Celebrating Universal Children's Day

AMANI, a student of one of the most reputed private universities in Bangladesh has been selling flowers to the people passing the Bijoy shoroni circle. Every time the signal turned red, she approached the private cars and other vehicles wearing a t-shirt inscribing 'JAAGO' to sell flowers to the passengers. There were many young people on the roads doing the same thing. Some were selling popcorns, some flowers and some candy floss. Like Amani, many young students were on the roads of Dhaka on 18 November to remind people of their duties and obligations toward the children who are living a very miserable life.

Monju, a 12 year old boy, sells popcorn at Gulshan-2 circle. At this very tender stage of his life, instead of going to school, he has to support his family - his mother and 5-year-old sister. Everyday, he wakes up at 7 a.m. and spends his whole day on the roads selling popcorn to the people on transports. But 18 November is very different for him than any other day. He did not have to go selling popcorn. Rather, he is enjoying his time in Wonderland Amusement Park along with some of the children who sells flowers, candyfloss, candies and many other items on the streets. It is more like a dream come true for them. They do not have to rush towards cars or any vehicles to sell their products. These are the stories of Amani and Monju and there are many other similar stories that took place on 18 November. On that day, around 500 underprivileged rejoiced happiness across the city. This year, Jaago Foundation celebrated Universal Children's Day with the underprivileged street children who face harsh reality in every single step of their life.

The day started with distributing breakfast among 500 children, which was not an easy job for the volunteers. But they managed to handle every thing properly. The kids were enjoying every bit of their time in the Wonderland. After the breakfast, they started roaming around and exploring the fascinating rides. The Wonderland authority privileged the kids by giving them a chance to ride all the rides as many times as they want for three hours. The joy knew no bounds for the kids. It seemed that they had the best three hours of their life as they were enjoying to the fullest. Lipi, one of the kids, could not even express how happy she was. She was riding only the bumping car over and over again.

''Eto moja kono eideo kohono kori nae..khuv vala lagtase'' she said.

After the rides, a magician came to show magic. The magician's spell left the kids totally mesmerized. The children took part in the trick which excited them more. Around 1 p.m., the volunteers served lunch to the kids. Due to the daylong activities, they were hungry and started pushing down the food. By the courtesy of Novartis Bangladesh Ltd, a health camp was there to check the health conditions of the kids that commenced from 2 p.m. Volunteers helped them out stand in a queue and maintain it. At the end of the day, many celebrities and guests came over to Wonderland to support the noble cause. Many of the celebrities stood at Gulshan-2 circle from 3 to 5 p.m. and worked as volunteers. They all had fun doing these activities and urged everyone to come forward and help the children get their rights. The whole day programme ended in the evening by giving away the total amount of money equally among the children.

Celebrities spontaneously participated in the process and gave away the money. Then the founder of Jaago,Korvi Rakhshand, thanked each and everyone for making the event a great success. This event was supported by Mojo, KFC, Pizza Hut, Novartis, Adcom, Radio Today, Alliance Group and others.

Throughout the world, 20 November is observed as Universal Children's day. To convey the significance of the day, Jaago Foundation arranged a campaign 'JAAGO' on the 18 November for creating awareness among mass people of the poor condition of the children who are deprived from all the rights and often discriminated. On this day, Jaago gathered around 500 street urchins from different important traffic hubs of Dhaka and ran a full day activity with them in Wonderland Amusement Park. While the ill-fated children were having a good time in the park, over 500 volunteers from different organizations and backgrounds stood in the traffic signal points. All day long, they sold various products that are usually sold by the kids. At the end of the day, the amount of money collected was disbursed equally amongst the 500 children. The key purposes of the event were to raise awareness among the people and inspire them to take part in the development of the country through developing the children.

Bangladesh Climate Camp 2009

BANGLADESH is gearing up to face a new challenge that is climate change. The Bangladesh Climate Camp 2009 is a testimony to true climate concern. Chief Executive of Participatory Research and Action Network (PRAN) Mr. Nurul Alam Masud gave the keynote address on the opening day, 22 October. He emphasized on active youth participation in Bangladesh and pointed climate change to be a natural phenomenon that was accelerated due to anthropogenic activities. He expressed deep concern for the agricultural laborers and the coastline dwellers.

The background of the Camp was made very clear. Local media was involved to echo the message far and wide. Applications poured in from all corners of the country. Climate crusaders outside the country also showed in a lot of interest. So the final list of participants consisted of representatives from 51 districts of Bangladesh and around six participants from neighboring countries as well as Europe- the total number being one hundred and twenty.

The evening of the first day of action was graced by eminent Member of Parliament and the Chairman of The All Peoples' Party on Climate Change and Environment Mr. Saber Hossen Chowdhury. The participants came up with the problems of their respective areas and wanted a solution to their woes. There was a volley of questions directed to him and he made a note of all the possible issues that arose and promised to start working on those. He felt that Climate change is a threat to all developing sectors. Our food security, national security and socio economic condition will see a significant drop down in the coming years.

Climate change and change in survival strategies questions the rights that human beings are to enjoy. With the advent of industrialization, the western countries have been shooting carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. They are primarily to be blamed for the unprecedented amount of CO2 in the air. So they are the main stakeholders of CO2 emissions. Developing countries like Bangladesh demand that they reduce their CO2 emissions so that atmosphere is stabilized. Newly liberated countries like Bangladesh should be given adequate time to march in the path of progress. They have the Right to Develop. If this right is infringed, there will be a massive amount of pressure that will be exerted on the Annex one countries.

On the second day there was a grand opening for the Camp. The guests being the same as the night before got a special chance to reinforce their points. Saber Hossen Chowdhury cited the example of Maldives- where the population is very thin amounting to nearly three lakhs of people. The Maldives Government is moving forward by buying lands in advance in different countries to that the climate refugees can be relocated and resettled. Maldives being a very low-lying country is especially threatened of submersion. This move cannot be replicated in Bangladesh.

The reason being the vast land area and population explosion. He also shared good news with the countrymen that are in order to combat climate change; a budget of 700 cores of taka has been earmarked. He requested all the people of the country to be under one banner and combat climate change. It is a global problem requiring a global solution.

The local Member of Parliament has pinned all his hopes on the media. He termed that as the First Estate. He requested them to use their pens as weapons to write something that will create a stir among the international negotiators. The Vice Chancellor of Noakhali Science and Technology University seemed to be clear in a radical demand. He wanted to be well compensated from the western countries.

After the inauguration, the participants broke into different groups. Some of these being cultural, debating, mobilization, media, photography and monitoring groups. The purpose off these factions is to involve self-tasking.

In order to have a sound knowledge of the hard science behind Climate Change, eminent scientist and IPCC co author Dr.Ahsan was called in. His presentation was extremely well informative. After giving the audience a basic understanding of climate change, he took Bangladesh as a case study. Littoral Bangladesh around the Sunderbans is marked as one of the most vulnerable areas. Rising sea level and salt water ingress destroying crops are its main problems. Erratic weather events and forced displacement is an alarming problem out there.

As evening descended, the campers demonstrated a candle march to the nearest Art and Culture Academy grounds. The participants sat in a unique mosaic. They wrote EU and with a mark of interrogation at the end. This was symbolic. It showed how the people of Bangladesh looked upto the European Union and have all their eyes set to the COP 15 Meeting in Copenhagen. Their fate waiting to be decided once and for all.

In the evening an economist namely Neelormi put forth issues of gender and climate change. She shared a few spine-chilling experiences where women are absolutely off guard when climate change struck them. They lose their habitat and loved ones. The psychological trauma and poor sanitary system in the shelters adds to their woes. There are no special arrangements for special needs like impregnated women or the physically challenged.

Scientists first observed the abnormal changes in the climatic condition in the 1980's. Heavy rainfall or no rainfall, cyclone and storm surges all appeared to have been occurring abnormally. The hottest year of 20th Century occurred in 1990's. Rise in 1°c mean temperature, which normally takes more than 1000 years, now seems to be occurring in one hundred years. Scientists found that hundreds of years of emission of Carbon dioxide, a product of burning fossil fuel, Coal, is the main cause. Besides Carbon emission, Methane emitted from rain-fed agriculture also triggers this abnormal temperature rise.US being the highest emitter refused to gratify the Kyoto Protocol. This stark reality was projected by Ziaul Haque Mukta.

Monetary compensation is not enough; technology transfer is also an integral part. He summoned the youth to give the clarion call for justice.

In the afternoon session Tapas Ranjan Chakraborty spoke at length on mitigating Climate change at a personal level. He said the three 'R's to be the mantra that is reduce, re use and recycle. He said energy conservation to be the topmost priority. He appealed to the participants to use the mass transport system in order to reduce their carbon footprint. The campers broke into several groups and threw light on different aspects of Climate Change mitigation.Later these issues were discussed and the session came to an end.

This session was succeeded by a session on the indigenous people and their role in nature conservation. The speaker of this session was eminent Biologist Pavel Partha. An Indegenous person has a knowledge treasure trove. Having stayed in the lap of nature since generations, they know the devices to conserve it. Till date they lead a zero carbon lifestyle. Pavel holds the MNCs in contempt. He shared how food habits can create carbon havoc. Italian delicacy Pizza for instance, which is on the global culinary map is extremely carbon intensive. So a little compromise can actually make a great head way.

The evening was big leap. A film titled “The Island” was screened. It was a Science fiction. Post dinner all of the participants gathered on the terrace to make merry. The air was light. Climate Change and its imminent mayhem were not to be seen. Fun and frolic was omnipresent.

On the last day a collective signature pledge was handed over to the District Magistrate so as to urge upon the Government to take appropriate action to reduce carbon emission where ever possible to combat climate change and ensure security of life and livelihood.

Transportation

There are some transportation which are parts of culture of Bangladesh. In rural areas bullock cart, buffalo cart and tomtom (Horse cart) are commonly used. In old Dhaka once tomtom was a common vehicle and still it is found. Bicycles are used both in rural and urban areas. Both vehicle pictures are given below- Photo: Internet (Tomtom gari)

Photo: Internet ( Bullock cart)

Palki (a box-like vehicle carried on shoulders by six men) is a wedding transportation means. Brides are carried to the bridegrooms’ places by Palki. And now-a-days palki is totally vanished vehicle.

Photo: Internet (Palki)

Transport

Photo: Internet

Transport in Bangladesh takes many forms. There is the ubiquitous rickshaw, three wheeled rickshaws, also called mini-taxis, and the bus. As you can see the picture, riding a bus in Bangladesh is not for the feint of heart. Every day, one can read of buses racing across country roads and careening wildly into ponds, rivers or simply becoming airborne, momentarily, over flood embankments. In fact, those passengers that die in bus accidents usually die of drowning, not from the collision itself. One of the reasons bus travel is so risky is that the drivers rarely have any training and, indeed, most do not even have a driver’s license.
This is how, sometimes our traditional transport shows the negative impact on our country. But now a days things are changes a lot.

