The defence of Bangladesh

Bangladesh right after liberation had virtually no defence capability worth mentioning. Having very friendly relations with its neighbour, it did not feel the requirement for some time after liberation. With the passage of time, because of clash of interests, the country started feeling the need for armed forces to safeguard its vital interests. The problem is that the modern defence machinery is very costly and investment in this sector does not pay immediate or apparent dividends.

Bangladesh with it acute resource constraints, and being hard-pressed to meet the basic requirements like food, shelter, and health care, for its people, it is very difficult to decide how much the country should spare for its defence. This is the decisive factor to fix the size of the armed forces and the war machinery it can afford.

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Until a briefcase nuclear weapon is readily available at an affordable price, Bangladesh will have be content with conventional weapons. Even with conventional weapons, how much we can match with our potential enemy is a matter of discussion. This article is not going to discuss that issue, though it is one of the vital things that the policy makers should decide.

The first trait that comes to mind that plays a vital role, is the morale of the people. Morale is taking pride in what we are, what we have, and the will to withstand all hardship to survive as a nation. Unity boosts morale, and division has a sagging effect on morale. So our leaders, writers, intellectuals, poets, singers, journalists, and for that matter all conscious people of the country, should contribute towards raising the morale of our people and instilling pride in the people, so that when needed, the whole nation will rise to the defence of the country. A nation without pride is not capable of defending itself. So, the first and foremost task should be to raise the morale of the people. Our people have proved during the liberation war, and during natural calamities that we can absorb a lot and keep our morale high despite the worst of situations.

The next thing that we need to put emphasis on is our external relations i.e. foreign policy. "Friendship with all, malice to none" may be the cornerstone of our foreign policy but than "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" is another approach that we can explore. We should avoid clash of interests specially with big powers and maintain a very cordial relation amongst the states in the region. Should we go for a defence pact with some group is a big question, but why not? If our adversary is out of proportion, we have to align with someone or some group to match the enemy, otherwise we will be taken for a ride. In foreign interaction it is "give and take" policy that works better. So when we expect something, we should also be ready to give something. By that I mean we might have to give some trade concessions, etc. In the sub-regional context, the country should have the best of relations with the people surrounding the border. We should provide all facilities which include hassle-free travel, preferential treatment by giving concession in government hotels, transports, hospitals, etc. Our people should also be encouraged to visit these places so that a close people to people contact is made and we become friendly to each other.

The policy of the country should discourage massive urbanisation. It takes few bombs to carryout mass destruction at very little cost. If the population is dispersed all over the country it will be a strength during any hostility. As one can remember Moscow was vacated during the WWII. For this the people living in villages are to be provided with certain facilities like health care, education, sanitation, electricity, amusement, etc. at an affordable price. Farm subsidies are to be provided to peasants, agro based industries to be encouraged for job creation. These areas should be given priority, so that migration from village to city is checked. This will also have other benefits as well.

The role of paramilitary i.e. BDR, Coast Guard, VDP, Ansar, etc. is well known during peace time, but these people are very useful during wartime as well. As most of the regular forces will be in the frontier these people may be in trusted with the security of bases, services and logistic duties, hospital assistance fire fighting and rescue etc. As these forces are less costly than the region army, the government can maintain a high number of paramilitary forces at all times.

At the end of the day it is the will of a nation which is the decisive factor. A nation with high spirits and the will to remain independent can face any odds and fight for a hundred years to uphold the independence of the country.

Commodore Alam is a contributor to The Daily Star.