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#CARD:Bangladesh:Background Notes
US DEPARTMENT OF STATE BACKGROUND NOTES:  BANGLADESH

October 1990
Official Name: People's Republic of Bangladesh

PROFILE
Geography
Area:  143,998 sq. km. (55,813 sq. mi., about the size of Wisconsin).
Cities:  Capital-Dhaka (pop. 5 million).  Other cities-Chittagong (1.8
million), Khulna (1.2 million), Rajshahi (700,000).  Terrain: Mainly
flat alluvial plain, with hills in the north.  Climate:  Semitropical,
monsoon.
People

Nationality:  Noun and adjective-Bangladeshi(s).  Population (1990):
112 million.   Annual growth rate:  2.4%.  Ethnic groups:  Bengali 98%,
tribals, non-Bengali Muslims.  Religions:  Muslim 85%; Hindu 14%;
Christian, Buddhist, others 1%.  Languages:  Bangla (official, also
known as Bengali), English.  Education (1985): Attendance-60% (primary
school), 20% (secondary school).  Literacy-29% for males; 18% for
females.  Health:  Infant mortality rate (1987)-11.3%.  Life
expectancy-55 yrs.  Work force (1987-88, 33.3 million).
Agriculture-59%.  Industry-11%.  Services-30%.
Government
Type:  Presidential/parliamentary.   Independence (in present form):
1971.  Constitution:  1972 (as amended).
Branches:  Executive-president, elected by popular vote; (future vice
presidents also will be elected by popular vote according to recent
constitutional amendment) prime minister appointed by president.
Legislative-unicameral parliament (300 members).  Judicial-civil court
system on British model.
Administrative subdivisions:  Divisions, districts subdistricts, unions,
upazilas, villages.
Political parties:  30-40 active political  parties; 4 represented in
current parliament.
Suffrage:  Universal over 18.
Flag:  Red circle on dark green field.
Economy GDP (Bangladesh FY 1988-89):  $20.2 billion.  Real annual growth
rate (1988-89):  2.3%.  Per capita GDP (BFY 1988-89):  $180.
Natural resources:  Natural gas, inexpensive labor.
Agriculture (43% of BFY 1988-89 GDP):  Products-rice, jute, tea, sugar,
wheat.   Land-cultivable area cropped at rate of 153%; largely
subsistence farming heavily dependent on monsoonal rainfall.
Industry*   (14% of BFY 1988-89 GDP): Types-jute goods, garments, frozen
shrimp and frog legs, textiles, fertilizer, sugar, tea, leather, metal
reprocessing, pharmaceuticals, newsprint.
Trade:  Merchandise exports (BFY 1988-89)-$1.23 billion:  ready-made
garments, jute goods, leather, frozen fish, shrimp, raw jute, tea.
Exports to US (1988)-$325 million. Merchandise imports (BFY
1988-89)-$3.37 billion: capital goods, foodgrains, petroleum, consumer
goods, fertilizer, chemicals, vegetable oils, textiles.  Imports from US
(1988)-$325 million.  Net private transfers (BFY 1988-89)-$836 million
(est.), primarily from Bangladeshi workers in the Middle East.
Fiscal year:  July 1 through June 30.
Official exchange rate:  Taka 35= US$1.

Membership in  International Organizations
 UN and many of its specialized related agencies, including the World
Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), General Agreement on  Tariffs
and Trade (GATT), International Labor Organization (ILO), Universal
Postal Union (UPU), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), International
Development Association (IDA), World Health Organization (WHO); Asian
Development Bank (ADB), Afro-Asia Peoples Solidarity Organization;
Colombo Plan; Commonwealth; ESCAP, Group of 77; International Jute
Organization (IJO), INTELSAT; Nonaligned Movement (NAM); Organization of
the Islamic Conference (OIC); South Asia Association for Regional
Cooperation (SAARC).

GEOGRAPHY
 Bangladesh is a low-lying, riverine country located in South Asia with
a marshy jungle coastline of 600 kilometers (370 mi.) on the northern
littoral of the Bay of Bengal.  Formed by a deltaic plain at the
confluence of the Ganges (Padma), Brahmaputra (Jamuna), and Meghna
Rivers, as well as their tributaries, Bangladesh's alluvial soil is
extremely fertile but vulnerable to flood and drought.  The land is
devoted largely to rice and jute cultivation, although other crops such
as wheat and tea are becoming  increasingly important.  Hills rise above
the plain only in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in the extreme southeast
and the Sylhet District in the northeast.
 Bordered on three sides by India, and on the east by about 193
kilometers (120 mi.) of Burma, Bangladesh's irregular border, some 2,400
kilometers long, is not based on any natural feature.  Instead, it
represents a demarcation according to the political and communal
considerations of the 1947 partition of British India.
 Located on the Tropic of Cancer, Bangladesh has a semitropical
monsoonal climate, with one of the world's highest annual rainfalls,
averaging as much as 215 centimeters (85 in.) in the northeast.  The
average temperature is 29 C (84 F), with some mild seasonal variation.
East-west travel is impeded by river courses, and  since much of the
country is partially submerged or subject to flooding during the rainy
season, travel can be difficult, often requiring boats.

PEOPLE
 Bangladesh, or "Bengal Nation," is the most densely populated
agricultural country in the world.  With a per capita gross domestic
product of $180 (1987-88), it also is  one of the poorest.  Bangladesh's
112 million people are concentrated in an area about the size of
Wisconsin.  Its population growth rate currently is  estimated at 2.4%
annually; a conservative estimate projects a population of 141 million
by the year 2000.  At present, 40% of the population is under 15 years
of age.  Although urbanization is proceeding rapidly, some 85% of the
people still live in rural areas, and most are farmers.  Estimates show
that only 30% of the population entering the labor force in the future
will be absorbed into agriculture, although many will likely find other
kinds of work in rural areas.  The areas around the capital city, Dhaka,
and around Comilla are the most  densely settled.  The Sundarbans, an
area of thick tropical jungle inland from the coastline on the Bay of
Bengal, and the Chittagong Hill Tracts on the southeastern border with
Burma and India are the least densely populated.
 Residents of Bangladesh, about 98% of whom are ethnic Bengali and speak
Bangla, are called Bangladeshis.
 Urdu-speaking, non-Bengali Muslims of Indian origin-Assamese, those
often referred to as "Biharis", (or stranded Pakistanis) and various
tribal groups, mostly in the Chittagong Hill Tract, comprise the
remainder.  Most Bangladeshis (about 85%) are Muslims, but Hindus
constitute a sizable (14%) minority, including those who work on tea
estates.  There also are  a small number of Buddhists, Christians, and
animists.  English is spoken in urban areas and among the educated.

HISTORY
 The area that now is  Bangladesh has a rich historical and cultural
past, the product of the repeated influx of varied peoples, bringing
with them the Dravidian, Indo-Aryan, Mongol/Mughul Arab, Persian,
Turkic, and West European cultures.  About A.D. 1200, Muslim invaders,
under Sufi influence, supplanted previously existing Hindu and Buddhist
dynasties, resulting in the conversion of most of the population of the
eastern areas of Bengal to Islam and leaving a strong Muslim minority in
the areas of Bengal that currently are part of India.  Since then, Islam
has played a crucial role in the region's history and politics.  In the
16th century, Bengal was absorbed into the Mughul Empire, and Dhaka, the
seat of a Nawab, or the representative of the emperor, gained some
importance as a provincial center.  Bengal, however, especially the
section east of the Brahmaputra, remained a remote, difficult-to-govern
region, outside the mainstream of Mughul politics.
 Portuguese traders and missionaries were the first Europeans to reach
Bengal, in the latter part of the 15th century.  They were followed by
representatives of the Dutch, the French, and the British East India
Companies.  By the end of the 17th century, the British presence was
centered on the trading "factories" along the Hooghly River in Calcutta,
but during the 18th and 19th centuries, especially after the defeat of
the French in 1757, the British gradually extended commercial contacts
and administrative control beyond Calcutta, into the remainder of Bengal
and northwesterly up the Ganges River valley.  In 1859, the British
Crown replaced the East India Company, and the British raj, still
centered in the Writers Building in Calcutta, extended all the way to
the Indus River in the west.
 The late 19th century witnessed the rise of the nationalist movement
throughout British India, but this quickly gave birth to mounting
antagonisms between the vast Hindu and Muslim communities, as each
community gained confidence and sought a solution to its nationalist
aspirations most compatible with its own vision of the future.  In 1885,
the All-India National Congress was founded with mixed Indian and
British membership, but by 1906, Muslims  sought an organization of
their own not dominated by the Hindu majority, founding the All-India
Muslim League in Dhaka.  In 1909, at league urging, the British
authorities provided for separate electorates for the Hindu and Muslim
communities throughout British India.  This period also saw the
short-lived division of Bengal into eastern and western sectors, a move
welcomed by many Muslims but opposed by many in the Hindu community.
This dispute and the 1911 reintegration of Bengal contributed greatly to
Bengali and Muslim political awareness.
 The subsequent history of the nationalist movement was characterized by
periods of Hindu-Muslim cooperation as well as communal antagonism and
bloodshed, but communal tensions hardened in the post-World War I
period, following the introduction of provincial-style governments under
the Government of India Act of 1919 and the adoption by the congress of
its demand for self-government in 1929.  By the late 1930s the congress
and the League had become strong opposing political forces, even more so
after the abortive elections of 1937, which underscored to the Muslims
that self-government in a post-British India would relegate most Muslims
to Hindu domination.  Philosophically, this led to the development of
the so-called "two-nation" theory, which held that the Muslims of the
subcontinent constituted another "nation" and must have a homeland
separate from that of the Hindus.
 The formal political embodiment of this theory took place in Lahore in
1940 when the All-India Muslim League passed a resolution declaring that
"the areas in which the Muslims are numerically in the majority, as in
the northwestern and eastern zones of India, should be grouped to
constitute 'independent states' in which the constituent units should be
autonomous and sovereign."  The Muslin League, campaigning on a Pakistan
platform, won the majority of the Muslim seats contested in Bengal in
the 1946 provincial elections.  Widespread communal violence followed,
especially in Calcutta, and when British India was partitioned and the
independent dominions of India and Pakistan were created in 1947, Bengal
was again divided.  East Pakistan was carved from the preponderantly
Muslim east Bengal and the Sylhet District of Assam, while predominantly
Hindu western Bengal became the Indian state of West Bengal.  Extensive
demographic and economic dislocation followed.

