Introduction "Bangladesh has a hundred gates open for entrance but not one for departure." -Bernier Bangladesh became one of the youngest major nation states following a pair of 21st century secessions from India (1947) and Pakistan (1971). The region's history combines Indo-Aryan, Assamese, Munda, Dravidian, Mughal, Persian, Turkic and British influences. Bangladesh's territory became part of the state of Bengal as part of the Mughal Empire for two centuries and also during the succeeding two centuries of British rule. During the twentieth century, its resilient inhabitants seem to have suffered one trauma after another. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (Mujib) led the nation to independence in 1971, but he and his successor Ziaur Rahman (Zia) were both assassinated only in a span of six years. Their legacies (and families) define Bangladesh's faltering democracy to this day.
Population of Bangladesh In 2000, Bangladesh was estimated to be one of the ten most highly populated countries with an estimated population of just fewer than 130 million. This makes the population density of about 875 people per sq km (2,267 people per sq mi) higher than other countries. Most of the population is young with about 60 percent under the age of 25, with only about 3 percent over the age of 65 (life expectancy is 61 years). Twenty percent of the population was deemed to be urban in 1998, making Bangladesh's population predominantly rural. Bangladesh was formed in 1971, when the east Pakistan Province declared their independence on March 26. They warred with the central Pakistan government, and became financially separate later that year (December 16) with financial help from India. Eventually other countries recognized them and in 1974, they were admitted to the UN (United Nations). It was at this time that Pakistan finally acknowledged them and it was 1976 until China showed diplomatic recognition. Bengalis make up the majority of Bangladesh's population. They are descendants from immigrant Indo-Aryans who came from the west and intermarried with various Bengal groups. The minority in Bangladesh is comprised of several groups, the Chakma and Mogh (Mongoloid people who live in the Chittagong Hill Tracts District), the Santal (migrants from India) and the Biharis (Muslims who came from India). Language
Bangla, also known as Bengali, is the official language of Bangladesh. It has it's own script (from Sanskrit) and over 98 percent of the population speaks this as their first language. The remaining population speaks Urdu, mostly those who emigrated from India during the 1940's. Religion Almost 90 percent of Bangladesh's populations adhere to Islam, with most of this number following the Sunni branch. The remaining population follows Hinduism, with even fewer numbers of Buddhists, Christians, and animists. Bangladesh in the 21
st
Century
Bangladesh is an independent country. Though the people of Bangladesh live under the poverty line, it’s a developing country. The people of Bangladesh can dream and can make the dream true. Economically, the position of Bangladesh is not positive to cope with the 21st century. But as a developing country, Bangladesh is moving forward by taking it a challenge to prove her worth. In 21st century, Bangladesh becomes successful in many sectors. But, in many sectors Bangladesh is still lagging behind. To cope with the 21st century, Bangladesh is trying to develop the following sectors as a developed country does: •
Education system
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Agriculture
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Science and Technology
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Communication
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Natural disasters
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Business and Trade
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Banking
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Human rights
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Crime and Anti-crime
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Women rights
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Medicine
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Sports
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Poverty reduction
Education system and 21
st
century