Ghuri Utshob (Kite Festival)

Bangladesh possesses an ancient socio-cultural heritage. Culture in Bangladesh is a unique blend of traditional values, customs and external influences. Bangladeshi daily life is full up with traditions and festivals that reflect the unique culture and tradition of Bangladeshis. Some of the tradition and customs are as ancient as prehistoric days, while others are relatively recent. Kite Festival is one of the popular traditions of Bangladesh. Here it is called shakrain/ Ghuri Utshob.

Rickshaw Pullers Life

Rickshaw or Ricksha
Rickshaw pulling is a popular and easy profession in Bangladesh. A rickshaw puller earns about US $2.00-3.00/day. He can either own a rickshaw or hire one from his master. A rickshaw must be registered at the local municipalitym and during the evening and night the rickshaw must equipped with a Hurricane-lamp at the back and a small headlight at the front. Rickshaws are comfortable and a cheap transport system, and definitely do not pollute the environment.

Should we feel proud about the rickshaw – as an inhuman vehicle? It shocks people in other countries when a plump of flesh (two-three women) boards a rickshaw with heaps of luggage and orders the aged rickshaw puller to run fast. But do we even offer a glass of cold water to the rickshaw puller who is far more thirsty than the passengers?

A little history about rickshaw

As a mode of transport rickshaw was first introduced in Japan in the early twentieth century. This mode of transport became particularly popular there due to the Second World War situation, which made petrol and motorised transport scarce and expensive. Japan, however, had soon replaced rickshaw, nintaku in Japanese, with motorised vehicles and by the 1950s the cycle rickshaw had disappeared from Japan. There were also rickshaws in china at that time.In the 1930 and early ’40s rickshaw became popular in Indonesia, Singapore and other Southeast Asian countries. Rickshaw is said to have reached Chittagong from Myanmar in 1919. Interestingly, rickshaw did not spread out to Dhaka and other cities of Bangladesh from Chittagong. Dhaka got rickshaw from Calcutta, where it was first introduced around 1930. European jute exporters living in Narayanganj and Netrokona (in Mymensingh) had first imported cycle rickshaw from Calcutta in 1938 for their personal use. The new vehicle roused great curiosity among the people of Dhaka, who were traditionally used to horse carriages, palanquins and city-canal boats.

Rickshaw painter

Rickshaw art is mainly an urban phenomenon and perhaps dates back to the 1950′s. It shares some similarity of theme and execution with movie billboards, which may be credited to the fact that many rickshaw painters had either themselves painted movie billboards or had apprenticed with such painters. The art of the rickshaw painter is passed on from ustad, master, to apprentice. There is a lot of repetition, either because of the popularity of some design or because of the influence of the master craftsman. The paintings are executed quickly, with readymade enamel paints, which do not allow paints to be mixed. Bright primary colors are popular and the painting is flat, lacking shadows, perspective, and scale.

Rickshaw repairman

Jalal, 75, “For 40 years I worked in Dhaka as a rickshaw puller. But then as I got older I grew weaker and weaker and finally I couldn’t drive the rickshaw anymore. So about three years ago I stopped completely and started work repairing rickshaws instead.

“About nine months ago, I had a heart attack, and couldn’t work at all for 2 months. I have two grown-up daughters and during the time when I was sick they took over the repair business for me. I have trained them both in how to repair rickshaws, so that if I die before they get married they will be able to earn a living. The problem is they could never earn as much as me because people wouldn’t want to get their rickshaw repaired by a woman.”

Child labor Rickshaw pusher

Solaiman (10 years old), Rickshaw pusher, He pushes rickshaw to help rickshaw puller for crossing the Loher pull bridge, Dhaka, Bangladesh. I was very surprised, when I saw the boy pushes the rickshaw to help the rickshaw puller. Because any time any unexpected incident can be happen. So, morally I do not support that kind of work. Government should take initiative action to stop child labor in Bangladesh.

Rickshaw driver at night

It is a popular guess that the total number of rickshaws in the city is at least two and a half times that of the registered ones and accordingly, the city had at least 280,000 rickshaws in 2000. Estimates based on the figures that each rickshaw is operated by two pullers in morning and evening shifts and the average number of family members of a rickshaw puller is five, suggest that the rickshaws of Dhaka city alone is a source of income for nearly three million people.

Lease on the rickshaw

The rickshaw “wala”, or driver, is the lifeblood of Bangladeshi culture. Most walas act as indentured servants essentially, pedaling all morning just to pay their daily lease on the rickshaw – then pedal all afternoon for the family and often work long shifts into the evening. Their rickshaws are inefficient and difficult to pedal. They’re banned on many streets in Dhaka, the capital, as they create even more congestion in an already chaotic city – the most raw, intense city that I’ve seen.

Rickshaw Festival

Dhaka, known as the ‘rickshaw capital of the world’, saw its first ever Rickshaw Festival on Sat, Mar 28th, 2009. Approximately 400,000 cycle-powered rickshaws run in the capital each day. However, increasing traffic congestion and resulting collisions have led to their ban on many of Dhaka‘s major roads. Some fear a total ban in the city before long, putting an end to a century-old tradition.

“The festival is meant to promote this environment-friendly vehicle, and the rickshaw-pulling community, that caters to a vast majority of people in the country,” said Sara Siddiq, CEO of Bangladesh Change makers, the festival organizers. “It is also meant to raise the profile of Bangladeshi heritage and culture,” she told bdnews24.com.

Children and adults thronged the colorful day-long event at New Colony Field in Lalmatia.

Two public universities, including Dhaka University, and 15 private universities also assisted in hosting the programme, which included rickshaw pullers presenting traditional song and dance and showcased the rickshaw painters’ famously elaborate and colourful illustrations.

It also allowed festival goers to try their own hand at rickshaw art and take part in rickshaw races. Most of them said they would be extremely sad if their favourite vehicle were banned from the streets of Dhaka. “The rickshaw is the middle class’s favourite vehicle, and pollution-free,” said one rickshaw lover. Giving no names, one young couple declared there was nothing to compare to taking a romantic rickshaw ride with a loved one!

The real bases of exploitation

This argument is driven by the immediacy of the relationship between the puller and the pulled: no one advocates that the bus driver or aeroplane pilot is also been exploited. The overriding reason is the energy that the puller must exert to move the passengers’ weight. Yet this is not an unfair relationship perse. Campaigns that promote the idea of rickshaws as exploitative highlight only one aspect of the work, confusing the moral questions of labour type with the economic conditions of the labour process.

Morally, we should see no concern in the existence of rickshaw pulling as a profession. The moral issue surrounds the question as to why rickshaw pullers come to do this job, what structures and social relations are forcing people to take this work, and which members of society are pullers and which are pulled. This is where the exploitation of rickshaws emerges, in the conditions of their labour.

The way that users treat rickshaw pullers, the fares that can be charged, the housing that pullers have, the costs of rickshaw rents, their relationship with the police, the attitude of policy makers –- these, and not the act of pulling, are the conduits through which exploitation takes place. Combined, these have had the effect to prescribe rickshaw pulling as a low-status, ill-respected activity that must be replaced by other means, and one from which pullers seek to ‘escape’ as soon as possible.

Floating Rickshaw

This old man, Mr.Mohamad Saidullah, who is just a Rickshaw puller, helped several people in the flood hit Bihar with his wonderful invention (innovation) of floating Rickshaw. The best part is when all the cars and sophisticated vehicles were off the road and the authorities were struggling to help the stranded, this man helped ferry several people to safety.

Rickshaw puller’s house

A woman sits with her child on the threshold of her shack in a bamboo slum. Her home is built directly over a pool of chemical waste from a nearby tannery plant which processes animal hide to make leather. The only way she and her children can get out of their house is by wading through the toxic water.

Rickshaw puller fight with car driver

A cart driver, left and a rickshaw puller are seen engaged in a fight after the cart, partly seen left, and a rickshaw, background center, collided in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2008. It is estimated that over a quarter million rickshaws ply in the Bangladeshi capital.

Use of Rickshaw During Natural Disaster

It was rainy season. A Bangladeshi rickshaw puller waits for a passenger on a rain stormed street. That day they did get many passengers. So, they did not earn more money. It is true scenario of Bangladesh Rickshaw puller’s that they are most helpless people among others.

A rickshaw puller rides in the rain in Allahabad, India, Tuesday, July 3, 2007.At least 14 people were crushed to death or drowned overnight when heavy rains lashed eastern and western parts of India, taking the country’s monsoon death toll to 121, police said Tuesday. (AP Photo / Rajesh Kumar Singh)

A typical rickshaw garage

The conditions of life for rickshaw pullers further demonstrated their helplessness and marginality. Those, that do no live in their own homes (and given that most are migratory to the cities from famine or flood affected areas, these are few) will live in garages. The garage is typically a raised shed, with rickshaws underneath and up to fifty men crowded together on the floor.

Residential background

Men from different areas of the country do not participate equally as rickshaw pullers in the Dhaka City. The three largest contributing districts are Mymensingh, Rangpur and Barisal, from which more than half (52%) of the sample rickshaw pullers had come. The next largest contributors are Bogra, Faridpur, Dhaka, Dinajpur and Comilla from which about one-third of the pullers have come. Thus, districts having extensive less than 1% of males aged above 20 years are widowed or divorced. Multiple asset and process indicators may be considered to ascertain whether a particular social category belongs to the most disadvantaged groups. Severe poverty, depressed areas, river erosion, chars lands, and/or underdeveloped areas with limited work opportunities dominate in the sample of rickshaw pullers. All most every persons of the rickshaw driver comes from lower class in Bangladesh society. The village of Bangladesh has no enough job opportunities. These why maximum village people come in Dhaka city for survive their life.

Peoples’ art

In eighties to nineties the elites of Bangladesh scorned rickshaw art as vulgar while at the same time many fine artists of the country took it seriously as an expression of the taste and interests of the masses. What sort of art is rickshaw art? I consider it “peoples’ art”. It is not necessary to force it into a unitary category as it combines folkloric, movie, political and commercial imagery and techniques. It serves the expression of heart’s desires of the man in the street for women, power, wealth, as well as for religious devotion. Rickshaw art also serves prestige and economic functions for the people who make, use and enjoy it.

Simple but eye catching

Art moving by on wheels needs to be bold and eye-catching. Rickshaw artists aim to decorate the vehicles with as much drama and colour as possible, and paint images that are both simple and memorable.

