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Retrieved 1 February 2017. And everyone is hot and adventurous! At a separate meeting of legislators from , it was decided 58 votes to 21 that the province should be partitioned and West Bengal should join the.

The following year, the Awami League abolished the caretaker-government system. The severity of the flooding was attributed to unusually high rains, the shedding off of equally unusually large amounts of melt water from theand the civil cutting down of trees that would have intercepted rain water for firewood or animal husbandry. Direct and indirect employment in the industry totalled 2,714,500 jobs, or 3. The is equipped with several Russian multi-role fighter jets. I went through many tough hurdles in my life a few elements ago when I was searching for my happiness. This has nothing to do with unfriendliness but rather related to the fact that a serious face is believed to demonstrate maturity.

East Bengal was also Pakistan's most cosmopolitan province, home to peoples of different faiths, cultures and ethnic groups. As of 2009, the Mela was organised by the Tower Hamlets council, attracting 95,000 people, featuring with popular artists such as , Nukul Kumar Bishwash, and many others. Women's sports saw tremendous progress in the 2010s decade in Bangladesh.

Notifications - The synagogue at the corner of Fournier Street and Brick Lane became the or 'Great London Mosque', which continues to serve the Bangladeshi community to this day. This event is taken place at midnight on 20 February, where the Bengali community come together to lay at the monument.

Website This article contains. Without proper , you may see. Bangladesh ; : , lit. It shares land borders with and Burma. The country's maritime territory in the is roughly equal to the size of its land area. Bangladesh is the world's. Bangladesh forms the largest and easternmost part of the region. The politically dominant make the nation the world's third largest. Most of Bangladesh is covered by the , the largest delta on Earth. The country has 700 rivers and 8,046 km 5,000 mi of inland waterways. Bangladesh has many islands and a coral reef. The longest unbroken sea beach of the world, , is located in the southeast. It is home to the , the largest mangrove forest in the world. The country's includes a vast array of plant and wildlife, including endangered , the national animal. The Greeks and Romans identified the region as , a powerful kingdom of the historical , in the 3rd century BCE. Archaeological research has unearthed several ancient cities in Bangladesh, which enjoyed international trade links for millennia. The and transformed the region into a cosmopolitan imperial power between the 14th and 18th centuries. The region was home to many principalities that made use of their inland prowess. It was also a notable center of the global and silk trade. As part of , the region was influenced by the and played an important role in. The made East Bengal a part of the ; and renamed it as. The region witnessed the in 1952 and the in 1971. After independence was achieved, a was established. A was in place between 1975 and 1990, followed by a return to parliamentary democracy. The country continues to face challenges in the areas of , , and. Bangladesh is a and a. Listed as one of the , its economy ranks in terms of nominal and in terms of. It is one of the in the world. Its major trading partners are the , the , China, India, , and. With its strategically vital location between , and Asia, Bangladesh is an important promoter of regional connectivity and cooperation. It is a founding member of , , the and the Initiative. It is also a member of the , , the , the , the , the , the and the. Bangladesh is one of the largest contributors to forces. Main article: The etymology of Bangladesh Country of Bengal can be traced to the early 20th century, when Bengali patriotic songs, such as Namo Namo Namo Bangladesh Momo by and Aaji Bangladesher Hridoy by , used the term. The term Bangladesh was often written as two words, Bangla Desh, in the past. Starting in the 1950s, Bengali nationalists used the term in political rallies in. The term Bangla is a major name for both the region and the. The earliest known usage of the term is the in 805 AD. The term Vangaladesa is found in 11th century South Indian records. The term gained official status during the in the 14th century. The word Bangla became the most common name for the region during the Islamic period. The referred to the region as Bengala in the 16th century. Seal of the King , who created the first separate political entity in , called the tools found in Bangladesh indicate human habitation for over 20,000 years, and remnants of settlements date back 4,000 years. Ancient Bengal was settled by , , Dravidians and in consecutive waves of migration. By the 11th century people lived in systemically-aligned housing, buried their dead, and manufactured copper ornaments and black and red pottery. The , and rivers were natural arteries for communication and transportation, and on the Bay of Bengal permitted trade. The early saw the development of metal weaponry, , agriculture and. Major urban settlements formed during the late Iron Age, in the mid-, when the culture developed. In 1879, identified as the capital of the mentioned in the. The grew up during the , which originated in the region of records of the ancient Kingdom, which according to legend deterred the invasion of , are linked to the fort city in. The site is also identified with the prosperous trading center of Souanagoura listed on. Roman geographers noted a large in southeastern Bengal, corresponding to the present-day region. Ancient and states which ruled Bangladesh included the , and Pundra kingdoms, the and , the , 's kingdom, the and , the , the , the kingdom and the. These states had well-developed currencies, banking, shipping, architecture and art, and the ancient universities of and hosted scholars and students from other parts of Asia. The earliest form of the began to the emerge during the eighth century. The 15th-century built during the is now a Early Muslim explorers and missionaries arrived in Bengal late in the first millennium CE. The Islamic conquest of Bengal began with the 1204 invasion by ; after annexing Bengal to the , Khilji waged a. Bengal was ruled by the Delhi Sultanate for a century by governors from the , Balban and. During the 14th century, an independent was established by rebel governors. The sultanate's ruling houses included the , , , and , and the era saw the introduction of a distinct mosque architecture and the. The region was brought under Bengali hegemony. The Bengal Sultanate was visited by explorers , and. During the late 16th century, the a confederation of Muslim and Hindu aristocrats ruled eastern Bengal; its leader was the Mansad-e-Ala, a title held by and his son. The Khan dynasty are considered local heroes for resisting North Indian invasions with their river navies. During the reign of , the Bengali agrarian calendar was reformed to facilitate tax collection. The Mughals established Dhaka as a fort city and commercial metropolis, and it was the capital of for 75 years. In 1666, the Mughals expelled the from Chittagong. Mughal Bengal attracted foreign traders for its and goods, and the were a notable merchant community. A flourished in the southeast, and a existed in the north. During the 18th century, the became the region's de facto rulers. The Nawabs forged alliances with European colonial companies, which made the region relatively prosperous early in the century. The population was a product of conversion and religious evolution, and their pre-Islamic beliefs included elements of Buddhism and Hinduism. The construction of mosques, Islamic academies madrasas and Sufi monasteries facilitated conversion, and played a significant role in developing Bengali Muslim society. Scholars have theorized that Bengalis were attracted to Islam by its egalitarian social order, which contrasted with the Hindu caste system. By the 15th century, Muslim poets were writing in the Bengali language. Notable medieval Bengali Muslim poets included , and. The culture was significant in Bengal, where cities like became the easternmost centers of Persian influence. Colonial period The 1906 All India Muhammadan Educational Conference in Dacca, After the 1757 , Bengal was the first region of the Indian subcontinent conquered by the. The company formed the , which administered the region until 1858. A notable aspect of was the , which established the feudal system. A number of famines, including the , occurred under company rule. Several rebellions broke out during the early 19th century including one led