The Name of Bangladesh

The name Bangladesh was originally written as two words, Bangla Desh. Starting in the 1950s, Bengali nationalists used the term in political rallies in East Pakistan. The term Bangla is a major name for both the Bengal region and theBengali language. The earliest references to the term date to the Nesari plate in 805 AD. The term "Vangaladesa" is found in South Indian records in the 11th century.^[15][16][17]

The term gained official status during the Sultanate of Bengal in the 14th century.^[18][19] Shamsuddin Ilyas Shahproclaimed himself as the first "Shah of Bangala" in 1342.^[18] The word Bangla became the most common name for the region during the Islamic period. The Portuguese referred to the region as Bengala in the 16th century.^[20]

The origins of the term Bangla are unclear, with theories pointing to a Bronze Age proto-Dravidian tribe,^[21] the Austricword "Bonga" (Sun god),^[22] and the Iron Age Vanga Kingdom.^[22] The Indo-Aryan suffix Desh is derived from the Sanskrit word deśha, which means "land" or "country". Hence, the name Bangladesh means "Land of Bengal" or "Country of Bengal

Administrative geography of Bangladesh

Bangladesh is divided into eight administrative divisions, each named after their respective divisional headquarters: Barisal,Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Mymensingh, Rajshahi, Sylhet and Rangpur.

Divisions are subdivided into districts (zila). There are 64 districts in Bangladesh, each further subdivided into upazila (subdistricts) orthana. The area within each police station, except for those in metropolitan areas, is divided into several unions, 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 for each union (or ward), electing 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.^[208]

Administrative Divisions of Bangladesh
Division	Capital	Established	Area (km2)[209]	Population[209]	Density[209]
Barisal	Barisal	1 January 1993	13,297	8,325,666	626
Chittagong	Chittagong	1829	33,771	28,423,019	841
Dhaka	Dhaka	1829	20,593	36,054,418	1,751
Khulna	Khulna	1 October 1960	22,272	15,687,759	704
Mymensingh	Mymensingh	14 September 2015	10,584	11,370,000	1,074
Rajshahi	Rajshahi	1829	18,197	18,484,858	1,015
Rangpur	Rangpur	25 January 2010	16,317	15,787,758	960
Sylhet	Sylhet	1 August 1995	12,596	9,910,219	780

Corruption in Bangladesh

According to Transparency International, Bangladesh ranked 14th in the list of countries with the most perceived corruption in 2014.^[198] In 2015, the cost of bribery was at 3.7% of the national budget. ^[199] The country's Anti Corruption Commission was highly active under a state of emergency in 2007 and 2008, when it indicted many leading politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen for graft. After assuming power in 2009, the Awami League government greatly reduced the commission's independent powers for investigation and prosecution.^[200] Land administration was the sector in Bangladesh with the largest cost of bibrery in 2015.^[201] Education is among the sectors with significant corruption. ^[202] The police is highly affected by corruption, too. ^[203] Corruption affects water supply significantly.^[2

Human rights in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is ranked by Freedom House as "Partly Free" in its Freedom in the World report.^[184] Press freedom in Bangladesh is ranked as "Not Free".^[185] The Economist Intelligence Unit classifies the country as a hybrid regime, which is the third best rank out of four in its Democracy Index.^[186] Bangladesh ranked as the 3rd most peaceful country in South Asia in the Global Peace Index in 2015.^[187] In recent years, the once vibrant civil society and media in Bangladesh have come under attack from both the ruling Awami League government and far-right Islamic extremists.^[188]

Supreme Court of Bangladesh

The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has been described as a "death squad". Bangladeshi law enforcement agencies have been accused of regular widespread human rights abuses.

