54-579: Sirajul Islam is Bangladeshi historian, writer, columnist, professor and academician. He is the chairman of the Board of Editors of Banglapedia , the national encyclopedia of Bangladesh and the editor of the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh . He is also famous for his works on agriculture, British era land tenure and social history of Bengal. Sirajul Islam served as a professor of history department at
108-536: A horseman on the front and the Bangladesh National Museum on the back. In 1973, coins were introduced in denominations of 5, 10, 25 and 50 poysha . 1 poysha coins followed in 1974, with ৳ 1 coins introduced in 1975. The 1, 5 and 10 poysha were struck in aluminium, with the 25 and 50 poysha struck in steel and the ৳ 1 in copper-nickel. The 5 poysha were square with rounded corners, and the 10 poysha were scalloped. Steel ৳ 5 were introduced in 1994, and
162-573: A new series of banknotes, phasing out the older designs for new, more secure ones. All banknotes other than the 1 taka feature a portrait of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on the obverse along with the watermark of the National Martyrs' Memorial . The folder of the banknote for the 40th anniversary of the independence of Bangladesh had a spelling error of the name of the country. It was inserted as Bangldesh instead of Bangladesh . (5000 in folders) (11,000 in folders) Upon Bangladesh's independence ,
216-675: A portrait of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on both sides and a landscape picture of a village, river and boats. In 2011, Bangladesh Bank also introduced a ৳ 40 note to commemorate the "40th Victory Anniversary of Bangladesh". The commemorative note features a portrait of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the National Martyr's Monument in Savar on front, and six armed men on back. Curiously, this note has an electrotype 10 in
270-442: A steel ৳ 2 coin followed in 2004. 1 and 5 poysha coins are rarely found in circulation. The same is the case with the 10, 25, and 50 poysha coins, as they have lost value due to inflation over the years. Only the ৳ 1, ৳ 2 and ৳ 5 are occasionally found in circulation. Unlike most other countries, coins are not issued every year. The most recent coins, ৳ 1, ৳ 2 and ৳ 5, were issued in 2013. The Bangladesh Bank has issued
324-607: Is the chairman of the Board of Editors of Banglapedia , and the editor of the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh . A professor of history at the University of Dhaka , the oldest and largest university in Bangladesh, Islam gave up his day job five years before the formal date for retirement, to make time for Banglapedia . He also edited the 3 volumes of the History of Bangladesh (political, economic and socio-cultural), published by
378-506: Is the currency of Bangladesh . In Unicode, it is encoded at U+09F3 ৳ BENGALI RUPEE SIGN . Issuance of banknotes ৳ 10 and larger is controlled by Bangladesh Bank , while the ৳ 2 and ৳ 5 banknotes are the responsibility of the ministry of finance . The banknotes of Tk. 2 and Tk.5 have mostly been replaced by coins while lower denomination coins (including all poysha coins) up to Tk. 1 have almost gone out of circulation due to inflation. The most commonly used symbol for
432-493: The Bangladesh Liberation War . A study by Bdnews24.com , a news portal, claimed that Banglapedia is biased and inaccurate about Bangladesh's indigenous population. The encyclopedia is also reported to have used derogatory coinage such as Mogh for Marma and Rakhine , Tipra for Tripuri and Murang for Mros , as well as upajati (literally "sub-nation", used to mean "tribal") to define them all. Leaders of
486-490: The Banglapedia , which clarifies issues such as date systems, contributors, cross references, and headings. According to the publisher, the goal of this reference tool is to inquire, interpret and integrate the lived experiences and achievements of the people of Bangladesh from ancient times to the present. The project, conceptually and territorially, interprets the term "Bangladesh" to mean successively ancient Eastern India,
540-483: The Bengal Sultanate , Bengal Subah , Bengal Presidency , East Bengal , East Pakistan , and Bangladesh . The editor's preface states: From ancient times to 1971, the political geography of the region has changed often, and with that its name has also undergone changes. The cognates of Vanga, Bangalah, Vangla, Bengal, Vangadesh, Vangladesh, etc. have the closest affinity both territorially and linguistically with
594-798: The History of Bangladesh (political, economic and socio-cultural), published by Asiatic Society, came out in his editorship. For the society, he is working on the Children’s Banglapedia and the Cultural Survey of Bangladesh . He also is in charge of the National Online Biography project of the society and the Banglapedia Trust. During his 34-year-long stint at the university, he wrote major seminal works like Permanent Settlement in Bengal (1978), The Bengal Land Tenure (1990) and
