9781422273388

9781422273388

B A N G L A D E S H

ASIAN COUNTRIES TODAY

ASIAN COUNTRIES TODAY

Afghanistan Asia: Facts & Figures Bangladesh India Pakistan

China Indonesia Japan Malaysia

Philippines Singapore South Korea Thailand Vietnam

B A N G L A D E S H

ASIAN COUNTRIES TODAY

JACQUELINE HAVELKA

MASON CREST

MIAMI

MASON CREST PO Box 221876, Hollywood, FL 33022 (866) MCP-BOOK (toll-free) • www.masoncrest.com

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Printed in the United States of America

First printing 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

ISBN (hardback) 978-1-4222-4473-9 ISBN (series) 978-1-4222-4430-2 ISBN (ebook) 978-1-4222-7338-8

Cataloging-in-Publication Data on file with the Library of Congress

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Bangladesh at a Glance .............................................................. 6 Chapter 1: Bangladesh’s Geography and Landscape............... 11 Chapter 2: The Government & History of Bangladesh ............. 19 Chapter 3 : The Bangladeshi Economy...................................... 27 Chapter 4 : Citizens of Bangladesh—People, Customs & Culture..41 Chapter 5: Famous Cities of Bangladesh................................... 59 Chapter 6: A Bright Future for Bangladesh................................ 71 Bangladeshi Food ...................................................................... 84 Festivals & Holidays .................................................................. 86 Series Glossary of Key Terms...................................................... 88 Chronology.................................................................................. 90 Further Reading & Internet Resources....................................... 91 Index............................................................................................ 92 Organizations to Contact............................................................ 95 Author’s Biography & Credits...................................................... 96

KEY ICONS TO LOOK FOR: WORDS TO UNDERSTAND: These words with their easy-to-understand definitions will increase the reader’s understanding of the text while building vocabulary skills. SIDEBARS: This boxed material within the main text allows readers to build knowledge, gain insights, explore possibilities, and broaden their perspectives by weaving together additional information to provide realistic and holistic perspectives. EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS: Readers can view videos by scanning our QR codes, providing them with additional educational content to supplement the text. Examples include news coverage, moments in history, speeches, iconic sports moments, and much more! TEXT-DEPENDENT QUESTIONS: These questions send the reader back to the text for more careful attention to the evidence presented there.

RESEARCH PROJECTS: Readers are pointed toward areas of further inquiry connected to each chapter. Suggestions are provided for projects that encourage deeper research and analysis.

SERIES GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS: This back-of-the-book glossary contains terminology used throughout this series. Words found here increase the reader’s ability to read and comprehend higher-level books and articles in this field.

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India

Bangladesh

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The Geography of Bangladesh

Location: Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal and located between Myanmar (Burma) and India Area: Approx. one-third the size of the United States total: 57,320 sq. miles (148,460 sq. km) land: 50,259 sq. miles (130,170 sq. km) water: 7,062 sq. miles (18,290 sq. km) Borders: Myanmar (Burma) and India Climate: Tropical, with three seasons: hot summer from March to June, monsoon season from June to October, and mild winter from October to March Terrain: Mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast Elevation Extremes: lowest point: Indian Ocean at exactly sea level

highest Keokradong peak point: 4,035 feet (1,230 m) Natural Hazards:

Droughts, flash floods, widespread and destructive flooding from monsoonal rains; severe thunderstorms, earthquakes, cyclones

Source: www.cia.gov 2017

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The flag of Bangladesh was adopted in 1972 after the nation gained its independence from Pakistan. The original flag featured a golden map of the country overlaid on a red circle,

F L A G

but the design was later simplified to just include the red circle, which symbolizes the sun rising over the Bay of Bengal. The circle is placed on a green background, which represents the country’s fertile landscape. Green is also a traditional color in Islam. Interestingly, the circle is not in the center of the flag, but when the flag is raised, its placement gives the illusion that the circle is in the middle.

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b a N g l a d e s h

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The People of Bangladesh Population: 159,453,001 Ethnic Groups: Bengali, other indigenous ethnic groups Age Structure: 0–14 years: 27.3%% (24,308,819) 15–24 years: 19.1% (30,514,535) 25–54 years: 40.1% (63,893,344) 55–64 years: 7.1% (11,299,213) 65 years and over: 6.4% (10,237,090) Population Growth Rate: 1.0% Death Rate: 5.4 deaths/1,000 pop. Migration Rate: -3 migrants/1,000 pop. Infant Mortality Rate: 30.5 deaths/1,000 live births Life Expectancy at Birth: total population: 73.7 years male: 71.5 years female: 75.9 years Total Fertility Rate: 2.15 children born/woman Religions: Muslim, Buddhist, Christian Languages: Bangla (Bengali), other Literacy Rate: 72.9% Source: www.cia.gov 2018

