Project: Bangladesh/Country

The People's Republic of Bangladesh
Flag of Bangladesh

Contents

Location

The People's Republic of Bangladesh is a country in South Asia, located in the delta of the Padma (Ganges) and Jamuna (Brahmaputra) rivers in the northeastern part of the Indian subcontinent. It shares borders with India on its west, north, and east. To the southeast, it interfaces with Myanmar along a shorter boundary of just 27 kilometers. Along the south, the country meets the Bay of Bengal.

See Also: Geography of Bangladesh

Administrative Divisions

Bangladesh is divided into eight administrative divisions, each named after the major city which also serves as the administrative seat of that division. Each division is further divided into several districts, which are then subdivided into upazilas, and then into union councils.


See Also: Divisions of Bangladesh

The capital of Bangladesh is Dhaka. With a population of around 22 million, Dhaka is by far the largest city in Bangladesh. Other major cities include Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet, Bogra and Comilla.


See Also: List of Cities and Towns in Bangladesh

History

The early recorded history of Bangladesh is characterized by a succession of Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms and empires that fought for control of the Bengal region. From the 14th century onward, it was ruled by the Bengal Sultanate, which Europeans referred to as the richest country to trade with.

The Mughal Empire was founded in 1526 by Babur, a descendant of Genghis Khan. At its zenith, the Mughal Empire covered modern-day India and Pakistan (including present-day Bangladesh), as well as Afghanistan. The empire’s administrative organization allowed it to prosper for more than two centuries. With the death of Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707, however, the empire fell into decline and local princes began fighting for control. The British East India Company took advantage of these squabbles and took control of land for themselves. After the Nawab of Bengal lost the battle of Plassey in 1757, the East India Company rapidly took control of the Empire.

In 1905, the British partitioned Bengal into East and West Bengal, but this was annulled in 1911 due to strong opposition.

In 1947, Bengal was again partitioned, with Eastern Bengal joining Pakistan and Western Bengal joining India. Eastern Bengal then became known as Eastern Pakistan.

In 1971, the Bangladesh Liberation War led to the independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan.

Historical Timeline

  • 1300s: The Bengal Sultanate rises to power
  • 1526: The Mughal Empire was founded by Babur
  • 1707: Emperor Aurangzeb dies and the empire fell into decline and local princes began
  • 1757: Following the Battle of Plasse, the British Wast India Company took control of the Empire.
  • 1905: The British partitioned Bengal into East and West Bengal
  • 1911: Bengal was reunited
  • 1947: Bengal was again partitioned, with Eastern Bengal joining Pakistan and Western Bengal joining India. Eastern Bengal became known as Eastern Pakistan.
  • 1971 The Bangladesh Liberation War led to the independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan.

See also: History of Bangladesh

Ethnicities:

The population of Bangladesh is nearly ethnically homogeneous, with 98% of the population being Bengali. Minor ethnic groups include the Bihari , who migrated from the east Indian state of Bihar to East Pakistan in 1947 during the division of the country; the Chakma, who mainly populate the hilly area in the southeast region of the country. Other minority ethnic groups include the Meitei, Tripuri, Marma, Tanchangya, Barua, Khasi, Santhals, Rakhine, Garo, Biharis, Oraons, and Mundas.

See Also: Bangladeshis

Languages:

Bengali (Bangla) is the official language of Bangladesh, spoken by about 99% of the population. It is the world’s seventh most spoken native language. Bangladesh is diglossic, meaning that most people speak both Standard Bengali (the lingua franca of Bangladesh) and a local dialect. English is the de facto co-official language of the country. Other languages spoken include Burmese and Urdu. Bangladesh also has several indigenous languages that are spoken by the different indigenous groups living in the country. These include Chakma, Garo, Meitei, Kokborok, Rakhine, and others.

See also: Languages of Bangladesh

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Religions:

Although Islam is the official state religion and also the dominant religion practiced in the country, with its adherents constituting 91% of the total population, Bangladesh is mostly governed by secular laws. The constitution states that "the State shall ensure equal status and equal right in the practice of the Hindu, Buddhist, Christian and other faiths and religions". Most Bangladeshis are Sunni Muslims. Buddhism is practiced by just 0.6% of the population, while Christianity accounts for only 0.3% of Bangladeshis. A small number also follow religions like Sikhism, Bahai Faith, Sarnaism, Animism and other religions.

See Also: Religion in Bangladesh

Bangladeshi Naming Conventions

In Bangladesh, personal names consist of one or several given names and a surname. The given name is usually gender-specific and is cited in the “Western order” of “given name, surname”. Personal names may depend generally on the person’s religion and also have origins from other languages like Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit, and Pali, but they are used and pronounced according to the native Bengali language.

A majority of the people of Bangladesh are adherents of Islam, and because of this, they mostly use names of Arabic origins followed by Farsi, Bengali, and Pali origins. Among Muslims of Bangladesh, there are several different naming conventions. There is no fixed scheme for the structure of names.

Many people do not use a family name, so members of a family can have different last names. The system of usage of different family names in the same family may also be followed by non-Muslims due to the dominating name style of not having the same family names in a family by Muslims in Bangladesh.

See Also: Bengali Names



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