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#1733115891527648-530: The Rural History of Bangladesh (1990). He also edited the 4 volume Bangladesh District Record Survey . Banglapedia (English Edition) Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh is the first Bangladeshi encyclopedia. It is available in print, CD-ROM format and online, in both Bengali and English. The print version comprises fourteen 500-page volumes. The first edition
702-586: The University of Dhaka . He gave up his day job five years before the formal date of retirement, to make time for Banglapedia in 2000. A corresponding fellow of the Royal Historical Society , Sirajul Islam was a Senior Commonwealth Staff Fellow at the University of London (1978–79), a Senior Fulbright Scholar at Urbana-Champaign (1990–91), and a British Academy Visiting Professor (2004). In 2002, 10 volumes of Banglapedia , published by Asiatic Society came out in his editorship. In 1991, 3 volumes of
756-643: The Asiatic Society In 1991. He is now working on the Children's Banglapedia and the Cultural Survey of Bangladesh , and is also in charge of the National Online Biography project of the Society and the Banglapedia Trust. The encyclopedia was prepared by a board of editors that included Professor Sirajul Islam of the Department of History, Dhaka University, as the chairman and chief editor, Professor Sajahan Miah of
810-490: The Asiatic Society of Bangladesh was working on a three-volume study titled History of Bangladesh, 1704-1971 in 1991. The editors felt the need for a standard desk reference, as that project progressed laboriously, culling facts from various libraries. The idea finally led to a concept paper prepared by Sirajul Islam and his colleagues and submitted to the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh in early 1994. The Banglapedia project
864-516: The Asiatic Society office on the day of the release, and sales continued until 9:30 in the evening. A total of 4,500 sets of the Bengali version and 2,500 of the English version were sold on the day of release. The first attempt to compile a Bengali encyclopedia was undertaken by Felix Carey (1786–1822), who was the son of Reverend William Carey (1761–1834) of Serampore and the first lexicographer of
918-502: The Burmese language. In 1819, he began the translation of the fifth edition of Encyclopædia Britannica , naming it Vidyarthabali . From October 1819 till November 1820 the book was printed by Felix Carey every month in 48-page installments. Thus completed, the first part of Vidyarthabali was compiled into the 638-page Vyabachchedvidya , the first book on anatomy and surgery in Bengali. Work on
972-607: The CD-ROM version includes about 70,000 links and an option to create a personal "favorite list". Banglapedia has had several online addresses, some are no longer authorised by the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. Controversy over Banglapedia broke out even before publication, when the Inqilab group , a major Bangladeshi newspaper publishing house, got hold of a few entries on religion and related issues. There have also been complaints about an omission of Jamaat-e-Islami 's activities during
1026-476: The Department of Philosophy, Dhaka University, as the convenor and managing editor, Professor M. Aminul Islam as the chairman of Project Implementation Committee, the chairman of Fund Management Committee, and the chairman of Cartography Committee, Professor Abdul Momin Chowdhury as the chairman of Publication Committee, Professor S M Mahfuzur Rahman as the convenor of Purchase and Procurement Committee, Shahida Alam as
1080-638: The English Language and Banglapedia , the word taka came from the Sanskrit word tankah , meaning silver coin. The word taka in Bangla is also commonly used generically to mean any money, currency, or notes. Thus, colloquially, a person speaking in Bangla may use "taka" to refer to money regardless of what currency it is denominated in. This is also common in the Indian states of West Bengal and Tripura , where
1134-557: The Pakistani economy, the government also withdrew the legal tender status of all 100- and 500-rupee notes. The taka was introduced in Bangladesh in 1972, replacing the Pakistani rupee at par. In 2000, the government issued polymer ৳ 10 notes as an experiment (similar to the Australian dollar). They proved unpopular, however, and were withdrawn later. At present, the ৳ 1 and ৳ 5 notes have mostly been replaced with coins, and in 2008,
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#17331158915271188-431: The changing features of the formation of the delta's janapada or human settlements on the human plane. The latter includes the rise and fall of kingdoms, invasions from within and beyond and their implications, dynastic rules and administration, as well as other aspects of Bangladesh's past and present. Entries on topics after 1947 are restricted to the geographical region of Bangladesh. However, for biographical entries,
