E-Paper
ITBP trains 6,000 personnel in Mandarin
According to people aware of the matter, ITBP now has 163 master trainers who have completed long-term courses (one year and above) in Mandarin at various institutes
After two military standoffs with China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in recent years -- first at the tri-junction in Doklam in 2017, and then in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh in 2020 -- the Indo-Tibet Border Police (ITBP) has trained over 6,000 personnel, or 7% of its total strength, in Mandarin as a way to communicate with trespassing Chinese soldiers during border patrols.
According to people aware of the matter, ITBP now has 163 master trainers who have completed long-term courses (one year and above) in Mandarin at various institutes, including Jawaharlal Nehru University’s School of Foreign Languages, Tezpur University, and Sanchi University.
“These master trainers are giving basic Chinese language introductory lessons to the trainees in various units and battalions. The current training is enough for troops to effectively communicate with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops and put across their point when they come face-to-face during patrolling,” said a senior ITBP officer who asked not to be named.
“We have so far trained over 6,000 personnel in Chinese languages, primarily Mandarin, and we aim to train the entire force in next two to three years,” the officer added.
The paramilitary force, raised after the 1962 Indo-China war and whose troops are called “Himveers”, guards the border from Jammu & Kashmir to Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh through 180 Border outposts (BoPs) located at the altitudes ranging from 9,000 feet to 18,750 feet, where temperature sometimes dips to minus-45 degree Celsius.
It currently has a strength of 84,233 personnel, but the government plans to induct about 10,000 more personnel for 47 additional BOPs and 12 ITBP staging camps along the LAC. This plan has already been approved by the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA).
Since the border is not fully demarcated, and both sides have different perceptions of the LAC, Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops often transgress into Indian territory, and ITBP patrols have often found it difficult to communicate with them. According to government data, there were 663 incidents of Chinese transgressions along the LAC in 2019, 404 in 2018, 473 in 2017, 296 in 2016, and 428 in 2015. The data for 2020 and 2021 has not been released by the Centre in the wake of ongoing face-off in Ladakh.
The officials cited in the first instance said that though ITBP decided to equip its men with working knowledge of Mandarin after the 73-day Doklam standoff from June to August 2017, the plan got impetus only after the Galwan Valley clash on June 15-16, 2020, in which 20 Indian army soldiers and an unknown numbers of PLA troops were killed.
“Other than regular lines of communication such as Commander-level talks and hotlines, having working knowledge of Chinese languages for patrolling troops will help in resolving a situation there and then so that a repeat of June 2020 situation can be avoided,” said a second officer who also requested anonymity.
Sameer Patil, senior fellow at Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and a national security expert, said: “Lack of suitable Mandarin-language skills at the ground level had been a bane for ITBP. So, now the service picking up this language course will surely help it to better interact with the PLA, especially at times when they are in a face-to-face situation during ground patrols. It will also help the troops to develop a broader understanding of China.”
ITBP men guard the 3,488 km of India-China border in western, Middle and Eastern Himalayas of the border from Karakoram Pass in Ladakh to Jachep La in Arunachal Pradesh.
The e army has deployed over 60,000 troops in the Ladakh theatre alone since 2020, despite disengagement of soldiers from Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso and Gogra-Hot Springs area.
