User:Shazzadul

 Introduction:'''

Bangladesh, a small country in South East Asia not a very mordenized country, yet full of culture and history; where people strugle for survival, yet full of love and joy; pollution in some cities, yet the whole country is still green and beautiful. For some it's just another country, but for some it's our motherland. Very young country with much to give this world. Green Bangladesh is the land of the free with red blooded people just like you and I.

Basic Facts & Figures:

People's Republic of Bangladesh is the offcial name of the country. Location: South Asia. Area: 55,598 sq mi. Population: 141,340,476 (estimated July 2004) Capital & Largest City: Dhaka. Major Languages: Bangali, or Bangla (official); English. Major Religion: Muslim. Monetary Unit: Taka (1 take = 100 poisha). Government: Republic. Head of State - President. Head of government - Prime Minister. Legislature - Jatiya Sangsad (National Assembly). Chief Products: Agricultural - Jute, Rice, Tea, Sugarcane, Fruits, Oilseeds, Wheat. Manufactured - Jute Products, Cotton Textiles, Refined Sugar, Leather Goods, Fertilizer, Paper. Mineral - Natural Gas. source: Grolier Encyclopedia

 The Land:

The size of Bangladesh is 57,214 Square Miles or 148,393 Square Kilometers. Bangladesh is a land largely of low plain crisscrossed by rivers. The most important rivers are the Ganges and the Brahmaputra and their tributaries. In the south the rivers, by depositing sediment, have created areas of very rich soil. The only prominent areas are in the southeast, in the Chittagong Hills. The hill country, the home of the tribal people, is covered with dense tropical forest. Bangladesh is a tropical country. The average temperatures range from over 60ºF (16ºC) to 90ºF (32ºC). It is also a land of heavy monsoon rains, which fall from June to September. In addition, violent winds called cyclones (or typhoons) regularly bring heavy flooding to the region, causing many deaths and widespread devastation. Since Bangladesh's independence alone, cyclones have killed thousand of people and left millions more homeless.

 The People:

Bangladesh means "Bengal Nation," and the vast majority of the people are Bengalis who are related to the Bengalis of Neighboring India. The largest minority groups are the Bihar is, who emigrated from India, and the tribal people of the Chittagong Hills. Most of the people are Muslims. There are sizable number of Hindus and some Buddhists and Christians. The hill tribes practice traditional religions. Bengali or Bangali is the official language, but English is also widely spoken. Bengalis place great value on education, and almost every village has one or more local schools. The government provides free primary school education fro five years. Bangladesh has a number of colleges and universities. The oldest and largest is the University of Dhaka, founded in 1921, which is located in Dhaka, the capital. The Basic unite of life in Bangladesh is the village. It is usually located along the course of a river or canal with rice fields nearby. Communication between villages used to be chiefly by boat. But now the transportation system has improved and people also can travel by Car, Bus, or Rickshaw. There are thousand of boats, of all sized and shapes, and they travel up and down the rivers carrying people and goods. The everyday diet in Bangladesh consists of rice, fish, vegetable and meats. But in village area it's mostly Rice and fish. The typical house is built of reeds, bamboo, tin, and mats and is plastered with clay or mud in most rural, village area.

The Economy:

Bangladesh is an agriculture country. The main food crop is rice; Jute is the major commercial crop. Bangladesh is one of the world's leading producers and suppliers of jute, a plant fiber used to make burlap, sacking, thread, and carpets. Exports of jute are the country's chief source of income. Tea, grown in the hill region, sit the second most important cash crop. Other crops include sugarcane, wheat, mangoes, coconuts, pineapples, and oilseeds, from which cooking oil is derived. The principal industry of Bangladesh is the manufacture of jute products. Other manufactured goods include refined sugar, leather goods, fertilizer, cotton textiles, and papers. When it comes to mineral resources, Bangladesh has vast amount of natural gas. Besides that Bangladesh also have Petroleum, Coal, and Sand.

