{bahng-glah-desh'} Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) is an independent country in southern Asia located on the Bay of Bengal, bounded on most of its borders by India and to the southeast by Myanmar (Burma); it occupies a total area of 143,998 sq km (55,598 sq mi). Bangladesh is one of the world's most densely populated and fastest-growing countries. \TDhaka\t (Dacca) is the capital city. Bangladesh is an overwhelmingly agricultural country, with rich farmland and major crops of rice and jute. Before 1947, most of the territory now in Bangladesh was part of the province of British-ruled India known as East Bengal which in 1947 joined with the Sylhet district of Assam and became East Pakistan in the new state of Pakistan. Growing economic and political differences with West Pakistan led East Pakistan to declare independence in 1971 as the new nation of Bangladesh. The name Bangladesh means "the Bengal nation." Not all who speak the Bengali language and otherwise identify with the cultural history of Bengal, however, are included within Bangladesh boundaries; many Bengalis live to the west of Bangladesh in the Indian province of West Bengal. THE LAND AND RESOURCES The Chittagong Hills in eastern and southeastern Bangladesh include the highest and most rugged parts of the nation, with elevations rising to more than 1,200 m (4,000 ft) above sea level. The remainder of Bangladesh is generally low-lying, with elevations approaching only 300 m (900 ft) in the hills of the northwest and northeast and considerably lower on the vast deltaic plains on the \TBrahmaputra\t, \TGanges\t, and Meghna rivers. The lowlands of the delta region are crisscrossed by numerous distributaries of the main rivers. About 6% of the total land area of Bangladesh is permanently under water, and two-thirds is flooded for part of the year. The floods often result in great loss of life, crops, and property damage but are, nonetheless, of special value to agricultural Bangladesh for the sediments (alluvium) that the muddy floodwaters deposit on the land. These alluvial soils are rich in minerals and other nutrients needed for plant growth. The fertility of the soil has attracted thousands of landless laborers to shifting silt islands off the coast, despite their vulnerability to natural disasters. This vulnerability was graphically illustrated in April 1991, when a violent cyclone struck the nation's coastal region and claimed an estimated 125,000 lives. Climate Bangladesh has a tropical monsoon-type climate, with a hot and rainy summer and a pronounced dry season in the cooler months. January is the coolest month of the year, with temperatures averaging near 26 deg C (78 deg F), and April the warmest month, with temperatures ranging between 33 deg C and 36 deg C (91 deg F and 96 deg F). The climate is one of the wettest in the world; most places receive more than 1,525 mm (60 in) of rain a year, and areas near the hills receive 5,080 mm (200 in). Most rain falls during the monsoon (June-September) and little during the dry season (November-February). Vegetation and Animal Life About 15% of Bangladesh is still forested; the three principal forest regions are the Madhupur jungle, the tidal forest in the coastal Sundarbans (a swamp region in the Ganges delta), and the tropical rain forest of the Chittagong Hills. Bamboo and rattan are abundant. Tigers and other game are found in the Madhupur jungle and Sundarbans, crocodiles in the Sundarbans, and elephants, rhinoceroses, and leopards in the hill areas. Natural Resources The principal resources of Bangladesh are the fertile soils of the delta region, the long growing season, and the heavy rainfall suitably distributed over the year for growing rice and jute. The nation's abundant water supplies are used to produce hydroelectric power and for irrigating farmlands during the dry season. A pact with India, signed in 1977, provides Bangladesh with a share of the waters of the Ganges. Although minerals have traditionally been economically unimportant, the country has large reserves of natural gas and some petroleum deposits. Natural gas is piped into Dhaka and \TChittagong\t for industrial use. There are also large deposits of low-grade coal, mined at Jamalpur. THE PEOPLE About 98% of the people of Bangladesh are Bengalis, a generally short, brown-skinned people; most of the remainder are tribal peoples, who have distinctly Mongoloid features and live mainly in the hills. About 85% of the population is Muslim and, except for the tribal peoples who are mainly animistic in religious outlook, most of the remaining people are Hindu. Bengali, the national language, is spoken by all but the tribal hill people, who speak a a variety of languages. Demography Bangladesh has one of the highest