Kathmandu. South Asian country Bangladesh is the most populous country in terms of population compared to other South Asian countries. Despite being a Muslim-majority country, Bangladesh has a 5-day public holiday on the occasion of Navratri i.e. Durga Puja.
In South Asia, cultural diversity and festivals have a different significance. Bada Dashain, the great festival of Hindus, i.e. Navratri, is celebrated with special enthusiasm not only in Nepal and India but also in the neighboring Muslim-majority country of Bangladesh.
In Bangladesh, government, semi-government, autonomous bodies, banks and financial institutions were closed for 5 consecutive days, including Durga Puja and weekly holidays. After the holiday, the offices there have reopened from Sunday.
According to the calendar of government holidays, on October 20, a public holiday was declared by an executive order on the occasion of Maha Navami. Then on October 21, Vijaya Dashami became a major public holiday. The government continued the series of holidays and announced additional holidays through an executive order on Thursday, October 22.
Friday and Saturday, October 23 and 24 are regular weekends, so the public was able to enjoy a five-day long holiday.
In Bangladesh, Muslims make up about 90 percent of the total population and only about 8.9 percent are Hindu. However, Durga Puja is considered to be the country’s main religious and cultural festival, and there is a tradition of giving a grand public holiday on the occasion of Vijaya Dashami and Navratri every year. The traffic on the streets of Dhaka has increased since Sunday morning after the holiday.
In India, a Hindu-majority country, Navratri and Vijaya Dashami are public holidays, but the format of the holiday varies from state to state in India. In the central government’s calendar, only 1 day is a public holiday on Vijaya Dashami.
Durga Puja is considered to be the biggest festival in the states of eastern India like West Bengal, Assam, and Tripura, especially in West Bengal. Therefore, from Maha Saptami to Ekadashi or Dwadashi, a long festival holiday is usually given in schools and government offices for 6 to 10 days.
In states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh, schools are given a holiday of 10 to 12 days on the occasion of Navratri, while in government offices, there is a holiday of 2 to 3 days on Maha Navami and Vijaya Dashami.
