A History of Bangladesh

A revised and updated edition of Willem van Schendel's state-of-the-art history, revealing the vibrant and colourful past of Bangladesh.

Willem van Schendel (Author)

9781108462464, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 2 July 2020

456 pages
22.8 x 15.3 x 2.2 cm, 0.75 kg

Bangladesh did not exist as an independent state until 1971. Willem van Schendel's state-of-the-art history navigates the extraordinary twists and turns that created modern Bangladesh through ecological disaster, colonialism, partition, a war of independence and cultural renewal. In this revised and updated edition, Van Schendel offers a fascinating and highly readable account of life in Bangladesh over the last two millennia. Based on the latest academic research and covering the numerous historical developments of the 2010s, he provides an eloquent introduction to a fascinating country and its resilient and inventive people. A perfect survey for travellers, expats, students and scholars alike.

List of Plates
List of Maps and Figures
Acknowledgements
Timeline
Preface to second edition
Introduction
Part I. The Long View
1. A land of water and silt
2. Jungle, fields, cities and states
3. A region of multiple frontiers
4. The delta as a crossroads
Part II. Colonial Encounters
5. From the Mughal empire to the British empire
6. British legacies
7. A closing agrarian frontier
8. Colonial conflicts
9. Towards Partition
10. Partition
11. Population exchange
Part III. Becoming East Pakistan
12. The Pakistan experiment
13. Pakistan falls apart
14. East Pakistani livelihoods
15. The roots of aid dependence
16. A new elite and cultural renewal
Part IV. War and the Birth of Bangladesh
17. Armed conflict
18. A state is born
19. Imagining a new nation
Part V. Independent Bangladesh
20. Shaping a political system
21. The triumph of identity politics
22. Transnational linkages
23. Boom or bust?
24. Gender movements
25. A national culture?
Conclusions
Bangladesh district maps
Key political figures since 1947
Glossary of Bengali terms
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Subject Areas: 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], Asian history [HBJF]