There
is no denying the fact that the movement of 21st February was a call
for restoration of democracy for which the non-co-operation movements with the
then rulers have been promulgated day by day to achieve independence as an
ultimate target. Due to the fact, it was not only their sole desire to make
Urdu as a state language but also there were many reasons behind it which may
be reflected as Political and educational aggression, to pollute Socioeconomic
condition, to pollute cultural and traditional affairs, to occupy monopolies
over trade and commerce, to handicap people under obligation towards
submission, to surpass the people under tyrannous depletion etc and hence in
regard to economical aspects in common life, the goods which were produced by our
active people from our land and factories were taken to the West
Pakistan and priced cheaply in that land but it was costly to us
to consume. There was a great ambiguity in between the measuring of values made
between the two countries and not only that in case of import and export of our
commodities, such ambiguity was largely compacted. It is a significant fact
that they led their efforts to suppress us every time in the field of economics
ingrained in common life. It is evident from the past history that they used to
exploit us in different ways for which they formulated the policies to disgrace
us in tyrannical attitudes with which our people declared movement on 21st
February and being agitated, they protested them against their attitudes and
feelings for aggression and misruling. The
movement of 21st February was only an agitation against the
exploitation of resources in this country which was their object to occupy some
how. They wanted to make Urdu as their state language in the sense that they liked
to extend their hands for exploitation in respect of economics, commerce,
language, education and traditional aspects involved in social and cultural
life. Like British Empire, they wanted to
torture in respect of mental, physical, political and social aspects ingrained
in our common people irrespective of caste and creed. Bangladesh came into being as an
independent state in 1971 from the emergent of the movement of 21st
February. The movement spread as nation
wide agitation and there is no doubt that our economic profile has been
flourishing day by day and we can say that the 21st February is a
milestone of our economic prosperity and political affiliation in the dimension
of Bangladesh in the world map.
By our active movement, it is documented as
International Mother language Day on 21st February in every year
through out the whole world and it is consecrated by swaging flowers and holding
the memories in the highest regard to those language martyrs who had laid down
their lives for the cause of launching the dignity of our survival as a nation
uprising our heads like other nations virtually. The 21st February
is a red-letter day in the history of our mother tongue. It is a very significant
day in view of good verdict that we have been able to pioneer our mother tongue
as our state language. It is our glory and inspiration that we have accomplished
freedom from the movement of this day. We think that we could not achieve our
freedom if 21st February was not emergent in 1952. Due to the movement of this
day, we have shown our agitation against the rulers of the then Pakistan.
To speak the truth, the 21st February, as a symbol of blaze
illumination is our rectitude for which our survival as Bengali nation has been
reproduced through out the whole world. As compared to socio-economic condition
of the erstwhile Pakistan,
the recent economic profile so far data have been collected in due course has been
enumerated as follows:
A monetary profile of Bangladesh
· The Country |
:
|
The People’s Republic of Bangladesh
|
|
·
Brief history
|
:
|
Documentation history is traceable to the fourth
century B.C. with clear facts of prosperous society, consisting of cities,
palaces, temples, forts, seats of learning and monasteries: 1200 A.D. – introduction
of the Muslims; 17th century – a time of fiscal well beings; 1757
– beginning of British colonial rule; 1947-departure of British from Indian
Subcontinent and Bangladesh becomes East Bengal/East Pakistan as part of
Pakistan; 1971-emergence of the sovereign state of Bangladesh through a
bloody and devastating armed struggle against the Pakistani force.
|
|
·
Geographical location
|
|
South Asia; between 20 degree 34 and 26 degree 38
north latitude and between 88 degree 01 and 92 degree 41 east longitude;
consists of flat fertile alluvial land.
|
|
·
Boundaries
|
|
North – India
(West Bengal and Meghalaya)
West – India (West Bengal)
East – India (Tripura and Assam)
and Myanmar(Burma)
South – The Bay of Bengal
|
|
·
Area
|
:
|
1,47,570 sq. km. (Territorial water – 12 nautical
miles)
|
|
·
Administrative divisions
|
:
|
The country is divided
into 6 divisions (Dhaka, Rajshahi, Chittagong,
Khulna, Barisal
and Sylhet), 64 Districts and 460 Thanas (Sub-districts).
|
|
·
Capital City
|
:
|
Dhaka
|
|
·
Standard time
|
:
|
GMT
+6 hours
|
|
·
Climate
|
:
|
Sub-tropical monsoon
|
|
·
Climate variation
|
:
|
Winter (December – February) temperature: average
maximum 29oC, average minimum 11oC.
