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The land:
Bangladesh constitutes the eastern two-thirds of the Ganges-Brahmaputra deltaic plain, which stretches northward from the Bay of Bengal. Except for small higher areas of jungle-covered old alluvium (rising to about 100 feet [30 metres]) in the northwest and north-centre—called, respectively, the Barind and Madhupur tracts—the plain is a flat surface of recent alluvium, having a gentle slope and generally with an elevation of less than 30 feet above sea level. In the northeast and southeast the alluvial plains—called, respectively, the Sylhet and Chittagong hills—give place to ridges, running mainly north-south, that form part of the mountain divide with Myanmar and India. Bangladesh is fringed on the south by the Sundarbans, a huge expanse of marshy deltaic forest.The Barind Tract is a triangular wedge of land in northwestern Bangladesh located between the floodplains of the Ganges (also known in Bangladesh as the Padma) and the Jamuna (the main channel of the lower Brahmaputra). The soil of this region is hard, reddish clay, and the region is comparatively elevated. A depression called the Bhar Basin extends southeast of the Barind Tract for about 100 miles between the floodplains of the Ganges and Jamuna rivers to their confluence. This area is inundated during the summer monsoon season, in some places to a depth of 12 feet. The drainage of the western part of the basin is centred in the vast marshy area called the Chalan wetlands, also known as Chalan Lake. The floodplains of the Jamuna, which lie north of the Bhar Basin and east of the Barind Tract, stretch from the border with Assam in the north to the confluence of the Ganges and Jamuna in the south. The area is dominated by the Jamuna, which frequently overflows its banks in devastating floods. South of the Bhar Basin is the floodplain of the Ganges.
In north-central Bangladesh, east of the Jamuna floodplains, is the Madhupur Tract. It consists of an elevated plateau, with hillocks varying in height from 30 to 60 feet, and cultivated valleys. The Madhupur Tract contains sal trees, whose hardwood is comparable in value and utility to teak. East of the Madhupur Tract, in northeastern Bangladesh, is a region called the Northeastern Lowland. It encompasses the southern and southwestern parts of the Sylhet area (including the valley plain of the Surma River) and the northern part of the Mymensingh area and has a large number of lakes. The Sylhet Hills in the far northeast of the region consist of a number of hillocks and hills ranging from 100 feet to more than 1,100 feet in height.
In east-central Bangladesh the Brahmaputra River in its old course built up the Meghna Flood Basin, which includes the low and fertile Meghna-Lakhya Doab (the land area between those rivers). This area is enriched by the Titas distributary, and land areas are formed and changed by the deposition of silt and sand in the riverbeds of the Meghna River, especially between Bhairab Bazar and Daudkandi. Dhaka is located in this region.
In southern Bangladesh the Central Delta Basins include the extensive lakes in the central part of the Bengal Delta, to the south of the Ganges. The basin's total area is about 1,200 square miles. The belt of land in southwestern Bangladesh bordering the Bay of Bengal constitutes the Immature Delta. The belt—a lowland of some 3,000 square miles—contains, in addition to the vast mangrove forest known as the Sundarbans, the reclaimed and cultivated lands to the north of it. The area nearest the Bay of Bengal is crisscrossed by a network of streams that flow around roughly oblong islands. The Active Delta, located north of the Central Delta Basins and east of the Immature Delta, includes the Dhaleswari-Padma Doab and the estuarine islands of varying sizes that are found from the Pusur River in the southwest to the island of Sandwip near Chittagong in the southeast.
Lying to the south of the Feni River in southeastern Bangladesh, the Chittagong region has many hills, hillocks, valleys, and forests and is quite different in aspect from other parts of the country. The coastal plain is partly sandy and partly composed of saline clay; it extends southward from the Feni River to the town of Cox's Bazar and varies in width from 1 to 10 miles. The region has a number of offshore islands and one coral reef, St. Martin's, off the coast of Myanmar. The hilly area known as the Chittagong Hill Tracts in the far southeast consists of low hills of soft rocks, mainly clay and shale. The north-south ranges are generally below 2,000 feet in height.
Drainage:
The most significant feature of the Bangladesh landscape is provided by the rivers, which have molded not only its physiography but also the way of life of the people. Rivers in Bangladesh, however, are subject to constant and sometimes rapid changes of course, which can affect the hydrology of a large region; consequently, no description of Bangladesh's topography retains its absolute accuracy for long. One spectacular example of such a change occurred in 1787, when the Tista River underwent exceptionally high flooding; its waters were suddenly diverted eastward, where they reinforced the Brahmaputra. The swollen Brahmaputra in turn began to cut into a minor stream, which by the early 1800s became the river's main lower course, now known as the Jamuna. A much smaller river (the Old Brahmaputra) now flows through the Brahmaputra's former course.Each year between June and October the rivers overflow their banks and inundate the countryside, rising most heavily in September or October and receding quickly in November. The inundations are both a blessing and a curse. Without them, the fertile silt deposits would not be replenished, but severe floods regularly damage crops and ruin hamlets and sometimes take a heavy toll on human and animal populations.
The rivers may be divided into five systems: (1) The Ganges, or Padma, and its deltaic streams, (2) the Meghna and the Surma river system, (3) the Jamuna and its adjoining channels, (4) the North Bengal rivers, and (5) the rivers of the Chittagong Hill Tracts and the adjoining plains.
The Ganges is the pivot of the deltaic river system of Bengal. The river and its tributaries enclose a large area of southwestern Bangladesh, and the Ganges Delta covers about 20,000 square miles. The Ganges River system is divided into two segments, the Ganges and the Padma, although within Bangladesh the entire length of the river is called the Padma. The Ganges enters Bangladesh from the west and forms, for about 90 miles, the boundary between Bangladesh and West Bengal. It forms numerous distributaries and spill channels and reaches its confluence with the Jamuna west of Dhaka, after which their combined waters are known as the Padma. The Padma flows southeast to join the Meghna near Chandpur and enters the Bay of Bengal through the Meghna estuary and lesser channels. Except where it is confined by high banks, the Ganges' main channel changes course every two or three years. Its waters appear muddy owing to the volume of silt carried by the river. Silt deposits build temporary islands that reduce navigability but are so highly fertile that they have been for decades a source of feuds among peasants who rush to occupy them.