Blaze of colours

Rickshaw is not only moves with the passenger and other load, but it moves with a museum full of folk arts. Every inch of the Rickshaw is well decorated with paintings, tassels, tinsel and colourful plastic and hood works. Rickshaw hoods, foot holds, seats and in the back side, even in frame and in chassis there is a sign of art. A painted rectangular metal board at the backside, between the two wheels, leaves a trail of passion that the Rickshaw artist puts in his creations. In a word a Rickshaw of Bangladesh is a burn of colours.

CNG in Bangladesh

Photo: Internet

I am convinced that my Chhoto Chachchu, may be unknowingly, was one of the leading pioneers in promoting and practicing the concepts of ‘Liton er flat’ in Bangladesh since late eighties. When I look back now some 22 years ago, I realise that the frequenting of the Dhaka hotties (omuk apu, tomuk aunty) and the warm welcome by Chachchu in his mysterious, dodgy private room in the house was nothing but the budding concept of ‘Liton er flat’, the fact and phenomenon later exposed in the hit Bangla film ‘’. I am even surprised and happy to discover that even a fan page on Facebook exists for ‘Liton er flat’ where they ask ‘what kind of services you wish for in Lit’s flat?’ (lol). We can discuss however about the concept, emergence, need, use, risks etc. of this innovative, productive (!) ‘flat’ in a later post.

What makes me look back to this is also the fact that Chachchu used to ask (or rather command) me from the realm of his own 'Liton er flat' sometimes to get him a ‘baby’ with ‘curtains’. Now don’t be mistaken by this ‘baby’, this ‘baby’ was not any of Chachchu’s ‘babies’ i.e. hot/spicy Dhaka drop-deads. Before the arrival of environment friendly green colored CNG auto-rickshaws, we used to call the three-wheelers ‘baby taxis’ or simply ‘baby’. So Chachchu used to yell for a ‘baby’ when his ‘baby’ needed to be dropped off ‘Shayer jao taratari ekta baby nie asho…porda wala anba!!’.
So that was my first orientation to the innovative usage of baby taxis in Dhaka, that other than carrying passengers around, they can be ideal places for last minute intimacy on the move between lovers of Dhaka...Liton er CNG??, as long as there are curtains and covers ofcourse. Although I remained intrigued for long time wondering how come Chachchu’s ravishing hot-heeled guests are so ‘parda-nasheen’ that they preferred ‘parda’ in baby-taxis too. Eventually I realised that this ‘parda’ was meant for other purposes which Chachchu knew and practiced better. So he kept on doing what he enjoyed doing best and I grew up to test it on my own too. I realised however that those were risky ventures if the ‘baby-wala’ happened to be a moral police and/or the time and fate was just perfect for getting mugged too. So after knowing three-wheelers as the passenger carrier and ‘vehicle of love’, I also realised that these can be used to be mugged or to mug unsuspecting innocent passengers too. Time went by, baby-taxis got replaced with CNG auto-rickshaws and we replaced ‘baby’ darling with an acronym…‘CNG’. And as Dhaka city got busier, traffic jams increased and kept on proving how horrible the urban planning in the city is and how much time, productivity, mood we keep wasting stuck inside environment friendly CNG auto-rickshaws. Sometimes I used to doze off in such situations, sometimes throw glances left and right to spot any potential Dhaka Eves in the air conditioned car stuck side by side, sometimes used to curse my fate and the system that how severely its choking people’s productivity, mood, time, etc. However if every (black) cloud has silver lining, was wondering if there is anything worthwhile doing while travelling in CNGs in Dhaka? Anything we could think of in terms of urban advertising on the go? Anything revenue generating involving the CNG owners or the drivers?

History : Scenes from Ekushe February

A Brief History of the Bangla Language Movement

Mohammad Bari. 1998, All rights reserved.

1st Wave

September 15, 1947

Tamuddun Majlis (Cultural Society, an organization by scholars, writers and journalists oriented towards Islamic ideology) in a booklet titled State Language of Pakistan : Bengali or Urdu? demands Bengali as one of the state language of Pakistan.

The Secretary of the Majlis, at that time a Professor of Physics in Dhaka University, [Abul Kashem] was the first person to convene a literary meeting to discuss the State Language issue in the Fazlul Huq Muslim Hall, a student residence of Dhaka University. Supporters and sympathizers soon afterwards formed a political party, the Khilafate-Rabbani Party with Abul Hasim as the Chairman. (-- Talukder Maniruzzaman)

November 1947

In Karachi, the representatives of East Bengal attending the Pakistan Educational Conference, called by the Minister of Education Fazlur Rahman, a Bengali, oppose Urdu as the only national language.

February 23, 1948

Direndra Nath Dutta, a Bengali opposition member, moves a resolution in the first session of Pakistan's Constituent Assembly for recognizing Bengali as a state language along with Urdu and English.

The resolution "... was opposed by Liakat Ali, the Prime Minister of Pakistan and other non-Bengali members in the Assembly. Regrettably, this was opposed by Khawaja Nazimuddin - hailing from the eastern wing - and a few other Bengali collaborators of the West Pakistanis in the Assembly. Later, D. N. Dutta came up with a few amendments to the original resolution, and everytime these were opposed by the west Pakistanis and their Bengali stooges. The West Pakistanis were uncompromising to such a genuine demand of the majority Bengalis." (-- Rafiqul Islam)

"The demand for Bengali as one of the state language gathered the spontaneous support of the Bengali Civil Servants, academics, students, and various groups of middle class. Several members of the Provincial Assembly, including some ministers, were reportedly active in supporting the movement. By the end of February 1948, the controversy had spilled over on the streets. The East Pakistan Student League, founded in the first week of January by Mujibur Rahman, was in the forefront of the agitation." (-- Hasan Zaheer)

March 1948 (1st week)

A Committee of Action of the students of Dhaka University, representing all shades of opinion - leftists, rightists, and centrists - is set up with the objective of achieving national status of Bengali.

March 11, 1948

Students demonstrating for Bangla as state language is baton-charged and a large number of students are arrested in Dhaka.

" The situation grew worse in the days that followed. The Quaid-i-Azam was due to visit Dhaka from 19 March. The provincial government became nervous and Nazimuddin under pressure of widespread agitation, the impending visit of the Governor-General, sought the help of Muhammad Ali Bogra to enter into negotiations with the Committee of Action. An agreement was signed by Nazimuddin with the Committee which, inter alia, provided that (1) the Provincial Assembly shall adopt a resolution for making Bengali the official language of East Pakistan and the medium of instruction at all stages of education; and (2) the Assembly by another resolution would recommend to the central government that Bengali should be made one of the state languages." (-- Hasan Zaheer)

March 21, 1948

Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan and its first Governor-General, while on a visit to East Bengal, declares in Dhaka University convocation that while the language of the province can be Bengali, the "State language of Pakistan is going to be Urdu and no other language. Any one who tries to mislead you is really an enemy of Pakistan."

"The remark evoked an angry protest from the Bengali youth who took it as an affront: their language Bangla (Bengali) was, after all, spoken by fifty-four percent of the population of Pakistan. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, then a university student, was among those who raised the protest slogan and was placed under detention. The Dacca University campus became the focal point for student meetings in support of the Bangla language." (--Siddiq Salik)

Jinnah meets the student representatives of Committee of Action to persuade them of the necessity of having one national language, but the students are not convinced.

"The discussion of Jinnah with the student representatives could not bear any fruit but blurred the difference between the student group led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his associates and the student group led by Shah Azizur Rahman. The National leadership resorted to repressive policies in order to crush the Bengali language and put its supporters behind bars." (-- Md. Abdul Wadud Bhuiyan)

2nd Wave

January 26, 1952

The Basic Principles Committee of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan announces its recommendation that Urdu should be the only state language.

In a public meting at Paltan Maidan, Dhaka, Prime Minister Nazimuddin declares that Urdu alone will be the state language of Pakistan.

Both the developments spark off the second wave of language agitation in East Bengal.

January 28, 1952

The students of Dhaka University in a protest meeting call the Prime Minister and the Provincial Ministers as stooges of West Pakistan.

January 30, 1952

In a secret meeting called by the Awami League, which is attended by a number of communist front as well as other organizations, it is agreed that the language agitation can not be successfully carried by the students alone. To mobilize full political and student support, it is decided that the leadership of the movement should be assumed by the Awami League under Bhashani.

January 31, 1952

Bhashani presides over an all-party convention in Dhaka. The convention is attended by prominent leaders like Abul Hashim and Hamidul Haq Choudhury. A broad-based All-Party Committee of Action (APCA) is constituted with Kazi Golam Mahboob as Convener and Maulana Bhashani as Chairman, and with two representatives from the Awami League, Students League, Youth League, Khilafate-Rabbani Party, and the Dhaka University State Language Committee of Action.

February 3, 1952

Committee of Action holds a protest meeting in Dhaka against the move 'to dominate the majority province of East Bengal linguistically and culturally'. The provincial chief of Awami League, Maulana Bhashani addresses the meeting. On the suggestion of Abul Hashim it decides to hold a general strike on 21 February, when the East Bengal Assembly is due to meet for its budget session.

February 20, 1952

At 6 p.m. an order under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code prohibiting processions and meetings in Dhaka City is promulgated.

This order generated tension and resentment among the students.

February 21, 1952

A general strike is observed.

Noon - A meeting is held in the campus of Dhaka University. Students decide to defy the official ban imposed by Nurul Amin's administration and processions are taken out to stage a demonstration in front of the Provincial Assembly. Police starts lobbing tear gas shells to the students. Students retaliate by batting bricks. The ensuing riot spreads to the nearby campuses of the Medical and Engineering colleges.

4 p.m. -The police opens fire in front of the Medical College hostel. Five persons - Mohammad Salauddin, Abdul Jabbar, Abul Barkat, Rafiquddin Ahmed and Abdus Salam - are killed, the first three are students of Dhaka University.

"The news of the killing spread like wildfire throughout the city and people rushed in thousands towards the Medical College premises." (-- Talukder Maniruzzaman)

Inside the assembly, six opposition members press for the adjournment of the House and demand an inquiry into the incidents. But Chief Minister Nurul Amin urges the House to proceed with the planned agenda for the day. At this point all the opposition members of the Assembly walk out in protest.

February 22, 1952

Thousands of men and women throng the university, Medical College and Engineering College areas to offer prayers for the victims of the police firing.

After prayers when they go for a procession, the police opens fire.

The police also fire on angry mob who burned the offices of a pro-government newspaper. Four persons are killed.

As the situation deteriorates, the government calls in the military to bring things under control.

Bowing to the pressure, the Chief Minister Nurul Amin moves a motion recommending to the Constituent Assembly that Bengali should be one of the state language of Pakistan. The motion is passed unanimously.