1242-645: The chief editor. After the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, three specialized encyclopedias were published - the multi-volume Islami Bishwakosh (Encyclopedia of Islam, 1986) by Islamic Foundation Bangladesh , 5-volume Shishu-Biswakosh ( Encyclopedia for Children , 1995) by Bangladesh Shishu Academy , and 4-volume Vijnan Biswakosh ( Encyclopedia of Science , 1998) by Bangla Academy . Banglapedia contains over 5,700 entries, which are divided into six categories: arts and humanities, history and heritage, state and governance, society and economy, natural sciences, and biological sciences. The writing of each article
1296-851: The convenor of Public Relations and Communication Committee, and Professor Jamilur Reza Chowdhury as the chairman of Multimedia Committee. The management structure includes a total of sixty members, divided into six different sub-committees headed by six subject editors. Each sub-committee covered a particular discipline. There were six consulting editors, four language editors, and three translation editors. Each subject editor received assistance from six assistant and associate editors. Banglapedia s subject editors were: Professor Abdul Momin Chowdhury (History and Heritage), Professor Wakil Ahmed (Arts, Humanities, Religion), Professor Mahfuzur Rahman (Society and Economy), Dr Kamal Siddiqui (State and Governance), and Professor S M H Kabir (Science and Technology). The CD-ROM version of Banglapedia has more entries than
1350-522: The encyclopedia, one fifth of whom were foreign experts in Bangladesh or experts working abroad. They are mostly academics, as well as specialists in districts and upazilas for locality inputs and people from professions and occupations. District and upazila cartography has been processed at the Geographic information system (GIS) and cartographic laboratory set up for the Banglapedia. A gazetteer group
1404-538: The government issued ৳ 1,000 notes. In 2011, Bangladesh Bank began issuing a new series of banknotes denominated in ৳ 2, ৳ 5, ৳ 100, ৳ 500, and ৳ 1000. All are dated 2011 and feature a portrait and watermark of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman , along the National Martyr's Monument in Savar at center front. From 2011, the Bangladesh Bank introduced new notes denominated in ৳ 10, ৳ 20, and ৳ 50 on 7 March 2012. The notes bear
1458-499: The independence of Pakistan and the partition of Bengal in 1947, there have been more attempts to compile and publish an encyclopedia. The first was a project to produce a Bengali adaptation of Columbia Viking Desk Encyclopedia by Franklin Book Programs Inc., undertaken in 1959 and aborted ten years later. The unfinished papers were compiled into four unequal volumes as Bangla Vishvakosh (1972) with Khan Bahadur Abdul Hakim as
1512-420: The independent Bangladesh, in historical succession. The encyclopedia's chief editor is Sirajul Islam . Over 1450 writers and specialists in Bangladesh and abroad helped create the entries. Banglapedia has over 5,700 entries in six editorial categories, each of which is overseen by an expert editor, as well as over 2,000 single and four-colour illustrations and 2,100 cross-references. The project
1566-468: The indigenous community, including Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council member and Parbattya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samiti leader Rupayan Dewan and general secretary of Adivasi Forum Sanjib Drong, have endorsed the study's findings. Chief editor Islam acknowledged the complaint and promised to amend the second edition accordingly. Bangladeshi taka The Bangladeshi taka ( Bengali : টাকা , sign : ৳ , code : BDT , short form : Tk )
1620-418: The linguistic identity prevails. The range of topics covered by Banglapedia includes political geography, religion, literature, art and architecture, folk practices and institutions, indigenous and colonial administration, politics, society, economy, ethnicity, and the sciences. All 64 districts of Bangladesh , as well as 451 upazilas , have been described in details ranging from topographical accounts to
1674-570: The magpie-robin ( doyel ). On the reverse is the headquarters of the Security Printing Corporation. Curiously, this note has an electrotype 10 in the watermark, indicating it was likely printed on extra ৳ 10 banknote paper. On 8 July 2013, Bangladesh Bank issued a ৳ 100 note to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Bangladesh National Museum . The commemorative note features an 18th-century terracotta plaque of
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1728-399: The number of dairy farms and hatcheries. Over 2,000 single and four-colour illustrations depict Bangladeshi art and architecture, everyday life, cities and villages and personages. It has about 2,100 cross-references, cartographic information, tables and statistics. It is laid out in alphabetical order and is prefaced by an essay by the chief editor. There is a section explaining how to use
