Area:

The physical geography of Bangladesh is varied and has an area characterized by two distinctive features: a broad deltaic plain subject to frequent flooding , and a small hilly region crossed by swiftly flowing rivers.The country has an area of 147,570 square kilometers and extends 820 kilometers north to south and 600 kilometers east to west. Bangladesh is bordered on the west, north, and east by a 4,095-kilometer land frontier with India and, in the southeast, by a short land and water frontier (193 km) with Burma ( Myanmar ). On the south is a highly irregular deltaic coastline of about 580 kilometers, fissured by many rivers and streams flowing into the Bay of Bengal . The territorial waters of Bangladesh extend 12 nautical miles (22 km), and the exclusive economic zone of the country is 200 nautical miles (370 km).

Roughly 80% of the landmass is made up of fertile alluvial lowland called the Bangladesh Plain. The plain is part of the larger Plain of Bengal, which is sometimes called the Lower Gangetic Plain. Although altitudes up to 105 meters above sea level occur in the northern part of the plain, most elevations are less than 10 meters above sea level; elevations decrease in the coastal south, where the terrain is generally at sea level. With such low elevations and numerous rivers, water—and concomitant flooding—is a predominant physical feature. About 10,000 square kilometers of the total area of Bangladesh is covered with water, and larger areas are routinely flooded during the monsoon season.

Population:

Bangladesh is largely ethnically homogeneous. Indeed, its name derives from the Bengali ethno-linguistic group, which comprises 98% of the population . Bengalis, who also predominate in the Indian state of West Bengal , are one of the most populous ethnic groups in the world. Variations in Bengali culture and language do exist of course. There are many dialects of Bengali spoken throughout the region. The dialect spoken by those in Chittagong Sylhet are particularly distinctive. In 2009 the population was estimated at 156 million. About 90% of Bangladeshis are Muslims and the remainder are mostly Hindus .

Bangladesh has the highest population density in the world, excluding a handful of city-states and small countries with populations under 10m, such as Malta and Hong Kong .

The mid-2009 estimate for total population was 156,050,883 which ranks Bangladesh 7th in the world (CIA).

Language:

More than 98% of Bangladeshis speak Bengali as their mother tongue as it is the official language. It is an Indo-Aryan language of Sanskrit origin with its own script . English is used as a second language among the middle and upper classes. English is also widely used in higher education and the legal system. Historically, laws were written in English and were not translated into Bengali until 1987 when the procedure was reversed. Some Dhakaiyas (Locales of Dhaka) & the Bihari population speaks Urdu , which was also the language associated with the government prior to separation from Pakistan.

Note: Shaheed Minar of Dhaka, as rebuilt in 1972 , It is the central Shaheed Minar in Bangladesh.

The Shaheed Minar ( Bengali : শহীদ মিনার Shohid Minar lit. "Martyr Monument") is a national monument in Dhaka , Bangladesh , established to commemorate those killed during the Bengali Language Movement demonstrations of 1952.

On February 21, 1952, dozens of students and political activists were killed when the Pakistani police force opened fire on Bengali protesters who were demanding equal status for their native tongue, Bengali . The massacre occurred near Dhaka Medical College and Ramna Park in Dhaka. A makeshift monument was erected on February 23 by students of University of Dhaka and other educational institutions, but soon demolished on February 26 by the Pakistani police force.

The Language Movement gained momentum, and after a long struggle, Bengali was given equal status with Urdu . To commemorate the dead, the Shaheed Minar was designed and built by Hamidur Rahman , a Bangladeshi sculptor. The monument stood until the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, when it was demolished completely during Operation Searchlight . After Bangladesh gained independence, it was rebuilt.

At present, all national, mourning, cultural and other activities held each year, regarding 21 February, have been centered around the Shaheed Minar.

 
 

 

 

 
 
 

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