Musings on Pahela Baishakh

This year Baishakh has come not with a whimper but with a bang. The stormy and heavy showery end of Chaitra has grounded many kaccha houses and trees in many places across the country. Electric poles have been uprooted and transformers burst plunging many affected areas into scorching heat and darkness. Mango trees have been uprooted in the gardens of Chapai Nawabgonj harming many garden owners. Hail storms along with heavy showers have caused havoc to standing crops in many places.
This is the situation in which the people are going to welcome and celebrate Pahela Baishakh - the first day of the Bangla new year, 1422 - with traditional festivities like village fairs, boat racing and colourful street shows.
Despite the destructive features of Kal-Baishakhi, the Bangla new year is welcomed and celebrated by one and all across the country with new hopes of welfare, peace, prosperity, progress and good wishes for all irrespective of religion and creed. The whole day of Pahela Boishakh becomes an occasion of enjoyment and festivities.
History tells us that the first day of Baishakh has been celebrated in this agrarian country with due festivities by the cultivators, traders and zaminders from time immemorial. The Bangla new year was initiated by the Mughal Emperor Akbar with his ascension to the throne in 1556.
There exist many contradictory opinions about the Bangla new year. There are many similarities between the Hindu religious festivals like Pujas and the lunar months in the subcontinent. On the other hand, the solar months are considered advantageous for various reasons to the season-based agricultural activities of the people of the region. To end the differences, famed astronomer Dr. Meghnad Saha proposed a reform of the Bangla calendar (Panjika) in the year 1952. In 1963, renowned scholar and linguist Dr. Muhammad Shahidullah led a committee named after him "Shahidullah Committee" and proposed a reform of the Bangla calendar in the then East Pakistan basing it on solar months in lieu of the earlier lunar system, in conformity with the reforms suggested by Dr. Meghnad Saha.
After 1971, the government of Bangladesh accepted the proposals of the Shahidullah Committee and gave importance to the reform of the Bangla calendar. At last, in the fiscal year 1988-1989, instruction was issued to reframe the Bangla calendar as per the Shahidullah Committee proposals. But there remained some complexities to be reconciled, particularly regarding the leap year every four years. In 1994, after many consultations, the Bangla Calendar Reform Committee of Bangla Academy fixed April 14 of the Gregorian calendar as the 1st of Baishakh - the beginning month of Bangla calendar year in line with the Shahidullah Committee's proposal.
It goes without saying that the present official Bangla calendar is highly scientific. It has been universally accepted by the historians that Emperor Akbar ascended the throne in 1556 which was Hijri year 963. This Hijri year is considered the first of the Bangla year.
The current Gregorian calendar year is 2015; if we subtract from this the year in which Emperor Akbar ascended the throne we get 459 years. If we add these 459 years to the years 963 which was the Hijri year equivalent of 1556 Gregorian calendar year in which Emperor Akbar ascended the throne, we get (459+963) 1422 years. Arithmetically, {(2015-1556) = 459 years + 963 Hijri years = 1422 Bengali years)}. It is mentionable that there is a difference of 593 years 3 months 13 days between the Gregorian years and the Bangla years.
In this context, it may be noted that the Jukto Front (United Front) government declared April 14, 1954 (Bangla year 1361) as public holiday for the first time in the then East Pakistan in observance of Bangla New Year day.  
The Bengalis of the Indian state of Paschimbanga observe Pahela Baishakh a day after April 14 i.e., on April 15. As a result, the same yearly and seasonal festivals are observed in different days in Bangladesh and Paschimbanga.
This goes to imply that the Bangla calendar, framed so scientifically, is yet to achieve universal acceptance in this modern age. The pundits of Paschimbanga may be held responsible for this as the reformed Bangla calendar was framed in keeping with the proposals of Dr. Meghnad Saha.
The Indian government decided to make April 14 of the Gregorian calendar as the 1st of Baishakh as per the recommendations of Dr. S.P Pande committee that modified some of Dr. Meghnad Saha's proposals. But it is yet to be accepted. Had it been done, people of both Bangladesh and Paschimbnga could have celebrated Pahela Baishakh on the same day.
Observance of the festivities of the Bangla New Year is a reminder of the common heritage of all Bangalees. For this reason, all concerned should come forward to observe the 1st of Baishakh on the same day - April 14 of the Gregorian calendar.                  

The writer is a retired professor of Economics, BCS General Education Cadre.
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