New ITBP pups named after flashpoints in Ladakh

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 30

As a token of respect and gratitude to personnel guarding the treacherous border in Ladakh, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP) has named its new-born pups in its K-9 establishment after sensitive locations and posts along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Junking the traditional western names for K-9s, the ITBP has, for the first time in any Central Armed Police Forces history, given local names to its K-9 warriors.

A ‘Naamkaran Ceremony’ was held at ITBP's National Training Centre for Dogs in Bhanu near Chandigarh, where 17 malinois pups were born a couple of months ago to ITBP dogs - Gala the father and Olga and Oleshya the mothers. The parents are veterans of many counter-terrorist operations and other high-profile security duties.

The names of the pups are Ane-la, Galwan, Sasoma, Chip-chap, Saser, Srijap, Charding, Rezang, Daulat, Sultan-chusku, Imis, Rango, Yula, Mukhpri, Chung-Thung, Khardungi and Shyok. 

"By giving these K-9 Indian names, that too from the areas guarded by the Force, it is for the first time since Independence that the K-9 wing of the country will acknowledge its own legacy and ethos," an ITBP officer said.

The Force plans that the next batch of pups will be named after other prominent names of the icy frontiers where ITBP is deployed, covering the entire 3,488-km-long border with China from Karakoram to Jechap La.

The ITBP has also received requests from other Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) for these pups to be used for their security duties.

The ITBP was the first force to deploy Malinois dogs in left-wing extremism-hit areas a decade ago, and now it has also started scientifically breeding K9s to meet its own demands and also provide pups to other CAPFs and state police forces as mandated by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The 90,000-strong ITBP was raised in 1962 in the aftermath of the Chinese aggression and apart from its primary duty to guard the China border, it is also tasked to carry out various internal security duties, including anti-Naxal operations.