It was renamed as East Pakistan with Dhaka becoming the country's legislative capital. In 1947, East Bengal became the most populous province in the Dominion of Pakistan. A referendum and the announcement of the Radcliffe Line established the present-day territorial boundary of Bangladesh. Prior to the partition of Bengal, the Prime Minister of Bengal proposed a Bengali sovereign state. In 1940, the first Prime Minister of Bengal supported the Lahore Resolution with the hope of creating a state in eastern South Asia.
The creation of Eastern Bengal and Assam in 1905 set a precedent for the emergence of Bangladesh. The Bengal Presidency grew into the largest administrative unit in British India. In 1757, the betrayal of Mir Jafar resulted in the defeat of Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah to the British East India Company and eventual British dominance across South Asia. Mughal Bengal became increasingly assertive and independent under the Nawabs of Bengal in the 18th century. Under Mughal rule, eastern Bengal continued to prosper as the melting pot of Muslims in the eastern subcontinent and attracted traders from around the world. The region was unified into an independent, unitary Bengal Sultanate. Sufi missionary leaders like Sultan Balkhi, Shah Jalal and Shah Makhdum Rupos helped in spreading Muslim rule. Becoming part of the Delhi Sultanate, three city-states emerged in the 14th century with much of eastern Bengal being ruled from Sonargaon. The Muslim conquest of Bengal began in 1204 when Bakhtiar Khalji overran northern Bengal and invaded Tibet. The Mauryan, Gupta, Pala, Sena, Chandra and Deva dynasties were the last pre-Islamic rulers of Bengal. Ancient Bengal was an important cultural center in the Indian subcontinent as the home of the states of Vanga, Pundra, Gangaridai, Gauda, Samatata, and Harikela. The country has a Bengali Muslim majority. Chittagong, the largest seaport, is the second-largest city.īangladesh forms the sovereign part of the historic and ethnolinguistic region of Bengal, which was divided during the Partition of British India in 1947.
Dhaka, the capital and largest city, is the nation's economic, political, and cultural hub. It is narrowly separated from Nepal and Bhutan by the Siliguri Corridor and from China by 100 km of the Indian state of Sikkim in the north. Bangladesh shares land borders with India to the west, north, and east, Myanmar to the southeast, and the Bay of Bengal to the south. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 163 million people in an area of either 148,460 square kilometres (57,320 sq mi) or 147,570 square kilometres (56,980 sq mi), making it one of the most densely populated countries in the world.
Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols.īangladesh ( / b æ ŋ l ə ˈ d ɛ ʃ/ Bengali: বাংলাদেশ, pronounced ( listen)), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia.