Bangladesh to declare ‘Joy Bangla’ its national slogan shortly

The government will issue a circular in a few days declaring ‘Joy Bangla’, which inspired Bangladesh during its War of Independence from Pakistan in 1971, as the national slogan.

The cabinet took the decision on Sunday following a High Court order, Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam said. The circular will be published “within three to four days”.

The High Court passed the order in March 2020 to announce ‘Joy Bangla’ as the national slogan after settling a rule on a writ petition filed in 2018. Although the authorities were asked to implement the order within three months, it took nearly two years for the government to take the decision on issuing the circular.

“We are declaring that Joy Bangla will be the national slogan of Bangladesh. The concerned defendants will take appropriate measures to ensure that the constitutional office-holders and all state officials use the slogan on all national days and in appropriate cases, at the end of their speeches in state programmes,” the court said.

“The government must take appropriate measures to ensure that the students of all educational institutions use the Joy Bangla slogan at the end of assemblies.”