zimfan1 wrote:
eugene wrote:Dumb question here, how did Bangladesh end up predominantly Muslim like Pakistan when it is bordered by India, a largely Hindu nation? Why are Pakistan and Bangladesh more closely linked to each other?
Well Bangladesh and Pakistan were once unfied and were called East Pakistan which i guess explains it but i am sure there are deeper reasons than that.
Independence and the Partition of India in 1947 along religious lines (followed by mass migration) have led to a more homogenous make-up of the respective populations.
What is now Pakistan has been predominantly Muslim ever since the first Arab conquests in the 8th century. When Muslim rulers invaded India from the 13th century onwards, and founded Muslim dynasties there, Islam took a foothold (especially in the north which was first invaded) which was particularly strong in what was then the Sultanate of Bengal (later on part of the Mughal Empire). The region's strong medieval ties with Arabia through trade might also explain why the Muslim population in East Bengal ended up proportionally bigger than that of, say, Delhi, before 1947. But I'm not well-versed enough in the region's history to tell for sure.
That's my short take on a much more complex history. Now over to my Bangladeshi and Indian friends :)