Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) the successor force to the East Pakistan Rifles (EPR). The EPR itself was established in 1947 as a successor force to the Eastern Frontier Rifles which was established in 1920. Before 1920, the Bengal Military Police guarded the borders. As a force the Bangladesh Rifles is second in size only to the Bangladesh Army, and is entrusted with the sacred duty of defending the country. The BDR is essentially a border force designed to be vigilant against illegal intruders. Though the BDR is a para-military force of the country, its importance is no less than that of the regular army. Its other duties are maintaining peace in the frontier tracts, containing smuggling and illegal activities in the border, and even helping the government, when necessary, in maintaining law and order in the country. Consequent upon the army crackdown of 25 March 1971 the Bangali members of the EPR, after putting some initial resistance, escaped to safety and joined the war of liberation. [Syed Mohd Saleh Uddin]