The Meghna is formed by the union of the Sylhet-Surma and Kusiyara rivers. These two rivers are branches of the Barak River, which rises in the Nagar-Manipur watershed in India. The main branch of the Barak, the Surma, is joined near Azmiriganj in northeastern Bangladesh by the Kalni and farther down by the Kusiyara branch. The Dhaleswari, a distributary of the Jamuna River, joins the Meghna a few miles above the junction of the Padma and the Meghna. As it meanders south, the Meghna grows larger after receiving the waters of a number of rivers, including the Burhi Ganga and the Sitallakhya.
The Jamuna and its adjoining channels cover a large area from north-central Bangladesh to the Meghna River in the southeast. The Jamuna receives waters from a number of rivers, especially on its right bank, and, with its notoriously shifting channels, not only prevents permanent settlement along its banks but also inhibits communication between the northern area of Bangladesh and the eastern part, where Dhaka is situated.
The Tista is the most important water carrier of northwestern Bangladesh. Rising in the Himalayas near Sikkim, India, it flows southward, turning southeast near Darjiling (Darjeeling) to enter Bangladesh and eventually meeting the Jamuna. Navigation of its lower reaches is made difficult by the shoals and quicksand that form near the junction with the Brahmaputra.
Four main rivers constitute the river system of the Chittagong Hills and the adjoining plains—the Feni, the Karnaphuli, the Sangu, and the Matamuhari. Flowing generally west and southwest across the coastal plain, they empty into the Bay of Bengal. Of these rivers the longest is the Karnaphuli, which is dammed at Kaptai, about 30 miles upstream from its mouth near the city of Chittagong.
None of the major rivers of Bangladesh originates within the country's territory. The headwaters of the Surma are in India; the Ganges rises in Nepal and the Brahmaputra in China, but they, too, reach Bangladesh across Indian territory. Thus, Bangladesh lacks full control over the flow of any of the streams that irrigate it. The construction of a barrage upstream at Farakka in West Bengal has led to the diversion of a considerable volume of water from the Ganges, and the flow to western Bangladesh is insufficient in the dry season from November to April. The equitable distribution of the river's waters has been since the 1970s a source of friction between India and Bangladesh.
Soils:
There are three main categories of soils in Bangladesh: the old alluvial soils, the recent alluvial soils, and the hill soils, which have a base of sandstone and shale. The fertile recent alluvial soils, found mainly in flooded areas, are usually pale brown, sandy, micaceous, and chalky clays and loams. They are deficient in phosphoric acid, nitrogen, and humus but not in potash and lime. The old alluvial soils in the Barind and Madhupur jungles are dark brown clays and loams. They are sticky during the rainy season and hard during the dry. The hill soils are generally permeable and can support dense forest growth.Climate:
Bangladesh has a typical monsoon climate characterized by rain-bearing winds, moderately warm temperatures, and high humidity. In general, maximum temperatures in the summer months, from April to September, range between 91° and 96° F (33° and 36° C). April is the warmest month in most parts. January is the coolest month in the winter season, which lasts from about November to March.The conditions of lowest atmospheric pressure occur in Bangladesh in June and July, the storm season. Winds are mostly from the north and northeast in winter, blowing at a rate of 1 to 2 miles per hour in northern and central areas and 2 to 4 miles per hour near the coast. During the period of the northwesters (March to May), wind speeds may rise to 30 or 40 miles per hour.
Bangladesh receives heavy rainfall; except for some parts in the west, it generally exceeds 60 inches (1,500 millimetres) annually. Large areas of the south, southeast, north, and northeast receive from 80 to 100 inches, and the northern and northwestern parts of the Sylhet area receive from 150 to 200 inches. The maximum rainfall occurs during the monsoon period, from June to September or early October.
In the early summer (April and May) and late in the monsoon season (September to November), storms of very high intensity often occur; they may create winds with speeds of more than 100 miles per hour, piling up the waters of the Bay of Bengal to crests as high as 20 feet that crash with tremendous force onto the coastal areas and the offshore islands, inundating them and causing heavy losses of life and property. Since the early 18th century, when records were first kept, more than 1,000,000 people have been killed in such storms, 815,000 of them in three storms occurring in 1737, 1876, and 1970. Severe storms also occurred in May 1985 and April 1991.
Plant and animal life:
Bangladesh in general possesses a luxuriant vegetation, with villages appearing to be virtually buried in groves of mango, jackfruit, bamboo, betel nut, coconut, and date palm. About 15 percent of the country's land surface is covered with forests.Bangladesh has four different areas of vegetation. The eastern zone, consisting of parts of the Sylhet and Chittagong areas, has many low hills covered with jungles of bamboo and rattan (a species of climbing palm). The most common plant is a large kind of bamboo that is the basis of the country's paper industry. The central zone, covering parts of the country extending north of Dhaka, contains a large number of lakes and swampy vegetation; the soil of part of this zone is laterite, which produces the Madhupur jungles. The area lying to the northwest of the Brahmaputra and to the southwest of the Padma forms a flat plain, the vegetation of which consists mostly of cultivated plants and orchards. Babul (Acacia arabica) is the most conspicuous plant. The southern zone along the Bay of Bengal contains the Sundarbans, with their distinctive mangrove vegetation. In this vast forest grow many commercially valuable trees, such as the sundri, for which the Sundarbans are named (Heritiera fomes or minor); gewa, or gengwa (Excoecaria agallocha), a softwood tree used for making newsprint; and goran (Ceriops roxburghiana), a type of mangrove.
Among the astounding variety of flowers are the shapla (water lily), the country's national flower; the marigold; the lotus jasmine; the rajani gandha (a tuber rose); the china rose (jaba); the flame of the forest; and the bokul (Mimusops elengi).
Bangladesh is said to have about 200 species of mammals, 750 of birds, and 150 of reptiles and amphibians, as well as about 200 species of marine and freshwater fishes.
Elephants, living in herds ranging from fewer than a dozen to about 100, are found in the Chittagong Hill Tracts and northeastern Sylhet. The domesticated, or water, buffalo are used for plowing and pulling carts. Of the different kinds of deer, the barking deer, the barasingh (or 12-horned deer), and the sambar deer, with its maned neck, are well known. The barasingh, which reaches a height of about four feet at the shoulder, mostly inhabits the Sundarbans. The sambar, which lives in the eastern jungles of the country, attains a height of four and a half feet and a length of six to seven feet. The spotted deer, the barking deer, and the hog deer are smaller species.
