Border Guard Bangladesh (Bengali: বর্ডার গার্ড বাংলাদেশ, romanized: Bôrḍar Gārd Bānlādeś; abbreviated as BGB) is the paramilitary force responsible for the protection and surveillance of Bangladesh's land borders. Operating under the Ministry of Home Affairs and with operational control by army officials, BGB ensures border security, prevents illegal cross-border activities, and assists in maintaining internal law and order when required. Originally formed as the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), it was reorganized and renamed BGB in 2010 following major reforms.
BGB through its predecessor institutions boasts a military history spanning over two centuries. During peacetime, this force is also responsible for anti-smuggling operations, investigating cross-border crime and extending governmental authority to remote and isolated areas. From time to time, BGB has also been called upon to assist the administration in the maintenance of internal law and order, and relief and rehabilitation work after a natural disaster. During wartime, BGB comes under the control of the Ministry of Defence as an auxiliary force to the Bangladesh Army.
History
British India
Origins
The Frontier protection force was established in the late 18th century at the city of Ramgarh when Chittagong and the surrounding areas came under the British East India Company's suzerainty from the Bengal Subah. With 486 personnel, the force operated as regional irregular law enforcements battalion in the southeastern frontier regions of Bengal Presidency and was commanded by an officer from the Bengal Army. In 1795, the force was reorganized into a paramilitary unit and re-christened as the Ramgarh Local Battalion. In this period, the Ramgarh personnel were rehearsed and given regalia and furthermore were instructed to suppress insurgent activities around the Ramgarh area. As the force's size became capable enough to fortify broader regions, it was restructured and established their paramilitary companies around Chittagong and Dacca which were called Special Reserve companies in 1799.
In 1861, the East India company renamed the battalion to as the Frontier Guards and shifted its headquarters to Pilkhana, a former Mughal elephantry stable turned cantonment, in 1876, which remains to this day. Most of the non-commissioned officers who were serving in the Frontier Guards conscripted to the Bengal Army during the Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885. Due to its significance the British government re-established the force in 1891, via recruiting a plethora of personnel consist of mostly Bengali Muslims and named Bengal Military police. During this time, the organization was ameliorated with modern ordnance and functioned as military combat support and law enforcement units under Bengal command of the British Indian Army in Dacca, Chittagong, Dumka, Gangtok and Siliguri. By 1910, the battalion had presence in Garo Hills, Sylhet, Backergunge and Cachar.
Initially the force was commanded by a regional senior warrant officer called Subedar, however by 1911 it was estimated that the Bengal military police personnel was increased by 7,000 at the eve of First World War and by 1913 the force was in command under a commandant who was a commissioned officer from the British Indian Imperial Police. Under the commandant's administration, the Bengal military police was organized with regional headquarters which were called sectors and was orchestrated by assistant commandants who were commissioned officers of the British Imperial Police and the British Army. This regional structure is still in use by the force today. In 1914 the unit was transferred under the command of British Army as an active frontier enforcement unit till 1919.
Eastern Frontier Rifles
As the Bengal Military police's operation focused pivotally around Bengal and eastern frontier territories, the British Indian Government re-structured the force as Eastern Frontier Rifles in 1920 and returned under Imperial Police jurisdiction. Its primary task was to protect the borders and British sovereignty around various frontier districts of Bengal and Assam Provinces precisely in Chittagong, Garo, and Naga Hills and furthermore the Sylhet and Cachar districts. Eastern frontier rifles were also deployed in coastal cities like Barisal, Kharagpur, Tamluk and the eastern princely states such as Cooch Behar, Twipra and Manipur. Like its predecessor during war times, Eastern frontier rifles were also installed under the British Indian Army during the Second World War with battalions served at various military divisions and participated in the Burma campaign. After the partition of Bengal in 1947, the eastern frontier rifles was bifurcated with few battalions stationed at western Bengal of India and the rest were stationed in eastern Bengal of Pakistan. The Indian battalions retain the name of Eastern Frontier Rifles and serve under the West Bengal Police to this day. The Kharagpur sector established as the new headquarters for the Indian administration of Eastern Frontier Rifles while the Pakistani administration remained in the original headquarters at Pilkhana.
Pakistan
East Pakistan Rifles
At the partition, the majority of Eastern Frontier Rifles battalions were installed at East Bengal and were patriated to the Dominion of Pakistan in September 1947. The force was reconstituted in 1949 as the East Bengal Rifles. Their function was to provide internal security and assist the police in maintaining law and order during emergencies. In this capacity in 1954, they were deployed in industrial areas after labour riots at the Karnaphuli Paper Mill and Adamjee Jute Mill. They were also tasked with interdicting smuggling from Eastern Pakistan to India. Despite some success, they were unable to rein in the illicit trade.
In 1958, the force was reorganized as the East Pakistan Rifles (EPR). At this point anti-smuggling and border protection were formally added to their duties alongside internal security. That same year major Tufail Mohammad of the Pakistan Army who was stationed at EPR sector around Sylhet, died in a border skirmish with the Assam Rifles of India. For his valor during this action he was awarded the highest military award of Pakistan, the 'Nishan-e-Haider'. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, the EPR fought Indian forces successfully at Asalong, Mouja in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. The EPR were used to help police suppress the 1962 East Pakistan Education movement and the 1969 East Pakistan mass uprising, beating students and opening fire on them on several occasions.