According to Mizanur Rahman, the chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, 70% of the allegations of human rights violations they receive are against the law-enforcement agencies.^[189] Targets have includedNobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank,secularist bloggers, independent and pro-opposition newspapers and television networks. The United Nations has said that it was deeply concerned by the government's "measures that restrict freedom of expression and democratic space".^[188]

Bangladeshi security forces, particularly the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), have faced strong international condemnation for human rights abuses, including enforced disappearances, torture andextrajudicial killings. Over 1,000 people have been killed in extrajudicial killings by RAB since its inception under the lastBNP government.^[190] The agency has been singled out by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International as a "death squad".^[191][192] They have called for the force to be disbanded.^[191][192] The British and American governments have been widely criticized for funding and engaging the force in counter-terrorism operations.^[193]

In the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the government is yet to fully implement the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord.^[194] The Hill Tracts region remains heavily militarized despite the signing of the peace treaty with indigenous people led by theUnited People's Party of the Chittagong Hill Tracts.^[195]

Secularism in Bangladesh is legally enshrined in the constitution. Religious parties are banned from contesting elections, but the government is accused of courting religious extremist groups for votes. Ambiguities over Islam being the state religion have been criticized by the United Nations.^[196] Despite relative inter-religious and communal harmony, minorities in Bangladesh have faced persecution on occasions. The Hindu and Buddhist communities have facedreligious violence from Islamic groups, notably the Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Shibir. The highest vote share achieved by Islamic far right candidates during Bangladeshi elections was 12% in 2001; the lowest was 4% in 2008.^[197]

Bangladesh Armed Forces

As of 2012, the current strength of the army is around 300,000 including reservists,^[181] the air force 22,000, and navy 24,000.^[182] In addition to traditional defence roles, the military has been called on to provide support to civil authorities for disaster relief and internal security during periods of political unrest. Bangladesh has consistently been the world's largest contributor to UN peacekeeping forces for many years. In February 2015, Bangladesh had major deployments in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Darfur, Côte d'Ivoire, Haiti, South Sudan, Lebanon, Cyprus and theGolan Heights.^[183]

BNS Bangabandhu, a guided missile frigate of the Bangladesh Navy

MBT-2000 main battle tank of theBangladesh Army

MiG-29 multirole combat aircraft of the Bangladesh Air Force

Foreign relations of Bangladesh

The first summit of SAARC held at the Parliament in Dhaka in 1985. Bangladesh played a pioneering role in the formation of the South Asian community

Sheikh Hasina and Vladimir Putin in Moscow, 2013.

John Kerry and A. H. Mahmud Ali in Dhaka, 2016

Bangladesh's foreign policy follows a principle of friendship to all and malice to none, which was first articulated by Bengali statesman H. S. Suhrawardy in 1957.^[158][159] Suhrawardy also led East and West Pakistan to join the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, CENTO and the Regional Cooperation for Development. After independence, Bangladesh joined theCommonwealth of Nations and the United Nations. Today, countries considered as Bangladesh's most important partners include India,^[160] China,^[161] Japan,^[162] Saudi Arabia,^[163]Russia,^[164] the United States^[165] and the United Kingdom.^[166]

During the Cold War, Bangladesh cultivated good relations with both the United States and the Soviet Union, but it remained nonaligned with either superpower.^[167] Bangladesh asserted itself in regards to many international issues, including those affecting decolonized and developing countries.^[167]Bangladesh traditionally places a heavy reliance on multilateral diplomacy, especially in the United Nations. Since independence, it has twice been elected to the UN Security Council. Bangladeshi diplomat Humayun Rashid Choudhuryserved as President of the United Nations General Assembly.^[168]

Cox's Bazar District in southeastern Bangladesh is home to refugee campswith 300,000 Rohingya refugees who have fled persecution in Myanmar since the 1970s. The United Nationsestimates that 65,000 refugees arrived after the 2016 crackdown.^[169]

Map showing countries where Bangladesh has participated in UN peacekeeping operations

During the Gulf War in 1991, Bangladesh contributed 2,300 troops to the US-led multinational coalition for the liberation of Kuwait. It has since become the world's largest contributor of UN peacekeeping forces, providing 113,000 personnel to 54 UN missions in the Middle East, the Balkans, Africa and the Caribbean, as of 2014.^[170] Bangladeshi aid agencies work in many developing countries worldwide. An example are the operations of BRAC in Afghanistan, which benefit 12 million people in that country.^[171]