Of the carnivores, the royal Bengal tiger is the best known. The clouded leopard, dark gray with spots that are oval or oblong in form, is smaller than the leopard. The ferocious leopard cat is about the size of the domestic cat but with longer legs.
There are three types of bear: the sloth bear, the Himalayan black bear, and the Malayan sun bear. The sloth bear is the most numerous. The jackal, whose eerie howling at night is a familiar sound in Bangladesh, is a common animal, as is the mongoose. The Bengal, or rhesus, monkey is the most common primate in the country.
The common house crow is found everywhere, and its shrill cries are detested by the people of Bangladesh, who regard them as a bad omen. The bulbul, the magpie robin, and a wide variety of warblers are also found; some are migrants that appear only in winter. Several kinds of flycatchers also occur, and there are mynah birds of several kinds. Other species of birds include the common game birds, parakeets, cuckoos, hawks, owls, kingfishers, hornbills, woodpeckers, and vultures. Among the eagles, the crested serpent eagle and the ring-tailed fishing eagle are the most common. There are also hoopoes, herons, storks, ducks, and wild geese.
Settlement patterns:
The extremely high population density of Bangladesh, averaging 1,900 persons per square mile, varies widely according to the distribution of flat land. The highest density, over 2,800 persons per square mile, occurs in and around Dhaka, which is also the centre of the country's most fertile zone; the lowest population density, at just over 100 persons per square mile, occurs in the hills of Chittagong.Rural settlement:
The rural area throughout Bangladesh is so thickly settled that it is often difficult to distinguish any well-defined pattern of individual villages. There are, however, some noticeable features. The inundation of most of the fields during the rainy season makes it necessary to build houses on higher ground. Continuous strings of settlements along roads are common in areas south of the Ganges and in the floodplains of the Mahananda, Tista, Jamuna, Ganges, and Meghna rivers. Similar settlements are also found in the hilly regions of southern Sylhet and in the Chittagong region. Settlements are more scattered, however, in areas in southwestern Bangladesh along the Bay of Bengal, in the floodplains of the Brahmaputra, in eastern and southern Sylhet, and in parts of Chittagong. In central and western Sylhet and in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, settlements occur in a nucleated, or clustered, pattern. The traditional character of rural villages has changed with the addition of prefabricated one- or two-storied structures scattered among the thatched bamboo huts. Supplies of electricity and safe drinking water are often inadequate.Urban settlement:
Although industrial development has prompted migration to the cities, Bangladesh is one of the least urbanized areas in South Asia. Eighty percent of the population lives in villages. There are only three major cities: Dhaka, Chittagong, and Khulna. Dhaka, the capital, is the largest. Chittagong, the country's major port, is second in importance. A number of industrial areas, such as Kalurghat, Sholashahar, and Faujdar Hat, have developed around Chittagong. Khulna, in the southwest, has become a commercial and industrial centre; the opening of the port of Chalna nearby and the growth of the Daulatpur industrial area has increased its population.The People
Ethnic composition and distribution:
Bangladesh is a melting pot of races. The proto-Australoids, sometimes called Veddas, were one of the earliest groups to enter the area. According to some ethnologists, they were followed by Mediterranean Caucasoids (whites), also known as Aryans. Armenoids (of Indo-European stock) are believed to have entered as well.With the coming of the Muslims in the 8th century AD, new elements were introduced; persons of Arab, Persian, and Turkish origin moved in large numbers to the subcontinent. By the beginning of the 13th century they had entered what is now Bangladesh. The contention that Bengali Muslims are all descended from lower-caste Hindus who were converted to Islam is incorrect; a substantial proportion are descendants of the Muslims who reached the subcontinent from elsewhere.
Most of the tribal peoples of Bangladesh inhabit the Chittagong Hill Tracts in the southeast, the least densely settled area of the country. They are predominantly Buddhist, and some of the tribes are related to the peoples of Myanmar. Of the approximately 12 ethnolinguistic groups of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the four largest are the Chakma, the Marma (Magh or Mogh), the Tripura (Tipra), and the Mro. Since the mid-1970s ethnic tensions and periodic violence have marked the Chittagong Hill Tracts, where many tribal peoples object to the influx of Muslim Bengali settlers.
Tribal peoples in other parts of Bangladesh include the Santals, of the proto-Australoid group, the Khasis, the Garo, and the Hajang. The Santals live in the northwestern part of Bangladesh, the Khasis in Sylhet in the Khasi Hills near the border with Assam, and the Garo and Hajang in the northeastern part of the country.
Apart from these tribes, the rest of the people are Bengalis—an ethnic as well as a linguistic group. The Bengalis, however, are not homogeneous in origin. In general, the people of the coastal areas, with whom the Muslim merchants of the Middle East were in close touch, show physical features that seem to be the result of the admixture of local people with those of Turkish and Semitic origin.
Linguistic composition:
Bengali, the language spoken in Bangladesh, belongs to the Indo-Aryan group of languages and is related to Sanskrit. Like Pali, however, and various other forms of Prakrit in ancient India, Bengali originated beyond the influence of the Brahman society of the Aryans. The Pala rulers of Bengal (8th to 12th century), who were Buddhists and whose religious language was Pali, did not inhibit the emergence of a colloquial tongue known as Gaudiya Prakrit. This colloquial tongue was the language from which Bengali was derived.Bengali is the mother tongue of about 98 percent of the people. Tribal peoples have their own distinct dialects, some of which are related to the Tibeto-Burman group of languages. English is spoken in urban centres and among educated groups.
Bengali has two distinct styles: sadhu bhasa, the literary language, which contains many words derived from Sanskrit, and calit bhasa, the colloquial language, which is the standard medium of informal discourse, both spoken and written. Until the 1930s sadhu bhasa was used for all printed matter, but calit bhasa is now the basic form used for modern literature. There are a number of dialects. Bengali contains a large number of loanwords from Portuguese, English, Arabic, Persian, and Hindi.
