BANGLADESH
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Bangladesh came into existence in 1971 when Bengali East Pakistan seceded from its union with West Pakistan. A third of this desperately poor country annually floods during the monsoon rainy season, hampering normal economic development.
The area which is now Bangladesh has a rich historical and cultural past, the product of the repeated influx of varied peoples, bringing with them the Dravidian, Indo-Aryan, Mongol-Mughul, Arab, Persian, Turkic, and European cultures. About 1200 A.D., Muslim nvaders under Sufi influence, supplanted Hindu and Buddhist dynasties. In the 16th century, Bengal was absorbed into the Mughul Empire. Portuguese traders and missionaries reached Bengal in the latter part of the 15th century followed by representatives of the Dutch, the French, and the British East India Companies. During the 18th and 19th centuries, especially after the defeat of the French in 1757, the British gradually extended their commercial contacts and administrative control beyond Calcutta into the remainder of Bengal and northwesterly up the Ganges River valley. In 1859, the British Crown replaced the East India Company, extending British dominion from Bengal in the east to the Indus River in the west.
In June 1947, the UK declared it would grant full dominion status to two successor states--India and Pakistan. Pakistan would consist of the contiguous Muslim-majority districts of western British India, plus parts of Bengal. The various princely states could freely join either India or Pakistan. New elections were completed June 23, 1996 with the Awami League garnering the highest number of seats. The leader of the Awami League, Sheikh Hasina Wazed, was sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed was elected unopposed to replace Biswas as the next president of Bangladesh.
Climate: tropical; cool, dry winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); cool, rainy monsoon (June to October) Terrain: mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast Population: 129,194,224 (July 2000 est.) Religions: Muslim 88.3%, Hindu 10.5%, other 1.2% Languages: Bangla (official), English
