Para (Special Forces)

The unit's heritage stems from World War II, with the creation of the 50th Parachute Brigade in October 1941 under the British Indian Army. 9 Para (SF) was raised in 1965 as the 9th Parachute Commando Battalion (as part of the Parachute Regiment) and is the oldest among the fifteen Para (SF) units of the Indian Army. It has been involved in various operations including the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971 (including Chachro Raid), Operation Bluestar, Operation Pawan, Operation Cactus, Kargil War, Operation Ginger, 2015 Indian counter-insurgency operation in Myanmar, 2016 Pampore stand-off, 2016 Indian Line of Control strike and in several anti-terror operations.

History

The parachute units of the Indian Army are among the oldest airborne units in the world. The 50th Indian Parachute Brigade was formed on 27 October 1941, comprising the British 151st Parachute Battalion, the British Indian Army 152nd Indian Parachute Battalion, and the 153rd Gurkha Parachute Battalion. The Parachute Regiment was formed from these and several other units in 1952. The three battalions serving with the Parachute Brigade were removed from their respective Infantry Regiments to form the Parachute Regiment. Since then the Parachute Regiment has grown to comprise ten battalions including Parachute (Special Forces) battalions. In 1986, 8 PARA became 12 Battalion, Mechanised Infantry Regiment, while 21 Maratha LI converted to PARA (Special Forces). During their short but eventful existence so far, the regiment's battalions have had extensive operational experience, and singular achievements, to speak of their level of professionalism.

In 1944, the 50th was allocated to the newly founded 44th Airborne Division. In the post-independence restructuring, India retained only one parachute brigade—the 50th. This brigade consisted of three distinguished battalions personally nominated by the then Commander-in-Chief, namely 1 PARA (Punjab Regiment), 2 PARA (Maratha Light Infantry) and 3 PARA (Kumaon Regiment). During the Jammu and Kashmir operations of 1947–48, these battalions distinguished themselves with glory in the battles of Shelatang, Naushera, Jhangar, and Poonch, and were awarded the respective Battle Honours.

During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, an ad hoc commando unit, named Megh Force, consisting of volunteers from various infantry units was organised by then Colonel Megh Singh of the 5 Brigade of the Guards. The unit performed exceptionally well during the war destroying many strategic bridges and killing many Pakistani soldiers, and thus the government authorised the formal raising of a commando unit. Col Megh Singh was selected to raise the unit which was originally intended to be a part of the Brigade of the Guards. However, recognising parachute qualification as an integral element of special operations, the unit was transferred to the Parachute Regiment and raised as its 9th Battalion (Commando) on 1 July 1966. The erstwhile members of the Meghdoot Force formed the nucleus, and the new unit was based in Gwalior. In June 1967 the unit was split equally into two to form a second commando unit, designated as 10th Battalion, each with three Companies. 10th Battalion was mandated to operate in the Western Desert and 9th Battalion in the northern mountains. In 1969, these battalions were re-designated as 9 and 10 Para (Commando) battalions.

In 1978, the 1 Para, as an experiment, was converted to become the first special forces unit of the Indian army and was kept as the tactical reserve. Already a recipient of the Chief of Army Staff Unit Citation twice, and the GOC-in-C Eastern Command Unit Citation once, the unit was originally 1 Punjab Regiment, which was later re-designated as 1 PARA (Punjab) and in 1978 was converted to 1 PARA (SF).

On 15 January 1992, the Parachute Regiment Training Centre along with the Records and PAO (OR), and the Para Regiment, moved to Bangalore and occupied the erstwhile location of Pioneer Corps and Training Centre. Bangalore is the new Key Location Project of the center.

