New Dhaka Times: Desk Report
Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad Mustafizur Rahman of the Bangladesh Army reshared a post from June 7, 2023, on his verified Facebook profile, commenting on the Indian Army Chief’s visit to Bangladesh and the strategic narrative used in military training. He stated that the imaginary countries named ‘Wolfland’ and ‘Greenland’ used in various training centers of the Bangladesh Army are, in fact, symbolic representations of the neighboring Indian military power.
Mustafizur Rahman wrote, “When Indian officers visited our SI&T or other military training centers, they understood that ‘Wolfland’ actually referred to India, although they never said it aloud.” He further stated that he questions the current foreign policy of the Bangladesh government, as despite claims of friendship with India, their border security force (BSF) kills 40 to 60 Bangladeshi citizens every year.
He also mentioned that India uses Bangladeshi territory for transit facilities with Nepal and Bhutan, while Bangladesh’s trade deficit continues to increase. In his view, this submissive diplomatic policy has affected the military as well.
He added that a mural of Akhand Bharat (Undivided India) is displayed in India’s new Parliament building, which reflects the extreme goals of RSS and other fundamentalist organizations—a region where Muslims would not have voting rights.
Referring to an experience from 2011, he shared that he was then the commander of the 1 Para Commando Battalion of the Bangladesh Army and participated in a joint exercise with Indian forces. The following year, a Bangladeshi military team visiting Agra, India, learned that India was transforming 16 of its infantry battalions into para-infantry, capable of launching attacks behind enemy lines using paradrop tactics.
When the Army Headquarters requested information from him on this matter, he questioned how logical it is to convert regular battalions into para units when even conducting two para-jumps a year for soldiers is difficult in Bangladesh. In his analytical report, he stated that Bangladesh has enough trained commandos. Therefore, if new units must be formed, they should come from commandos, not regular infantry.
At the end of the post, he wrote, “Truth is approaching, lies shall be banished. To be continued…”
He also included a photo showing new paratroopers wearing their brevet at the Sylhet Panichhara Drop Zone.
Source: Verified Facebook profile of Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad Mustafizur Rahman.