Bangladesh: Reflections on the Water

Heavily dependent on foreign aid, densely populated Bangladesh endures annual floods that submerge up to 70% of the land. More than half of this predominantly Muslim nation is desperately poor. Yet Bangladesh, insists Novak, is no ``basket case.'' The floods, he lamely argues in this involving if ultimately unconvincing study, are not calamities but an essential part of the ecosystem, ensuring viability of rice and jute crops. The author, who has been a columnist for Asia Mail and was the Asia Foundation's representative in Bangladesh from 1982 to 1985, lucidly discusses the culture, history, economy and scenic beauty of a country that threw off the rule of West Pakistan in 1971 with India's military help. Novak defines a Bangladesh mindset that includes ``clannish'' attachment to extended family and lost pride stemming from the fact that the nation was once part of Bengal, the richest province in all of India. He cautiously weighs the prospects of the new civilian government, threatened by a return to army rule. (Oct.)