The year 1997 was the 26th year after the independence of Bangladesh. It was also the second year of the first term of the Government of

Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina Wazed (''née'' Sheikh Hasina ; ; bn, শেখ হাসিনা ওয়াজেদ, Shēkh Hasinā, , born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Prime Minister ...

Incumbents

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Shahabuddin Ahmed Shahabuddin Ahmed (1 February 1930 – 19 March 2022) served as the President of Bangladesh from 1996 to 2001, and the Chief Justice of Bangladesh from 1990 to 1995. He previously served as the acting president during 1990–91 when Hussain Mu ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

* Chief Justice:

A.T.M Afzal Abu Taher Mohammad Afzal (known as ATM Afzal) is a Bangladeshi jurist who served as the 8th Chief Justice of Bangladesh. Career In 1976, Afzal was the public prosecutor at the trial of Colonel Abu Taher. References

Living people ...

Demography

Climate

Cyclone

A powerful

cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an anti ...

caused widespread damage and loss of life throughout

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

in May. Originating from a near-

equator The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can als ...

ial

trough Trough may refer to: In science * Trough (geology), a long depression less steep than a trench * Trough (meteorology), an elongated region of low atmospheric pressure * Trough (physics), the lowest point on a wave * Trough level (medicine), the l ...

on 15 May 1997, the cyclone tracked in a general northward direction throughout its existence. The system gradually intensified over the following days, reaching the equivalent of a

Category 1 hurricane Category 1 can refer to: *Category 1 cable, an electrical standard for communications wiring * Category 1 tropical cyclone, on any of the Tropical cyclone scales * Cat11egory 1 pandemic, on the Pandemic Severity Index, an American influenza pandemi ...

on the

Saffir–Simpson scale The Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale (SSHWS) classifies hurricanes—which in the Western Hemisphere are tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms—into five categories distinguished by ...

by 17 May. The following day, the storm attained its peak intensity with winds of 215 km/h (135 mph) according to the JTWC and 165 km/h (105 mph) according to the IMD along with a

barometric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibars, 7 ...

of 964

mbar The bar is a metric unit of pressure, but not part of the International System of Units (SI). It is defined as exactly equal to 100,000 Pa (100 kPa), or slightly less than the current average atmospheric pressure on Earth at sea leve ...

(

hPa HPA may refer to: Organizations * Harry Potter Alliance, a charity * Halifax Port Authority, Canada * Hamburg Port Authority, Germany * Hawaii Preparatory Academy, a school in Hawaii, US * Health Protection Agency, UK * Heerespersonalamt, the Ger ...

; 28.47

inHg Inch of mercury (inHg and ″Hg) is a non- SI unit of measurement for pressure. It is used for barometric pressure in weather reports, refrigeration and aviation in the United States. It is the pressure exerted by a column of mercury in heigh ...

). On 19 May, the cyclone made

landfall Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...

near

Chittagong Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...

, Bangladesh before rapidly dissipating the next day.

Economy

Note: For the year 1997 average official exchange rate for BDT was 43.89 per US$.

Events

13 April Events Pre-1600 *1111 – Henry V is crowned Holy Roman Emperor. * 1204 – Constantinople falls to the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade, temporarily ending the Byzantine Empire. 1601–1900 *1612 – In one of the epic samurai ...

–

Bangladesh national cricket team The Bangladesh men's national cricket team ( bn, বাংলাদেশ জাতীয় ক্রিকেট দল), popularly known as The Tigers, is administered by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). It is a Full Member of the Inte ...

wins

1997 ICC Trophy The Carlsberg Group, Carlsberg 1997 ICC Trophy was a cricket tournament played in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia between 24 March and 13 April 1997. It was the Cricket World Cup qualification tournament for the 1999 Cricket World Cup. Bangladesh national ...

and qualifies for cricket world cup 1999. *

21 November Events Pre-1600 *164 BCE – Judas Maccabeus, son of Mattathias of the Hasmonean family, rededicates the Temple in Jerusalem, an event is commemorated each year by the festival of Hanukkah. (25 Kislev 3597 in the Hebrew calendar.) * 23 ...

– 23 people were killed in

when a five-story building collapsed in Bangladesh during an

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

. *

2 December Events Pre-1600 *1244 – Pope Innocent IV arrives at Lyon for the First Council of Lyon. *1409 – The University of Leipzig opens. 1601–1900 *1697 – St Paul's Cathedral, rebuilt to the design of Sir Christopher Wren following ...

