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Published : 04 Mar 2022, 02:38 PM
On Mar 4, 1972, the first 1 taka note -- the country's first banknote -- portraying the map of independent Bangladesh went into circulation.
On the same day, the 5 and 100 taka notes also hit the market, followed by the 10 taka note two months later in May.
The anniversary of the introduction of Bangladesh's first paper currency has been unofficially celebrated since 2021 as 'Taka Day'.
The country's first banknote and currency magazine collector has organised a two-day festival on Dhaka's Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue to commemorate the occasion. The event will include a collectors' rally, mega auction and prize-giving ceremony.
As a newly-independent Bangladesh emerged from the ravages of the Liberation War, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman took the initiative to launch the country's own banknote in the shortest possible time in the face of numerous adversities.
The first notes were printed by India's Security Printing Press.
"After independence, there was a crisis in the overall financial system due to lack of a national currency. Shortly afterwards, paper money was introduced in Bangladesh just 2 months and 19 days after the country won the war of independence," said Bangladesh Bank spokesperson Sirajul Islam.
Prior to the Liberation War in 1971, the Pakistani 'rupee' was prevalent in the country. The rupee contained a portait of Mohammad Ali Jinnah and its denomination was written in Bangla, English and Urdu.
However, after the Language Movement of 1952, people in Bangladesh began referring to money as taka instead of the rupee. And within 10 days of the victory in the Liberation War, the taka was declared the national currency of Bangladesh alongside the passage of a law to establish Bangladesh Bank as the country's central bank.
During the war of liberation, Pakistan's efforts were focused on depriving Bangladesh of its place on the world map. In addition to war crimes such as murder, genocide and rape, Pakistani forces burned cash money to cripple the country financially.
It is believed that the Pakistani forces burned hundreds of millions of rupee notes just in a few banks in Dhaka's Motijheel.
As a result, the country's banking system started its journey with insufficient banknotes after independence. Additionally, the war-torn communication system became an obstacle to the supply of banknotes in different parts of the country.
ANM Hamidullah, the then governor of Bangladesh Bank, was one of the first officials appointed by the government of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to overcome these obstacles. He was tasked with bringing the country's banking system into a mature structure.
But the task of printing paper notes while maintaining security was difficult for Bangladesh at the time.
In the circumstances, India extended its hand of friendship and agreed to print the Bangladeshi notes.