"For the first time a number of Muslim members voted in favour of the amendments moved by the opposition, which so far had consisted of the Hindu Congress members only. The split in the Muslim League became formalized when some members demanded a separate bloc from the Speaker; the Awami (Muslim) League had attained the status of an opposition parliamentary party." (-- Hasan Zaheer)

February 23, 1952

A complete general strike is spontaneously observed, despite the resolution by the Provincial Assembly. The government again responds with repressive measures.

APCA decides to observe a general strike on February 25 to protest the government's actions.

The students of Medical College erect overnight a Shahid Minar (Martyr's Memorial) at the place where Barkat was shot to commemorate the supreme sacrifices of the students and general population. Shahid Minar later became the rallying symbol for the Bengalis.

February 24, 1952

The government gives full authority to the police and military to bring the situation in Dhaka back to normal within 48 hours.

"During these 48 hours the police arrested almost all the student and political leaders associated with the language movement." (-- Talukder Muniruzzaman)

February 25, 1952

The Dhaka University is closed sine die.

"In the face of these repressive measures, the movement lost its momentum in Dhaka. But it spread widely throughout the districts ... In addition to demands for recognition of Bengali as one of state languages of Pakistan, students now began to call for the resignation of the 'bloody' Nurul Amin cabinet ... Nurul Amin claimed that the government "had saved the province from disaster and chaos" by its repressive measures. The students, however, argued that they had already "written the success story of the movement on the streets with their blood." In retrospect, whatever the merits of government and student actions, it is clear that the movement did sow the seeds of a secular-linguistic Bengali nationalism in east Bengal. Its immediate impact was to prepare the ground for the complete routing of the Muslim League in the 1954 elections by a United Front of opposition political parties, on a nationalistic planck of cultural, political and economic autonomy for East Bengal." (-- Talukder Maniruzzaman)

"The Language Movement added a new dimension to politics in Pakistan. It left deep impression on the minds of the younger generation of Bengalis and imbued them with the spirit of Bengali nationalism. The passion of Bengali nationalism which was aroused by the Language Movement shall kindle in the hearts of the Bengalis forever ... Perhaps very few people realised then that with the bloodshed in 1952 the new-born state of Pakistan had in fact started to bleed to death." (-- Rafiqul Islam)

Results

May 7, 1954

The Pakistan government recognizes Bangla as a state language.

Feb 26, 1956

The Constituent Assembly passes the first Constitution of Pakistan recognizing Bangla as a State Language.

March 23, 1956

The first Constitution of Pakistan comes into effect.

March 26, 1971

Bangladesh become an independent nation.

February 21st day commemorates the lives sacrificed to make Bengali one of the national languages when Bangladesh was part of Pakistan. The West Pakistani regime tried to force Urdu as the national language, a fact that was strongly contested by Bengalis. On that fateful day a procession by Bengalis was shot at by police resulting in the death of 4 martyrs. The nascent Bengali nationalism ultimately gave birth to the free nation of Bangladesh.

The Pakistan government imposed section 144 (gatherings of more than 4 people prohibited). The students fighting for Bangla's right decides to break the law.

Shaheed Rafique felled by indiscriminate firings by the police on the student procession.

The memorial built to commemorate the language martyrs.

Every February 21, people from all walks of life walk barefoot to the Minar and lay wreaths of flowers to commemorate the martyrs.

Another scene from February 21, 1991

History : Scenes from 1969

Police blocking protestors

Police shooting at protestors

Activists barricading railway tracks

Activists barricading roads

Police in action againts student activists

Politicians meeting to protest police atrocities

First Dhaka City flyover in Mohakhali

The opening of Bangladesh's first flyover, in the capital Dhaka, has been over-shadowed by a row over whether the structure has earthquake protection.

It is hoped that the multi-million dollar bridge, over a kilometre long, will reduce the city's notorious jams.

The project has been delayed because some experts said the huge structure needed more protection against quakes.

Even now some officials say that it is not sufficiently protected and could be in danger from a natural calamity.

This is a city where a one kilometre journey can take up to an hour and where almost no car is unscratched.

Budgetary problems

Prime Minister Khaleda Zia opened the 1.12km flyover - estimated to cost built over $19m - at a ceremony on Thursday.

Construction began in December 2001, and it was due to be completed last June.

The deadline was extended twice to enable the installation of 42 Shock Transmission Units (STUs) which would protect it against earthquakes.

Its hoped the flyover will reduce Dhaka's notorious jams

But budgetary and supply problems meant that the construction team only fitted half the number of STUs.

Now some transport experts say that the flyover could be susceptible to a natural disaster, especially when Bangladesh is considered to be in an earthquake zone.

Officials say the body in charge of monitoring the flyover, the Transport Coordination Board, opposed the opening of the flyover with only half of the STUs installed.

Urgently needed

But the communications ministry says there is no risk in commissioning the flyover without all of them being fitted.

DHAKA'S FIRST FLYOVER 1.2kms long, 17.9m wide Weighs 18,100 tonnes including 4,000 building rods and 30,000 cubic metres of cement Construction involved 400 men working in two shifts for 24 months

They say that the remaining STUs would be inserted "as soon as possible".

The four lane flyover has been built by a Chinese firm commissioned by the Bangladeshi Roads and Highways Department with finance from the World Bank.

Officials say an average of 400 workers were engaged in construction each day, working in two shifts.

They say that the construction is urgently needed because it will ease traffic jams in one of the most congested areas of Dhaka.

Critics say the new bridge will not do much to alleviate jams, because it was designed six years ago when traffic levels were lower.

"Traffic flow in the capital and in the area adjacent to the flyover has increased at an alarming rate over that time," an official of the Transport Coordination Board said.

"The authorities did not take that into consideration and did not bother to build any connecting road that could have helped ease jams on either side of the construction."

Critics say that it could be the prime minister and her staff who are inconvenienced, because jams leading to the flyover are likely to start building up outside her office on Airport Road.

People's Republic of Bangladesh (My Mother Country)

Bangladesh...

Map of Bangladesh

Official name : People's Republic of Bangladesh
Local name : Bangladesh
Capital : Dhaka (23°42′N, 90°22′E)
Time zone : GMT +6
Climate : Semitropical, monsoonal

Area : 147, 570 sq. km. (55,813 sq. mi.); about the size of Iowa.

Cities : Capital : Dhaka pop.10 mln, Chittagong-2.8 mln, Khulna-1.8 mln, Rajshahi -1 mln).
Population total : (2007e) 150 448 000
Status : Republic
Languages : Bengali (official), also local languages and English widely spoken

Terrain : Mainly flat alluvial plain, with hills in the northeast and southeast..
Ethnic groups : Bengali (98%)
Religions : Muslim (86%, mainly Sunni)
Currency : 1 Taka (BDT) = 100 paisa
Calling code : +880

Independence from Pakistan
Date of independence: 1971
Declared: March 26, 1971
Victory Day: December 16 1971

National symbols of Bangladesh
Anthem: Amar Shonar Bangla
Animal: Bengal Tiger
Bird: Oriental Magpie Robin
Fish: Hilsa
Flower: White Water Lily
Fruit: Jackfruit
Sport: Kabadi

People
Nationality : Noun and adjective--Bangladeshi(s).
Population (July 2009 ) : 156 million.
Annual population growth rate (July 2009) : 1.29%.
Ethnic groups (1998) : Bengali 98%, other 2% (including tribal groups, non Bengali Muslims).
Religions (1998) : Muslim 83%; Hindu 16%; Christian 0.3%, Buddhist 0.6%, others 0.3%.
Languages : Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English.
Education : Attendance--61%. Adult literacy rate--47.5%. (UNDP Human Development Index 2007/2008)
Health (CIA World Factbook) : Infant mortality rate (below 1)--59/1,000. Life expectancy-- 60.25 years.
Work force (70.86 million) : Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries--63%; manufacturing--11%; mining and quarrying--0.2%.

Introduction

Bangladesh, in full, People’s Republic of Bangladesh, republic of southern Asia,It is surrounded by India on all sides except for a small border with Myanmar to the far southeast and the Bay of Bengal to the south. Together with the Indian state of West Bengal, it makes up the ethno-linguistic region of Bengal. The name Bangladesh means "Country of Bengal".

Bangladesh is a product of the partitioning of British India starting with the 1947 partition which made it the eastern wing of Pakistan. This pairing based on common religion (Islam) proved geographically awkward, as a distance of some separated the two regions. Subject to political and linguistic domination as well as economic neglect, Bengali's gained their independence in 1971 in a civil war with help from India at the end of the war. In spite of its liberation narrative, Bangladesh's development has since been marred by political turmoil, with fourteen different heads of government and at least four military coups.

Bangladesh is among the most highly and densely populated countries in the world. The population is generally poor, rural and Muslim. Geographically, the country straddles the fertile Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta and is subject to annual monsoon floods and cyclones. The government is a secular parliamentary democracy which has been suspended under emergency law since January 2007. Bangladesh is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, SAARC, BIMSTEC, the OIC and the D-8.

Flag of Bangladesh

History

History Part of the State of Bengal until Muslim East Bengal created in 1905, separate from Hindu West Bengal; reunited, 1911; partitioned again in 1947, with West Bengal remaining in India and East Bengal forming East Pakistan; rebellion in 1971 led to independence as the People's Republic of Bangladesh; political unrest led to suspension of constitution, and assassination of first President, Sheikh Mujib, 1975; further coups, 1975, 1977, 1982; constitution restored, 1986; last military dictator overthrown, 1990; new constitution restored power to 300-member unicameral legislature, Jatiya Sangsad, 1991; 45 seats reserved for women, 2004.

