Maintaining internal security, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Bangladesh

Soldiering is one of the oldest professions through the ages which by large shaped the history of mankind all over the world. In the ancient period, the rulers were commonly driven by their extravagant ambitions and often ill intentions to capture new lands and territories to expand their kingship. The pattern of soldiering and defence strategies have changed largely with the technological advancement, globalisation and inception of artificial intelligence. But the fact remains that military is the foremost resort to ensure territorial integrity and sovereignty of any country. Similarly, good governance and public awareness are a pre-requisite for nation building and preservation of independence of any country. Other than a very few, in today's modern civilization mostly it is the non-military government elected directly or indirectly by the citizens through adult franchise that dictates the functioning and operability of any defence force. Therefore, effective civil-military coordination and constructive public opinion are essential for strategic policy making and implementation of those policies in ensuring the overall supremacy and sovereignty of the country.

Bangladesh Armed Forces emerged on 21 November 1971 during the liberation war, which led to the glorious victory after the nine-month bloodshedding war against the Pakistani forces. Since its inception, the Bangladesh Army has played the leading role among all armed forces and has become the symbol of the nation's trust, territorial integrity and sovereignty of our beloved motherland. The liberation war of Bangladesh was a unique example of how the military and common people fought for an invincible victory. People from all corners; soldiers, freedom fighters, students, farmers, workers, women, civil servants and intellectuals fought shoulder to shoulder with a view to getting rid of oppression and safeguarding the territorial integrity of Bangladesh. But the questions remain: Do we still have that spirit and cohesiveness? Do we have similar feelings of togetherness? Do we have mutual respect and trust in each other? Are we prepared to defend our motherland with unquestionable consensus? Let us try to find out those answers by subsequent discussions.

Bangladesh Army is entrusted with mainly five primary responsibilities including its classical roles. In a broader perspective these are safeguarding the territorial integrity and sovereignty, maintaining law and order in Chattogram Hill Tracts, nation building activities, disaster management and internal security duties through the provision of 'in aid to civil power' and participation in the United Nations peacekeeping missions. Unlike other countries during peace time Bangladesh Army prepares itself through vigorous training to fight any battle in case of breakout of a war and remains prepared to combat any eventuality when needed. Since initiation in 1971, Bangladesh Army is performing its delegated responsibilities in all the domains with exemplary dedication, professionalism, fearless hard work and humanitarian values which earned the faith and trust of the common people. There were many challenges which, needed to combat in the line of duty, may be traditional or non-traditional, but as a disciplined force and as an organisation, Bangladesh Army has always remained steadfast and committed to its noble duties.

Keeping territorial integrity and sovereignty demands flawless interplay, strong bonding, mutual trust, coordinated planning and effectiveness of two pillars of state authority-civilian establishment and military leadership at any cost. Because effective civil-military coordination fosters smooth administration, national consensus and cohesiveness, strengthens national security and policy guidelines, and fortifies public awareness and confidence with a view to protecting its stability and existence. After the independence of last 54 years, Bangladesh went through multiple governmental, socio-economic, political and developmental changes including strategic communication, policy synchronization, and operational collaboration to achieve national objectives. Similarly, Bangladesh Army has developed its military preparedness and modernization to keep aligned with the modern warfare, armament, comprehensive professional training and participation in the collaborative efforts together with the civilian counterparts to transform into a sophisticated, 21st-century force capable of responding to regional and global threats. But there is a gray area which may affect the expected outcomes to achieve optimum goals which include lack of awareness among the common people and inadequate knowledge about the military. Thereby, vested groups are always keen to misguide and propagate against the defence forces which leads to chaos and instability to a great extent. Bangladesh with a greater number of populations would be capable enough to protect itself from any external aggression and threat if people are educated, conscious, motivated, patriotic and united for the sake of any national interest.

According to the 2022 Population Census, the total number of youths in Bangladesh is over 55 million between 18-35 years. These future leaders would be an asset for national power and contributing actors for progressive development and rebuilding the country. To raise their patriotism, collaboration and potential, existing facilities and avenues must be utilized through policy making, revision of academic syllabus and inception of a short compulsory military training at higher secondary or graduation level. Bangladesh National Cadet Corps (BNCC), a tri-services volunteer reserve defence force which focuses on discipline, leadership, and patriotism through rigorous training in its Army, Navy, and Air Force wings may play the leading role in this regard. In one way, it will contribute to the defence force as competent reserve, and in another way facilitate their character building and prevent them from moral degradation and possibility of victimization by the vested groups. The students of Bangladesh have the glorious legacy in the historical events, in language movement, mass upsurge, liberation war, democratic movement, quota movement and so forth. Thereby, their potential and strength must be capitalised on the right track, otherwise youth power will be ruled by evil acts, the way it happened between Daffodil University and City University on the night of 26 October 2025 or Dhaka College, City College or Ideal College in the recent past that triggered violent confrontations between different groups for a very meaningless reason.

