Bangladesh

Gonoprojatontri Bangladesh or the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a small nation in South Asia, bounded by India on all three sides that are east, north and west, excepting for a small border with Myanmar to the southeast, and the Bay of Bengal to its south. It is in the fertile Ganges-Brahmaputra delta and has an agriculture-based economy.

Bangladesh was created with the partition of India in the year 1947. A separate state of Pakistan was created along with the independence of India. Bangladesh became the eastern wing of Pakistan and came to be known as East Pakistan. It was separated from the western wing of Pakistan by almost 1600 kilometers. Though the common binding factor was Islam, nevertheless, the differences in culture, ethnicity, language, and the high-handed and indifferent attitude of the government based in West Pakistan, brought about the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971, under the able leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and with military assistance from India.

Bangladesh, together with the state of West Bengal in neighboring India, forms the ethno-linguistic region of Bengal. The people living in this region share a common culture, language and are known as Bengalis. It has been found that, after being part of the Maurya Empire, Bengal was ruled by the Buddhist Pala dynasty and then by the Sena dynasty, till the Muslim feudal lords took over. By the 16th century, Bengal was under the reign of the Mughals and they made Dhaka the provincial capital. With the advent of the British East India Company, Bengal ultimately slid into the hands of the British, in 1757, at the battle of Plassey, where Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah of Bengal lost to Robert Clive of the East India Company army. Bengal stayed with the British and the British made an aborted attempt to divide Bengal in 1905in face of violent protests from all Bengalis. However, Bengal was ultimately divided on the basis of religion with the independence of India.

Today Bangladesh, a parliamentary democracy, is a modern nation with a legacy of political turmoil. There have been frequent changes in governments and there have been at least 4 military coups. Bangladesh has a ceremonial-head called the president. The prime minister is the actual head of the government. It is a multi-party democracy, with the two main parties being the BNP and the Awami League. It is the seventh most populous nation in the world. The main religion followed here is Islam. It is a member of the SAARC, OIC and the D8.

Bangladesh is divided into six Administrative Divisions like Chittagong, Barisal, Sylhet, Dhaka, Khulna and Rajshahi. These are further subdivided into sixty-four Zilas or districts. The main language is Bangla. The Eid-Ul-Fitr and the Eid-Ul-Adha are the two main religious festivals, whereas the Bengali New Year or Poila Boishakh in April and Shohid Dibosh, Bhasha Dibosh on 21st of February are the important social events.

Important Tourist Destinations in the county include Chittagong Cox's Bazaar, Rangamati, Sylhet, Dhaka etc. The national carrier of Bangladesh is the Biman Bangladesh Airlines, which has flights to almost all important domestic destinations as well as to all important international destinations in Asia, Europe, Australia, North and south Americas and to Africa.