Movement for Autonomy
 Almost from the advent of independent Pakistan in 1947, frictions
developed between its two halves, east and west Pakistan, which were
separated by more than 1,600 kilometers (1,000 mi.) of India territory.
The economic dislocation brought on by partition accentuated economic
grievances-real and apparent-and over time these became a major cause of
dissatisfaction in East Pakistan, whose citizens felt exploited by the
West Pakistan-dominated central government in Karachi.  East Pakistan
was poorer than West Pakistan, and a slower rate of economic development
increased the gap.  Many East Pakistanis felt they had merely shifted
colonial rulers, contributing their jute  earnings-Pakistan's primary
hard-currency earner-to the national exchequer but receiving little in
return.  Government policies favored the west wing; the concentration of
the elite of the Pakistan Movement in West Pakistan and the west wing's
burgeoning economic opportunities, moreover, focused the bulk of
investment there.
 Linguistic, cultural, and ethnic differences also were important in the
estrangement of East from West Pakistan.  Bengalis strongly resisted
attempts to impose Urdu as the sole official language of Pakistan.
(Urdu, the language of Muslims of the Gangetic heartland, was brought to
West Pakistan by the leaders of the Pakistan movement when they migrated
from India after partition in 1947; Urdu was not native to any region in
what became Pakistan.)  Pro-Bengali sentiment, supported by a rich
cultural and literary heritage in Bengali and fanned into violence in
pro-Bengali/anti-Urdu demonstrations by university students in 1952,
played a key role in the growth of a new Bengali nationalism and ensured
Bengali co-equal status with Urdu as an official language of the united
country.
 The failure of constitutional rule in East Pakistan in 1954, the
subsequent impositions of presidential rule there and later of martial
law in both wings, coupled with the subsequent decision to transform the
West Pakistan polity into one province-i.e., "one unit," so as to
balance out East Pakistan's provincial plurality (and latent majority),
added a political dimension to the growing sense of estrangement in the
east and of impatience in the west.
 Even with national political leadership shared between East and West
Pakistanis, disparities between the two wings' shares of representation
in the military and civil services also caused growing resentment and
gave further impetus in the east to the movement for provincial
autonomy.  As early as 1949, this movement was reflected politically by
the formation of the Awami League, a party designed mainly to promote
Bengali interests.  After Gen. Ayub Khan took control of the country in
1958, resentment grew, as the nation's political leadership increasingly
became dominated not by the Urdu-speaking "muhajirs," who had led the
Pakistan movement and migrated to West Pakistan from India, but rather
by those who were Punjabi speakers and called West Pakistan their
traditional home.
 In 1966, the president of the Awami League, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who
was known widely as "Mujib" and had emerged as leader of the autonomy
movement, was arrested for his political activities.  His six-point
program providing for political and economic autonomy for East Pakistan
gained wide appeal in the east but was rejected by most elements of West
Pakistani opinion.  However, Bengali opinion coalesced around Mujib and
his program in the campaign against the policies of Ayub Khan's central
government.
 As the campaign grew, violence mounted in East Pakistan, and in 1969,
faced with student unrest in West Pakistan as well, Ayub Khan stepped

