Overview of Bangladesh

Official Name

The People's Republic Of Bangladesh

Capital 

Dhaka (Area 414 Sq Km. Master plan 777 Sq Km.) 

Currency

Currency unit is Taka. Notes are of 1,2,5,10,20,50,100 and 500 Taka. Coins are of 25,50,100,200 and 500 Poisha (500 Poisha = 5 Taka) 

Language

Bangla is the state language. English is also widely spoken and understood. Arabic is read and spoken for religious purposes.

Population

Total estimated population 130 Million. 

Religions

Muslim 88.3%, Hindu 10.5%, others 1.2% 

Area 

Total: 144,000 sq km
Land: 133,910 sq km
Water: 10,090 sq km 

Location 

Latitude from 20 degree 34' to 26 degree 38' north. Longitude from 88 degree 01' to 92 degree 41' east. 

Boundary

Bounded by India from the north, east and west, Burma from the south-east and the Bay of Bengal from the south . 

Climate

Tropical; cool, dry winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); cool, rainy monsoon (June to October) 

Rainfall

Lowest 47" and highest 136" 

National Days 

National Martyrs Day ( February 21) 

Independence Day ( March 26 )

Victory Day ( December 16) 

Principal Rivers

Padma, Meghna, Jamuna, Brahmaputra, Madhumati, Surma and Kushiara 

Principal Crops

Rice, jute, tobacco, tea, sugarcane, vegetables, potato, pulses, etc. 

Fruits

Mango, banana, pineapple, jack-fruit, water-melon, green coconut, guava, lichis, etc. 

Major Industries

Jute, sugar, paper, textiles, fertilizers, cigarette, cement, steel, natural gas, oil-refinery, newsprint, power generation, rayon, matches, fishing and food processing, leather, soap, carpet, timber, ship-building, telephone, etc. 


Airports

Zia International Airport, Dhaka. 

Chittagong International Airport. 

Sylhet International Airport. 

Domestic Airports 
Jessore

Cox's Bazar

Rajshahi

Saidpur 

Sea Ports

Chittagong

Mongla

Tourist Interests:
Longest sea beach, colorful tribal life, centuries' old archeological sites, the Sundarbans (home of the Royal Bengal Tigers and spotted deer), largest tea gardens, interesting riverine life, etc.

National Anthem of Bangladesh 

My Bengal of Gold, I Love you 
Forever your skies, your air set my heart in tune
as if it were a flute, 
In Spring, Oh mother mine,
the fragrance from your Mango-groves 
makes me wild with Joy
Ah, what a thrill! In Autumn, Oh mother mine, 
in the full-blossomed paddy fields, 
I have seen spread all over - sweet smiles! 
Ah! what a beauty, what shades, what an affection 
and what a tenderness! 
What a quilt have you spread at the feet of Banyan 
trees and along the banks of rivers! 
Oh mother mine, words from your lips are like 
Nectar to my ears! 
Ah what a thrill! If sadness, Oh mother mine, 
Casts a gloom on your face, 
My eyes are filled with tears!

আমার সোনার বাংলা আমার সোনার বাংলা, আমি তোমায় ভালবাসি।

চিরদিন তোমার আকাশ, তোমার বাতাস আমার প্রাণে বাজায় বাঁশি।

ও মা, ফাগুনে তোর আমের বনে ঘ্রানে পাগল করে-- মরি হায়, হায় রে ও মা, অঘ্রানে তোর ভরা খেতে, আমি কি দেখেছি মধুর হাসি।।

কি শোভা কি ছায়া গো, কি স্নেহ কি মায়া গো-- কি আঁচল বিছায়েছ বটের মূলে, নদীর কূলে কূলে।

মা, তোর মুখের বাণী আমার কানে লাগে সুধার মতো-- মরি হায়, হায় রে মা, তোর বদনখানি মলিন হলে আমি নয়ন জলে ভাসি।।

History Of Bangladesh

Bangladesh came into being through a long history of political evolution. Bengal was probably the wealthiest part of the subcontinent till the 16th century. The early history featured a succession of Indian empires, internal squabbling and a tussle between Hinduism and Buddhism for dominance. All of these were just a prelude to the rise of Islam over northern India at the end of the 12th century. Mohammed Bakhtiar Khalzhi from Turkistan captured Bengal in 1199 with only 20 men.