by , but British rule displaced the Muslim ruling class. A conservative Islamic cleric, , sought to overthrow the British by propagating Islamic revivalism. Several towns in Bangladesh participated in the and pledged allegiance to the last Mughal emperor, , who was later exiled to neighboring Burma. During the late 19th century, novelists, social reformers and feminists emerged from Muslim Bengali society. East Bengal's was important to the British Empire, particularly its and. The British established , such as the , and large seaports like the. Social tensions also increased under British rule, particularly between wealthy Hindus and the Muslim-majority population. The Permanent Settlement made millions of Muslim peasants tenants of Hindu estates, and resentment of the Hindu landed gentry grew. Supported by the Muslim aristocracy, the British government created the province of in 1905; the new province received increased investment in education, transport and industry. However, the created an uproar in and the. In response to growing Hindu nationalism, the was formed in Dhaka during the 1906 All India Muhammadan Educational Conference. The British government reorganized the provinces in 1912, reuniting East and West Bengal and making a second province. The All India Muslim League's Working Committee, in which Bengal was represented by A. Fazlul Huq and Khawaja Nazimuddin The Raj was slow to allow self-rule in the colonial subcontinent. It established the in 1862, and the council's native Bengali representation increased during the early 20th century. The was formed in 1913 to advocate for Bengali Muslims within a constitutional framework. During the 1920s, the league was divided into factions supporting the and favoring cooperation with the British to achieve self-rule. Segments of the Bengali elite supported forces. In 1929, the was formed in the Bengal Legislative Council to counter the influence of the Hindu landed gentry, and the and strengthened during the early 20th century. After the and the era in the , the British government promised in 1935. The , British India's largest legislature, was established in 1937. Although it won a majority of seats in 1937, the Bengal Congress boycotted the legislature. In 1940 Huq supported the , which envisaged independent states in the northwestern and eastern Muslim-majority regions of the subcontinent. The first Huq ministry, a coalition with the Bengal Provincial Muslim League, lasted until 1941; it was followed by a Huq coalition with the which lasted until 1943. Huq was succeeded by , who grappled with the effects of the , the and the movement. In 1946, the Bengal Provincial Muslim League won the provincial election, taking 113 of the 250-seat assembly the largest Muslim League mandate in British India. Union with Pakistan Main articles: , , and On 3 June 1947 outlined the. On 20 June, the Bengal Legislative Assembly met to decide on the partition of Bengal. At the preliminary joint meeting, it was decided 120 votes to 90 that if the province remained united it should join the. At a separate meeting of legislators from , it was decided 58 votes to 21 that the province should be partitioned and West Bengal should join the. At another meeting of legislators from , it was decided 106 votes to 35 that the province should not be partitioned and 107 votes to 34 that East Bengal should join the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan if Bengal was partitioned. On 6 July, the of Assam voted in a. The was created on 14 August 1947. The in 1947, with its eastern part East Bengal, with Dhaka its capital, was the most populous province of the 1947 led by , who promised freedom of religion and secular democracy in the new state. East Bengal was also Pakistan's most cosmopolitan province, home to peoples of different faiths, cultures and ethnic groups. Partition gave increased economic opportunity to East Bengalis, producing an urban population during the 1950s. The was formed in 1949 as a centre-left alternative to the centre-right All Pakistan Muslim League. The 1952 was the first sign of friction between the country's geographically-separated wings. The Awami Muslim League was renamed the more-secular in 1953. The first constituent assembly was dissolved in 1954; this was challenged by its East Bengali speaker,. The coalition swept aside the Muslim League in a landslide victory in the 1954. The following year, East Bengal was renamed East Pakistan as part of the program and the province became a vital part of the. Female students march in defiance of the prohibition on assembly during the Bengali Language Movement in early 1953. Pakistan adopted its first constitution in 1956. Three Bengalis were its Prime Minister until 1957: Nazimuddin, and Suhrawardy. None of the three completed their terms, and resigned from office. The imposed , and was the country's strongman for 11 years. Political repression increased after the coup. Khan introduced a new constitution in 1962, replacing Pakistan's parliamentary system with a presidential and gubernatorial system based on selection known as Basic Democracy. In 1962 Dhaka became the seat of the , a move seen as appeasing increased Bengali nationalism. The Pakistani government built the controversial , displacing the from their indigenous homeland in the. During the , lost to Ayub Khan despite support from the Combined Opposition alliance which included the Awami League. The blocked cross-border transport links with neighboring India in what is described as a second partition. In 1966, Awami League leader announced a for a federal parliamentary democracy. According to senior officials, Pakistan practiced extensive against East Pakistan: greater government spending on West Pakistan, financial transfers from East to West Pakistan, the use of East Pakistan's foreign-exchange surpluses to finance West Pakistani imports, and refusal by the central government to release funds allocated to East Pakistan because previous spending had been under budget; East Pakistan generated 70 percent of Pakistan's export revenue with its jute and tea. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was arrested for treason in the , and was released during the which resulted in Ayub Khan's resignation. General assumed power, reintroducing martial law. Ethnic and linguistic discrimination was common in Pakistan's civil and military services, in which Bengalis were under-represented. Fifteen percent of Pakistani central-government offices were occupied by East Pakistanis, who formed 10 percent of the military. Cultural discrimination also prevailed, making East Pakistan forge a distinct political identity. Pakistan banned Bengali literature and music in state media, including the works of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. A devastated the coast of East Pakistan in 1970, killing an estimated 500,000 people, and the central government was criticized for its poor response. After the December 1970 elections, calls for the independence of East Bengal became louder; the Bengali-nationalist Awami League won 167 of 169 East Pakistani seats in the National Assembly. The League claimed the right to form a government and develop a new constitution, but was strongly opposed by the Pakistani military and the led by. War of Independence , in memory of the freedom fighters The Bengali population was angered when Prime Minister-elect Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was prevented from taking the office. This time the struggle is for our independence. During the night of 25 March, the Pakistani military junta led by launched a sustained military assault on East Pakistan. Pakistan army arrested Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and flew him away to Karachi. Mujib however, before his arrest proclaimed the on 26 March midnight which led the to officially break out within hours. The Pakistan Army continued to massacre Bengali , , politicians, civil servants and military defectors in the , while the and other Bengali guerilla forces created strong resistance throughout the country. During the war, estimated 300,000 to three million people were killed and several million people took shelter in neighboring India. Global public opinion turned against Pakistan as news of the atrocities spread; the Bangladesh movement was supported by prominent political and cultural figures in the West, including , , , , and. The first major benefit concert in history, it was organized by Harrison and Indian Bengali sitarist Ravi Shankar. During the Bangladesh Liberation War, Bengali nationalists declared independence and formed the the Bangladeshi National Liberation Army. The was established on 17 April 1971, converting the 469 elected members of the Pakistani national assembly and East Pakistani provincial assembly into the. Due to Mujib's detention, the acting president was , while was Bangladesh's first prime minister. The military wing of the provisional government was the that included and other Bengali guerilla forces. Led by General and eleven , the forces strongly held the countryside during the war and conducted wide-ranging guerrilla operations against Pakistani forces. As a result, almost entire country except capital Dacca was liberated by by late November. This led Pakistan Army to attack neighboring India's western front on 2 December. India retaliated both in western and eastern fronts. By joint Bangladeshi ground advance and Indian air strike, the rest capital Dacca was liberated from Pakistani occupation in mid December. During the last phase of the war, the Soviet Union and the United States dispatched naval forces to the Bay of Bengal in a Cold War standoff. The nine-months long war ended with the to the Bangladesh-India Allied Forces on 16 December 1971. Under international pressure, Pakistan released Rahman from imprisonment on 8 January 1972 and he was flown by the British Royal Air Force of to a million-strong homecoming in Dacca. Remaining Indian troops were withdrawn by 12 March 1972, three months after the war ended. The cause of Bangladeshi self-determination was recognized around the world. By the time of its admission to UN membership in August 1972, the new state was recognized by 86 countries. Pakistan recognized Bangladesh in 1974 after pressure from most of the Muslim countries. People's Republic of Bangladesh First parliamentary era Prime Minister and U. The new constitution included references to , and Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman major industries in 1972. A major reconstruction and rehabilitation program was launched. The Awami League won the country's first general election in 1973, securing a large majority in the. Bangladesh joined the , the UN, the and the , and Rahman strengthened ties with India. Amid growing agitation by the opposition and , he became increasingly authoritarian. Rahman amended the constitution, giving himself more emergency powers including the suspension of fundamental rights. The also worsened the political situation. Presidential era and coups 1975—1991 President and First Lady with the Dutch royal family in 1979 In January 1975, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman introduced under. Rahman banned all newspapers except four state-owned publications, and amended the constitution to increase his power. He was during a coup on 15 August 1975. Ahmad is widely regarded as a by Bangladeshis. Tajuddin Ahmad, the nation's first prime minister, and four other independence leaders were assassinated on 4 November 1975. Chief Justice was installed as president by the military on 6 November 1975. Bangladesh was governed by a led by the for three years. In 1977, Army chief became president. Rahman reinstated politics, industries and newspapers, established and held the country's second general election in 1979. A system evolved, with the BNP governing until 1982. Rahman was assassinated in 1981, and was succeeded by. After a year in office, Sattar was overthrown in the. Chief Justice was installed as president, but army chief became the country's de facto leader and assumed the presidency in 1983. Ershad lifted martial law in 1986. He governed with four successive prime ministers , , and and a parliament dominated by his. General elections were held in 1986 and 1988, although the latter was boycotted by the opposition BNP and Awami League. Ershad pursued administrative decentralization, dividing the country into 64 districts, and pushed Parliament to make Islam the state religion in 1988. A forced him to resign, and Chief Justice led the country's first caretaker government as part of the transition to parliamentary rule. After the 1991 general election, the twelfth amendment to the constitution restored the parliamentary republic and became Bangladesh's first female prime minister. Zia, a former first lady, led a BNP government from 1990 to 1996. In 1991 her finance minister, , began a major program to liberalize the Bangladeshi economy. After an Awami League initiative, the BNP introduced a system of to oversee the transfer of power. Justice was the first , and oversaw the 1996 election. The Awami League, led by , won the seventh general election. Hasina's first term was highlighted by the and a water-sharing treaty with India. The second caretaker government, led by Chief Adviser Justice , oversaw the eighth general election in 2001 which returned Begum Zia and the BNP to power. The second Zia ministry saw improved economic growth, but political turmoil gripped the country between 2004 and 2006. A radical Islamist militant group, the , carried out a series of bombings. Amid widespread political unrest the Bangladeshi military urged President to impose a and a caretaker government, led by technocrat , was installed. Emergency rule lasted for two years, until the ninth general election in 2008 which returned Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League to power. In 2010, the ruled martial law illegal and affirmed principles in the constitution. The following year, the Awami League abolished the caretaker-government system. The 2014 general election was boycotted by the BNP, giving the Awami League a decisive victory. A satellite image showing the topography of Bangladesh The geography of Bangladesh is divided between three regions. Most of the country is dominated by the fertile ; the northwest and central parts of the country are formed by the and the plateaus. The northeast and southeast are home to hill ranges. The Ganges delta is formed by the confluence of the Ganges local name or Pôdda , or Jomuna , and rivers and their respective tributaries. The Ganges unites with the Jamuna main channel of the Brahmaputra and later joins the Meghna, finally flowing into the. Bangladesh has 57 , making the resolution of water issues politically complicated, in most cases, as the country is a lower state to India. Bangladesh is predominantly rich fertile flat land. Most parts of it is less than 12 m 39. The country's wetlands are of significance to global environmental science. In southeastern Bangladesh, experiments have been done since the 1960s to 'build with nature'. Construction of cross dams has induced a natural accretion of silt, creating new land. With Dutch funding, the Bangladeshi government began promoting the development of this new land in the late 1970s. The effort has become a multi-agency endeavor, building roads, culverts, embankments, cyclone shelters, toilets and ponds, as well as distributing land to settlers. It was expected that by fall 2010, the program would have allotted some 27,000 acres 10,927 ha to 21,000 families. With an elevation of 1,064 m 3,491 ft , the highest peak of Bangladesh is , near the border with. Administrative geography Bangladesh is divided into eight administrative divisions, each named after their respective divisional headquarters: , Chittagong, , , , Rajshahi, Rangpur, and Sylhet. Divisions are subdivided into districts zila. There are 64 districts in Bangladesh, each further subdivided into upazila subdistricts or thana. The area within each police station, except for those in metropolitan areas, is divided into several , with each union consisting of multiple villages. In the metropolitan areas, police stations are divided into wards, which are further divided into mahallas. There are no elected officials at the divisional or district levels, and the administration is composed only of government officials. Direct elections are held in each union or ward for a chairperson and a number of members. In 1997, a parliamentary act was passed to reserve three seats out of 12 in every union for female candidates. Administrative Divisions of Bangladesh Established Area km 2 Population 1 January 1993 13,297 8,325,666 626 1 January 1829 33,771 28,423,019 841 1 January 1829 20,593 36,054,418 1,751 1 October 1960 22,272 15,687,759 704 14 September 2015 10,584 11,370,000 1,074 1 January 1829 18,197 18,484,858 1,015 25 January 2010 16,317 15,787,758 960 1 August 1995 12,596 9,910,219 780 Climate Bangladesh has a tropical monsoon climate Straddling the , Bangladesh's climate is tropical with a mild winter from October to March, and a hot, humid summer from March to June. The country has never recorded an air temperature below 0 °C 32 °F , with a record low of 1. A warm and humid monsoon season lasts from June to October and supplies most of the country's rainfall. Natural calamities, such as , , , and occur almost every year, combined with the effects of , and. The of 1970 and 1991 were particularly devastating, the killing some 140,000 people. In September 1998, Bangladesh saw in modern world history. As the Brahmaputra, the Ganges and spilt over and swallowed 300,000 houses, 9,700 km 6,000 mi of road and 2,700 km 1,700 mi of embankment, 1,000 people were killed and 30 million more were made homeless; 135,000 cattle were killed; 50 km 2 19 sq mi of land were destroyed; and 11,000 km 6,800 mi of roads were damaged or destroyed. Effectively, two-thirds of the country was underwater. The severity of the flooding was attributed to unusually high rains, the shedding off of equally unusually large amounts of melt water from the , and the widespread cutting down of trees that would have intercepted rain water for firewood or animal husbandry. Bangladesh is now widely recognised to be one of the countries most vulnerable to. Natural hazards that come from increased rainfall, rising sea levels, and tropical cyclones are expected to increase as climate changes, each seriously affecting agriculture, water and food security, human health and shelter. It is estimated that by 2050, a 3 feet rise in sea levels will inundate some 20 percent of the land and displace more than 30 million people. There is evidence that pose a threat to the country and that have caused rivers to shift course suddenly and dramatically. It has been shown that rainy-season flooding in Bangladesh, on the world's largest river delta, can push the underlying crust down by as much as 6 centimetres, and possibly perturb faults. Bangladeshi water is frequently contaminated with because of the high arsenic content of the soil—up to 77 million people are from drinking water. Biodiversity in the Bangladesh ratified the Rio on 3 May 1994. As of 2014 , the country was set to revise its. Bangladesh is located in the. Its ecology includes a long sea coastline, numerous , lakes, , evergreen forests, semi evergreen forests, hill forests, moist , freshwater swamp forests and flat land with tall grass. The Bangladesh Plain is famous for its fertile soil which supports extensive cultivation. The country is dominated by lush vegetation, with villages often buried in groves of , , , , and. The country has up to 6000 species of plant life, including 5000 flowering plants. Water bodies and wetland systems provide a habitat for many aquatic plants. Bangladesh is home to much of the , the world's largest , covering an area of 6,000 km 2 in the southwest littoral region. It is divided into three protected sanctuaries—the , and zones. The forest is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The northeastern Sylhet region is home to haor wetlands, which is a unique ecosystem. It also includes , a and mixed deciduous forests. The southeastern covers evergreen and semi evergreen hilly jungles. Central Bangladesh includes the plainland Sal forest running along the districts of Gazipur, and. Bangladesh has an abundance of in its forests, marshes, woodlands and hills. The vast majority of animals dwell within a habitat of 150,000 km 2. The , , , and are among the chief predators in the Sundarbans. Northern and eastern Bangladesh is home to the , , and. The deer are widely seen in southwestern woodlands. Other animals include the , , , , , , , , , and. Bangladesh has one of the largest population of and. A 2009 census found 6,000 Irrawaddy dolphins inhabiting the littoral rivers of Bangladesh. The country has numerous species of 53 , reptiles 139 , 19 and 5. Several animals became extinct in Bangladesh during the last century, including the one horned and two horned and common. The human population is concentrated in urban areas, hence limiting deforestation to a certain extent. Rapid urban growth has threatened natural habitats. Though many areas are protected under law, a large portion of Bangladeshi wildlife is threatened by this growth. The was enacted in 1995. The government has designated several regions as , including wetlands, forests and rivers. The and the Bangladesh Bear Project are among the key initiatives to strengthen conservation. A supported by a parliamentary majority usually the chair of the largest party is the , the and of the. Bangladesh is governed by a 350-member parliament, known as the. Three hundred of its members are elected on a basis, and 50 seats are reserved for female nominees by political parties. Although parliamentary are scheduled every five years, they have often been delayed by political crises, emergency rule or. From 1975 to 1990 the presidency had executive powers, but it has been reduced to a largely-ceremonial role by the to the constitution. The amendment was controversial for abolishing the , which had been a neutral administration during election periods since the 1990s. The was boycotted by the largest opposition party, which argued that a free election could not be held without a neutral interim government. The Jatiyo Sangshad is restrained from holding motions, and by. Legal system Bangladesh's legal system is based on , and its principal source of laws are. The includes a list of all laws in force in the country. The code begins in 1836, and most of its listed laws were crafted under the by the , the , the , the and the ; one example is the. From 1947 to 1971, laws were enacted by Pakistan's and the. The was the country's provisional parliament until 1973, when the first elected Jatiyo Sangshad was sworn in. Although most of Bangladesh's laws were compiled in , after a 1987 government directive laws are now primarily written in. Marriage, divorce and inheritance are governed by , and Christian. The judiciary is often influenced by legal developments in the , such as the. The , including its and Appellate Divisions, is the high court of the land. The head of the judiciary is the , who sits on the Supreme Court. The courts have wide latitude in , and judicial is supported by the Article 111 of the constitution. The includes district and metropolitan courts, which are divided into civil and criminal courts. Due to a shortage of judges, the judiciary has a large backlog. The is an independent body responsible for judicial appointments, salaries and discipline. Military Map of deployments The Bangladesh Armed Forces have inherited the institutional framework of the and the. It was formed in 1971 from the military regiments of East Pakistan. In 2012 the strength was around 300,000, including reservists, the Air Force 22,000 and the Navy 24,000. In addition to traditional defence roles, the military has supported civil authorities in disaster relief and provided internal security during periods of political unrest. For many years, Bangladesh has been the world's largest contributor to. In February 2015, the country made major deployments to , , , the , the , , , and. The has the third-largest fleet after India and Thailand of , including , , and aircraft. The is equipped with several Russian multi-role fighter jets. Bangladesh cooperates defensively with the , participating in the CARAT exercises. Ties between the Bangladeshi and the have increased, with high-level visits by the military chiefs of both countries. Eighty percent of Bangladesh's military equipment comes from China. Foreign relations First South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation meeting in 1985 in l-r, top row: the presidents of and the , the king of , the president of Bangladesh, the prime minister of , the king of and the president of. Bangladesh was the initiator to found SAARC. The first major intergovernmental organization joined by Bangladesh was the in 1972. The country joined the in 1974, and has been elected twice to the. Ambassador was elected president of the in 1986. Bangladesh relies on diplomacy in the. It is a major contributor to , providing 113,000 personnel to 54 UN missions in the Middle East, the Balkans, Africa and the Caribbean in 2014. In addition to membership in the Commonwealth and the United Nations, Bangladesh pioneered regional cooperation in. Bangladesh is a founding member of the SAARC , an organization designed to strengthen relations and promote economic and cultural growth among its members. It has hosted several summits, and two Bangladeshi diplomats were the organization's secretary-general. Bangladesh joined the OIC in 1973. It has hosted the summit of OIC foreign ministers, which addresses issues, conflicts and disputes affecting. Bangladesh is a founding member of the , a bloc of eight Muslim-majority republics. The has longstanding with Bangladesh. The is a major , including its largest export market and foreign investor. Seventy-six percent of viewed the United States favorably in 2014, one of the highest ratings among countries. The is Bangladesh's largest regional market, conducting