National rifles) is a counter-insurgency force in India, formed in 1990, to deal with internal security in the Jammu and Kashmir region.

[4] The continuous deployment of the Indian Army in domestic counter-insurgency operations, alongside the existing conventional duties at the borders, necessitated a specially structured and organized force to manage India's internal security challenges while also supporting the Indian Army during conventional conflicts.

Under the next COAS, General B. C. Joshi, the RR underwent substantial expansion, including raising a sector in Northeast India.

[9] Until 1997, the Rashtriya Rifles was funded by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), as internal security fell under its jurisdiction, despite the force being carved out from existing Indian Army regiments.

Beginning in the 1998-99 fiscal year, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) allocated separate funds for the RR under the Army's demands for grants.

[11] The RR was raised in 1990 as a temporary force under the provisions of Union Composite Table, Part II, allowing it to be disbanded at any time through an executive order.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has also questioned the rationale behind the creation of the RR, arguing that it suggests internal rebellions are a "permanent feature in India".

During the Kargil War (1999), the Border Security Force (BSF) refused to serve under RR, arguing that they were of equal stature.

Originally, only 25% of RR personnel were meant to be drawn from the Indian Army, with the remainder recruited from ex-servicemen and lateral inductees from other paramilitary forces.

[11] RR battalions are affiliated with various regiments of the Army, with their officers and soldiers typically serving a tenure of around 30 months.

[5] General Bipin Rawat, who later became India's first Chief of Defence Staff, commanded Sector 5 of RR at Sopore during his tenure as a brigadier.

[23] The 2024 Tamil-language biographical film Amaran depicts the life of former Rastriya Rifles Major Mukund Varadarajan during his service in 44 RR.