PM Receives GI Certificates For Tangail Saree, Two Other Products

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has received the Geographical Indication (GI) certificates for three renowned Bangladeshi products -- Tangail sarees, Narsingdi's Sagar bananas, and Gopalganj's rosogolla.

Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun and Secretary Zakia Sultana handed over the certificates to the premier at the start of a cabinet meeting at her office on Sunday. These certificates recognise the unique geographical origin and qualities of these products. 

The Directorate of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (DPDT) has also published a gazette on the GI status of the three products.

It came amid a whirlwind of controversy after India's ministry of industries received GI recognition for a saree named 'Tangail Saree of Bengal', with the approval of the World Intellectual Property Organization.

In a Facebook post, the Indian Ministry of Culture asserted that the Tangail saree originated from West Bengal, a claim that contradicts the saree's deep-rooted association with Bangladesh.

The move sparked a backlash in Bangladesh, with saree merchants, legal experts, and rights advocates questioning how India could claim GI recognition for the Tangail saree, given that Tangail is a region in Bangladesh and the handloom saree is a distinctly Bangladeshi product.

In response to the controversy, Bangladesh's government agencies took action, with the Tangail district administration submitting a GI recognition application for the sarees on Feb 6. The application was subsequently approved and officially gazetted by the DPDT.

Afterwards, Sheikh Hasina also unveiled the cover of Science and Technology Minister Yeafes Osman's poetry book 'Pitarai Pratichchabi'.