• Its core roles are internal security, anti-Naxal (Left-Wing Extremism) operations, riot control, and election security duty.
• CRPF’s motto is “Seva aur Nishtha” — Service and Loyalty.
• Since its inception, 2,270 CRPF personnel have died in the line of duty, as of its 88th anniversary in 2026.

Good to Know

• CRPF raised its first women’s unit, the 88 Mahila Battalion, in 1986. It became operational in 1987.
• During the 13 December 2001 Parliament attack, CRPF Constable Kamlesh Kumari was the first security personnel to spot the terrorists and raise the alarm. She was killed doing so.
• CRPF personnel, alongside Delhi Police, stopped the attackers from entering the Parliament building that day.

Test Yourself

Great to Know

• CRPF’s origin as a tool for controlling princely states, not defending national borders, explains why its core mission stayed internal security. Later forces like BSF were built for border defence instead.
• Renaming the force in 1949, right after Independence, mirrors a broader pattern. Newly independent India kept useful colonial institutions but re-anchored them under national, not imperial, authority.
• Adding RAF and CoBRA decades after CRPF’s founding shows a force that keeps specialising. Each new internal-security threat, riots or insurgency, got its own dedicated wing rather than being handled by generalists.

Current Affairs

• 27 July 2026: CRPF marked its 88th Raising Day. Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted personnel on X, praising their “unwavering courage and commitment to duty.”
  • He specifically highlighted CRPF’s role “in eliminating the menace of Maoism,” calling it a major contributor to “peace and progress” in affected areas.
  • Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also paid tribute, alongside opposition leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
  (Source: IANS).