Summer (April-June) temperature: Average maximum
32oC, average minimum 21oC.
Unfortunately, Bangladesh has to face, quite
frequently, natural disasters of great magnitude. Being located at the mouth of the Ganges
and the Brahmaputra delta, Bangladesh
often gets submerged by abnormal floods during July-September and severe
tropical cyclones accompanied by tidal waves during October to mid-December
and during the April-May period causing very heavy loss of human lives,
physical infrastructure and production, both in agricultural and industrial
sectors.
|
|
·
Rainfall
|
:
|
1194 mm to 3454 mm
(average during monsoon, June – August).
|
|
·
Humidity
|
:
|
Highest: 99 per cent (July)
Lowest
: 36 per cent (December & January)
|
|
·
Vegetation
|
:
|
Grassland, mixed evergreen
and evergreen
|
|
·
Population
|
:
|
Bangladesh is the eighth most
populous country and one of the most densely populated countries in the
world. According to the results of the
1991 census, the total population of Bangladesh was 111.4 million
(March 1991) and the population growth rate was 2.17 per cent. In January 2000, the total population stood
at 130.2 million and the population growth rate was 1.5 per cent. The percentage of population living in
rural areas is about 80 per cent (2000).
|
|
·
Adult literacy rate (15 years+), (2000)
|
:
|
60 per cent (compulsory
and free primary education)
|
|
·
Birth rate (per 1000 persons), (1999)
|
:
|
23.60
|
|
·
Death rate (per 1000 persons), (1999)
|
:
|
8.00
|
|
·
Infant mortality rate (deaths per 1000 live births before one year),
(1999)
|
:
|
66.00
|
|
·
Total fertility rate per woman (1997)
|
:
|
3.30
|
|
·
Contraceptive use rate (1998)
|
:
|
51.50 per cent
|
|
·
Life expectancy (1999)
|
:
|
Male –
60.80 years
Female – 59.60 years |
|
·
Average age of women at first marriage (1998)
|
:
|
20.2 years
|
|
·
Population per hospital bed (1999)
|
:
|
4251
|
|
·
Population per doctor (1999)
|
:
|
4599
|
|
·
Percentage of family using safe drinking water (1998)
|
:
|
96.2 per cent
|
|
·
Ethnic groups
|
:
|
Predominantly mixed group
of Proto Austroloids/Dravidians, Mongoloids and Aryans
|
|
·
Language
|
:
|
95 per cent Bangla (State language) and 5 per
cent other dialects
English
is widely spoken.
|
|
·
Religion
|
:
|
Muslim (88.3%), Hindu
(10.5%), Buddhist (0.6%), Christian (0.3%) and Animists and believers in
tribal faiths (0.3%).
|
|
·
Food
|
:
|
Rice, wheat, potato, sweet potato,
vegetables, pulses, fish and meat.
|
|
·
Principal crops
|
:
|
Rice, wheat, potato,
spices, pulses, jute, tea, tobacco and sugarcane
|
|
·
Principal rivers
|
:
|
Padma, Brahmaputra,
Jamuna, Meghan, Karnaphuli, Teesta, etc. Total 230 rivers including
tributaries.
|
|
·
Mineral resources
|
:
|
Natural gas, limestone,
hard rock, coal, lignite, silica sand, white clay, radioactive sand, etc.
(There is a strong possibility of oil deposit).
|
|
·
Human resources
|
:
|
Bangladesh boasts of a substantial
manpower reserve _ trained, skilled, engineers, technicians,
physicians, lawyers, economists, accountants, administrative and managerial
personnel. There is abundance of low
cost, easily trainable and adaptable and hard working intelligent labour
force.
|
|
·
Employment and labour force (as per Labour Force Survey, 1995/96)
|
:
|
Civilian labour force:
56.0 million; Male – 35.0 million and female – 21.0 million. Percentage of labour force: Agriculture –
63.2, Industry (manufacturing, electricity and gas) – 7.7, Others – 29.1.
|
|
·
Form of government
|
:
|
The country has a
parliamentary form of government headed by the Prime Minister. The President is the constitutional head of
the state. The number of seats in the
National Parliament is 300.
|
|
·
Principal industries
|
:
|
Garments, textile, jute,
tea, paper and newsprint, fertilizer, leather and leather goods, sugar,
cement, ceramic, fish processing, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, engineering and
ship building, iron and steel, oil refinery, paints, colors and varnishes,
cigarettes, electric and wires and electrical goods and accessories.
|
|
·
Traditional export items
|
:
|
Raw jute, jute
manufactures (hessian sacking, carpet backing, carpets), jute products, tea,
leather and leather products, etc.
|
|
·
Non-traditional export items
|
:
|
Garments, frozen shrimps,
other fish products, newsprint, paper, naphtha, furnace oil, urea, etc.
|
|
·
Principal imports
|
:
|
Petroleum products, food
grains, oil seeds, crude petroleum, raw cotton, edible oil, fertilizer,
cement, staple fibers, yarn, iron and steel, machinery and capital goods,
medicines, motor cars, etc.
|
|
·
Principal partners of foreign trade
|
:
|
USA, EU, Japan, India,
Pakistan, Canada, China,
South Korea, Russia,
etc.
|
|
·
Bangladesh in international forum
|
:
|
Bangladesh is a member of many
international and regional organisations including United Nations,
Commonwealth, SAARC, OIC, World Bank, IMF, IFC, UNDP, UNESCO, UNICEF, UNFPA,
UNHCR, FAO, WHO, ILO, ADB, IDB, SAPTA, WTO (formerly GATT) and so on.
|
|
·
Tourism
|
:
|
With growing international
interest in traveling through Asia, tourism is taking roots in Bangladesh. Bangladesh offers a variety of
historically significant and culturally unique sites for tourists. Sylhet’s tea gardens, Cox’s Bazar
sea-beach, the Royal Bengal Tiger, deer and the Sundarbans, the largest
mangrove forest in the world with unique bio-diversity offer tourist
attractions. Ancient mosques, Buddhist
monasteries, Hindu temples, monuments and other landmarks dot the
countryside.
|
|
·
Currency
|
:
|
Taka (TK)
1
US Dollar = TK 49.37 (as on September
22, 1999).
|
|
·
Central Bank
|
:
|
Bangladesh Bank
|
|
·
Bank rate
|
:
|
8 per cent
|
|
The Economy:
|
|
|
|
·
GDP at current price, 1999-2000 (provisional)
|
:
|
TK 2412.78 billion
US
$48.56 billion (approximately)
|
|
·
Annual per capital GDP, 1999-2000
|
:
|
TK 18528
US
$373 (approximately)
|
|
·
GDP growth rate at constant price, 1999-2000
|
:
|
5 per cent
|
|
·
Inflation rate (consumer price index), 1999-2000
|
:
|
6 per cent
|
|
·
Gross domestic investment/GDP, 1999-2000
|
:
|
22.41 per cent
Public – 6.73 per cent and
Private
– 15.68 per cent
|
|
·
Gross national savings/GDP, 1999-2000
|
:
|
21. 8 per cent
|
|
·
Exports, 1998-99
|
:
|
US $ 5324 million
|
|
·
Imports, 1998-99
|
:
|
US $ 8018 million
|
|
·
Foreign remittances, 1998-99
|
:
|
US $ 1706 million
|
|
·
Government revenue income/GDP, 1999-2000
|
:
|
10.01 per cent
|
|
·
Government revenue expenditure/GDP, 1999-2000
|
:
|
14.99 per cent
|
|
·
Deficit/GDP, 1999-2000
|
:
|
4.98 per cent
|
|
·
Foreign exchange reserves (as on 4 May, 2000)
|
:
|
US $ 1622 million
|
|
·
Annual Development Programme, 1999-2000
|
:
|
TK. 155 billion
|
|
·
Debt service/exports
|
:
|
12.1 per cent
|
|
·
Sect oral contribution to GDP, 1999-2000 (provisional)
|
:
|
|
|
-
Agriculture
|
:
|
31.9 per cent
|
|
-
Industry
|
:
|
11.1 per cent
|
|
-
Construction
|
:
|
6.4 per cent
|
|
-
Electricity, Gas, Water and Sanitary
|
:
|
1.7 per cent
|
|
-
Transport and Communication
|
:
|
12.4 per cent
|
|
-
Trade and other services
|
:
|
10.2 per cent
|
|
-
Housing
|
:
|
6.8 per cent
|
|
-
Public Administration
|
:
|
5.7 per cent
|
|
-
Bank and Insurance
|
:
|
1.7 per cent
|
|
-
Profession and miscellaneous services
|
:
|
12.1 per cent
|
|
·
Foreign aid
|
:
|
Total foreign aid received (from 1971-72 to
1998-99): US $ 34753 million
Balance of repayable debt (at the end of 1998-99):
US $ 14840 million
|
|
·
Food grains production (1999‑2000)
|
:
|
20.16 million MT (net)
|
|
·
Total demand for food grains (1999-2000)
|
:
|
21.36 million MT
|
|
·
Forest
|
:
|
Forestry accounts for 2.3
per cent of GDP (1999-2000). Total
forest land covers an area of 2.5 million hectares (about 17 per cent of the
total land area). Out of this only 45
per cent area is covered with trees and plants. Principal forest products are timber,
firewood, golpata, bamboo, sungrass, honey, wax, and cane and rattan. The Sundarbans is the national forest. The famous Royal Bengal Tiger is found
here.