To talk about national consensus and public opinion is very pertinent to the topic. Bangladesh has been observing the detrimental effects of misinformation, disinformation and mob justice since July 2024 all over the country. There is no denying that Bangladesh Army stood steadfast and continuing with its relentless supports and contributions to maintain law and order situation for last about one year and half deploying a major portion of its troops all over the country. Soldiers are working day and night, in cities, villages, and hills and plan to bring normalcy and save lives and property of the citizens. As the police and other law enforcing agencies faced a definite drawback after July 2024, it is the military forces which didn't allow any vested group to exploit the situation to push the whole nation to a civil war. In the recent past different individuals, groups and netizens fueled propaganda, disinformation and mob justice without understanding the terrible consequences. Many a spokesman in the social media questioned about the fragility of overall law and order situation across the country in presence of the armed forces. But did they ask themselves what would be the situation if the military failed to stand firmly? Could Bangladesh retain governmental machinery in a horrifying situation created where mob vandalized even the national parliament, secretariat and other Key Point Installations (KPIs)? Didn't they observe the notorious destructions within 2/3 days after 05 August 2024 before forming the Interim Government. The answer shall pop up rightly if anyone just recaps his memories of those scary days and nights. All citizens should be aware that a soldier is trained to perform his noble task of defending any potential enemy, neither are they designed to control the mob for a prolonged period remaining outside the barrack.

Bangladesh's geographical location is strategically very crucial for major regional powers due to its openness to the Bay of Bengal in the South. Although most of South-Asian countries have the similar historical background of being ruled by the British Colonial Regime, but over the years, countries have shaped differently by their internal politics and socio-economic perspective. South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) which was founded on 08 December 1985, with a lot of hopes and aspirations, became ineffective due to inter-state disputes among the neighbouring nations. The eight countries' combined platform of over 1.99 billion people, which is approximately 21% of the world's total population, is still struggling to reach its desired destination. Basically, relations between countries located in South Asia are strained by mostly border disputes, unsolved maritime boundaries. illegal migration and trade, insurgency and influence of major powers. Therefore, any internal chaos, vandalization, unrest situation may lead not only to national crisis or instability, but rather that will trigger the whole region with devastation and security crises. Additionally, non-traditional security issues such as climate change, border management, terrorism, cyber threats, transnational crimes and transhumance, etcetera may make the situation more complex and unmanageable, if integrated civil-military responses fail.

Bangladesh experienced frequent changes of vision and diplomatic relations with the change of government powers. In a democratic country like Bangladesh with a large population, there will be obvious disagreements and numerous fields of political debates to retain or regain the power of the government. But in case of international relations and at the question of territorial integrity and sovereignty; there should not be any disharmony, disputes or clashes. Bangladesh needs more attention to get shaped unitedly to make a solid foundation on settlement of foreign affairs and strengthening the national power. Public opinion and consensus are often driven in Bangladesh like the election campaign which is mostly dominated by the political will. A large portion of our population is neither literate enough to understand the matrix of politics, nor aware of external issues and challenges. But the political bodies should have the positive goodwill to unify the whole nation despite ideological differences and political aspirations. Because common understanding among political parties, pressure groups, state institutions, and the mass population regarding the core national interests are very essential for safeguarding territorial integrity and sovereignty.

It is obvious that a cooperative civil-military relationship under civilian authority ensures institutional stability, sustainable development and credible defence policy leading to military preparedness to face any eventuality. National Committee on Security Affairs should be an independent body which needs to institutionalize more regular interactions among civil and military leadership and organize integrated training and policy workshops to develop mutual understanding and trust. Side by side defence planning and parliamentary oversight shall assist in maintaining democratic accountability with inclusive policy dialogue involving political parties, academia, civil society, and media in shaping the national security discourses. Public awareness campaigns should be arranged to promote understanding of sovereignty and national unity among citizens. Modernization of the military is also a pre-requisite to ensure that the armed forces remain a professionally skilled and well-equipped institution serving the constitution.

Bangladesh's future security and sovereignty depend not only on military strength but also on national unity, policy coherence, and strong institutions. Effective civil-military coordination rooted in democratic oversight and national consensus, ensures that every organ of the state works toward one goal: the preservation of Bangladesh's territorial integrity and sovereign independence.

Lieutenant Colonel Abu Haider Md Assaduzzaman, PhD, AEC is at present serving as the Civil-Military Coordination Officer of Bangladesh Battalion-11 deployed in the Central African Republic. assad6807@gmail.com