Who are para commandos?

The para commandos who carried out the attack against insurgents along Indo-Myanmar border on Tuesday are a part of the Parachute Regiment of Indian Army, trained for special operations like the one just concluded.

All three wings of the armed forces have their own commando units, trained specially for operations involving direct action.

These commandos handle operations like hostage rescue, counter-terrorism, unconventional warfare, special reconnaissance, foreign internal defense, counter-proliferation, counter-insurgency, seek and destroy and personnel recovery.

While the Indian Army has the Parachute Regiment, popularly called the para commandos, the Indian Navy has the marine commandos (MARCOS) and the Indian Air Force the Garud Commando Force.

The Parachute Regiment was raised in 1945 but was disbanded after the World War II. It was re-raised in 1952 and is made up of seven Special Forces, six airborne, two Territorial Army and one counter-insurgency (Rashtriya Rifles) battalions.

These commandos have played significant roles in special combat, ranging from the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971, Operation Bluestar, Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka and in several anti-terror operations.

During Operation Bluestar, commandos of 1 Para (SF) were tasked to lead the attack on the Golden Temple for evicting Sikh militants hold up there.

They were a part of the Indida Peace-Keeping Force in Sri Lanka and were also involved in Operation Cactus in Maldives.

In 1999, nine Parachute regiment battalions were deployed for Operation Vijay in Kargil and played a significant role in the conflict.

The para commandos have also been involved in several counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and the northeastern states.

They have also been involved in United Nations' peacekeeping operations, including those in Korea (1950-54), Gaza (1956-58) and UNAMSIL in Sierra Leone (2000).