The land of historic Bengal — the delta of the Ganges and Brahmaputra — passes through ancient Buddhist and Hindu dynasties, an Islamic sultanate, two centuries as a province of larger empires, a century and a half of British colonial rule, a hurried 1947 partition, twenty-four years as the geographically separated eastern wing of Pakistan, and a nine-month war of independence, before emerging in December 1971 as the People's Republic of Bangladesh — the youngest sovereign state, and the youngest flag, in this hub.
Bangladesh's own flag is comparatively brief in its history but direct in its symbolism: a red disc, for the sun and for the sacrifice of the liberation struggle, set against a green field for the land itself. It was first raised as an improvised wartime banner in March 1971 and settled into its present, simpler form the following year.
Scope of this page: the territory of present-day Bangladesh (historic East Bengal), c. 3rd century BCE – present, eight political entities. The Mughal era (1576–1757) is covered here only briefly, as one province among many under a single imperial flag; the empire's own fuller lineage is covered on its own page — see the link in that entry. The 1971 Liberation War is stated factually and briefly, limited to well-documented dates and outcomes rather than a full military or human account. Part of a larger atlas — see the linked pages at the bottom.
One delta, eight rulers
The delta of the Ganges and Brahmaputra, traced as one border — present-day Bangladesh has no internal governing split to show across any of its eight eras. Press play, or drag the slider.
Why no internal split. From ancient dynasties through the Mughal province, Company and Crown rule, the Pakistani wing, and independence, every era here was governed as one piece — there is no genuinely separate internal region of today's Bangladesh to carve out honestly.
Real traced border, no internal partition.
How we know this. 8 of 8 eras on this page carry an evidence panel (5 attested, 1 placeholder image, 2 not yet checked). Only the ones marked attested are confirmed by the sources named under them; where sources disagree or a claim could not be confirmed, the panel says so.
green field, red disc slightly toward the hoist — finalized 1972
1972 – present
People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Republic, independentSheikh Mujibur RahmanIslam (state religion, since 1988)
Migration & conquest:Immigration: Rohingya refugees from Myanmar (2017–)Emigration: labor migration to the Gulf & Southeast Asia
Who & why: Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, released from Pakistani custody in January 1972, returns to Dhaka to lead the new state as its first head of government, and a constitution is adopted later that year. In January 1972 the wartime flag is formally simplified: the gold silhouette map inside the red disc is dropped, since it printed and sewed inconsistently and read differently on each side of the cloth, and the disc's position is fixed slightly toward the hoist so that it appears visually centered when the flag flies.
What it represents: green for Bangladesh's fields and forests, and the red disc for the rising sun and for the blood of those lost in the 1971 war for independence — the same design, unaltered since 1972, still flown today.
Attestedhow we know this
Both sources give 1972, the year this page starts the current flag. Wikipedia's infobox gives the adoption as 17 January 1972; Flags of the World dates it 13 January 1972.
Bangladesh — Flags of the World (CRW Flags) compiled
Not established: Only the year the current flag was adopted was compared; the design and the swatch colours were not checked against a specification.
Paint guide
Proportions10:6 field; red disc radius = 1/5 of the flag's length, centered vertically, its own center set at 2/5 (not 1/2) of the length from the hoist.
LayoutPlain green field, plain red disc, no other emblem.
Bangladesh green#006A4E
Bangladesh red#F42A41
the provisional wartime flag, with a gold silhouette map inside the disc
March – December 1971
Liberation War & provisional Bangladesh
Provisional government, wartimeSheikh Mujibur RahmanNo official state religion (wartime government)
Migration & conquest:Emigration: refugees fleeing to India (1971)
Who & why: after the Awami League wins a decisive majority in Pakistan's December 1970 general election but is denied the transfer of power, the Pakistani military launches a crackdown in East Pakistan in late March 1971. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is arrested and independence is declared on 26 March 1971; a provisional government is organized in exile at Mujibnagar in April. A nine-month war follows, fought in large part by the Mukti Bahini resistance, until India enters the conflict in December 1971 and Pakistani forces surrender at Dhaka on 16 December 1971, the day Bangladesh's independence is secured.
