
Bangladesh - (in
full - People’s Republic of Bangladesh)
republic of southern Asia, in the north-eastern portion of the Indian
subcontinent, bordered on the west, north, and east by India, on the
southeast by Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), and on the south by the Bay
of Bengal. The area of the country is 147,570 sq km (56,977 sq mi). The
capital and largest city of Bangladesh is Dhaka.
Geographically, historically, and culturally, Bangladesh
forms the larger and more populous part of Bengal, the remainder of which
constitutes the neighbouring Indian state of West Bengal. From 1947 to 1971
the area of Bangladesh was a province of Pakistan. As such, its official
designation was changed from East Bengal to East Pakistan in 1955. On March
26, 1971, leaders of East Pakistan declared the province independent as
Bangladesh (Bengali for “land of the Bengalis”), and its independence was
assured on December 16, 1971, when Pakistani troops in the region
surrendered to a joint force of Bangladeshi and Indian troops. |