|
From
the above view point, it is clear that after the emergence of Bangladesh such profile of economy
either Micro or Macro has been achieved due to active intervention of our
people in different sectors of development. This identity whatever we posses were
not possible if 21st February was not created to retaliate the
tyrannical boom of the then rulers of Pakistan. And as such, in this day
some young persons of our country have declared indomitable movement to create confrontation
against the conspiracy of our mother tongue. They have intensified the movement
by degrees and being polemical, the then rulers have invaded them and
ultimately they had shot them dead. This is such a movement where our heroes
have laid down their lives for the cause of dignity of our mother tongue. In
the whole world, such unparalleled movement has never been taken place. Like
each year, this year has carried out this day with due somber mood and
prominence and as such we celebrate this day with honour according to the
heritage of the country. This day is mixed with our Independence Day as if it
is mixed with our blood. The heroes who have laid down their lives for the
cause of our equality, liberty and national prestige of our country shall
remain ever memorable to us.
But
the achievement of 21st February is being hampered to uphold with
the heinous touchwood of terrorism and there is no denying the fact that being
poverty based country; we are passing through a great threadbare against terror
campaign, bribing, and dishonesty and embracing a cause of policies of disingenuous
the people. The creator has sent people to the land with all crucial things
fundamentally imperative for their endurance. God has also imparted upon them
some rules for leading our lives controlled and cleanly and as such God has
accordingly conferred upon some rules and directives so that human beings can show
the way his life by following these instructions like complete code of every
well beings of eternity virtually and ideally. If they go out of these rules,
they become nonplussed what to do. Corruption may exist in rendering services
in the field of private, public sectors and in leading normal flow of life. When
a man degenerates himself, he stigmatizes himself by entering into the world of
dimness as well as fallacious from where he can never get rid of. He commits
crime, such as smuggling, robbing, murdering, snatching and dilapidation etc. Failure
waits for him everywhere and even if, he is attracted by innumerable but deadly
forbidden things. Being educated, he becomes addicted to evil works in society.
He knows that it is the transient and allusion of worldly affairs, which has no
eternal value in the real sense. In many times, it is observed that he becomes
ambitious and many harmful activities are performed in social life. He knows
that being corrupt and heinous work, the society cannot consider him as an evil
person; never the less; every body is in the way to run after such forbidden
things. In many times the terror leaders welcome him and encourage him to do
the forbidden things. Thus a person becomes the leader of the country and
occupies a very influential position in the society by doing all the forbidden
things like bribing, mal practicing and thieving. Hence forth, it is seen that
from every branches of the Government corruption is a common phenomenon for
which the nation would like to lead a healthy life. Bangladesh is a highly populated
country and as such the double entendre among her resources and needs are
prevailing every time to a great extent. Due to shortage of wealth, here
one-fourth people cannot satisfy their daily needs for which no one is
satisfied with his family life. It is a very difficult thing for someone to get
a job, as there are fewer vacancies in offices, industries and so on. When
people cannot find any occupation or job for earning their livelihood, they do
not get any alternative measures except committing crimes. So unemployment is a
reason for being a criminal and the opportunist apply this sense in evil manner
and influence him to do the job of mischievous and heinous deeds for which he
remains depleted through out his whole life.
