The Pattern of Rural Settlement in East Pakistan

A LMOST entirely flat-surfaced, except along the eastern and southeastern margins, East Pakistan (East Bengal) extends over some 5s4,000 square miles (Fig. i) a land of rivers wandering lazily over a level deltaic plain that is generally less than 5o feet above sea level. Trim, carpetlike, green paddy fields stretch as far as the eye can see, locked in the embrace of countless streams and rivulets. The rivers serve as drainage channels, ensure an abundant supply of fish, and provide cheap and convenient means of transport. Their behavior is of the utmost importance in determining the economic condition of the people. Rainfall is heavy over most of the plain, averaging from 65 to ioo inches a year. Some go per cent of this falls during the monsoon months (mid-June to September). Soon after the break of the monsoon the rivers inundate large areas to a depth of several feet (Fig. 2). The water recedes at the end of the rainy season after laying down a heavy deposit of silt. These conditions of terrain and climate, in combination with certain economic and cultural factors, have bestowed upon East Bengal a distinctive pattern of rural settlement. In many parts of the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent the symbol of rural life is the nucleated village, a compact collection of dwellings. This traditional pattern, however, is conspicuous by its absence over most of the East Bengal plain. Here the village area may contain several separate clusters of homesteads surrounded by trees. The groups of homesteads are called paras, and each has its own name; several paras constitute a mauza (grain, or village) a survey unit. The census report for Bengal, 1921, sums up the position as follows:,