What it represents: a green flag with a red disc and a gold map of Bangladesh in the middle. Wikipedia gives two accounts of the first raising at Dhaka University on 2 March 1971 (a first version dates to 1970), and Flags of the World dates it to 3 March; both say Sheikh Mujibur Rahman hoisted the flag on 23 March 1971. The sources read do not say the provisional government adopted this design.
Attestedhow we know this
WP: 'Swadheen Bangla' flag first made 6 June 1970 at Dhaka University; raised there 2 March 1971 (or stitched 1 March, map added 2 March); Mujib hoisted it 23 March 1971; wartime flag green with red disc and yellow map; map removed 13 Jan 1972. FOTW: red disc with gold map on bottle-green, first flag hoisted at Dhaka University 3 March 1971, Mujib 23 March 1971, design attributed to Quamrul Hasan.
Bangladesh — Flags of the World (CRW Flags) compiled
Not established: Sources differ on 2 vs 3 March 1971. Provisional-government adoption is not stated by either.
Paint guide
ProportionsNo single fixed ratio during the war; shown at 3:2.
LayoutGreen field, red disc shifted toward the hoist, gold silhouette map of Bangladesh centered inside the disc.
Green#006A4E
Red#F42A41
Map, gold#C9A13C
Pakistan's flag, flown over the eastern wing as East Pakistan
1947 – 1971
East Bengal / East Pakistan
Province, union stateMuhammad Ali JinnahIslam (Pakistan state religion, from 1956)
Migration & conquest:Emigration: Hindus to India after Partition (1947–)
Who & why: the August 1947 partition of British India splits Bengal along the Radcliffe Line: West Bengal joins India, and East Bengal joins the new Dominion of Pakistan as its eastern wing, geographically separated from West Pakistan by roughly 1,600 km of Indian territory (renamed East Pakistan in 1955). Tensions build over the decades that follow — the 1952 Bengali Language Movement, sparked by a push to make Urdu Pakistan's sole national language, becomes an early and formative grievance, later commemorated internationally as Mother Language Day. Political and economic marginalization of the Bengali-majority east feeds a growing nationalist movement that culminates in the Awami League's 1970 election mandate.
What it represents: Pakistan's flag, which Wikipedia lists as the flag in use in 1947-1971: green with a white crescent and star and a white strip. The sources read do not state the meaning of the colours and strip given earlier on this page, or that it flew specifically over East Pakistan.
Attestedhow we know this
Wikipedia's list for Bangladesh gives Pakistan's flag (green, white crescent and star, white strip) for 1947-1971. Wikipedia's Pakistan article says the Constituent Assembly adopted it on 11 August 1947, that it became the flag of the Dominion and from 1956 of the Republic, and that the design is unchanged; FOTW's Pakistan page gives the flag as adopted in August 1947 (14 August there). FOTW's Bangladesh page notes that the first independent Bangladesh flag omitted Pakistan's crescent and star.
Pakistan — Flags of the World (CRW Flags) compiled
Not established: Neither Pakistan source mentions East Pakistan or East Bengal; that Pakistan's flag flew over the eastern wing is inferred from it being the national flag of the whole state. The colour symbolism given earlier on this page is not covered here.
Paint guide
Proportions2:3; hoist stripe = 1/4 of the flag's length.
LayoutWhite vertical stripe at hoist; dark green field with a white crescent and five-pointed star, centered.
Pakistan green#01411C
White#F4EFE1
the British Indian Empire's Union flag with the Star of India, schematic
1858 – 1947
Bengal under the British Raj
Colony, crown ruleQueen VictoriaOfficial religious neutrality
Migration & conquest:Emigration: indentured labor to British colonies
Ruling house:Nawabs of Bengal
Who & why: following the 1857 rebellion, the British Crown formally assumes direct control of Company territories under the Government of India Act 1858, ending Company rule and beginning the Raj. Bengal is governed as its own presidency and, later, province within British India; Lord Curzon's controversial 1905 partition of Bengal along religious lines is reversed in 1911 after mass protest, foreshadowing the deeper partition to come in 1947. British rule over Bengal ends with Indian independence and the 1947 partition.