In this world everyone needs a companion to live with society,
friendship and love. That is why; people make friendship in the hope to have
good fortune to deal future life. But every friend might not stand beside
another friend in weal and woe. He sometimes pushes him towards danger and
inspires him for doing anti-social activities, which is called ‘crime’.
Therefore, being a criminal, he may be infected with the misleading people.
Suffice it to say that due to frustrated socio-economic conditions prevailing
in our country, our society of youths is leading very miserable life. They are
creating hindrance and preventing the people from dealing normal life as they
are sometimes no longer lost to play a role of terrorists as well as
miscreants. Due to the fact that poverty is the indispensable reason for doing
criminal assault on the part of the youths. Any person belonging to a poor
family has to pass his days through hard struggle. He surely wants to develop
his condition. On the other hand, for being poor, he does not get opportunity
to be educated properly. Consequently, he cannot have any respectable
occupation. At last, finding no other alternatives, he commits crime as his
profession. If we are able to reach our goal as expected, it is universal that
glory of success must wait for us in future. But we must have to work arduously
for that golden opportunity. Otherwise our all hopes and aspirations will be
nipped in the bud. No one cannot get salvation of ideal love and peace from God
by following the path vices and misfortune. Dr. Faustus was an uncommon genius
but by committing seven deadly sins with the exchange of his soul into the hell
by taking 24 years kingdom in the eternal world had been thrown to the
hell. Lucifer, the owner of the hail
grew jealous of him for his talent and geniuses and made a deed by way of
Mephistopheles with Faustus. Later, Faustus became lamented but due to his
colossal crime, he was thrown to the hell for his misdeeds for long 24 years.
That is to say, if a man is addicted to bad habits during childhood, he cannot
get rid of from such criminal assault for which he has to repent on through out
his whole life. Youth is the best season of good harvest and as such it is
likes mild mud and henceforth, he needs to precede his life very carefully. Fundamentally, for these three reasons, we
are loosing many brightly illuminated resource personnel to place them on the
basis of ‘Right man for the right place' of our country. We need to end all
these frolicsome activities. We must come across some way to get rid of
mischievous debris and save the bewildered people of our country. The
Government also should take actions against such awful activities. First of
all, the people here should be aware of the explosion of population and they
must not possess more than two children. Secondly, we need to be careful about
making friendship, so that we don’t have any bad company. And at last, we must
have to recognize the importance of education and the teachings of 21st
February. No matter how poor we are, we have to try our level best to gain knowledge.
In this context, Socrates said," Knowledge is virtue, from knowledge,
virtue and goodness flourish; from ignorance, he said, all that is evil."
We
want all the ends of such mischievous activity from the social life. We should
memorize the great sacrifice of the martyrs who had hoarded our mother tongue
by dedicating their lives. Consequent upon this, we achieved the 21st February
as an ‘International Mother Tongue Day’ in 1999. This is a great achievement in
the world to show our best regards to our Bengali Language. It is a rare
example in the history of mankind. Furthermore, the dignity of our mother
tongue is worthy of achieving the highest honour as the poet in this language
has been awarded ‘Nobel Prize’ and even in many European and American countries
such language is taught and a certain part of the people in the world this
language of their own accord. Many great men have been born in this beautiful
land which is the best contribution of the world. There is a great history in
the background of our mother language and this is highlighted through struggle
in the history and for this reason our mother tongue has been mixed as if in
our heart and soul through thick and thin.
In
fine, it is evident that the 21st February was undoubtedly a call for
restoration of democracy which is promulgated by the people, for the people and
of the people. The Pakistani hoarders tried to loot our economy and freedom of
survival; if we would like to preserve the prestige of Bengali nation, we need
to pay great eulogy praise to the martyrs. They had laid down their lives for
the restoration of democracy and freedom of economics. Their activities are
undoubtedly of heroic deeds. If we dedicate ourselves for the cause of equality
and liberty of our country, their departed souls will be peaceful and
effulgence. In every year, we celebrate this day by showing homage to them and
shower the flowers to the ‘Shaheed Minar’ in order to solemnize their memory
and achievements contributed to the dignity of our mother tongue.
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