A History of Bangladesh

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

Willem van Schendel served as Professor of Modern Asian History at the University of Amsterdam.