It’s raining, I’m finished with classes, and yet I continue to nerd out. Here it is you history buffs: Chittagong’s population is just over 2.5 million and its area is 71.4 square miles. A port city on the Bay of Bengal, Chittagong is home to diverse ethnicities. Bangladeshi and Tibeto-Burman populations are the main ethnicities, and persons of Arab, Mughal, and Afghan backgrounds as well as descendants of Portuguese settlers live in Chittagong. The Chittagong Hill Tracts (13,180 square km) is the main hill-intensive region of Bangladesh (a Chinese Buddhist monk traversed these hills during the Tang dynasty and the practice of Buddhism remains today). Abu-Lughod would probably depict Chittagong as an important trading location that facilitated the increase and spread of human, economic, and social capital in the region and beyond during the 13th century. The city has been occupied by Portuguese and Magh pirates and the Mughals in the 16th and 17th centuries, and the British during their rule in SE Asia (1858-1947). A teacher by the name Surya Sen led the anti-British movement in Chittagong during the 1920’s and was subsequently silenced in 1933. Chittagong was a military base for the Allied Powers during WWII. The Japanese attacked Patenga in 1942 (I’m standing with my roommate on Patenga beach in the photo). Australian and American forces joined the British in Chittagong, and some claim that the British are to blame for the famine of 1943. The British forced locals to join the army, and I’m guessing this resulted in the famine-- hunger, sickness, and death. Chittagong became a part of East Pakistan after the partition of India in August 1947. The Bangladesh Liberation War from March 26, 1971 to December 16, 1971 was the war between East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan. West Pakistan launched an operation in East Pakistan against the Bengali military and civilians who wanted independence from West Pakistan. Civilians, armed groups, and the Bengali military formed the Mukti Bahini "Liberation Army” and used tactics of guerilla warfare against West Pakistan. India sided with the Mukti Bahini and military conflict ensued on the western border of India (hence, the start of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971); the Mukti Bahini and the Indian army defeated West Pakistani forces in December 1971 and Bangladesh was established. Chittagong is famous because it was where Major Ziaur Rahman declared independence on March 27, 1971. Under rehabilitation and reconstruction programs, Chittagong recovered and became operational within a few years. And, nerd time has run out. No, I'm not going to cite properly (I'm teaching citations next week). Got my info online, Wikipedia, http://www.muhammadyunus.org/About/chittagong-professor-yunus-hometown/, and for the Buddhist monk, Xuan Zang, http://www.zeenews.com/news269722.html. Yes, please notify me if I have inaccurate information.
Carolina Mommy Moment: I’m a displaced northerner confronting the daily challenges of maintaining a work-life balance as a wife and working mom. Originally from NJ, I’ve lived in Baltimore, Bangladesh, Taiwan, and Los Angeles, but now I call North Carolina home. I am actually doing something with my MA in East Asian Studies (gasp!) and work as a program coordinator for China-related projects (yes, I had to learn Chinese, it is not my native language).
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Chittagong (Jiadagang in Chinese)
It’s raining, I’m finished with classes, and yet I continue to nerd out. Here it is you history buffs: Chittagong’s population is just over 2.5 million and its area is 71.4 square miles. A port city on the Bay of Bengal, Chittagong is home to diverse ethnicities. Bangladeshi and Tibeto-Burman populations are the main ethnicities, and persons of Arab, Mughal, and Afghan backgrounds as well as descendants of Portuguese settlers live in Chittagong. The Chittagong Hill Tracts (13,180 square km) is the main hill-intensive region of Bangladesh (a Chinese Buddhist monk traversed these hills during the Tang dynasty and the practice of Buddhism remains today). Abu-Lughod would probably depict Chittagong as an important trading location that facilitated the increase and spread of human, economic, and social capital in the region and beyond during the 13th century. The city has been occupied by Portuguese and Magh pirates and the Mughals in the 16th and 17th centuries, and the British during their rule in SE Asia (1858-1947). A teacher by the name Surya Sen led the anti-British movement in Chittagong during the 1920’s and was subsequently silenced in 1933. Chittagong was a military base for the Allied Powers during WWII. The Japanese attacked Patenga in 1942 (I’m standing with my roommate on Patenga beach in the photo). Australian and American forces joined the British in Chittagong, and some claim that the British are to blame for the famine of 1943. The British forced locals to join the army, and I’m guessing this resulted in the famine-- hunger, sickness, and death. Chittagong became a part of East Pakistan after the partition of India in August 1947. The Bangladesh Liberation War from March 26, 1971 to December 16, 1971 was the war between East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan. West Pakistan launched an operation in East Pakistan against the Bengali military and civilians who wanted independence from West Pakistan. Civilians, armed groups, and the Bengali military formed the Mukti Bahini "Liberation Army” and used tactics of guerilla warfare against West Pakistan. India sided with the Mukti Bahini and military conflict ensued on the western border of India (hence, the start of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971); the Mukti Bahini and the Indian army defeated West Pakistani forces in December 1971 and Bangladesh was established. Chittagong is famous because it was where Major Ziaur Rahman declared independence on March 27, 1971. Under rehabilitation and reconstruction programs, Chittagong recovered and became operational within a few years. And, nerd time has run out. No, I'm not going to cite properly (I'm teaching citations next week). Got my info online, Wikipedia, http://www.muhammadyunus.org/About/chittagong-professor-yunus-hometown/, and for the Buddhist monk, Xuan Zang, http://www.zeenews.com/news269722.html. Yes, please notify me if I have inaccurate information.
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2 comments:
Great stories. As an anthropologist who spend a lot of time working or doing fieldwork in strange places, i can really empathize. My idol of course is Dr. Mario D. Zamora, your grandfather. He did his fieldwork for his dissertation in Uttar Pradesh. I did mine in Mindoro among the Mangyan, mountain dwellers, where they are normally topless, including the women. Their staple fare is cassava and plantain bananas. Sometimes, i also dress like them, wearing g-string. I did fieldwork in Laos, Indonesia, Azerbaijan and other parts of Asia when I was older. Its good thing that you can do that at a younger age. Like you, i also took a lot of pictures, with my sturdy Nikon F and Canon AE1. But nowadays we use digital cameras. Cameras then are a lot heavier and with all the lenses I carry, the load is even greater. I hope you have a great time there. Sin embargo, tienes cuidado (nevertheless be careful).
Thanks! Yes, Great Uncle Mario is my hero!
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