First Currency Museum in Bangladesh

Currency Museum

 A currency museum, first of its kind in Bangladesh, has been inaugurated to highlight the history of money and its evolution. A money tree has been placed on the wall of the entrance. A committee consisting of Asim Kumar Dasgupta, Image Artist Hashem Khan, historian Muntasir Mamun, architect Rabiul Hossain and Bangladesh Bank's executive director, are leading role in establishing the museum. Artist Hashem Khan was the head of the committee. Speaker of the Parliament Dr Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury inaugurated the museum on the premises of Bangladesh Bank Training Academy (BBTA) in the city’s Mirpur suburb. The museum is equipped with digital singes, digital photo kiosk, LED monitors and 3-d televisions. Currency as ancient as from the time of Wari-Bateshwar to Sultan and Mughal empires to British era would be gathered in the museum. There would also be various currencies of modern times. Besides, the museum would have a separate corner for children where video and other games would help the future generation to be acquainted with the lifestyle, education, culture and various aspects of archaeological developments of human civilization through coins and currencies of various eras. A web portal launched to help people around the world to know about the museum’s collections including coins, paper money or barter practice maintained by people at the very beginning of the transactions in this part of the globe.

Paper notes are the main attractions of the museum. Paper notes in different countries around the world and at different times are stored in the museum such as-former Soviet Union, the former Czechoslovakia, the Japanese dollar, Italy, Germany, Afghanistan, China, Latin America, Hungary, Bulgaria, Vietnam and communist-era Polish bank notes, checks and bonds.

National flag of Bangladesh

National flag of Bangladesh (1971)

National flag is the symbol of independence of a nation. Every nation of the world has a national flag of its own. Bangladesh has also a national flag. A national flag is the pictogram of a country’s sovereignty and its own identity of being an independent nation. The national flag of Bangladesh was adopted officially on 17 January 1972. It consists of a red disc on top of a green field, offset slightly toward the hoist so that it appears centered when the flag is flying. The red disc represents the sun rising over Bengal, and also the blood of those who died for the independence of Bangladesh. The green field stands for the lushness of the land of Bangladesh. The first flag was designed by Student Leaders of Shawdhin Bangla Nucleus painter was Shib Narayan Das and was made from clothes donated by the owner of Apollo Tailors, Bazlur Rahman Lasker, of Dhaka's New Market. On 2 March 1971, the initial version of the flag was hoisted in Bangladesh for the first time at Dhaka University, as the Vice President of Dhaka University Students' Union (DUCSU), student leader A. S. M. Abdur Rab, raised the flag. The flag was conceived so as to exclude the crescent and the star considered as symbols of West Pakistan. According to CIA World Fact Book, the green used in the flag represent the lushness of the green landscape of the country. The flag is based on a similar flag used during the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, which had a yellow map of the country inside the red disc. In 1972 this map was deleted from the flag. One reason given was the difficulty for rendering the map correctly on both sides of the flag. Painter Quamrul Hasan is the designer of our national flag. It is rectangular in shape. Its length and width ration are 10:6. The red circular disc with map of Bangladesh symbolizes blood of thousands of Bangalees killed by the Pakistanis since 1947.

The approximate color shades are:

Green: CMYK 100-0-70-40, Pantone 342c

Red: CMYK 0-100-80-5, no Pantone given.

The flag is hoisted everyday on top of our important government buildings and educational institutions. It is hoisted everywhere on the Independence Day and the victory day. Our national flag always inspire up to dedicate our lives for the greater interest of the country. The national flag of Bangladesh is our pride. Our heart swells up with joy when we see the flag upholds our country’s entity on the world map. Our glorious national flag was purchased at too great a price at the cost of a sea of blood.

National flag of Bangladesh

Short note of Bangladesh

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Bangladesh is surrounded by India, Myanmar and the Bay of Bengal. A republic in south Asia, Bangladesh was formerly East Pakistan, one of the five provinces into which Pakistan was divided at its creation, when Britain’s former Indian Empire was partitioned in August 1947. East Pakistan and the four western provinces were separated by about 1600 km of Indian territory. East Pakistan was formed from the former Indian province of East Bengal and the Sylhet districts of Assam. Although the East was more populous, government was based in West Pakistan. From the very inception of its formation, language remained the most problematic issue.
Same status for Bengali language with Urdu and English was the demand and the movement involving all sections of the people of East Pakistan gave a strike call on 21 Feb, 1952. On that very day, police fired on a student’s rally and several students died. Since then the day has been observed as the Language Day (Bhasa Divas). East Pakistan became and independent entity named Bangladesh on 16, December, 1971, following civil war in which India actively supported the East. Leader of this independence movement, Sheikh Manipur Rahman became the first prime Minister.
In January 1957 parliamentary government was replaced by a presidential form of Government. Sheikh Manipur Rahman became President, assuming absolute power. In February, Bangladesh became a one-party state.
On 15 August, 1957 Sheikh Manipur and his family were assassinated in a coup. Chief of Army Staff, Major-Gen. Ziaur Rahman (Gen. Zia) took over power on 7 November, 1957. In June 1978 the country’s first direct presidential election resulted in a victory for Zia, who formed a Council of Advisers. Parliamentary elections followed in February 1979, in which President Ziaur Rahman’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) won 207 of the 300 directly elective seats in the Jatiya Sangsad.
Political instability recurred, however, when Gen. Ziaur was assassinated on 30 May 1981 during an attempted military coup. The elderly Vice-President , Justice Adbus Sattar, took over as acting President but was faced with Strikes and demonstrations over the execution of several officers who had been involved in the coup. On 24 March, 1982 there was a bloodless Military coup, by which Lieut. Gen. Ershad became chief martial law administrator. President Sattar was deposed. The Constitution was suspended and Parliament ceased to function. Assanuddin Chowdhury was sworn is as civilian president on 27 March. Lieut. Gen. Ershad assumed the presidency on 11 Dec,1983.
Although the Government’s economic politics achieved some success and gained a measure of popular support for Ershad, the all party alliance of MRD – Movement for the Restoration of Democracy gained momentum. In Jan 1986 a National Executive Committee was formed and the National Party launched, composed of government supporters. Gen. Ershad was re-elected President on 15 October, 1986. Gen. Ershad was deposed and arrested after a popular uprising in December 1990. Mr Shahabuddhin Ahmed took over as Acting President. In the general elections held in February 1991 Bangladesh National Party led by Begum Khaleda Zia won 140 seats. Begum Zia was sworn in PM. In the general elections help in June, 1996, Awai League won 146 seats and Sheikh Hasina Wazed, daughter of the late Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, became the PM of Bangladesh. Jatiya Party quit the Govt in Mar ’98′.
Bangladesh is the second largest Muslim country in the world. Dhaka, with 2000 mosques, is known as the city of mosques. Tribal Shanti Bahini guerrillas fighting for autonomy in the Chittagong Hill Tracts surrendered in Feb 98, ending as 25-year insurgency that claimed more than 8500 lives. In May 97 cyclone battered Bangladesh coast killing over 1000 people and leaving 100,0000 homeless. Floods in 1998 stranded 30 million people and killed about 1500. Bangladesh entered Test Cricket in Nov 2000.