Tangkhul Hui inducted into AR

IMPHAL, Feb 13
Manipur’s dog breed Tangkhul Hui has been inducted into the dog squads of Assam Rifles as a part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign.
The dog breed, also called Haofa, was inducted as part of the directive from MHA issued last year asking all central armed police forces (CAPFs) to induct two Indian dog breeds.
Assam Rifles is a paramilitary force responsible for border security, counter insurgency and maintaining law and order in the northeastern region and in Jammu and Kashmir.
“The Tangkhul Hui breed was inducted into the dog squads of Assam Rifles as a part of the directive from MHA issued last year asking all CAPFs to induct two Indian dog breeds. Till date we have trained 6 dogs from the Manipur breed and inducted them into our force,” said Lt Col Alok Palei, officer commanding of the AR dog training centre in Jorhat, Assam.
“The MHA directive was the brainchild of Home Minister Amit Shah. While foreign breeds are prone to diseases, genetic issues and are not suitable for deployment in all types of climate and geography, the same is not the case for local breeds,” said Palei.
Named after the Tangkhul Naga tribe of Manipur, the Tangkhul Huis are a domesticated breed which is used for hunting purposes. They are very resistant to diseases. All the 6 dogs from the breed inducted in AR are now engaged in narcotics detection.
Besides the Tangkhul Hui, Assam Rifles is now in the process of inducting the Kombai breed of dogs, which are native to Tamil Nadu, as the second breed to be included as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign.
The new breed will get inducted in April this year. The breed will get inducted into all CAPFs as one of the two local breeds.
“At present AR has a parent stock of 10 Kombai dogs (2 males and 8 females) which will be inducted in April this year. This breed will be one of the local dogs that will get inducted in all CAPFs and while AR has chosen Tangkhul Hui as the second local breeds other forces will select other breeds as their second Indian breed,” said Palei.
Assam Rifles has an authorised strength of 344 dogs in their canine units and at present 253 are deployed across the force. The canines have won over 140 medals from the Central Government over the years for their roles in tracking, and detection of explosives and narcotics, Palei said.
Once inducted into the force, the dogs get a basic training of 12 weeks followed by an advanced course spread over 36 weeks. Besides the canines, Assam Rifles has around 1200 handlers deployed in the force and 43 new recruits including 8 women are getting trained in the Jorhat centre.
Among the around 1200 dog handlers in Assam Rifles only one is a woman.
25-year-old PV Sreelakshmi from Kannur in Kerala is the first one to enter the mainly male dominated post and her induction has led the way for others.
“I joined AR in 2023 as a soldier. But last year, I got the option of getting trained as a dog handler. Since I love dogs, I immediately chose to undergo the training for six months at Jorhat and am now designated as a dog handler,” she said.
At present, Seelakshmi is undertaking a first aid course for dogs as Jorhat. Following her lead, at present 8 women soldiers from different AR battalions are getting trained to become dog handlers.
     Hindustan Times