Bangladesh Ansar

The Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defence Party (Bengali: বাংলাদেশ আনসার ও গ্রাম প্রতিরক্ষা বাহিনী), also known as Ansar VDP, 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 name originates from the Arabic word of "Ansar" which denotes a "volunteer". The Ansar were the local inhabitants of Medina who, in Islamic tradition, took the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers (the Muhajirun) into their homes when they emigrated from Mecca during the hijra.

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. The first director of the Ansar was James Buchanan, a British official appointed by the government of then-Chief Minister of East Bengal Khawaja Nazimuddin. The force was placed under the administration of the home ministry of the province of East Bengal (later known as East Pakistan).

The emphasis was on recruiting in border areas, where Ansars were deployed to interdict smuggling and prevent emigrants from taking valuables out of the country illegally. The force grew quickly. By early 1949, there were 118,000 Ansars. During the Indo-Pakistani war of 1965, the then East Pakistan Ansar was deployed to the border along with the East Pakistan Rifles to support the Pakistan Army in defending the border.

During the Bangladesh Independence War of 1971, 40,000 Ansars joined the Bangladesh Forces and joined the guerrillas and assisted the Bengali members of the East Pakistan Police to fight against the Pakistan Army. 12 Ansar members presented a guard of honour to the Bangladesh government in exile at 8 Theatre road on 17 April 1971. As a result, the Ansar were disbanded by the government of Pakistan. A new paramilitary force was then established, the now infamous Razakar militia.

After the independence of Bangladesh, the force was reconstituted as the Bangladesh Ansar. The Ansar were given fresh importance by the government of President Ziaur Rahman, which designated the Ansar as the "people's defence force" and formed Ansar battalions.

In 1976, 20 Ansar battalions were raised in line with the Armed Police Battalion to augment the strength of the security forces. At present, there are 38 male and 2 female Ansar battalions deployed all over the country. Battalion Ansars are mainly deployed in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHTs) for Counter Insurgency Operations (CIO), especially Operation Uttaran and south-western region of the country for Counter Terrorism Operations.

In 1994, a mutiny against low pay and unfair treatment was suppressed by the Bangladesh Rifles. This prompted a series of reforms by successive governments including the Ansar Bahini Act (1995), Battalion Ansar Act (1995) and the Village Defence Party Act (1995). Under these Acts, the Ansar Bahini and the Battalion Ansars were declared as a "Disciplined Force" in accordance with article 152 of the Constitution. The government also set up "Ansar VDP Unnayan Bank" where the members of Ansar-VDP members were entitled to loans and shares.