Geography and Demography
This chapter focuses on the methodology, more precisely on the ethnographic context of the fieldwork, upon which this book is based. It also introduces the location of the study: the village of Chandhara. It is located approximately nine miles northwest of the shrine of Shah Sultan Rumi at Madanpur of Netrakona, a town located within the region of Mymensingh. Data were collected between the periods of January and August of 2005, and June and July of 2014. This chapter also describes the geography, population, sociopolitical and religio-cultural groups, social units, social hierarchies, power structure, socioreligious and cultural festivals, and educational and religious institutions of the village. In addition, it describes the political structure, judicial system, ownership record management system, and the local government institutions of the country and their impact upon rural people.