Islam reached Bengal (now Bangladesh) through Arab traders and preachers in the 8th century CE. It is believed that the first mosque in Bengal was built in Gour, now located in West Bengal, during the Delhi Sultanate era (1206-1320 CE). Islam quickly spread in Bengal under the rule of the Delhi Sultanate and the Bengal Sultanate (1352-1576 CE), and today, Muslims constitute more than 90% of the country's population.
There is material evidence of Islam's arrival in Bangladesh in the first century AH. In Kurigram district, remnants of an old mosque and Islamic inscriptions dated to 69 AH were found. Additionally, a coin bearing the name of the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid dated to 172 AH was discovered in Paharpur, Rajshahi district, and another coin in the name of one of his successors, Abu Ahmad Abdullah al-Mustansir Billah, was found in Mainamati, Comilla district. (1)
A Prominent Location with Abundant Resources
Bangladesh today is a relatively small country in South Asia but densely populated. It is bordered by India to the west, north, and east, and Myanmar (Burma) to the southeast. The total area of the country is 148,460 square kilometers, with a population exceeding 171 million. Bangladesh has the highest number of rivers per square kilometer in the world. According to the Ministry of Environment and Forests in Bangladesh, there are approximately 230 rivers in the country: 7 major rivers, 80 medium-sized rivers, and 149 small rivers, (2) with over 15% of its land covered by forests.
Bangladesh is a major producer of jute, sugarcane, and cotton, with an annual production exceeding 1.5 million metric tons of jute and 2.5 million metric tons of cotton. (3) It is also a leading tea producer, with an annual production of over 60 million kilograms. (4)
The Partition of Bengal
Until 1858, Bengal was a single province. However, in an effort to divide the region, Britain partitioned it in 1905 into East Bengal (now Bangladesh) and West Bengal (a province in present-day India, covering 88,752 square kilometers). During the British colony, Bangladesh experienced significant economic, social, and cultural changes. The Bengali language and culture were suppressed, and British administrators imposed Western-style educational and administrative systems.
The decision to partition Bengal into western and eastern regions in 1905 led to a revolution due to rising nationalist sentiments, prompting Britain to reverse the decision in 1911. However, West Bengal was separated again in 1947, but this time for good, when India was partitioned into two states, India and Pakistan.
The Grand Conspiracy
The scenario of Britain's exit from India was clear as the British Empire handed over the reins to the American Empire. It was also evident that Britain could not leave a country like India, where Muslims formed a majority and wielded significant influence. Hence, plans were made to isolate Muslims from the rest of the country, under the pretense of independence.
Muslims were aware of this grand scheme, but Britain had prepared scenarios for separation: engineered sectarian strife, premeditated massacres of Muslims, and agents to deceive the Muslim masses into believing that separation was the solution. And so it was.
Muslims in the Indian subcontinent number nearly half of the population, making up over 30% of the world's Muslim population. This large concentration of Muslims necessitated a diabolical plan to detach India from the Islamic world and scatter Indian Muslims across several countries under the pretext of independence.
Wise Muslim leaders and scholars were against the partition. The Deobandi school of thought's Muslims criticized the idea of creating Pakistan, viewing it as a conspiracy by the colonial government to prevent the establishment of a strong, unified Indian state. They helped organize the All India Azad Muslim Conference (5) and argued that the economic development of Muslims would suffer if India were divided. They saw the partition as a design to keep Muslims behind.
However, Britain had prepared Muhammad Ali Jinnah, an Ismaili, to deceive the Muslim masses who were facing an engineered sectarian civil war fueled by Britain. Pakistan separated from India, initially including Bangladesh as East Pakistan.
The Separation of Pakistan from India
In 1947, Pakistan was formed, led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, an Ismaili, as the head of state, and Liaquat Ali Khan, a Shia, as prime minister. Liaquat Ali, a long-time British loyalist along with his family before him, held various ministerial positions in British India, including defense and finance, and served as the Minister of Commonwealth and Kashmir Affairs in 1940, before India's independence.
The policies of Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan sowed the seeds of separation. They insisted on imposing the Urdu language on Bangladesh and marginalizing the Bengali language. Despite constituting 55% of the state's population, Bangladesh had limited representation in the Pakistani government. This was coupled with stark economic disparities and the dominance of the Western part of the country (current Pakistan) over the entire state.
The Separation of Bangladesh
On December 7, 1970, the Awami League, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, won a grand victory in the Pakistani general elections, securing 167 out of 169 seats. Bangladesh, which was called eastern Pakistan, was a part of the united Pakistan. Therefore, this victory guaranteed his party the right to form the government of united Pakistan. However, the central government in Pakistan, led by General Yahya Khan, had other plans.
General Yahya Khan, who became the President of Pakistan, refused to allow Mujibur Rahman to form the government, which became the tipping point. Massive demonstrations erupted in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), demanding separation. After failed negotiations to resolve the constitutional crisis, Mujibur Rahman, supported by India, declared the independence of Bangladesh on March 26, 1971.
In December 1971, India intervened militarily, occupying Bangladesh and handing it over to Mujibur Rahman as the first Prime Minister of Bangladesh. But did Bangladesh then move from hardship to the promised prosperity under the Awami League led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman?
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- Islam in the Bengal region and present-day Bangladesh, Muhammad Fazlur Rahman, Article published in Al-Majalla Al-Arabia, Vol. 6, p.3, 2001, Arabic Department, Dhaka University, Bangladesh.
- Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of Bangladesh, 2020, Rivers of Bangladesh.
- Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (2020).
- Ibid, Agricultural Statistics in Bangladesh (2020).
- The Indian Year Book, Bennett, Coleman & Company, 1942, p. 866.
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