birthrates and population densities in the world. The average life expectancy for both men and women is about 46 years. Cholera, tuberculosis, leprosy, and malaria occur widely, aided by the generally unsanitary conditions; and, despite a doubling of facilities in recent years, medical personnel, facilities, and supplies are in chronically short supply. Most people live in the countryside. The largest cities are Dhaka and the port of Chittagong. Villages are often located on the highest available ground, with houses further raised on earthen plinths. A large percentage of the rural population is landless, and the number of landless laborers is rising steadily as landholdings become increasingly fragmented. Education About one-fourth of the population is literate; and for each literate woman, three men can read and write. Literacy rates are higher in urban areas. About 60% of all children attend primary schools; far fewer attend a technical school or one of the six universities. The largest university is the University of Dhaka (see \TSouth Asian universities\t). The Arts Bengali literature--rooted in folk legend, ballads, and religious stories--has long flourished. Rabindranath \TTagore\t, the renowned Bengali poet who won the \TNobel Prize\t for literature in 1913, remains popular today. Art and architectural traditions conform distinctly to 16th- and 17th-century Islamic styles. ECONOMIC ACTIVITY Before the Industrial Revolution, Bangladesh was known for its fine cotton textiles, but this industry was eclipsed in the 18th and 19th centuries by the production of cheaper mill cloth overseas in Europe. Thereafter, the economy of Bangladesh was primarily agricultural, with major exports in the 18th and 19th centuries of opium and indigo and, in the 20th century, of jute and jute products. Industrial development was not encouraged by the British, and many factories established following partition from India in 1947 were subsequently destroyed in the struggle for independence from Pakistan. Agriculture The economy today remains primarily agricultural, and nearly two-thirds of the land area is under cultivation. Double and triple crops are obtained where water is available for irrigation during the dry season. Farms are generally small, and many are so small that normal agricultural crises, such as floods, other natural disasters, and price fluctuations, have forced many small landowners to sell their land and seek other employment. Rice, planted on 90% of the cultivated land, is the leading crop, but even in good years the output is insufficient for the needs of the rapidly growing population. The government is encouraging increased planting of wheat as a food crop. The principal cash crops are jute, which is grown in flooded fields on the delta, and tea, which is produced mainly in the Sylhet and the Chittagong Hills regions. Manufacturing Jute processing is the principal factory industry. Bangladesh supplies more than half of the world's jute, but the paper and plastic-packaging revolution has reduced world demand for jute products, and the Bangladesh economy has suffered accordingly. Other manufactures include textiles, cigarettes, steel, cement, fertilizers and chemicals. Many of the industries nationalized by the government in 1972 have since been returned to private ownership. The chief sources of power are natural gas and thermal electricity produced from oil, natural gas, and coal. Transportation and Trade The transportation and communication system was severely damaged during the war of independence, and in 1988 and 1991, when flooding left three-quarters of the country under water. The economy was dealt a further blow by the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the \TPersian Gulf War\t in 1991, which cost the nation an estimated 3 percent of its gross national product in increased oil prices, trade losses, and lost remittances from Bangladeshi workers formerly employed in the Persian Gulf region. Bangladesh has an unfavorable balance of trade and depends heavily on international aid and large economic development loans from overseas to feed its large population and finance economic development. The principal export commodities are jute and jute products, tea, leather goods and fish. Imports include food, chemicals, manufactured goods, and machinery. GOVERNMENT Bangladesh's constitution of 1972 provided for a parliamentary government headed by a prime minister; it was revised in 1975 to a presidentialial system, with a strong, elected president as chief executive. After the first president, Sheikh \TMujibur Rahman\t, was assassinated, periods of military rule alternated with elected governments. A constitutional referendum in September 1991 approved a return to a parliamentary form of government. HISTORY