The People's Republic of Bangladesh

The National Flag of Bangladesh
 বাংলাদেশের জাতীয় পতাকা

When Great Britain pulled out of British India, they left behind 2 nations in 3 territories. The vast bulk of it was India, with the rest being Pakistan. Split into East and West. The political power was concentrated in the East, along with the military power. Those in the West regularly protested against perceived bias against them. Under-represented in government, under-represented in the military, and government spending was half in the East than in the West. 

This led to simmering tensions between East and West, and finally the government launched a major crackdown on the Bengali nationalist movement. Codenamed Operation Searchlight. This was in March 1971. The Pakistani army moved through East Pakistan and engaged in major atrocities as they went, targeting leaders and groups tied, however vague, to the nationalist movement. Hindu areas being hit especially hard.

The violence became the last straw for those trying to negotiate a peaceful settlement. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman signed an official telegram declaring Bangladeshi independence. The struggle for independence was expected to be crushed quickly. However, the struggle was quickly supported with the defection of many Pakistani troops, and tacit support from India who began supplying the resistance with arms.

Pakistan was able to match the freedom fighters, but grew increasingly concerned with Indias involvement. They launched a pre-emptive strike on India, designed to knock India out of the fight quickly. However, the strike failed to achieve this goal, and India openly entered the fight. 

India rapidly advanced into East Pakistan, and into West Pakistan. With the Indians help, the military in East Pakistan surrendered. In December 1971, the new nation of Bangladesh was born. The first flag to be used was a banner used by the Bangladeshi freedom forces, of a red disc on a green background. On the disc was a map of the territory of Bangladesh in gold.

Later, the map was deleted. It was removed because of the difficulty with making the design work on both sides of the flag. The red disc is slightly off centre. This was supposed to make the disc look like it is in the centre of the flag when it is flying.

The green represents the lush land of Bangladesh, and the red disc is a socialist symbol. It is the rising sun of independence after a bloody struggle with Pakistan.

The flag was first designed by the painter, Quamrul Hassam, who designed the initial flag very soon after the outbreak of the war. The flag was designed to exclude the crescent and star, both seen as symbols of Pakistan.