Comprehensive Vocabulary Flashcards – Bangladesh Geography, History & General Knowledge

120 vocabulary-style flashcards covering key geographical, historical, economic and cultural terms from the provided lecture transcript.

Bangladesh – Geographical Location

A South Asian country situated between 20°34′N–26°38′N latitude and 88°01′E–92°41′E longitude; in both the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres.

Siliguri Corridor (Chicken’s Neck)

A 22–27 km wide Indian land strip whose proximity to Bangladesh makes the latter strategically important for India’s security and connectivity to its northeast.

Bay of Bengal

Northern extension of the Indian Ocean forming Bangladesh’s southern maritime boundary and host to ports like Payra and Matarbari.

Land Boundary Agreement 2015

Historic India-Bangladesh treaty that exchanged 162 enclaves, resolving the world’s most complex border puzzle.

Enclave (Chhitmahal)

Territory of one country entirely surrounded by another; 111 Indian enclaves lay in Bangladesh before 2015 and 51 Bangladeshi enclaves in India.

Dahala Khagrabari

The world’s only counter-enclave (an enclave within an enclave) exchanged and dissolved by the 2015 Land Boundary Agreement.

Tropic of Cancer in Bangladesh

23.5° N line crossing Chuadanga, Bogura and Feni districts.

SPARRSO

Space Research and Remote Sensing Organization of Bangladesh, established 1980 for earth-observation and disaster monitoring.

Bangabandhu Satellite-1

Bangladesh’s first communication satellite, launched 12 May 2018; stationed at 119.1° E geostationary orbit.

Köppen Am Climate

Tropical monsoon climate—high rainfall, high humidity, distinct wet/dry seasons—characteristic of Bangladesh.

Sylhet Rainfall

Area receiving Bangladesh’s highest annual precipitation (5,000–6,000 mm).

UNCLOS

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea—global legal framework for maritime zones and disputes.

Territorial Sea

Maritime zone extending 12 nautical miles from a coastal baseline where a state has full sovereignty.

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)

Sea area up to 200 nautical miles granting a state exclusive rights to exploit marine resources.

ITLOS Ruling 2012

International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea decision that settled Bangladesh–Myanmar maritime dispute in Bangladesh’s favour.

GDP (Gross Domestic Product)

Total monetary value of all final goods and services produced within a country over a period.

GNP (Gross National Product)

GDP plus net income earned by residents from abroad; measures output by nationals regardless of location.

GNI (Gross National Income)

GNP plus foreign aid, investment and remittances; viewed as broader indicator of economic welfare.

GDP per Capita

Average economic output per person; calculated as GDP divided by population.

Export Processing Zone (EPZ)

Special industrial area offering incentives to attract foreign direct investment; Chattogram EPZ was Bangladesh’s first.

Korean EPZ (KEPZ)

Bangladesh’s only private EPZ, owned by Youngone Corporation.

Generalized System of Preferences (GSP)

Trade scheme granting reduced-tariff access for developing-country exports to developed markets.

Rana Plaza Collapse 2013

Savar garment-factory disaster killing 1,134 workers; led to U.S. suspension of Bangladesh’s GSP benefits.

Bangladesh Bank

The central bank of Bangladesh, founded 16 Dec 1971; issues currency, sets monetary policy and manages reserves.

Mansabdari System

Akbar’s administrative ranking of Mughal officials based on troop command and salary obligations.

Din-i-Ilahi

Syncretic faith proclaimed by Akbar in 1581 promoting Sulh-i-Kul (universal tolerance).

Inflation

Sustained general rise in prices reducing money’s purchasing power; measured by CPI or WPI.

Demand-Pull Inflation

Price rise caused when aggregate demand exceeds aggregate supply.

Cost-Push Inflation

Inflation driven by increased production costs such as wages or raw materials.

Stagflation

Concurrent high inflation, high unemployment and stagnant growth.

Hyperinflation

Extremely rapid, out-of-control price increases eroding currency value.

Tazreen Fashions Fire 2012

Ashulia garment-factory blaze killing 117 workers; highlighted safety lapses in Bangladesh’s RMG sector.

League of Nations

International organization (1920-46) created after WWI to maintain peace; failed partly due to lack of U.S. membership.

