Shib Narayan Das, designer of the national flag, revealed that the design of the second version was discussed at the same meeting where the first version was finalised.
The very first flag, created when an independent Bangladesh was still “a concept,” bore a yellow map of the country on the background of the red circle. The later redesign, usually credited to Quamrul Hassan, omitted the map, reportedly because of the difficulty of reproducing it.
Das tells a different story about the map in an exclusive interview with Dhaka Tribune.
“When we were initiating movements with slogans like ‘Joy Bangla,’ there was a confusion: Which Bengal? East Bengal, West Bengal, or both Bengals? So, we decided to specify the land of the then East Bengal. And we also discussed that the identification won’t be needed after liberation.”
Das, a humble man who only labels himself as an activist, has hardly ever spoken to the media.
He said: “I am not here to take any credit. I am telling you the facts. Being ‘the designer of the national flag’ was not the intention of my political activities. And I cannot take the full credit for designing the flag. It happened collectively.”
Recalling the story of creating the first flag of Bangladesh, the freedom fighter said: “The need of a national flag was felt on the eve of June 7, 1970, when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was scheduled to attend a march at Dhaka Paltan Maidan, as part of his campaign in the Pakistani general elections. A team of student leaders held a meeting in Room 118 at Dhaka University’s Zohurul Haque Hall (presently Iqbal Hall), and decided to create a flag for him to fly at the occasion.”
Das said: “The colour and design of the flag was decided collectively in that meeting, and I had the opportunity to draw the map with golden colour onto the green and red flag.”
It was almost 12am when the students went to New Market to collect the colour to draw the map.
The nostalgic Das said: “The students woke up the shopkeepers in the middle of the night. When they came to know the purpose, they didn’t take any money and were elated to help us.”
There are many interpretations of the flag’s colours. According to Das, while the green on Pakistan’s flag represents Islam, ours represents our landscape. The red was meant to be the sun, symbolising a new day, and the end of our oppression.
This Victory Day, more than 30,000 people will gather at the Army Parade Ground and attempt to break the record for the World’s Largest Human Flag.