Security Conversations
"BRO Does Not Build Roads Through Mountains. It Builds National Resolve Through Human Courage."
A conversation with Lieutenant General Rajeev Chaudhry, VSM (Retd.), former Director General, Border Roads Organisation. An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, IISc Bangalore (M.Tech, Structures), and the National Defence College, Lt Gen Chaudhry served as DGBR from December 2020. Under his command, BRO set nine world records in strategic infrastructure, increased construction pace by 2.5 times, and created Bharat's first all-women Border Roads Task Force. He was awarded the Construction World Global Person of the Year 2021 and the Ashoka Award 2025 for his contribution to nation-building.
Q1. You built the world's highest motorable road at Umling-La. In 2025, BRO broke its own record at Mig La Pass, 19,400 feet. You set the culture that made this possible. What does a soldier on the LAC today have that he did not have five years ago because of what BRO built?
The most important thing a soldier on the LAC has today is confidence: the confidence that the nation can reach him, reinforce him, sustain him, and stand with him in every season and at every altitude.
Over the last few years, BRO transformed from a construction agency into a strategic enabler of national security. Roads such as Umling-La and Mig La were not built merely to create records; they were built to compress distance and time. Today, troops, equipment, ammunition, fuel, and medical support can move faster and more reliably than ever before.
Equally important, we invested heavily in modern machinery, digital project management, new construction technologies, transparency, and accountability, enabling work at a pace previously considered impossible. Border villages such as Demchok, Jollingkong, Milam, Huri, Gelling, Taksing, and Laxminagar on Great Nicobar are now connected, creating a civilian presence that strengthens national security and encourages reverse migration.
Infrastructure is no longer just about roads; it is about strategic assurance.
A soldier's greatest weapon is not what he carries: it is the certainty that the nation can reach him when it matters most.
Q2. In sixty years, BRO built four tunnels. You changed that. Sela, Nechiphu, Chamba, Shyok, Sungal, Shinkun La. The Arunachal Frontier Highway, with an estimated outlay of Rs 40,000 crore, is now under active execution. Is the pace of construction finally matching the pace of the threat?
For many decades, border infrastructure was viewed primarily as a developmental requirement. Today, it is rightly understood as a strategic compulsion. The pace has undoubtedly improved, but in national security there is no finish line.
When I took over BRO, our objective was not merely to build more projects but to change the institutional culture. We accelerated execution, improved quality standards, introduced technology-driven monitoring, modernised equipment fleets, strengthened accountability, enhanced financial transparency, and empowered field formations to take faster decisions. The result was visible in the rapid completion of critical strategic projects.
Projects such as the Sela Tunnel, Shinkun La Tunnel, and the Arunachal Frontier Highway represent a significant shift in national thinking. They demonstrate that infrastructure is now being planned with a long-term strategic perspective rather than a peacetime administrative mindset.
However, our competitors are moving fast and at scale. Bharat has closed much of the historical gap, but sustained momentum is essential.
In border infrastructure, speed is not a construction metric: it is a strategic capability.
Q3. Operation Sindoor struck nine targets in twenty-two minutes. That kind of speed depends on roads, bridges, and logistics built years in advance. What did Operation Sindoor reveal about the strategic value of border infrastructure, and what gaps, if any, must still be filled?
Operation Sindoor reinforced a lesson that military professionals have long understood: military operations may be executed in minutes, but the capability behind them is built over years.
When precision strikes occur with speed and effectiveness, the public sees the outcome. What remains invisible are the roads, bridges, tunnels, logistics nodes, communication networks, and supply chains that make such operations possible. Strategic infrastructure provides commanders options, flexibility, and the ability to concentrate force rapidly when required.
The investments made in border connectivity after Galwan significantly enhanced operational preparedness across multiple sectors. Faster movement of troops and equipment has fundamentally altered response capabilities.
The next frontier lies in building integrated logistics ecosystems: more tunnels, all-weather connectivity, advanced storage facilities, resilient communications, dual-use infrastructure, and greater use of artificial intelligence and predictive maintenance systems. Infrastructure must be designed not only to support today's requirements but also tomorrow's technologies.
Wars may be won by soldiers, but strategic mobility determines how fast victory can be achieved.
Q4. China's Medog dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo, 60,000 MW, is the largest infrastructure project in the world, and it sits directly upstream of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. BRO is building roads twenty kilometres from the LAC in that very terrain. Is Bharat building fast enough?
Bharat should neither underestimate challenges nor become intimidated by the scale of projects undertaken elsewhere. Our strength lies in building sustainable, resilient, and strategically relevant infrastructure in some of the world's most difficult terrain.
The terrain opposite the Medog region is among the most complex construction environments on earth, characterised by fragile geology, dense forests, heavy rainfall, seismic vulnerability, and extreme remoteness. Yet BRO has steadily expanded connectivity in these regions through roads, bridges, tunnels, and advanced engineering solutions.
The real question is not whether we can match a particular project in size. The question is whether we are creating the infrastructure ecosystem necessary to secure our interests, support border populations, and maintain strategic dominance. On that count, Bharat has made remarkable progress.
One of the most encouraging developments is that border infrastructure is now seen as both a national security and nation-building imperative. The political will, institutional focus, and public support exist.
The race is not about building the biggest project; it is about building the strongest strategic position.
Q5. You named the labourers who build Bharat's highest roads Karmayogis. You created Bharat's first all-women Road Construction Company and Border Roads Task Force. The borders are built by people, not just budgets. What is the one thing about the men and women of BRO that Bharat does not know but should?
Most people in Bharat see a completed road, bridge, or tunnel. What they do not see is the human story behind it.
The men and women of BRO work in conditions where oxygen is scarce, temperatures are unforgiving, and distances from family are measured not in kilometres but in months. Yet they continue to build because they believe they are serving a larger national purpose.
One of my priorities was to recognise this extraordinary contribution. We began calling our workers Karmayogis because they are not merely labourers; they are nation-builders. We improved welfare measures, strengthened social security, enhanced dignity at the workplace, and launched Bharat's first all-women Road Construction Company and Border Roads Task Force, proving that commitment and competence know no gender.
The greatest strength of BRO has never been its machines, budgets, or projects. It has always been its people: the engineers, operators, supervisors, and Karmayogis who transform impossible terrain into national opportunity.
BRO does not build roads through mountains; it builds national resolve through human courage.
Seema Sanghosh English: June 2026
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