Portal:Bangladesh

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Dhaka (previously Dacca; Bangla: ঢাকা Đhaka; IPA: [ɖʱaka]) is the capital of Bangladesh and the Dhaka District. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka and its metropolitan area have a population exceeding 9 million, making it the largest city in Bangladesh and one of the most populous cities in the world.

Under Mughal rule, the city was also known as Jahangir Nagar. The modern city was largely developed by British authorities and soon became the second-largest city in Bengal after Kolkata. With the partition of India, Dhaka became the administrative capital of East Pakistan before becoming the capital of an independent Bangladesh in 1972. During this period Dhaka witnessed extensive political turmoil, including many periods of martial law, the declaration of Bangladesh's independence, military suppression and devastation from war and natural calamities.

Modern Dhaka is the centre of political, cultural and economic life in Bangladesh, enjoying the highest literacy rate amongst other Bangladeshi cities and a diverse economy. While the urban infrastructure is the most developed in the country, Dhaka suffers from severe challenges such as pollution, congestion, supply shortages, poverty and crime. In recent decades Dhaka has seen a modernisation of transport, communications and public works. The city is attracting considerable foreign investment, greater volumes of commerce and trade and an increasing influx of people from across the nation. (more...)

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• March 13: A fire at the Bashundhara City shopping mall (pictured) in Dhaka, Bangladesh, kills seven people and injures 50 more.
  

• February 25: The Bangladesh Rifles stage a mutiny in Dhaka, killing one person and injuring eight. (AFP via Google News)
  

• January 14: Bangladesh moves into the Finals of a Tri-Nation cup ODI tournament for the first time after defeating Sri Lanka in the league match.

• December 30: Sheikh Hasina's Awami League wins a supermajority in Bangladesh's National Assembly. (Rediff)

• December 29: Bangladeshis vote in their country's general election. (BBC)

• November 24: Bangladesh's Electoral Commission reschedules the date for the general election from December 18 to December 29. (BBC News)

• November 3: The Bangladeshi government schedules general elections on December 18, 2008, which will end the rule of the one and half year military-backed interim government. (BBC News)

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Sitakunda is most noted for its numerous religious shrines, of Islamic, Hindu and Buddhist denominations. It also happens to be the center of world's largest remaining ship breaking industry. Do you know where in Bangladesh is Sitakunda?

Sitakunda

Sitakunda is an Upazila under Chittagong District in the Division of Chittagong, Bangladesh. It is located on the south-eastern part of the country on the shore of the Bay of Bengal.

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Shaheed Minar, or the Martyr's monument, located near Dhaka Medical College was established to pay the tribute to the martyrs of the Language Movement of 1952 and as such has become the center of commemoration of Language Movement Day, in Bangladesh on February 21 every year.

Photo credit: Karl Ernst Roehl

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• ...that Bangladesh is home to the magnificent Royal Bengal Tiger?
• ...that Bangladesh is separated from Nepal by the Chicken's Neck?
• ...that boats crammed with people from both India and Bangladesh, flying the flags of their respective countries, converge on the Ichamati River, the international border, to immerse the idols after Durga Puja?
• ...that in Hindu mythology, after Lakshmindara, son of Chand Sadagar, died of snakebite on his wedding night, his bride Behula accompanied his corpse on a raft floating in a river?
• ...that the Sannyasi Rebellion was a series of clashes between Indian ascetics and the British East India Company during the eighteenth century in Bengal?
• ...that the Baharistan-i-Ghaibi is the only extensive historical document accounting the wars, events and life in Bengal during the reign of Mughal emperor Jahangir?
• ...that the Bangladesh Nazrul Sena, founded upon the philosophy of Kazi Nazrul Islam, pioneered the introduction of computer science and multimedia education for children at the kindergarten level in Bangladesh?
• ...that a fire that broke out a few days before Hiralal Sen died destroyed all his films including India's first political film?
• ... that in a major improvement in bilateral ties since it blocked Bangladesh's entry in the U.N. in 1972, China offered to help Bangladesh construct its first nuclear plant?
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Dr. Muhammad Yunus (Bengali: মুহাম্মদ ইউনুস, pronounced Muhammôd Iunus) (born June 28, 1940) is a Bangladeshi banker and economist. A former professor of economics, he is famous for his successful application of the concept of microcredit, the extension of small loans to entrepreneurs too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans. Yunus is also the founder of Grameen Bank, which specializes in providing credit to the poor.
The success of the Grameen model has inspired similar efforts throughout the developing world and even in industrialized nations, including the United States. The Grameen model of micro financing has been emulated in 23 countries. Many, but not all, microcredit projects also retain its emphasis on lending specifically to women. More than 96% of Grameen loans have gone to women, who suffer disproportionately from poverty and who are more likely than men to devote their earnings to their families.
In 2006, Yunus and the bank were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, "for their efforts to create economic and social development from below." Yunus himself has received several other international honors, including the ITU World Information Society Award, Ramon Magsaysay Award, the World Food Prize and the Sydney Peace Prize. He is the author of Banker to the Poor and a founding board member of Grameen Foundation. Yunus recently showed interest in launching a political party in Bangladesh, Nagorik Shakti (Citizen Power), but later discarded the plan. He is one of the founding members of Global Elders. (more...)

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