	Republic of Bangladesh
Head of State (President)
2002	Iajuddin Ahmed
2001–2002	A.Q.M. Badruddoza Chowdhury
1996–2001	Shehabuddin Ahmed
1991–6	Abdur Rahman Biswas
1990–1	Shehabuddin Ahmed
1983–90	Hossain Mohammad Ershad
1982–3	Abdul Fazal Mohammad Ahsanuddin Chowdhury
1981–2	Abdus Sattar
1977–81	Zia Ur-Rahman
1975–	Mujibur Rahman
1975–	Khondaker Mushtaq Ahmad
1975–7	Abu Saadat Mohammad Sayem
1974–5	Mohammadullah
1972–	Mujibur Rahman
1972–3	Abu Saeed Chowdhury
1971–2	Sayed Nazrul Islam Acting

Head of Government (Prime Minister)

2007– Fakhruddin Ahmed Caretaker
2006–7 Iajuddin Ahmed Interim
2001–6 Begum Khaleda Zia
1996–2001 Hasina Wajed
1991–6 Begum Khaleda Zia
1989–91 Kazi Zafar Ahmed
1988–9 Moudud Ahmed
1986–8 Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury
1984–5 Ataur Rahman Khan
1982–4 Martial Law
1979–82 Mohammad Azizur Rahman
1975– Mohammad Monsur Ali
1975–9 Martial Law
1972–5 Mujibur Rahman
1971–2 Tajuddin Ahmed

Nawab of Bengal

1947–71 Part of Pakistan
1770–1947 British rule
1766–70 Saif-ud-Dawlah
1765–6 Najm-ud-Dawlah
1763–5 Mir Ja far (restored)
1760–3 Mir Qasim
1757–60 Mir Ja far
1756–7 Siraj-ud-Dawlah (Suraja Dowlah)
1740–56 Alivardi Khan
1739–40 Safaraz Khan
1727–39 Shuja-ud-Din
1703–27 Murshid Quli Ja far Khan

Sultan of Bengal

1576–1703 Part of Moghul Empire
1572– Bayazid Shah II
1572–6 Daud Shah
1564–72 Sulayman Kararani
1561–4 Ghiyath-ud-Din Jalal Shah
1555–61 Khidr Khan Bahadur Shah
1545–55 Muhammad Khan Sur
1540–5 Khidr Khan
1539–40 Shir Shah Sur
1533–9 Ghiyath-ud-Din Mahmud Shah III
1532–3 Ala-ud-Din Firuz Shah IV
1519–32 Nasir-ud-Din Nusrat Shah
1494–1519 Ala-ud-Din Husain Shah
1491–4 Shams-ud-Din Muzaffar Shah
1490–1 Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah II
1487– Sultan Shahzada Barbak Shah II
1487–90 Saif-ud-Din Firuz Shah III
1481– Sikandar Shah II
1481–7 Jalal-ud-Din Fath Shah
1474–81 Shams-ud-Din Yusuf Shah
1460–74 Rukn-ud-Din Barbak Shah I
1437–60 Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah I
1432–7 Shams-ud-Din Ahmad Shah
1418–32 Jalal-ud-Din Muhammad Shah
1415–18 Raja Ganesh
1414–15 Ala-ud-Din Firuz Shah II
1412–14 Shihab-ud-Din Bayazid Shah I
1410–12 Saif-ud-Din Hamza Shah
1390–1410 Ghiyath-ud-Din Azam Shah
1358–90 Sikandar Shah I
1352–7 Shams-ud-Din Ilyas Shah East Bengal to 1345
1349–52 Ikhtiyar-ud-Din Ghazi Shah East Bengal
1339–49 Fakhr-ud-Din Mubarak Shah East Bengal
1324–39 Bahram Shah East Bengal Joint ruler to 1330
1318–30 Ghiyath-ud-Din Bhadur East Bengal Joint ruler from 1324
1298–1318 Shams-ud-Din Firuz Shah I
1291–8 Rukn-ud-Din Kai-Kaus
1282–91 Nasir-ud-Din Bughra Khan

Remnants of civilization in the greater Bengal region date back four thousand years, when the region was settled by Dravidian, Tibeto-Burman, and Austro-Asiatic peoples. The exact origin of the word "Bangla" or "Bengal" is unknown, though it is believed to be derived from Bang, the Dravidian-speaking tribe that settled in the area around the year 1000 BCE.

After the arrival of Indo-Aryans, the kingdom of Gangaridai was formed from at least the seventh century BCE, which later united with Bihar under the Magadha and Maurya Empires. Bengal was later part of the Gupta Empire from the third to the sixth centuries CE. Following its collapse, a dynamic Bengali named Shashanka founded an impressive yet short-lived kingdom. After a period of anarchy, the Buddhist Pala dynasty ruled the region for four hundred years, followed by a shorter reign of the Hindu Sena dynasty. Islam was introduced to Bengal in the twelfth century by Sufi missionaries, and subsequent Muslim conquests helped spread Islam throughout the region. Bakhtiar Khilji, a Turkish general, defeated Lakshman Sen of the Sena dynasty and conquered large parts of Bengal. The region was ruled by dynasties of Sultans and feudal lords for the next few hundred years. By the sixteenth century, the Mughal Empire controlled Bengal, and Dhaka became an important provincial center of Mughal administration.

European traders arrived late in the fifteenth century, and their influence grew until the British East India Company gained control of Bengal following the Battle of Plassey in 1757. The bloody rebellion of 1857, known as the Sepoy Mutiny, resulted in transfer of authority to the crown, with a British viceroy running the administration. During colonial rule, famine racked the Indian subcontinent many times, including the Great Bengal famine of 1943 that claimed 3 million lives.

Between 1905 and 1911, an abortive attempt was made to divide the province of Bengal into two zones, with Dhaka being the capital of the eastern zone. When India was partitioned in 1947, Bengal was partitioned along religious lines, with the western part going to India and the eastern part joining Pakistan as a province called East Bengal (later renamed East Pakistan), with its capital at Dhaka.

In 1950, land reform was accomplished in East Bengal with the abolishment of the feudal zamindari system However, despite the economic and demographic weight of the east, Pakistan's government and military were largely dominated by the upper classes from the west. The Bengali Language Movement of 1952 was the first sign of friction between the two wings of Pakistan. Dissatisfaction with the central government over economic and cultural issues continued to rise through the next decade, during which the Awami League emerged as the political voice of the Bengali-speaking population. It agitated for autonomy in the 1960s, and in 1966, its president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was jailed; he was released in 1969 after an unprecedented popular uprising.

In 1970, a massive cyclone devastated the coast of East Pakistan, and the central government responded poorly. The Bengali population's anger was compounded when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, whose Awami League won a majority in Parliament in the 1970 elections, was blocked from taking office. After staging compromise talks with Mujib, President Yahya Khan arrested him on the night of March 25, 1971, and launched Operation Searchlight, a sustained military assault on East Pakistan. Yahya's methods were extremely bloody, and the violence of the war resulted in many civilian deaths. Chief targets included intellectuals and Hindus, and about ten million refugees fled to neighbouring India (LaPorte, p. 103). Estimates of those massacred range from three hundred thousand to 3 million.

Most of the Awami League leaders fled and set up a government-in-exile in Calcutta, India. The Bangladesh Liberation War lasted for nine months. The guerrilla Mukti Bahini and Bengali regulars eventually received support from the Indian Armed Forces in December 1971. Under the command of Lt. General J.S. Arora, the Indian Army achieved a decisive victory over Pakistan on 16 December,1971, taking over 90,000 prisoners of war in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.

After its independence, Bangladesh became a parliamentary democracy, with Mujib as the Prime Minister. In the 1973 parliamentary elections, the Awami League gained an absolute majority. A nationwide famine occurred during 1973 and 1974, and in early 1975, Mujib initiated a one-party socialist rule with his newly formed BAKSAL. On August 15, 1975, Mujib and his family were assassinated by mid-level military officers.

A series of bloody coups and counter-coups in the following three months culminated in the ascent to power of General Ziaur Rahman, who reinstated multi-party politics and founded the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Zia's rule ended when he was assassinated in 1981 by elements of the military. Bangladesh's next major ruler was General Hossain Mohammad Ershad, who gained power in a bloodless coup in 1982 and ruled until 1990, when he was forced to resign under western donor pressure in a major shift in international policy after the end of communism when anti-communist dictators were no longer felt necessary. Since then, Bangladesh has reverted to a parliamentary democracy. Zia's widow, Khaleda Zia, led the Bangladesh Nationalist Party to parliamentary victory at the general election in 1991 and became the first female Prime Minister in Bangladesh's history. However, the Awami League, headed by Sheikh Hasina, one of Mujib's surviving daughters, clinched power at the next election in 1996 but lost to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party again in 2001. Bangladesh enjoys the distinction of having two female politicians leading national politics.

In January 2007, following widespread violence, a caretaker government was appointed to administer the next general election. The country had suffered from extensive corruption, disorder and political violence. The new caretaker government has made it a priority to root out corruption from all levels of government. To this end, many notable politicians and officials, along with large numbers of lesser officials and party members, have been arrested on corruption charges. The caretaker government claims to be paving the way for free and fair elections to be held before the end of 2008.

Land and Resources

Bangladesh, a low-lying country traversed by numerous rivers, has a coastline of about 580 km (360 mi) along the Bay of Bengal.

Divisions, Districts, and Subdistrict

Bangladesh is divided into six administrative divisions, each named after their respective divisional headquarters: Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, and Sylhet.

Among the major cities of Bangladesh are Dhaka, the capital, with 5,378,023 inhabitants (2006); Chittagong, the leading port, with 1,360,000 inhabitants; Khulna, a rapidly growing center for small-scale industry, with 546,000 inhabitants; Nārāyanganj, the inland port for Dhaka, with 268,952 inhabitants; and Rājshāhi, located in a silk-producing area, with 324,532 inhabitants.

Divisions are subdivided into districts (zila). There are 64 districts in Bangladesh, each further subdivided into upazila (subdistricts) or thana ("police stations"). The area within each police station, except for those in metropolitan areas, is divided into several unions, with each union consisting of multiple villages. In the metropolitan areas, police stations are divided into wards, which are further divided into mahallas. There are no elected officials at the divisional, district or upazila levels, and the administration is composed only of government officials. Direct elections are held for each union (or ward), electing a chairperson and a number of members. In 1997, a parliamentary act was passed to reserve three seats (out of twelve) in every union for female candidates.

Dhaka is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh. Other major cities include Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, Barisal and Sylhet. These metropolitan cities have mayoral elections, while other municipalities elect a chairperson. Mayors and chairpersons are elected for a span of five years.

Dhaka City

Chitagong

Natural Regions

Most of Bangladesh lies within the broad delta formed by the Ganges (Ganga), Brahmaputra, and Meghna rivers and is subject to annual flooding. Much fertile, alluvial soil is deposited by the floodwaters. Most of the land is exceedingly flat and low-lying. The only significant area of hilly terrain, constituting less than one-tenth of the country’s territory, is the Chittagong Hill Tracts District in the narrow southeastern panhandle of the country. There, on the border with Myanmar, is Mowdok Mual (1,003 m/3,291 ft), the country’s highest point. Small, scattered hills lie along or near the eastern and northern borders with India. These areas, which receive among the heaviest rainfall in the world, provide the headwaters of the Meghna and its tributaries. The eroded remnants of two old alluvial terraces—the Madhupur Tract, in the north central part of the country, and the Barind, straddling the northwestern boundary with India—attain elevations of about 30 m (100 ft). The soil here is much less fertile than the annually replenished alluvium of the surrounding floodplain.