and providing development assistance. Relations with other countries are generally positive. Shared democratic values ease relations with Western countries, and similar economic concerns forge ties to other. Despite poor working conditions and war affecting overseas , relations with countries are friendly and bounded by religion and culture; more than a million Bangladeshis are employed in the region. Bangladesh and India are South Asia's largest trading partners. The countries are forging regional economic and infrastructure projects, such as a regional motor-vehicle agreement in and a coastal shipping agreement in the. Despite political goodwill, and the lack of a comprehensive water-sharing agreement for 54 trans-boundary rivers are major issues. In 2017, India joined Russia and China in refusing to condemn Myanmar's atrocities against the , which contradicted with Bangladesh's demand for recognizing Rohingya human rights. However, the Indian air force delivered aid shipments for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. The rise of and in India has also affected Bangladesh. The Bangladeshi and industries have seen increased prices due to the Indian government's Hindu nationalist campaign against the export of beef and cattle skin. China and Bangladesh established bilateral relations in 1976 which have significantly strengthened, and the country is considered a cost-effective source of arms for the Bangladeshi military. Since the 1980s 80 percent of Bangladesh's military equipment has been supplied by China often with generous credit terms , and China is Bangladesh's largest trading partner. Both countries are part of the. Despite common regional interests, Bangladesh-Myanmar relations have been strained by the refugee issue and the isolationist policies of the Myanmar military. In 2012, the countries came to terms at the over maritime disputes in the Bay of Bengal. In 2016 and 2017, relations with Myanmar again strained as over 400,000 entered Bangladesh after atrocities. The parliament, government and civil society of Bangladesh have been at the forefront of against Myanmar for military operations against the Rohingya, which the has described as. Although Bangladeshi and Pakistani businesses have invested in each other, diplomatic relations are strained because of Pakistani denial of the. Bangladeshi aid agencies work in many developing countries. An example is in , which benefits 12 million people in that country. Bangladesh has a record of as a party to the NPT and the CTBT. It is a state party to the. Suhrawardy led East and West Pakistan to join the , and the. Human rights Main article: are enshrined in the country's constitution. However, government and security forces have flouted constitutional principles and have been accused of abuses. According to the British , the country has a : the third of four rankings in its. Bangladesh was the third-most-peaceful South Asian country in the 2015. Bangladeshi law-enforcement agencies, including the Rapid Action Battalion pictured , have been accused of human-rights abuses. According to National Human Rights Commission chairman Mizanur Rahman, 70% of alleged human-rights violations are committed by law-enforcement agencies. Targets have included winner and the , and independent and pro-opposition newspapers and television networks. Bangladeshi security forces, particularly the RAB , have received international condemnation for human-rights abuses including , and. Over 1,000 people have been said to have been victims of extrajudicial killings by RAB since its inception under the last government. The British and American governments have been criticized for funding and engaging the force in counter-terrorism operations. The Bangladeshi government has not fully implemented the. The Hill Tracts region remains heavily , despite a peace treaty with forged by the. Islam's ambiguous position as the de facto has been criticized by the United Nations. Despite relative harmony, religious minorities have faced occasional persecution. The and communities have experienced from Islamic groups, notably the and its student wing. Islamic far-right candidates peaked at 12 percent of the vote in 2001, falling to four percent in 2008. According to the 2016 Global Slavery Index, an estimated 1,531,300 people are enslaved in modern-day Bangladesh, or 0. A number of slaves in Bangladesh are forced to work in the fish and shrimp industries. Corruption Main article: Bangladesh was 14th on 's 2014. In 2015, bribes made up 3. The country's was active during the , indicting many leading politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen for. After it assumed power in 2009, the Awami League government reduced the commission's independent power to investigate and prosecute. Land administration was the sector with the most bribery in 2015, followed by education, police and water supply. Shirt production line in a Bangladeshi factory. Bangladesh is the world's second-largest textile exporter, after China. During its first five years of independence Bangladesh adopted socialist policies, an Awami League blunder. In 1991, finance minister introduced a programme of. The Bangladeshi private sector has rapidly expanded, with a number of driving the economy. Major industries include textiles, , shipbuilding, steel, electronics, energy, construction materials, chemicals, ceramics, food processing and leather goods. Most export earnings are from the. Bangladesh also has , including the Nobel Peace Prize-winning and the world's largest. However, an insufficient power supply is a significant obstacle to Bangladesh's economic development. According to the , poor governance, corruption and weak public institutions are also major challenges. In April 2010, gave Bangladesh a BB- long-term , below India's but above those of Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Agriculture is the largest sector of the economy, making up 18. The agricultural sector impacts employment generation, poverty alleviation, development and. More Bangladeshis earn their living from agriculture than from any other sector. The country is among the top producers of fourth , seventh , sixth , jute second , and farmed fish fifth. Bangladesh is the seventh-largest in Asia, ahead of neighboring Myanmar, and 56 percent of the country's electricity is generated by natural gas. Major gas fields are located in the northeastern particularly Sylhet and southern including Barisal and Chittagong regions. The American multinational corporation produces 50 percent of Bangladesh's natural gas. According to geologists, the Bay of Bengal contains large, untapped gas reserves in Bangladesh's. Bangladesh has substantial coal reserves, with several coal mines operating in the northwest. Jute exports remain significant, although the global jute trade has shrunk considerably since its World War II peak. Bangladesh has one of the world's oldest tea industries, and is a major exporter of fish and seafood. Leather-goods manufacturing, particularly footwear, is the second-largest export sector. The meets 97 percent of domestic demand, and exports to many countries. In 2005 Bangladesh was the world's 20th-largest producer, an industry dependent on imports from. The is growing rapidly, particularly the. Bangladesh's defense industry includes the and the. Bangladeshi economist and laureate with the former presidents of The service sector accounts for 51 percent of the country's GDP. Bangladesh ranks with Pakistan as South Asia's second-largest banking sector. The and are the country's twin financial markets. Bangladesh's is one of the world's fastest-growing, with 114 million cellphone subscribers in December 2013, and , , and are major companies. The Sylhet region, home to Bangladesh's tea country, also hosts a large number of visitors. The country has , and the and five sites. In 2015, the country had over 35 million borrowers. Transport Main article: Transport is a major sector of the economy. Aviation has grown rapidly, and includes the and other. Bangladesh has a : three international and several domestic and short takeoff and landing airports. The busiest, connects Dhaka with major destinations. Bangladesh has a 2,706-kilometre 1,681-mile rail network operated by state-owned. The total length of the country's is nearly 21,000-kilometre 13,000-mile. It has one of the largest inland networks in the world, with 8,046 kilometres 5,000 miles of navigable waters. The second-busiest seaport is. Bangladesh has three and 22. Top maritime and inland ports Chittagong Dhaka Rank Port Type traffic Mongla Aricha 1 Seaport 2. About 56 percent of the country's commercial energy is generated by natural gas, followed by oil, and coal. Bangladesh has planned to import