The training will also help the forces in intelligence gathering, officials said. (Representational)
Sixteen police officers of border state Arunachal Pradesh have been trained in Mandarin language by a university.
The university is also in the process to impart similar training to personnel of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh Police, a varsity official said on Monday. Mandarin is a group of Sinitic languages and dialects that is spoken across most of northern and southwestern China.
The police officers deployed in border areas have been trained in tune with the university's purpose to provide holistic security and strategic education for overall national security, the outreach officer of Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU) S Srivastav said. The Gujarat-based university opened its branch at Pasighat in East Siang district of the state in May this year after inking an MoU with state authorities.
"We are in discussion with ITBP, and police authorities of Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh to impart language training to their officers to overcome challenges faced by border guarding forces," Srivastav said.
The Indian Army and ITBP are responsible for guarding the 3448-km Indo-China border. ITBP is deployed along the border in Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Arunachal while the Army guards the rest of the areas.
"There have been a number of cases of standoffs and face-offs between the patrolling units of India and China because of communication problems due to different languages. The training will also help the forces in intelligence gathering," the official said.
Mandarin-knowing officers would help defuse such situations besides participating in official meetings at designated border meeting points.
The Gandhinagar-based university, earlier known as Raksha Shakti University, was rechristened as RRU in 2010 and accorded a national status in October 2020 after the Rashtriya Raksha University Act was passed by Parliament.
Besides Arunachal Pradesh, the RRU has signed agreements with the Uttar Pradesh government, National Security Guards, Indian Navy, and Delhi Police for offering training in numerous fields associated with policing and safety.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)