Amar Shonar Bangla

"" (, ) is the national anthem of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. An ode to Mother Bengal, the lyrics were written by Bengali polymath Rabindranath Tagore, while the melody is derived from Baul singer Gagan Harkara's " Ami Kothay Pabo Tare", set to Dadra tala. The modern instrumental rendition was arranged by Bangladeshi musician Samar Das.

Etymology

The word refers to the possessive first-person singular or ; the word is the adjectival form of the root word , meaning ; and the word , which literally translates as or , is used as a term of endearment meaning , but in the song, the words may be interpreted to express the preciousness of Bengal.

History

The song was written in 1905 during the first partition of Bengal, when the ruling British Empire had an undivided province of Bengal Presidency split into two parts; the decision was announced on 20 July by the then-Viceroy of India Lord Curzon, taking effect on 16 October. This divide of Bengal, being along communal lines– East Bengal and Assam having a majority of Muslims and West Bengal having a majority of Hindus–is claimed to have been politically motivated. Along with a host of others, songs such as this were meant to rekindle the unified spirit of Bengal, to raise public consciousness against the communal political divide. The lyrics first appeared in the September issues of '' Bongodorshon'' and ''Baul'' simultaneously, in 1905. The song along with the musical notation (referred to as in Bengali), first appeared in the periodical musical journal ''Shongeet Biggnan Probeshika'' in the same month and year. Indira Devi, Tagore's niece, Satyendranath Tagore's daughter, jotted down the musical notation hearing it from Tagore himself (this was the common norm, Tagore singing the song, and someone formally jotting down the musical notations).

Official adaption

The first ten lines of the original poem constitute the most commonly sung version of Bangladesh's national anthem, adopted in 1971 during the Bangladesh Liberation War. The instrumental orchestra rendition was composed by Samar Das.

Lyrics

The following provides the lyrics of as written by Rabindranath Tagore. Only the first ten bolded lines of the original lyrics are sung as Bangladesh's national anthem.

English translation

The anthem was translated into English by Syed Ali Ahsan.

Criticism

From the late 1970s, Bangladeshi nationalists started to challenge Amar Sonar Bangla as the national anthem and called for adaptation of a more Bangladesh-centric national anthem. In 1975 after the 15 August coup, then President Khondaker Mostaq Ahmed set a committee that proposed the replacement of the anthem with Kazi Nazrul Islam's " Notuner Gaan" or Farrukh Ahmed's "Panjeri". However, the process was halted after his removal. In 1979, in a letter sent to the Cabinet Division, then Prime Minister Shah Azizur Rahman argued that Amar Sonar Bangla was contradictory to the national identity and the culture of Bangladeshis as it was written by a person who had a non-Bangladeshi background, and proposed the patriotic song " Prothom Bangladesh" () for the national anthem. During the presidency of Ziaur Rahman, the song was played after Amar Sonar Bangla on national television and government programmes. However, after the death of Rahman in 1981, the initiative was stopped and the song lost its status. Today, Prothom Bangladesh is the party anthem of Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

In 2002, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami proposed an amendment to the lyrics of Amar Sonar Bangla, citing Islamic values and spirit. However, the Cabinet Division rejected this proposal.

In 2019, Bangladeshi singer Mainul Ahsan Nobel, who was a runner-up in the Indian-Bengali musical show '' Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Bangla'', said that Prince Mahmud's song "Bangladesh" depicted the beauty of Bangladesh far better than Amar Sonar Bangla. This remark sparked controversy among Bangladeshis. Later, he apologized for his remark.

In a press conference on 3 September 2024, Abdullahil Amaan Azmi, retired Brigadier General of Bangladesh Army and son of Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Ghulam Azam, called for a replacement of Amar Sonar Bangla, claiming that Indian government had forced the Provisional Government of Bangladesh to adopt the song. He also argued that "Amar Sonar Bangla" contradicted with the characteristics of Bangladesh, as the song was composed in the context of the partition of Bengal to unite the two Bengals. This remark sparked controversy on historical context and the significance of the anthem across the country.

Notable performances and covers

The Ministry of Cultural Affairs planned to stage an event on Bangladesh's 44th independence day, in a bid to have the world record of the most people singing a national anthem simultaneously. Consequently, on 2 March, the ministry launched a program titled ''Lakho Konthe Sonar Bangla'' () whose main objective was to hold an event with the cooperation of Bangladesh Armed Forces where approximately 300,000 people would sing the national anthem. Several popular Bangladeshi musicians and cultural groups later joined the program.

The record was broken at 11:20 on 26 March 2014 by 254,537 participants at Dhaka's National Parade Ground. The event was attended by the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad, and all the members of the cabinet. After receiving the required evidence, the Guinness Book of World Records approved the record on 9 April 2014. The record was broken by India on 21 January 2017.

See also

* " Notuner Gaan", the national march of Bangladesh, written by Kazi Nazrul Islam
* " Ekusher Gaan", a song in the memory of the martyrs of the Bengali language movement
* "Jana Gana Mana", national anthem of India, also written by Rabindranath Tagore
* " Banglar Mati Banglar Jol", the state anthem of West Bengal, also written by Rabindranath Tagore
* Bangamata
* Joy Bangla

Notes

References

External links

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Bangladeshi songs
Songs written by Rabindranath Tagore
Bangladeshi anthems
Songs in Bengali
Poems in Bengali
Bangladeshi patriotic songs
Compositions in A-flat major
Poems by Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindra Sangeet
Bengali nationalism