This is a flag concept for my ancestral country, Bangladesh.
I have always disliked the one currently flown by Bangladesh. It is dull, lacks creativity and fails to inspire me, not to mention that it awkwardly resembles that flown by a certain East Asian country (no points for guessing which one). I had a drawing of what my ideal flag of Bangladesh would look like, dating back to my college days. This drawing however consisted of nothing more than a small doodle I made on a piece of scrap paper whilst I was dying of boredom.
The flag I have created here is influenced by the idea of a greater Bengal. It has the ratio of 1:2 like the Irish tricolour and retains the red and green colours used by the current Bangladeshi flag. It is divided into three parts:
1- The hoist side, which is green and represents West Bengal.
2- The centre band, which is red and represents Bangladesh proper (East Bengal, the country we see today).
3- The fly side, which is also green and represents Assam.
Green represents both the lush vegetation and the religion of Islam, red represents the blood shed during the struggle for independence. I have also added yellow bands (or gold according to the German flag) which act as fimbriations to the red centre. Yellow stands for prosperity and what Bangladesh aspires to become: a developed nation. The yellow bands could also represent some of the major rivers which flow through the land.
One of the biggest conflicts I had in my mind as I was creating this piece, was whether or not to add the crescent and star in the middle. Bangladesh has long been trying to project a secular reputation. To add this in a flag of Bengal would cause.... 'scenes'... between Islamists and Secularists, and alienate minorities such as Hindus, who would be the biggest religious group in West Bengal. I nonetheless added it to keep it from looking empty.
Leave a comment if you like what you see, or want to suggest any improvements.
P.S. Please don't speak to me in Bengali.....
I have always disliked the one currently flown by Bangladesh. It is dull, lacks creativity and fails to inspire me, not to mention that it awkwardly resembles that flown by a certain East Asian country (no points for guessing which one). I had a drawing of what my ideal flag of Bangladesh would look like, dating back to my college days. This drawing however consisted of nothing more than a small doodle I made on a piece of scrap paper whilst I was dying of boredom.
The flag I have created here is influenced by the idea of a greater Bengal. It has the ratio of 1:2 like the Irish tricolour and retains the red and green colours used by the current Bangladeshi flag. It is divided into three parts:
1- The hoist side, which is green and represents West Bengal.
2- The centre band, which is red and represents Bangladesh proper (East Bengal, the country we see today).
3- The fly side, which is also green and represents Assam.
Green represents both the lush vegetation and the religion of Islam, red represents the blood shed during the struggle for independence. I have also added yellow bands (or gold according to the German flag) which act as fimbriations to the red centre. Yellow stands for prosperity and what Bangladesh aspires to become: a developed nation. The yellow bands could also represent some of the major rivers which flow through the land.
One of the biggest conflicts I had in my mind as I was creating this piece, was whether or not to add the crescent and star in the middle. Bangladesh has long been trying to project a secular reputation. To add this in a flag of Bengal would cause.... 'scenes'... between Islamists and Secularists, and alienate minorities such as Hindus, who would be the biggest religious group in West Bengal. I nonetheless added it to keep it from looking empty.
Leave a comment if you like what you see, or want to suggest any improvements.
P.S. Please don't speak to me in Bengali.....