Religions:
More than 85 percent of the population follows the religion of Islam, which was made the state religion by a 1988 constitutional amendment. The arrival of a handful of Muslims in Bengal at the beginning of the 13th century and the rapid expansion of their rule permanently changed the character and culture of the area. When the Muslims first arrived, the Hindus were in an overwhelming majority, but there were also Buddhists and a few animists. The Hindus remained in the majority throughout the Turko-Afghan and Mughal periods. Even as late as 1872 there were in Bengal more than 18 million Hindus, compared with about 16 million Muslims. From the 1890s onward, however, the balance began to shift in favour of the Muslims.There were several reasons for the increase in the proportion of the Muslim population. Perhaps the most significant was the activity of ascetic divines and Sufis (Arabic: “Mystics”), who won converts among lower-caste Hindus. Other reasons include an influx of Muslims from northern India and from other countries, as well as the relatively higher birth rate among Muslims.
Most Muslims belong to the Sunni sect, but there are a small number of Shi'ite Muslims, mostly descendants of immigrants from Iran. Hindus, who constitute about 10 percent of the population, are divided into scheduled (low) and nonscheduled castes. Members of the nonscheduled castes constitute about half of all Hindus in Bangladesh. Buddhists form less than 1 percent of the population. Of the tribes in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the Chakma, Marma, and Mro are mostly Buddhists. The Kuki, Khomoi (Kumi), and some of the Mro are animists. While most of the Lushai are Christians, the Tripura are Hindus.
Demographic trends:
Almost half of Bangladesh's population is under 15 years of age; the birth rate is high, and average life expectancy is about 50 years. The rate of infant mortality remains high. There has been almost no immigration since the 1970s. A relatively small number of Bangladeshis work in Britain and in Middle Eastern countries, and there has been a steady emigration of farm labourers into neighbouring Assam.
The economy
Agriculture:
Bangladesh is overwhelmingly agricultural, with some three-fifths of the population engaged in farming. Jute and tea, which are principal sources of foreign exchange, follow rice as the most important agricultural products. The country produces about one-fifth of the world's supply of raw jute. Other important agricultural products are wheat, pulses (leguminous plants, such as peas, beans, and lentils), sweet potatoes, oilseeds of various kinds, sugarcane, tobacco, and fruits such as bananas, mangoes, and pineapples.Agriculture has in the past been wholly dependent upon the vagaries of the monsoon. A poor monsoon has always meant poor harvests and the threat of famine. Among the remedial measures adopted has been the construction of a number of irrigation projects designed to control floods and to conserve rainwater for use in the dry months. The most important are the Karnaphuli Multipurpose Project in the southeast, the Tista Barrage Project in the north, and the Ganges-Kabadak Project, to serve the southwestern part of the country. Economic planning has encouraged double and triple cropping, intercropping, and the increased use of fertilizers.
Fisheries:
The rivers of Bangladesh are suitable for breeding and raising fish. Its rivers and seacoast offer opportunities for the usual types of fisheries, mostly in the estuaries of the Bay of Bengal. Among the varieties of fish caught are the marine rupchanda, or pomfret, and the freshwater hilsa, a relative of the shad.Industry:
The excessive—until recently almost exclusive—dependence on agriculture leads to seasonal unemployment among peasants, as well as to a low standard of living. To counteract this imbalance, a policy of industrialization was adopted after 1947 and was pursued through five-year plans. The main obstacle to its fulfillment has been the comparative lack of mineral resources.Power resources:
Oil in marketable quantities has not been struck anywhere in Bangladesh. The country's first oil well, near Sylhet, was discovered in 1986. Natural gas is used mainly in the manufacture of fertilizer and for thermal power. More than half the proven gas reserves are in the Comilla area, and nearly all the rest in Sylhet.Some deposits of coal have been found in northwestern Bangladesh in the Rajshahi area. The thickest seams are located at relatively inaccessible depths of 3,000 to 3,500 feet. Smaller deposits of coal exist in northwestern Sylhet. The Chittagong Hill Tracts contain some brown coal and lignite. Peat deposits exist in several places, but some of the beds remain under water for half the year, making extraction difficult. Limestone is found in the Sylhet and Chittagong areas. Radioactive minerals have been detected in sand deposits along the beaches south of Cox's Bazar.
Bangladesh's electricity is produced by thermal and hydroelectric processes. The main source of hydroelectricity is the Kaptai Dam in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
Industrial development:
Industrial policy between 1947 and 1971 was to give priority to industries based on indigenous raw materials such as jute, cotton, hides, and skins. The principle of free enterprise in the private sector was accepted, subject to certain conditions, which included the national ownership of public utilities. The policy also aimed to develop consumer-goods industries as quickly as possible in order to avoid dependence on imports.Under Pakistani administration, new types of autonomous corporations were established to deal with industrial development, electricity, water and sewerage management, the development of forest industries, and road transportation. In 1972 the Bangladesh government, in pursuit of its commitment to socialism, nationalized these corporations and then established several new corporations to manage the nationalized enterprises. Hasty change, however, coupled with the inexperience of those placed in charge of the corporations, produced widespread disruptions, and industrial production came almost to a halt. The policy of nationalization was gradually revised and was replaced by a 19-point program announced in 1979. This program emphasized greater productivity and efficiency. In an attempt to encourage private investment, the government also returned many state-owned enterprises to the private sector.
Manufacturing and other industries:
Because the export of raw jute is not highly remunerative, efforts were made between 1947 and 1971 to establish mills to produce and export jute products and thus earn foreign exchange. About 45 percent of the jute produced during that period was processed in the territory; the balance was exported raw. Since 1971 the export of jute has contributed most of the country's foreign exchange earnings. Next to jute, Bangladesh's main exports are tea and hides and skins. Among the minor exports are newsprint, ready-to-wear garments, shrimp, and frogs' legs.The bamboo in the Chittagong Hill Tracts and the various softwood trees growing in the Sundarbans provide excellent raw material for papermaking. There are paper mills at Chandraghona, Chhatak, and at Paksey, as well as a paper and board mill at Khulna.
Bangladesh has fertilizer factories, textile mills, sugar factories, glassworks, and aluminum works. Its two cement factories, located at Chhatak, in the Sylhet area, are unable to meet the growing demand for cement. A shipyard has been opened at Khulna for repairing and reconstructing ships, and a steel mill is located at Chittagong.
