From the archive record
Gurkha Rifles (or Assam Rifles?) march at India's Republic Day parade, 2016. Marching contingent of Assam Rifles at Rajpath. The Assam Rifles is the oldest paramilitary force of India. The Assam Rifles raised as Cachar Levy in 1835 is the oldest Central Para Military Force in India. The Force was raised mainly to guard the alluvial plains of Assam from the wild and unruly tribes inhabiting the surrounding hill tracts. This was the earliest embodied unit of what eventually developed into the Assam Rifles. Gradually more such units were raised and employed for establishing posts in the interior and thus acted as the strong arm of the civil administration in extending their authority into these remote inaccessible areas. They also helped in opening up these remote areas and all development ac