down after 11 years in office.  He was replaced by Gen. Yahya Khan,
former commander of East Pakistan's military garrison, who vowed to
return the nation to democratic civilian rule and to draft a new
constitution granting considerable autonomy to both the east and west
wings.  In the 1970-71 elections, Mujib's Awami League won more than 70%
of the Bengali popular vote and 167 of 169 seats allotted to East
Pakistan in the proposed 313-seat National Assembly, which would sit
alternately in the east and west wings.  It also won 288 of 300 seats in
the planned East Pakistan Assembly.
 The unexpectedly strong showing of the Awami League jolted the national
leadership and was followed by negotiations among political leaders in
East and West Pakistan.  However, the talks were unable to bridge
differences over fundamental constitutional questions relating to the
division of power between the central government and the provinces, and
on March 1, 1971, Yahya Khan indefinitely postponed the pending National
Assembly session.  This precipitated massive civil disobedience in East
Pakistan, and when efforts at negotiation failed anew, the army was
called out to suppress Bengali dissidence by force.  Mujib was again
arrested in March; his party was banned, and most of his aides fled to
India, where they organized a provisional government.  On March 26,
1971, following the Pakistan army crackdown, Bengali nationalist
declared an independent People's Republic of Bangladesh.  As open
fighting grew between the army and the Bengali Mukti Bahini (freedom
fighters), an estimated 10 million Bengalis, mainly Hindus, sought
refuge in the Indian states of Assam and West Bengal; within East
Pakistan itself, countless thousands more were displaced.
 The evolving crisis in East Pakistan, moreover, produced new strains in
Pakistan's troubled relations with India.  The two nations had fought a
war in 1965, concentrated mainly in the west, but the refugee pressure
in India in the fall of 1971 produced new tensions in the east, with
Indian sympathies on the side of East Pakistan.  Despite appeals from
third parties for restraint, open hostilities erupted between Pakistani
and Indian forces in November, and India intervened on the side of the
Bangladeshis.  The battle was over in less than a month, when, on
December 16, 1971, Pakistani forces surrendered and the new nation of
Bangladesh was born.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
 The provisional government of the new nation was formed in Dhaka, and
when Mujib was released from detention in Pakistan in early January
1972, it was reconstituted with Justice Abu Sayeed Choudhury as
president and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as prime minister.
 Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Mujib came to office with immense personal
popularity but had difficulty quickly transforming this popular support
into the political strength necessary to function effectively as head of
government.  The new constitution, which came into force in December
1972, created a strong executive prime ministership, an independent
judiciary, and a unicameral legislature on a modified Westminster model;
more importantly, it enunciated as state policy the Awami League's four
basic principles-nationalism, secularism, socialism, and democracy.
 Parliamentary elections under the new constitution were first held in
March 1973, with the Awami League winning a massive majority.  The
League continued as a mass movement, espousing the cause that brought
Bangladesh into being and representing disparate and often incoherent
elements under the banner of Bangla nationalism.  No other political
party in Bangladesh's early years was able to duplicate or challenge its
broad-based appeal, membership, or organizational strength.
 Relying heavily on experienced civil servants and members of the Awami
League, the new Bangladesh Government focused on relief, rehabilitation,
and reconstruction of the country's war-ravaged economy and society.
Economic conditions remained tenuous, however, and food and health
difficulties continued to be endemic.  In December 1974, Mujib
determined that continuing economic deterioration and mounting civil
disorder required strong measures; he proclaimed a state of emergency
and, a month later, used his parliamentary majority to amend the
constitution to limit the powers of the legislative and judicial
branches, to establish an executive presidency, and to institute a
one-party system.  Calling these changes the "Second Revolution," Mujib
assumed the presidency, and all political parties were dissolved except
a single new party, the Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League (BAKSAL),
which all members of parliament were obliged to join.
 Despite some improvement in the economic situation during the first
half of 1975, implementation of promised political reforms was slow, and
criticism of government policies became increasingly centered on Mujib.
In August 1975, Mujib was assassinated by mid-level army officers, and a
new government, headed by former Mujib associate Khandakar Moshtaque,
was formed.  Successive military coups occurred on November 3 and 7,
resulting in the emergence of Gen.  Ziaur Rahman, Chief of Army Staff,
as strongman.  He pledged the army's support to the civilian government
headed by the president, Chief Justice Sayem.  Acting at Zia's behest,
Sayem then promulgated martial law, naming himself Chief Martial Law
Administrator (CMLA), instituting a council of advisers to replace of
the cabinet, dissolving parliament, and promising new elections in 1977.
 Ziaur Rahman Acting behind the scenes of the Martial Law
Administration, (MLA), Ziaur Rahman sought to invigorate government
policy and administration.  While continuing the ban on political
parties, he sought to revitalize the demoralized bureaucracy, to begin
new economic development programs, and to emphasize family planning.  In
July 1976, the MLA permitted the reorganization of political parties
under strict government guidance, but before active campaigning for the
parliamentary elections scheduled for February 1977 could begin,
elections were again postponed, purportedly because of border troubles
with India and the proliferation of political parties.
 In November 1976, Zia assumed the post of CMLA, and in April 1977 he
further consolidated his authority by assuming the presidency upon the
retirement of President Sayem.  He promised national elections by
December 1978.  As president, Zia announced a 19-point program of
economic reform, which subsequently received an overwhelmingly favorable
vote in a nationwide referendum.  Later that year, he began dismantling
the MLA and, in early 1978, met with various political leaders to form a
broad-based political front.  In the June presidential elections, Zia
was supported by a coalition of centrist parties, with some support on
the left as well.  His main opponent, retired Gen. Osmani, a former
cabinet member and commander of the Mukti Bahini in 1971, drew support
from a rival political front consisting of the Awami League and several
small leftist parties.
 Benefiting from his reputation for vigorous leadership and from public
satisfaction with domestic stability and stable food prices, Zia won a
5-year term in the June 1978 elections with 76% of the vote.  In
November 1978, his government removed the remaining restrictions on
political parties activities and encouraged opposition parties to
participate in the pending parliamentary elections.  More than 30
parties vied in the parliamentary elections of February 1979, but only
four won a significant number of seats.  Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist
Party (BNP) won 207 of the 300 elected seats.
 This election marked the end of Zia's transformation of the MLA to a
democratically elected, constitutional government.  The constitution was
again amended to provide for an executive prime minister appointed by
the president and responsible to a parliamentary majority.  The
presidency retained considerable emergency powers and continued to head
the cabinet but was no longer able to veto any bill passed by the
parliament.
 The Zia period came to a sudden end in Chittagong in May 1981 when he
was assassinated by dissident elements of the military.  The attempted
coup, which never spread beyond that city, failed, and the major
conspirators were either taken into custody or killed.  In accordance
with the constitution, Vice President Justice Abdus Sattar was sworn in
as acting president.  He declared a new national emergency and called
for election of a new president within 6 months.  In those election,
held in November, Justice Sattar, running as the BNP's candidate, was
elected president, defeating Awami League contender Kamal Hossain and
several others.  President Sattar sought to follow the policies of his
predecessor and retained essentially the same cabinet; his
administration was ineffective, however, and the army resumed its former
role as arbiter of the nation's fortunes.  After considerable
hesitation, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. H.M. Ershad, assumed power
in a bloodless coup in March 1982.
 Hussain Mohammed Ershad Like his predecessors, Ershad dissolved
parliament, declared martial law, assumed the position of CMLA,
suspended the constitution, and banned political activity.  As reasons
for the army takeover, he cited pervasive corruption, ineffectual
government, and economic mismanagement.  Ershad reaffirmed Bangladesh's
moderate, nonaligned foreign policy and said he aimed to cleanse the
country of corruption, revitalize the economy through increased private
sector activity, decentralize and streamline the bureaucracy, reform the
legal system, and lay the foundation for a return to democratic
institutions.
 In December 1983, Ershad assumed the presidency, while retaining his
positions as army chief and CMLA.  During most of 1984, Ershad sought
the opposition parties' agreement to participate in a series of local
elections leading up to national polls.  Because the opposition refused
to participate in any election while martial law remained in place,
Ershad set aside previously announced elections plans.  Throughout the
period, there was an ebb and flow in the application of martial law
regulations, as Ershad sought a formula for elections while dealing with
potential threats to public order.
 Unwilling to relax martial law until a new constitutional system would
be in place, Ershad attempted to move the electoral process forward by
seeking public support for his regime in a national referendum on his
leadership on March 21, 1985.  He won overwhelmingly, although the
turnout was small.  Two months later, Ershad persevered in the face of
opposition to hold elections for upazila (country-like administrative
units) council chairmen. Progovernment candidates won a majority of the
posts, setting in motion the president's ambitious decentralization
program.
 Political life was further liberalized in late 1985 as Ershad pursued
his plan to hold national elections; and on January 1, 1986, full
political rights, including the right to hold large public rallies, were
restored.  At the same time, the Jatiyo (People's) Party, designed as
Ershad's political vehicle for the transition from martial law, was
established.
 New negotiations with opposition parties bore fruit when the Awami
League-led by Sheikh Hasina Wajed, daughter of the slain Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman-agreed to take part in parliamentary elections rescheduled for
May.  Although the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by President
Zia's widow, Begum Khaleda Zia, declined to participate, the agreement
by the AL and a number of other parties to campaign gave the process the
credibility Ershad had long sought.  Elections were held on schedule.
The 300 elected seats of the National Assembly were filled, with the
Jatiyo and its allies winning a modest majority and the opposition
electing 122 members-the most in Bangladesh's history-despite widespread
charges of voting irregularities, according to opposition leaders and
the foreign press.
 The new National Assembly held a short session in July.  The Awami
League and its allies boycotted the session in protest against the
alleged election irregularities and because martial law was still then
in effect.  Following by-elections in August, and in preparation for the
scheduled presidential elections in October, Ershad resigned as Chief of
Army Staff and retired from military service.  Neither the BNP nor the
AL put up an opposing candidate in the October election-again because of
the continuation of martial law.  Ershad easily outdistanced the
remaining field of 11 candidates, taking 84% of the vote.  Controversy
again dogged the event, with Ershad's government claiming a turnout of
more than 50% and opposition leaders and much of the foreign press
estimating a far lower percentage and alleging new irregularities.
 Ershad, however, continued his commitment to lift martial law.  On
November 10, 1986, with the support of 30 appointive seats reserved for
women and a number of independents who joined his ruling party, his
government mustered the necessary two-thirds majority in the National
Assembly to amend the constitution and confirm the previous actions of
the martial law regime.  The amendment also held the leaders of that
regime legally blameless for their actions.  Later the same day, the
president lifted martial law, after which the opposition parties took
their elected seats in the National Assembly.
 In July 1987, however, after the government hastily pushed through a
controversial legislative bill to include military representation on
local administrative councils, the opposition walked out of parliament
in protest.  Passage of this bill helped spark an opposition movement
that quickly gathered momentum and that united Bangladesh's opposition
parties for the first time.  The movement was aimed at forcing Ershad
from office through popular demonstrations and widespread street
agitation.  In October 1987, the government began to arrest scores of
opposition activists under the Special Powers Act of 1974 after
opposition plans to paralyze the government with massive crowds became
known.  Despite these arrests, the opposition parties continued to
organize protest marches, processions, rallies, and nationwide strikes.
On November 27, 1987, Ershad declared a state of emergency.  On December
6, he dissolved Parliament following the resignation of one opposition
party and a vote by the Awami League Presidium to follow suit.  Citing
constitutional imperative, Ershad scheduled new parliamentary elections
for March 3, 1988.
 All major opposition parties refused government overtures to
participate in these  elections and maintained that the government was
incapable of holding free and fair elections.  Throughout this
politically tumultuous period, the most serious challenge to his
leadership of Bangladesh since assuming power, Ershad steadfastly
refused to accede to opposition demands that he resign.  The military
backed him, and its continued support was critical to Ershad's ability
to withstand opposition pressures.  Despite the opposition boycott, the

government proceeded with the March 3 polls.  The ruling Jatiyo Party
won 251 of the 300 seats; three other political parties which did
participate, as well as a number of independent candidates, shared the
remaining seats.  On April 25, 1988, shortly after Ershad lifted the
state of emergency, Bangladesh's fourth parliament opened for its first
session.
 In the face of its failure to unseat Ershad, the opposition's fragile
unity showed increasing signs of strain.  Political rivalries and
suspicions, never far from the surface, came increasingly to the fore.
In addition, the severity and unprecedented scope of the floods that
struck Bangladesh in the fall of 1988 served to distract national
attention away from political concerns.  The floods probably effectively
quelled any opposition hopes to revive the anti-Ershad movement during
Bangladesh's traditional "political season", i.e., the dry winter
months.   The government's well-managed flood relief efforts and its
ability to prevent mass starvation through its food security system
earned it, at least short-term political benefits.
 By early 1989, although there were no signs of a government-opposition
accommodation, the domestic political situation in the country had
quietened considerably.  The parliament, while still regarded by the
opposition as an illegitimate body, held its sessions as scheduled and
passed a large number of legislative bills, including, in June 1988, a
controversial amendment making Islam Bangladesh's state religion.
Upazila elections held in March 1990 were observed by domestic and
international observers and generally considered to have been less
violent and more free and fair than previous elections.  Presidential
elections are due between April and October 1991, and parliamentary
elections are due before March 1993.

Principal Government Officials
President (head of state) and Defense Minister-Hussain Mohammad  Ershad
Vice President-Moudud Ahmed
Prime Minister-Kazi Zafar Ahmed
Foreign Minister-Anisul Islam Mahmud
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court-Shahabuddin Ahmed
Ambassador to the United States-A.H.S. Ataul Karim
Ambassador to the United Nations-A.H.G. Mohiudin

 Bangladesh maintains an embassy in the United States at 2201 Wisconsin
Avenue, NW, Washington, DC  20007 (tel. [phone]) and a consulate
general at the Bangladesh Mission to the United Nations, 821 UN Plaza,
New York, NY 10017 (tel. [phone]).

ECONOMY
 As one of the world's poorest and most densely populated countries,
Bangladesh must struggle constantly to produce domestically and import
from abroad enough food to feed its rapidly increasing population.  Its
predominantly agricultural economy depends heavily on an erratic
monsoonal cycle, which leads to periodic flooding and drought.  Although
improving, Bangladesh's transportation, communications, and power
infrastructure is poorly developed.  Except for an estimated 17 trillion
cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves (which meets two-thirds of
Bangladesh's commercial energy needs), coal reserves estimated at 250
million metric tons in the northwest, and the possibility of oil
reserves, Bangladesh has virtually no mineral resources.  Its industrial
base is weak, but unskilled labor is inexpensive and plentiful.
 Following the climactic events of 1971, Bangladesh, with the help of
massive infusions of donor relief and development aid, slowly began to
turn its attention again to developing new industrial capacity and
rehabilitating its economy.  The statist economic model adopted by its
early (Pakistani and Bangladeshi) leadership, however, including the
nationalization of the key jute industry, had resulted in inefficiency
and economic stagnation.  Beginning in 1975, the government gradually
gave greater scope to private sector participation in the economy, a
pattern that has continued.  Included was the privatization of 32 state
enterprises.  Rapid population growth, inefficiency in the public
sector, and restricted natural resources and capital, however, have
continued to dampen the economy.
 Nonetheless, in the mid-1980s there were encouraging, if halting, signs
of progress.  Economic policies aimed at encouraging private enterprise
and investment, denationalizing public industries (including jute,
textiles, and banking), reinstating budgetary discipline, and
liberalizing the import regime were accelerated.  In 1985, the
government also began a economic structural adjustment program with the
International Monetary Fund.
 Currently, 650 public sector enterprises have been denationalized, and
only 40% of all industrial assets is still publicly owned. Macroeconomic
indicators began to respond positively; in the last several years, real
growth in gross domestic product has been consistently more than 3.5%
(except for years of severe flooding); export oriented industries
(garments, shrimp,) developed in the private sector have become
impressive success stories; agricultural and industrial production has
risen.  Larger donors, led by the World Bank, have supported the
government's policies  to encourage these trends.