United Nations

Global body founded 1945 with six main organs, headquartered in New York City, to promote peace and cooperation.

Security Council Veto Powers

Special privilege of UN’s five permanent members (U.S., U.K., France, Russia, China) to block substantive resolutions.

Treaty of Versailles 1919

WWI peace treaty that imposed harsh penalties on Germany, sowing resentment leading to WWII.

MAIN Causes of WWI

Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, Nationalism—the four underlying forces that primed Europe for war.

Reparations & Resentment

Key grievance from Versailles that fueled German nationalism and WWII aggression.

Blitzkrieg

German ‘lightning war’ tactic using fast mechanised forces and air power to overwhelm opponents in WWII.

D-Day (6 June 1944)

Allied Normandy landings opening a Western Front against Nazi Germany.

Great Wall of China

21,196 km system of fortifications built chiefly during Qin, Han and Ming dynasties; UNESCO site since 1987.

Treaty of Tordesillas 1494

Papal-mediated accord dividing the non-Christian world between Spain (west) and Portugal (east).

Dutch East India Company (VOC)

Founded 1602, first multinational corporation and pioneer of joint-stock trading; dominated Asian maritime trade.

Silk Road

Ancient overland trade network linking China with Mediterranean markets, facilitating cultural and economic exchange.

Pax Mongolica

13th-14th-century era of stability across Eurasia under Mongol rule, boosting trade and ideas movement.

Stone Age – Paleolithic

Old Stone Age period (until ~10,000 BCE) characterised by hunter-gatherers and chipped-stone tools.

Mesolithic Age

Middle Stone Age (~10,000–8,000 BCE) featuring microlithic tools and transitional economy toward farming.

Neolithic Revolution

Shift to agriculture and settled life (~8,000 BCE), ushering pottery, weaving and domestication of plants/animals.

Chalcolithic Age

Copper Age introducing metal tools alongside stone implements before widespread bronze use.

Bronze Age

Period (~3300 BCE onward) marked by bronze metallurgy, urbanization and early writing systems.

Iron Age

Era beginning ~1200 BCE when cheaper iron tools spread, expanding agriculture and warfare capacity.

River Valley Civilizations

Earliest urban societies in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus and China centred on fertile river basins.

Cuneiform

Wedge-shaped script of ancient Mesopotamia, one of the world’s earliest writing systems (~3200 BCE).

Harappa & Mohenjo-Daro

Major Indus Valley cities known for grid planning, drainage and standardized bricks (~2600–1900 BCE).

Oracle Bones

Shang-dynasty Chinese artifacts used for divination, bearing earliest Chinese writing (~1200 BCE).

Great Wall – Qin Shi Huang

First emperor who joined earlier walls (~221–206 BCE) initiating unified defence line using rammed earth.

Charyapada

Oldest extant Bengali literary work (8th–12th c.) composed by Siddhacharya monks in Abahatta language.

Magadhi Prakrit

Middle Indo-Aryan language of ancient Magadha that evolved into Bengali, Oriya and Maithili.

Bangla Renaissance

19th-century intellectual revival in Bengal led by reformers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Vidyasagar.

Kulīnpratha

Social hierarchy system for Brahmins, Kayasthas and Vaidyas instituted by Sena ruler Ballala Sena.

Mauryan Empire

India’s first pan-subcontinental empire (322–185 BCE) founded by Chandragupta Maurya with capital Pataliputra.

Ashoka’s Kalinga Edicts

Inscriptions proclaiming Buddhist conversion and moral governance after bloody Kalinga War (261 BCE).

Arthashastra

Chanakya’s treatise on statecraft, economics and military strategy guiding Mauryan administration.

Gupta Golden Age

Era (~320–550 CE) of Indian advances in science, art and mathematics under Gupta emperors.

Navaratnas

‘Nine Gems’ of Chandragupta II’s court, including poet Kalidasa and astronomer Aryabhata.

Pala Dynasty

Buddhist rulers of Bengal (756–1161 CE) who founded Nalanda-linked monasteries like Somapura Mahavihara.

Kaivarta Rebellion

11th-century Varendra peasant uprising against oppressive Pala taxation, suppressed by Ramapala.