hydropower from and. Nuclear energy is being developed with Russian support in the project. The country ranks fifth worldwide in the number of , and solar panels are increasingly used to power urban and off-grid rural areas. An estimated 98 percent of the country's population had access to in 2004 a high percentage for a low-income country , achieved largely through the construction of with support from external donors. However, in 1993 it was discovered that much of Bangladesh's groundwater the source of drinking water for 97 percent of the rural population and a significant share of the urban population is naturally contaminated with arsenic. Another challenge is low cost recovery due to low tariffs and poor , especially in urban areas where water revenue does not cover operating costs. An estimated 56 percent of the population had access to adequate sanitation facilities in 2010. Science and technology See also: and The , founded in 1973, traces its roots to the East Pakistan Regional Laboratories established in Dhaka 1955 , 1965 and Chittagong 1967. Bangladesh's , , was founded in 1983 with assistance from the United States. Bangladesh launched the first Bangladeshi communications satellite in 2018. The operates a research reactor at its atomic-energy facility in. In 2015, Bangladesh was ranked the 26th global IT outsourcing destination. Tourism See The beach in , with an unbroken length of 120 km 75 mi , it is the longest natural sea beach in the world Bangladesh's tourist attractions include historical and monuments, resorts, beaches, picnic spots, forests and tribal people, wildlife of various species. Activities for tourists include , , river cruising, hiking, , , and. The WTTC reported in 2013 that the travel and tourism industry in Bangladesh directly generated 1,281,500 jobs in 2012 or 1. Direct and indirect employment in the industry totalled 2,714,500 jobs, or 3. The WTTC predicted that by 2023, travel and tourism will directly generate 1,785,000 jobs and support an overall total of 3,891,000 jobs, or 4. This would represent an annual growth rate in direct jobs of 2. Domestic spending generated 97. Bangladesh's world ranking in 2012 for travel and tourism's direct contribution to GDP, as a percentage of GDP, was 142 out of 176. Estimates of the Bangladeshi population vary, but 2016 UN data suggests 163 million. The 2011 census estimated 142. Bangladesh is the world's nation. In 1951, its population was 44 million. Bangladesh is the most densely-populated large country in the world, ranking 11th in population density when small countries and city-states are included. The country's population-growth rate was among the highest in the world in the 1960s and 1970s, when its population grew from 65 to 110 million. With the promotion of in the 1980s, Bangladesh's growth rate began to slow. Its is now 2. The population is relatively young, with 34 percent aged 15 or younger and five percent 65 or older. Life expectancy at birth was estimated at 70 years in 2012. Of Bengalis, are the majority, followed by , and. The population includes the , , , , , Khiang, Khumi, , , , , , , , , , , and tribes. The Chittagong Hill Tracts region experienced unrest and an from 1975 to 1997 in an autonomy movement by its indigenous people. Although a peace accord was signed in 1997, the region remains militarized. Bangladesh is home to a significant community. It hosts many -speaking immigrants, who migrated there after the partition of India. An estimated over 670,000 refugees from live in in in the southeast. The region has received influxes of Rohingya refugees during Burmese military crackdowns in 1978, 1991, 2012 and 2016. Urban centres was written during the 10th century in early form of Bengali, held by the Library More than 98 percent of people in Bangladesh speak Bengali, sometimes called Bangla, as their native language. Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, living in Bangladeshi camps since 1978, speak. Several are also spoken. Bengali is the official language. However, English is sometimes used secondarily for official purposes especially in the legal system. Although laws were historically written in English, they were not translated into Bengali until 1987. Bangladesh's constitution and laws now exist in English and Bengali. English is used as a second language by the middle and upper classes, and is widely used in higher education. Religion is the largest and the official of Bangladesh, followed by 90 percent of the population. The country is home to most , the second-largest ethnic group in the Muslim world. Most Bangladeshi Muslims are , followed by and. About four percent are. Bangladesh has the fourth-largest Muslim population in the world, and is the third-largest Muslim-majority country after Indonesia and Pakistan. The largest gathering of Muslims in Bangladesh is the , held annually by the. The Ijtema is the second-largest Muslim congregation in the world, after the. Bangladeshi Hindus are the country's second-largest religious group and the third-largest Hindu community in the world, after those in India and Nepal. Hindus in Bangladesh are fairly evenly distributed, with concentrations in , , Sylhet, , Mymensingh, Khulna, Jessore, Chittagong and parts of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Despite their dwindling numbers, Hindus are the second-largest religious community after the Muslims in Dhaka. Bangladeshi Buddhists are concentrated among ethnic groups in the Chittagong Hill Tracts particularly the Chakma, Marma and Tanchangya peoples , and coastal Chittagong is home to a large number of. Christianity is the fourth-largest religion, at 0. The Constitution of Bangladesh declares Islam the state religion, but bans religion-based politics. It proclaims equal recognition of Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and people of all faiths. In 1972, Bangladesh was South Asia's first constitutionally-secular country. The describes Bangladesh as a , pluralistic. Education Main article: Bangladesh has a low , which was estimated at 66. The country's educational system is three-tiered and heavily subsidized, with the government operating many schools at the primary, secondary and higher-secondary levels and subsidizing many private schools. In the tertiary-education sector, the Bangladeshi government funds over 15 state universities through the. Literacy rates in Bangladesh districts The education system is divided into five levels: primary first to fifth grade , junior secondary sixth to eighth grade , secondary ninth and tenth grade , higher secondary 11th and 12th grade and tertiary. Five years of secondary education end with a SSC examination; since 2009, the Primary Education Closing PEC examination has also been given. Students who pass the PEC examination proceed to four years of secondary or matriculation training, culminating in the SSC examination. Bangladeshi schoolchildren performing onstage Students who pass the PEC examination proceed to three years of junior-secondary education, culminating in the JSC examination. Students who pass this examination proceed to two years of secondary education, culminating in the SSC examination. Students who pass this examination proceed to two years of higher-secondary education, culminating in the HSC examination. Education is primarily in Bengali, but English is commonly taught and used. Many Muslim families send their children to part-time courses or full-time religious education in Bengali and in madrasas. Bangladesh conforms with the EFA objectives, the MDG and international declarations. Article 17 of the provides that all children between the ages of six and ten years receive a basic education free of charge. Bangladesh has 34 public, 64 private and two international ; has the largest enrollment, and the established in 1921 is the oldest. The is a specialized public-private partnership institute which provides higher education in. Science and technology universities include , , and. Bangladeshi universities are accredited by and affiliated with the UGC , created by Presidential Order 10 in 1973. Medical education is provided by 29 government and private. All medical colleges are affiliated with the. Bangladesh's 2015 literacy rate rose to 71 percent due to education modernization and improved funding, with 16,087 schools and 2,363 colleges receiving Monthly Pay Order MPO facilities. According to education minister , 27,558 madrasas and technical and vocational institutions were enlisted for the facility. Health , the first public medical university in Bangladesh established in 1998 Health and education levels remain relatively low, although they have improved as poverty levels have decreased. A Future Health Systems survey indicated significant