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Bangladesh is a very green and fertile country.

delta: a landform created by sediment deposits that were carried by a river as the flow leaves its mouth and enters slower moving or standing water, like an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, or (more rarely) another river that cannot transport away the added sediment mangrove: a tropical tree that grows in seawater or fresh water along the coast; mangroves have many roots that form a dense mass and ecosystem for fish and other wildlife monsoon: a wind system, accompanied by heavy rains, that influences large regions and reverses direction seasonally

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C H A P T E R

BANGLADESH’S GEOGRAPHY & LANDSCAPE

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Geography B angladesh is known as the nation of rivers and has one of the world’s largest river deltas . It is formed by the convergence of three very large rivers: the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna. While the land is very fertile, it is also very flat and prone to flooding. Not only does the country have summer monsoon rains, spring snow melting from the Himalaya mountains also creates major flooding. The river delta is impressive and occupies about one-third of the country’s entire land area. But because it’s so flat, when Bangladesh floods, it floods badly. The country has over 165 million inhabitants and the World Bank has identified Bangladesh as one of the world’s worst impacted countries threatened by extreme river flooding. Each time a flood occurs, the massive number of displaced people is overwhelming for the government to deal with, despite the many rescue workers from other countries that come in to help during natural disasters. Floods typically create humanitarian crises, and the country’s government often calls for international assistance. Outbreaks of malaria, dengue fever, and encephalitis are quite common during these inundations.

BANGLADESH’S GEOGRAPHY & LANDSCAPE 11

A woman being rescued as a result of heavy flooding by monsoon rains and high tides on the Padma River in Dohar.

Climate The climate in Bangladesh is described as a tropical monsoon climate with three distinct seasons. March through May is the hot, pre-monsoon season. The monsoon season lasts from June to October, and the dry winter season lasts from November to February. During the hot season, temperatures can rise to 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius) and thunderstorms are quite common. Storms can be very intense in April and May, and toward the latter part of the monsoon season, from September to November. Hail and wind speeds of more than 100 miles per hour (160 km per hour) are common, with ocean waves in the Bay of Bengal sometimes reaching nearly 20 feet (6 meters) in height. Many of these large waves crash into Bangladesh’s coastal communities, killing people and destroying massive numbers of homes and property. During the rainy season, the country experiences many consecutive days of rainfall and subsequent high humidity. The rainfall during these months makes up 85 percent of the annual total rainfall. When tropical depressions enter the nearby

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Problems with Flooding

Bay of Bengal, monsoon rains are the result. During the cool season, there is very little rainfall and temperatures can get quite cold. In general, average temperatures are about 77 degrees Fahrenheit (25 degrees Celsius). In the higher elevation regions, temperatures can reach near freezing in December and January. Flora Bangladesh is a lush tropical country filled with bamboo and mango groves, jackfruit, coconut and date palms, and other luxuriant vegetation. Very little of the country is forested. In general, Bangladesh has four distinct areas of vegetation. In

In a 2017 deluge, one-third of Bangladesh was flooded frommassive rainfall. In August of that year, a week’s worth of rain fell in just a few hours. Villagers in low-lying areas fled from their homes to higher ground. Over 1,200 people died in these floods. Entire homes (about 700,000 total) were washed away, as were livestock. Crops and food supplies were completely destroyed, with millions of acres of rice lands damaged. The Red Cross estimated that 41 million Bengalis were affected by the monsoon rains and severe floods. Elderly villagers described the rains as the “worst in living memory.” People feared starvation, and since half the country’s jobs are in the agriculture sector, people were out of work as well. The Red Cross described it as the worst flooding they had seen in forty years.

the east, near Chittagong, the landscape consists of low hills covered with bamboo and a climbing palm species known as rattan . The abundant bamboo is used to make paper in the country’s thriving paper industry. In central Bangladesh, near Dhaka, there are many lakes and swampy vegetation and jungles. The northwest part of the country is characterized by flat plains with cultivated vegetation and fruit orchards. This region is best known for its species of acacia tree, a hardwood called babul .

BANGLADESH’S GEOGRAPHY & LANDSCAPE 13

Watch this incredible video showing river erosion in Bangladesh.

In the south, there are vast wetlands near the Bay of Bengal. Mangrove vegetation is everywhere, and the people have carved out a profitable industry built around the harvesting of several mangrove species that have commercial value. The Bengalis also use the soft wood of the gengwa tree to make paper for newspapers. Beautiful flowers like the water lily, Chinese hibiscus, bokul and marigold are abundant. The shapla water lily is the country’s national flower. Fauna Bangladesh is rich in wildlife, although some species have dropped in number significantly in modern times. Elephants live near the Chittagong Hills, and water buffalo have been domesticated for use in pulling carts and plowing fields.

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