Today's flag of Bangladesh was introduced on the 25th of January, 1972. It shows on dark green ground a red disk, somewhat off centre to the left. On 26th of March 1971, the day of independence, a similar flag was initially hoisted. The red disk was positioned exactly in the centre of the flag, and contained in its centre a simplified golden map of Bangladesh. On the 25th of January in 1972, according to other sources on 13th of January 1972, this flag was changed to its present form, probably due to production-technological difficulties. The flag was created by Serajul Alam ("light of the flag"). Green is the color of Islam, but also stands for the green countryside, and red symbolizes the blood given for the independence. The disk is the sun of freedom. The colours green and red probably go back to flag flown during a revolt in the thirties in Chittagong. Bangladesh is orientated in the British Ensign-System. This points to the connexions to the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom introduced a flag system in 1864 in which:
• war ships fly the "White Ensign" (naval flag), a white flag often with an uninterrupted red St. George's-Cross and with the Union Jack in the upper staff quadrant of the flag, • merchant ships fly a "Red Ensign" (also named "Civil Ensign" → civil flag, the real merchant flag), a red flag with the Union Jack in the upper staff quadrant of the flag, and • governmental ships fly the "Blue Ensign" (flag for the use by the gouvernment → the actual state flag), a blue flag with the Union Jack in the upper staff quadrant of the flag.
Bangladesh uses a Red Ensign as merchant flag and a White Ensign as naval flag (instead of the Union Jack with its own national flag in the upper corner).
On Independence Day a flag resembling the coat of arms of the state of that time. It also contained the golden map on a red disk. The disk had a silvery border with four stars as well as an inscription. The coat of arms of 1972 is also round, however, of singular gold. Within a circle appears above waves (they stand for the waters of the rivers Ganges and Brahmaputra) the stylized representation of a sea rose (resp. water lily). It is the the national plant. Above the blossom of the sea rose are visible four five-pointed stars, as well as leafs of the jute tree (resp. tea leafs) and one rice ear on either side (resp. Padi ear). The four stars represent the political principles of the state: nationalism, democracy, Islamic socialism, and confession to Islam. According to other sources, they stand for: nationalism, democracy, socialism and secularism.
The delta of the River Ganges was named in the Old Indian language "Banga". The name of the landscape has transfered to the here living people → "Bangla", the "Bengali". "Bangla" is Hindustani (Hindi) and means nothing other as "Bengali". Because of that "Bangladesh" means: "Country of the Bengali".
Flag of the Chittagong Hill Tracts,
Source, by: UNPO, ca. 2010
In 1974 members of the Chakma, a Buddhist ethnic group, began an armed struggle for autonomy against the foreign infiltration by bengali settlers into the Chittagong Hill Tracts. During the struggle a separate state was proclaimed. In 1993 the Chakma and Bangladesh came to an agreement about the return of refugees, and in 1997 followed a peace agreement, which gave the Chittagong Hill Tracts extensive autonomy. The battles have indeed subsided, however, the situation remains tense.