1995 saw the formation of the fourth commando battalion when 21 Maratha Light Infantry was selected to convert to special forces and slated for the Eastern Command. After a stringent selection and training process that spanned more than a year, on 1 February 1996, the unit under Colonel VB Shinde was formally inducted as the 21st Battalion (Special Forces), The Parachute Regiment, originally raised by Colonel I. Ramachandran. The unit has done well in its short lifespan and is the proud recipient of the Chief of Army Staff Unit Citation thrice (1992, 2006, and 2011) and the GOC-in-C Eastern Command Unit Citation twice (2008 and 2016), as well as a host of individual gallantry awards. The most notable operations are in the Loktak Lake of Manipur. With the changing scenario in military operations and the need for more special forces units, 2 Para began the conversion process from parachute to special forces role, followed closely by the 3rd Para and the 4th Para in the years 2004 and 2005. Further 11th Para (SF) in 2011, 12th Para (SF) in 2013, and 13th Para (SF) in 2022 were raised from within the strength of the regiment to augment the strength of the existing Special Forces battalions. In 2022, in 5th Para, 6th Para, 7th Para, 23rd Para, and 29th Para, the airborne punch of the Indian Army was reorganised and redesignated as PARA (SF) on Modification Airborne and were given the specialist role with dual tasking of Airborne as well as the special tasks giving a significant boost to the operational capability of Indian Army.

1971 Indo-Pakistan War

The unit first saw action in the 1971 Indo-Pakistani war, the first six-man assault team was inserted 240 kilometres (150 miles) deep into Indus and Chachro, where they carried out raids. The assault team killed 73 and wounded 140 on the Pakistani side. In addition, they also destroyed 35mm artillery guns of the Pakistan independent battery. They also destroyed an airfield. In Bangladesh 2 PARA (Airborne), which was a part of the 50 (Independent) Parachute Brigade, carried out India's first airborne assault operation to capture Poongli Bridge in Mymensingh District near Dhaka. Subsequently, they were the first unit to enter Dhaka. For this action 2 PARA were given the Battle Honour of Poongli Bridge and the Theatre Honour Dhaka. In the Western Sector the unit was also involved in the Battle of Chamb.

Operation Mandhol

Operation Mandhol was a raid carried out by soldiers from the 9 Para (SF) to seek and destroy Pakistani artillery located in hostile territory near a village called Mandole. During the operation, aided by an artillery officer Capt. D Tyagi from 195 Mountain Regiment, six artillery guns were destroyed by a raiding team composed of six officers and around 120 soldiers led by Major C. M. Malhotra. The special forces raiders began their operation at 5.30 PM on 13 December 1971. They started from Poonch and crossed the Poonch River. After they reached the Mandole village, they started searching for the artillery guns and eventually located them. The Raiders divided themselves into six teams. Each one of the six teams was tasked to destroy one of the six guns. Subsequently, an intense gunfight took place between the Indian raiders and Pakistan Army soldiers. The gunfight resulted in two Indian casualties namely Paratrooper Rajmal and Paratrooper Balwan Singh who was a resident of Village Moungri of District Udhampur of J&K and many Pakistani casualties, with some Pakistani soldiers escaping from the battle. Finally, the raiders destroyed all the artillery using explosives and returned to their base at 6.30 AM on 14 December 1971.

This operation caused the Pakistan military to tweak its military doctrine by assigning additional soldiers to defend artillery guns. Pakistan Army officials, who came to India as a delegation after the war had ended, acknowledged the raid. Operation Mandhol is now a part of the syllabus at the Indian Military Academy.

Chachro Raid

A series of raids were conducted by soldiers from the 10 Para (also known as The Desert Scorpions) at Chachro, Virawah, Nagarparkar and Islamkot during the 1971 Indo-Pakistani war. The main objective of these raids was to hit Pakistan military installations located 80 kilometers inside hostile territory, disrupting supply lines, creating confusion, and undertaking important inroads into hostile territory. Two teams, codenamed Alpha and Charlie, trained for five months in skills such as desert warfare.

During the raids, the para commandos inserted themselves 80 kilometers deep into Pakistani territory and traversed a distance of over 500 kilometers, attacking Pakistan military installations and positions. They completed the raids with zero Indian casualties.

The raids began on 5 December 1971, when commandos from the 10 Para penetrated 70 kilometers inside hostile territory. The soldiers went into a defensive posture as they encountered heavy firing from Pakistani posts. The Indian raiders sent one of their vehicles rushing towards Pakistani positions, firing an LMG, to distract gunfire. This tactic was successful because nighttime provided cover to the para commandos. Subsequently, the other raiders too opened fire and overpowered the Pakistani posts.

