Chapter 4

The Land and its People

Bengal is the world's largest aggregate of deltaic land. This geographical factor, combined with the climate, isolated Bengal for centuries, protected its individuality and influenced its political and cultural character.

The alluvial river plains that dominate 90% of Bangladesh are very flat and the country has no mountains or deserts. It has some wooded marshland and jungles, some fast-disappearing forests, a few hilly areas and a narrow sandy coast that reaches the southernmost tip of the country at Teknaf, bordering Myanmar. Annual flooding during the monsoon is normal and silt that comes with it enriches the soil. However, every few years the country experiences excessive and destructive floods, and is also hit by devastating cyclones, both of which cause enormous loss and suffering.

The climate of Bangladesh is both tropical and sub-tropical and this has given rise to a great variety of flora and fauna. It is a land of trees and of an incredible variety of flowers and wild orchids. It is home to the Royal Bengal tiger, leopards, the Indian civet, elephants, many other animals, all types of reptiles and marine life, and over 650 species of birds.

People, Culture and Religion

Bangladesh has been a melting pot of people and cultures for a very long time. People from Myanmar and the Himalayas, the Dravidian and invading Aryan, made up the first blend. These were followed by Arabs who were Muslim missionaries, Muslim and European traders, then by the Moghuls coming from central Asia bringing trade, scholarship and culture.

The majority of the population today are Muslims, with the Hindus being those with racial origins in the Deccan plateau. the original tribal people who live in the hilly regions of Mymensingh and Sylhet, in the urban areas of Chittagong and Cox's Bazar, and in the Chittagong Hill Tracts still exist. Some of them are Buddhists, some still practise animism, others converted to Christianity. The Muslims and Hindus have a cultural affinity with each other and speak Bangla, whereas the Buddhists have their distinct culture and dialects related mainly to Myanmar and the tribal culture of Eastern India. Apart from some of the tribal people, there are other Christian communities, like those descended from the Portuguese, who still retain the names of their ancestors and are English-speakers. Within the broad racial group of the plains, there are also some sub-groups such as the river gypsies. 

In 1202, when the Muslim era began, Bengal's individuality continued to assert itself. The form of Islam practised here was peculiarly attuned to its cultural character and ancient heritage, and different from the rest of Northern India. Sufism, Islam's mystic thread, struck a responsive chord in the mass of Bengal's population whether Buddhists, low-caste Hindus or Muslims. For the Muslims, Sufism provided a way of revitalising the message of Islam and for the others, it appealed to their yearning for union with God. Sufism evolved primarily as a legacy of Iranian influence upon Islamic orthodoxy. There were three orders of Sufi saints who came to Bengal by the thirteenth century - the Chishti, Suhrawardi and the Firdawsi. The wandering Sufi preachers went into Bengla's remote villages to bring their message of divine love to impoverished peasants. A unique aspect of Bengali life had been the growth of a resilient mysticism, drawing its basic inspiration from the inner messages of all the dominant religions. This fervent love of God that had chracterised Bengali religious consciousness from time immemorial, predisposed millions to the ardent appeal of Islamic mysticism and even today the creations of mystic poets and singers continue to enthrall and captivate the population.

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