A huge tract of mangrove swamp, the Sundarbans (Sunderbans), lies along the coast of Bangladesh and West Bengal between the estuaries of the Meghna and Hugli (Hooghly) rivers. The Sundarbans extends about 274 km (170 mi) along the Bay of Bengal and about 100 km (62 mi) inland. It contains a vast number of tidal rivers and innumerable islands, but very little development or agriculture.

Rivers

Rivers are a prominent and important feature of the landscape in Bangladesh. The country includes about 200 navigable rivers. Two of South Asia’s largest rivers, the Ganges and Brahmaputra (locally known as the Jamuna), flow into Bangladesh, where they join to form the Padma. The Padma merges with the Meghna southeast of Dhaka; the combined rivers then empty into the Bay of Bengal. In the dry season other deltaic distributaries that lace the terrain to the west of the Meghna may be several kilometers wide as they near the Bay of Bengal, whereas at the height of the summer monsoon season they coalesce into an extremely broad expanse of silt-laden water. In much of the delta, therefore, homes must be constructed on earthen platforms or embankments high enough to remain above the level of all but the highest floods. In nonmonsoon months the exposed ground is pocked with water-filled borrow pits, or tanks, from which the mud for the embankments was excavated. These tanks are a chief source of water for drinking, bathing, and small-scale irrigation.

Government and politics

Type : Parliamentary democracy.
Independence : 1971 (from Pakistan).
Constitution: 1972; amended 1974, 1979, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1996, 2004.
Branches: Executive--president (chief of state), prime minister (head of government), cabinet. Legislative--unicameral Parliament (345 members). Judicial--civil court system based on British model.
Administrative subdivisions : Divisions, districts, subdistricts, unions, villages.
Political parties : 30-40 active political parties. Largest ones include Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the Awami League (AL), the Jatiya Party, and the Jamaat-e-Islami Party.
Suffrage: Universal at age 18.

Bangladesh is a secular parliamentary democracy. Direct elections involving all citizens over the age 18 are held every five years for the unicameral parliament. The parliament is known as the Jatiyo Sangshad and currently has 300 seats, elected from single-member constituencies. The Prime Minister, as the head of government, forms the cabinet and runs the day-to-day affairs of state. While the Prime Minister is formally appointed by the President, he or she must be an MP who commands the confidence of the majority of parliament. The President is the head of state, a largely ceremonial post elected by the parliament.

However the President's powers are substantially expanded during the tenure of a caretaker government, which is responsible for the conduct of elections and transfer of power. The officers of the caretaker government must be non-partisan and are given three months to complete their task. This transitional arrangement is an innovation that was pioneered by Bangladesh in its 1991 election and then institutionalized in 1996 through its 13th constitutional amendment.

The Constitution of Bangladesh was written in 1972 and has undergone fourteen amendments. The highest judiciary body is the Supreme Court, whose members are appointed by the President. The judicial and law enforcement institutions are weak. Laws are loosely based on English common law, but family laws such as marriage and inheritance are based on religious scripts, and hence differ from one religious community to another.

The two major parties in Bangladesh are the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Bangladesh Awami League. BNP is lead by Khaleda Zia and finds its allies among Islamist parties like Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh and Islami Oikya Jot, while Sheikh Hasina's Awami League aligns with leftist and secularist parties. Hasina and Zia are bitter rivals who have dominated politics for 15 years; both are women and each is related to one of the leaders of the independence movement. Another important player is the Jatiya Party, headed by former military ruler Ershad. The Awami League-BNP rivalry has been bitter and punctuated by protests, violence and murder. Student politics is particularly strong in Bangladesh, a legacy from the liberation movement era. Almost all parties have highly active student wings, and students have been elected to the Parliament.

Two radical Islamist parties, Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) and Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), were banned in February 2005. Bomb attacks taking place since 1999 have been blamed on those groups, and hundreds of suspected members have been detained in numerous security operations, including the head of those two parties in 2006. The first recorded case of a suicide bomb attack in Bangladesh took place in November 2005.

The 2006 election was postponed indefinitely and emergency law declared in January 2007 as the caretaker government of Fakhruddin Ahmed aims to revise the voter list and crack down on corruption. The government aims to hold new elections by 2008 but the two leading candidates, Zia and Hasina, are facing criminal charges in court.

Foreign policy and military

Bangladesh pursues a moderate foreign policy that places heavy reliance on multinational diplomacy, especially at the United Nations. In 1974 Bangladesh joined both the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations and has since been elected to serve two terms on the Security Council in 1978-1979 and 2000–2001. In the 1980s, Bangladesh played a lead role in founding the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in order to expand relations with other South Asian states. Since the founding of SAARC 1985, a Bangladeshi has held the post of Secretary General on two occasions.

Bangladesh's most important and complex foreign relationships are with India and Pakistan. These relationships are informed by historical and cultural ties and form an important part of the domestic political discourse.

Bangladesh's relationship with India began on a positive note because of India's assistance in the independence war and reconstruction. Throughout the years, relations between both countries have fluctuated for a number of reasons. Bangladesh claims that India feels too comfortable in playing the role of "Big Brother" to smaller, weaker nations. India has voiced concerns about Indian separatists and Islamic terrorists being harbored across their 2,500 mile border, as well as the flow of illegal migrants, and is building a fence along most of it. But at the 2007 SAARC meeting both nations pledged to work cooperatively on security, economic and border issues.

The current strength of the army is around 200,000, the air force 7,000, and navy 14,950. In addition to traditional defense roles, the military has been called on to provide support to civil authorities for disaster relief and internal security during periods of political unrest. Bangladesh is not currently active in any ongoing war, but it did contribute 2,300 troops to the coalition that fought in the 1991 Gulf War and Bangladesh is consistently a top contributor to UN peacekeeping forces around the world. As of May 2007, Bangladesh had major deployments in Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Sudan, Timor-Leste and Cote d'Ivoire.

Plant and Animal Life

With the exception of the Chittagong Hill Tracts District, portions of the Madhupur Tract, and the Sundarbans, few extensive forests remain in Bangladesh. The forested and wooded area amounts to about one-eighth of the country’s total land area. Broadleaf evergreen species characterize the hilly regions, and deciduous trees, such as acacia and banyan, are common in the drier plains areas. Commercially valuable trees in Bangladesh include sundari (a type of mangrove for which the Sundarbans is probably named), gewa, sal (mainly growing in the Madhupur Tract), and garyan (in the Chittagong Hill Tracts District). Village groves abound in fruit trees (mango and jackfruit, for instance) and date and areca (betel) palms. The country also has many varieties of bamboo.

Bangladesh is rich in fauna, including 109 indigenous species of mammals, 295 types of birds, 119 kinds of reptiles, 19 different amphibians, and 200 varieties of marine and freshwater fish. The rhesus monkey is common, and gibbons and lemurs are also found. The Sundarbans area is one of the principal remaining domains of the endangered Bengal tiger; although the tiger is officially protected, illegal poaching is known to occur. Herds of elephants and many leopards inhabit the Chittagong Hill Tracts District. Other animals living in Bangladesh include mongoose, jackal, Bengal fox, wild boar, parakeet, kingfisher, vulture, and swamp crocodile.

Geography and climate

Bangladesh is located in the low-lying Ganges-Brahmaputra River Delta or Ganges Delta. This delta is formed by the confluence of the Ganges (local name Padma or Pôdda), Brahmaputra (Jamuna or Jomuna), and Meghna rivers and their respective tributaries. The alluvial soil deposited by these rivers has created some of the most fertile plains in the world. Bangladesh has 58 trans-boundary rivers, making water issues politically complicated to resolve - in most cases as the lower riparian state to India.

Most parts of Bangladesh are less than above the sea level, and it is believed that about 10% of the land would be flooded if the sea level were to rise by .

The highest point in Bangladesh is in Mowdok range at in the Chittagong Hill Tracts to the southeast of the country. A major part of the coastline comprises a marshy jungle, the Sundarban, the largest mangrove forest in the world and home to diverse flora and fauna, including the Royal Bengal Tiger. In 1997, this region was declared endangered.

Straddling the Tropic of Cancer, Bangladeshi climate is tropical with a mild winter from October to March, a hot, humid summer from March to June. A warm and humid monsoon season lasts from June to October and supplies most of the country's rainfall. Natural calamities, such as floods, tropical cyclones, tornadoes, and tidal bores occur almost every year, combined with the effects of deforestation, soil degradation and erosion. Cox's Bazar, south of the city of Chittagong, has a beach that stretches uninterrupted over .

In September 1998, Bangladesh saw the most severe flooding the modern world has seen. Although only 1,000 people were killed, 30 million were made homeless and 130,000 cattle were killed. 50,00 hectares of land were destroyed and 11,000km of roads were damaged of destroyed. 66% of the country was underwater. There were several reasons for the severity of the flooding. Firstly, there were unusually high monsoon rains. Secondly, the Himalayas shed off an equally unusually high amount of melt water that year. Lastly, trees that usually intercept rain water were cut down for fire wood or to make space for animals.

The climate of Bangladesh is of the tropical monsoon variety. In all areas about 80 percent of the annual rainfall typically occurs in the monsoon period, which lasts from late May to mid-October. Average annual precipitation ranges from about 1,400 mm (55 in) along the country’s east central border to more than 5,080 mm (200 in) in the far northeast. In addition to the normal monsoonal rainfall, BangladeshBay of Bengal, in the periods of April to May and September to November. Often accompanied by surging waves, these storms can cause great damage and loss of life. The cyclone of November 1970, in which about 500,000 lives were lost in Bangladesh, was one of the worst natural disasters of the 20th century. Tornadoes, which also accompany the monsoon season, can cause devastation as well. is subject to devastating cyclones, originating over the

Bangladesh has warm temperatures throughout the year, with relatively little variation from month to month. January tends to be the coolest month and May the warmest. In Dhaka the average January temperature is about 19°C (about 66°F), and the average May temperature is about 29°C (about 84°F).

