R-day: SSB band and contingent march down Kartavya Path

New Delhi: The Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) band and contingent marched down the Kartavya Path on the 75th Republic Day to the tune of 'Josh Bhara Hai Seene Mein, Hai Hathaliyon Pe Jaan'.

Deputy Commandant Nancy Singla led the SSB contingent with three sub-inspectors and 144 other personnel.

The SSB was established in 1963 as the "Special Service Bureau" due to the situation which arose after the 1962 India-China war and with the objective of strengthening the lost self-confidence of the people of the adjoining border area.

After the Kargil War in 2001, the force was entrusted with the responsibility of protecting the India-Nepal border, and in 2004, it was given the mandate of protecting the India-Bhutan border. In the same year, the force was rechristened as the Sashastra Seema Bal.

This force, in addition to guarding 2,450-km long India-Nepal and India-Bhutan borders, is also playing an important role in naxal-affected states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar and militancy-affected Jammu and Kashmir.