Education is not compulsory, but is free for elementary students. Approximately 85 percent of the elementary school-aged children attend schools, while secondary schools enroll less than 20 percent. This poor attendance record is responsible for Bangladesh's literacy rate of 41 percent for people 15 years and older. The education system in Bangladesh is similar to that begun by the British before 1947. Over 500,000 students attended colleges or universities in the years from 1989 to 1990. The largest (and oldest) university in Bangladesh is the University of Dhaka which was established in 1921. Other universities are Jahangirnagar University (1970), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (1962), Khulna University; Rajshahi University, Patuakhali science & Technology University, Jessore Science & Technology University, Jagannath University etc. Bangladesh's colleges are Chittagong Polytechnic Institute, Bangladesh College of Textile Technology, Dhaka College and Government M.M. City College Khulna, Pioneers Girls College Khulna, BM College etc. Today the education system is totally changed. New grading system has added a new variation to the education system. Now a day’s students are far more careful for their study. Because of this grading system they can hardly make unfair means in the examination hall. Grading system is available in SSC examination & HSC examination. In honors level (for national university), grading system is recently added. Recently, Bangladesh government has made female education free. Now female students can complete their primary level-honors degree with stipend from government. Many private school, college and university are now helps student to acquire the educational degrees. Rosedale school, Cambridge school and college, Asian university, North-south University, AIUB and many other private institutions has established. Students can complete CAT, ACCA and many other degrees which can help them to go abroad for work or to get a good job in Bangladesh. So, we get the following change and facilities in present education system. • • • • •
Grading system Rise of private educational institutions Free Primary education for poor and talent student Free education for female students (primary-honors) Loss of unfair means and increase of the standard of studies
Agriculture system and 21
st
century
Bangladesh is predominantly an agrarian economy and is characterized by small-scale, fragmented farming that employs primitive technology. The sector does not have the resources to meet the various challenges, despite the fact that agriculture serves as the primary means of livelihood of the population - contributing about half of the Gross Domestic Product and employing two-thirds of the total labor force. Technology, both hardware and software, is imperative to increasing production in crop agriculture. There are many underlying factors affecting the adoption and non-adoption of technologies, of which affordability, availability, accessibility, and appropriateness of technologies are considered especially critical. The agricultural machinery subsector is extremely important because it directly contributes to poverty alleviation and food security of the country. 80% of the population engaged in farming is reaping the benefits of this subsector to some degree or other. Despite limited capacity and knowledge, the subsector has demonstrated highly promising results. Some assistance and intervention were provided by various organizations and agencies in the past. However, those interventions were not adequately designed in relation to the potentially comprehensive impact on the entire subsector. At the moment, appropriate demand-driven product innovation and market expansion must be able to work alongside certain policy changes to encourage the SMEs in the subsector. A recent study by “Poverty Elimination through Rice Research Assistance (PETRRA)” shows that contribution of women in various rice production and post production activities is increasing. Now a day’s agriculture is getting easier to farmers. They use newer inventions of modern science for cultivation. The farmers of Bangladesh now cultivate some foreign crops. They also cultivate non-seasonal crops. So, we are now able to get winter fruits in summer. It helps to earn foreign currency and helps a farmer’s family economically. From time immemorial fish and fisheries have played a very significant role in the nutrition, culture, and economy of Bangladesh. According to a local adage that reflects the role of fish in the food habit, diet, and nutrition of the people, ‘Mache-Bhate Bangali’, i.e., a Bengali body is made up of fish and rice. Currently, about 80 per cent of the daily animal protein intake in the diet of the people comes from fish. It is estimated that the fisheries sector contributes about 3.5 per cent of the GDP of Bangladesh. Within the Agriculture sector, the fisheries sector accounted for 6.9 per cent of the gross value added. Fisheries provide full time employment to an estimated 2.0 million people.
