Portal:Bangladesh

The BANGLADESH PORTAL 12:49, Saturday January 28, 2012 (UTC) • 18:49, Saturday January 28, 2012 (BST) • Magh 15, 1418 Main   Indices   Projects Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is bordered by India on three sides and Myanmar to the southeast; the Bay of Bengal forms the southern coastline. Together with the Indian state of West Bengal, it comprises the ethno-linguistic region of Bengal. The name Bangladesh means "Country of Bengal" and is written in Bengali as বাংলাদেশ and pronounced [ˈbaŋlad̪eʃ]. The exact origin of the word Bangla or Bengal is unknown. The borders of Bangladesh were set by the Partition of India in 1947, when it became the eastern wing of Pakistan (East Pakistan), separated from the western wing by 1,600 km (1,000 miles). Despite their common religion, the ethnic and linguistic gulf between the two wings was compounded by an apathetic government based in West Pakistan. This resulted in the independence of Bangladesh in 1971 after a bloody war, supported by India. The years following independence have been marked by political turmoil, with thirteen different heads of government, and at least four military coups. The population of Bangladesh ranks seventh in the world, but its area of approximately 144,000 km2 is ranked ninety-third. It is the third largest Muslim-majority nation, but has a slightly smaller Muslim population than the Muslim minority in India. It is also one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Geographically dominated by the fertile Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta, the country has annual monsoon floods, and cyclones are frequent. Bangladesh is one of the founding members of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), BIMSTEC, and a member of the OIC and the D-8. Selected article BRAC (Bengali: ব্র্যাক), (formerly known as the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee), based in Bangladesh, is one of the world's largest development oriented non-governmental organizations. Established by Fazle Hasan Abed in 1972 soon after the liberation of Bangladesh, BRAC is currently present in all 64 districts of Bangladesh, with over 7 million micro-finance group members, 37,500 non-formal primary schools and more than 70,000 health volunteers. BRAC is the largest NGO by number of staff employing over 120,000 people, the majority of whom are women. BRAC operates various programs such as those in microfinance and education in over nine countries across Asia and Africa, reaching more than 110 million people. The organization is 80% self-funded through a number of commercial enterprises that include a dairy and food project and a chain of retail handicraft stores called ‘Aarong.’ BRAC maintains offices in 14 countries throughout the world, including BRAC USA and BRAC UK. BRAC is a few years into their initiative to operate in ten African countries in the next ten years. BRAC tackles poverty from a holistic viewpoint, transitioning individuals from being aid recipients to becoming empowered citizens in control of their own destinies. Over the years, BRAC has organized the isolated poor and learned to understand their needs by piloting, refining and scaling up practical ways to increase their access to resources, support their entrepreneurship and empower them to become active agents of change. Women and girls have been the central analytical lens of BRAC’s anti-poverty approach; BRAC recognizes both their vulnerabilities and thirst for change. BRAC always strives to find practical and scalable approaches to eradicate poverty wherever it is. (more...) Archive | Nominate an article... Bangladesh News Jun 12: A 36-hour nationwide strike takes place in Bangladesh over changes to the electoral system. (Straits Times) Jun 4: Bangladesh receives a loan from the World Bank to strengthen regional co-operation on wildlife protection. (Straits Times) Apr 25: A court in Bangladesh clears Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus of misappropriating Norwegian aid money at a micro-finance bank he founded. (The Times of India) Apr 11: Australian cricket player Shane Watson breaks the world record for number of sixes in a One Day International in the second match in the series against Bangladesh. Apr 5: Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus loses his final appeal in the Supreme Court of Bangladesh against his dismissal from his own Grameen micro-finance bank; the bank thought him too old for the job. (BBC) Apr 4: Severe thunderstorms kill 13 people in Bangladesh. (San Francisco Chronicle) Archive of old items Archive Where in Bangladesh... Ramsagar is the largest man made water-tank in Bangladesh. It was created in the mid 1750s, funded by Raja Ram Nath, after whom the lake is named. The excavation cost 30,000 taka at that time, and about 1.5 million labourers took part in the project. Do you know where in Bangladesh is Ramsagar? Ramsagar Ramsagar is located in the village Tejpur in Dinajpur District under Rajshahi Division of Bangladesh. It is situated about 8 kilometers south of the Dinajpur town. Archive | Suggest a location... Selected picture Asian Pied Starling (Sturnus contra) is one of the 12 species of sturnidae family birds that are resident in Bangladesh. Locally known as Myna (Bengali: ময়না) or Shalik (Bengali: শালিক ), these birds bulid their nests in holes or cavities in trees or buildings, or large globular structures of straw, twigs, etc in trees. Photo credit: J.M.Garg Archive | Nominate a picture... Did you know... ...that the ship breaking industry in Sitakunda began when a 20,000-ton ship was accidentally beached by a tidal bore in 1965? ...that Independence Day Award is the highest state award given by the Government of Bangladesh? ... that the Mymensingh Museum in Bangladesh contains Saraswati and Vishnu statues from a Muktagacha zamindar palace, and a huge shade used during hunting from a Gouripur zamindar palace? ...that Mangalkavya depicted the social customs of Bengal in the middle ages? ...that 17th-century Mughal subahdar Shaista Khan conquered Chittagong and ousted the British East India Company from Bengal over a trade dispute? ... that Mukti Bahini guerrillas were absorbed into the ranks of regular military officers and personnel upon the formation of Bangladesh's armed forces? ...that the Bangladeshi filmmaker Alamgir Kabir was imprisoned by Ayub Khan for being a leftist? ...that a proposed strategic road link through Bangladesh and its capital Dhaka will reduce the travel distance between the Indian cities of Agartala and Kolkata from 1,700 km to 400 km? ... that the Supreme Court of Bangladesh declared the 1982 military coup led by General Hussain Muhammad Ershad to be illegal? Selected biography 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...) Archive | Nominate a biography... 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