Soon, a pathfinder team was assigned the task of charting a route for the Alpha team to attack the wing headquarters of the Pakistan Rangers in Chachro. The pathfinders used the cover of darkness to chart a suitable route and green-lighted the raid before the dawn of 7 December. Within a few hours, the team killed 17 Pakistani soldiers, took 12 prisoners, and captured Chachro. After this raid, the Charlie team exfiltrated out of the battlefield. Chachro was subsequently handed over to Indian infantrymen and the Alpha team proceeded further.

The Alpha team moved towards their next targets: Virawah and Nagarparkar. They reached Virawah before the dawn of 8 December, moving in broad daylight the preceding day. The first contact made by the raiders with the Pakistani soldiers was at 1:30 AM. Hand-to-hand combat between the Indian raiders and the Pakistanis ensued, followed by gunfights. Soon, Virawah was captured by the Indian raiders. The raiders then proceeded to Nagarparkar and captured it by the morning of 8 December.

Following this, the Indian raiders returned to their base in India but were again tasked to attack an ammunition dump in Islamkot. The raiders reached their target at 5:30 AM on 17 December but found the target empty. Subsequently, while retreating, the raiders ambushed a Pakistani convoy, killing 18-20 Pakistani troops and imprisoning survivors.

Operation Bluestar 1984

In 1984 the Para (SF) was involved in Operation Blue Star. They were charged with leading an attack to evict Sikh militants hiding inside the Holy Site of the Sikh religion the Golden Temple Punjab. 80 members of 1 Para (SF) were given the task of assaulting two areas of the temple, one of which required divers. However, there were several setbacks as a result of inaccurate intelligence on the strength of the militants who were trained by Gen. Shabeg Singh (ex-Indian Army), operating in low light, the conventional manner of the raid, and the lack of incentive, all of which resulted in a mission failure. The diver mission was aborted after the first team got bogged down. The commandos accompanied by Raghunath Dubey achieved their aims after a gunfight with militants that lasted hours.

Sri Lanka 1987

The late 1980s saw the Para (SF) in action in Sri Lanka, as part of Operation Pawan. However, the lack of proper planning by the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPF), and insufficient intelligence on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's (LTTE) whereabouts, caused the initial heli-borne assault on Jaffna University on 11 October 1987 to be a tragic failure. However, it was because of the efforts of the Para (SF) that later led to the capture of the Jaffna peninsula, forcing the LTTE militants to take refuge in the forests.

Six soldiers lost their lives in that mission. Due to their superior training, the Para (SF) took refuge under a house, after they were misled by a youth who offered his services to help the commandos track Velupillai Prabhakaran but instead took them on a wild goose chase. They engaged the enemy for 24 hours and picked up all their dead with their weapons after reinforcements arrived the next morning.

After the failed assault on Jaffna City, the 10 Para (SF) participated in a heli-borne assault on the town of Moolai 23 kilometres (14 miles) to the northwest in November 1987. More than 200 LTTE guerrillas were killed and an arms depot was seized. To give the commandos battle experience, 1 Para (SF) was rotated home in early 1988 and replaced by 9 Para (SF).

This battalion was scheduled to return home in June 1988, but the tour of duty was extended due to a planned air assault into the coastal swamps around Mullaittivu. The mission was a success, in that it located several arms caches. The 9 Para (SF) also provided 12 men for the security of the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka.

Operation Cactus 1988, Maldives

With the capture of Maldives, an island nation off the southwestern coast of India, on 3 November 1988 by the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) mercenaries, the army turned to the 50 (Independent) Parachute Brigade to carry out an airborne/air attempt transported operation to liberate the country and return power to the legal government. This operation had 6 Para spearheading the mission. 6 Para flew in on 4 November 1988 in a fleet of IL-76, An-32 and An-12 transport aircraft. One team rescued the president, another took over the airfield, and a third rescued Maldivian security personnel besieged in the National Security Service HQ. Later 7 Para and part of 17 Para Field Regiment were also deployed to the Maldives. When mercenaries tried to escape by sea along with hostages, they were intercepted by the Indian Navy. Thus, 6 Para and the 17 Para Field Regiment conducted the first-ever international intervention by the Indian Army without any loss of life.