By far the most important cottage industry centres on the production of yarn and textile fabrics—mostly coarse and medium-quality fabrics. Another cottage industry produces cigarettes known as bidis. Carpets, ceramics, and cane furniture also are products of cottage industries.
Transportation:
Central to the country's transportation system are networks of waterways, roads, and railways, the latter built mostly during British rule. Inland waterways are important, providing low-cost transport and access to areas where land transport would be costly. They carry most of the domestic and foreign cargo. Chief seaports are Chittagong and Chalna, and there are international airports at Dhaka and Chittagong.The forms of transport used on Bangladesh's roads range from automobiles and buses to the bullock cart. Two-wheeled horse-drawn jigs and buffalo carts are still used in the north in Rajshahi. Town- and city-dwellers both rely largely on the cycle rickshaw and two types of motorized transport, known locally as auto and tempo, both of which are three-wheeled. The lightweight cycle rickshaw, which can easily be used on unpaved roads, is the most popular vehicle in towns and villages. The annual inundations that submerge most of the rural roads necessitate the use of so-called country boats—flat wooden boats that are hand-propelled by means of poles or long paddles.
Administration and social conditions
Government:
While the constitution of 1972 specifies a parliamentary form of government under a prime minister and a president elected by a national assembly, its implementation has been interrupted by coups. In 1975 a military coup led to a regime of martial law, and, though the form of government that obtained thereafter was a mixture of presidential and parliamentary systems, power effectively remained with the army. Following another coup in 1982, the constitution was suspended and the country placed under martial law. In 1986 martial law was lifted and parliamentary elections were held, but in 1987, following a series of strikes and riots, the government dissolved the parliament. A new parliament was elected in 1988.A large-scale administrative reorganization was carried out in the 1980s. While the revenue divisions remained the same—namely, Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi, and Khulna—the older districts were subdivided and each subdivision raised to the status of a district. A new administrative unit, called upazilla, or subdivision, was created to facilitate decentralization of power. The upazillas are headed by an executive officer who has administrative and judicial functions.
Bangladesh has continued with substantially the same judicial system as had been in operation when the territory was a province of Pakistan and which owes its origins to the system in operation under the British raj. The 1972 constitution divided the Supreme Court of Bangladesh into Appellate and High Court divisions and mandated a complete separation of the judiciary and executive branches. During the subsequent authoritarian regime, however, the power of the Supreme Court was greatly reduced. In 1977 a Supreme Judicial Council was established to draw up a code of conduct for Supreme Court and High Court judges, who may be removed from office by the president upon the council's recommendation. The fragmentation of the High Court into five divisions located in different parts of the country—which had been decreed by the military in the 1970s—was rescinded in 1986. Provision was made, however, for the judges to go on circuit for part of the year to hear cases in other parts of the country.
Education:
The foundation of the educational system in Bangladesh was laid down during the period of British rule; the system has three levels—primary, secondary, and higher education. Primary education, which is free but not compulsory, is for children up to about 10 years old. Only about half of all children attend primary school. Secondary education is divided into three levels—junior secondary, high school, and higher secondary (intermediate college)—with public examinations being held at the conclusion of each level of schooling. Schools in cities and towns are generally better staffed and financed than those in rural areas.There are more than 600 colleges, most of them affiliated with the University of Dhaka, the University of Rajshahi, or the University of Chittagong. Other institutions include Jahangirnagar University on the outskirts of the capital, the Bangladesh Agricultural University at Mymensingh, the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology at Dhaka, and the Islamic University at Tongi. Medical education is provided by several medical colleges and an institute of postgraduate medicine at Dhaka. Each college or institute has a full-fledged hospital attached to it.
For vocational training Bangladesh relies on several engineering colleges and a network of polytechnics and law colleges. In addition, there exist a college of arts and crafts, an agricultural college, a college of home economics for women, and an institute of social welfare and research.
The demand for higher education has continued to rise. One of the problems that has continued to impede educational progress is political unrest among students.
Health and welfare:
There are a large number of government hospitals and rural health centres. Malaria, cholera, and tuberculosis are the most serious threats to health. An effective approach to the treatment of cholera and tuberculosis has been developed by research laboratories and hospitals in Dhaka and Comilla. The incidence of malaria has been reduced by a malaria eradication program in which swamps and marshes are regularly sprayed with insecticides. A family-planning program has also been introduced.Social services are provided by private agencies and government departments. These services include community development projects, schools for handicapped children, youth centres, orphanages, and training institutes for social workers.
Cultural life
Daily life:
The typical household in Bangladesh, particularly in the villages, includes several generations of extended family. Most marriages are arranged by parents or other relatives, but increasing numbers of educated men and women choose their own partners. Custom and religion among Muslims require that a dowry be offered by the husband to the wife, but it is usually claimed only in the event of separation or at the husband's death. Divorce is permissible among Muslims. Hindu marriage is sacramental, but a Hindu can obtain a separation by application to a court of law. Muslim law permits limited polygamy.The main festivals in Bangladesh are religious. The two most important are 'Id al-Fitr, which comes at the end of Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting, and 'Id al-Adha, or the festival of sacrifice, which follows two and a half months later. On both occasions families and friends exchange visits.
While rice, pulses, and fish continue to constitute the staple diet of Bangladeshis, shortages of rice since World War II have forced the acceptance of wheat and wheat products as alternatives. Meat, including goat and beef, is also eaten, especially in the towns. At weddings and other festive occasions, rice pilau accompanies highly spiced meat dishes and curries. Bangladesh is noted for a large variety of milk-based sweets.
The lungi (a length of cloth wrapped around the lower half of the body, comparable to the Malaysian sarong) with a short vest is the most common form of male attire in the countryside and among poorer sections in urban settlements. Men of the educated classes prefer light cotton trousers called pajamas (whence the English word) and a kind of collarless knee-length shirt known as a panjabi. On more formal occasions they dress in a modification of the Western suit. The traditional sherwani and churidar, calf-length tunic and close-fitting trousers, are still seen at weddings, where they are worn along with the turban. The sari is common among women, but girls and younger women, especially students, prefer the shalwar kamiz, a combination of calf-length shirt and baggy silk or cotton trousers gathered at the ankles.