Agriculture
 Most Bangladeshis earn their living directly or indirectly from
agriculture.  Rice and jute are the primary crops, wheat is assuming
greater importance, and tea is grown in hilly regions of the northeast.
Because of Bangladesh's fertile soil and normally ample water supply,
rice can be grown and harvested three times a year in many areas.
Through better flood control and irrigation measures, more intensive use
of fertilizers and high-yielding seed varieties, increased price
incentives, and improved distribution and rural credit networks,
Bangladesh's labor-intensive agricultural sector has achieved a pattern
of steady increases in foodgrain production, despite often unfavorable
weather conditions.  Foodgrain output reached a record level of (16.5)
million tons in (1986), and almost that high again in 1987, despite a
very serious flood.  Production for 1988-89 is expected to be about the
same despite another even more extensive flood.  Even so, rice yields
per hectare are among the lowest in Asia.
 Population pressure continues to put an immense burden on productive
capacity, confronting the government with a small but seemingly chronic
food deficit, especially of wheat, which must be overcome through
foreign assistance and commercial imports.  Slight variations in
rainfall can mean the difference between severe shortage and relative
sufficiency.  Moreover, jute, which historically has accounted for the
bulk of Bangladesh's export receipts, faces an uncertain future due to
competition from synthetic substitutes.  Fisheries, particularly shrimp,
have become increasingly more important sources of export earnings.
 Underemployment remains a serious problem, and a growing concern for
Bangladesh's agricultural sector will be its ability to absorb
additional manpower.  Finding alternative sources of employment is a
continuing challenge, particularly for the increasing numbers of
landless peasants who already account for about half the rural labor
force.

Industry
 Industrial development has been a priority for successive Bangladesh
governments.  Although small, the industrial sector contributes
significantly to export receipts; it also provides employment and a
market for cash crops.  Jute products-mainly burlap sacking and carpet
backing for export-and cotton textiles for domestic consumption
predominate.  Production of ready-made garments for export to the US
market, begun in the early 1980's in response to the imposition of
quotas on major East and Southeast Asian producers, has grown rapidly.
Bangladesh is the fourth largest supplier of cotton apparel to the
United States and has begun to diversify its garment exports away from
the North American market to the West European market.  Shipbreaking,
using methods that are highly labor-intensive, has developed to the
point where it now meets most of Bangladesh's domestic steel needs.
Other industries include sugar, tea, leather goods, newsprint,
pharmaceuticals, and fertilizer production, which uses Bangladesh's
natural gas.  The industrial (and foreign exchange) impact of the
discovery of modest reserves of oil in late 1986 remains to be assessed;
 drilling has just recently begun.
 The Ershad government has sought to increase industrial growth by
removing barriers to private sector participation in economic
development, providing incentives to domestic and foreign private
investors, and denationalizing public sector industrial units and banks.
 Key to this change in policy was the denationalization of about half of
the public sector's jute looms, one-third of its cotton textile looms, a
number of other industrial units, and several banks.  In addition,
several new private sector banks have been established.
 The government continues to court foreign investment assiduously.  To
this end, the United States and Bangladesh signed a bilateral investment
treaty in March 1986 that took effect July 25, 1989.  Bangladesh also
has established an export processing zone (EPZ) in Chittagong and plans
to create additional zones elsewhere in the country.  The Bangladesh
Government has initiated a new, more liberal overall investment policy,
offering special incentives to potential investors.  In January 1989,
the government inaugurated a new Board of Investment to simplify
approval and start up procedures for Foreign Investors.

Aid and Trade
 Since independence in 1971, Bangladesh has received more that $22.5
billion in grant aid and loan commitments from foreign donors, about $15
billion of which has actually been disbursed.  Major donors include the
World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the UN Development Program, the
United States, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and a number of West European
countries.  Aid from communist countries is only about 4% of total aid
pledged.  As of 1990, the United States has provided more than $3.97
billion in food and development assistance to Bangladesh.  Food aid
under Titles I, II, and III of PL-480 (Food for Peace) has been designed
to help Bangladesh meet minimum food requirements, promote food
production, and moderate fluctuation in consumer prices.  Other US
development assistance emphasizes family planning and health,
agricultural development, and rural employment.  The United States works
with other donors and the Bangladesh Government to avoid duplication and
ensure that resources are used to maximum benefit.
 Bangladesh historically has run a large trade deficit, approximately
$1.5 billion in the past several years.  This has been financed largely
through aid receipts.  In fiscal year (FY) 1987-88, the amount remitted
back to Bangladesh from expatriates working abroad, mainly in the Middle
East, became Bangladesh's largest source of foreign exchange earnings
for the first time.
 With the exception of 1988-89 when aircraft purchase made the trade
balance even, the US trade balance with Bangladesh has been negative
since 1986, due largely to mushrooming imports of ready-made garments.
Jute carpet backing is the other major US import from Bangladesh.  US
exports to Bangladesh include wheat, fertilizer, cotton, rice,
communications equipment, aircraft, and medical supplies, much of which
is financed by the US Agency for International Development.

