General information about Bangladesh

Bangladesh (Bengali: বাংলাদেশ) in South Asia is bordered by the Indian states of West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram, as well as Myanmar and the Bay of Bengal. The total length of the border is 4,246 km, of which 193 km with Myanmar and 4,053 km with India. The coast length is 580 km. Dhaka local time corresponds to GMT plus four hours, during European winter time plus five hours.

Geography, environment and climate

Dhaka is the capital of the country. With an estimated seventeen million inhabitants, the largest city in the country followed by Chittagong. The largest part of the country consists of the delta area of different major rivers like Ganges, Jamuna, Brahmaputra, Padma, Meghna and countless tributaries. On the basis of the transported water, the local delta (Sundarbans) is only surpassed by the Amazon delta. Flooding is not a rarity, as the rivers have to carry increasingly large quantities of water. The rising sea level does the rest. In terms of the number of people affected (about fifteen million), the coastal region of Bangladesh is the most affected by global warming.

Physiologically, Bangladesh is divided into three main groups: Tertiary hills extend across the Chittagong Hill Tracts in the southeast to Sylhet in the north-east. These hills consist mainly of sandstone, slate and clay. The average height is 450 meters. The peak of the country “Keokradong” (Marma for “Rocky Hills”), 967 meters high, is located in the province of Bandarban in the southeast. Terraces from the Pleistocene can be found in various areas of the country, especially in the central and north-western regions. The average height of these terraces is about 25 meters. The new lowland area accounts for about 85% of the country and could be further classified (Piedmont, flood-, delta-, tidal-regions, coastal plains). The average height of these levels is only a few meters, so Dhaka lies just six meters above sea level.

Due to its geographic location, Bangladesh has a correspondingly high species diversity, so the quantity of bird species present here is almost the same as in the whole of Europe. In total, there are 121 mammalian species, 690 bird species, 158 reptile species and 53 species of amphibians in Bangladesh. Bangladesh has never lost its connection with the mainland, so there are also no species that occur exclusively here. Bangladesh was originally a country rich in wetlands and tropical forests, but large parts were cultivated. There are three species of forest, the largest area is covered by mangrove forest, evergreen mixed forest and a small part of deciduous forest. Approximately seven percent of the country is permanently under water, 21 percent temporarily. 35 percent are affected by flooding. The hilly areas of the South and North East are mostly covered by shrub- and heath-vegetation (about five percent of the country).

The tropical climate, with increasing precipitation from west to east, is in the influence of the southwest monsoon. The annual precipitation amounts are between 1,500 and 2,250 mm, in the eastern part between 3,000 and 4,000 mm. More than half of the annual precipitations are due to the months June to August. There are three main seasons: the rainy season, from June to October, is replaced by the cold season until February, followed by a hot and dry summer until May. Bangladeshis recognize six seasons: Basanto (spring), Grishma (summer), Barsha (rainy season), Sharat (autumn), Hemanto (fog) and Sheet (winter).

September to March are certainly good months for a tour. Anyone who has a problem with heat should consider October to February. It is dry during the day, moderately warm, cool in the night, sometimes cold, depending on whereabouts. In the months of March, April and October cyclones can occur.

History, people and religion

Bangladesh was until 1947 a part of British India. The country occupies the eastern part of the historic region of Bengal. Due to the Muslim majority that was spun off in 1947 by India and under the name “East Pakistan” a part of Pakistan. Despite the common religious West Pakistan and East Pakistan separated not only linguistic and cultural differences. The fertile east, that is today’s Bangladesh, scored with his jute and rice exports surpluses that benefited almost exclusively the western part, where they were again issued a priority for the military. In particular, the Pakistani-Indian Kashmir War, in 1965, it became clear that on the one hand West Pakistan no effort to military security of East Pakistan undertook, on the other hand, the Kashmir issue in East Pakistan hardly met with interest. Moreover Bengal were seriously underrepresented in the military and in the state administration.

From the 1970/71 national elections the East Pakistani Awami League, under Mujibur Rahman, emerged as the winner. The unity of Pakistan and the pre-eminence of the military government of West Pakistan were therefore directly endangered, so they refused to accept the victory of the Awami League or surrender the government business. Instead, the constituent assembly was suspended. In consequence, the Awami League called for civil disobedience and general strike, which resulted in the collapse of public order in all of East Pakistan. On 25 March 1971 the mobilization took place in East Pakistan. The leadership of the Awami League called the independent state of Bangladesh, on the same day, from the Indian exile. The outbreak of the Bangladesh war was conducted on one side by the West Pakistani army, on the other by guerrilla forces, the “Freedom Fighters” (Mukti Bahini), with the support of India. On 16 December 1971 the West Pakistani units surrendered and Pakistan became independent under the name “People’s Republic of Bangladesh”.
The number of death victims is estimated at up to three million, of the raped Bengali women at 200,000. There were massacres of parts of the civilian population (mainly Hindus and the intelligentsia) through the Pakistani army and their Bengali allies. Twenty years later mass graves were discovered again and again. Historians talk of a genocide in this context. The national holiday is March 26th.

With just under 172 million inhabitants (2016), Bangladesh is in the eighth place among the national populations and is one of the most densely populated areas in the world with a population density of more than one thousand people per square kilometer. Only 26 percent of the population live in cities. The majority of the population (about 87 percent) is committed to Islam (Sunnis), followed by Hinduism with about twelve percent, and Buddhism by less than one percent. About 0.3 percent of the population is Christians. Islam is a state religion. An extremely modern and tolerant Islamic tradition is lived. Any extremism is alien to the Bangladeshis.

Politic

According to the constitution in the current version Islam is the basis and guideline all action. Parliamentary elections take place all five years, the (elective) franchise is valid from eighteen years. It’s a dynastically parliamentary system with pure majority franchise.
The last election was on the 5th of January, 2014 (300 direct mandates and 50 seats aloof for women). President and head of state for ceremonial duties is Abdul Hamid (Awami League, inauguration 14th of March, 2013). Head of the government of the country is premier minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed (Awami League). Both were chosen by the parliament. Foreign minister is Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali (Awami League). Government party is the party of the murdered state founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his daughter Sheikh Hasina - Awami League with 234 seats. The opposition form the Jatiya Party: 34 seats, Workers Party (WP): 6 seats, Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal: 5 seats, Jatiya Party (Manju): 2 seats, Bangladesh Tarikat Federation: 2 seats, Bangladesh Nationalist Front: 1 seat, Independents: 16 seats.

Bangladesh is a foundation member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and the following organizations: The United Nations, World Bank, International Development Association, Asian Development Bank, International Monetary Fund, Commonwealth, Non-Aligned Movement, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, ACMECS (Economic Cooperation between Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand).