This year marks the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh's independence and the 100th anniversary of the birth of its founding father. After 50 years of development, although Bangladesh is still relatively poor and backward, it has seized the opportunity in the process of undertaking low-end manufacturing, lifting the majority of the population out of absolute poverty and expecting to get rid of the position of a least developed country and become a developing country within a few years.
With less than $2,000 per capita, it is really poor but the growth momentum is very strong, and it is not at all lost to India (India's GDP decline in 2020 may be lower than Bangladesh per capita).
Bangladesh, as a small and young country between large countries, has been able to achieve such an achievement, which is the result of the struggle of its people; There are also diplomatic factors that are good at dancing with long sleeves and bringing development opportunities.
The graphic resembles the Japanese flag, implying that the sun rises over the fertile land of Bengal (photo: shutterstock).
An important geographical location between China and India
The climate in northern South Asia is dominated by tropical monsoons, and whenever the southwest monsoon carries water vapor here, the rainy season will come. During the dry season, the flow of the Ganges is mainly maintained by meltwater from the alpine snow and ice in the Himalayas. The combined effect of rainfall and glaciers has brought numerous tributaries to the Ganges. The two largest river systems in South Asia are the Ganges and the Indus
As more and more tributaries flow into the Ganges from west to east, the runoff of the Ganges grows larger and larger until it confluences with the Brahmaputra River, which is equally large at the mouth of the sea. When the main stream is about to flow into the Bay of Bengal, another Mekna River, which is only 902 kilometers long but has an astonishing runoff, comes in. The three rivers eventually join the Bay of Bengal through the same channel. Huge flows carry a large amount of sediment downstream. After entering the Bay of Bengal, the flow rate suddenly decreased, and the sediment deposition accelerated.
The geographical "essence" of Bangladesh is the Ganges Delta
It is also the largest delta in the world
Its huge amount of water and variability are the basic conditions of Bangladesh ▼ Except for the hilly and mountainous areas in the southeast, which account for about 25% of the territory area, most of the territory of Bangladesh is formed in this way. Theoretically, the loose and fertile soil of the delta formed at the mouth of the great river is very suitable for agricultural production. After mastering shipbuilding technology, the big river will become an ancient highway, bringing traffic advantages.
The geographical "essence" of Bangladesh is the Ganges Delta
It is also the largest delta in the world
Its huge amount of water and variability are the basic conditions of Bangladesh
However, precipitation in the tropical monsoon climate is notoriously unstable, which poses enormous challenges for Bangladesh's development. Where the three rivers converge, the terrain on both sides is low and flat, and the drop is small. As a result, compared to its amazing flow, the flow of water is less intensive and the river channel is shallower.
For example, the Jamuna River is as wide as 12 kilometers during the flood season, but may only be 3 kilometers wide in the dry season, and once the upstream rainfall is too large, it will lead to a surge in downstream flows. The river is poorly drained, and the river is easy to flood over the riverbank to form a flood. At this time, hurricanes often hit coastal areas, bringing a lot of rainfall, exacerbating flood disasters and turning the delta into a land of zeal.
On the other hand, the high temperature at low latitudes and the huge amount of evaporation lead to the rapid shrinkage of surface water in the dry season, which can easily cause drought.
Waterlogging during waterlogging (Photo: shutterstock)▼
Drought dies in times of drought
The coexistence of wealth and vulnerability has become a feature of the entire Bengal region, where wealth can be quickly accumulated, but it can also be quickly deprived by frequent natural disasters, which makes it difficult to become the center of civilization. In ancient times, whenever the regime of the Indus-Gangetic Plain declined and was unable to control it, there was a rich and prosperous local government here. Once the regime of the Ganges Plain is strong enough, it will be brought under either direct or indirect rule.
The roots of a powerful dynasty in Indian history were still in the indus, ganges, and the region between the two river basins, so several famous ancient capitals were located around this core area
After the rise of Islam, a large number of Muslim merchants came to the South Asian subcontinent to obtain the rich products here. The Bengal region was rich in products, had the advantage of haihe river intermodal transport, and was less controlled by the Ganges plain regime, and gradually became the foothold of Muslim merchants, and Islam gradually spread here. This has led to the dual influence of Hindu and Islamic culture in the Bengal region.
The chaotic ruling order in Bengal and the frenzied plundering of the colonists exacerbated the famine. The hot climate and poor sanitary conditions make it inevitable that there will be a great plague after the catastrophe. In the years that followed, the recurring famines in Bangladesh always caused shocking catastrophes.
The Great Bengal Famine of 1943 (photo: wiki)▼
From Dongba to Bangladesh
After the partition of India and Pakistan, Bangladesh was divided into two parts according to the proportion of believers, namely West Bengal, which belonged to India, and East Pakistan, which belonged to Pakistan.
The history, ethnicity and culture of Bangladesh are not the same as that of West Pakistan (today's Pakistan). Bangladesh is richer than West Pakistan, but culturally repressed, politically underrepresented, and economically transferred to Pakistan. This has led to increasing discontent and separatist tendencies in Bangladesh.
To the east, it is Bangladesh to be torn apart in the west, Punjab to be torn apart to be torn to the east and west, and Pakistan to be torn apart
In 1971, the Bangladesh War of Independence broke out, and the rebel forces were of course very weak in the face of the formed Pakistani army. Without the intervention of external forces, the uprising would have been most likely extinguished. However, at that time, the international relations in the South Asian subcontinent were highly tense, and India and Pakistan had long been hostile, so naturally they would not miss this opportunity to divide Pakistan and began to vigorously support Bangladesh's independence.
India's military presence is a key condition for Bangladesh to achieve independence, and East Pakistan may not be 100% to independence, but India is absolutely 100% willing to dismember Pakistan (Picture: wiki@Mike Young).
Eventually, the Third Indo-Pakistani War broke out, on the one hand, the Pakistani army could not defeat the coalition between India and Bangladesh, on the other hand, because the various inhumane acts of the Pakistani army in Bangladesh were exposed, and the international community also began to have a sympathetic attitude towards Bangladesh. Eventually Bengal became independent with the help of India.
Unimagined partners
In recent years, while maintaining its traditional relations with India, Bangladesh has actively carried out diplomacy with other major powers to dilute India's influence in the diplomatic field. With the development of Bangladesh's garment manufacturing industry, the volume of garment exports to European and American countries has been increased, thereby expanding bilateral economic ties. Recently, bangladesh's relations with Pakistan have also gradually thawed, with a tendency towards normalization.
India's garment manufacturing industry that wants to flow out of China is all flowing into India, but in fact, the manpower mainly flowing into Vietnam and Bangladesh bangladesh is cheaper, and the policy is far less stringent than that of India (picture: shutterstock)."
Bangladesh's relations with China have also continued to heat up in recent years, and after participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, Bangladesh has received the largest investment ever given by a single country. The total investment amounted to $38 billion, equivalent to 10% of Bangladesh's GDP for the year.
In contrast to India, China has never interfered in Bangladesh's internal affairs, and its cooperation has focused mainly on the economic side, especially to provide Bangladesh with much-needed infrastructure funds. For Bangladesh, while benefiting greatly, it does not need to bear political pressure similar to that in India-Bangladesh relations. Today, China is Bangladesh's largest source of investment and its largest trading partner.
One of the many bridges that China has aided in Bangladesh: the Shah Amana Bridge (Photo: Wiki).
A bridge aided by China
The move is also significant for China, a country at the geographical centre of the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) economic corridor. China's move to invest in infrastructure in Bangladesh without interfering in internal affairs has a demonstration effect, which is conducive to the recognition of this model by more underdeveloped countries.
At the same time, Bangladesh is not trying to choose a side between China and India, but to maintain close bilateral relations with both countries and avoid falling into a zero-sum game with either side. As China-Bangladesh relations have become increasingly close this year, Bangladesh has also received more attention from India.
At the beginning of this year, not only did Modi visit Bangladesh, but also brought five memorandums of understanding in different fields to launch cultural and development projects between the two countries. Bangladesh's leaders have taken the opportunity to advance negotiations on sensitive issues such as water allocation and reducing the killing of Bangladeshis crossing the border.
India is actively involved in Bangladesh's diplomatic activities but is "friendly" wrapped up in conflicts (pictured: shutterstock) because of border conflicts and religious struggles
At the time of independence, 80 percent of the country's population lived in extreme poverty, and its per capita GDP ranked second to last in the world, more embarrassing than the stereotypically chaotic and poorest African countries, and was seen as the most difficult to develop. Today, 80 per cent of the population in Bangladesh lives above the poverty line and the primary school enrolment rate exceeds 90 per cent.
While choosing the right path for development, vigorously subsidizing national basic education is the future of the country (photo: shutterstock)."
As the economic strength of China and India increases, the geopolitical importance of Bangladesh will become stronger and stronger, and how to balance relations with the two countries will remain a challenge with great opportunities.