The arts:
There are four main types of music in Bangladesh—classical, light-classical, devotional, and popular. Classical music has many forms, of which dhrupad—Hindustani devotional songs—and khayal—a blending of the Perso-Arab and Indian musical systems—are the best known. Devotional music also is represented by qawwali and kirtan, forms that are part of the common musical heritage of the subcontinent. It is, however, in the field of popular music that Bangladesh can best claim originality. The forms known as bhatiali, bhawaiya, jari, sari, marfati, and baul have no exact equivalents outside the country. While they may appear to lack the sophistication and artistry of the classical forms, they are characterized by a spontaneity and vigour missing in classical music.Apart from such classical dances as kathakali and bharata-natya—forms that are popular throughout the subcontinent—Bangladesh has evolved highly original indigenous dances. The best-known are the dhali, baul, manipuri, and snake dances. Each form expresses a particular aspect of tribal or communal life and is danced on specific occasions. In popular music and dancing alike, improvisation has been traditional. With the increasing commercialization of the arts, however, improvisation has been on the wane. The best-known among the academies devoted to music and dancing are the Bulbul Academy and the Nazrul Academy.
Painting in Bangladesh is a recently introduced art form. The main figure behind the art movement was Zainul Abedin, whose sketches of the Bengal famine of 1943 first attracted attention. He was able, after 1947, to gather around him a school of artists who experimented with various forms, both orthodox and original.
Traditional architecture in Bangladesh is represented by the many mosques, mausoleums, forts, and gateways that have survived from the Mughal period. These, like Muslim architecture elsewhere in the subcontinent, are characterized by the pointed arch, the dome, and the minaret. The best-preserved example is the 77-dome mosque at Bagerhat in the south. The ruins of Lalbagh Fort at Dhaka also provide some idea of the old traditions. Although in style and conception traditional architecture belongs to the same school as medieval buildings in northern India, Bangladesh's distinctive contribution lay in the translation into brick and mortar of the sloping, four-sided thatched roof found in the countryside.
Some remains of pre-Muslim Buddhist architecture have been unearthed at Paharpur and Mahasthan in the north and at Maynamati in the south. They are said to date from the 8th century, and they exhibit the circular stupa pattern characteristic of ancient Buddhist monasteries in India.
Public buildings in the British and Pakistani periods sometimes followed the Mughal style, but preferences have shifted in recent times to modern International style. Skyscrapers are, however, ruled out by the softness of Bangladesh's subsoil.
Recreation:
Football (soccer) in the course of the 20th century supplanted practically all traditional sports. Field hockey, cricket, tennis, badminton, and wrestling also are practiced. The best-known of the indigenous games is ha-do-do. The rules require each team in turn to send out a player to raid the other's territory. The raider must, while chanting, touch as many opposing players as he can without taking a breath. Kite-flying is another traditional pastime enjoyed by young and old alike. The making of elaborate kites from cloth or paper is a distinctive visual folk art as well.All towns and most villages have cinema houses. Plays are occasionally staged by amateur groups and drama societies in educational institutions and are broadcast regularly on radio and television. Musical concerts, though not as popular as the cinema, are well attended. Especially popular in the countryside is jatra, a rudimentary form of opera that draws on local legends.
Press and broadcasting:
Programs are broadcast on radio and television in English and Bengali; news on the radio is also broadcast in Urdu, Hindi, Burmese, and Arabic. The Bengali newspapers have relatively small circulations, a fact that reflects the low level of literacy in the country. For each reader, however, there are commonly five or six listeners, sometimes more, so that the influence of the press on opinion is greater than the sales suggest. The circulation of the English dailies is even less, but, because their patrons are the educated classes, they exercise a disproportionate influence. Both radio and television are controlled by the government. The majority of newspapers are privately owned, and the press is relatively free.
History
Land, language, and religion:
Bangladesh has existed as an independent state only since 1971, yet its national character dates to the ancient past (see also the articles India, history of and Pakistan, history of). This identity consists in three distinctive attributes—a land, a language, and a religion.The land is shaped by the two great rivers, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, which join in central Bangladesh to become the Padma. They are the greatest of a series of rivers winding down to the Bay of Bengal. This region has always been isolated from the north Indian plain. In early times eastern Bengal was called Vanga, while western Bengal was known as Gauda.
The Bengali language began to assume a distinct form in the 7th century AD and by the 11th century had acquired its own literature. The “Bengali Renaissance” of the 19th century was centred in Calcutta, and its greatest figure was the poet Rabindranath Tagore. Almost all of the movement's literary and artistic celebrities were Hindus.
The Buddhism that under the Mauryan emperor Asoka's patronage spread across the whole subcontinent in the 3rd century BC was driven out after the decline of Maurya power, as Brahmanical Hinduism reestablished its hold. In remote eastern Bengal, however, Buddhism lingered on under the Pala kings (8th–12th century) until their overthrow by the Senas, who worshiped the Hindu god Vishnu. The Senas encouraged the settlement of high-caste Hindus as lords of the land, but this did not greatly affect the general populace. Then, in about AD 1200, Muslim invaders from the northwest overthrew the Senas, and Islam found a mass following among the Vanga people. In the eastern part of the country—Noakhali, Chittagong, and Sylhet—Arab traders also spread Islamic teaching. Whereas in northern India the strength of caste Hinduism was enough to withstand centuries of Muslim dominance, culminating in the Mughal dynasty (16th–18th century), in eastern Bengal, Islam became the religion of the majority.
As Mughal authority declined, the Suba, or Dominion, of Bengal—including Bihar and Orissa—became semi-independent. The threat to the Muslim rulers of the Suba came first from the east from Arakanese pirates and Portuguese raiders, and in 1608 the capital was moved from Rajmahal to Dhaka. When further invasion threatened from central India from the rising power of the Maratha kingdom, the capital was shifted to Murshidabad in 1704. It was during this period that the English East India Company established its base at Calcutta. From 1757 the British were the dominant political power in Bengal.