DEFENSE
 Bangladesh's 100,000-member army, composed of six light infantry
divisions, is modeled and organized along British regimental
lines-similar to other military forces on the subcontinent-and supported
by artillery and armored regiments.  In addition to defense, the army is
an important backstop to civil authority.  The bulk of the weaponry in
use-including tanks, fixed-wing aircraft, and naval craft-originated in
China.  Officer training is conducted in Bangladesh, with some advanced
training in other countries, including grant aid training in the United
States.  The senior officer corps is composed of Bengali officers from
the pre-1971 Pakistan Army and of "freedom fighters" active in the
struggle for independence from Pakistan.  The army forces are
supplemented by the Bangladesh Rifles, a lightly armed border security
force led by army officers, but falling under the authority of the
Interior Ministry.  Bangladesh maintains a small air force with two
fighter squadrons, one attack squadron, and transport aircraft and
helicopters.  The navy has four frigates, including a new Chinese-built
guided missile frigate, about 10 coastal patrol boats, and several
squadrons of torpedo and missile boats.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
 Bangladesh pursues a moderate, nonaligned foreign policy, similar to
many former colonial areas of the Third World.  This places heavy
reliance on multinational diplomacy, especially at the United Nations.
 The government's initial post-independence foreign policy objectives
have been realized:
 -- To secure recognition of the new state and government;
 -- To obtain membership in important international organizations; and
 -- To enlist international support for relief, rehabilitation, and
economic development.
 Bangladesh was admitted to the United Nations in 1974 and was elected
to the Security Council in 1978.  Foreign Minister Choudhury served  as
president of the 41st UN General Assembly in fall 1986.  Dhaka maintains
an active round of participation in international conferences,
especially those dealing with population, food, and development issues.
In 1982-83, Bangladesh played a constructive role as chairman of the
"Group of 77," an informal association encompassing most of the world's
developing nations.  In 1983, Dhaka hosted the foreign ministers meeting
of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).  Bangladesh has
taken a leading role in the group of 42 least developed countries.
 Since 1975, Bangladesh has sought close relations with other Islamic
states, taking a leading role among moderate members of the OIC.  Dhaka
also has sought friendly relations with the like-minded nations of the
Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).  The government also
pursued with vigor and skill the expansion of cooperation among the
nations of South Asia, bringing the process-originally an initiative of
former President Ziaur Rahman- through its earliest, most tentative
stages to the formal inauguration of the South Asia Association for
Regional Cooperation (SAARC) at a summit gathering of South Asian
leaders in Dhaka in December 1985.

Relations With Neighbors and Other South Asian Nations
 India.  India is Bangladesh's most important neighbor; geographic,
cultural, historic, and commercial ties are strong, and both countries
recognize the importance of good relations.  During and immediately
after the Bangladesh independence struggle in 1971, India supported the
East Bengali nationalists, assisted refugees from East Pakistan,
intervened militarily to help bring about the independence of
Bangladesh, and furnished relief and reconstruction aid.
 Indo-Bangladesh relations have not been without strains.  The problem
of record flooding in Bangladesh in 1987-88, a phenomenon popularly

believed by many Bangladeshis to originate largely in India, has
aggravated bilateral tensions.  Other long-standing contentious issues
also remain to be resolved.  Of importance has been the equitable
division of dry-season water on which both countries' economies depend,
as well as equally equitable resolution of several thorny border
demarcation issues.  An earlier bilateral water-sharing agreement for
the Ganges River lapsed in 1988 and has not been renewed.  Both nations
have, however, begun to cooperate on the issue of flood warning and
flood preparedness.  Discussions on the return to Bangladesh of tribal
refugees who fled into India beginning in 1986 to escape violence caused
by an insurgency in their homeland in the Chittagong Hill Tracts,
continue as well.
 Pakistan.  Bangladesh enjoys the warmest of relations with Pakistan,
despite the inauspicious early days of their relationship.  Landmarks in
their reconciliation are:
 -- An August 1973 agreement between India and Pakistan on the
repatriation of numerous individuals, including 90,000 Pakistani
prisoners of war stranded as a result of the 1971 conflict;
 -- A February 1974 accord by Dhaka and Islamabad on mutual recognition
(followed more than 2 years later by establishment of formal diplomatic
relations);
 -- The organization by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees of an
airlift that moved almost a quarter of a million Bengalis from Pakistan
to Bangladesh and non-Bengalis from Bangladesh to Pakistan; and
 -- Exchanges of high-level visits including a visit by Prime Minister
Bhutto to Bangladesh in 1989.
 Still to be resolved are the division of assets from the pre-1971
period and the status of more than 250,000 non-Bengali Muslims (know as
"Biharis") or "Stranded Pakistanis" remaining in Bangladesh but seeking
resettlement in Pakistan.
 Other South Asian Countries.  Bangladesh maintains close friendly
relations with Bhutan,  Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, and strongly
opposed the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.  Dhaka played an
instrumental role in the establishment of SAARC, and at the Bangalore
summit in November 1986, a Bangladesh diplomat, Abul Ahsan, was chosen
the organization's first Secretary General.  Bilateral ties also are
good with Burma, despite border strains near the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

Relations With Communist Countries USSR.
 The Soviet Union supported India's actions during the 1971
Indo-Pakistan war, and Moscow was among the first to recognize
Bangladesh.  The USSR initially contributed considerable relief and
rehabilitation aid to the new nation, especially assistance to clear the
Port of Chittagong.  After Sheikh Mujib was assassinated and replaced by
military regimes, however, Soviet-Bangladesh relations cooled; today,
they are correct and friendly.  As of May 1989, the USSR ranked 14th
among total aid donors to Bangladesh.  The Soviets have focused on the
development of electrical power, natural gas, and oil, and maintained
active cultural relations with Bangladesh.  A showcase project financed
by the Soviets is the Ghorasal thermal power station, which if completed
on schedule in 1995, will become Bangladesh's largest electric power
station.  In recent years, Bangladesh and the Soviet Union have
concluded several barter trade agreements.
 China.  China traditionally has been more important than the USSR to
Bangladesh, even though China-as a loyal ally of Pakistan-had supported
Pakistan in 1971 and provides only one-third the aid levels committed by
the Soviet Union.  But as Dhaka's relations with Moscow (and Delhi)
cooled following 1975, and as Dhaka and Islamabad became reconciled,
Beijing's relations with Dhaka grew warmer.  An exchange of diplomatic
missions in February 1976 followed an accord on recognition in late
1975.  And since that time, relations have grown stronger, centering
upon trade, cultural activities, military and civilian aid, and
exchanges of high-level visits, beginning in January 1977 with President
Zia's trip to Beijing.  The largest and most visible symbol of bilateral
amity is the Bangladesh-China "Friendship Bridge" completed in 1989,
near Dhaka.

