Footprints In The Sand: How Pagis' Unique Skill Helped Gujarat During Op Sindoor
The unique skill has been perfected by the 'Pagis' (meaning scouts), local residents who walk barefoot in the white desert, their eyes focused on patterns in the vast landscape, noticing even a slight disturbance.
After the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, India launched Operation Sindoor with precision strikes on terror infrastructure inside Pakistan on May 7. Pakistan then targeted civilian and military sites in India on three successive days, prompting India to strike back and attack military installations, including key air bases.
Along with other border states like Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Rajasthan, Gujarat was also targeted by Pakistan, and the services of Pagis were mobilised by the authorities.
Gujarat shares a 508-km border with Pakistan. The land border between the two countries is mostly the Rann of Kutch, a massive salt marsh in the Thar Desert that is difficult for security forces to patrol. Additionally, over half a dozen districts in the state share a sea border with the neighbouring country.
Officials from the Border Security Force and Gujarat Police said the skills of the Pagis have been utilised during peacetime - when they help thwart the smuggling of drugs and other contraband - and during phases of tensions with Pakistan, including 1965, 1971 and the Kargil war - and the escalation after Operation Sindoor was no different.
Pagis use their extraordinary skill and instinct to locate not only places in the desert without any maps but people and animals in a group - guessing their weight, height and even gender - by merely seeing the footprints of both camels and humans. "Naturally, they make the most coveted and unparalleled 'soldiers' on the line of defence," an official said.
"We used all our resources, including the Pagis, during Operation Sindoor. We have a sufficient number of Pagis in the border areas, who work for us during peacetime as well. Pagis are experienced, and though some may have retired from our services, we still depend on them for their expertise. They help track the intruders in the border areas," said Vikas Kunda, Superintendent of Police, Kutch West.
The Pagis, the officials said, helped them be sure that there were no enemies - terrorists or otherwise - entering Gujarat from the Pakistani side.
The Gujarat Police have a post called Pagi and 25 Pagis were recruited by the force in a single year in 2014. Their numbers have only increased since then. The Pagis also serve as guides to the Border Security Force.
The BSF conducts extensive patrolling on 168 km of the Pakistani border, where fencing is not feasible. This is where the skills of the Pagi prove especially useful - many Pakistani drug smugglers have been arrested or killed in these areas and drugs worth crores have been seized because of the information provided by them.
History
Ranchhor Das Rabari, a scout and tracker who helped the Army on the India-Pakistan border at Kutch in 1971, was immortalised by Sanjay Dutt in the Hindi movie 'Bhuj: The Pride of India', which also starred Ajay Devgn.
General Sam Manekshaw bestowed the title of Pagi on Ranchhor Rabari for being a scout for the Army since 1965. The title was a mark of respect and authority, recognising his knowledge and unique skills.
The Gujarat State School Textbook Board introduced a chapter on Ranchhor Pagi in its Gujarati subject textbook for Class 7 for the 2023-24 academic year. There is also a Ranchhor Das checkpost at the Kutch border named after him.
Osman Abdulla Namori, a 71-year-old Paggi, retired from the Gujarat Police two years ago, but his services were called upon during the recent tensions. "My eyes have become weak. But they are still trained to identify the trespasser in the sands. I also help detect thieves and criminals in my area in Nana Dinara (near Khavda village in Kutch district)."
About passing on his skills to the younger generation, he says, "My children didn't have the potential to take up my profession. But other youngsters in my village have been inspired. It requires extraordinary skill to read the little nuances from marks in the desert. Not everyone has it," says Namori.
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