Bangladeshi foreign policy also relies on the country's Islamic heritage, being an OIC member and the world's third largest Muslim-majority country, and enjoys fraternal relations with many nations in the Muslim world. It is a founding member of the Developing 8, along with Turkey, Malaysia, Egypt, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan and Indonesia.^[167]

Strategically important in South Asia and the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh is classified as a middle power. It has diverse political, economic and military partnerships in the region.^[167] It has played a leading role in organizing regional engagement and development cooperation. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was founded in Dhaka in 1985. Three Bangladeshis have since served as its Secretary General. The Bangladeshi capital hosts the headquarters of the Bay of Bengal Initiative(BIMSTEC). The country is part of the Bangladesh–China–India–Myanmar Forum for Regional Cooperation. It has prioritized relations with ASEANmembers in Southeast Asia. It is a member of the Indian Ocean Rim Association.

Bangladesh's most important bilateral relations are with the two regional powersIndia and China. The relationship with India is bound by shared ideals of democracy, cultural heritage and the 1971 Liberation War, in which Indian military and diplomatic support was crucial in defeating Pakistani forces on Bangladeshi territory. In the early years of Bangladesh's independence, Dhaka and Delhi enjoyed a strong alliance. However, when military coups began in Bangladesh during the late 1970s, there was increasing distance between the two neighbors. Differences emerged over sharing the water of the Ganges. Bangladesh developed very warm relations with the People's Republic of China in the 1980s. Defense cooperation rapidly increased as the Bangladeshi military became one of the largest buyers of Chinese defense equipment, given their relative cost-effective attractiveness for the Bangladeshi defence budget.^[172] China has supplied Bangladesh with missiles and frigates. China is also one of Bangladesh's largest trade partners. In more recent years, India has sought to revive relations with Bangladesh through a strategic partnership focused on counter-terrorism, aid for infrastructure development and promoting regional economic integration. Bangladesh and India are the largest trading partners among SAARC nations. The Indian and Bangladeshi armed forces maintain robust strategic engagement. Relations with Pakistan have been affected by issues related to the 1971 genocide and terrorism. Bangladesh enjoys strong ties with regional neighbors Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and theMaldives.

Bangladesh's relations with neighboring Myanmar are relatively warm. Myanmar was one of the first countries to recognize Bangladesh's independence. Relations were in a brief deadlock due to a naval standoff in 2008 over disputed maritime territory.^[173] In 2012, the two countries resolved their maritime boundary disputes at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.^[174] The relationship with Myanmar is complicated by the persecution of the Rohingya people in Rakhine State. As of 2016, Bangladesh hosts between 300,000 and 500,000 Rohingya refugees who have fled Myanmarese military crackdowns since 1978.^[175] In 2012, Bangladesh denied entry to further refugees after another spate of sectarian riots broke out in Rakhine State.^[176] Both countries view each other as gateways to South and Southeast Asia. Their armed forces maintain regular dialogue and both depend on Chinese military supplies.Thailand is an important ally and economic partner of Bangladesh, with the two countries sharing strategic interests in the Bay of Bengal region.

The United States enjoys a warm and strategic partnership with Bangladesh. 76% of Bangladeshis viewed the United States favorably in 2014.^[177] The United States is Bangladesh's largest foreign investor and trade partner. Bangladesh is the third largest recipient of American development assistance in Asia after Afghanistan and Pakistan.^[178] Relations with the United Kingdom are long-standing. Bangladesh is one of the largest recipients of U.K. development aid. Japan and Bangladesh have strong relations with common strategic and political goals.^[158] Japan has been Bangladesh's largest development partner since independence, providing over US$11 billion in aid.^[179] Relations with the Russian Federation have focused on trade, nuclear energy and defense supplies. There are also growing trade links with Latin American nations, particularly Brazil and Mexico.

Bangladesh has a strong record of nuclear nonproliferation as a party to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).^[180]