The Indo-Tibetan Border Police’s Shaurya commando platoons, raised recently on the lines of the Indian Army’s Ghatak platoons, are carrying out joint training with the Army in high-altitude operations.
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), a central armed police force under the Ministry of Home Affairs mandated for the peacetime management of the border with China, is co-deployed with the Army along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the northern as well as the north-eastern sectors.
Troops of Shaurya commando platoon underwent intensive training with the Fire and Fury Corps in new generation weapons, mountaineering skills, drone operations and unarmed combat to enhance interoperability and combat preparedness, the Army said. Headquartered in Leh, the Fire and Fury Corps is responsible for operations in Ladakh.
Why were Shaurya platoons raised
According to sources, raising Shaurya platoons is part of the ITBP’s modernisation drive that was initiated after the protracted stand-off with China along the LAC in 2020. The stand-off, involving non-lethal weapons and scuffles, had witnessed fatalities on both sides. Incursions, scuffles and fist-fights are common on the LAC.
Post 2020, both the Army as well as the ITBP had undertaken significant force restructuring and upgradation of capabilities, as well as reworked troop deployment and operational posture along the Himalayan frontier.
Forming a part of ITBP battalions, the Shaurya commando platoons are elite, specially trained and equipped sub-units specialising in advanced mountain warfare, high-altitude combat and drone operations.
Their primary focus is border vigil, anti-infiltration and rapid response during contingencies in the Himalayas. With a higher level of training, these also act as force multipliers and enhance the battalion’s capability to deal with threats and undertake offensive action.
Difference from Army’s Ghatak platoons
The Army’s Ghatak platoons, on the other hand, are required to operate across all types of terrains and form the Infantry battalions’ offensive edge by carrying out raids, conducting reconnaissance, spearheading assaults and undertaking other specialised tasks in the tactical domain.
Though the organisation and training of both types of units is similar, the orientation of Shaurya platoons is defensive while that of the Ghatak platoons is offensive. The best troops in a battalion are selected for these sub-units.
Though the ITBP has been training commandos within its ranks, including women, there was no structured commando sub-unit within its organisational hierarchy. ITBP commandos were deployed for VIP protection, security of Indian embassies abroad, anti-Naxal operations or formed part of the rank and file of different battalions.
The Army and the ITBP regularly conduct joint war games and field exercises at different hierarchical levels to maintain the required operational posture in forward areas and enhance inter-service synergy, anti-infiltration measures and counter-drone capabilities.
Exercise Agni Pariksha in January 2026 and Exercise Dao Prahar in March 2026, conducted by the Army’s Spear Corps in the north-east that involved live firing, including employment of artillery and heavy calibre weapons, are recent examples.
