Bangladesh
Bangladesh is a country in South Asia, in the Ganges River delta, on the Bay of Bengal. Dhaka is its capital city. Area of this country is 1,48,393 sq km. Bangla, Chakma and Magh are its principal languages. Bengali is its official anguage. The name of its currency is Taka.It is bounded west and north-west by West Bengal state of India, north by Assam and Meghalaya states of India, east by Assam and Tripura state of India and Burma, and south by the Bay of Bengal.
Bangladesh was formerly part of British India. After independence it became part of Pakistan. Being a geographical unit of Pakistan in the east, the region came to be known as East Pakistan. Bangladesh was proclaimed an independent republic in 1971 after the civil war. The country suffers from cyclones in the Bay of Bengal.
Bangladesh is virtually a bridge between south and south-east Asia. It has a landmass criss-crossed with several major rivers, their numerous tributaries and canals forming a lace of interconnecting channels that makes most fertile agricultural lands. The limits of territorial waters of Bangladesh are 12 nautical miles and the area of the high seas extending to 200 nautical miles measured from the base lines constitutes the economic zone of the country.
The extensive river systems are fundamental to the country’s economy and people’s way of life. The north-eastern and south-eastern parts of the country are dotted with small hills and ridges with average elevation of 244m and 610m respectively. The highest peak Keokradong is 1,230 meters above the sea level.
There are many folk tales and legends regarding the origin of Bangla and Bangali. Many researchers and scholars believe that Bangalis are successors of Noa, the prophet. Noa’s son is Ham, Ham’s son is Hind (Hindustan came after his name) and Hind’s son is Banga (Bangal came from ‘Banga’ and ‘Bangali’ was derived from ‘Bangal’).
The story of the birth of ‘Bangla and Bangali’ is also written in some ancient epics like Ramayana, Mahabharata and many other folk tales and legends across the subcontinent. It says that queen Sudeshna had five sons namely Anga, Banga, Kalinga, Pundra and Suhma. Five separate states were constituted after their name: Angadesh, Bangadesh, Kalingadesh, Purnadesh and Suhmadesh. The people of Bangladesh were subsequently known as ‘Bangali’.
The country is divided into six divisions which are further divided into 64 districts. These are:
Barisal Division
1. BARGUNA, 2. BARISAL, 3. BHOLA, 4. JHALOKATI, 5. PATUAKHALI, 6. PIROJPUR
Chittagong Division
1. BANDARBAN 2. BRAHMANBARIA 3. CHANDPUR
4. CHITTAGONG 5. COMILLA 6. COX'S BAZAR 7. FENI 8. KHAGRACHHARI 9. LAKSHMIPUR 10. NOAKHALI 11. RANGAMATI
Dhaka Division
1. DHAKA 2. FARIDPUR 3. GAZIPUR 4. GOPALGANJ 5. JAMALPUR 6. KISHOREGONJ 7. MADARIPUR 8. MANIKGANJ 9. MUNSHIGANJ 10. MYMENSINGH 11. NARAYANGANJ 12. NARSINGDI 13. NETRAKONA 14. RAJBARI 15. SHARIATPUR
16. SHERPUR 17. TANGAIL
Khulna Division
1. BAGERHAT 2. CHUADANGA 3. JESSORE 4. JHENAIDAH 5. KHULNA 6. KUSHTIA 7. MAGURA 8. MEHERPUR 9. NARAIL 10. SATKHIRA
Rajshahi Division
1. BOGRA 2. CHAPAINABABGANJ 3. DINAJPUR 4. GAIBANDHA 5. JOYPURHAT 6. KURIGRAM 7. LALMONIRHAT 8. PABNA 9. PANCHAGARH 10. NAOGAON 11. NATORE 12. NILPHAMARI 13. RAJSHAHI 14. RANGPUR 15. SIRAJGANJ 16. THAKURGAON
Sylhet Division
1. HABIGANJ 2. MAULVIBAZAR 3. SUNAMGANJ 4. SYLHET
People
The people of Bangladesh are originally simple in nature. They are also equally known for their creativity, valour and resilience as well as hospitality and friendliness. Most of the people live in rural areas and depend on agriculture for their livelihood. The expanding industrial and service sectors including trade and commerce offer increasing alternate occupation for the people of urban areas. All over the country, the social life of the people is marked by age old tradition and communal harmony.Almost all the people speak Bangla, a language which occupies an exalted position for its rich literature and glorious language movement, held in 1952. English is widely spoken and understood.
Rice, wheat, fish, lentils and vegetables constitute the main diet of the vast majority in the village. But in the recent times fast food has also become favourite to the urban people.
A cotton ‘lungi’ and shir called ‘jama’ are the common attire for men in rural areas. they also wear punjabi and pajamas. Western constumes are mostly worn in urban areas as formal dress. Women folks wear sarees mostly. As working dress young girls like to wear shaluar and kamij also.
A number of small ethnic communities live in different parts of Bangladesh. Their customs; traditions and cultural heritage which are quite distinct from one another and till to date largely remain unspoiled. Majority of the country’s small ethnic people is about 2 million, live in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. They mainly depend on traditional cultivation called ‘Jhum’ and cottage craft for their living.
The country’s density of the population is highest in the world.
History
Bangladesh came into existence with its formation in 1972. It was formerly East Pakistan, one of the five provinces of Pakistan. This province was created by British India in August 1947 by carving out the territory from India. East Pakistan was formerly an Indian province of East Bengal. At the time of carving out East Pakistan, the Sylhet district of Assam was also merged with this newly created province of East Pakistan.The people of Bangladesh are a proud race with distinct heritage. A heroic people, their long and turbulent history is replete with epic saga of their independent and indomitable spirit. For early one thousand five hundred years , the region played an important part in the great cultural association between the diverse civilizations of eastern and south eastern Asia and reached the zenith of economic affluence. The long chain of Buddhist and Hindu rule was broken by the advent of Muslims of the central Asian origin in the thirteenth century. The succession of Muslim monarchies which was the golden period in the annals of Bangladesh, ruled over the area till 1757. British conquest took place in the same year. British left after two centuries when formed the eastern wing of Pakistan. Soon after the establishment of Pakistan, the people of Bangladesh found that, they had been reduced and relegated to abject political domination and ruthless exploitation. But they revolted and triturated the bondage of colonialism and violation of democratic rights under the charismatic leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Father of the Nation.
Governance
Bangladesh continues to make efforts to improve its overall governance environment. Currently, efforts are underway to improve core governance systems in areas such as public procurement, financial management, fiscal reporting, and watchdog institutions. Several reforms to improve sectoral governance are also underway. Despite progress, the remaining agenda is challenging. Recognizing this, the government has intensified its efforts to improve the overall governance environment.Places of interest
Sundarbans National Park, Dhakeshwari National Temple, Chhota Sona Masjid, Golden Temple in Bangladesh, Kantaji Temple, Kushumba Mosque, Star Mosque, Bangladesh College of Arts and Crafts, Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts, Chitrak Gallery, Drik Gallery, Bangladesh National Art Gallery, Saju Art Gallery, Bangladesh National Museum, Ethnological Museum, Folk Art Museum,Liberation War Museum, Tribal Cultural Museum, Varendra Museum, Bhawal National Park, Himchari National Park, Kaptai National Park, Nijhum Dweep National Park, Ramsagar National Park, Satchari National Park, Teknaf Game Reserve, Dhaka Zoo, Lalbagh Fort, Mainimati Ruins, Mosque City of Bagerhat, Shaheed Minar, Shahi Jama-e-masjid, Somapura Vihara, Sundarbans, Tajhat Palace, Wari Bateshwar