Society and Welfare

1. A Homogeneous Society:
It is often said that Bangladesh is a homogeneous society. This word homogenous means having a common decent. In other words, the phrase claims that the people of Bangladesh have come from the same ethnic and racial source. Over the centuries the Muslim population of Bangladesh has intermixed with other people. During the past, many Turks, Persians, Arabs and people of Semitic origin settled in what is now Bangladesh. There are a number of different examples. Many Muslims of the Noakhali and Chittagong districts have slightly hooked noses and sharply chiseled facial features, very similar to the Arabs of Yemen and Oman. In the district of Chittagong, Mymensingh, Tangail, Comilla and Noakhali there are significant numbers of people with light colored eyes. Some have light brown or auburn hair, but fewer have a light complexion. The fair traits may have come from the Turks, Persians, and Pakhutans who once settled in these areas. The various castes of the Hindus who in terms of religion account for around 10% of the population, show racial strains that are from outside Bengal. In the 2% of the population who are not Bengali, there are two different ethnic minority groups. They are: A proto-Australoid group related to the earliest settlers of the sub-continent. They were of very short stature, dark skinned and with rather flattened noses. In Bangladesh they are mainly represented by the Santals and Khasis. The Santals have come from the Chota Nagpur Plateau and were semi-nomadic. A Mongoloid group made up of people showing such features as a yellow complexion and a fold of skin over the eye. In the north, the group is represented by the Polia, Koch and Garos people; in the Hill Tracts by the Chakma, and the Tanchangas, Tipra and Mru.

During the past the area that is Bangladesh today has been visited and settled by people coming from different directions and over quite long distances. In most cases, however, they have become intermixed with local people through marriage. As a result, the gene pool has been made richer and the populations become more diverse ethnically and therefore in terms of its physical appearance.

2. Caste and Class:

The Caste System:
In Bangladesh about 90% of the people are Sunni Muslim and the rest 10% population is Hindu. The most widely known aspect of Hinduism is the caste system. According to the religion, society is divided into four broad classes called varnas. A person has the same varna that his or her parents had. Although all Hindu society is organized into these varnas, the caste system has a fairly low profile among the Bangladeshi Hindu community. About 75% of the Hindus in Bangladesh belong to the lower caste. However there is a fifth major class in Hinduism. It is considered so low that it does not even qualify as a varna. Most people call it the untouchable class. It is so named because its members are forbidden to touch anyone who belongs to one of the four varnas. Each varna is divided up into many little sub-sections. These are called jatis; they work a lot like the varnas. A person is born into the same jati as his or her parents and remains there for life. There is a jati for every kind of job, such as farmer, blacksmith, shoe maker and accountant. As more and more Hindus take up relatively new professional job, there is more interaction between the castes. This is particularly so in the political and socio economic life of the country. Bangladeshi Hindus seem to have become part of the countrys mainstream culture without surrendering their religious and cultural identity.

The class system:

As a religious faith, Islam puts great stress on the equality of all believers. But it would be wrong to contrast Hinduism and

Islam by saying that the former discriminates between people and the latter does not. Although they do not subscribe to the caste system, the Bengali Muslims are, in fact, divided into three hierarchical classes: the Ashraf (better class), Ajlaf (lower class), Arzal (lowest class). Each of these classes can be further subdivided into many classes. In class system, most people marry within the same class. But unlike the caste system, the classes are rather more open. They are based on wealth and political influence rather than on the type of work they do. Bangladeshi society today is described as being polarised. Which means is that there is a small number of extremely wealthy people. They are often owners of large tracts of land. Relative to their number, they are very influential in the economic and political life of the country. At the other end of the social spectrum, there are very many poor people. Despite their numerical supremacy, they have no influence on the running of the country. Relatively few people are placed between these two extremes. They enjoy a comfortable lifestyle. The household heads of this so-called middle class are typically business entrepreneurs and professional people.