US-BANGLADESH RELATIONS
 Although the US relationship with Bangladesh was initially troubled
because of strong US ties with Pakistan, US-Bangladesh friendship and
support developed quickly.  Currently, US-Bangladesh relations are
excellent, as demonstrated by the visits to Washington in August 1980 by
President Zia and in 1983, 1988, and 1990 by President Ershad and the
June 1986 visit to Bangladesh of US Ambassador to the UN Vernon Walters.
 US policies have focused primarily on efforts to promote Bangladesh's
economic development and political progress.
 The centerpiece of the bilateral relationship is a large US economic
aid program totaling about $135 million in 1989 (and which from 1971
through 1989 provided more than $3 billion in assistance).  In addition
to symbolizing longstanding American humanitarian concern for the people
of Bangladesh, US economic and food aid programs, begun as emergency
relief following the 1971 war, now concentrate on long- term
development.  These include increasing agricultural production,
providing new employment opportunities, and helping to reduce population
growth.
 The US Embassy and a USAID Mission are in Dhaka.  Frequent official
visitors to both capitals augment the work  of their diplomats in
fostering more cooperative economic, commercial, political, and cultural
ties.

Principal US Officials Ambassador-William B. Milam
Deputy Chief of Mission-Lee O. Coldren
Political Counselor-Stephen R. Snow
Economic/Commercial Counselor-Michael McNaull
Administrative Counselor-Kenneth Parent
Consular Officer-Ruth Bright
AID Director-Mary Kilgour
Public Affairs Officer-Ray Peppers
Defense Attache-LTC James A. Dunn
Agricultural Attache-Daniel Conable (Resident in New Delhi)

 The Embassy and the USAID Mission, which moved in October 1988 from a
downtown site, are now located in the Diplomatic Enclave, Madani Avenue,
Baridhara, G.P.O. Box 323, Dhaka (tel. [phone], telex 642319
AEDKA BJ, telefax 880-2-883648).  The official workweek is Sunday
through Thursday.

Travel Notes
 Customs and immigration:  US citizens traveling as tourists do not need
visas for stays of 14 days if they have an onward ticket.  Visas are
required for longer visits and for business travelers.
 Climate and clothing:  Wear lightweight clothing for most of the hot,
wet period; medium weight clothing for the short winter (Dec.-Feb.)
 Health:  Health and visa requirements change; check latest information
before traveling.  Basic medical facilities are available in Dhaka.
Pharmacies can fill simple prescriptions.  Tetanus, typhoid, gamma
globulin, and polio immunizations are recommended; malaria supressants
for travel outside of Dhaka also are recommended.
 Telecommunications:  Internal and external telephone, telegraph, telex,
and mail services are available.  Direct dialing is possible to Western
Europe and the United States.  Bangladesh is 11 hours ahead of eastern
standard time. Transportation:  International and  domestic airline
service is adequate; railroad service is limited; road transport is
crowded but adequate to most major cities; river transport is extensive.
 National holidays:  Martyrs' Day, February 21; Independence Day, March
26; Bengali New Year's Day, April 15; May Day, May 1; National Integrity
Day, November 7; Victory Day, December 16; Christmas Day, December 25;
Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Azha, Muharram, Eid-i-Milad-un-Nabi, and other
religious holidays, varying in accordance with the lunar calendar.

Further Information
 These titles are provided as a general indication of the material
published on this country.  The Department of State does not endorse
unofficial publications.
 Ahmad, Nafis.  A New Economic Geography of Bangladesh.  New Delhi:
Vikas Publishing House, 1976.
 Baxter, Craig.  Bangladesh:  A New Nation in an Old Setting.  Boulder:
Westview Press, 1984.
 Blanchet, Therese.  Women, Pollution, and Marginality:  Meaning and
Rituals of Birth in Rural Bangladesh.  Dhaka: University Press, 1984.
 Faaland, Just.  Aid and Influence:  The Case of Bangladesh. New York:
St. Martin's Press, 1981.
 Franda, Marcus.  Bangladesh:  The First Decade.  Hanover: Universities
Field Service International, 1982.
 O'Donnell, Charles.  Bangladesh:  Biography of a Muslim Nation.
Boulder:  Westview Press, 1984.
 Sobhan, Rehman.  From AID Dependence to Self-Reliance.  Dhaka
University Press, 1990.
 Webbergren, Boyd and Charles Antholt.  Agricultural Development in
Bangladesh:  Prospects for the Future.  Boulder: Westview Press, 1984.
Available from the Superintendent of Documents, US Government Printing
Office, Washington, DC 20402: Department of the Army.    Bangladesh:  A
Country Study, 1989.
 US Department of Commerce.  Overseas Business Reports and Foreign
Economic Trends.

Published by the United States Department of State --  Bureau of Public
Affairs  -- Office of  Public Communication -- Washington, DC -- October
1990 -- Editor:  Juanita Adams Department of State Publication 8698
Background Notes Series  -- This material is in the public domain and
may  be reprinted without permission; citation of this source is
appreciated. For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, US Government
Printing Office, Washington, DC  20402. (###)


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