page_title: Bangladesh–United Kingdom relations
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Bangladesh–United Kingdom relations / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Bangladesh High Commission in London, 28 Queens Gate, London SW7 5JA
context_page_description: Bangladesh–British relations are the foreign relations between Bangladesh and the United Kingdom. Both Bangladesh and the United Kingdom are members of the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations.
context_section_description: The ties between Britain and Bangladesh date back to the British Raj. During the Bangladesh Liberation War Britain offered shelter to diplomats and people who escaped the conflict. The British government, politicians and media were also critical of the atrocities committed in Bangladesh and some expressed sympathy for the Mukti Bahini. On 4 February 1972 Britain recognised Bangladesh as an independent country.  This led to the eventual recognition of Bangladesh by other European and Commonwealth nations and Bangladesh's induction into the Commonwealth on 18 April 1972. Britain holds the largest 2nd Bangladeshi diaspora in the western world, now numbered at around 500,000, most of whom can trace their ties to the region of Sylhet. The largest open-air Asian festival in Europe, Baishakhi Mela, is a Bangladeshi event held in London.
  In 1971, hearing Ravi Shankar's distress, former Beatles lead guitarist George Harrison helped organize the Concert for Bangladesh at Madison Square Garden. At that time, Bangladesh was ravaged by floods, famine, and the Bangladesh Liberation War, which left 10 million people — mostly women and children — fleeing their homes. The Concert for Bangladesh was one of the most ambitious humanitarian efforts in rock music history, and focused global attention on the crisis in Bangladesh while raising new awareness of UNICEF and its role in the developing world.
caption: Bangladeshi high commission in London
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 600D", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2014:08:10 13:15:03", "Image Artist": "Hynek", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Copyright": "", "Image ExifOffset": "348", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "8916", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "18560", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/125", "EXIF FNumber": "71/10", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Unidentified", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF RecommendedExposureIndex": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2014:08:10 13:15:03", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2014:08:10 13:15:03", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "7", "EXIF ApertureValue": "45/8", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "18", "EXIF SubSecTime": "00", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "00", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "00", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "5184", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3456", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "8598", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "1036800/181", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "691200/119", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF CameraOwnerName": "", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "333076030460", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[18, 55, 0/0, 0/0]", "EXIF LensModel": "EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS", "EXIF LensSerialNumber": "000039dc22"}