deficiencies in the treatment practices of village doctors, with widespread harmful and inappropriate drug prescribing. Receiving health care from informal providers is encouraged. A 2007 study of 1,000 households in rural Bangladesh found that direct payments to formal and informal healthcare providers and indirect costs loss of earnings because of illness associated with illness were deterrents to accessing healthcare from qualified providers. A community survey of 6,183 individuals in rural Bangladesh found a gender difference in treatment-seeking behaviour, with women less likely to seek treatment than to men. The use of skilled birth attendant SBA services, however, rose from 2005 to 2007 among women from all socioeconomic except the highest. A health watch, a pilot community-empowerment tool, was successfully developed and implemented in south-eastern Bangladesh to improve the uptake and monitoring of public-health services. Bangladesh's poor health conditions are attributed to the lack of healthcare provision by the government. According to a 2010 World Bank report, 2009 healthcare spending was 3. The number of hospital beds is 3 per 10,000 population. Government spending on healthcare that year was 7. Twenty-six percent of the population two-thirds of children under the age of five are undernourished, and 46 percent of children are moderately or severely underweight. Forty-three to 60 percent of children under five are smaller than normal; one in five preschool children are vitamin-A deficient, and one in two are anemic. More than 45 percent of rural families and 76 percent of urban families were below the acceptable caloric-intake level. A sculpture at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka The recorded history of art in Bangladesh can be traced to the 3rd century BCE, when sculptures were made in the region. In classical antiquity, a notable school of sculptural Hindu, Jain and Buddhist art developed in the Pala Empire and the Sena dynasty. Islamic art evolved since the 14th century. The architecture of the Bengal Sultanate saw a distinct style of domed mosques with complex niche pillars that had no minarets. Jamdani motifs were similar to Iranian textile art buta motifs and Western textile art. The Jamdani weavers in Dhaka received imperial patronage. The movement in Bangladesh took shape during the 1950s, particularly with the pioneering works of. East Bengal developed its own modernist painting and sculpture traditions, which were distinct from the art movements in West Bengal. The has been an important center for visual art in the region. Its annual was enlisted as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2016. Modern Bangladesh has produced many of South Asia's leading painters, including , , , , , , , , , and , among others. The is the largest photography festival in Asia. Literature The The oldest evidence of writing in Bangladesh is the Mahasthan Inscription, which dates back to the 3rd century BCE. In the Gupta Empire, Sanskrit literature thrived in the region. Bengali developed from and in the 11th century. Bengali literature is a millennium-old tradition; the are the earliest examples of Bengali poetry. Sufi spiritualism inspired many writers. During the Bengal Sultanate, medieval Bengali writers were influenced by and. The are an example of the that developed during the Middle Ages. The Bengal Renaissance shaped the emergence of modern Bengali literature, including novels, short stories and. Rabindranath Tagore was the first non-European laureate of the and is described as the Bengali Shakespeare. Kazi Nazrul Islam was a revolutionary poet who espoused spiritual rebellion against colonialism and fascism. Begum Rokeya was a pioneer of , with her early of work of. Other renaissance icons included Michael Madhusudan Dutt and. The writer is noted for his cosmopolitan Bengali worldview. Notable writers of Bangladeshi novels include Mir Mosharraf Hossain, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and. Many Bangladeshi writers, such as , and are acclaimed for their short stories. The annual and , organized by the , are among the largest literary festivals in South Asia. Women in Bangladesh , the first female Secretary General of Although, as of 2015 , several women occupied major political office in Bangladesh, its women continue to live under a patriarchal social regime where violence is common. Whereas in India and Pakistan women participate less in the workforce as their education increases, the reverse is the case in Bangladesh. Bengal has a long history of dating back to the 19th century. Several women were elected to the Bengal Legislative Assembly in the British Raj. The first women's magazine, , was published in 1948. In 2008, Bangladeshi female workforce participation stood at 26%. Women dominate jobs in the Bangladeshi garment industry. Agriculture, social services, healthcare and education are also major occupations for Bangladeshi women, while their employment in positions has steadily increased. Architecture Main article: The architectural traditions of Bangladesh have a 2,500-year-old heritage. Terracotta architecture is a distinct feature of Bengal. Pre-Islamic Bengali architecture reached its pinnacle in the Pala Empire, when the Pala School of Sculptural Art established grand structures such as the Somapura Mahavihara. The Adina Mosque of united Bengal was the largest mosque built on the Indian subcontinent. The replaced indigenous architecture when Bengal became a province of the Mughal Empire and influenced the development of urban housing. The and are excellent examples of late medieval. The zamindar gentry in Bangladesh built numerous Indo-Saracenic palaces and country mansions, such as the , , , and. Bengali is noted for pioneering the. Bangladeshi villages consist of roofed houses made of natural materials like , , wood and bamboo. In modern times, village bungalows are increasingly made of. His varied works set the course of modern architectural practice in the country. Islam brought leading global architects, including , , , , and , to work in erstwhile East Pakistan. Louis Kahn was chosen to design the National Parliament Complex in. Kahn's monumental designs, combining regional red brick aesthetics, his own concrete and marble and the use of lakes to represent Bengali geography, are regarded as one of the masterpieces of the 20th century. In more recent times, award-winning architects like have set the course of contemporary architecture by adopting influences from the works of Islam and Kahn. Performing arts , a leading playback singer of South Asia since the 1960s, is based in Bangladesh includes various forms with a history dating back to the 4th century CE. It includes narrative forms, song and dance forms, supra-personae forms, performances with scroll paintings, puppet theatre and processional forms. The is the most popular form of Bengali folk theatre. The dance traditions of Bangladesh include indigenous tribal and Bengali dance forms, as well as , including the , and. The features the Baul mystical tradition, listed by UNESCO as a. Numerous lyric-based musical traditions, varying from one region to the next, exist, including , and. Folk music is accompanied by a one-stringed instrument known as the. Other instruments include the , , flute, and. Bengali classical music includes and. Bangladesh has a rich tradition of , which uses instruments like the , tabla, and. Textiles Embroidery on embroidered , centuries-old Bengali art tradition The is a centuries-old tradition for , said to be indigenous to eastern Bengal i. The sari is the national dress for Bangladeshi women. Mughal Dhaka was renowned for producing the finest saris, including the famed and , the weaving of which is listed by UNESCO as one of the masterpieces of humanity's intangible cultural heritage. Bangladesh also produces the. The is also widely worn by Bangladeshi women. In urban areas some women can be seen in western clothing. The and are the national dress of Bangladeshi men; the and are worn by them in informal settings. Aside from ethnic wear, domestically and are customarily worn by the country's men in offices, in schools and at social events. The handloom industry supplies 60—65% of the country's clothing demand. The Bengali ethnic has flourished in the changing environment of the fashion world. The retailer is one of the most successful ethnic wear brands in South Asia. The development of the Bangladesh textile industry, which supplies leading international brands, has promoted the production and retail of modern Western attire locally, with the country now having a number of expanding local brands like Westecs and Yellow. Bangladesh is the world's second largest garments