The Characteristics and Culture of Bangladesh

People’s Republic of Bangladesh, a country in South Asia, formed on the former site of the Pakistani province of East Pakistan. On 26 March 1971, its political leaders announced the creation of an independent state called Bangladesh. The exact founding date is 16 December 1971, when Pakistani troops surrendered to the joint command of East Bengal and Indian armed forces. So adverse is the economic situation in Bangladesh that some have referred to it not as a third world developing nation but as a member of the forth world, the poorest of the poor. Its population is 125.7 million people the eighth largest in the world and one of the most densely populated countries. The capital and largest city is Dhaka (Whyte & Yong, 2010).

The country occupies the eastern outskirts of the Indo Gangetic Plain, and the lower reaches and delta of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra rivers. The country has an area of 144,000 square kilometers and extends 820 kilometers north to south and 600 kilometers east to west (Cumming, 2002). India, Burma, and the Bay of Bengal form the boarders around Bangladesh. The territory represents a flat alluvial plain, dissected by a dense network of rivers. Ganges delta, the Sundarbans, is a broad band of alluvium along the coast of Bay of Bengal. There is a low mountain chain on the border with Myanmar. The country is in a seismically hazardous area (Cumming, 2002).

Typical monsoon climate is characteristic to Bangladesh. Winters are mild, dry and sunny. The average daily temperature in January ranges from 54 degrees to 77 degrees. Summer is hot and rainy, the average temperature of April, the hottest month, is 73 degrees to 93 degrees. Rainy season lasts from June to October, when the monsoon airflow invades from t...

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...eligious minorities. Prestige of the military profession is high, and the salary of officers is much larger than the average income of Bangladeshi (London, 2008).

Military elite is among the most educated stratum of society. Very often, the military service is a hereditary job for several generations. Wealthy military officers are sometimes trying to get education abroad, if possible, in the U.S. or Western Europe. Many retired officers are engaged in business and trade (Cumming, 2002).

Bangladesh is known as one of the world’s largest but poorest countries and perceived by many as poverty stricken, over populated, and with little prospect of a brighter future. Despite all its problems, over the years Bangladesh has proven itself as a land of miracles and heroic accomplishments. Astonishingly, the nation of Bangladesh continues to struggle but advance upward.