In the early 2000s, typing Bangla on a computer was not easy. It required paid software, complex keyboard layouts and technical knowledge that most people did not have. Users either had to memorise difficult key placements or write in English letters online.
In 2003, a young programmer named Mehdi Hasan Khan came up with a simple but powerful idea: “Let language be free.” He released Avro keyboard, Bangladesh’s first free and open-source graphical Bangla typing software. What started as a student’s project would go on to change the way millions write in Bangla.
Dream born at book fair
The inspiration came at the Ekushey Book fair in February 2003. Mehdi, then a higher secondary student, visited a stall showcasing “Bangla Linux” by a voluntary group. There, he saw a Bangla website built with Unicode called Unibangla.
It impressed him, but there was a problem. The system worked on Linux. Most users in Bangladesh was using Windows. There was no simple, free Bangla typing solution for them.
Mehdi decided to build the solution. He started coding in Visual Basic, a popular language at the time. In less than a month, on the day of Bangladesh’s independence, he released the first version of Avro keyboard. He also launched a website called OmicronLab, so that anyone could download the software for free.
Breaking digital gatekeeping
Before Avro, Bangla typing was largely dominated by Mustafa Jabbar’s Bijoy. Users had to purchase a licence and learn fixed, complex layouts. This created a digital barrier for many.
Avro offered something different. It introduced a phonetic layout. Users could type Bangla words using English letters and the software would automatically convert them into Bangla script. Typing “ami banglay gan gai” would instantly become “আমি বাংলায় গান গাই.”
There was no need to memorise key positions. There was no need to buy a license. This small shift changed everything.
The keyboard also supported multiple fixed layouts such as Prophat, Jatiya and Munir Optima. It included a built-in spell checker and typing suggestions. It expanded across Windows, Linux and macOS over time and remained free and regularly updated.
Language, power and digital survival
Bangla has always been tied to questions of power and access. The language movement in 1952 was not only about recognition. It was about ensuring that Bangla speakers could access education, governance and public life in their own language.
The challenge shifted from political recognition to digital survival decades later. Bangla risked being sidelined online without accessible typing tools. Many people wrote in ‘Banglish’, using English letters to represent Bangla sounds.
A humorous term mocking incorrect Banglish spellings, ‘Murad Takla’, emerged from this culture. While often treated as comedy, it showed how people lacked proper tools for writing Bangla digitally.
Avro directly responded to this gap and changed the landscape.
Changing how we write
However, Avro’s phonetic system also brought subtle changes. Because it relies on English letters to produce Bangla script, users mentally map Bangla sounds onto English spelling patterns.
For example, different Bangla letters like স, শ and ষ require specific combinations such as ‘s’, ‘sh’ and ‘Sh’. These distinctions do not exist in English. Such habits may influence how users think about spelling in both languages.
Some English words typed phonetically in Avro may not match their standard spellings, which raises questions about how digital tools shape literacy. But if we look at the overall picture, phonetic typing ensured Bangla’s strong presence online.
Recognition and legacy
Over the years, Avro inspired other Bangla keyboards such as Ridmik, Borno and OpenBangla. In 2011, the Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) awarded Team Avro for special contribution to IT.
Last year, the Ministry of Cultural Affairs under the Interim Government awarded Ekushey Padak 2025 to Mehdi and his three teammates – Rifat Un Nabi, Tanbin Islam Siam and Shabab Mustafa.
Although Bangla is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, the keyboard’s future depends on how well it adapts to new technologies like AI and digital platforms. In 1952, it was about political recognition. In 2003, it was about digital inclusion. The next phase may be about ensuring Bangla remains relevant in an algorithm-driven world.