exporter. Cuisine The majority of restaurants offering in Britain are owned by British Bangladeshis. Pictured here is a restaurant in London named after the of northeastern Bangladesh is the staple of Bangladeshi cuisine, along with many vegetables and. Rice preparations also include Bengali , , and. Fish is the main source of protein in Bengali cuisine. The is the national fish and immensely popular across Bangladesh. Other kinds of fish eaten include , , catfish, and. Seafood holds an important place in Bengali cuisine, especially , and. Meat consumption includes chicken, beef, , , and. In Chittagong, Mezban feasts are a popular tradition featuring the serving of hot beef. In Sylhet, the lemons are used to marinate dishes. In the tribal Hill Tracts, bamboo shoot cooking is prevalent. Bangladesh has a vast spread of desserts, including distinctive like , Rôshomalai, , Mishti Doi and Kalojaam. Bangladesh shares its culinary heritage with the neighboring Indian state of. The two regions have several differences, however. In Muslim-majority Bangladesh, meat consumption is greater; whereas in Hindu-majority West Bengal, vegetarianism is more prevalent. The Bangladeshi diaspora dominates the South Asian restaurant industry in many Western countries, particularly in the United Kingdom. Festivals The annual parade , the Bengali new year, is the major festival of and sees widespread festivities. Of the major holidays celebrated in Bangladesh, only Pohela Boishakh comes without any preexisting expectations specific religious identity, culture of gift-giving, etc. Unlike holidays like , where dressing up in lavish clothes has become a norm, or where exchanging gifts has become an integral part of the holiday, Pohela Boishakh is really about celebrating the simpler, rural roots of the Bengal. As a result, more people can participate in the festivities together without the burden of having to reveal one's class, religion, or financial capacity. Other cultural festivals include , and Poush Parbon both of which are Bengali harvest festivals. The Muslim festivals of Eid al-Fitr, , , , , ; the Hindu festivals of , and ; the Buddhist festival of , which marks the birth of , and Christian festival of Christmas are in Bangladesh and see the most widespread celebrations in the country. Alongside are national days like the remembrance of 21 February 1952 , and. On Language Movement Day, people congregate at the in Dhaka to remember the national heroes of the Bengali Language Movement, and at the on Independence Day and Victory Day to remember the national heroes of the Bangladesh Liberation War. These occasions are observed with public ceremonies, parades, rallies by citizens, political speeches, fairs, concerts, and various other public and private events, celebrating the history and traditions of Bangladesh. TV and radio stations broadcast special programs and patriotic songs, and many schools and colleges organise fairs, festivals, and concerts that draw the participation of citizens from all levels of Bangladeshi society. The participated in their first in 1999, and the following year was granted elite status. They have however struggled, recording only ten test match victories: one against , one against , one against in Sri Lanka, five against one in 2005, one in 2013 in Zimbabwe, and three in 2014 , two in a 2—0 series victory over the in the West Indies in 2009. Six of Bangladesh's ten test match victories came in between the years 2014 to 2017. The team has been more successful in ODI. They reached the quarter-final of the. They also reached the semi-final of the. They whitewashed in a home ODI series in 2015 followed by home ODI series wins against and. They also won home ODI series by 4—0 in 2010 against and whitewashed them in the home ODI series in 2013. In July 2010, they celebrated their first-ever win over England in England. In late 2012, they won a five-match home ODI series 3-2 against a full-strength West Indies National team. In 2011, Bangladesh successfully co-hosted the with India and Sri Lanka. They also hosted the championship. Bangladesh hosted the on four occasions in 2000, 2012, 2014, and 2016. In , Bangladesh beat India and Sri Lanka but lost the final game against Pakistan. However, it was the first time Bangladesh had advanced to the final of any top-class international cricket tournament. They reached the final again at the. They participated at the in Guangzhou, defeating Afghanistan to claim their Gold Medal in the first-ever cricket tournament held in the Asian Games. Bangladeshi cricketer is No. Women's sports saw tremendous progress in the 2010s decade in Bangladesh. In 2018 the the defeating in the final. Other popular sports include , tennis, badminton, , basketball, volleyball, chess, ,. The regulates 42 different sporting federations. Bangladesh has five grandmasters in chess. Among them, was the first grandmaster in South Asia. In another achievement, , a Russian of Bangladeshi origin, won gold medal in and became world champion in the years 2013 and 2014. Media and cinema Main articles: and The Bangladeshi press is diverse, outspoken and privately owned. Over 200 newspapers are published in the country. The operates the popular news and current affairs service. Bengali broadcasts from are also very popular. BTV is the state-owned television network. There more than 20 privately owned television networks, including several. The dates back to 1898, when films began screening at the Crown Theatre in Dhaka. The first bioscope on the subcontinent was established in Dhaka that year. The patronized the production of several in the 1920s and 30s. In 1931, the East Bengal Cinematograph Society released the first full-length feature film in Bangladesh, titled the Last Kiss. The first feature film in East Pakistan, , was released in 1956. During the 1960s, 25—30 films were produced annually in Dhaka. By the 2000s, Bangladesh produced 80—100 films a year. While the Bangladeshi film industry has achieved limited commercial success, the country has produced notable independent filmmakers. The late is regarded as one of Bangladesh's outstanding directors due to his numerous productions on historical and social issues. Masud was honored by at the 2002 for his film. Museums and libraries , a public library opened in 1882 with rare book collections from the The is the oldest museum in Bangladesh. It houses important collections from both the pre-Islamic and Islamic periods, including the sculptures of the Pala-Sena School of Art and the Indus Valley Civilization; as well as Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian manuscripts and inscriptions. The Ahsan Manzil, the former residence of the Nawab of Dhaka, is a national museum housing collections from the British Raj. It was the site of the founding conference of the All India Muslim League and hosted many British Viceroys in Dhaka. The Palace Museum preserves artifacts of the rich cultural heritage of North Bengal, including Hindu-Buddhist sculptures and Islamic manuscripts. The houses the personal antique collections of Bengali aristocrats in central Bengal. The showcases the lifestyle of various tribes in Bangladesh. The is located in , Dhaka and has a rich collection of antiquities. The documents the Bangladeshi struggle for independence and the 1971 genocide. In ancient times, manuscripts were written on palm leaves, tree barks, parchment vellum and terracotta plates and preserved at monasteries known as. The Hussain Shahi dynasty established royal libraries during the Bengal Sultanate. Libraries were established in each district of Bengal by the zamindar gentry during the Bengal Renaissance in the 19th century. The trend of establishing libraries continued until the beginning of World War II. In 1854, four major public libraries were opened, including the Bogra Woodburn Library, the Rangpur Public Library, the Jessore Institute Public Library and the Barisal Public Library. The was established in Dhaka in 1882 in honour of , the Governor-General. Other libraries established in the British period included the Victoria Public Library, Natore 1901 , the Sirajganj Public Library 1882 , the Rajshahi Public Library 1884 , the Comilla Birchandra Library 1885 , the Shah Makhdum Institute Public Library, Rajshahi 1891 , the Noakhali Town Hall Public Library 1896 , the Prize Memorial Library, Sylhet 1897 , the Chittagong Municipality Public Library 1904 and the Varendra Research Library 1910. The Great Bengal Library Association was formed in 1925. The was established in 1959. The was established in 1972. The , founded by winner , is noted for operating numerous across Bangladesh and was awarded the UNESCO Jon Amos Comenius Medal. 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