Taj Hashmi is a Bangladeshi academic and writer. He is a professor at the Austin Peay State University. [1]
Hashmi was born in 1948 in Assam, British India. [2] He did his bachelor's degree and masters at the University of Dhaka in Islamic History and Culture. [2] He did his PhD at the University of Western Australia in Modern South Asian History. [2]
From 1972 to 1981, Hashmi taught at the University of Dhaka. [2] He also taught at the University of Chittagong. [3] From 1987 to 1988, Hashmi taught at the Curtin University. [2] From 1989 to 1998, he taught at the National University of Singapore. [2]
Hashmi taught at the University of British Columbia from 2003 to 2004. [2] He taught at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies of the U.S. Department of Defense. [2]
Hashmi is a lecturer of security studies at the Austin Peay State University. [2] He is an editorial board member of Contemporary South Asia. [2] He is also an editorial board member of the Journal of South Asian Studies. [2]
Hashmi joined the Dhaka Tribune as a columnist in September 2024. [3]
Hashmi lives in Toronto, Canada. [3]
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world and among the most densely populated with a population of 170 million in an area of 148,460 square kilometres (57,320 sq mi). Bangladesh shares land borders with India to the north, west, and east, and Myanmar to the southeast. To the south, it has a coastline along the Bay of Bengal. To the north, it is separated from Bhutan and Nepal by the Siliguri Corridor, and from China by the mountainous Indian state of Sikkim. Dhaka, the capital and largest city, is the nation's political, financial, and cultural centre. Chittagong is the second-largest city and the busiest port. The official language is Bengali, with Bangladeshi English also used in government.
The history of Bangladesh dates back over four millennia to the Chalcolithic period. The region's early history was characterized by a succession of Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms and empires that fought for control over the Bengal region. Islam arrived in the 8th century and gradually became dominant from the early 13th century with the conquests led by Bakhtiyar Khalji and the activities of Sunni missionaries like Shah Jalal. Muslim rulers promoted the spread of Islam by building mosques across the region. From the 14th century onward, Bengal was ruled by the Bengal Sultanate, founded by Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah, who established an individual currency. The Bengal Sultanate expanded under rulers like Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah, leading to economic prosperity and military dominance, with Bengal being referred to by Europeans as the richest country to trade with. The region later became a part of the Mughal Empire, and according to historian C. A. Bayly, it was probably the empire's wealthiest province.
Dhaka, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh. It is the ninth-largest and eighth-most densely populated city in the world with a density of 23,234 people per square kilometer within a total area of approximately 300 square kilometers. Dhaka is a megacity, and has a population of 10.2 million residents as of 2024, and a population of over 23.9 million residents in Dhaka Metropolitan Area. It is widely considered to be the most densely populated built-up urban area in the world. Dhaka is the most important cultural, economic, and scientific hub of Eastern South Asia, as well as a major Muslim-majority city. Dhaka ranks third in South Asia and 39th in the world in terms of GDP. Lying on the Ganges Delta, it is bounded by the Buriganga, Turag, Dhaleshwari and Shitalakshya rivers. Dhaka is also the largest Bengali-speaking city in the world.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, popularly known by the honorific prefix Bangabandhu was a Bangladeshi politician, revolutionary, statesman, activist and diarist, who is considered the founding leader of Bangladesh. As the leader of Bangladesh, he had held continuous positions either as Bangladesh's president or as its prime minister from April 1971 until his assassination in August 1975. His nationalist ideology, socio-political theories, and political doctrines are collectively known as Mujibism.
Barisal Division is one of the eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh. Located in the south-central part of the country, it has an area of 13,225 km2 (5,106 sq mi), and a population of 9,325,820 at the 2022 Census. It is the least populous Division in Bangladesh. It is bounded by Dhaka Division on the north, the Bay of Bengal on the south, Chittagong Division on the east and Khulna Division on the west. The administrative capital, Barisal city, lies in the Padma River delta on an offshoot of the Arial Khan River. Barisal division is criss-crossed by numerous rivers that earned it the nickname Dhan-Nodi-Khal, Ei tin-e Borishal.
The Bengali language movement was a political movement in former East Bengal in 1952, advocating the recognition of the Bengali language as a co-lingua franca of the then-Dominion of Pakistan to allow its use in government affairs, the continuation of its use as a medium of education, its use in media, currency and stamps, and to maintain its writing in the Bengali script.
Banglapedia:theNational Encyclopedia of Bangladesh is the first Bangladeshi encyclopedia. It is available in print, CD-ROM format and online, in both Bengali and English. The print version comprises fourteen 500-page volumes. The first edition was published in January 2003 in ten volumes by the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. with a plan to update it every two years. The second edition was issued in 2012 in fourteen volumes.