Reluctant to become involved in Indian administration, the British confirmed the landed magnates, or zamindars, in their charge of vast estates. Some were Muslims (such as the Nawab of Dhaka), but most were Hindu rajas, even in eastern Bengal. They were required to collect revenue from the land, and they appointed agents to ensure regular collection. These agents formed the new middle class of Bengal, the bhadralok (“respectable people”). Mainly upper-caste Hindus, they collected the revenue from peasants, who were mainly Muslims. The bhadralok resided in Calcutta and the larger towns; in time they became the most active advocates of Indian self-government.
The province of Bengal was almost impossible to administer, even though Assam was made a separate province in 1874. In 1905, largely at the initiative of the viceroy, Lord Curzon, two new provinces were created: Western Bengal, with Bihar and Orissa, and Eastern Bengal and Assam. The division, made on a geopolitical rather than an avowedly communal basis, followed one of the branch rivers of the Ganges from Rajmahal in the north to the sea. It gave Eastern Bengal, with its capital at Dhaka, a population of 31 million, all but 6 million being Bengalis. Behind Curzon's move, besides greater efficiency, was the intention of encouraging the Bengali Muslims as a counterweight to the “seditious” Bengali Hindus.
The partition elicited vociferous protest in Western Bengal, especially in Calcutta. A prominent part was played by Tagore, whose family had vast holdings along the Padma. The campaign included a boycott of British manufactures under the slogan “swadeshi” (literally “of our own country,” but also meaning “India-made goods”). The Muslim notables, still loyal to the British, decided that they also needed to organize. Their principal leaders were in northern India, but in December 1906 they gathered at Dhaka under the patronage of Nawab Salimullah and set up the All-India Muslim League. Their efforts secured separate electorates and separate constituencies for the Muslims under the 1909 Reforms, but the campaign against the partition of Bengal went on, and in 1912 the province was reunited (Bihar and Orissa being separated and Assam reverting to separate status).
Despite the separate electorates, the Muslim League had no majority in any province. In reunited Bengal, where Muslims formed a majority of the population (33 million in a total of 60 million), they received 117 seats in the Bengal Legislative Council numbering 250. It was necessary to adopt coalition tactics. The politician most adept at this was Fazl ul-Haq, chief minister of Bengal from 1937 to 1943. He set up his own Peasants and Tenants Party, but he was also active in the Muslim League from its inception. When in 1940 the Muslim League held its annual gathering at Lahore, Fazl ul-Haq proposed a resolution calling for “independent states” for the Muslims. The press labeled this the “Pakistan Resolution,” but for Fazl ul-Haq and many others it implied a plurality of states. Distrusted by the influential Indian Muslim politician Mohammed Ali Jinnah (the first governor-general of Pakistan [1947–48]), Fazl ul-Haq was expelled from the league. In his place Khwaja Nazimuddin became chief minister. Nazimuddin, a relative of the nawab of Dhaka, was loyal to Jinnah but lacked political finesse. He was displaced in 1945 by the more sophisticated Hussein Shaheed Suhrawardy. Suhrawardy was the main architect of the Muslim League's success in Bengal in the 1946 election. He became chief minister of Bengal in 1946.
After protracted negotiations it became clear that the Congress Party (Indian National Congress) could not expect to preserve a united India. A major factor was the intense intercommunal conflict in August 1946 known as the “Great Calcutta Killing.” On his arrival as the new viceroy the following year, Admiral Lord Mountbatten drafted a plan to partition the subcontinent. Suhrawardy met with Sarat Chandra Bose, the acknowledged Hindu political leader in Bengal, and the two agreed that they should claim a separate, independent united Bengal. Jinnah was prepared to agree, as was Mountbatten, but Mahatma Gandhi and the Congress Party refused. When partition did come, it was decided by religion rather than language.
The boundaries of East Pakistan:
The boundaries of East Pakistan, which the region became, were determined by Sir Cyril Radcliffe, chairman of the Boundary Commission, as there was total disagreement among his Hindu and Muslim colleagues. The boundary he defined did not follow any clear natural feature, as in the 1905 partition, nor was it wholly based on communal proportions. Excluded wholly or partly from East Pakistan were Murshidabad, Nadia, Jessore, and Dinajpur, each approximately 60 percent Muslim. Included were Khulna (49 percent Muslim) and the Chittagong Hill Tracts, where Muslims formed only 3 percent of the population. In addition, following a plebiscite, the Sylhet area (61 percent Muslim), formerly a part of Assam province, and a small area of Cachar (38 percent) were included.On both sides of the new boundary, those who believed themselves a threatened minority moved into what they perceived as a place of refuge. Along with Muslim Bengalis arriving from Hindu majority districts, there were many Muslims who came from Bihar. One district, Purnea, had an actual Muslim majority and had been claimed by Jinnah. About one million Biharis settled in the new state.
At independence, Suhrawardy lingered in Calcutta, and Nazimuddin became chief minister of East Pakistan. From the beginning, the link between the two parts of Pakistan was tenuous; indeed, their only common interest was fear of Indian domination. Jinnah and his advisers believed that unification might be achieved through a common language, Urdu, which was used in the army and administration. The Bengalis perceived this as a threat. Their other major grievance was that their export products, jute and tea, provided most of Pakistan's foreign exchange; yet the central government mainly stimulated development in the West.
The Bengalis began to feel that they had no real power in Pakistan. When Jinnah died, Nazimuddin became governor-general; but when Liaquat Ali Khan, the prime minister, was shot in October 1951, Nazimuddin took over, installing a Punjabi, Ghulam Mohammad, as governor-general. Although Nazimuddin had a majority in the legislature, Ghulam Mohammad dismissed him in April 1953. The East Bengal electorate demonstrated its dissatisfaction when an election was held in March 1954. A “United Front” was formed, including the extreme right (religious fundamentalist) and left (quasi-Marxist). Its main leaders were the aged Fazl ul-Haq and his revamped Workers and Peasants Party and Suhrawardy, who made his comeback with a new party, the Awami League. The Front won 300 seats, while the Muslim League retained only 10. The Front ministers were dismissed after two months. Ghulam Mohammad appointed Major General Iskander Mirza governor of East Bengal. He announced a tough regime, and his task was simplified by the quarrels among the different elements of the United Front. The deputy speaker was killed in an assembly brawl.
