It's a small world indeed & The History of Bangladesh - for dummies ;)

I just got back from a really great dinner at a Thai-restaurant in Gulshan. I went there with my lovely flat mate Fina who told me that her friend Frida (also from Sweden) and her flat mate was meeting up with us there. Imagine my surprise when I realized that her flat mate is my cousin Hanna's friend Sean, who is from the states and also writing his thesis here, and who I've been in contact with through FB and wanting to meet up with! :) It's a small world indeed. We had a really nice time and decided to do some exploring of Old Dhaka next weekend.

Other than that I've been busy with my research for the past few days. 

On friday thou, Hasan and I went to the Liberation War Museum & the Bangladesh National Museum. I learnt so much about the history of Bangladesh and was lucky to have Hasan with me as a very knowledgable guide! 

Outside the Liberation War Museum.

Hasan and I about to enter the National Museum!

Since I learnt so much I thought I’d share the essence of the Bangladesh history with you all- so here it comes:

The History of Bangladesh for dummies! 

Ok, so going all the way back to ... 

17th century- Bangladesh (and Pakistan) was a part of India, although the power in all of the country was divided in regions by different land lords. 

1757- When India was colonized by the brittish, the power was centralized. Thou the colonization brought some positive things to the country, such as an educational system, the developement of roads etc. the native Indian people was taken advantage of by the brits and suffered in many ways. 

1947- Because of political and religious reasons, the pakistani and bengali regions of India was divided into its own country when the brittish left. Bengali regions was referred to as East Pakistan and remained a part of Pakistan up until the elections of 1970.

1970- Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, whose party won a majority in Parliament in the Pakistani elections, was blocked from taking office. This because Rahman won the majority of votes in East Pakistan, while Zulfiquar Ali Bhutto won the majority of votes in West Pakistan. East Pakistan/ Bangladesh then wanted to separate from Pakistan and become their own country, something that West Pakistan did not accept. And so in spring 1971, the war begun.

1971- The war went on for nine months and soruces say that between 300,000 to 500,000 bangladeshis lost their lives during this time. The war was fought on Bangladeshi land and pakistanis especially targeted academics, who they considered responsible for the war. Millions of bangladeshis sought refuge in India, being forced to live in packed camps where starvation and famine was ravaging. 

Women in military training for the Liberation War.

Eventually India finally decided to come to the assistance of the bangladeshis, and in nine days Pakistan Army surrendered to the joint forces of India and Bangladesh.

1971 to present-  Bangladesh has endured political turmoil, natural disasters, famine, religious indifferences and poverty, and is now celebrating its 40 yr anniversary as a country. They still face many challanges but it is also the fastest developing country in the world, with great improvements in many areas ever since their independence.