The Bangladesh genocide (Bengali: একাত্তরের গণহত্যা, romanized: Ekāttorer Gôṇôhôtyā, lit. '71's genocide', Bengali: বাঙালি গণহত্যা, romanized: Bāṅāli Gôṇôhôtyā, lit. 'Bengali genocide') was the ethnic cleansing of Bengalis, especially Bengali Hindus, residing in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) during the Bangladesh Liberation War, perpetrated by the Pakistan Armed Forces and the Razakars. It began on 25 March 1971, as Operation Searchlight was launched by West Pakistan (now Pakistan) to militarily subdue the Bengali population of East Pakistan; the Bengalis comprised the demographic majority and had been calling for independence from the Pakistani state. Seeking to curtail the Bengali self-determination movement, erstwhile Pakistani president Yahya Khan approved a large-scale military deployment, and in the nine-month-long conflict that ensued, Pakistani soldiers and local pro-Pakistan militias killed between 300,000 and 3,000,000 Bengalis and raped between 200,000 and 400,000 Bengali women in a systematic campaign of mass murder and genocidal sexual violence. In their investigation of the genocide, the Geneva-based International Commission of Jurists concluded that Pakistan's campaign involved the attempt to exterminate or forcibly remove a significant portion of the country's Hindu populace.
The West Pakistani government, which had implemented discriminatory legislation in East Pakistan, asserted that Hindus were behind the Mukti Bahini (Bengali resistance fighters) revolt and that resolving the local "Hindu problem" would end the conflict—Khan's government and the Pakistani elite thus regarded the crackdown as a strategic policy. Genocidal rhetoric accompanied the campaign: Pakistani men believed that the sacrifice of Hindus was needed to fix the national malaise. In the countryside, Pakistan Army moved through villages and specifically asked for places where Hindus lived before burning them down. Hindus were identified by checking circumcision or by demanding the recitation of Muslim prayers. This also resulted in the migration of around eight million East Pakistani refugees into India, 80-90% of whom were Hindus. (Full article...)
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Zoo Entrance
Bangladesh National Zoo, (Bengali: বাংলাদেশ জাতীয় চিড়িয়াখানা) is a zoo located in the Mirpur section of Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. The zoo contains many native and non-native animals and wild life, and hosts about three million visitors each year. On 5 February 2015, the name changed from Dhaka Zoo to Bangladesh National Zoo.
Established in 1974, the 186-acre (75 ha) Bangladesh National Zoo is the largest zoo in Bangladesh, and is operated by the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock. The zoo attracts around 10,000 visitors every day with the number increasing during the weekends and holidays. The zoo is also known for its poor conditions for animals and the corruption of its officials. (Full article...)
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"Bangla Desh" is a song by English musician George Harrison. It was released as a non-album single in July 1971, to raise awareness for the millions of refugees from the country Bangladesh, formerly known as East Pakistan, following the 1970 Bhola cyclone and the outbreak of the Bangladesh Liberation War. Harrison's inspiration for the song came from his friend Ravi Shankar, an Indian-Bengali musician, who approached Harrison for help in trying to alleviate the suffering. "Bangla Desh" has been described as "one of the most cogent social statements in music history" and helped gain international support for Bangladeshi independence by establishing the name of the fledgling nation around the world. In 2005, United Nations Secretary-GeneralKofi Annan identified the song's success in personalising the Bangladesh crisis, through its emotive description of Shankar's request for help.
"Bangla Desh" appeared at the height of Harrison's popularity as a solo artist, following the break-up of the Beatles and the acclaim afforded his 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass. It was pop music's first charity single, and its release took place three days before the Harrison-sponsored Concert for Bangladesh shows at New York's Madison Square Garden. The single became a top ten hit in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in Europe, and peaked at number 23 on America's Billboard Hot 100. The recording was co-produced by Phil Spector and features contributions from Leon Russell, Jim Horn, Ringo Starr and Jim Keltner. The Los Angeles session for the song marked the start of two enduring musical associations in Harrison's solo career, with Keltner and Horn. (Full article...)