Economy

DeFiscal year: July 1 to June 30.
Annual GDP growth rate (FY 2008): 6.2%; (FY 2008 World Bank est.): below 6%.
Current GDP (2008 est.): $84.2 billion (official); $226.4 billion (PPP).
Per capita GDP (2008 est.): $554 (official); $1,500 (PPP).
Inflation (December 2008): 6.03% (point to point basis) and 8.9% (monthly average basis).
Exchange rate: Dec. 2009: U.S. $1=69.03 BDT; 2008: U.S. $1=68.55 BDT; 2007: U.S. $1=69.89 BDT.
Annual budget (2008 est.): $12.54 billion.
Natural resources: Natural gas, fertile soil, water.
Agriculture (19.1% of GDP): Products--rice, jute, tea, sugar, wheat.
Industry (manufacturing; 28.6% of GDP): Types--garments and knitwear, jute goods, frozen fish and seafood, textiles, fertilizer, sugar, tea, leather, ship-breaking for scrap, pharmaceuticals, ceramic tableware, newsprint.
Trade: Total imports (FY 2008)--$21.6 billion: capital goods, food grains, petroleum, textiles, chemicals, vegetable oils. Growth rate over previous fiscal year: 25.95%. Total exports (FY 2008)--$14.11 billion: garments and knitwear, frozen fish, jute and jute goods, leather and leather products, tea, urea fertilizer, ceramic tableware. Growth rate over previous fiscal year: 16.04%. Exports to U.S. (Jan.-Dec. 2008)--$3.74 billion. Imports from U.S. (Jan.-Dec. 2008)--$468.1 million.
spite sustained domestic and international efforts to improve economic and demographic prospects, Bangladesh remains a developing nation, in part due to its large population. Its per capita income in 2006 was US$2300 compared to the world average of $10,200. Yet, as the World Bank notes in its July 2005 Country Brief, the country has made significant progress in human development in the areas of literacy, gender parity in schooling, and reduction of population growth.

Jute was once the economic engine of the country. Its share of the world export market peaked in World War II and the late 1940s at 80% and even in the early 1970s accounted for 70% of its export earnings. However, polypropylene products began to substitute for jute products worldwide and the jute industry started to decline. Bangladesh grows significant quantities of rice, tea and mustard. Although two-thirds of Bangladeshis are farmers, more than three quarters of Bangladesh’s export earnings come from the garment industry, which began attracting foreign investors in the 1980s due to cheap labor and low conversion cost. In 2002, the industry exported US$5 billion worth of products. The industry now employs more than 3 million workers, 90% of whom are women. A large part of foreign currency earnings also comes from the remittances sent by expatriates living in other countries.

Obstacles to growth include frequent cyclones and floods, inefficient state-owned enterprises, mismanaged port facilities, a growth in the labour force that has outpaced jobs, inefficient use of energy resources (such as natural gas), insufficient power supplies, slow implementation of economic reforms, political infighting and corruption. According to the World Bank, "among Bangladesh’s most significant obstacles to growth are poor governance and weak public institutions."

Despite these hurdles, the country has achieved an average annual growth rate of 5% since 1990, according to the World Bank. Bangladesh has seen expansion of its middle class, and its consumer industry has also grown. In December 2005, four years after its report on the emerging "BRIC" economies (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), Goldman Sachs named Bangladesh one of the "Next Eleven," along with Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan and seven other countries. Bangladesh has seen a dramatic increase in foreign direct investment. A number of multinational corporations, including Unocal Corporation and Tata, have made major investments, with the natural gas sector being a priority. In December 2005, the Central Bank of Bangladesh projected GDP growth around 6.5%.

One significant contributor to the development of the economy has been the widespread propagation of microcredit by Muhammad Yunus (awarded the Nobel peace prize in 2006) through the Grameen Bank. By the late 1990s, Grameen Bank had 2.3 million members, along with 2.5 million members of other similar organizations.

In order to enhance economic growth, the government set up several export processing zones to attract foreign investment. These are managed by the Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority.

Demographics

Recent (2005-2007) estimates of Bangladesh's population range from 142 to 159 million, making it the 7th most populous nation in the world. With a land area of 144,000 square kilometers (55,600 sq mi, ranked 94th), the population density is remarkable. A striking comparison is offered by the fact that Russia's population is slightly smaller. Indeed Bangladesh boasts the highest population density in the world, excluding a handful of city-states. Bangladesh's population growth was among the highest in the world in the 1960s and 1970s, when the count grew from 50 to 90 million, but with the promotion of birth control in the 1980s, the growth rate slowed. The total fertility rate is now 3.1 children per woman, compared with 6.2 three decades ago. The population is relatively young, with the 0–25 age group comprising 60%, while 3% are 65 or older. Life expectancy is 63 years for both males and females.

Bangladesh is ethnically homogeneous, with Bengalis comprising 98% of the population. The remainder are mostly Bihari migrants and indigenous tribal groups. There are thirteen tribal groups located in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the most populous of the tribes are the Chakmas. The region has been a source for ethnic tension since the inception of Bangladesh. The largest tribal groups outside the Hill Tracts are the Santhals and the Garos (Achiks). Human trafficking has been a lingering problem in Bangladesh and illegal immigration has remained a cause of friction with Myanmar and India..

The main language, as in West Bengal, is Bangla (Bengali), an Indo-Aryan language of Sanskrit origin and has its own script. Bangla is the official language of Bangladesh. English is used as second language among the middle and upper classes and in higher education. Since a President Order in 1987, Bangla is used for all official correspondence except those that are to foreign recipients.

The two major religions practiced in Bangladesh are Islam (83%) and Hinduism (16%). About 90% of the Muslims are Sunni while over 5% are Shi'a. Ethnic Biharis are predominantly Shia Muslims. Other religious groups include Buddhists, Ahmadis, Christians, and Animists. Bangladesh ranks third after Indonesia and Pakistan among Muslim majority nations and, as India has a higher Muslim population, Bangladesh ranks fourth in this category.

Health and education levels have recently improved as poverty levels have decreased. Nevertheless, Bangladesh remains among the poorest nations in the world. Most Bangladeshis are rural, living on subsistence farming. Nearly half of the population lives on less than 1 USD per day. Health problems abound, ranging from surface water contamination, to arsenic in the groundwater, and diseases including malaria, leptospirosis and dengue. The literacy rate in Bangladesh is approximately 41%. There is gender disparity, though, as literacy rates are 50% among men and 31% among women, according to a 2004 UNICEF estimate. Literacy has gone up due to many programs introduced in the country. Among the most successful ones are the Food for education (FFE) program introduced in 1993, and a stipend program for women at the primary and secondary levels.

Culture

A new state for an old nation, Bangladesh has a culture that encompasses elements both old and new. The Bengali language boasts a rich literary heritage, which Bangladesh shares with the Indian state of West Bengal. The earliest literary text in Bangla is the eighth century Charyapada. Bangla literature in the medieval age was often either religious (e.g. Chandidas), or adaptations from other languages (e.g. Alaol). Bangla literature matured in the nineteenth century. Its greatest icons are the poets Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam. Bangladesh also has a long tradition in folk literature, evidenced by Maimansingha Gitika, Thakurmar Jhuli or stories related to Gopal Bhar.

The musical tradition of Bangladesh is lyrics-based (Baniprodhan), with minimal instrumental accompaniment. The Baul tradition is a unique heritage of Bangla folk music, and there are numerous other musical traditions in Bangladesh, which vary from one region to the other. Gombhira, Bhatiali, Bhawaiya are a few of the better-known musical forms. Folk music of Bengal is often accompanied by the ektara, an instrument with only one string. Other instruments include the dotara, dhol, flute, and tabla. Bangladesh also has an active heritage in North Indian classical music. Similarly, Bangladeshi dance forms draw from folk traditions, especially those of the tribal groups, as well as the broader Indian dance tradition. Bangladesh produces about 80 films a year. Mainstream Hindi films are also quite popular, as are films from Kolkata, which has its own thriving Bengali-language movie industry. Around 200 dailies are published in Bangladesh, along with more than 1800 periodicals. However, regular readership is low, nearly about 15% of the population. Bangladeshis listen to a variety of local and national radio programmes from Bangladesh Betar, as well as Bangla services from the BBC and Voice of America. There is a state-controlled television channel, but in the last few years, privately owned channels have grown considerably.

Nokshi

The culinary tradition of Bangladesh has close relations to Indian and Middle Eastern cuisine as well as having many unique traits. Rice and fish are traditional favourites; leading to a common saying that "fish and rice make a Bengali" (machhe bhate bangali). Bangladeshis make distinctive sweetmeats from milk products; some common ones are Rôshogolla, Chômchôm and Kalojam.

The sari (shaŗi) is by far the most widely worn dress by Bangladeshi women. However, the salwar kameez (shaloar kamiz) is also quite popular, and in urban areas some women wear Western attire. Among men, European dressing has greater acceptance. Men also use the kurta-paejama combination, often on religious occasions. The lungi, a kind of long skirt, is widely worn by Bangladesh men.

The two Eids, Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha are the largest festivals in the Islamic calendar. The day before Eid ul-Fitr is called Chãd Rat (the night of the Moon), and is often marked by firecrackers. Other Muslim holidays are also observed. Major Hindu festivals are Durga Puja and Saraswati Puja. Buddha Purnima, which marks the birth of Gautama Buddha, is one of the most important Buddhist festivals while Christmas, called Bôŗodin (Great day) in Bangla is celebrated by the minority Christian population. The most important secular festival is Pohela Baishakh or Bengali New Year, the beginning of the Bengali calendar. Other festivities include Nobanno, Poush parbon (festival of Poush) and observance of national days like Shohid Dibosh.

Cricket is one of the most popular sports in Bangladesh. In 2000, the Bangladesh cricket team was granted Test cricket status and joined the elite league of national teams permitted by the International Cricket Council to play test matches. Other popular sports include football (soccer), field hockey, tennis, badminton, handball, volleyball, chess, carom, and kabadi, a seven-a-side team-sport played without a ball or any other equipment, which is the national sport of Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Sports Control Board regulates twenty-nine different sporting federations.

Natural Resources

With the exception of natural gas, the mineral endowment of Bangladesh is meager. Vast reserves of natural gas—both onshore and offshore in the Bay of Bengal—have been discovered in Bangladesh since the mid-1990s. Total proven reserves amount to 142 trillion cu m (5 trillion cu ft), but actual reserves may be much greater. Natural gas is the principal energy resource in Bangladesh and an important ingredient in the manufacture of nitrogenous fertilizers. Other natural resources include a coalfield in the northwest and large peat beds that underlie most of the delta. Limestone and pottery clays are found in the northeast.

Environmental Issues

Waterborne diseases such as cholera are a serious threat to public health in Bangladesh. Until the 1970s, many of Bangladesh’s people became sick from drinking polluted water drawn from surface rivers. Aid agencies such as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) built shallow wells throughout the country to help provide a safe source of drinking water to Bangladesh’s poor. In the 1990s, however, it was discovered that many of these wells were contaminated by arsenic, a poison that occurs naturally in Bangladesh’s alluvial soils. In 1998 the World Bank granted Bangladesh a $32.4 million credit to identify contaminated wells and develop alternative sources of safe drinking water. UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), and other international agencies joined efforts with the government to address the problem. About 30 percent of the wells tested have been contaminated to some degree by arsenic. The health problems associated with arsenic poisoning are compounded by the lack of access to health care in many rural communities.

