Bangladesh was formerly East Pakistan, a constituent of the original state of Pakistan created by the British in 1947, as part of the partitioning of Britain’s former Indian Empire. The two halves of the country were separated by more than 1000 miles of Indian territory, creating an almost certain recipe for political tension. Disputes over language and political power came to a head in 1970, when the pro-independence Awami League won an overwhelming majority in what turned out to be East Pakistan’s last general election. The Pakistani army blocked the Awami leader, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,
from taking up the premiership. The Awami leadership announced East Pakistan’s secession, after which the country was rapidly consumed by civil war. The war lasted for most of 1971 and was brought to an end by the intervention of India, which forced Pakistan to surrender.
Political stability proved elusive; during the next 20 years, the country was overtaken by a succession of military coups along with frequent impositions of martial law and states of emergency. However, since the beginning of the 1990s, civilian parties have established firm control over the government. The most important of these are the Awami League and the Bangladesh National Party (BNP,
Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Dal); unusually for a Muslim country, both are currently led by women. The acrimonious rivalry between Awami leader Sheikha Hasina Wajed and BNP leader Begum Khaleda Zia is a central feature of Bangladeshi politics. The most recent poll in September 2001 delivered a landslide victory to Khaleda Zia, who now leads a BNP-based government along with three smaller coalition partners.
Bangladesh’s geographical position and topography have always made it vulnerable to the regional climate, especially storms and flooding. Even so, the country continues to suffer repeated and serious damage. The government has consequently been forced to make repeated requests for aid from the international community. Looking at the wider picture, climate change must really be taken seriously and genuine measures implemented by the countries that expel the greatest emissions; it is countries like Bangladesh that will be most vulnerable to global warming's unpredictable consequences. July 2004 and months following that date bore witness to some of the worst flooding in Bangladesh in years - 800 died as a result, millions were left homeless or stranded and 20million needed food aid.
Within the South Asia region Bangladeshi relations with Pakistan, normalized in 1976, have since been reasonably stable. Relations with Myanmar have been difficult for the last two decades. The latter mainly concerns Myanmar’s treatment of its
Rohingya minority, a predominantly Muslim ethnic group who were expelled across the border en masse by the Myanmar junta during the early 1990s and now inhabit refugee camps around the Cox’s Bazar area. However, the present BNP government is embarked on a strategy of improving relations with East Asia as a whole. This ‘Look East’ program depends on improvement of links with Myanmar as its immediate neighbor. Following talks in early 2003, a series of plans to establish official transport links and improve bilateral trade have been initiated.
The Indian situation is more serious (although far less so than between India and Pakistan). Firstly, a number of rebel groups are seeking regional autonomy operating in the Chittagong Hill Tracts from bases in Bangladeshi territory (although their campaign appears to have been suspended, following negotiations with the Bangladeshi government). Secondly, there is a territorial dispute over a number of enclaves of Indian territory isolated inside Bangladesh. There have been several border clashes between security forces from the two countries, most recently in April 2003.
In addition, there have been a spate of politically-motivated violent incidents in Bangladesh in 2004/2005. In January 2004, there were calls on the Government to resign. In August that year, 20 had been killed, including the Woman's Affairs Secretary, Ivy Rahman, in a grenade-led attack on an Awami League political rally in Dhaka: 100 people were injured. The leader, Sheikh Hasina, survived. In January 2005, former Finance Minister, Shah Kibria, was assassinated with four colleagues in another grenade attack at an Awami League rally in northern Bangladesh. Bangladesh has also ranked worst on Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index for the past four years. There is, evidently, still much to be done in Bangladesh to pave the way towards peace.
GovernmentAfter 16 years of presidential government, punctuated by spells of martial law, Bangladesh reverted to its original parliamentary system in August 1992, when constitutional amendments were approved by national referendum. Three hundred of the 330-member
Jatiya Sangsad (parliament) are elected by adult suffrage; the remaining 30 seats are reserved for women and are selected by the other members. The Prime Minister is the leader of the majority party in the
Jatiya Sangsad. Its members also elect the largely titular post of President, who is the Head of State.
EconomyWith few mineral resources, overcrowded Bangladesh depends mainly on subsistence agriculture, which suffers frequent and severe damage from cyclones and flooding. Tea and jute are the main cash crops (Bangladesh supplies about 90% of the world’s raw jute). Production of both has dipped in recent years, again, largely owing to the weather.
There are large reserves of natural gas and some deposits of low-grade coal, which meet the bulk of domestic energy requirements. Offshore gas production in the Bay of Bengal will improve the country’s overall energy situation and provide a valuable source of export revenue.
Most of the manufacturing workforce is based in jute-related industries; the remainder works in textiles, chemicals and sugar. However, Bangladesh will continue to rely heavily on foreign aid – at present, this derives from a variety of sources coordinated by the World-Bank-led ‘Paris Club’ of donors.
The country’s economic stability and consistent growth during the last decade has improved its international status. The major outstanding problem is corruption – measuring corruption is at best an inexact science but Bangladesh is widely recognized to be among the worst offenders. The informal ‘hundi’ banking system is especially vulnerable to illicit transfers and laundering. In May 2003, the government established a national commission to tackle the problem.
Bangladesh is a member of the seven-strong South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation – the main economic grouping in the region.
Next Page »
