The National Security Guards (NSG) may have been the focus of a lot of attention and praise for Operation ‘Black Tornado’ which they mounted in Mumbai, but the fact remains that in the 24 years since the force was raised its status as an elite commando force has been severely undermined.

The NSG was raised in the wake of the Golden Temple siege in 1984 and patterned on the line of the British SAS and German SGS. It was mandated, as it still is, to participate in anti-terrorist, assault, anti-hijack and hostage rescue operations and its charter clearly mentions that it is not designed to undertake functions of state police or other paramilitary forces.

The downgrade in NSG’s status began in the eighties itself with it being assigned duties of VIP security. For long, the agency has been trying to shrug off this additional responsibility, but the “Black Cats”, as the NSG commandos have been nick-named, continue to be spotted all over the country performing the duty of hapless bullet catchers.

NSG personnel say there are several other aspects of operational and administrative functioning which has resulted in a steady decline in their status as a crack force.

For instance, while the NSG was initially reporting directly to the Prime Ministers Office, it was subsequently brought under the command of the Home Ministry and thus, began to be treated like any other paramilitary force.

Along with this, came several other concomitant disadvantages. Unlike, say, the RAW, IB and to a large extent, the Special Protection Group (SPG), each purchase of the NSG has to go through routine tendering procedures, with all tender specifications required to be put up on their website. At present, the NSG website has a lengthy list of tender details, asking for bids for repair of their water coolers, toilets and kitchens to the purchase of Stenguns, indoor shooting ranges, metal detectors and heliborne equipment.

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