Historical Dictionary of Bangladesh

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With a population of some 130 million, Bangladesh is both one of the largest countries in the world as well as an important Islamic nation. Often referred to as an economic basket case, in recent times Bangladesh has radical Islam as an additional factor to contend with. The Historical Dictionary of Bangladesh spans the country’s periods under various regimes, its incorporation into India and Pakistan, and then from 1971 its independence and identity as a state in its own right. Thus, there are obvious challenges in writing a historical dictionary of Bangladesh, this handy reference volume has achieved precisely that. The book focuses especially on the modern state of Bangladesh which explored most intensively. The book contains hundreds of entries in an easy-to-refer A-to-Z format, spanning Bangladesh’s history, politics, economy, society, its religious traditions, culture and the country’s important people in a succinct and balanced manner. The rich mine of information is placed in context by an over-arching introduction and a detailed chronology. An extensive bibliography offers further guidance for those seeking to study different aspects of Bangladesh in greater detail. This book is a compact but highly informative ready-reference resource for scholars and students, political scientists and commentators, journalists, diplomats, regional analysts and the enquiring travelers. It offers both solid background and a perspective for a better understanding of a country which remains one of the poorest of the world’s nations and one where an embattled democracy and a tenuous market economy are struggling to take root and where radical Islam too is now emerging as a serious factor.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Craig Baxter

Craig Baxter (Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania) is professor of politics and history emeritus at Juniata College. He was an officer in the Foreign Service of the United States, 1956-1980, with several posts in South Asia, including Dhaka. He was a visiting faculty member at the United States Military Academy, 1971-1974. He is the author of several books on South Asia including Bangladesh: A New Nation in an Old Setting (1984) and Bangladesh: From a Nation to a State (1997), and is the co-author of Government and Politics in South Asia (Fifth edition, 2002). He has also published a number of articles and chapters in edited works. He was president of the American Institute of Bangladesh Studies, 1989-1998 and he was named Distinguished Asianist by the Mid-Atlantic Region of the Association for Asian Studies in 2002.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Syedur Rahman

Syedur Rahman (Ph.D., Syracuse University) is co-ordinator of the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program and Research Associate at the Institute for Policy Research and Evaluation at the Pennsylvania State University, USA. His articles on Bangladesh include "Political Boundary Building in Bangladesh", "Issues and Agenda for Regional Cooperation in South Asia" (with Robert LaPorte, Jr.) and "The Bangladesh Military and Economic Development" (with Craig Baxter). He has also served as a consultant with the United Nations Development Program on reform of the Bangladesh civil service and on local government. His research interests are in public administration, local government, and policy analysis and evaluation. He has been president of the American Institute of Bangladesh Studies since 1998.