Mangal Shobhajatra or Mangal Shovajatra () is a mass procession that takes place at dawn on the first day of the

Bengali New Year Pohela Boishakh ( bn, পহেলা বৈশাখ) is the first day of the Bengali calendar which is also the official calendar of Bangladesh. This festival is celebrated on 14 April in Bangladesh and 15 April in the Indian states of We ...

in Bangladesh. The procession is organised by the teachers and students of the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Dhaka. The festival is considered an expression of the secular identity of the Bangladeshi people and as a way to promote unity. It was declared an

intangible cultural heritage An intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is a practice, representation, expression, knowledge, or skill considered by UNESCO to be part of a place's cultural heritage. Buildings, historic places, monuments, and artifacts are cultural property. I ...

by UNESCO in 2016, categorised on the representative list as a heritage of humanity.

Etymology

The Bengali phrase ''Mangal Shobhajatra'' literally means "procession for well-being".

History

The procession of the festival was first observed in 1989, when the autocratic ruler

Hussain Muhammad Ershad Lt. Gen. Hussain Muhammad Ershad ( bn, হুসেইন মুহাম্মদ এরশাদ; 1 February 1930 – 14 July 2019) was a Bangladeshi Army Chief politician who served as the President of Bangladesh from 1983 to 1990, a time m ...

was the president of the country. He became the president of the country through a bloodless

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

. At that time, the country was under a military dictatorship and was suffering from

floods A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...

. A mass uprising took place in Dhaka during which many people, including

Noor Hossain Noor Hossain (also rendered as Nur Hossain; bn, নূর হোসেন, Nūr Hōsēn; 1961 – November 10, 1987) was a Bangladeshi activist who was killed by the Bangladesh Police on November 10, 1987, while protesting against President Hussa ...

, died. The students of the

Dhaka University The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...

Faculty of Fine Arts decided to demonstrate against the regime by arranging the Mangal Shobhajatra on

Pahela Baishakh Pohela Boishakh ( bn, পহেলা বৈশাখ) is the first day of the Bengali calendar which is also the official calendar of Bangladesh. This festival is celebrated on 14 April in Bangladesh and 15 April in the Indian states of We ...

About

Every year, thousands of people take part in the procession that features gigantic replicas of birds, fish, animals, folk tale and other motifs. The rally symbolizes unity, peace, and the driving away of evil to allow progress of country and humanity. It is considered as an expression of the secular identity of the Bangali people, uniting the country irrespective of class, age, religious faith, or gender.

UNESCO recognition

In 2014 the

Bangla Academy The Bangla Academy ( bn, বাংলা একাডেমি, ) is an autonomous institution funded by the Bangladesh government to foster the Bengali language, literature and culture, to develop and implement national language policy and to d ...

compiled a nomination file that was approved by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs of Bangladesh and submitted to UNESCO. On 30 November 2016 the Mangal Shobhajatra festival was selected as an intangible cultural heritage by the Inter-governmental Committee on Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

at its 11thsession, which was held in

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo language, Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the ...

Celebrations in India

In 2017, following the footsteps of Bangladesh, the festive Mangal Shobhajatra was brought out in

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

References

External links

* {{UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity/APA Annual events in Bangladesh Culture in Dhaka Events in Bangladesh Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity April observances University of Dhaka