She extended warm greetings to all members of the forces on the 39th national rally.
In a message, she remembered the Ansar members who joined Bangladesh’s Liberation War responding to the call of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
“Since its inception, the Ansar has been working to ensure the security of people and [their] property,” she said. “They played a commendable role in maintaining the law and order in the 11th parliamentary election.”
At the grassroots level, approximately half of the 6.1-million members are women. This force has been providing free training to underprivileged women at the grassroots level and arranging low-interest loans for them, the PM said.
“Bangladesh has joined the ranks of developing nations,” she said, adding that the Ansars VDP had played significant roles in the country’s development and success.
The Ansar force was formed on February 12, 1948. It was abolished by the then Pakistan government during the Liberation War, in which Ansar members took part with nearly 40,000 rifles. Altogether 670 members of Ansar laid down their lives for the country during the Liberation War.
The force has three decorated freedom fighters -- one Bir Bikram and two Bir Pratik.
VDP was formed in 1976 and later assimilated with Ansar.