Bangladesh – Ahmed Publishing House, 1972

ONE OF THE FIRST MAPS OF INDEPENDENT BANGLADESH

“Bangladesh Communications”. Colour offset print published in 1972 by Ahmed Publishing House. Size: 76 × 50.5 cm.

This map belongs to the earliest cartographic productions of independent Bangladesh, which emerged in December 1971 following its secession from Pakistan and a violent war of independence. The choice of a “communications” map is telling: in a newly formed state, the restoration and organization of infrastructure—roads, railways, and air connections—were of crucial importance for administrative control, economic reconstruction, and national integration.

The map depicts the entire territory of Bangladesh, bordered by India (West Bengal and Assam) and Burma (Myanmar), with to the south the vast Ganges–Brahmaputra delta and the coastline along the Bay of Bengal. This fluvial landscape, with its countless branches and islands (chars), fundamentally shapes the infrastructure: waterways and ferry connections are as essential here as roads and railways.

Roads—distinguished as metalled (paved) and unmetalled (unpaved)—and railway lines are clearly indicated. Within the railway network, a distinction is made between broad gauge, metre gauge, and narrow gauge, reflecting the fragmented development of the British colonial railway system. Emphasis is placed on connections between the principal urban centres, including Dacca (Dhaka), Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, and Sylhet. Airports, administrative centres, and major junctions are also explicitly marked.

Particularly notable is the strong concentration of infrastructure around Dacca, which functions as the political and logistical core of the new state, as well as the corridor leading to the port of Chittagong, then (and still) the country’s principal maritime gateway.

The publication by a local publisher in Dacca underscores the transition from colonial and Pakistani to national cartographic production: this map is not only a practical tool, but also a visual affirmation of a new state and its territorial cohesion.

Price: Euro 275,-