270 million Bangalees celebrate Pohela Boishakh – The Bangla New Year 1433 worldwide

BD Staff Report
Dubai, UAE

More than a billion people including 270 million native Bangla-speaking people are celebrating their New Year that or Pohela Boishakh – marking the 1433 Bangla New Year worldwide – as the most cultural and secular festival that binds the global Bangalee diaspora spread across the world with the people of Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal and Tripura – that hosts most of them.
Bangalees celebrate their New Year amid cultural festivities, art and crafts and festive procession across the main cultural avenues in Dhaka and Kolkata. Musical events are held throughout the day at certain locations across Bangladesh and Indian states of West Bengal and Tripura that shares the same cultural and linguistic heritage as the people of Bangladesh.
For the people of Bangladesh, Pohela Boishakh is one of the largest secular cultural festival that binds people from all cultural, regious and social backgrounds and unite them with common heritage.

For businesses, this marks a new beginning for all, after closing the previous year’s account. Bangla New Year, or Pohela Boishakh, originates from an agrarian calendar established around 57 BC by Raja Bikromaditya, later refined in the 7th century by Raja Shashanka to align with harvest cycles. It was officially formalised as the agricultural tax year by Mughal Emperor Akbar, evolving into a cultural celebration of heritage.
The emperor's initiative was financial, rather than cultural, according to reports. Back in those days, agriculture was the main source of taxes, and was collected according to the Hijri calendar. The Hijri calendar, for those not in the know, is a lunar calendar, and was not in sync with crop seasons. This caused quite an issue, and the emperor took it upon himself to find a solution.
Upon his commission, Fatehullah Shirazi formulated a new calendar by aligning the Islamic calendar with the harvest season and thus, solving the issue. That's how Bangabda came into being, and we got our Pahela Baishakh as the first day of the year. The new calendar, introduced on 10 or 11 March, 1584, was initially known as Tarikh-e-Elahi.

Some debate that it was King Shashanka of Gaur (Gauda) who brought about the bangabda (Bengali calendar). However, historians lean towards Emperor Akbar as the patron for Bangla calendar.
The worldwide Bengali population is estimated to be over 270 million people, primarily concentrated in Bangladesh (over 170 million) and India (over 97 million, mainly in West Bengal and Tripura). It is the 7th most spoken language globally, with a significant diaspora in the US, UK, Middle East, and Europe.
In addition to Bangalees, around eight other nationalities in India and Pakistan are also celebrating Baishaki or Vishakhi, including the Punjabis, Tamils and Malayalees in Kerala where it is known as Vishu. In Tamil Nadu, this is known as Chithrai – the Tamil New Year, while it is known as Rongali Bihu or Bohag Bihu in Assam, Pana Sankranti or Maha Vishuba Sankranti in Odisha, Sajibu Cheiraoba in Manipur and Jur Sital in Bihar and Jharkand – known as Maithili New Year that falls around April 14 (Mesha Sankranti), marking the start of the solar calendar.
Similar solar-based festivals are celebrated by millions across Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and a few other countries around April 14th (often April 13th–15th). Major celebrations include Thailand's Songkran, Sri Lanka's Aluth Avurudu, Cambodia's Chol Chnam Thmey, Laos' Pii Mai, and Myanmar's Thingyan.
This way, April 14 is the 2nd most celebrated solar New Year after the Gregorian Calendar – that is celebrated on January 1 every year and the Hijra New Year – that is the lunar new year