Bangladesh, independent only since 1971 and thus one of the world's youngest nations, has a long history of domination by larger political entities. In the late 16th century the area that is now Bangladesh was conquered by the Mogul emperor \TAkbar\t, and, under Mogul rule, most of the population, which had hitherto been predominantly Buddhist, was converted to Islam. After 1707, Mogul control weakened, and Bangladesh was caught up in the struggle by European trading and financial interests, including the British \TEast India Company\t, for control of the Indian subcontinent. In 1757, Robert \TClive\t led British forces in the famous victory over the French at Plassey, and in 1764 the Mogul emperor acknowledged the dominance of the British, who remained in control until 1947. In the early 20th century, conflicts between Hindu and Muslim interests became intense. In 1947, when the British withdrew, the two independent nations of Pakistan, which was predominantly Muslim and included modern Bangladesh, and India, which was largely Hindu, were created. In this partition, East Bengal, where most of the jute was produced, became part of East Pakistan, and West Bengal, where the jute-processing factories were located, became part of India. The two provinces of the new Pakistan nation had almost nothing in common other than the shared Islamic faith; moreover, East Pakistan was separated by more than 1,600 km (1,000 mi) from West Pakistan, and, with more than half the population of the new nation, it felt underrepresented in a government dominated by West Pakistan. In the 1970 national elections, East Pakistan's Awami League, under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, won a majority of seats in the Pakistan National Assembly but was denied power by delays in the opening of the assembly. On Mar. 26, 1971, East Pakistan proclaimed its independence as the new state of Bangladesh. The national government of Pakistan responded by invading the eastern province, but, with assistance from India, the Pakistani army was driven back before the end of 1971 (see \TIndia-Pakistan Wars\t). Sheikh Mujibur Rahman became the first prime minister and, under the amended constitution of 1975, the first president. Mujibur was overthrown and assassinated on Aug. 15, 1975, in a military coup led by Khondaker Moshtaque Ahmed, who was in turn overthrown in a military counter coup in November 1975. Gen. Ziaur Rahman then assumed power and was president from 1977 until his assassination in an unsuccessful military coup in May 1981. Former vice-president Abdus Sattar, elected president in November 1981, was deposed in March 1982 in a bloodless military coup led by Lt. Gen. Hossain Mohammad \TErshad\t. Ershad formed his own political party and proclaimed himself head of state and chief martial law administrator in December 1983. In a March 1985 referendum, voters approved Ershad's policies and his continuation in office until elections under the suspended constitution could be held. The elections were finally held in May 1986, but they were marked by substantial violence; Ershad supporters in the Jatiya party were accused of fraud and vote-rigging. The Jatiya party won a majority in parliament and Ershad won the presidency in an election boycotted by the opposition. New parliamentary elections held in 1988 after a wave of antigovernment protests were also boycotted by the opposition, and there was further violence when Islam was declared the state religion later that year. In December 1990, Ershad suddenly resigned under pressure. A caretaker government was formed, and Ershad was later placed under house arrest and charged with corruption and misuse of power. New elections were held in February 1991. Begum Khaleda Zia, head of the center-right Bangladesh Nationalist party and widow of former president Ziaur Rahman, became the nations' first woman prime minister on Mar. 20, 1991. On Apr. 30, 1991, the fragile new democracy was severely tested when a devastating cyclone left more than 125,000 people dead and thousands more threatened by famine and disease. David Dickason Bibliography: Baxter, Craig, Bangladesh (1985); Bhuiyan, Abdul W., Emergence of Bangladesh and the Role of the Awami League (1982); Faaland, Just, ed., Aid and Influence: The Case of Bangladesh (1980); Franda, Marcus, Bangladesh: The First Decade (1982); Jansen, E.G., Rural Bangladesh (1987); Kahn, A.R., and Hossain, M., The Strategy of Development in Bangladesh (1990); Kahn, M.T., and Thorp, J.P., Bangladesh (1985); Karim, A. Nazmul, The Dynamics of Bangladesh Society (1980); Maniruzzaman, Talukdar, Bangladesh Revolution and Its Aftermath (1981); O'Donnell, Charles P., Bangladesh (1984); Rashid, H.E., Geography of Bangladesh (1978). See also: \TIndia, history of\t.