| 1994 Bangladesh Ansar mutiny | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Bangladesh Rifles Bangladesh Police Bangladesh Air Force | Mutineers from the Bangladesh Ansar | ||||||
The Bangladesh Ansar mutiny was a mutiny staged from 1 December to 4 December 1994, [1] in Shafipur and Khilgaon by a section of the Bangladesh Ansar, a paramilitary force tasked with providing security to government installations and aiding law enforcement in Bangladesh. [2] [3] The mutiny prompted a series of reforms by the government. [3]
The Ansar force was formed as the "East Pakistan Ansars" by the East Pakistan Ansars Act of 1948, and officially launched on 12 February 1948. [4] From 1948 to 1972, it was under the National Service Board. In 1973, it was placed under the Ministry of Home Affairs and an Ansar cadre was formed in the Bangladesh Civil Service. Together with its sister organization Village Defence Party, it has over 4 million members including reserves. [3]
The Bangladesh Ansar mutinied in the Ansar Academy in Shafipur, and Khilgaon on 1 December 1994, demanding higher pay, job security and better treatment from officers. [1] [5] The mutiny was ended on 4 December 1994, when a military operation was launched by Bangladesh Rifles, supported by the Bangladesh Police and helicopters from Bangladesh Air Force. [1] Official estimates place the death toll at 1 or 2 and 12-40 Ansar personnel were injured. [1] Independent estimates place 30 mutineers among the casualty. [2] [6]
Journalist and social critic, Farhad Mazhar, called the mutiny inevitable because of the social discrimination faced by members of Bangladesh Ansar. He was jailed for his views on the mutiny. [2] [7]
In response to the agitations, the government passed a series of acts in the Jatiya Sangsad. These include Ansar Bahini Act (1995), Battalion Ansar Act (1995) and the Village Defence Party Act (1995). [3] Under these acts, the Ansar Bahini and the Battalion Ansars were declared a "Disciplined Force" in accordance with article 152 of the Constitution. [3] The government set up Ansar VDP Bank where the members of Ansar-VDP were decided to be the shareholders. The bank also provides soft loans to Ansar members. [3]
The Bangladesh Armed Forces are the combined military forces of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. It consists of the three uniformed military services: the Bangladesh Army, the Bangladesh Navy and the Bangladesh Air Force. The Armed Forces are under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Defence of the Government of Bangladesh, and is directly administered by the Armed Forces Division of the Prime Minister's Office. The President of Bangladesh serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. It has the third-largest defence budget in South Asia and according to the Global Firepower index it is the third most powerful military force in South Asia. Border Guard Bangladesh and Bangladesh Coast Guard are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs during peacetime, but during wartime they fall under the command of Bangladesh Army and Bangladesh Navy respectively.
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The Bangladesh Army is the land warfare branch and the largest component of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The primary mission of the Army is to provide necessary forces and capabilities to deliver the Bangladeshi government's security and defence strategies and defending the nation's territorial integrity against external attack. Control of personnel and operations is administered by the Army Headquarters, Dhaka. The Bangladesh Army is also constitutionally obligated to assist the government and its civilian agencies during times of domestic national emergency. This additional role is commonly referred to as "aid to civil administration".
The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) is a paramilitary force responsible for the border security of Bangladesh. The BGB is entrusted with the responsibility to defend the 4,427 kilometres (2,751 mi) border of Bangladesh with India and Myanmar. It was formerly known as the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR).
Razakar Urdu: رضا کار, literally "volunteer"; Bengali: রাজাকার) was an East Pakistani paramilitary force organised by General Tikka Khan in then East Pakistan, now called Bangladesh, during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. The force committed war crimes during the war including massacring civilians, looting, and rape.
Mujibnagar, formerly known as Baidyanathtala (Boiddonathtola) and Bhoborpara, is a town in the Mujibnagar Upazila of Meherpur District in Khulna, Bangladesh. The Provisional Government of Bangladesh was formed on 10 April 1971, however, sworn in on 17 April 1971 in this place by the elected representatives of the Bengalees, that led the Bangladesh Liberation War, who were leading the guerrilla war for the independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan in 1971. The place was renamed Mujibnagar by the proclamation of independence, in honour of then imprisoned Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who had declared Bangladesh independent. The actual capital of the government while in exile was Calcutta. A memorial complex covering 20.10 acres (8.13 ha) has been built at the site where the ministers of that first government took their oaths.
The Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini was a Bangladeshi para-military force formed in 1972 by the Sheikh Mujibur Rahman government.
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Bangladesh's military history is intertwined with the history of a larger region, including present-day India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar. The country was historically part of Bengal – a major power in South Asia and Southeast Asia.
Law enforcement in Bangladesh is one part of the Justice System in Bangladesh along with Prisons and Courts.
The Village Defence Party (VDP) is a law enforcement force in Bangladesh, organised in distinct units at the level of individual villages and urban towns. It is administered by the Home Ministry of the central Government of Bangladesh. Although domestic security is its main objective, the Village Defence Parties are also specifically charged with working on village development and welfare schemes.
The Bangladesh Ansar is a paramilitary auxiliary force responsible for the preservation of internal security and law enforcement in Bangladesh. It is administered by the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of Bangladesh. It has 6 million active and reserved members. It is the largest paramilitary force in the world.
The Mukti Bahini, also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was the guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military, paramilitary and civilians during the Bangladesh Liberation War that transformed East Pakistan into Bangladesh in 1971. They were initially called the Mukti Fauj.
Z Force, also known as Tura Brigade, was the first military brigade of Bangladesh Forces formed during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971 under Major Ziaur Rahman along with the consent of the revolutionary government of Bangladesh in exile. The brigade was formed with the 1st, 3rd and 8th Battalion of East Bengal Regiment on 7 July 1971. It is the first ever complete brigade formed during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971.
Nizam Mohammad Serajul Alam Khan, commonly known as Serajul Alam Khan, also called as Dada, Dadabhai and by his initials SAK, was a Bangladeshi politician, political analyst, philosopher and writer who spearheaded the Bangladesh liberation movement under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman but also became one of the controlling forces of political polarization in post-independence Bangladesh.
Mijanur Rahman Khan is a retired major general in the Bangladesh Army. He was the director general of national paramilitary Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defence Party.
Ansar-VDP Unnayan Bank is a specialised government owned bank in Bangladesh. The bank was founded to provide financial services to the paramilitary Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defence Party. Major General AKM Nazmul Hasan is the chairman of this bank. The bank has 259 branches across the country under 18 regions. It is one of four specialized banks owned by the government of Bangladesh; the rest are Bangladesh Krishi Bank, Karmasangsthan Bank, and Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank.
Ansar-VDP Academy is a training institute. It is responsible for the training of Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defense Party in Bangladesh. It is located at Shafipur, Gazipur District.
Barun Roy, born Prasun Kanti Ray, was a politician of the Communist Party of Bangladesh. He was born in Sunamganj District and was the member of Parliament from Sunamganj-1.
AKM Nazmul Hasan is a major general in the Bangladesh Army who is the incumbent director general of the Special Security Force. Prior to that he was DG of the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB). Prior to that position, he served as director general of the Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defence Party. He also served as general officer commanding (GOC) of 11th Infantry Division and area commander, Bogura Area.