Natural Disasters The geographical setting of Bangladesh makes the country vulnerable to natural disasters. The mountains and hills bordering almost three-fourths of the country, along with the funnel shaped Bay of Bengal in the south, have made the country a meeting place of lifegiving monsoon rains, but also make it subjected to the catastrophic ravages of natural disasters. Its physiography and river morphology also contribute to recurring disasters. Abnormal rainfall and earthquakes in the adjacent Himalayan range add to the disaster
situation. Effects of El-Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the apprehended climatic change have a great impact on the overall future disaster scenarios. In 21st century, cyclone SIDR, AYLA, NARGIS has visited Bangladesh. It ruins Bangladesh geographically and economically. Loss of thousand lives and destruction of crops uncertainly gave a lot of suffer to the people of Bangladesh. Following responses are now available to minimize the loss from natural disasters: •
CDMP (Comprehensive Disaster Management Program)
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FAP (Flood Action Plan)
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National Water Policy
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Flood forecast and inundation modeling
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Dredging of river bed
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Construction of embankments with sluice gates
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Agricultural research & extension works
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Intensive Afforestation Program
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Re-excavation of channels & ponds in rural areas
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Augmentation of surface water flow
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Construction of water reservoir
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CDMP (Comprehensive Disaster Management Program)
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Strengthening of CPP (Cyclone Preparedness Program)
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Local Disaster Action Plans for the Grassroots levels along the coastal belt
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Awareness building programs for the target group
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Reliable and timely warning & effective warning dissemination system
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Proper radar network
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Reliable and timely forecast capability for severe Nor’wester
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Awareness building programs
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Quick search and rescue system
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Proper implementation of Building code (1993)
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Inventory of equipment for rescue operation
Science and Technology The new and emerging technological “forces” at the command of the scientists and engineers of the 21st century may, at first sight, seem to be distant dreams for
Bangladesh. During the 1970s poor developing countries were advised to adopt intermediate technologies in place of modern technologies. Case studies of inappropriate applications of modern and advanced technologies were published and presented all over the world to prove that modern technologies were not our “cup of tea”! Intermediate technologies were prescribed for us. Unfortunately it was often not realized that the socalled intermediate technologies, offered as the appropriate ones, in many cases represented technological dead ends without any innate dynamism normally associated with technologies that help a country to go up the ladder of productivity. Higher productivity, after all, is the key element that provides the comparative advantage over others in this increasingly competitive world. The poor remain poor when tools and techniques, which can raise productivity, are denied to them. During the 1970s the socalled advanced technologies considered to be inappropriate for the poor belonged to the era of earlier technological revolution. The nature of the new technological “forces” being unleashed during the present century is such that most of them are scale neutral and amenable to be custom made to suit a particular need irrespective of size of application. Additionally they are not resource degraders. In fact many are resource enrichers (e.g. Biotechnology). Thus this century will be a unique period of human history when scientist, engineers and technologists of both poor and rich nations will have at their command almost identical S&T “forces” to raise productivity. The probable reasons for slow implementation of S&T policy in Bangladesh are: •
The country never had a technology plan as a complement to the national development plan (with the notable exception of the agriculture sector). Serious commitments to S&T development and investments in R&D have not been made.
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Sectorial plans have often been formulated without taking cognizance of the impact of technologies involved and their cross-sectorial implications. Other priorities have taken precedence over technology.
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Technology transferred or imported from abroad in various sectors has remained in “static” forms. The recipients often lacked institutional mechanisms in the form of appropriate R&D institutions to utilize “dynamic” components of a foreign technology to derive maximum benefit from its spin off effect.
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National scientific and technological goals, even if articulated in S&T policies and development plans, are not taken into cognizance during formulation, appraisal, monitoring and evaluation of projects.
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In the absence of a deliberate policy for technological self-reliance, the technology decision-making process is influenced by the value system and personal preference of the diverse institutions and individuals who in many cases have to contend with the dominance of outsiders in foreign assisted projects.
