Bangladeshi history

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A BRIEF HISTORY OF BANGLADESH

Remnants of civilization in the greater Bengal region date back four thousand years, when the region was settled by Dravidian, Tibeto-Burman, and Austro-Asiatic peoples. The exact origin of the word "Bangla" or "Bengal" is unknown, though it is believed to be derived from Bang, the Dravidian-speaking tribe that settled in the area around the year 1000 BCE.

After the arrival of Indo-Aryans, the kingdom of Gangaridai was formed from at least the seventh century BCE, which later united with Bihar under the Magadha and Maurya Empires. Bengal was later part of the Gupta Empire from the third to the sixth centuries CE. Following its collapse, a dynamic Bengali named Shashanka founded an impressive yet short-lived kingdom. After a period of anarchy, the Buddhist Pala dynasty ruled the region for four hundred years, followed by a shorter reign of the Hindu Sena dynasty.

Arrival of Islam

Islam was introduced to Bengal in the twelfth century by Sufi missionaries, and subsequent Muslim conquests helped spread Islam throughout the region. Mohammed Bakhtiar Khilji, a Turkish general, defeated Lakshman Sen of the Sena dynasty and conquered large parts of Bengal in 1199 with only 20 men thanks to an unexplained 'bold and clever strategy'. The region was ruled by dynasties of Sultans and feudal lords for the next few hundred years. By the sixteenth century, the Moghal Empire controlled Bengal, and Dhaka became an important provincial centre of Moghal administration.

European discovery

Medieval European geographers located paradise at the mouth of the Ganges and although this was over hopeful, Bengal was probably the wealthiest part of the subcontinent up until the 16th century. Under the Moghul viceroys, art and literature flourished, overland trade expanded and Bengal was opened to world maritime trade - the latter marking the death knell of Moghul power as Europeans began to establish themselves in the region. The Portuguese arrived as early as the 15th century but were ousted in 1633 by local opposition. The East India Company negotiated terms to establish a fortified trading post in Kolkata in 1690. The decline of Moghul power led to greater provincial autonomy, heralding the rise of the independent dynasty of the nawabs of Bengal. Humble East India Company clerk Robert Clive ended up effectively ruling Bengal when one of the impetuous nawabs attacked the thriving British enclave in Kolkata and stuffed those unlucky enough not to escape in an underground cellar. Clive retook Kolkata a year later and the British Government replaced the East India Company following the Indian Mutiny in 1857.

British Empire

The British established an organisational and social structure unparalleled in Bengal, and Kolkata became one of the most important centres for commerce, education and culture in the subcontinent. However, many Bangladeshi historians blame the Brits' dictatorial agricultural policies and promotion of the semi-feudal zamindar system for draining the region of its wealth and damaging its social fabric. The British presence was a relief to the minority Hindus but a catastrophe for the Muslims. The Hindus cooperated with the Brits, entering British educational institutions and studying the English language, but the Muslims refused to cooperate, sought autonomy and rioted whenever crops failed or another local product was rendered unprofitable by government policy. This led to discrimination against them and a decline in educational establishments for Muslims, part of a policy to reduce their capacity for success and pushing them towards poverty.

Independence from the British

At the close of WWII it was clear that Indian independence was inevitable. It was attained in 1947 but the struggle was bitter and divisive, especially in Bengal where the fight for self-government was complicated by internal religious conflict. The British, convinced by Mohammed Ali Jinnah, a Muslim leader of the wider Indian Nationalist movement, that any agreement between the Muslims and Hindus was impossible, decided to partition the subcontinent, but Bengal and Punjab, the two overwhelmingly Muslim regions, lay on opposite sides of India. The situation was complicated in Bengal where the major cash crop, jute, was produced in the Muslim-dominated east, but processed and shipped from the Hindu-dominated city of Kolkata in the west.

East Pakistan

East Bengal became the 'runt' state, ‘East Pakistan’. It was administered discriminatorily from West Pakistan, with which it shared few similarities apart from the Muslim faith. Inequalities between the two regions soon stirred up a sense of Bengali nationalism that had not been reckoned with by the British or Jinnah during the push for Muslim independence. When the government declared that 'Urdu and only Urdu' would be the national language, the Bangla-speaking Bengalis decided it was time to assert themselves. The language issue quickly became a self-government issue when in 1952 protesters were murdered by the West Pakistani dominated government. The following years saw the growth of Bengali dissent and non-cooperation with the West which replied with increasingly authoritarian and dictatorial violence, political disappearances and economic discrimination.

Nevertheless political elections were allowed to take place in 1970 with the Bengali Awami League, a nationalist party, winning a majority in the national elections. The president of Pakistan, a Punjabi, faced with the prospect of a Bengali majority in Parliament, postponed opening the National Assembly. Riots and strikes broke out in East Pakistan, the independent state of Bangladesh was unilaterally announced, and Pakistan sent troops to quell the rebellion.

War of independence

The ensuing war was one of the shortest and bloodiest of modern times. The world’s worst genocide ensued. From April to November 1971 Pakistani forces systematically murdered Bengalis around the country, napalmed villages and raped as many women as possible. They were aided by the US which continuously re-supplied the Pakistani forces during this period regardless of their knowledge of what was happening. Border clashes between Pakistan and India increased as Bangladeshi guerrillas pressured Pakistani forces inside Bangladesh. When the Pakistani air force made a pre-emptive attack on Indian forces, open warfare ensued. Indian troops crossed the border and the Pakistani army found themselves being attacked from the east by the Indian army, the north and east by guerrillas and from all quarters by the civilian population. In 11 days it was all over and Bangladesh, the world's 139th country, officially came into existence. Sheikh Mujib, one of the founders of the Awami League, became the country's first prime minister in January 1972.

During the nine months of conflict around 3 million Bengalis were murdered and many more tortured and mutilated. 400,000 women were raped, many having been forcibly interned in special military camp brothels for the Pakistani officers and men. And in the last days all the country's intellectuals were rounded up and murdered. Sadly, international politics prevented anyone being brought to trial for the atrocities!

Life as a sovereign state

The ruined and decimated new country experienced famine in 1973-74, followed by martial law, successive military coups and political assassinations.

In 1979 Bangladesh began a short-lived experiment with democracy led by the overwhelmingly popular President Zia, who established good relationships with the West and the oil-rich Islamic countries. His assassination in 1981 ultimately returned the country to a military government that periodically made vague announcements that elections would be held 'soon'. While these announcements were rapturously greeted by the local press as proof that Bangladesh was indeed a democracy, nothing came of them until 1991. That year the military dictator General Ershad was forced to resign by an unprecedented popular movement led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the Awami League.

In 1991 democracy was re-established and Begum Khaleda Zia became prime minister. The economy ticked along at a healthy growth rate, and ties with the West were strengthened. In the second 1996 general election Sheikh Hasina Wazed of the Awami League became President. The wheel turned in October 2001, when the Bangladesh Nationalist Party won the parliamentary elections and Zia was sworn in as prime minister.

The government in the last few years has pushed through some social reforms aimed at improving the lives of women, such as making acid attacks punishable by death. A series of bombings of political and religious gatherings continues to puzzle authorities. Although the major parties blame each other, extremist Islamic groups may also be a factor.

In January 2007 a caretaker government was appointed to instigate the next general election. The country had suffered from extensive corruption, disorder and political violence. The new caretaker government made it a priority to root out corruption and to this end notable politicians and officials had been arrested and charged. The caretaker government is paving the way for free and fair elections to be held.

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