Basics Population: 133 million Area: 144,000 square kilometres Currency: Taka (90 taka=£1) Capital: Dhaka History Bangladesh has a fascinating history. Ruins prove that people were living here over 2000 years ago, and it was amazing to stand in those ruins and imagine what people's lives were like then. Originally Bangladesh and Pakistan were both part of India. We know that there was a lot of fighting in the early years, particularly between Hindus and Buddhists. In the 12th century, Muslims took over a lot of north India and started moving south. The whole area was important for trade and became quite rich, so of course the Europeans decided that they had to get in on the act. The Portuguese were first, followed by the British East India Company. This was taken over by the British government in 1857. Many Bangladeshis blame the British for destroying the way the society worked and taking all the wealth from the country. India became independent in 1947 but there was a struggle for control, particularly between Muslims and Hindus. It was decided to divide the country into India (mainly Hindu) and Pakistan (mainly Muslim). This meant that Pakistan was actually made up of 2 halves with a big block of India in the middle! People in East Pakistan generally felt that they were worse off than those in west Pakistan, and when west Pakistan tried to force everyone to speak Urdu, the East decided to push for self government. The war that followed was bloody and brutal, but within 11 days Bangladesh became a new separate country.