Communication & Digital Bangladesh The use of information and communication technology has been playing a vital role in the 21st century due to globalization and the government is encouraged to adapting with
the coming future. The democratic government has declared the “Vision 2021” in the election manifesto which targets establishment of a resourceful and modern country by 2021 through effective use of information and communication technology-a "Digital Bangladesh". “Digital Bangladesh” does not only mean the broad use of computers, perhaps it means the modern philosophy of effective and useful use of technology in terms of implementing the promises in education, health, job placement, poverty reduction etc. Therefore, the government underscores a changing attitude, positive thinking and innovative ideas for the success of “Digital Bangladesh”. The philosophy of “Digital Bangladesh” comprises ensuring people’s democracy and rights, transparency, accountability, establishing justice and ensuring delivery of government services in each door through maximum use of technology-with the ultimate goal to improve the daily lifestyle of general people. Government’s “Digital Bangladesh” includes all classes of people and does not discriminate people in terms of technology. Hence, government have emphasized on the four elements of “Digital Bangladesh Vision” which are human resource development, people involvement, civil services and use of information technology in business. In terms of communication, we use cellphone, personal computer, internet by which the world is in our hand. We can see new creation of baby taxy (powered by battery) on the road of the cities of Bangladesh. It is safe for journey, safe for environment, saves our time and never creates traffic jam. To be more communicated many bridge has been constructed. Khan Jahan Ali Bridge (in Khulna) is the creation in 21st century. And many bridges construction work is still running under process. Government is now thinking about the highway road construction in big cities. Human rights and poverty reduction The idea of a national human rights commission in Bangladesh has been around for several years. In April 1995, the Government of Bangladesh approved a project to assess the need for such a body and make recommendations on establishment. This project1 was to start in July 1995, but it was reportedly delayed due to the political crisis in the country. It was revived in March 1996 when an agreement was signed between the government and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Under the agreement, the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs is to supervise, monitor and evaluate the IDHRB project which formally began in July 1996. The project is supported by the UNDP, which has been assisting the establishment of such national institutions in a number of countries in the region. Amnesty International believes that while the creation of a national human rights commission can be an important mechanism for strengthening human rights protection, it can never replace, nor should it in any way diminish, the safeguards inherent in comprehensive and effective legal structures enforced by an independent, impartial, adequately resourced and accessible judiciary. Education is a human right and an essential tool for achieving equality, development, and peace. Nondiscriminatory
education benefits both men and women and ultimately equalizes relations between them. Amnesty International wishes to recommend to the Government of Bangladesh that: •
The creation of a national human rights commission should go hand in hand with a thorough review of existing legal and other institutions in order to make these more effective instruments of human rights protection;
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Neglect of the tertiary sector of education has inhibited growth of appropriate human resource base for S&T development. Public universities have been subject to budget cuts in order to augment primary and secondary education (as per donor prescriptions) and the private universities are yet to be serious about developing of scientific and technological disciplines.
In 2005, Bangladesh experienced an unprecedented period of continuous political instability. On August 17, 2005, four hundred bombs exploded in all but one of the nation's sixty-four districts. As a result of this instability and its national security repercussions, Bangladesh's already questionable human right has deteriorated. Bangladeshi security forces have been persistently criticized by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch due to grave abuses of human rights. These include extrajudicial summary executions, excessive use of force and the use of custodial torture. Reporters and defenders of human rights are harassed and intimidated by the authorities. Since 2003, legislative barriers to prosecution and transparency have afforded security services immunity from accountability to the general public. Hindu and Ahmadi Muslim minority’s human rights are in a compromised state, and corruption is still a major problem, such that Transparency International has listed Bangladesh as the most corrupt country in the world for five co consecutive years. Women rights It is obvious that educating girls is a major challenge for the development of a country like Bangladesh. Although enrollment of the girls in primary school is more or less satisfactory, but there are still lot of obstacles in secondary level for various socioeconomic factors. To overcome the obstacles, involvement of International Development Partners is very crucial. This Paper examines the status of female