History:

Although Bangladesh is a young nation, but it's history goes back to the very past. First Bangladesh was part of the larger Bengal region of eastern India. Bangladesh was ruled by various groups of invaders. The Turks, the Moguls, and the British ruled it. India gained its independence on 15th August 1947 from Britain. East Bengal (Now Bangladesh) became part of Pakistan. The new nation was created on 14th August 1947 because the Muslim League demanded and independent and separate nation for the parts of the former British Indian Empire where the Muslims were a majority. Pakistan was born with built-in-defects. It was made up of two parts, East Pakistan and West Pakistan, which were separated by a large distance because India lay between them. The two parts of Pakistan were quite different in their people and cultures. West Pakistanis took control over the new nation fast. East Pakistan turned out to be a good place for commercial investments. But the East Pakistanis (Bengalis) charged that most of the profits were drained off to West Pakistan. The West Pakistani leaders were accused of neglecting the interests of the eastern region and treating it as a colony. East Pakistanis also were not receiving their fair share f political power. They believed they were entitled to a greater voice because made up more than 55% of the nation's total population. Other issues such these led to frustration and disgruntlement among the Bengalis of Pakistan. The government at first refused to accept Bengali as one of the national language and wanted them speak only Urdu. Popularity elected local governments in the east was dismissed on charges of wanting to break away from Pakistan. Bengali leaders imprisoned as traitors. There were numerous riots, and a long period of military rule (from 1952 - 1971) created dangerous stress in the East. The climax came in the elections of 1970. The Awami League, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, won most of the seats in the East Pakistani provincial legislature. The victory would have given Sheikh Mujib a significant position in Pakistani politics. This situation was unacceptable to General Yahoo Khan, the leader of the national government. and Zulifkar Ali Bhutto, the leader of the Pakistan People's Party, the majority party in West Pakistan. They objected especially to the Awami League's Six Point Program, which included self-government for the eastern region. West Pakistani leaders believed this would lead to the breaking up of Pakistan. The two part of Pakistan tried to shape a plan for reinstating civilian rule and planning a new constitution. Their failure to do so set off riots in the East. The West Pakistani army brutally concealed the riots. Millions of people lost their lives and hundreds of villages were destroyed. Almost 10,000,000 Bengalis, mostly Hindus, escaped to India. This placed a huge economic burden on India. As a result, India became involved in what was effectively a civil war between two parts of Pakistan. Bangladesh declared independence on March 26th, 1971 and fought the fight for the freedom for almost 9 straight months. With the help of Indian Army, Bangladesh' guerilla fighter had forced Pakistani forces to surrender and became independent on December 16th, 1971. The Bangladesh provisional government had been formed earlier in India and its members arrived in Dhaka and took control. Bangladesh National Father (National Leader) Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who had been arrested and imprisoned in West Pakistan, was released. He arrived in Bangladesh on January 10th, 1972 and became Prime Minister of the new Bangladesh. He later became President. Bangladesh face massive problems after the war ended. Millions of people had become refugees. The economy had be disrupted, and political fights tore the country. In 1975 army officers overthrew the government, and President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was killed with his almost entire family. General Ziaur Rahman governed Bangladesh under marital law. In 1978, Ziaur Rahman was elected president. Martial law was lifted in 1979, and elections were held for the legislature. IN 1981, Zia was killed during an challenged coup. In 1982, General Hussain Mohamamed Ershad seized power and re-forced martial law. After many postponements, new elections for the presidency and legislature were held in 1986. Ershad was elected president and later lifted martial law. His opponent, charging widespread fraud, reused to take part in the elections. The other opposition also boycotted elections held in 1988. Widespread protest forced Ershad to resign in late 1990. In new election of 1991, the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) won the most number of seats in the legislature. The party leader, Khaleda Zia, widow of the former president Ziaur Rahman, was named prime minister.