New Delhi, Oct 21: Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah on Wednesday hailed the security personnel for restoring peace in Jammu and Kashmir.
Paying tribute to the police personnel, who were killed in the line of duty, at the National Police Memorial in New Delhi on the occasion of Police Commemoration Day, Shah said, “Significant success has been achieved in curbing terrorism in Kashmir.”
Addressing the ceremony, he said, “We have assembled at the National Police Memorial to pay homage to the brave police personnel who made the supreme sacrifice in service of the nation from independence to the present day.”
The Home Minister said that nearly eight decades after independence, India stands today in a position of honour and respect in the world.
“The foundation of this achievement lies in the sacrifices of our brave personnel. No one can even imagine where we would stand today if these personnel had not made the supreme sacrifice to safeguard the country’s internal security and protect its borders,” he said.
Shah said that 2026 was an extremely significant year for the Indian police.
“On March 31, 2026, the country achieved freedom from Naxalism, which had plagued India for decades. From 1981 to March 2026, the country endured numerous hardships due to Naxalism. During this period, many brave security personnel and innocent civilians lost their lives. More than 3600 security personnel were killed, and nearly 13,700 innocent civilians also lost their lives,” he said.
The Home Minister said he wanted to convey to the families of the slain personnel that as the country moves forward on the path of development after overcoming this five-decade-old problem, the sacrifices of these 3600 personnel form the foundation of this progress.
Addressing the families of the slain security personnel, he said that while their loss could never be compensated, the entire nation of 1.4 billion citizens remains grateful for the dedication and sacrifice of their families.
Recalling the history of Police Commemoration Day, Shah said that on October 21, 1959, in the remote and inhospitable Hot Springs region of Ladakh, 10 CRPF personnel were killed while resisting an attack by Chinese troops.
“A study of the Hot Springs incident makes it clear that when the battle was decided in the high-altitude mountains, the outcome was almost certain. Yet, these immortal heroes remained steadfast in their resolve that not even an inch of the country’s land should fall into foreign hands, making the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty. Since then, October 21 has been observed every year as Police Commemoration Day,” he said.
The Home Minister said that the National Police Memorial, where they were gathered, was inaugurated in 2018 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in honour of police personnel who had lost lives in the line of duty.
“The objective behind establishing the memorial was to inspire future generations of police personnel to remain committed to their responsibilities and be prepared to make the supreme sacrifice while performing their duties,” he said.
Shah said that the memorial had also become a place of reverence for citizens from across the country.
“Grateful citizens visit the site to pay tribute to 36,852 police personnel and express the nation’s gratitude for their service and sacrifice,” he said.
The Home Minister said that among all government services, police service was one of the most challenging.
“Every citizen in the country celebrates festivals such as Raksha Bandhan, Holi, Diwali, and Eid, but police personnel often have no holidays to celebrate these occasions,” he said.
Shah said that while people celebrate festivals with their families, police personnel remain on duty, safeguarding internal security, managing traffic and ensuring public safety.
“They devote the prime years of one’s life to the nation while staying away from one’s family is a great service to the country,” he said.
The Home Minister said that there were numerous examples across the country of police personnel demonstrating extraordinary patience, restraint, discipline, courage, and dedication, thereby strengthening the nation’s internal security.
He said that police personnel constitute both the first and the last line of defence for internal security.
Shah expressed his special gratitude to all personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) deployed along the borders and entrusted with security responsibilities within the country.
“Staying away from their families, these personnel remain vigilant and strengthen the nation’s internal security on every occasion, whether during elections, festivals, protests or border security duties. They remain constantly on duty to ensure the smooth functioning of the country. Whether it is safeguarding democracy or ensuring the smooth conduct of democratic processes, it is impossible to imagine these tasks being accomplished without the Central Armed Police Forces,” he said.
The Home Minister said that India had succeeded in eliminating electoral violence in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, but electoral violence had continued in West Bengal for a long time.
He said that during the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly elections, security personnel achieved a significant success by ensuring that the elections were completed without a single fatality.
“In doing so, the Central Armed Police Forces had established a new benchmark,” Shah said.
He said that the entire country now recognises that electoral violence had been brought to an end in the nation.
The Home Minister said that over the past few years, the country had faced several challenges, three of which had persisted for decades.
He said that peace had now been established in all three major hotspots —Kashmir, the North-East, and the areas affected by Left-Wing Extremism.
“An environment conducive to development has emerged in these regions, and they are now ready to compete with the rest of the country in terms of development,” Shah said. “Following several agreements and the surrender of arms by thousands of people, the entire North-East has moved forward on the path of peace.”
He said that police and Central Armed Police Forces personnel had achieved a major breakthrough in completely eliminating the five-decade-old Naxal problem, which had spread across several states.
The Home Minister specifically thanked the CRPF and its CoBRA Battalion for their contribution to the elimination of Naxalism and praised the bravery of the Chhattisgarh Police.
He said that the country had not yet become completely free of problems and that several challenges remain.
Shah said that the Union Ministry of Home Affairs had set a target to free the country from the drug menace by December 31, 2029, through a concerted fight against drugs over the remaining part of 2026 and the next three years — 2027, 2028 and 2029. He described this as a very important goal for the nation.
The Home Minister said that drug abuse and trafficking undermine the future of coming generations, place an unnecessary burden on the economy, and often provide financial support to organisations with anti-national intentions.
He called upon police forces across the country to wholeheartedly join the efforts to implement the roadmap for a ‘Nasha Mukt Bharat’, formulated under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and work towards safeguarding future generations.
On this occasion, Shah flagged off a nationwide motorcycle rally organised around the message ‘Fight against Drugs.’
It included around 90 riders from various states and Union Territories (Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi), Central Armed Police Forces (CRPF, CISF, BSF, SSB, ITBP and NSG), and certain central police organisations (RPF, NDRF and NIA). The rally is part of a nationwide campaign organised around the message ‘Fight against Drugs’, in which motorcycle riders from all states, Union Territories and Central Forces across the country will reach Ekta Nagar, Gujarat, to participate in the Ekta Parade-2026.
The Police Commemoration Day ceremony was attended by Members of Parliament Krishna Prasad Tenneti and Rajiv Kumar; Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan; Director of the Intelligence Bureau Mahesh Dixit; Director General of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Shatrujeet Kapoor; the Directors General of other Central Armed Police Forces; and several senior officers.