– The '

Chittagong Hill tracts Peace Accord The Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord () also known as Chittagong Hill Tracts Treaty, 1997 is a political agreement and peace treaty signed between the Bangladeshi Government and the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samiti (United People's P ...

' is signed between Bangladesh government and

Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samiti The Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti ( bn, পার্বত্য চট্টগ্রাম জনসংহতি সমিতি; ''United People's Party of the Chittagong Hill Tracts''; abbreviated PCJSS) is a political party form ...

. *

7 December Events Pre-1600 *43 BC – Marcus Tullius Cicero is assassinated in Formia on orders of Marcus Antonius. * 574 – Byzantine Emperor Justin II, suffering recurring seizures of insanity, adopts his general Tiberius and proclaims him a ...

– Over a hundred people are injured during a demonstrations against the signing of peace accord with rebels in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

Awards and Recognitions

Independence Day Award

Ekushey Padak

Abu Ishaque Abu Bashar Mohammad Ishaque ( bn, আবু ইসহাক; 1 November 1926 – 2003) was a Bangladeshi novelist. Early life Ishaque was born in the village of Shirangal in Naria, Faridpur District (now in Shariatpur District) on 1 November 192 ...

(literature) #

Novera Ahmed Novera Ahmed (29 March 1939 – 6 May 2015) was a modern sculptor of Bangladesh. She was awarded Ekushey Padak by the Government of Bangladesh in 1997. Artist Zainul Abedin described her work saying "What Novera is doing now will take us a long ...

(sculpture) #

Nitun Kundu Nitya Gopal Kundu (3 December 1935 – 15 September 2006) was a Bangladeshi artist, sculptor and entrepreneur. Kundu played an important role during the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971. He founded the furniture company Otobi. Early life Ku ...

(sculpture) # Debu Bhattacharya (music) # Runu Biswas (dance) #

Razia Khan Razia Khan Amin (1936 – 28 December 2011) was a Bangladeshi writer, poet and educationist. She was also a journalist, theatre actor and columnist for newspapers. She was awarded Ekushey Padak in 1997 for her contribution to education by the Gov ...

(education) # Serajul Huq (education) #

Shabnam Mustari Shabnam Mustari is a Bangladeshi Nazrul Geeti singer. She was awarded Ekushey Padak in 1997 and Nazrul Award in 2014 by the Government of Bangladesh. Her notable songs include `"Laili Tomar Esheche Phiria"`, `"Amai Nohe Go Bhalobasho Mor Gaan"`, ...

(music) # Santosh Gupta (journalism) # Monajatuddin (journalism) #

Momtazuddin Ahmed Momtazuddin Ahmed ( bn, মমতাজউদ্দিন আহমেদ; 24 December 1903 – 12 September 1971) was a Bangladeshi philosopher and educationist. Early life and education Ahmed was born to a Bengali Muslim family from Brahma ...

(drama)

Sports

* International

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

: ** Bangladesh participated in

1997 South Asian Football Federation Gold Cup The 1997 South Asian Football Federation Gold Cup was held in Kathmandu, Nepal between 4 and 13 September. India won the championship after defeating Maldives in the final. Venues Group stage Group A ---- ---- Group B ---- ---- K ...

held in

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

, where they exited in the group stage. * Domestic football: **

Muktijoddha Sangsad KC Muktijoddha Sangsad KC ( bn, মুক্তিযোদ্ধা সংসদ ক্রীড়া চক্র) is a Bangladeshi professional football club based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The club is nicknamed The Freedom Fighters. It competes i ...

won

Dhaka League Dhaka Senior Division Football League, also referred as First Division Football League, is the third tier of football league in Bangladesh. Until 2006, it was the top-tier league of the country. It was established in 1948 as Dhaka League, while ...

title while Mohammedan SC became runner-up. ** Abahani Ltd. won the title of

Bangladesh Federation Cup Federation Cup, also known as Bangladesh Federation Cup, is Bangladesh's premier cup competition in men's association football. The competition started in 1980 and is run by the Bangladesh Football Federation which is responsible for all types of ...

while

Arambagh KS Arambagh Krira Sangha is a Bangladeshi sports club based in Dhaka, that competes in the Dhaka Senior Division Football League, the third-tier of football in Bangladesh. History Arambagh Krira Sangha were formed in Dhaka way back in 1958. Origina ...

became runner-up. *

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

: ** The third and final SAARC Quadrangular was held in Dhaka in February 1997. The Pakistan 'A' team, led by

Asif Mujtaba Mohammad Asif Mujtaba (Urdu: آصف مجتبیٰ, born 4 November 1967) is a Pakistani cricket coach and former cricketer who played in 25 Test matches and 66 One Day Internationals from 1986 to 1997. During the, 1994–95 period he briefly ser ...