1782-567: The number of entries was cut down to around 6,000. The project officially took off in 1998. When the project began, the Society had only eight hundred thousand taka in its coffers for the project. Banglapedia raised further contributions from universities, banks, multinational companies, international organisations and even private individuals. A pool of agencies, including UNESCO , the University Grants Commission , universities, financial institutions and NGOs initially financed
1836-535: The official introduction of the taka on 4 March 1972. During the war, it was an unofficial practice of some Bengali nationalists to protest Pakistani rule by stamping banknotes with " বাংলা দেশ " and "BANGLA DESH" as two words in either Bangla or English. These locally produced stamps are known to exist in several varieties, as are forgeries. On 8 June 1971, the Pakistani government declared that all banknotes bearing such stamps ceased to be legal tender. Furthermore, to prevent looted high-denomination notes from disrupting
1890-714: The official name of the Indian rupee is "taka" as well. In other eastern Indian languages with the influence of Prakrit in Bihar it is "taka" in Maithili and Magadhi languages, in Assam it is টকা tôka and it is ଟଙ୍କା taṅkā in Odisha . After the Partition of Bengal in 1947 , East Bengal became the eastern wing of Pakistan and was renamed to East Pakistan in 1956. The Pakistani rupee also bore
1944-566: The portrait of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the National Martyr's Monument in Savar on the front. On the back of the notes, the ৳ 10 will picture the Baitul Mukarram mosque, the ৳ 20 pictures the Shat Gombuj mosque in Bagherat, and the ৳ 50 notes feature Shilpacharjo Zainul Abedin's famous painting Ploughing . On 7 March 2019, Bangladesh Bank released new ৳100 notes, which had
1998-448: The print version, along with 65 video clips, 49 audio clips, 2,714 images and thumbnails, and 647 maps. The audio clips include songs by Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam , while the video clips include Sheikh Mujibur Rahman 's speech on 7 March 1971. Some images that appear in black and white in the print version are in color in the CD-ROM version. Designed to run on Windows 98 , Windows ME , Windows 2000 and Windows NT ,
2052-460: The project, which was completed at a cost of taka 80 million. Education Ministry funded about 74% of the cost, while 26% of the fund came mostly from universities and banks. Before direct sales started on 3 January 2003, 4,000 copies of the English version and all but 250 copies of the Bengali version were sold in advance out of the initial print of 5,000 copies for each versions. For an additional run of 10,000 prints people waited in queues outside
2106-412: The same design as 2011 Version, but had better security, a stronger Blue and were made of a different material. On 15 December 2019, Bangladesh Bank issued new ৳50 banknotes, with the same design as the 2011 version, but had a different colour (orange, brown and fluorescent yellow-green), and a slightly different design in some parts. On 17 March 2020, Bangladesh Bank introduced new ৳200 notes. They bear
2160-471: The second part, Smritishastra , which was largely on jurisprudence, then began. But Carey died after only two 40-page installments were printed in February and March 1821. It was followed by Maharaja Kalikirshna Dev Bahadur's (1808–1974) Sankshipta Sadvidyabali (1833), a concise encyclopedia. Then came Raja Radhakanta Deb's Sabdakalpadrum (1822–1858), a Sanskrit encyclopedic dictionary in eight parts. Next
2214-497: The taka is " ৳ " and "Tk", used on receipts while purchasing goods and services. It is divided into 100 poysha , but poysha coins are no longer in circulation. The poysha is still used for accounting purposes (e.g., Tk 123,456.78 for 123,456 taka and 78 poysha). On 8 May 2024, the central bank placed the taka in a crawling peg to the US dollar, with a rate of 117 takas per US dollar. According to The American Heritage Dictionary of
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2268-451: The taka was adjusted in frequent incremental steps, stabilising again around 12 percent lower in real terms against the US dollar, but at the same time narrowing the difference between the official rate and the preferential secondary rate from 15 percent to 7.5 percent. Accompanying this structural adjustment was an expansion in trade conducted at the secondary rate, to 53 percent of total exports and 28 percent of total imports. In mid-1987,
2322-420: The term Bangla . With the rise of Bangladesh as a sovereign nation state, the term has no doubt obtained a specific meaning. It may be noted here that the term Bangalah or Bengala , from which Bangla and Bengal originated, was coined and circulated by Muslim rulers whose seats of administration were located mostly within the present territory of Bangladesh. Over 1,200 writers and specialists contributed to
