In 2022, Bangladesh moved up 14 steps to the 102nd position among 132 countries in the Global Innovation Index. Among them, Bangladesh is ranked 63rd by getting a score of 12.2 in the index-able document (H). Also 75th in terms of software usage. But in terms of intellectual property, the score is zero and Bangladesh ranks 94th in the list. Although Bangladesh scores zero in creating patents and utility models, one name has become a beacon in this regard – that is ‘Bijoy’. As a result, the World Property Rights Organization (WIPO) published a case study on the importance of this intellectual property in the localization of technology.
In the Case Study, the inventor Mustafa Jabbar is credited for this Bengali script writing interface system invented in the late eighties. The beginning of this visionary step as a student journalist is highlighted. It has been mentioned that in 1969, the first Bengali keyboard ‘Shahidlipi’ (phonetic based on QWERTY keyboard) was developed for Macintosh PC from Munir’s keyboard of typewriter (Munir Chowdhury developed this keyboard in 1965). This is how a Bengali keyboard was invented based on ‘Shift’ for Windows.
In an interview given to WIPO, the Bijoy Keyboard inventor Mustafa Jabbar said that Bijoy Bangla software was initially developed for Macintosh operating system, but later it was released for Windows, Linux and Android operating systems. From humble beginnings of one font family, Bijoy Bangla Software now hosts over 110 font families. The software is also compatible with Unicode (BDS 1520:2018) and ASCII (BDS 1935) coding systems. Moreover, Bijoy Bangla script interface system is also compatible with Assamese script. He also said, He wanted to overcome the existing limitations of the keyboard with a new layout and interface of Bengali keyboard. From that moment, he achieved significant progress by working continuously for one and a half years with the release of the first version of Bijoy Bangla software in 1988. The software was initially coded by an Indian programmer named Devendra Joshi, but later had Bangladeshi programmers design the keyboard layout and fonts himself.