Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world and seventh most densely populated with a population of 173,562,364 in an area of 148,460 square kilometres (57,320 sq mi). Bangladesh shares land borders with India to the north, west, and east, and Myanmar to the southeast. To the south, it has a coastline along the Bay of Bengal. To the north, it is separated from Bhutan and Nepal by the Siliguri Corridor, and from China by the mountainous Indian state of Sikkim. Dhaka, the capital and largest city, is the nation's political, financial, and cultural centre. Chittagong is the second-largest city and the busiest port. The official language is Bengali, with Bangladeshi English also used in government. Islam is the official and largest religion and Bengali Muslims form the largest ethnoreligious group in the country.
The Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) is the aerial warfare branch of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The air force is primarily responsible for air defence of Bangladesh's sovereign territory as well as providing air support to the Bangladesh Army and Bangladesh Navy. Furthermore, the BAF has a territorial role in providing tactical and strategic air transport and logistics capability for the country.
Sheikh Hasina is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Bangladesh from June 1996 to July 2001 and again from January 2009 to August 2024. She is the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first president of Bangladesh. She served in the position of prime minister for over 20 years, making her the longest-serving prime minister in history of Bangladesh. Thus, she became the world's longest-serving female head of government. Her authoritarian regime ended in self-imposed exile following an uprising in 2024.
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 defend the land of Bangladesh from any external attack. Control of personnel and operations is administered by the Army Headquarters, Dhaka Cantonment. The Bangladesh Army is also constitutionally obligated to assist the government, during times of domestic national emergency e.g. the army helps people during any natural calamity. This additional role is commonly referred to as "aid to civil administration" or, using the Latin form, "Protectio, Transparentia, Reintegratio", in others words, "Protect and Serve".
The Directorate General of Forces Intelligence, commonly known by its acronym DGFI, is the defense intelligence agency of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, tasked with collection, collation and evaluation of strategic and topographic information, primarily through human intelligence (HUMINT). As one of the principal members of the Bangladesh intelligence community, the DGFI reports to the Director-General under the executive authority of the head of government, the Prime Minister, and is primarily focused on providing intelligence for the Prime Minister, the Cabinet of Bangladesh, and the Armed Forces of Bangladesh.
Rangpur Cadet College is a military college for boys in Rangpur, Bangladesh.
Dhaka Cantonment is a cantonment located in the northern part of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The headquarters of the Bangladesh Army and Air Force are situated within the cantonment. The cantonment is located on the north-east end of Dhaka.
Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) functions as the regulatory body for all aviation related activities in Bangladesh. It is the civil aviation authority operating under the Ministry of Civil Aviation & Tourism. All nine operational airports are operated by the CAAB. A member of International Civil Aviation Organization, it has signed bilateral air transport agreement with 52 states. It is headquartered in Kurmitola, Dhaka.
The Indian Army Corps of Engineers is a combat support arm which provides combat engineering support, develops infrastructure for armed forces and other defence organisations and maintains connectivity along the borders, besides helping the civil authorities during natural disasters. College of Military Engineering, Pune (CME) is the premier technical and tactical training institution of the Indian Army Corps of Engineers.
Bangladesh Chhatra League, formerly known as the East Pakistan Student League, simply called the Chhatra League, is the student wing of the political party, Bangladesh Awami League, founded by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 4 January 1948. The organisation is banned and designated as a terrorist organisation in Bangladesh.
The Bangladesh Police is the national law enforcement agency of Bangladesh, operating under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It plays a crucial role in maintaining peace, and enforcement of law and order within Bangladesh. Though the police are primarily concerned with the maintenance of law and order and security of persons and property of individuals, they also play a big role in the criminal justice system. Bangladesh Police played an important role during the Bangladesh Liberation War.
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, previously known as Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, is the largest Islamist political party in Bangladesh.
The Bangladesh–Myanmar relations refer to the bilateral relationship between Bangladesh and Myanmar. The relationship between these two neighbouring countries is generally frosty under the Burmese military junta, and as a result of the presence of over 270,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. The civil society and political class of Bangladesh often voiced solidarity for Myanmar's pro-democracy struggle. However, relations between the two nations soured as a result of Rohingya genocide which resulted in the influx of over 1.1 million Rohingya refugees from Rakhine State in Myanmar to Bangladesh. Despite being neighbouring countries, very little trade exists among these countries.
The Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh, commonly referred to as IEB, is the national professional organisation of engineers in Bangladesh. It is registered under the Societies Registration Act (1860) of the country. Within the country, it has 18 centers and 31 sub-centers. It has 10 'overseas chapter' in different countries of the world, namely: Australia, Kuwait, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and the United States. It formed the Board of Accreditation for Engineering and Technical Education (BAETE) which holds the accreditation of engineering faculties in Bangladesh.
Corruption in Bangladesh has been a continuing problem. According to all major ranking institutions, Bangladesh routinely finds itself among the most corrupt countries in the world.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) (Bengali: প্রতিরক্ষা মন্ত্রণালয়) is a Bangladeshi government ministry. The MoD is headed by the Minister of Defence, a civilian and member of cabinet. The post is usually held by the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, who also serves as the President's second-in-command of the military. The MoD exercises supreme command authority over the Bangladesh Armed Forces.
The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic recognized Bangladesh's independence on 24 January 1972. Official diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and Belarus were established in 1992. Neither country has a resident ambassador.
The Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO) is a Rohingya militant group and political organisation. It was founded in 1982 following a large scale military operation conducted by the Tatmadaw. The group discontinued its armed rebellion in 1998 but rearmed shortly after the 2021 Myanmar coup d'etat.
The Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC) is an intergovernmental counter-terrorist military alliance between 42 member states in the Muslim world, united around the war against the Islamic State and other counter-terrorist activities. Its creation was first announced by Saudi Arabian defence minister Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud, on 15 December 2015. The alliance was to have a joint operations center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Deaths along the Bangladesh–India border occur many times a year as result of people attempting to illegally cross into India from Bangladesh, for walking along the border, cross border firing and cattle smuggling. Bangladesh and India share a 4,096 kilometer border. To prevent smuggling and illegal migration from Bangladesh, the Indian Border Security Force(BSF) exercises its controversial "Shoot-on-sight" policy. Under this policy, the BSF can shoot any person on sight with or without cause. A large portion of the victims are cattle traders and farmers with land near the border. Brad Adams, stated that, "Routinely shooting poor, unarmed villagers is not how the world's largest democracy should behave."