Hinduism is the second largest religion in Bangladesh, as according to the 2022 Census of Bangladesh, approximately 13.1 million people responded that they were Hindus, constituting 7.95% out of the total population of 165.15 million people. In terms of population, Bangladesh is the third-largest Hindu populated country of the world, after the neighboring countries of India and Nepal. Hinduism is the second-largest religion in 61 out of 64 districts of Bangladesh, but there is no Hindu majority district in Bangladesh.
Sonargaon is a historic city in central Bangladesh. It corresponds to the Sonargaon Upazila of Narayanganj District in Dhaka Division.
Ahmed Sharif was an educationist, philosopher, critic, writer and scholar of medieval Bengali literature. He is recognized as one of the most outspoken atheists and radical thinkers of Bangladesh.
Bengalis, also rendered as endonym Bangalee, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of South Asia. The population is divided between the sovereign country Bangladesh and the Indian regions of West Bengal, Tripura, Barak Valley, Goalpara, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and parts of Meghalaya, Manipur and Jharkhand. Most speak Bengali, a language from the Indo-Aryan language family. Sub-section 2 of Article 6 of the Constitution of Bangladesh states, "The people of Bangladesh shall be known as Bengalis as a nation and as Bangladeshis as citizens."
Dhaka (Dacca) is a modern megacity with origins dating to circa the 7th century CE. The history of Dhaka begins with the existence of urbanised settlements that were ruled by the Hindu Gauda Kingdom, Buddhist and Shaivite Pala Empire before passing to the control of the Hindu Sena dynasty in the 10th century CE. After the Sena dynasty, the city was ruled by the Hindu Deva Dynasty.
Ataur Rahman Khan was a Bangladeshi lawyer, politician and writer, who served as the chief minister of East Pakistan from 1 September 1956 – March 1958, and as the prime minister of Bangladesh from 30 March 1984 to 1 January 1985.
The Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defence Party is a paramilitary auxiliary force responsible for the preservation of internal security and law enforcement in Bangladesh. It is administered by the Ministry of Home Affairs of the government of Bangladesh. It has 6 million active and reserved members. It is the largest paramilitary force in the world.
The University of Dhaka also known as Dhaka University or DU is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in Bangladesh.
The Dhaka Tribune is a major Bangladeshi English-language daily newspaper based in Dhaka, the country's capital and largest city. It also operates an online portal known as the Bangla Tribune. The newspaper has a strong readership in Bangladeshi cities, particularly among the young generation, the diplomatic community, and expatriates; as well as a wide readership in South Asia and internationally. The newspaper is notable for its highly diverse op-ed content, with contributions from leading Bangladeshi, South Asian and international columnists.
Ashrafuddin Ahmad Chowdhury was a Bengali politician who had served as general secretary of the Congress Party's Bengal branch, member of the East Bengal Legislative Assembly and later as the education minister of Pakistan. He was an advocate of Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy's United Bengal proposal.
Dhakaiya Urdu, sometimes unofficially and mythically concocted referred to as Sobbasi Language or Khosbasi Language, is a distinct Bengalinized dialect of Urdu that is native to Old Dhaka beside Dhakaiya Kutti a dialect of Bangla, in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is being spoken by the city's Sobbas community, Khusbas community, Nawab Family, other native communities such as Shia community and aristocratic families. Sobbasi / Khosbasi is not the name of any language but the adjective and identifies some communities as referred by Hakim Habibur Rahman in Dhaka Pachas Baras Pahle. The usage of this language is gradually declining due to negative perceptions following it being forced upon the people of erstwhile East Bengal. However, at present, with the patronage and sole efforts of the cultural and social activists of the Dhakaiya Urdu language group, Dhakaiya Urdu is rapidly blossoming and expanding again.Today, Dhakaiya Urdu is one of the two dialects of Urdu spoken in Bangladesh; the other one being the Urdu spoken by the Biharis and Stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh.
Abul Fayez Muhammad Khalid Hossain is a Bangladeshi Islamic scholar and currently serves as the Adviser for Religious Affairs in the Yunus interim government since 8 August 2024. His appointment marks the first time an Islamic scholar has held this advisory role in Bangladesh. He is also the Vice President of Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh and serves as the Education Adviser for Islami Andolan Bangladesh. He previously held the position of President of Islami Chhatra Samaj, the student wing of the Nizam-e-Islam Party. In academia, he is a visiting professor at the International Islamic University Chittagong and has previously served as an adjunct professor at the Asian University of Bangladesh. He was also the head of the Department of Islamic History and Culture at Omargani M.E.S. College. His editorial roles include serving as the editor of the monthly journal At-Tawheed and assistant editor of Balagh al-Sharq. He serves as a columnist for four national newspapers and has authored over two hundred research articles in a range of journals, including The Muslim World League Journal. He has published 20 books and was a key figure in editing volumes 3 to 9 of the second edition of the Islami Bishwakosh and the Sirat Encyclopedia, both published by the Islamic Foundation Bangladesh.
Izzatullah Bengali was an 18th-century Bengali author who wrote in the Persian language.