Bangladesh stamp – The-Philatelist

A small but populous nation splits off from a country. A generation before, Pakistan in the East and West, did the same, depriving post independence India of instant superpower status. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

The first stamp issue of an independent Bangla Desh. Notice the spelling. Writing Bangla Desh as two words only lasted for a few months. Surprising that at least in English it is not just called Bengal. But this stamp came after local politicians had declared independence but while there was still a large Pakistani army and administration on hand that did not agree. That makes the stamp aspirational, which to me are the best kind.

Todays stamp is issue A1, a 1 Rupee stamp issued by the Awami League provisional government of Bangla Desh in 1971. It was part of an eight stamp issue in various denominations that aspirationally imagined an independent Bangla Desh. The stamps featured maps, flags, slogans and potential leaders of the hoped for country. According to the Scott Catalog, the stamp is worth 30 cents mint. There was a later version with the new currency that were rejected by Bangladesh officials but then issued anyway by representatives in London during 1972, they are considered fake but have similar values.

The area of Bengal had been part of the Mughal Empire before the arrival of the British. Their East India Company took the area after the battle of Plassey in 1757. British India comprised modern India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. They also administered nearby Sri lanka and Burma. This large area would have been far and away the most populous country in the world and even in colonial times, the gross national product was larger than Great Britain itself. It was the intention of most independence advocates that after the British left, it would all be one country. These leaders were mostly Hindu though and the area contained many Muslims and peoples of different races and languages. A Hindu independent greater India was not to be and the British tried to limit bloodshed by dividing off mostly Muslim East and West Pakistan. This was less than ideal for several reasons. Though the same religion, East Pakistan was of a different race and language. In addition, it was separate geographically. Thus the Bengal territories did not feel itself a part of Pakistan. Independent India was sympathetic to the plight of the Bengals. In the 1960s, there was a socialist movement of Bengalis called the Awami league lead by Sheik Mujibur Rahman. He wanted more self rule and that Bengali become the official language of East Pakistan. When this movement was suppressed, independence was unilaterally declared and the Awami League started establishing the institutions of a separate state. There were 90,000 troops loyal to Pakistan in Bangladesh that contested the will of the people and it took a two week war with India for them to realize that they were far from home and their situation untenable. Pakistan’s surrender was the largest since World War II.

Independence was not an immediate panacea. The people were desperately poor and the British had set up the economy for large crops for export and not enough for local food. Independence leaders had all been trained by the British and were socialists. As such they took over the plantations but kept them operating now for the benefit of the state. However whatever revenue came from that was declining and with little getting to improve the lot of the average Bengali. There was a large famine in Bangladesh in 1974 and this lead to much tumult and fighting internally inside the Awami League and outside of it. Bangladeshi officers formerly aligned with the Awami Leaguge staged a coup killing Sheik Mujibar Rahman and his family in an attack on the Presidential Palace starting a long period of coup and counter coup. There are rumors that the coup was arraigned by the American CIA but I think that exaggerates Bangladesh’s importance to the USA. Peoples hopes had been raised and the results were just not fast enough in coming, and with no more British to blame, it was natural to turn on the leaders.

Well my drink is empty and I may have a few more while I ponder how independence could have gone better. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

A new train station for a suddenly important city

Welcome readers to today’s offering from The Philatelist. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. We have an interesting story of a partition, a blooding split, a famine and yet an attractive, unique, necessary piece of infrastructure is constructed.

The stamp today is Bangladeshi, but looks post independence Indian. That India had a big influence on Bangladesh is obvious, even in the stamps.

The issue today is issue A70, a 1 Taka Bangladeshi stamp issued on December 21st, 1983. The stamp displays the Kamalapur Train Station in Dacca. It is part of a 10 stamp issue depicting various architecture around Bangladesh. According to the Scott catalog, it is worth 40 cents cancelled.

As the British faded from India, the decision was taken to partition the land area. This was a controversial decision at the time and quite the bloody mess as people suddenly found themselves on the wrong side of a line. Something like 14 million people were displaced by bloody and shameful ethnic cleansing. While none of the sides are blameless, the British drew the line. The man who drew the line refused payment for his work after seeing the trouble that boiled over after. It is worth noting though that there are today many Muslims in India, but virtually no Hindus in Pakistan. Make of that fact what you will.

A Eastern portion of Bengal elected to join with Muslim Pakistan. They were widely separated geographically, but also racially. The East Pakistan people were Bengali with a different language and ethnicity. They soon felt like second class citizens and in 1971, with Indian help had a successful war of independence from Pakistan.

Already with partition, the East Pakistan city of Dacca became much more important as an administrative and economic center. One problem with this was that the train did not go there. So by the early 60s while under the Pakistanis, an extention of the train line was begun. In Dacca, a local university of engineering and technology had started a school of architechture and brought in 5 American instructors. Among them was Robert Boughey. Mr. Boughey was selected to do the railway station in what everyone understood was going to be a major transportation hub in an important world city. The design was for a large station with a mid century modern look that included a roof that resembled a mosaic of lotus blossom shaped umbrellas. The station opened with much fanfare in 1969, two years before independence. Mr. Boughey is still with us and went on to design several other important buildings in Dacca and also in Bangkok. The Kamalapur train station is still in use today.

Bangladesh is a growing populous country today with a large textile industry and many workers around the world. It maintains good relations with virtually all the world’ s nations except Pakistan.

Well, my drink is empty, and so it is time to open up the conversation in the below comment section. Have any of our readers traveled through the Kamalapur train station? Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.