Bangladesh Liberation War
During the Bangladesh liberation war, nearly 9,000 members of the East Pakistan Rifles turned against the Pakistan Army following the Declaration of Independence of Bangladesh in 1971 starting from Kalurghat Radio Station, Chittagong. 817 Bengali EPR personnel reported to be killed in action. The East Pakistan Rifles were the border security and anti-smuggling force stationed in what was to become independent Bangladesh. It was commanded by Junior Commissioned Officers (JCO) at the company level. All EPR companies were based within 8 kilometres (5 mi) of the international boundary. There were two senior commissioned officers, seconded from the Pakistan Army in command of each Wing (battalion) of the EPR. In March 1971, there were 12 EPR Wings. The entire force according to CIA estimates had 10,000 enlisted personnel. However, other sources claim that the EPR had 16 wings and 13,000 to 16,000 personnel.
At the outbreak of the Bangladesh War, the EPR were the first Bengali military unit to defect from Pakistani forces; moving to Sholashahar and the main military cantonment, while calling on all Bengali soldiers to join them. Reportedly West Pakistani officers serving with the EPR were executed by their Bengali colleagues. On 26 March, the Pakistan Army sent troops to suppress the EPR but, pro-independence EPR members ambushed them, killing 72 Pakistani troops and wounding many but the Pakistanis encircled them. As a result, the EPR took heavy losses but managed to retreat. Two personnel from the EPR, Nur Mohammad Sheikh and Munshi Abdur Rouf were awarded Bir Sreshtho the highest gallantry award of Bangladesh posthumously due to their sacrifice for the independence of the country.
Bangladesh
Bangladesh Rifles
On 29 January 1972, the East Pakistan Rifles were renamed the Bangladesh Rifles with the officers seconded from Bangladesh Army. Initially with force of 9,000 personnel in early 1972, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on general M. A. G. Osmani's suggestion, putted Bangladesh Rifles's directorate directly under army headquarters with orchestration of general Osmani in spite the force's jurisdiction was under the Ministry of Home Affairs. The BDR soldiers were dissatisfied with this prejudice and the excessive government funds going to Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini for curbing out the ongoing insurgency, and revolted on 15 February 1972. Rahman then uninstalled BDR directorate from army headquarters and appointed brigadier general Chitta Ranjan Dutta as the inaugural director general of BDR. By 1973 the size of BDR increased to 20,000 under Dutta's administration. Bangladesh Rifles and Indian Border Security Forces exchanged fire near the Comilla-Tripura border throughout the entire month of November 1979. In 1996, Bangladesh Rifles personnel had grown to 67 thousand.
2001 Bangladesh–India border clashes
The 2001 Indian–Bangladeshi border conflict took place in the third week of April 2001 between the Bangladesh Rifles and the Indian Border Security Force on the poorly marked international border between the two countries. This was the worst border conflict Bangladesh was involved in since Independence. The 16–19 April fighting took place around the village of Padua (known as Pyrdiwah in India), which adjoins the Indian state of Meghalaya and Timbil area of the Bangladesh border in Sylhet district. In that area, 6.5 kilometres of the border have remained in dispute for the past 30 years. The trigger for the clash appears to have been an attempt by Indian forces to construct a footpath from an army outpost in Padua across a disputed territory some 300 metres wide to Indian Meghalaya. On 15 April 2001, the BDR captured Pyrdiwah village. Both sides later deescalated and returned to the original positions on the border. This incident left 16 Indian Border Security Force paramilitary men dead and 3 Bangladesh Rifles men dead with 5 other BDR troops injured.
On 19 April 2005, two BSF personnel were killed in an encounter with Bangladesh Rifles inside Bangladeshi territory. According to Bangladeshi sources, BSF personnel entered Bangladesh without uniforms and attacked a village. According to India, they were dragged into Bangladesh and knifed to death.
2009 Bangladesh Rifles Revolt
On 25 February 2009, soldiers and junior commissioned officers of Bangladesh rifles with alleged assurances from Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh who was the then Member of Parliament for Dhaka-12, revolted against their administration resulted in deaths of 57 military officers of the army including director general Shakil Ahmed. The mutiny took place when senior commanders were in Dhaka for convocation or durbar. A total of 74 people were killed in the mutiny. The cause and scheme of this revolt remained under investigation as of 2025, though resentment at officers being seconded from Bangladesh army and allegations of corruption are believed to have been among the tenets.
After 30 hours of being surrounded by Bangladesh Army tanks, the mutineers surrendered with about 6,000 of them taken under arrest, ending the mutiny. In November 2013, Bangladesh sentenced 152 mutineers from Bangladesh Rifles to death. On 1 September 2024, a discussion titled Pilkhana Carnage: Hasina and India's Conspiracy was held at the Dhaka Reporters Unity after the July uprising. Speakers at the event claimed that Sheikh Hasina and the 22nd Indian Ministry were involved in orchestrating the revolt at the Pilkhana headquarters of Bangladesh Rifles. They called for a new investigation into the incident and on 15 December 2024, the Ministry of Home Affairs informed the High Court that it would not establish a commission to re-investigate the BDR revolt, prompting public criticism. On 17 December same year, student movement representatives, including Mahin Sarker, Hasnat Abdullah, and Sarjis Alam, announced plans for nationwide protests if a commission was not formed. On 23 December, the Ministry of Home Affairs subsequently created a seven-member commission to re-investigate the case.