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| Overview |
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Capital: Dhaka
Official language: Bengali
Currency: Taka
Population: 150,448,340
Bangladesh as we see today was established with the partition of Bengal and India in 1947, it was a part of newly formed Pakistan and was its eastern-wing and the western wing was far across India with the difference of 1600 km. The economic neglect, political and lingual discrimination led to the popular revolt to establish itself as an independent country. |
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| Geography |
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Bangladesh is a South Asian country bordering Bay of Bengal and located between Myanmar in the Southeast and India. is located in the low-lying Ganges-Brahmaputra or Ganges Delta. This Delta is formed by the union of the Brahmaputra, Ganges and Meghna rivers and their tributaries. Majority of the coastline constitutes the Sundarbans, a marshy jungle, the largest mangrove forest in the world, home for various flora and fauna, including the famous Bengal Tiger. Mowdok range in Chittagong hill is the highest point in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh is divided into six administrative blocks, named after their divisional headquarters; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka (The capital City), Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet |
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| History |
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Bangladesh as we call it today was a integral part of Indian Subcontinent. Bangladesh primarily comprises of East of Bengal and a district of Assam called the Sylhet. Bangladesh was ruled by the Buddhist fro centuries but, by 10 century became primarily Hindu. Bangladesh was ruled by the British India until Indian independence on 1947. Pakistan and Bangladesh were the two predominant Muslim region of Indian subcontinent.
25 years post independence Bangladesh was a part of Pakistan, united by religion. Difference developed due to cultural and economic diversity, and therefore sought independence. Pakistan agreed to recognize Bangladesh as a independent state in 1974. Since independence form Pakistan, Sheikh Hasina is the only Prime Minister to have completed her five-year term as Prime Minister in July 2000.
In Oct. 2001 elections, Khaleda Zia won the prime ministership again. In, 2006 violence had erupted when Khaleda Zia ended her term, so President Ahmed took over as the head of a caretaker administration, who is currently the interim head of the government |
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| Economy |
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Bangladesh is a developing nation. Agriculture is one of the major source of income for more that two third of the country, however major export earning is sourced from the garment industry. This is result of the cheap labour and low conversion rate. According to the World Bank the major hindrance to growth are the poor governance and weak public institutions.
But, apart from this fact natural calamities have also contributed in slowing down the economy of the country like the floods, cyclones. The consumer industry has seen an incredible growth, especially with the expansion of the middle class. Natural gas sector is the major priority for the country, various multinationals like the Tata, Unocal corporation have made major investments in Bangladesh.
The Agricultural products to be found in Bangladesh are rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit, beef, milk, poultry. And, the Industrial products are cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, and sugar. |
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| Government |
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Bangladesh is a Parliamentary democratic country, with Islam as the State religion. After every five years, direct elections are held, where the entire citizen above the age of 18 have the right to participate. The Prime Minister is the Head of the Government, who forms the cabinet and takes the responsibility given to him.
There are two major Bangladeshi party, The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and The Bangladesh Awami league. The president is Mr. Iajuddin Ahmed (2002) and the head of Interim government is Fakhruddin Ahmed (2007). In 2006 Elections were postponed and in 2007 emergency law was declared with the caretaker government. Elections will be held in 2008. |
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| People |
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Bangladesh is the 7th most populous country in the world, which is relatively young. 98% of Bangladeshis are Bengali, the rest 2% comprises of the indigenous tribal group and non-Bengali Muslims. The official language used in Bangladesh is Bengali, as in the West of Bengal.
The two major religions of Bangladesh are Islam, 89.7% and Hinduism with 9.2%. Out of the entire Muslims population 96% are Sunni Muslims and only 3% Shi's. Other religions followed in Bangladesh are Buddhism, Christianity and Animists. |
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| Climate |
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| The Climate in Bangladesh is Tropical in nature with a hot and humid summers from March to June and mild winters from October to March Monsoon season lasts from June to October. Natural calamities occur every year from tropical cyclones, tornadoes, floods and tidal bores, combined with soil degradation, erosion and deforestation. |
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