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Bangladesh Betar
বাংলাদেশ বেতার

Type	National public broadcaster
Country	Bangladesh
Headquarters	Agargaon, Dhaka
Broadcast area	National Worldwide
Owner	Government of Bangladesh
Launch date	16 December 1939; 85 years ago (1939-12-16)
Affiliation(s)	World Radio Network
Official website	betar.gov.bd

Bangladesh Betar (Bengali: বাংলাদেশ বেতার; lit. 'Bangladesh Radio'), or BB is the state-owned radio broadcaster of Bangladesh, initially established as the Dhaka station of All India Radio in 1939. It was later made part of Radio Pakistan. After the independence of the country in 1971, Radio Pakistan ceased transmissions there and the Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra was renamed to Bangladesh Betar, which took full control of all radio stations in the country at the time.

Bangladesh Betar is a sister service to Bangladesh Television, which is also state-owned. It operates several AM and FM stations around Bangladesh. It also broadcasts in six languages, including Bengali, to listeners in the country and overseas. Hosne Ara Talukdar is the Director General of Bangladesh Betar.

History

Early years

Radio transmission in the region now known as Bangladesh commenced in Dhaka on 16 December 1939 during British rule, as a part of All India Radio. Initially, the station was located at the Nazimuddin Road in Old Dhaka. Its maximum transmission range was 45 kilometres. Leila Arjumand Banu performed on the first day of broadcasting. After the territory eventually fell into Pakistani rule in 1947, the station in Dhaka became a part of Radio Pakistan. In 1954, broadcasting started in Rajshahi. On 8 September 1960, the radio station was moved to a modern office in Shahbag with six professional studios. More regional stations were opened in Sylhet in 1961, Savar in 1963, Rangpur in 1967 and in Khulna in 1970.

Independence of Bangladesh

Radio played an important role during the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. On 26 March 1971, the broadcasting centre of Radio Pakistan was used to transmit a declaration of independence, which was picked up by a Japanese ship in Chittagong Harbor and retransmitted. On 26 March 1971, as the Pakistan Army took over the radio station in Dhaka, the Swadhin Bangla Biplobi Betar Kendra clandestine radio station was established in a two-storey building in Kalurghat, constantly broadcasting Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's call for independence. The station was later renamed to Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra (Independent Bengal Radio Station). Because of heavy shelling, the station had to be relocated several times. It was first relocated to Tripura on 3 April, and ultimately moved to Kolkata on 25 May, from where it would broadcast until the end of the war.

Post independence

On 6 December, the Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra was renamed to Bangladesh Betar, which ultimately replaced Radio Pakistan in Bangladesh. The radio broadcaster was renamed to Radio Bangladesh in 1975, but was reverted back to Bangladesh Betar in 1996. Its current headquarters were completed in 1983 at National Broadcasting House, Agargaon. Bangladesh Betar was the sole radio broadcaster in Bangladesh until the establishment of Radio Metrowave in 1999, which itself was shut down on 27 June 2005. In January 2020, the programming of Bangladesh Betar began to be distributed to India via All India Radio's stations in Kolkata and Agartala, and also on AIR's app.

Stations

Schedule MW

Schedule FM

See also

• Telecommunications in Bangladesh
• Radio Pakistan
• All India Radio

References

1. Biswas, Sailendra (2000). "Samsad Bengali-English dictionary. 3rd ed". Calcutta: Sahitya Samsad. p. 786.
2. "Autonomy of BB and BTV". The Daily Star. 7 August 2011. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
3. বিটিভি-বেতারে পুরোটাই 'সরকার'. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). 29 December 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
4. ^ বাংলাদেশ বেতারের প্রতিষ্ঠা বার্ষিকী আজ. Samakal (in Bengali). 16 December 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
5. "Hosne Ara Talukder made DG of Bangladesh Betar". UNB. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
6. "Bangladesh Betar - The Story of Glory". Star Weekend Magazine. The Daily Star. 24 February 2017. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
7. ^ Jinat Jahan Khan (26 March 2021). "Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra: the source of inspiration and bravado during the liberation war". The Daily Star. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
8. Shoesmith, Brian; Jude William Genilo (1 September 2013). Bangladeshs Changing Mediascape: From State Control to Market Force. Intellect Books. p. 81. ISBN 9781783201259. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
9. "Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendro and Bangladesh's Declaration of Independence". The Daily Star. 25 November 2014. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
10. মুক্তিযুদ্ধে বিজয়ে অনন্য ভূমিকা রাখে রেডিও. Janakantha (in Bengali). 13 February 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
11. বেতার সম্পর্কে কিছু কথা. Bangladesh Betar. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
12. Debra L. Merskin, ed. (12 November 2019). The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Mass Media and Society. SAGE Publications. p. 409. ISBN 9781483375540. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
13. এবার ভারতে শোনা যাবে বাংলাদেশ বেতার. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). 20 January 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
14. বাংলাদেশ বেতার. Bangladesh Betar (in Bengali).
15. "বাংলাদেশ বেতার".
16. "বাংলাদেশ বেতার".

External links

• Official Website
• Bangladesh Betar Traffic Wing, Traffic FM 88.8

v t e Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
Executives	Nahid Islam (Minister) Md Humayun Kabir Khandaker (Secretary)
Agencies and departments	Bangladesh Film and Television Institute (BCTI) Bangladesh Press Council Press Institute of Bangladesh (PIB) National Institute of Mass Communication (NIMC) Press Information Department (PID) Directorate of Mass Communication Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (FDC) Bangladesh Film Archive Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) Bangladesh Television (BTV) Bangladesh Film Censor Board Bangladesh Betar (Betar) Department of Films & Publications (DFP) Information Commission (INFOCOM)
Former ministers	Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury (1972–1973) Sheikh Abdul Aziz (March–October 1973) Md Korban Ali (January–November 1975) Habib Ullah Khan (1978–1980) Shamsul Huda Chaudhury (1980–1981) Tofazzal Hossain Khan (February–March 1982) Shamsul Huda Chaudhury (March–April 1982) Syed Najmuddin Hashim (July 1982–1984) Md. Shamsul Haque (1984–January 1985) AR Yusuf (January–July 1985) Sirajul Hossain Khan (July–August 1985) Shah Moazzem Hossain (August–November 1985) Anwar Zahid (1986–January 1988) Anisul Islam Mahmud (January–March 1988) Mahbubur Rahman (March–December 1988) Mizanur Rahman Shelley (March–November 1990) A. B. M. Ghulam Mostafa (November 1990–1991) Nazmul Huda (1991–1994) Shamsul Islam (1994–1996) Abu Sayeed (1996–July 2001) Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury (adviser; July–October 2001) Abdul Moyeen Khan (October 2001–2002) Tariqul Islam (2002–2004) Shamsul Islam (2004–2006) Mahbubul Alam (adviser; 2006–2007) Fakhruddin Ahmed (adviser; 2007–2009) Abul Kalam Azad (2009–2012) Hasanul Haq Inu (2012–2019) Hasan Mahumud (2019–January 2024) Mohammad A. Arafat (January–August 2024)

23°44′24″N 90°23′47″E / 23.7400°N 90.3965°E / 23.7400; 90.3965

• International broadcasters
• Radio stations in Bangladesh
• Radio stations established in 1939
• Mass media in Dhaka
• 1939 establishments in India
• Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (Bangladesh)