‘Tangail sari is ours,’ Hasina says amid Bangladesh-India tussle over GI tag
The prime minister says she has been deliberately wearing the sari for the past few days to affirm its Bangladeshi origin
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Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina revealed that she has been wearing Tangail saris recently to affirm its Bangladeshi origin amid an ongoing tug of war over the product’s Geographical Indication (GI) status between Bangladesh and India.
Describing it as a ‘strategic move’, she said, “For the past few days, I have chosen to wear the Tangail sari to demonstrate that it is ours, and it cannot be claimed by others.”
The prime minister was speaking at a media briefing on Friday following her recent visit to Germany for the Munich Security Conference.
The origin of the Tangail sari became the subject of heated debate after India’s ministry of industries received GI recognition for the product, which it called the ‘Tangail Sari of Bengal’.
In a Facebook post, the Indian Ministry of Culture asserted that the Tangail sari originated from West Bengal, a claim that contradicts the sari’s deep-rooted association with Bangladesh.
The move sparked a backlash in Bangladesh, with sari merchants, legal experts, and rights advocates questioning how India could claim the GI recognition for the Tangail sari, given that Tangail is a region in Bangladesh and the handloom sari is a distinctly Bangladeshi product.
In response, Bangladesh took steps to secure the intellectual property rights for this traditional attire.
On Feb 6, the Tangail District Administration filed for a GI certificate, which was subsequently granted by the Department of Patent, Design, and Trademarks. Hasina later received the GI certificates for three iconic Bangladeshi products, including the Tangail sari.
The briefing took an interesting turn when a reporter complimented the prime minister on her commitment to promoting Bangladeshi attire, particularly the Jamdani and Tangail saris, while mistakenly assuming that she was wearing a Tangail sari at the event.
“Actually, this is a chiffon sari from Gazipur’s Safipur,” Hasina replied.
“This sari was crafted by members of our Ansar and VDP in Safipur. While people often admire French chiffon, I have dubbed this the Safipur chiffon. I buy these saris from them as gifts for others. Today, I chose to wear it myself.”