Then came the Mughal rule. Under the Mughal viceroys, art and literature flourished, overland trade expanded and Bengal was opened to world maritime trade - the latter marking the death knell of Mughal power as Europeans began to establish themselves in the region. The Portuguese arrived as early as the 15th century but were ousted in 1633 by local opposition. The East India Company negotiated terms to establish a fortified trading post in Calcutta in 1690.

The decline of Mughal power led to greater provincial autonomy, heralding the rise of the independent dynasty of the nawabs of Bengal. East India Company's Clerk Robert Clive ended up effectively ruling Bengal when one of the impetuous nawabs attacked the thriving British enclave in Calcutta and stuffed those unlucky enough not to escape from an underground cellar. Clive retook Calcutta a year later and the British Government replaced the East India Company following the Indian Mutiny in 1857.

The Britons established an organizational and social structure unparalleled in Bengal, and Calcutta became one of the most important centre for commerce, education and culture in the subcontinent. However, many Bangladeshi historians blame the British dictatorial agricultural policies and promotion of the semi-feudal zamindar system for draining the region of its wealth and damaging its social fabric. The British presence was accepted by a large section of Hindus but the Muslims preferred to remain away. Influential Hindus cooperated with the British through British sponsored educational institutions and studying the English language but the Muslims refused to cooperate. At the closure of World War II it was clear that European colonialism had run out of its course and Indian independence was inevitable. Independence was attained in 1947 but the struggle was bitter and divisive, especially in Bengal where the fight for self-governance was complicated by internal religious conflicts. The British, realizing impossibility of any agreement between the Muslims and Hindus, decided to partition the subcontinent. Bengal and Punjab, the two overwhelmingly Muslim regions, lay on opposite sides of India were the stumbling blocks. The situation was complicated in Bengal where the major cash crop, jute, was produced in the Muslim-dominated east, but processed and shipped from the Hindu-dominated city of Calcutta in the west.

Inequalities between the two regions i.e. East and West Pakistan soon stirred up a sense of Bengali nationalism but it did not surface during the struggle for Muslim independence. When the Pakistan government declared that `Urdu and only Urdu' would be the national language, the Bangla-speaking Bengalis decided to assert their cultural identity. The drive to reinstate the Bangla language metamorphosed into a struggle for self-governance. From 1952 to 1971 the movements gave rise to riots and strikes in East Pakistan and Pakistani government sent troops to quell the situation in their favour leading to killing of innocent civilians on the 25th March 1971. Thus compelling the peace-loving people of Bangladesh to fight for existence for Liberating the Country from the Occupation Forces. The Liberation War thus began.

The ensuing war was one of the shortest and bloodiest of modern times, with the Pakistan army occupying all major towns. Border clashes between Pakistan and India increased as Indian-trained Bangladeshi guerrillas crossed the border and the Pakistani army found itself being attacked from the east by the Indian army, the north and east by guerrillas and from all quarters by the civilian population. In 11 days it was spread all over Bangladesh and the world's 139th country, officially earned their freedom on the 16th December 1971.

War of Independence

On 25 March 1971, Pakistan Army Killed innocent Bengalees with all their might. They went for indiscriminate killing of innocent people, large-scale destruction of villages and humiliating women and children. This was termed as the history's worst genocide. The people of Bangladesh had then no choice but to resist the Pakistani rulers and initiate an armed struggle for the liberation of their motherland. People from all spheres of society, peasants, workers, students and the Bengalee Officers and soldiers of the Pakistan Armed Forces, the East Pakistan Rifles, the Police and other paramilitary forces organized themselves into fighting units and started the great War of Independence for Bangladesh. After nine months of bloody war against the occupation forces, the country was liberated on 16 December 1971. The nation had to sacrifice three million people who laid down their lives for the birth of this free nation. Perhaps history has yet to produce examples where the price of liberty in terms of blood and sacrifices has been so great as in case of Birth of Bangladesh