NY Senate proclaims 14 April as ‘Bangla New Year’s Day’

The New York State will celebrate 14 April every year as the 'Bangla New Year's Day'. 

The Senate has passed a Resolution proclaiming 14 April 2025 as 'Bangla New Year's Day' in the state of New York, sources in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said.

New York state senator Luis R. Sepúlveda initiated the bill Wednesday which was passed by the legislative body of the New York state.

"RESOLVED, This Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim 14 April as Bangla New Year Day in the State of New York, and to recognize the many contributions of Bangla speaking diasporas in New York; and be it," read the Senate Resolution No. 234. 

The resolution described that Bangla New Year Day has its origins in the Mughal Empire of the Indian subcontinent and is largely a secular holiday for most celebrants and enjoyed by people of several different faiths and backgrounds through music, dance, and fine arts. 

Mongol Shobhajatra, the traditional mass procession taken out by University of Dhaka at dawn on New Year Day has been declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2016, categorised on the representative list as a heritage of humanity, the resolution said.

Bangladeshi immigrants began arriving in the United States in the late 19th century, leaving behind the hard economic and political times of the still developing Bangladesh, which achieved independence from Pakistan in 1971, the resolution said. 

During this time, it said, the largest groups of Bangladeshi immigrants arrived in New York City and even now more than 10,000 Bangladeshis immigrate to the United States annually with half of them residing in New York City.

The resolution mentioned that Bangla New Year has been celebrated with pomp and gaiety since late 1990s in vast areas of Queens and in Times Square, Manhattan since 2022.