Lydia Lorenz, age 15, of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., for her question:

WHEN DID BANGLADESH BECOME INDEPENDENT?

Up until December 1971, Bangladesh was called East Pakistan and it was a division of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. But the people weren't happy with this arrangement, and so they finally won freedom and became independent.

Before 1947 Pakistan was part of British India. In that year both India and Pakistan became independent nations.

Pakistan broke from India for religious reasons. While India was mostly Hindu, Pakistan was mostly Moslem.

Pakistan itself was divided into two separate territories with about 1,000 miles of Indian territory between them: East Pakistan and West Pakistan. Islam was the only connection between the peoples of the two Pakistans. They weren't a bit alike culturally.

Conflict first came up over the language difference between the two Pakistans. Then the East was unhappy because all the government, civil and military centers were in the West. The East brought most of the money into the country but the West received most of its benefits and development.

Conflict and unrest continued in the East as time passed, especially after the election of 1979. More than 10 million refugees, mostly Hindus, left East Pakistan and traveled into India. Another 30 million were displaced within the country.

Finally, India could no longer stand the refugee pressure and entered the conflict on the side of the East. By the middle of December 1971, freedom was won and Bangladesh was created.

But the new country had suffered tremendous financial losses. Large amounts of foreign aid helped finally to overcome the bad effects of the long struggle for independence.

The capital of Bangladesh is Dacca and the chief language is Bengali. The country has a one house Parliament and the chief of state is a president. Processing of agricultural products is the nation's chief industry.

Bangladeshis main food crop is rice. The main cash crop is jute and it is the country's only important import. Bangladesh is the world's chief supplier of jute.

Much of the world's burlap and rope are made from the country's jute, which is of top quality.

Bangladeshis population is mainly rural and there is little significant urban industry. Village cottage industries do exist, however. This is seen in small home factories in which all of the adult family members are engaged in the work. There are more than half a million such factories. Cotton weaving is the leading enterprise of this type of industry.

Unfortunately, school enrollment is low. Only a third of the primary age children and only an eighth of the secondary age children are in schools.

Only about 25 percent of the population can be considered literate but there are hopes that a new education plan will be in the country's future.