History of Bangladesh

In recent decades, Bangladesh has achieved significant economic growth, emerging as one of the world's fastest-growing economies, driven by its garment industry, remittances, and infrastructure development.

Bangladesh has played a critical role in addressing regional issues, including the Rohingya refugee crisis, which has strained its resources and highlighted its humanitarian commitments.

The Greek and Latin historians suggested that Alexander the Great withdrew from India anticipating the valiant counter-attack of the Gangaridai empire that was located in the Bengal region.

[citation needed] The Pala Empire ruled Bengal until the middle of the twelfth century, expanded Bengali power to its farthest extent and supported Buddhism.

The Badal pillar inscription of his successor Narayana Pala states that he became the suzerain monarch or Chakravarti of the whole tract of Northern India bounded by the Vindhyas and the Himalayas.

[26] The invasion by the south Indian ruler Vikramaditya VI of the Western Chalukya Empire brought his countrymen from Karnataka into Bengal which explains the southern origin of the Sena Dynasty.

[90] The British abandoned the former official language, Persian, in the 1830s and English medium educational institutions prepared a small part of the Bengali elite for jobs in the lower and middle tiers of government.

[147] On 3 March, student leader Shahjahan Siraj read the 'Sadhinotar Ishtehar' (Declaration of Independence) at Paltan Maidan in front of Mujib at a public gathering under the direction of the Swadhin Bangla Biplobi Parishad.

[148] The speech is considered a key moment in the War of Liberation, and is remembered for the phrase, In the early hours of 26 March 1971, a military crackdown by the Pakistan army began.

Bengali Army officer Major Ziaur Rahman captured the Kalurghat Radio Station[149][150] in Chittagong and read the declaration of independence of Bangladesh during the evening hours on 27 March.

Awami League leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman became the 2nd Prime Minister of Bangladesh on 12 January 1972 and is widely regarded as the nation's independence hero and founding father.

The agreement paved the way for the return of interned Bengali officials and their families stranded in Pakistan, as well as the establishing of diplomatic relations between Dhaka and Islamabad.

[170] There was an insurgency by the radical socialist Jashod, as well as agitation by pro-business and conservative forces, who felt the Awami League was unfairly taking exclusive credit for the liberation struggle.

[175] Under the dramatically altered dispensation, Bangladesh feared an invasion from India backed by the Soviet Union, as the new government in Dhaka received recognition from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and China.

The government also faced a severe budget deficit to the tune of 4 billion takas, and the IMF declared that it would not provide any more loans until Bangladesh paid down some of its existing debts.

[181] In November 1986, his government mustered the necessary two-thirds majority in the National Assembly to pass the seventh constitutional amendment bill, protecting Ershad and his regime from prosecution for actions taken under the years of military rule.

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.

When Bangladesh became independent, the government of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman adopted a Bengali nationalist constitution, which denied recognition of the country's ethnic minorities.

[189] Ershad resigned under the pressure from the military and international community, as the pro-democracy movement spearheaded by Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina engulfed the entire country and drew the participation of the middle and upper classes.

Finance Minister Saifur Rahman launched a series of liberal economic reforms, which set a precedent in South Asia and was seen as a model in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

This administration was short-lived however, only lasting 12 days[192] and in March 1996, following escalating political turmoil, the sitting Parliament enacted a constitutional amendment to allow a neutral caretaker government to assume power and conduct new parliamentary elections in June 1996.

However, the military commander of Savar sided with the president and deployed tanks in the capital and its surrounding highways, and also suspended ferry services, as part of operations to deter the coup forces.

In 1998, Hasina hosted a rare and unprecedented trilateral economic summit in Dhaka with Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan and I. K. Gujral of India.

Her summits with US President Bill Clinton in Dhaka and Washington DC focused on American energy investments for Bangladesh's natural gas reserves and the extradition of her father's killers.

[179] Following the September 11 attacks, the government of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia allowed the United States to use Bangladeshi airports and airspace for combat operations in Afghanistan.

In 2002, however, she led her party legislators back to Parliament, but the Awami League again walked out in June 2003 to protest derogatory remarks about Hasina by a State Minister and the allegedly partisan role of the Parliamentary Speaker.

[citation needed] A major political crisis erupted after the end of the BNP's tenure, as the Awami League-led coalition demanded a neutral candidate for Chief Advisor.

[213] However, this gave the Awami League Government stability and opportunity to complete key infrastructure projects for the country including the Padma Bridge[214] and the Dhaka Metro Rail.

The situation was further complicated by many other ongoing issues, like the government's inability to manage a prolonged economic downturn, reports of rampant corruption and human rights violations, and the absence of democratic channels for initiating changes.

[230] In addition, Waker-uz-Zaman pledged an investigation by the military into the preceding incidents of violence and issued an order prohibiting security forces from opening fire on crowds.