Why India needs a big BRO

 

(vero;2023-Aug-10)

If you have ever travelled in the border regions of northern India you will have surely noticed the many inspiring signs posted along the road, courtesy of BRO, short for Border Roads Organisation. They are aimed at reminding drivers that using a car is indeed a serious business and contain one liners made of two parts often rhyming with each other and providing simple advice on good road behaviour. For example: driving is risky after whisky or: if you sleep your family will weep. Very simple and sometimes quite enjoyable.

But BRO is much more than a body helping Indian drivers with friendly signs. Created in 1960 they construct roads, dig tunnels and span bridges over deep valleys as well as maintain an impressive network in exposed regions. They play an important role in the security of the Indian state, reporting into the Ministry of Defence and supporting the Indian Army mainly along the ill-defined and long disputed border between India and China, the arch enemy.

This very contentious border (also called the Line of Actual Control) is subject to many interpretations: Indians say it is 3,488km long; the Chinese say it is a little over 2,000km. It spans three main areas: Ladakh in the west; Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand in the middle; Arunachal Pradesh in the east; India claims the plateau of Aksai Chin that China controls in the west while China claims Arunachal Pradesh in the east.

It is no surprise then that we saw BRO in action in the region around Tawang which is a very sensitive area as China argues that its Buddhist population belonged to South Tibet and hence should be part of China. It is subject to relatively frequent border clashes (the latest serious one happened in December 2022) and was the theatre of the first and only China-India war in 1962. The Chinese Army crossed the disputed border north of Tawang on 23 October of that year and took an Indian post by surprise, killing 17 Indian soldiers and capturing 13 others. They faced little resistance and advanced quickly, seizing Tawang the following day. They reached Bomdila by mid-November: at that point they were barely 250km away from Assam, home to India's tea gardens, oil fields and jute plantations and gateway to the rest of India via the Brahmaputra corridor. But luckily for India, the Chinese declared unexpectedly a cease fire and withdrew back into China. This was a humiliating defeat for India and a major wake-up call: the roads in Arunachal Pradesh were so bad and the region so neglected at the time that the Indian forces coming to the rescue could not make speed and reach the high valleys. Things have changed now and the border region north of Tawang is a high controlled area (not accessible to foreigners) and BRO is instrumental in maintaining the road infrastructure leading to the region. If you want to know more, we recommend reading this interesting BBC article about the Sino-Indian Border conflict.

Indian people we met on this trip, while enjoying their friendly admonitions and advice along the road, were positive about BRO and their role. Reading their signs makes for a nice diversion when trapped on long journeys in a Sumo or a bus. We have collected a few of them which you can enjoy below:

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The roads managed by BRO are often exposed and hard to maintain.

Driving is risky after whisky
Better Mr late than late Mr

Don't gossip let him drive
Safety on the road, safe tea at home

Don't learn by accident
Speed thrills but kills

Your best teacher is your last mistake
On the road safety is simple as ABC: Always Be Careful.

BRO won't promise you the moon but are up to any challenge on earth.

It's not a rally, enjoy the valley
Protect your head or end up dead

When mobile no mobile
If you're married divorce speed

On the bend go slow friend
If you sleep your family will weep

Driving faster can cause disaster
Drive to care not to dare

A green BRO sign on the road at Se La showing distance to Tawang - 17 km.
Speed is a knife that kills life
This is a highway, not a runway

Better late than never
Feel the curves but don't hug them

Reach home in peace not in pieces
Bad road manners reveal the nature of your character

Drive with care life has no spare
WATCH YOUR THOUGHTS

We found this last one a bit disturbing and it got us thinking
and wondering what is actually meant. Suicidal thoughts?

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Want to read more? Go back to The Joys of Public Transport in North East India or go on to Meet the Locals or go up to Blog

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$updated from: Blog.htxt Mon 04 Mar 2024 16:04:39 trvl2 (By Vero and Thomas Lauer)$