2376-583: The value of the Bangladeshi taka was set between ৳7.5 and ৳8.0 to US$ 1. Except for fiscal year 1978, the taka's value relative to the US dollar declined every year from 1971 through the end of 1987. To help offset this phenomenon, Bangladesh first used the compensatory financing facility of the International Monetary Fund in fiscal year 1974. Despite the increasing need for assistance, the Mujib government
2430-542: The watermark, indicating it was likely printed on extra ৳ 10 banknote paper. On 15 February 2012, Bangladesh Bank has introduced a ৳ 60 note to commemorate "60 years of National Movement". The commemorative note measures 130 by 60 millimetres (5.1 in × 2.4 in) and features the Shaeed Minar (Martyrs' monument) in Dhaka and five men on the back. Like the ৳ 40 commemorative note, this note has an electrotype 50 in
2484-405: The watermark. It was likely printed on extra ৳ 50 banknote paper. On 26 January 2013, Bangladesh Bank issued a ৳ 25 note to commemorate the 25th anniversary (silver jubilee) of the Security Printing Corporation (Bangladesh) Ltd. On the front is the National Martyr's Monument in Savar, the designs of the previous series of the Bangladeshi taka notes and its postage stamps, three spotted deer and
2538-686: The word taka on official notes and coins. Bangla was one of the two national languages of the Pakistan union between 1956 and 1971 (the other being Urdu). The Bangladeshi taka came into existence since 1972, a year after the independence of the eastern wing of the union, as the independent nation of Bangladesh . Prior to the Liberation war in 1971, banknotes of the State Bank of Pakistan circulated throughout Bangladesh, and continued to be used in Bangladesh even after independence for only about three months until
2592-539: Was Rajkrishna Ray (1849–1894) and Saratchandra Dev's (1858-unknown) joint work Bharatkosh , the first Bengali encyclopedia laid-out in alphabetical order (1880–1892) published in three volumes. Reverend Krishna Mohan Banerjee 's (1813–1885) adaptation of Encyclopædia Britannica , Vidyakalpadruma or Encyclopædia Bengalensis (1846–51), and the 22-volume Bangla Visvakosh (1886–1911), edited by Nagendranath Basu (1866–1938) with contributions from many major personalities of contemporary Bengal, were published next. After
2646-476: Was created to focus on districts and upazilas. The fact that around 400 local intellectuals were charged with writing about their respective zilas and upazilas was described as a unique approach to information gathering. In addition, 250 people worked in research management for seven years. A total of 2,000 scholars and technicians were involved. There were 270 full-time personnel on the project in all, with 35 to 40 people employed at any given time. Sirajul Islam
2700-514: Was formally adopted on 19 February 1997, and Islam was appointed project director and chief editor. As the head of the Project Implementation Committee, his task was to plan and manage the project funding. In 1996, some three dozen committees were formed with three to four people in each committee to recommend the entries. Twenty-seven thousand entries were proposed, requiring a 20-volume compendium. Because of financial constraints,
2754-536: Was funded by the Government of Bangladesh , private sector organizations, academic institutes and UNESCO . Though its original budget was 800,000 taka (roughly US$ 10,000), the Asiatic Society eventually spent 80 million taka (roughly US$ 1 million) on the project. Despite controversies over entries on the Bangladesh Liberation War and indigenous people , both the Bengali and English versions became popular upon publication. The Banglapedia project originated when
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#17331158915272808-600: Was initially unwilling to meet the IMF's conditions on monetary and fiscal policy. By fiscal year 1975, however, the government revised its stance, declaring a devaluation of the taka by 56 percent and agreeing to establishing the Bangladesh Aid Group by the World Bank . Between 1980 and 1983, the taka sustained a decline of some 50 percent because of a deterioration in Bangladesh's balance of payments . Between 1985 and 1987,
2862-486: Was overseen by an expert editor. Banglapedia was not designed as a general encyclopedia. Its purpose is to provide a standard desk reference for Bangladeshis, as well as for people interested in Bangladesh, Bengali-speaking people, and related political, cultural and geographical contexts. The encyclopedia's editors intended to cover the rise of the Bengal Delta on the physical plane, and its evolution to date, and
2916-563: Was published in January 2003 in ten volumes by the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh . with a plan to update it every two years. The second edition was issued in 2012 in fourteen volumes. Banglapedia was not designed as a general encyclopedia but as a specialized encyclopedia on Bangladesh-related topics. For the encyclopedia's purposes, Bangladesh is defined as the territory comprising ancient Eastern India, Bengal Sultanate , Bengal Subah , Bengal Presidency , East Bengal , East Pakistan , and
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