What it represents: Wikipedia lists, for British India in 1858-1947, the Union Flag, a Viceroy's flag (1885-1947), a Red Ensign-based British Raj flag (1880-1947) and a Bengal Presidency blue ensign. The sources read do not mention the Star of India composite shown here, which is a schematic.
Attestedhow we know this
Wikipedia lists the Union Flag, a Viceroy's flag (1885-1947), a Red Ensign-based British Raj flag (1880-1947) and a Bengal Presidency blue ensign for British India. FOTW's page on British India says India's flag was the Union Jack bearing the insignia of the Order of the Star of India (with Blue and Red Ensigns too), that the Company's territories passed to the Crown in 1858 and that the Empire of India was created in 1876; its Bengal page shows flags of Bengal from 1862 and 1868 charts.
Not established: FOTW's Star of India Union Jack is a contributor description (Roy Stilling, 1996) that does not name the year it began; the page's schematic composite is a drawing of that description. FOTW's Bengal flags (a scimitar between three barrels) are a different, local flag and are not on this page.
Paint guide
ProportionsVaried by ensign; shown at 3:2.
LayoutUnion Jack canton on a dark blue field, with the Star of India badge (gold star, red center) in the fly.
Field blue#1A2B57
Red#A4302A
Star, gold#C9A13C
the East India Company's striped ensign with the Union canton, schematic
1757 – 1858
Bengal under East India Company rule
Colony, company ruleRobert CliveNo official state religion (Company neutrality)
Migration & conquest:Conquered by: East India Company (1757)
Ruling house:Nawabs of Bengal
Who & why: the British East India Company defeats Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah at the Battle of Plassey on 23 June 1757, gaining effective control of Bengal, and formalizes its authority in 1765 when the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II grants it the diwani (the right to collect revenue) over Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa. The Company rules Bengal as a commercial and administrative enterprise, nominally under Mughal suzerainty at first, for a century, until the 1857 rebellion ends Company governance.
What it represents: the East India Company is not mentioned on Wikipedia's page for Bangladesh's flag; its list gives a Bengal Presidency blue ensign among the British-period flags. The sources read do not describe the striped ensign shown here for Bengal in 1757-1858.
Attestedhow we know this
Wikipedia's article on the East India Company's flag gives horizontal red and white stripes with the Union Jack in the canton, adopted 1801 and relinquished 1858; FOTW's East India Company page, citing Wilson's Flags at Sea, gives the ensign with a Union canton from 1707 and the new Union flag from about 1801, with varying stripe counts. FOTW's Bengal page shows a striped ensign with a Union Jack canton from an 1848/1862 chart 'similar to the ensigns of the British East India Company'. Wikipedia's Bangladesh list gives a Bengal Presidency blue ensign.
Not established: Both sources describe the Company's ensign and jack but neither says it was a territorial flag of Bengal as opposed to a Company and shipping flag; the number of stripes varies between sources (9, 11, 13), so the page's schematic stripe count is a choice. The 1757 start (Plassey) is not stated by these sources.
Paint guide
ProportionsNo fixed civil ratio recorded; shown at 3:2.
LayoutRed and white horizontal stripes (commonly 9 or 13), Union canton in the upper hoist.
Red#A4302A
White#F4EFE1
Canton blue#1E2F6E
a Mughal-style green field with a gold sun emblem, schematic
1576 – 1757
Bengal under the Mughal Empire
Empire, provinceAkbarIslam (Mughal state religion)
Who & why: the Mughal Emperor Akbar completes the conquest of the Bengal Sultanate in 1576, absorbing Bengal as one of the empire's wealthiest provinces (a subah), administered from Dhaka for much of this period. Bengal remains under Mughal governance — increasingly autonomous under its own nawabs in the 1700s as central Mughal authority weakens — until the Company's victory at Plassey in 1757. For the empire's own fuller lineage and flags, see the dedicated Mughal Empire page in this atlas.
What it represents: Wikipedia lists a moss-green alam flag for the Bengal Subah under the Mughals (1576-1717), with the entry tagged as failing verification. The sources read do not mention the gold sun motif shown here, and they list a separate Nawab of Bengal flag (white with three red barrels and a red sword) for 1717-1757.
