Staff Reporter :
The Department of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (DPDT) under the Ministry of Industries has officially recognized the “Tangail Saree” as a Geographical Indication (GI) product of Bangladesh.
This announcement was made by Zakia Sultana, the Senior Secretary of the Industries Ministry, on Wednesday (7 February), with a gazette notification scheduled to be issued on Thursday.
The DPDT is tasked with recognizing and certifying GI products in alignment with the standards of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), operating under the Ministry of Industry.
The legal framework for such recognition, the Geographical Indication Products (Registration and Protection) Act, was established in 2013. Following the enactment of this law, the DPDT initiated the process for the registration of GI products in 2015.
The need for asserting the GI status of the Tangail Saree became particularly pronounced following a claim made on an official Facebook page of India’s Ministry of Culture on February 1.
The post asserted that “The Tangail Saree, originating from West Bengal, is a traditional handwoven masterpiece known for its fine texture, vibrant colors, and intricate Jamdani motifs, symbolizing the region’s rich cultural heritage.”
This statement sparked a wave of indignation among Bangladeshi netizens, who took to various social media platforms to express their discontent towards India for attempting to claim GI rights over what they consider to be a quintessentially Bangladeshi product.