Population

The estimated population of Bangladesh (2008) is 153,546,901, making Bangladesh one of the ten most populous countries in the world. The population growth rate is 2 percent. The overall density, 1,147 persons per sq km (2,970 persons per sq mi) in 2008, is much higher than that of other countries except for microstates such as Singapore. The distribution of the population is relatively even, except in the sparsely populated Chittagong Hill Tracts District and the almost totally uninhabited Sundarbans. Bangladesh supports a large rural population, with only 25 percent of the Bangladeshi people classified as urban in 2005. Most of the people are relatively young, nearly 60 percent being under the age of 25 and only 4 percent being 65 or older. Life expectancy at birth is 63 years.

Ethnic Groups

More than 98 percent of Bangladesh’s inhabitants are Bengalis, who are largely descended from Indo-Aryans (speakers of the parent language of the Indo-European languages). The Indo-Aryans began to migrate into the Bengal region from the west thousands of years ago and mixed within Bengal with various indigenous groups. The remainder of the population includes Bihāris, non-Bengali Muslims who migrated from India (principally from the state of Bihār) after the 1947 partition, and various indigenous ethnic groups (locally known as tribal groups). Although Bihāris constitute the largest minority group, a large proportion of their original population repatriated to PakistanBangladesh. Other tribal groups include the Marmas and Tripuras, who also live in the Chittagong region; the Garos and Khasis, whose populations in northeastern Bangladesh are the southernmost extensions of tribal groups living in adjacent Indian states; and the Santals, who also live in northeastern Bangladesh and form, with Santals living elsewhere, South Asia’s largest tribal group. after 1971. The Chakmas, who live in the southeastern Chittagong Hill Tracts District, constitute the largest tribal group in

Languages

The official language is Bengali, also known as Bangla. It belongs to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family and is, along with Assamese, the most eastern of these languages. Its script is derived from the Devanagari script of Sanskrit. The cultural and national identity of ethnic Bengalis is closely associated with their language. Bengali has two distinct variants—a formal written form that developed during the 16th century, and a more casual spoken form that became an accepted literary form in the 20th century.

Although the vast majority of Bangladeshis speak Bengali, other languages are spoken in the country as well. Urdu, an Indo-Iranian language, is spoken by the Bihāris; Sino-Tibetan languages are spoken by the Garo and Santal peoples, among others; and Tibeto-Burman languages are spoken by the Chakmas, Marmas, and Tripuras in the Chittagong Hill Tracts District. English is widely used in higher education and government.

Religion

Islam, the state religion, is the faith of 88 percent of the population. Almost all of the country’s Muslims adhere to the Sunni branch; however, there are also a small number of Shia Muslims, including members of the Ismaili sect. Hindus make up most of the remainder of the population, but the country also includes small communities of Buddhists, Christians, and animists.

Education

Public education in Bangladesh generally follows the model established by the British prior to 1947. The government provides free schooling for the first eight years, including five years of primary education, which is compulsory and begins at age six. While most children are enrolled in primary schools, only 47 percent go on to secondary schools. Poor school attendance contributes to a literacy rate of only 44 percent for Bangladeshis aged 15 and older. Bangladesh lacks sufficient numbers of schools, even though facilities have increased substantially since the 1970s.

Bangladesh has several universities, the largest of which is the University of Dhaka (1921). Others include Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (1962) and Jahangirnagar University (1970), both in Dhaka; Bangladesh Agricultural University (1961) in Mymensingh; the University of Chittagong (1966); and the University of Rājshāhi (1953). Colleges include Bangladesh College of Textile Technology (1950) in Dhaka, and Chittagong Polytechnic Institute (1962). The country’s colleges and universities together enroll more than 500,000 students.

Libraries and Museums

Cultural institutions are concentrated in Dhaka, which is the site of the Bangla Academy (1972), devoted to the promotion and development of the Bengali language and literature. The country’s largest library is part of the University of Dhaka, and the Bangladesh National Museum, also in Dhaka, is noted for its art and archaeology collections. The Varendra Research Museum, controlled by the University of Rājshāhi, is an important center for archaeological, anthropological, and historical research.

Labor

The civilian labor force of Bangladesh was estimated in 2006 to include 71 million people. Agriculture (including fishing) employs 52 percent of the workers, while 14 percent worked in industry and 35 percent in services. Unemployment and underemployment are significant problems in the country.

Agriculture

Agriculture in Bangladesh consists mostly of subsistence farming on small farms. Per-capita output tends to be low. Rice, of which two or three crops can be grown each year, is the leading food crop in all areas and accounts for most of the cultivated area. Some 44 million metric tons were harvested in 2006, placing Bangladesh among the world’s leading producers of rice. High-yielding varieties of rice are cultivated as part of a government initiative to increase the country’s self-sufficiency in food grains. Other cereal crops, notably wheat, have grown in importance since the 1980s, and the area of land under wheat cultivation continues to increase. Pulses, an important source of protein in most Bangladeshi diets, are also cultivated. Other crops include various oilseeds (mainly for cooking oil), potatoes, sweet potatoes, sugarcane, bananas, mangoes, and pineapples.

The principal cash, or export, crop is jute (a plant used to make burlap and twine), grown throughout the annually flooded portions of the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta; the amount of jute harvested in 2006 was about 801,000 metric tons. Tea, also a valuable cash crop, is grown almost exclusively in the northeast, around Sylhet. Cattle and buffalo are numerous, raised for dung (a source of fuel), hides (for leather), and meat.

Fishing, Forestry, and Mining

Aquatic animals provide a major source of animal protein in the Bangladeshi diet. Hilsa (a kind of herring) and prawns are among the principal commercial species. The amount of fish caught in 2005 was 2.2 million metric tons, mostly consisting of freshwater varieties. Most freshwater fish are raised in farm ponds throughout the country. The leading commercial types of trees are wild sundari, gewa, and teak. Bamboo is also an important forest product.

Natural gas production is the primary mining activity in Bangladesh. Extensive development began in the 1990s after vast reserves were discovered both onshore and offshore in the Bay of Bengal. Apart from natural gas production, mining and quarrying are of negligible importance in Bangladesh.

Manufacturing

The manufacturing sector is made up principally of small-scale enterprises. The chief manufactures of the country are jute products (such as cordage and sacks), textiles, garments, processed food, beverages, tobacco items, and goods made of wood, cane, or bamboo. Large-scale factories process jute and sugarcane. Much of the nation’s heavy industry, including a small steel mill, is in the port of Chittagong.

Energy

The greatest share of Bangladesh’s electricity, 94 percent in 2003, is generated in thermal plants using either coal, natural gas, or petroleum products. Most of the rest is produced by hydroelectric facilities, including a large installation on the Karnaphuli River. In 2003 Bangladesh consumed 16.2 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity.

Currency and Banking

The principal unit of currency in Bangladesh is the taka (68.90 taka equal U.S.$1; 2006 average); the taka is divided into 100 paisa. The government-run Bangladesh Bank handles central-banking operations. Some banks are government-owned, but there are many privately owned banks, as well as branches of foreign banks.

The Grameen (Village) Bank has pioneered innovative approaches to providing credit to the rural poor in Bangladesh. The bank’s successful approach has been used as a model in many other developing countries. Because the bank does not require collateral, it can extend credit to individuals who traditionally were excluded from the banking system. Borrowers, the majority of whom are women, use the credit to improve their standard of living through small-scale enterprises such as pottery, basket making, and textile weaving. The bank was founded in 1983 by university economics professor Muhammad Yunus, who was awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. By 2006 the bank had more than 2,000 branches nationwide and had made loans to more than 6.5 million people, helping them break out of poverty.

Commerce and Foreign Trade

The per-capita volume of Bangladeshi internal and foreign trade is low. Domestic trade in rural areas is conducted largely through thousands of periodic markets called hats. Since independence in 1971 the value of Bangladesh’s annual imports has usually been at least twice that of exports; in 2003 imports cost $8.7 billion, and exports earned $5.8 billion. The principal exports are jute products and raw jute; clothing, seafood, tea, and hides and leather goods are the other important exports. Imports include foodstuffs, basic manufactures, mineral fuels, machinery, and transportation equipment. Exports go mainly to European countries (especially Germany and Italy), the United States, Hong Kong, and Japan; imports come chiefly from India, European countries, China, Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, and the United States. Only a relatively insignificant number of tourists visit Bangladesh each year.

Government

Since the nation’s formation in 1971, the government of Bangladesh has undergone many changes. A democratic, parliamentary form of government was established by the 1972 constitution, but constitutional amendments in 1975 set up a presidential form of government. Bangladesh again became a parliamentary democracy in 1991 after voters approved new amendments to the 1972 constitution to abolish the near-absolute powers of the presidency.

Bangladesh has an unusual electoral setup. Prior to parliamentary elections, the prime minister and his or her government must resign so that a neutral caretaker government can take over. The caretaker government assumes responsibility for running a fair and impartial election. Citizens aged 18 and older may vote.

Executive and Legislature

The president, elected by parliament to a renewable five-year term, is head of state. The prime minister, or head of government, is appointed by the president following parliamentary elections, based on a majority nomination of parliament. Bangladesh has a unicameral (single-chamber) parliament, the Jatiya Sangsad, with 300 members. All members are directly elected by voters to serve five-year terms.

Judiciary

The highest tribunal in Bangladesh is the Supreme Court, which is divided into a high court and an appellate division. The chief justice and the other justices of the Supreme Court are appointed by the president.

Local Government

For administrative purposes, Bangladesh is divided into six divisions—Barisāl, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rājshāhi, and Sylhet. Each division includes a number of districts, or zillas, which are the largest and most important units of local government in the country. The country’s 64 zillas are comprised of upazillas (subdistricts), which in turn are made up of unions, or groups of villages with popularly elected councils.

Political Parties

The principal political parties in Bangladesh are the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which favors centrist policies and a free-enterprise economic system; the Awami League, which advocates a secular state and limited socialist economic policies; the Jatiya Party, similar to the BNP in its platform; and the Jamaat-e-Islami Party, an Islamic party advocating a greater role for Islam in public life.

Social Services

Health and welfare services in Bangladesh are limited. In 2006 the country had one physician for every 3,889 residents and one hospital bed for every 3,333 inhabitants. Much of the welfare work in the country is administered by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and Bangladesh is a major recipient of assistance from abroad.

International Organizations

Bangladesh is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and was admitted to the United Nations and its affiliated organizations in 1974. It also belongs to the Colombo Plan for Cooperative Economic and Social Development, headquartered in Sri Lanka. It is a member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), which was formed in 1985 largely at the initiative of Bangladeshi president Ziaur Rahman to provide a forum for regional issues, and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), which promotes solidarity among nations where Islam is an important religion.