Country Profile of Bangladesh

After the independence of India and Pakistan, Pakistan was formed based on the Muslim majority, and India was formed based on the Hindu majority. The demarcation line was stretched between India and  Pakistan by Sir Cyril Redcliff on 17 August, 1947. That is also known as the Radcliffe Line (India–Pakistan border and India–Bangladesh border). The Muslim-majority division included East and West Pakistan, and the Hindu-majority division became Hindustan. 

East Pakistan (Bangladesh) was different from West Pakistan (Pakistan) in its language (Bengali) and culture. Revolts were raised in East Pakistan against West Pakistan due to injustice, humiliation, and economic marginalisation of Bengali Muslims. The problems that triggered the riots include the ideological and religious differences that existed between the population of the West and East Pakistan. This resulted in a cultural division of people. 

The Awami League leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman started protests in 1969 against West Pakistan, which resulted in numerous massacres of Dhaka people in East Pakistan under Operation Searchlight and Dhaka University Massacre on 25 March, 1971. 

On 26th March, 1971, East Pakistan declared its independence, led by a guerrilla force called Mukti Bahini at Chittagong. India also joined and supported Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and conducted recruitment and training for the Guerrilla force.

Finally, by the end of Indo-Pak War on December 17, 1971, East Pakistan emerged as Bangladesh. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman became the first prime minister of Bangladesh.      

Country Profile of Bangladesh

After the independence of Bangladesh from West Pakistan, Bangladesh got its official name, “People’s Republic of Bangladesh.” Currently, it is the eighth-most populous country in the world and is also the most densely populated country (1252 people per square kilometre).

Geographical Status of Bangladesh

• Bangladesh has a geographical area of 148,460 sq kilometres, according to CIA World Factbook, 2021. The most populous areas of Bangladesh are Chittagong, Khulna, Sylhet, and Rajshahi.
• Bangladesh is located in the Bay of Bengal and is a part of South Asia. It shares its border with India on almost all sides and Myanmar in the south-east direction.   
• Bangladesh shares its border (4096.70 km length) with the Indian states of West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram.
• The major rivers within the Bangladesh territory are Sangu and Halda. The major rivers outside Bangladesh are Padma River (swiftest), which is the main channel of Ganga, Brahmaputra, and Yamuna. Brahmaputra and Yamuna are the longest and widest rivers, respectively. According to BWBD (Bangladesh Water Development Board), 230 rivers are currently flowing in Bangladesh.
• Bangladesh is divided into three main parts: The fertile part made by the Ganga–Brahmaputra delta, the central and north-east part covered by the Madhupur and Barind plateau, and the hilly part that covers the north-east and south-east parts of the country (12% of the country).
• The highest peak of Bangladesh is Saka Haphong, which is located at the Bangladesh–Myanmar border with an elevation of 1052 metres.   

Economic Status of Bangladesh 

Bangladesh is emerging as a fast-growing economy based on its GDP growth, which was 4.5% in 2004 and 8.3% in 2019. Recently, Asian Development Bank forecasted its GDP to continue at 6.3% in this fiscal year 2022-2023, as revealed by the Asian Development Outlook (ADO), 2022.

The financial centres of the country are Dhaka and Chittagong.

Bangladesh is more focussed on the trade of exporting garments (readymade), agricultural products, leather and jute products, pharmaceutical industrial exports, and steel. It is the seventh-largest producer of gas. Now, the government of Bangladesh (Awami League)  is more focussed on digitalisation under the scheme ‘Digital Bangladesh.’  

Bangladesh is a member of the following organisations:

• World Bank: IBRD (International Bank of Reconstruction and Development) and IDA (International Development Association), which are parts of the World Bank. Word Bank headquarters is in Washington, DC.
• D-8 Organisation of Economic Cooperation, which has 8 members–Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Turkey, and Egypt.
• SAARC (South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation), which also has 8 members–India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, the Maldives, Afghanistan, and Bhutan.
• IMF (International Monetary Fund), which has its headquarters in Washington, DC. It has 190 member countries.
• WTO (World Trade Organization) headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. It consists of 164 countries.
• Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) headquartered in Beijing, China. It currently has 105 members.

Political Status of Bangladesh 

Bangladesh’s constitution (adopted on 4th November, 1972 and effective from 16th December, 1972) follows de jure representative democracy. Like India, it has also accepted the Westminster model of the government system. The head of the government is the Prime Minister, just like in India. The elections are held after every five years.

Bangladesh is a two-party system, with the two parties being Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

The executive branch is headed by the Prime Minister (currently Sheikh Hasina), and the president (currently Abdul Hamid) is the ceremonial head of the country.

The legislative branch is entirely different from India. The parliament of Bangladesh is unicameral and called Jatiya Sangsad. In the parliament of Bangladesh, there are 350 MPs (members of parliament). 300 seats are elected on the “first-past-the-post” system, and the remaining 50 seats are reserved or vacated for women.

The speaker of the parliament (Jatiya Sangsad) is a presiding officer. The deputy speaker (acting speaker) takes charge when the speaker is absent. 

In the absence of the president, the speaker becomes the acting president.

Conclusion

After the independence of Bangladesh, it emerged as a fast-growing country with its exports, military practices, infrastructure, and digitalisation. Bangladesh is surrounded by India in almost all directions, excluding the Myanmar region (neighbouring country of Bangladesh).