Bangladesh: The Nation Built on Water, Delta and Determination
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Bangladesh sits in the delta of three of Asia's great rivers — the Ganges, the Brahmaputra, and the Meghna — where they converge and spread across some of the most fertile land on earth before emptying into the Bay of Bengal. The country is mostly flat, mostly green, and mostly wet. During monsoon season, a third of the land may be underwater. This is not a disaster. It is an annual renewal that has sustained Bangladeshi agriculture for millennia.
The country exists because of a liberation war. In 1971, Bangladesh — then East Pakistan — fought and won independence from Pakistan in a nine-month conflict in which millions died. The victory came on December 16th, now Victory Day, celebrated annually. The founding of Bangladesh as an independent, Bengali-speaking nation was a statement that language and culture are sufficient basis for nationhood — the liberation movement had begun with protests against the Pakistani government's attempt to suppress Bengali in favour of Urdu.
Bengali culture is rich in literature, music, and philosophy. Rabindranath Tagore — born in Calcutta but with deep roots in what is now Bangladesh — wrote both the Indian and Bangladeshi national anthems, making him the only person in history to have written the national anthems of two countries. The tradition of Baul music — mystical folk songs performed by wandering minstrels — continues across rural Bangladesh, a tradition of spiritual seeking expressed through song.