education in secondary level and impact of Female Secondary Education Projects, which were undertaken by the Government of Bangladesh with the assistance of the International Development Partners. Nationwide and project level data on student enrollment have been analyzed along with brief description of the projects. It is evident that significant positive results have been achieved from the female education program in Bangladesh. This study especially focuses on the stipend program for the female secondary students and how far it is helpful compared to the economic condition of a rural family of Bangladesh. In September 2000, the UN organization UNFPA, in a report, stated that Bangladesh topped in violence against women. The report also illustrated the situation of female secondary education in a way that "Women's second-class status carries a financial and social cost, and not just for women; men and society, in general, also pay a price." It
highlighted the gender gap in education as a key influence on Gross National Product (GNP), stating that in countries where the ratio of women to men enrolled in primary or secondary school is less than three to four, GNP per capita is roughly 25 per cent lower than elsewhere. The projects under consideration can be better understood and forecast by looking at what happened with its predecessor project known as the Female Education Scholarship Program (FESP) which was funded by USAID during 1982 to 1991. FESP offered similar amount of monthly stipend to secondary school girls. A comprehensive impact study was carried out by the University Research Corporation in Bangladesh. The study concludes that the project is successful in achieving its goals. It is observed a clear upward trend in girls’ enrolment over the past decade than prior to the start of the stipend program. The potential risks and problems associated with the programs have to be identified and actions should be taken accordingly. Attention is required on the on-going debate of the project over eligibility criteria. Girls need to maintain 75 percent attendance rate and obtain at least 45 percent marks on tests in order to continue the stipend. Some voice that these criteria are too stringent. Now the stipend program has been expanded countrywide. Medicine The 18th century witnessed the birth of a vaccine for smallpox; the 19th century ushered in the advent of aspirin; penicillin and the pill transformed the medical landscape of the 20th century. What will the history books regard as the medical milestones of the 21st century? It's too soon to say. But already a number of potentially revolutionary treatments have emerged. Tropical medicine arose from the needs of the colonial era, when infectious diseases such as typhoid were common in all countries, but diseases associated with tropical climates posed special problems for the European colonists. Today, our northern perspective of tropical medicine remains dominated by unfamiliar parasitic and other exotic diseases. In reality, however, medicine in the tropics now concerns the health problems - mainly infectious diseases - of societies that are poor and also have warm climates. Non-clinical tropical medicine sometimes referred to as international health, most often falls within the disciplines of public health and epidemiology. The specialty of tropical medicine originated from the needs of the colonial era and is removed from many of the health care requirements of tropical countries today. Tropical medicine concentrates on parasitic diseases of warm climates, although other infections and diseases related to poverty rather than climate dominate medicine in developing countries challenged by population pressure, civil strife, and migration. In the new century, tropical medicine would best be absorbed into the specialty of infectious diseases, which should incorporate parasitic diseases, travel medicine, and sexually transmitted diseases. Pressing questions for health care and research in developing countries concern the provision of appropriate services for problems such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, sexually transmitted diseases, and injuries. The question of how to provide
appropriate clinical care in resource poor settings for the major causes of morbidity and premature mortality has been neglected by donors, academic institutions, and traditional tropical medicine. Banking In this age of information technology, electronic communication is the cornerstone of a country for its business, every government agency and economy. Modern banks play a pivotal role in promoting economic advancement of a country. Electronic banking is a modern banking system that delivers the new and traditional banking products and services to the customers electronically. Electronic banking systems allow business parties or individual to pay directly or to debit accounts via telecommunication systems. It provides users, working with a home computer attached by network to their bank, with the ability to authorize payments, reconcile accounts, and access a variety of other banking services with the help of ATM (Automated Teller machine), visa card, master card, Q-cash, E-cash, Ready cash, mobile, internet etc. This paper represents the scenario of electronic banking in Bangladesh how it is up surging, makes our country with more state of the art facilities and also highlights some drawbacks and recommendations of overcoming the drawbacks of electronic banking. The terms ‘PC banking’, ‘online banking’, ‘Internet banking’, ‘Telephone banking’ or ‘mobile banking’ refer to a number of ways in which customers can access their banks without having to be physically