Operation Summer Storm 2009

On 11 April 2009, the 57 Mountain Division of the Indian Army based in Manipur, 21 Para (SF) along with the Para-military Assam Rifles and State Police, launched a counter-insurgency operation, code-named "Operation Summer Storm" in the Loktak Lake region and adjoining Loktak Lake in Bishnupur District, located south of State capital of Imphal. The first major mobilisation of troops in 2009 ended on 21 April. As the troops began pulling out, an Army spokesperson described the operation as a success, disclosing that 129 militants, all belonging to the People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) were killed. The Forces also claimed to have located and destroyed five militant camps during the Operation and more than 117 weapons, including sixty-nine AK-series rifles, forty-eight rocket launchers, and an unspecified quantity of explosives and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). No militant was arrested. No fatality among the Special Force (SF) personnel or civilians was reported.

Ongoing counter-insurgency operations in Kashmir and northeastern India

Paratroopers and Para (SF) have conducted thousands of counter-insurgency (COIN) operations in Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, and the eastern states of India. Sometimes these units work with the Rashtriya Rifles (COIN force) in complicated operations. Since the mid-1990s, the role of Paratroopers and Para (SF) as a counter-terrorism force has increased substantially. They are now actively involved in counter-terrorist (CT) and COIN operations in Kashmir as an essential part of the Home Ministry's decision to conduct pro-active raids against militants in the countryside and mountains. Personnel includes Para (SF), Paratroopers (Airborne), and special units of the Rashtriya Rifles – a paramilitary unit created for counter-insurgency operations in Kashmir. They have also included MARCOS personnel, many of whom are seconded to the Army for CT operations.

Counter-terrorist operation in Samba

On 26 September 2013, terrorists dressed in Army fatigues stormed a police station and then an Army camp in the Jammu region killing 10 people, including an Army officer, in twin fidayeen attacks. The terrorists sneaked across the border early on Thursday, barely three days ahead of a meeting between the prime ministers of India and Pakistan. The attack was on a police station. The 16 Cavalry unit of the Army in Samba district falls under the jurisdiction of 9 corps, headquartered at Yol Cantonment in Himachal Pradesh. The three heavily armed terrorists believed to be from the group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), were holed up in the cavalry armored unit's camp at Samba for several hours after they barged into the Officer's mess until they were killed during a fierce gunfight with 1 Para (SF) of the army. The bodies of the three terrorists aged between 16 and 19 were in the custody of the Army.

Authorities moved commandos of 1 Para (SF) in helicopters to the shootout site. The Para (SF) commandos first carried out an aerial reconnaissance of the camp before landing to neutralise the three terrorists. The 1 Para (SF) had identified the exact spot during the aerial reconnaissance from where the intruders were returning the army fire. After landing, the commandos started engaging the terrorists in a direct gunfight, but to give them the impression that their exact hiding location had still not been identified, an abandoned building inside the camp was blasted. This made the terrorists complacent thinking that their hiding spot had not yet been pinpointed. They kept on intermittently returning army fire until all three of them were eliminated. The entire operation, from the moment the terrorists entered the camp until they were gunned down, took nearly nine hours to complete. The main worry of the soldiers tasked to eliminate the terrorists was the Army Public School situated some distance from the place where the terrorists had been engaged in a sustained firefight. Army men were worried about the possibility of the terrorists moving into the school and taking children and staff hostage. For this reason, the operation to eliminate the terrorists was carried out with extreme caution and patience.

2015 Cross Border Counter-insurgency operation in Myanmar

Based on precise intelligence inputs, the Indian Air Force and 21 Para (SF) carried out a cross-border operation along the Indo-Myanmar border and destroyed two militant camps one each of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (K) (NSCN) and the Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL). The operations were carried out inside Myanmar, along the Nagaland and Manipur border at two locations. One of the locations was near Ukhrul in Manipur. The army attacked two militants' transit camps.

