Bangladesh Ansar

Involvement in the Bangladesh War of Independence

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.^{[6][3][9][10][11][12]} 12 Ansar members presented a guard of honour to the Bangladesh government in exile at 8 Theatre road on 17 April 1971.^[13][3][9] As a result, the Ansar were disbanded by the government of Pakistan.^[13] A new paramilitary force was then established, the now infamous Razakar militia.^[14][15]

Raising of Ansar battalions

In 1976, 20 Ansar battalions were raised in line with the Armed Police Battalion to augment the strength of the security forces.^[3] 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.^[4][13][3]

Village Defence Parties

The Village Defence Party (VDP) was formed in 1976 and the Urban Defence Party (TDP) was formed in 1980.^[17]

1994 mutiny and reforms

In 1994, a mutiny against low pay and unfair treatment was suppressed by the Bangladesh Rifles.^[18][19] 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).^[3] Under these Acts, the Ansar Bahini and the Battalion Ansars were declared as a "Disciplined Force" in accordance with article 152 of the Constitution.^[3] The government also set up "Ansar VDP Unnayan Bank" where the members of Ansar-VDP members were entitled to loans and shares.^[3][13]

In 1998, Bangladesh Ansar and VDP were awarded the National Standard, and in 2004, it was awarded the Independence Award.^[13] The service of battalion Ansars was under National Pay Scale in October 2008, and they were entitled to family rations and combat uniform.^[6] In 2006, the role of Ansar-VDP was expanded to fight rising militancy.^[4] In 2016, the Ansar Striking Force, a 300 strong elite unit, was created to provide security to diplomats.^[20]

2024 Secretariat clash

Following the fall of Hasina government, a faction of Ansar members began protesting, demanding the nationalisation of their jobs and the abolition of the six-month "Rest System," among other benefits.^[21] Their demonstrations caused severe traffic congestion across the capital, leading to significant public inconvenience.^[22]

On 25 August, the Home Affairs Advisor, Retired Lt. Gen. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, met with the protesting Ansar members. He announced a preliminary decision to abolish the controversial six-month "Rest System" and assured that the demand for nationalisation would be reviewed based on an upcoming committee report.^[23][24]

Tensions escalated when Ansar members reportedly trapped two coordinators of the Anti-discrimination Students Movement, Hasnat Abdullah and Sarjis Alam, along with other officials, including Information and Communications Technology adviser Nahid Islam, inside the Secretariat.^[25]

Earlier that day, Hasnat Abdullah had accused the Ansar members of holding them captive and called for support on social media.^[26] The situation worsened when Ansar members forced their way into the Secretariat, chanting slogans and demanding that their demands be met.^[27]

Around 9 PM, a group of students marched from Dhaka University TSC to the Secretariat to rescue them but were met with a barrage of bricks and stones from the Ansar members, resulting in numerous injuries on both sides, including Hasnat Abdullah.^[28][29]