The Rashtriya Rifles, established by the Indian Army in 1990 for counterinsurgency operations, tackles the challenge of terrorism ably assisted by the Border Security Force and Central Reserve Police Force.

The BSF was set up on December 1, 1965 after Pakistani intrusions in the Rann of Kutch. Today the paramilitary force has approximately 180,000 troops out of which one-third, according to some estimates, are posted in Jammu and Kashmir.

A BSF soldier armed with a 7.65mm self-loading rifle patrols the Dal Lake in Srinagar. With normalcy setting in Jammu and Kashmir after the thaw in Indo-Pak relations, the famed lake is well on its way to regaining its popularity with tourists.

Photograph: Ami Vitale/Getty Images