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Map of Bangladesh
Bangladesh is a densely populated, low-lying, mainly riverine country located in South Asia with a coastline of 580 km (360 mi) on the northern littoral of the Bay of Bengal. The delta plain of the Ganges (Padma), Brahmaputra (Jamuna), and Meghna Rivers and their tributaries occupy 79 percent of the country. Four uplifted blocks (including the Madhupur and Barind Tracts in the centre and northwest) occupy 9 percent and steep hill ranges up to approximately 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) high occupy 12 percent in the southeast (the Chittagong Hill Tracts) and in the northeast. Straddling the Tropic of Cancer, Bangladesh has a tropical monsoon climate characterised by heavy seasonal rainfall, high temperatures, and high humidity. Natural disasters such as floods and cyclones accompanied by storm surges periodically affect the country. Most of the country is intensively farmed, with rice the main crop, grown in three seasons. Rapid urbanisation is taking place with associated industrial and commercial development. Exports of garments and shrimp plus remittances from Bangladeshis working abroad provide the country's three main sources of foreign exchange income. (Full article...)
In response to the violence, members of the Mukti Bahini—a guerrilla resistance movement formed by Bengali military, paramilitary and civilians—launched a mass guerrilla war against the Pakistani military, liberating numerous towns and cities in the war's initial months. At first, the Pakistan Army regained momentum during the monsoon, but Bengali guerrillas counterattacked by carrying out widespread sabotage, including through Operation Jackpot against the Pakistan Navy, while the nascent Bangladesh Air Force flew sorties against Pakistani military bases. India joined the war on 3 December 1971, after Pakistan launched preemptive air strikes on northern India. The subsequent Indo-Pakistani War involved fighting on two fronts; with air supremacy achieved in the eastern theatre, and the rapid advance of the Allied Forces of Mukti Bahini and the Indian military, Pakistan surrendered in Dhaka on 16 December 1971, in what remains to date the largest surrender of armed personnel since the Second World War. (Full article...)
On 7 March 1971 Sheikh Mujibur Rahman issued a call to the people of East Pakistan to prepare themselves for an all-out struggle. Later that evening resistance demonstrations began, and the military began a full-scale retaliation with Operation Searchlight, which continued through May 1971. (Full article...)
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Corruption in Bangladesh has been a continuing problem. According to all major ranking institutions, Bangladesh routinely finds itself among the most corrupt countries in the world.
As of 2001, corruption in the public sector was "endemic, chronic and all pervasive". In Transparency International's 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index, which scored 180 countries on a scale from 0 ("highly corrupt") to 100 ("very clean"), Bangladesh scored 24. When ranked by score, Bangladesh ranked 149th among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector. For comparison with worldwide scores, the best score was 90 (ranked 1), the average score was 43, and the worst score was 11 (ranked 180). For comparison with regional scores, the highest score among the countries of the Asia Pacific region was 85, the average score was 45 and the lowest score was 17. Introducing the 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index, Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman of Transparency International Bangladesh commented, "Of the eight South Asian countries, Bangladesh remains second lowest both in score and rank — better than only Afghanistan." (Full article...)
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Location of airport in Bangladesh
Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (Bengali: হযরত শাহ্জালাল আন্তর্জাতিক বিমানবন্দর, Romanized: Hôzrôt Shahjalal Antôrjatik Bimanbôndôr), (IATA: DAC, ICAO: VGHS, formerly VGZR), is the main international airport serving Dhaka City, the capital city of Bangladesh, and it is the largest airport in Bangladesh. It is located in Kurmitola, 17 km (11 mi) from the city centre, in the northern part of Dhaka. The airport is also used as a base of the Bangladesh Air Force. The airport has an area of 802 hectares (1,981 acres). The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) operates and maintains the airport. It started operations in 1980, taking over from Tejgaon Airport as the principal international airport of the country. The airport was formerly known as Dacca International Airport and later as Zia International Airport, before being named in honour of Shah Jalal, who is one of the most respected Sufi saints of Bangladesh. The IATA code of the airport "DAC" is derived from "Dacca", which is the previously used spelling for "Dhaka".
