Proposal for Raising Rashtriya Rifles-Style Counter-Insurgency Battalions under Each Infantry Division of the Bangladesh Army: Strategic Roadmap to 2040

1. Executive Summary This analysis report proposes the structured raising of Rashtriya Rifles-style Division Support Rifles Battalions (DSRBs) under each Infantry Division of the Bangladesh Army, with a long-term development roadmap up to the year 2040. The aim is to enhance Bangladesh’s national counter-insurgency (COIN), border stabilisation, and internal security capabilities in light of future hybrid threats, particularly in regions such as the Chattogram Hill Tracts (CHT), border belts, and sensitive ethnic or religious flashpoints. This force will serve as a bridge between conventional military posture and internal stabilisation operations, without replacing civil law enforcement. 2. Background and Operational Rationale The Indian Rashtriya Rifles (RR) is a COIN force created in 1990, which proved instrumental in long-duration, intelligence-intensive operations in insurgency-affected areas like Jammu and Kashmir. RR troops are seconded from regular Indian Army units and trained in region-specific warfare. Their presence has allowed the Indian Army to conduct sustained