, won the trophy after beating India 'A' in a rain affected final. Bangladesh could not win any matches in this tournament. ** The

played in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

between 24 March and 13 April 1997 was the qualification tournament for the

1999 Cricket World Cup The 1999 Cricket World Cup (officially known as ICC Cricket World Cup '99) was the seventh edition of the Cricket World Cup, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was hosted primarily by England, with Scotland, Ireland, Wales ...

, captained by Akram Khan (pictured), were the winners of the tournament, defeating

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

in the final, while

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

won the third place play-off. These three teams took the three available spots in the World Cup, Bangladesh and Scotland both qualifying for this tournament for the first time. ** The

toured New Zealand in November and December 1997 and played four first-class and four

List A List A cricket is a classification of the limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competitions in which the numbe ...

matches against teams representing the northern, central and southern regions of New Zealand. Bangladesh had been playing List A matches since 1986, but the four first-class matches on this

tour Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed b ...

were the first first-class matches played by any Bangladeshi team. However, Bangladesh team was not competitive in the longer version of the game against the stronger NZ regional teams.

Births

25 October Events Pre-1600 * 285 (or 286) – Execution of Saints Crispin and Crispinian during the reign of Diocletian, now the patron saints of leather workers, curriers, and shoemakers. * 473 – Emperor Leo I acclaims his grandson Leo II ...

– Mehedy Hasan Miraz, cricketer

Deaths

4 January Events Pre-1600 *46 BC – Julius Caesar fights Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina. * 871 – Battle of Reading: Æthelred of Wessex and his brother Alfred are defeated by a Danish invasion army. 1601–1900 *1649 – Engli ...

–

Akhteruzzaman Elias Akhteruzzaman Elias (12 February 1943 – 4 January 1997) (Bengali: আখতারুজ্জামান ইলিয়াস) was a Bangladeshi novelist and short story writer. Despite writing only two novels, critics place Elias "in the pant ...

, author (b. 1943) *

– A R Mallick, academician (b. 1918) *

8 July Events Pre-1600 *1099 – Some 15,000 starving Christian soldiers begin the siege of Jerusalem by marching in a religious procession around the city as its Muslim defenders watch. * 1283 – Roger of Lauria, commanding the Aragonese ...

–

Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem (29 March 1916 – 8 July 1997) was a Bangladeshi jurist and statesman. He was first Chief Justice of Bangladesh from 1972 to 1975. He became the President of Bangladesh in the aftermath of counter-coups in November 197 ...

, first Chief Justice of Bangladesh, subsequently President of Bangladesh (b. 1916) *

26 September Events Pre-1600 *46 BC – Julius Caesar dedicates a temple to Venus Genetrix, fulfilling a vow he made at the Battle of Pharsalus. * 715 – Ragenfrid defeats Theudoald at the Battle of Compiègne. * 1087 – William II is crow ...

–

Mafizuddin Ahmed Mafizuddin Ahmed ( – 26 September 1997) was a Bangladeshi educationist and scientist. He served as the first vice-chancellor of Jahangirnagar University. He was a founding fellow of the Bangladesh Academy of Sciences. Early life and educatio ...

, scientist (b. 1921) *

4 November Events Pre-1600 *1429 – Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War: Joan of Arc liberates Saint-Pierre-le-Moûtier. *1493 – Christopher Columbus reaches Leeward Island and Puerto Rico. *1501 – Catherine of Aragon (later Henry VIII's ...

– Ranesh Das Gupta, writer, journalist, and politician (b. 1912) *

1 December Events Pre-1600 * 800 – A council is convened in the Vatican, at which Charlemagne is to judge the accusations against Pope Leo III. *1420 – Henry V of England enters Paris alongside his father-in-law King Charles VI of France. * ...

–

Khan Ataur Rahman Khan Ataur Rahman (known as Khan Ata; 11 December 1928 – 1 December 1997) was a Bangladeshi film actor, director, producer, screenplay writer, music composer, and singer, best known for his role in the film ''Jibon Theke Neya'' (1970). He rec ...

, singer, actor, and film director (b. 1928)

References

{{Year in Asia, 1997