Not yet checked against sourceshow we know this
Wikipedia's Bangladesh list gives a moss-green alam flag for the Bengal Subah under the Mughals (1576-1717), tagged as failing verification, and a Nawab of Bengal flag (white with three red barrels and a red sword) for 1717-1757. Wikipedia's article on the flags of the Mughal Empire says the imperial alam was primarily moss green with a lion and sun (citing the Ain-i-Akbari and Padshahnama paintings); FOTW's Mughal page shows an imperial standard carrying a lion with the sun behind it. FOTW's Bengal page confirms a white flag with a red scimitar between three red barrels from an 1862 chart (barrels and sword yellow in an 1868 source).
Not established: No source read gives a flag for Bengal in particular under the Mughals except the Wikipedia list entry that is tagged as failing verification; the lion-and-sun imperial alam supports a green Mughal standard but not the gold sun alone shown here. The Nawab flag (white, three barrels, sword) is from 1862-1868 charts, not a contemporary source.
Who & why: Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji's 1204 conquest brings Bengal under Delhi Sultanate governors; the region breaks away to found its own independent Bengal Sultanate in 1352, which endures — through several ruling dynasties, including the Ilyas Shahi and Hussain Shahi lines — as one of the era's major regional Islamic powers, known for trade, textiles, and architecture, until Mughal conquest in 1576.
What it represents: the sources read do not describe a Bengal Sultanate flag: Wikipedia's page names the Sultanate only as a link, and Flags of the World does not cover it. Wikipedia lists a dark grey Delhi Sultanate flag (1206-1352, from the Catalan Atlas of 1375). The maroon-and-crescent drawing is the page's own reconstruction and no source read supports it.
Not yet checked against sourceshow we know this
Wikipedia's Bangladesh list names the Bengal Sultanate only as a link and describes no flag; its article on the Bengal Sultanate has no flag description in the text read. FOTW's pages on Bangladesh, India's early history and Bengal do not cover the Sultanate.
Bangladesh — Flags of the World (CRW Flags) compiled
Not established: No source read describes a Bengal Sultanate flag; the maroon-and-crescent drawing is the page's own reconstruction.
Paint guide
ProportionsN/A — no attested flag; shown at 3:2.
LayoutPlain dark field, crescent devices common to regional sultanate banners.
Maroon#6B2B28
White#F4EFE1
placeholder maroon field — ancient and early medieval era, no flag survives
c. 3rd century BCE – 1204 CE
Historic Bengal (ancient & medieval)
Kingdom / empire, regionalNo single ruler documentedBuddhism / Hinduism (varied by dynasty)
Ruling house:Pala Empire
Who & why: the Bengal delta passes through the Maurya and Gupta empires, local dynasties such as Shashanka's early 7th-century kingdom, and, from the 8th century, the Buddhist Pala Empire, one of the region's most powerful and long-lived states. The Hindu Sena dynasty supplants the Palas in the 12th century, ruling until the 1204 conquest that opens the Islamic era in Bengal.
What it represents: no securely documented flag or standardized banner survives from any of these dynasties; ancient and early medieval South Asian states are attested through inscriptions, coinage, and royal seals rather than vexillological records. Shown here honestly blank rather than invented.
Placeholder imagehow we know this
This page's own caption calls the image a placeholder: «placeholder maroon field — ancient and early medieval era, no flag survives».
Not established: Whether a flag, banner or standard existed in this period was not checked. The colour shown is not evidence of one.
Paint guide
ProportionsN/A — no attested flag.
Reading the tags
Kingdom / empire, regional — sovereign under a local or regional crown
Sultanate — independent Islamic regional state
Empire, province — a province of a larger multi-region empire
Colony, company rule — governed by a chartered trading company
Colony, crown rule — governed directly by a foreign crown
Province, union state — a constituent wing/province of a larger sovereign state
Provisional government, wartime — a government formed during an active war of independence
Republic, independent — sovereign under its own elected government
Leader — the named ruler most associated with the era's start
State religion — the official/established faith, not the population's
Find the records
Family history research for Bangladesh lives in a different project, Record Atlas, which maps which archive actually holds the paper for a given place and era.