Bangladesh

Overview

The predominant geographical feature of Bangladesh is certainly the river system. There are the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghua rivers as well as many smaller flows and canals. These all allow boat journeys, often in vintage paddle steamers as methods of transportation or as enjoyable activities in their own right. The local sailboats that are prevalent are especially beautiful. The range of wildlife and historical sites is expansive. The former are generally found in the forested regions of the Madhupur jungle, the mangrove swamps of the Sundarban and the tropical rain forest of the Chittagong Hills. The barking Deer and Hoolock Gibbons will almost certainly be heard before seen with their respective distinctive bark and whistles. There are not a great deal of elephants but this will soon be forgotten if the mighty Bengal Tiger is spotted. The demarcated stripes provide year round camouflage, so careful observation will have to be made. The capital, Dhaka has more than 700 mosques and historic buildings which on their own would keep a visitor busy for a long time. Within the area the imposing Lalbagh Fort is impressive as are the Mausoleum of Bibi Pari and Audience hall that it encloses. The really wondrous sites require leaving the capital and the making of trips deeper into the country. Puthia holds some medieval Hindu temples, Kantanagar, the highly decorated temple of the same name, built by the Maharaja Pran Nath of Dinajpur and the Shait Gumbad Mosque near Khulna, one of...more

History

Bangladesh, formely the east wing of Pakistan, emerged as an independent nation in December 1971. The exclamation on the occasion--"Joi Bangla! Joi Bangla!" (Victory to Bengal! Victory to Bengal!) was a collective and plaintive cry following a particularly bitter and bloody struggle for freedom. These words echoed the cultural and ethnic disposition of the new state--in short the ethos of the people--that Bangladesh was to be a culturally and linguistically cohesive unit. Pakistan itself had been created on August 15 1947 largely the result of communal passions pitting Hindus against Muslims. Pakistan was divided into two wings separated by 1 600 kilometers of Indian territory with Islam only a tenuous link between the two wings. Of paramount importance to East Pakistanis was the Bangla (before 1971 usually referred to as Bengali) language and culture a consideration not appreciated by the West Wing of Pakistan until it was too late.

When Bangladesh joined the community of nations it was at first recognized by only India and Bhutan. With its fragile and underdeveloped economic infrastructure under extreme duress its law and order situation challenged by numerous well-armed contingents of unemployed former freedom fighters its impoverished population agitated by the unfulfilled promise of rising expectations Bangladesh was in international circles given the unfortunate label of "international basket case."

Bangladeshis rejoiced at their attainment of independence and offered their adulation to the first national leader of Bangladesh Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (Mujib) or the Bangabandhu the "Beloved of Bangladesh." Yet the future of Bangladesh envisioned by the...more