Tamil Nadu, Manipur breeds to bolster Assam Rifles’ dog squad

Tamil Nadu and Manipur dog breeds to replace foreign breeds in Assam Rifles’ squad by 2050, enhancing indigenous capabilities.

Indigenous breeds of dogs from Tamil Nadu and Nagaland are expected to team up to phase out foreign breeds in the dog squad of India’s oldest paramilitary force by 2050.

The Ministry of Home Affairs issued a directive in 2025, seeking the induction of more Indian canine breeds in the dog squads for all armed forces. The directive came three years after the Assam Rifles, established in 1835, started a pilot project to induct six Tangkhul Hui dogs into its squad.

Indigenous to Manipur’s Ukhrul district, the Tangkhul Hui is highly disease-resistant and has traditionally been used for hunting.

The 2025 directive made the Assam Rifles, which is under the dual control of the Home (administrative) and the Defence (operational) Ministries, start identifying suitable indigenous breeds to team up with its “four-legged soldiers” from Manipur. It has zeroed in on the Kombai breed found in Tamil Nadu as the potentially most suitable partner of the Tangkhul Hui.

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“We are in the process of identifying the parent stock of the Kombai for breeding. As the first step, we will induct two males and eight females of this breed in April,” Lt. Col. Alok Palei, the Commanding Officer of the Assam Rifles Dog Training Centre (ARDTC) in Jorhat, told The Hindu on Thursday (February 12, 2026).