Sena Dynasty

Orthodox Hindu rulers (1095–1204 CE) of Bengal known for Sanskrit patronage and Kulīnpratha system.

Bakhtiyar Khalji

Turkish general whose 1204 conquest of Nabadwip ended Sena power and initiated Muslim rule in Bengal.

Delhi Sultanate

Series of Muslim dynasties (1206–1526) ruling northern India before Mughal era.

Iltutmish

Third ruler of Delhi Sultanate; secured Caliph’s investiture, introduced Tanka silver coin and Iqtadari system.

Razia Sultana

Only female ruler of Delhi (1236–40); overthrown by nobles unwilling to accept woman on throne.

Alauddin Khalji

Delhi Sultan (1296–1316) famed for market regulation, southern campaigns and Mongol repulsions.

Muhammad bin Tughlaq

Sultan noted for ambitious but disastrous capital shift to Daulatabad and token copper currency.

Timur’s Invasion 1398

Turco-Mongol conqueror’s sack of Delhi, crippling Tughlaq power and leading to Sayyid dynasty rise.

Ilyas Shahi Dynasty

First long-lasting independent Bengal Sultanate (1342–1414) uniting the region under Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah.

Hussain Shah

Bengal Sultan (1493–1519) whose tolerant reign is seen as Bengal’s ‘Golden Age’ of culture.

Baro Bhuiyans

Confederation of 12 influential Zamindars (late 16th c.) resisting Mughal annexation of Bengal.

Isa Khan

Foremost Baro Bhuiyan leader controlling Dhaka–Bhairab region; famed river-fort defence.

Islam Khan Chishti

Mughal Subadar who subdued Baro Bhuiyans and renamed Dhaka ‘Jahangirnagar’ (1610).

Shaista Khan

Aurangzeb’s uncle; Subadar who captured Chattogram (1666) and expanded Dhaka architecture (Lalbagh Fort).

First Battle of Panipat 1526

Fight where Babur’s artillery defeated Ibrahim Lodi, founding Mughal Empire.

Second Battle of Panipat 1556

Engagement where Akbar’s regent Bairam Khan defeated Hemu, re-establishing Mughal control.

Third Battle of Panipat 1761

Bloody clash where Ahmad Shah Abdali crushed Marathas, halting their northward expansion.

Mansur ‘Fatwa-i-Alamgiri’

Comprehensive Hanafi legal digest compiled under Aurangzeb’s supervision.

Lalbagh Fort

Unfinished 17th-century Mughal fort complex in Dhaka begun by Prince Azam and developed by Shaista Khan.

Grand Trunk Road

Ancient highway modernised by Sher Shah Suri, linking Bengal to Kabul (~2,500 km).

Surma – Kushiara Rivers

Two branches whose confluence forms the Meghna; vital to northeastern Bangladesh.

Teesta River

Himalayan-origin river flowing through Sikkim/North Bengal into Bangladesh; subject of India–Bangladesh water talks.

Chittagong Hill Tracts

Southeastern hilly region bordering Myanmar; includes Bandarban and Rangamati.

Dhaka City Corporations

Two municipal bodies—North & South—governing Bangladesh’s capital; part of 13 national city corporations.

Digital Census 2022

Bangladesh’s first fully computerised population survey recording 165.15 million inhabitants.

Beringia Land Bridge

Pleistocene ice-age land connection allowing human migration from Asia to the Americas (~20–15 kya).

Sapta Sindhu

‘Land of Seven Rivers’ region in Rig Veda, early Aryan settlement including parts of Punjab.

Angkor Wat

World’s largest religious monument; Khmer temple built by Suryavarman II (12th c.).

Pax Mongolica

Period of Eurasian stability and trade under Mongol rule (13th–14th c.).

Qutb Minar

Early 13th-century Delhi minaret begun by Qutbuddin Aibak, completed by Iltutmish.

Peacock Throne

Opulent jeweled Mughal seat commissioned by Shah Jahan; looted by Nadir Shah (1739).

Foguo Ji

Faxian’s ‘Record of Buddhist Kingdoms’ describing Gupta-era India (early 5th c.).

Tuzk-i-Baburi

Autobiography of Babur detailing his life and early Mughal conquests.