In 1956 Pakistan at last obtained a proper constitution in which both wings were equally represented. Thus far, prime ministers had come and gone; Suhrawardy, who took office in September 1956 with a motley group of supporters, lasted only one year. In 1958, government by politicians was superseded by a military regime.
Under the military the elite civil servants assumed great importance, which adversely affected the East wing. In 1947 there had been only one Bengali Muslim in the Indian Civil Service (ICS), whereas the West wing had produced about 40. Although recruitment policy was designed to diminish the difference, by 1960 only about one-third of the personnel in the Civil Service of Pakistan (successor to the ICS) were Bengalis, with none in senior positions.
Bengali discontent festered, finding a spokesman in Mujibur Rahman (known as Sheikh Mujib). Like previous leaders, Mujib belonged to a landed family. Mujib was one of the founders of the Awami League in 1949 and, after Suhrawardy's death, became its leading figure. Jailed repeatedly by the military, he acquired an aura of martyrdom, but he was an orator, not a statesman. He announced a six-point demand for autonomy. When in December 1970 President Yahya Khan ordered elections, the Awami League won 167 of the 169 seats allotted to East Pakistan, or Bangladesh as it was now popularly called, in the National Assembly. This gave the League an overall majority in a chamber of 313 members. In West Pakistan, however, the Pakistan People's Party, led by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, won 81 of 144 seats; Bhutto saw himself as Mujib's rival.
Throughout March 1971 President Yahya Khan negotiated at length in Dhaka with Mujib while government troops poured in from West Pakistan. Then, on March 25, the army launched a massive attack in which there were heavy casualties, including many students. Mujib was arrested and flown to West Pakistan. Most of the Awami League leaders fled and set up a government-in-exile in Calcutta, declaring Bangladesh an independent state. Internal resistance was mobilized by some Bengali units of the regular army, notably by Major Zia ur-Rahman, who held out for some days in Chittagong before the town's recapture by the Pakistan army. He then retreated to the border and began to organize bands of guerrillas. A different resistance was started by student militants, among whom Abdul Kader Siddiqi with his followers, known as Kader Bahini, acquired a reputation for ferocity.
Some 10 million Bengalis, mainly Hindus, fled over the frontier into India. The Indian government watched the struggle with alarm. The Awami League, which they supported, was a moderate middle-class body like the Congress Party; but many guerrillas were leftist. The United States and China, for different reasons, were committed to a united Pakistan; India and the Soviet Union wanted a Bangladesh dependent on India. Eventually, on Dec. 3, 1971, the Indian army invaded the territory of its neighbour. The Pakistani defenses surrendered on December 16. Mujib was released from jail and returned to a hero's welcome, assuming leadership of the new Bangladesh government in January 1972.
Hugh Russell Tinker (Emeritus Professor of Politics, University of Lancaster, England. Author of India and Pakistan: A Political Analysis and others.)
Revenge was brought against those who had collaborated. Local paramilitary forces, known as Razakars, had been raised. The Bengali force was called Al-Badr, while another, Al-Shams, was recruited from Urdu speakers—still called Biharis, though most had been born locally. A terrible retribution ensued, with Kader Siddiqi as public executioner. The Biharis had to flee into enclaves where their numbers gave some security, but many were killed. Hundreds of thousands of Biharis were placed in overcrowded refugee camps, where decades later many still awaited immigration to Pakistan.
Mujib preached a secular state, and the new national anthem was a poem by Tagore. In 1973 an election gave Mujib a landslide majority, but the euphoria soon turned sour. Prices escalated, and in 1974 a great famine claimed 50,000 lives. Faced with crisis, Mujib became a virtual dictator; corruption and nepotism reached new depths. On Aug. 15, 1975, Mujib was assassinated along with most of his family.
Right-wing, pro-Pakistan army officers were behind the killing, but there also have been allegations of U.S. support. The reconstructed army split into rival factions. Some of those who had fought in the resistance were politicized, especially the soldiers. The 1,000 officers and 28,000 soldiers who had been serving in the West since 1970 were not repatriated until 1973–74; they were allegedly pro-Pakistan and jealous of the fighters whom Mujib had favoured. A third military group comprised those who had worked with the Pakistanis in their brutal repression. A second coup in November 1975 brought Major General Zia ur-Rahman into power. Despite his own resistance record he turned against India and favoured those considered pro-Pakistan. A referendum held in May 1977 gave him an enormous vote of confidence. This did not prevent several military coup attempts, however, and on May 30, 1981, he was assassinated by radical officers. The prompt action of the chief of staff, Lieutenant General Hossain Mohammad Ershad, foiled their plans, and the conspirators were hanged.
The civilian vice-president, Abdus Sattar, was confirmed as president by a nationwide election in 1981, but he was ill, and real power was exercised by Ershad and a National Security Council. On March 24, 1982, Ershad ejected Sattar and took over as chief martial-law administrator. In December 1983 he assumed the office of president. To legitimize his authority he called elections for a National Assembly, and formed his own National Party. The election of May 1986 was contested by many parties. The National Party won 210 of the 330 seats in the legislature, just short of the two-thirds majority required to pass a fundamental law to legalize the martial-law regulations and revert to constitutional practice.
Ershad retired from the military command the following August, demonstrating his confidence that the army was now under control. He called a presidential election for October, but the main opposition parties—the Awami League, now led by Mujib's daughter, Sheikh Hasina Wajad, and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, headed by Begum Khaleda Zia ur-Rahman, wife of the slain president—boycotted the election. Ershad received 84 percent of the total.
The opposition parties began a campaign of strikes and demonstrations to force Ershad's resignation. In the late 1980s the poor state of the country's economy brought greater pressure on Ershad, and in December 1990, after weeks of violent antigovernment demonstrations, he finally agreed to step down. A caretaker government, headed by Chief Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed, was chosen by the opposition parties. In parliamentary elections held just two months later, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party emerged as the single largest block, and Zia became prime minister.
This political turmoil had little relevance to the country's basic problems. At the 1951 census the East Pakistan population numbered 42 million (about 12 million being Hindus); by the early 1990s there were more than 100 million, despite massive emigration to neighbouring Assam and Tripura in India and a smaller exodus over the Arakan border with Myanmar. Agriculture was still the occupation of more than half the labour force, and what economic development there had been was confined to the environs of Dhaka and Chittagong.
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