present at the bank branch. Tele-banking service is provided by phone. To access an account it is required to dial a particular telephone number and there are several options of services. The increasing awareness of the importance of literacy of computer has resulted in increasing use of personal computers through the entire world. Furthermore, incredible plummet of cost of microprocessor has accelerated the use of computer. The term ‘PC banking’ is used for banking business transacted from a customer’s PC. Using the PC banking or home banking now customers can use their personal computers at home or at their office to access their accounts for transactions by subscribing to and dialing into the banks’ Intranet proprietary software system using password. Internet banking would free both bankers and customers of the need for proprietary software to carry on with their online banking transactions. Customer behavior is changing rapidly. Now the financial service is characterized by individuality, independence of time and place and flexibility. There are a total of 49 scheduled public and private banks in the country. Here there are four state owned commercial banks (Nationalized Commercial Banks- NCBs) have 3496 branches, five specialized banks (DFIs) have 1311 branches, 30 local private commercial banks (Private Commercial Banks-PCBs) have branches of the scheduled banks in the country. The banking system of our country, depending on computerization can be classified into three categories: Completely computerized, partially computerized and not computerized. Standard Chartered Grind lays Bank Ltd. City Bank NA, American Express Bank; HSBC etc. are completely computerized banks in our country. All privates
and state owned banks are partially computerized and not computerized. Sports in Bangladesh Sport in Bangladesh is popular and widespread. The most popular sport in Bangladesh is cricket, Bangladesh being the top 9th team in the world, followed by football (soccer), and kabaddi. Kabaddi is the national sport of Bangladesh. Cricket is a game which has a massive and passionate following in Bangladesh. There is a strong domestic league which on many occasions also saw players from foreign countries gracing the cricket fields of Bangladesh. Bangladesh has got the test status from ICC in 2000, which is a requirement for the countries to play Test cricket. The Bangladesh national cricket team's official logo is Royal Bengal Tiger, by which they are often referred at media. The Cricket-Culture is not at all a new phenomenon in Bangladesh. As elsewhere in the subcontinent, the game itself was first introduced to the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta region by the British rulers nearly two centuries ago. For the better part of the British rule, cricket remained a recreational game for the aristocrats, inaccessible to the common people because of colonial class distinctions and the complicated nature of the game which the locals did not make out so easily. Following the liberation war which ended in Bangladesh gaining independence in 1971, cricket has continued to grow. Football is popular in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is currently ranked 150th in the FIFA ranking. Bangladesh became the 2003 South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) champion. SAFF includes Southern Asian countries and other countries from Asia. The Bangladesh national football team is controlled by the national governing body, the Bangladesh Football Federation, which is a member of the AFC. The side has yet to qualify for a FIFA World Cup tournament. Football in Bangladesh has a huge following which was exemplified when the national team made history in their victory at the South Asian Football Federation Cup in 2003. The South Asia side won the final via penalties over Maldives before 50,000 home supporters. Sport clubs have a significant contribution to the development of sports in the country. Prominent among the clubs of Bangladesh are Abahani Krirachakra, Arambag, Ajax, Azad Sporting, Brothers Union, Dhaka Mohammedan Sporting, Dhaka Wanderers, Dilkusha Sporting, GMCC, Kalabagan, Muktijoddha Sangsad, Rahmatganj, Suryatarun, Victoria Sporting, and Wari. Some of these clubs are reputed for their glorious past while others earned a name by excellent performance at national level at present. Business and Trade Bangladesh has a wide variety of natural and agricultural resources. There are considerably large amounts of coal and gas, hard rock, lime stone and silicone sand in the country and these are important raw materials for many industries. Bangladesh's main industries are cotton, textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizers, sugar and light engineering.
In spite of the large quantities of agricultural resources available, the agro-based industries have not been properly utilized, because of a lack of technology and investment. Even the country's marine recourses are grossly under-exploited. Bangladesh's major trading partners for both imports and exports are the USA, India, Japan, China, Australia, South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and other European countries. Bangladesh's economy depends on the import of both consumer items and industrial raw materials. Bangladesh's major import products are raw cotton, crude petroleum, wheat, oil, seeds, edible oil, petroleum products, fertilizer, yarn, capital goods, staple fibers, iron and steel. The main export items of Bangladesh are tea, leather and leather products, garments, seafood, paper, furnace oil, urea, ceramic products, raw jute and jute products such as Hessian sacking, carpets and carpet