70 commandos were reportedly involved in the operation. The commandos, equipped with assault rifles, rocket launchers, grenades, and night vision goggles, were divided into two groups. The teams trekked through the thick jungles for at least 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) before they reached training camps. Each of the teams was further divided into two sub-groups. While one was responsible for the direct assault, the second formed an outer ring to prevent any of the insurgents from running and escaping. The actual operation (hitting the camp and destroying it) took about 40 minutes. Indian Air Force Mil Mi-17 helicopters were put on standby, ready to be pressed into service to evacuate the commandos in case anything went wrong. In its statement after the operation, the Indian Army said it was in communication with Myanmar and that, "There is a history of close cooperation between our two militaries. We look forward to working with them to combat such terrorism."

The Indian Army claimed to have inflicted heavy casualties (158 reported) on the attackers behind the ambush of the Army on 4 June, which claimed the lives of 18 Army jawans (soldiers) of 6 Dogra Regiment from the Chandel district of Manipur. This has been noted as the largest attack on the Indian Army after the Kargil war of 1999.

Surgical Strike 2016

Intelligence gathering had started a few weeks prior, through drones, satellites, and various other Indian assets, on 26 September 2016, small recon teams were tasked to infiltrate across the LoC to carry out 24-hour surveillance and observation of multiple objectives and to put together an accurate terrain analysis, patterns of life on site along with the best possible avenues of approach and exfil routes through the heavily secured border. Allegedly the intelligence was strong enough to discern the names along with an accurate slant of the fidayeens at the launch pads. After the return of the recon teams, plans were laid down for the assault, and on 29 September 2016, The Paras assaulted their targeted objectives across the Line of Control (LoC), where militants congregate for their final briefings before infiltrating across the border. An Indian security source said the operation began with fire missions of Indian forces firing artillery across the frontier to suppress Pakistani positions while three to four teams of 70–80 para SF commandos from 4 and 9 Para (Special Forces) crossed the LoC at several points shortly after midnight IST on 29 September (18:30 hours UTC, 28 Sept.). Teams from 4 Para SF crossed the LoC in the Nowgam sector of Kupwara district, with teams from 9 Para SF simultaneously crossing the LoC in Poonch district.^{[2] [16]} By 2 a.m. IST, according to army sources, the special forces teams had traveled 1 km (0.62 mi) – 3 km (1.9 mi) on foot, the teams began the assault, with hand-held grenades and 84 mm recoilless rifles destroying the ammo and the fuel dumps at the launch pads. Simultaneously, the containment and assault elements opened fire, killing the terrorists on sight and those who tried to squirt from the objective. At first light, the teams swiftly returned to the Indian side of the LoC, suffering one injured, a soldier wounded after tripping on a land mine in haste.^[2]

The Indian army said the strike was a pre-emptive attack on the militants' bases, claiming that it had received intelligence that the militants were planning "terrorist strikes" against India.^{[36] [37]} India said that in destroying "terrorist infrastructure" it also attacked "those who are trying to support them," indicating it also attacked Pakistani soldiers.^[48] India later briefed opposition parties and foreign envoys, but did not disclose operational details.^[16] The footage from the strike captured by overhead drones and thermal imaging was released to the media afterward. It was also informed that around 40-50 militants were killed and many more injured in one of the surgical strikes. However, the Pakistan army dismissed India's claim and instead claimed that Indian troops had not crossed the LoC but had only skirmished with Pakistani troops at the border, resulting in the deaths of two Pakistani soldiers and the wounding of nine.

2020 India-China border tensions

The Para SF reportedly conducted reconnaissance against Chinese military posts near the Pangong Tso during the 2020 China–India skirmishes. They participated alongside the Special Frontier Force in occupying dominating positions of 'Blacktop', 'Gurung hill', 'Helmet', and various other peaks and ridges on the southern bank of Pangong Tso, west of the Kailash Range in August 2020.

Operation Mahadev

On July 28, 2025, Para SF killed three terrorists, namely Suleman Shah alias Hashim Moosa from Lashkar-e-Taiba, who was also a former member of Pakistan's Special Service Group and was linked to Pahalgam attack, Abu Hamza and Yasir, after coordinating intelligence efforts in the Harwan jungles close to Dachigam. It was a communication device, presumably a Huawei satellite phone that had been monitored since 22 April 2025, that helped tracking down the terrorists. Red flags were raised in the security grid on July 26 when this device made an unusual call.