It is the primary hub of most of airlines in Bangladesh including Air Astra, Novoair, US-Bangla Airlines, and the national flag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines. The annual passenger handling capacity of the airport is 18.5 million passengers, and this passenger handling capacity is predicted by CAAB to be sufficient until 2026. In 2014, the airport handled 9.1 million passengers and 248,000 tonnes of cargo. Average aircraft movement per day is around 190 flights. Ground handling at the airport is provided by Biman Ground Handling, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Biman Bangladesh Airlines. The airport has complete Wi-Fi Internet coverage and all the terminals of the airport have multiple First Class and Business Class executive lounges operated by Five Star hotels, such as Intercontinental Dhaka; Bangladeshi companies such as Eastern Bank Skylounge or City Bank American Express Lounge; as well as local and foreign airlines. Passengers travelling on First Class or Business Class air tickets, as well as economy passengers who are Priority Pass card holders, have complimentary access to select lounges. (Full article...)
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New Mooring Terminal
The Chittagong Port (Bengali: চট্টগ্রাম বন্দর) is the main seaport of Bangladesh. Located in Bangladesh's port city of Chittagong and on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, the port handles over 90 percent of Bangladesh's export-import trade, and has been used by India, Nepal and Bhutan for transshipment. According to Lloyd's, it ranked as the 58th busiest container port in the world in 2019. The port has a recorded history dating back to ancient Roman accounts. It is the busiest container port on the Bay of Bengal.
Congestion is a major challenge in Chittagong port. The port had a congestion rate of 84.3 hours between January and July in 2017. (Full article...)
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in Bangladesh face widespread social and legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ people.
The history of Bangladesh as a civilized nation goes back for more than four millennia to the Chalcolithic. The country's early recorded history is characterized by a succession of Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms and empires that fought for control of the Bengal region.
Islam arrived during the 8th century AD and became dominant gradually since the early 13th century with the conquests led by Bakhtiyar Khalji as well as activities of Sunni missionaries such as Shah Jalal in the region. Later, Muslim rulers initiated the preaching of Islam by building mosques. From the 14th century onward, it was ruled by the Bengal Sultanate, founded by Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah, formulated an individual currency etched with his name. He conquered Chittagong for the first time and merged with Bengal Sultanate. He constructed a high way from Chandpur to Chittagong for the first time. The Bengal Sultanate was extended by king Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah, beginning a period of the country's economic prosperity and military dominance over the regional empires, which was referred by Europeans as the richest country to trade with. Afterwards, the region came under the Mughal Empire, as, according to historian C. A. Bayly, probably its wealthiest province. (Full article...)
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An aerial view of damage to villages and infrastructure following Cyclone Sidr, which swept into southern Bangladesh in 2007. Climate change is a critical issue in Bangladesh as the country is one of the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. In the 2020 edition of Germanwatch's Climate Risk Index, it ranked seventh in the list of countries most affected by climate calamities during the period 1999–2018. Bangladesh's vulnerability to the effects of climate change is due to a combination of geographical factors, such as its flat, low-lying, and delta-exposed topography, and socio-economic factors, including its high population density, levels of poverty, and dependence on agriculture. The impacts and potential threats include sea level rise, temperature rise, food crises, droughts, floods, and cyclones.
Factors such as frequent natural disasters, lack of infrastructure, high population density (174 million people living in an area of 147,570 km2 ), an extractivist economy and social disparities are increasing the vulnerability of the country in facing the current changing climatic conditions. Almost every year large regions of Bangladesh suffer from more intense events like cyclones, floods and erosion. The mentioned adverse events are slowing the development of the country by bringing socio-economical and environmental systems to almost collapse. (Full article...)
The Baul (Bengali: বাউল) are a group of mystic minstrels of mixed elements of Vaishnavism and Tantra from different parts of Bengal such as Bangladesh and the neighboring Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam's Barak Valley and Meghalaya. Bauls constitute both a syncretic religious sect of troubadours and a musical tradition. Bauls are a very heterogeneous group, with many sects, but their membership mainly consists of Vaishnava Hindus and Sufi Muslims. They can often be identified by their distinctive clothes and musical instruments. Lalon Shah is regarded as the most celebrated Baul saint in history.
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