backing. The economic growth rate of Bangladesh has been maintained at a around 5% during the past ten years in spite of frequent natural calamities. In 2002 – 2003, the domestic savings rate was about 18.23% and the GDP was $275.7 billion in 2004. In the same year, the annual per capita was US$2000, growth rate 4.9%, industrial growth rate at constant price 6.5%, inflation rate 6% and the investment rate 23.5% of GDP. Bangladesh's main invested sectors are, Service, Textiles, Chemicals, Food and food related industries, glass and ceramics and energy based projects. Crime and Anti-crime To say that Bangladesh is facing a crisis in public order and the rule of law would be an understatement. The violent crime rate—which includes rapes and murders, but also politically motivated assassinations, bombings, acid attacks against women, and the pillaging of entire villages—has never been higher. Bangladesh is getting a reputation as a lawless and violent place abroad. In September 2002, the United Nations issued a voluminous report expressing “mounting concern over the breakdown of law and order in the country.” International donors are threatening to hold foreign aid if the situation is not improved. Soon after the U.N. report was released, the World Bank representative to the country declared there was a “high level of human insecurity in the country and an ‘anti-poor’ criminal justice system,” and warned that the deterioration of law and order now poses the greatest threat to the country’s continued development. Even more serious for a country traditionally regarded by the West as “a moderate Muslim nation,” is that many Western civil-society groups and media outlets have recently warned that the country is home to growing Islamist extremism. Amnesty International and other human-rights organizations have charged that the government has been persecuting religious minorities, which tend to favor the opposition Awami League. Two Dow Jones publications, The Wall Street Journal and the Hong Kong-based Far Eastern Economic Review, have run a series of reports questioning whether Bangladesh
is becoming the next “Cocoon of Terror” (to use the Far Eastern Economic Review’s headline). Last week the Indian government claimed to have conclusive proof that Pakistan’s intelligence service is funding Al-Qaeda operations out of Bangladesh to support insurgents on India’s northeastern border. Between January and October 2005, an estimated 300 'criminal' civilians died due to 'encounter' killings, at the hands of law enforcement agencies and the RAB. Human rights groups have recorded many of these killings, and have demanded that each death be investigated, but the government has refused to meet these requests. The government has defended RAB for having cut serious crime by fifty percent, and have, as of 2006, dismissed international condemnation of RAB against whom the European Parliament have issued a strong resolution[6]by saying that 'encounter killings' happen all over the world. In January 2004, the government succumbed to an ultimatum from their coalition partner, the Islami Okiya Jote, and the extremist vigilante Khatme Nabuwat Movement to declare that Ahmadi Muslims are "not" Muslims [12]. Not wishing to lose its majority, Ahmadiyya publications were declared illegal by the government. There have been many reports of Hindus having been evicted from their properties, and of Hindu girls being raped, but the police have refused to investigate, to this point. Due to this climate of religious persecution, several hundred thousand Buddhists, Hindus and Christians have left the country. Conclusion Bangladesh is a new state in an ancient land. It has been described by an American political scientist as "a country challenged by contradictions". On the face of it, the recent twists and turns of her history are often inconsistent. It is neither a distinct geographical entity, nor a well-defined historical unit. Nevertheless, it is the homeland of the ninth largest nation in the world whose groping’s for a political identity were protracted, intense and agonizing. The key to these apparent contradictions lies in her history. 21st century is very important for Bangladesh. Though Bangladesh is a developing country, she has to be more developing in education, agriculture, business, trade, politics, sports, banking, importing, exporting and many other sectors. Then the world will be noticed Bangladesh as a developed country. References •
Karmakar, S. (1989). Natural Disasters in Bangladesh: A Statistical Review. Paper presented at the Seminar on Impact of Information towards Mitigation of Natural Disasters, held on January 7-8, 1989 at BANSDOC. Dhaka, Bangladesh.
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Electronic banking from a prudential supervisory perspective.(2000,December). Deutsche Bundesbank Monthly Report.
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Islam, Monirul (March 06, 2005) “Proposed ICT infrastructure for E-banking in Bangladesh”.
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Hossain, Mahabub, “Rural Non-farm Economy of Bangladesh: A Review from Household Surveys”, Paper presented at the CPD dialogue on Promoting Rural Non-farm Economy: Is Bangladesh Doing Enough? 2002.
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Asseid, B., Bakari, A., Mattee, A., and Garforth, C., “Demand assessment for onfarm natural resource management technologies in semi-arid areas of Tanzania: A case of Hombolo and Ilula villages”, Project technical report for research project R7537. Morogoro, Tanzania: Sokoine Centre for Sustainable Rural Development, Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2001