A History of Assam c23.46

c23.46

In the early days of British rule, the protection of the frontier was wholly in the hands of the military authorities; but, as greater precautions were taken to prevent raids, the outposts to be garrisoned became too numerous for the limited number of troops available, and some of them were entrusted to the district police. The latter force was divided into two parts, the one part being unarmed and performing duties of a purely civil nature, while the other was armed and was employed, partly in guarding jails and treasuries and in furnishing escorts, and partly in manning some of the frontier outposts. In 1879 there were four regiments in the province, who held fourteen outposts, and about 2,200 armed police, distributed over ten districts and entrusted with the defence of thirty-five outposts. It was proposed by the Chief Commissioner, Sir Steuart Bayley, to raise the strength of the armed police to three thousand men and to entrust them with all frontier outpost duty, thereby relieving the military, whose strength he thought might then be somewhat reduced. The outcome of this proposal, as revised by his successors, Sir Charles Elliott, after consultation with the Commander-in-Chief, was that the armed police were entirely separated from the civil. Instead of being scattered over ten districts, they were collected at four centres and formed into regular "Military Police" battalions, drilled and disciplined on the regimental system, and commanded by junior officers of the Indian Army. An additional battalion was formed after the annexation of the Lushai hills. There are now five battalions of Assam Rifles, as they are now called, with head-quarters at Aijal, Sadiya, Kohima, Imphal and Lokra. The total strength slightly exceeds four thousand. The men are mainly Gurkhas and Meches. They are enlisted subject to the conditions of the Assam Rifles Act, 1920, which places them on a footing very similar to that of the native army. Their discipline is, as a rule, good; and they have rendered excellent service, not only on outpost duty, but also in various expeditions against the hill tribes, for which, as they travel lighter, they have often been employed in preference to regular troops.