From KETAKI KUSHARI DYSON
One hopes you printed Bonnie Como’s letter (11 May) about Bangladesh
as a joke, though it can be nothing but a joke in bad taste in view of the
tragic event which is its backdrop.
The compound word Bangladesh means ‘the Bengali land/country’ and has
no etymological connection whatsoever with bhang, which has a separate derivation.
Sanskrit vanga. the root name of the region, and Sanskrit bhanga, Indian
hemp, are totally different words. Bangla/bangala is an adjective; when
used as a noun it refers to the language. The English word bungalow is derived
from the adjectival use, its original meaning being ‘a cottage in the Bengali
style’.
Bangladesh could not have signed any ‘anti-drug’ arrangement with the
USA in 1964 as Bangladesh did not exist as a sovereign state at that date,
being then a part of Pakistan. The cultivation of Indian hemp has never
been the crux of the delta’s economy. The rich alluvial delta has been a
rice-bowl for centuries. What is now Bangladesh was the centre of the world-famous
muslin manufacture until the British destroyed it. Under the British, the
region became a major grower of jute. Another plant cultivated for its valuable
fibre is the san-hemp, Crotalaria juncea, quite different from the drug-yielding
Cannabis indica.
Ketaki Kushari Dyson Kidlington, Oxon
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