Joy Bangla ( ) is a

slogan A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan or a political, commercial, religious, or other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the public or a more defined target group ...

and was a

war cry A battle cry or war cry is a yell or chant taken up in battle, usually by members of the same combatant group. Battle cries are not necessarily articulate (e.g. "Eulaliaaaa!", "Alala"..), although they often aim to invoke patriotic or religio ...

used in

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

and in the

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, for a total of 36 subnational entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into 800 districts and smaller administrative divisions by the respe ...

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

to indicate

nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...

towards the geopolitical, cultural and historical region of

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

and Bangamata (also known as Bangla Maa or Mother Bengal). It translates roughly to "Victory to Bengal" or "Hail Bengal".

History

Purnachandra Das,British Indian schoolteacher and revolutionary from

Madaripur Madaripur is a town in Dhaka division in south-central Bangladesh. It is the headquarters of Madaripur District. It is named for Shah Madar, a Sufi saint who spread Islam in the region. Demographics According to the 2022 Bangladesh census ...

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal until 1937, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule in India, Company rule and later a Provinces o ...

(now Bangladesh) was imprisoned in the Berhampur Jail for his involvement in the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

. Bengali poet

Kazi Nazrul Islam Kazi Nazrul Islam (24 May 1899 – 29 August 1976) was a Bengalis, Bengali poet, short story writer, journalist, lyricist and musician. He is the national poet of Bangladesh. Nazrul produced a List of works by Kazi Nazrul Islam, large body of ...

composed the poem "Purna-Abhinandan" from the book of poems ''Bhangar Gaan'' at the request of Kalipada Roychowdhury on the occasion of the release of Purnachandra Das from prison. Kazi Nazrul Islam first used the term "Joy Bangla" in this poem. The name of the slogan Joy Bangla comes from this poem named "Pūrṇa Abhinandan" (1922) by

. The middle two lines of the fifth stanza are as follows: ;

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

original:

জয় বাংলার পূর্ণচন্দ্র, জয় জয় আদি-অন্তরীণ! জয় যুগে-যুগে-আসা-সেনাপতি, জয় প্রাণ আদি-অন্তহীন!

;

Romanisation of Bengali Romanisation of Bengali is the representation of written Bengali language in the Latin script. Various romanisation systems for Bengali are used, most of which do not perfectly represent Bengali pronunciation. While different standards for romani ...

''Joy Banglar purnocondro, joy joy adi ontorin'' ''Joy juge juge asa senapoti, joy pran ontohin!''

;English translation:

Hail to Bengal's full moon, hail to the eternally enveloped, All hail to the warriors who came here generation after generation, hail to the ceaseless eternal souls.

It appeared in the 11-point charter put forth by the Sarbadaliya Chhatra Sangram Parishad on 4 January 1969. After the release of

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), also known by the honorific Bangabandhu, was a Bangladeshi politician, revolutionary, statesman and activist who was the founding president of Bangladesh. As the leader of Bangl ...

, the SCSP held a rally at the Ramna Race Course ground on 22 February 1969, to honour him. When Mujib was conferred the title of Bangabandhu, cries of Joy Bangla came from all over the park. Joy Bangla was the slogan and war cry of the

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini, initially called the Mukti Fauj, also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was a big tent armed guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military personnel, paramilitary personnel and civilians during the Ba ...

that fought for the independence of

during the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

in 1971. In

, 27 March 1971 Major Ziaur Rahman broadcast announcement of the

declaration of independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and he finished with "Joy Bangla". After the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Khondakar Mostaq Ahmad replaced Joy Bangla with

Bangladesh Zindabad Bangladesh Zindabad ( — , ) is a slogan used by Bangladeshis as an expression of patriotism and often used in political speeches and cricket matches. Its use started even before the creation of Bangladesh, during the East Pakistan, period of Unit ...

. It was proposed to recognise this slogan as the national slogan of Bangladesh. In December 2024, Bangladesh's Supreme Court has put a hold on a High Court verdict that declared "Joy Bangla" as the country's national slogan.

Former national slogan of Bangladesh

The High Court on 4 December 2017 directed the

government of Bangladesh The government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh () is the central government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Constitution of Bangladesh comprising the executive (the president, prime minister and cabinet), the ...

to explain "why 'Joy Bangla' would not be declared as national slogan of the country?'" On 10 March 2020, The High Court made the declaration naming "Joy Bangla" as the official national slogan of Bangladesh. Justice

FRM Nazmul Ahasan FRM Nazmul Ahasan (15 February 1955 – 4 February 2022) was a Bangladeshi lawyer and Judge of the Appellate Division of Bangladesh Supreme Court. Early life Nazmul Ahasan was born on 15 February 1955, in Pakistan. After finishing his masters ...

and Justice KM Kamrul Kader announced this after settling a rule on a writ petition filed two years ago. The High Court also added that this order will be done fulfill within next three months. Bangladesh constitutional office-holders and all state officials will be use on all national days and in appropriate cases, at the end of their speeches in state programmes. All of educational institution teachers and students must be use the Joy Bangla motto at the end of assemblies. On 20 February 2022 the cabinet division has decided to make Joy Bangla as the national slogan. On 2 March 2022 The government has issued a notification declaring Joy Bangla as the national slogan of Bangladesh. According to the notification: # Joy Bangla will be the national slogan of Bangladesh. # Officials of all government offices should chant the slogan 'Joy Bangla' at the end of all national day celebrations and other functions of the state and the government. # Teachers and students should say the slogan 'Joy Bangla' at the end of daily gatherings and for concluding speeches at meetings and seminars in all educational institutions. However, in December 2024, the

Supreme Court of Bangladesh Supreme Court of Bangladesh () is the highest court of law in the country. It is composed of the High Court Division, Supreme Court of Bangladesh, High Court Division and the Appellate Division, Supreme Court of Bangladesh, Appellate Division, ...

ruled that it will no longer be the national slogan of Bangladesh.

Political slogan

In Bangladesh

The salutation "Joy Bangla" is the official slogan of the

Bangladesh Awami League The Awami League, officially known as Bangladesh Awami League, is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. The oldest existing political party in the country, the party played the leading role in achievin ...

. The phrase "Joy Bangla, Joy

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), also known by the honorific Bangabandhu, was a Bangladeshi politician, revolutionary, statesman and activist who was the founding president of Bangladesh. As the leader of Bangl ...

" is used by the party members at the end of speeches and communications pertaining to or referring to patriotism towards Bangladesh and

In West Bengal

The slogan Joy Bangla is also officially used by

Mamata Banerjee Mamata Banerjee (; born 5 January 1955) is an Indian politician who is serving as the eighth and current List of chief ministers of West Bengal, chief minister of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal since 2 ...

and by her party

Trinamool Congress The All India Trinamool Congress (; AITC), simply known as Trinamool Congress, is an Indian political party that is mainly influential in the Federated state, state of West Bengal. It was founded by Mamata Banerjee on 1 January 1998 as a Lis ...

as part of attempt to create a territorial and ethnolinguistic identity for

Bengalis Bengalis ( ), also rendered as endonym and exonym, endonym Bangalee, are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of South Asia. The current population is divi ...

in India. It is used in particular, as a closing remark for political speeches. In West Bengal in January 2018, for the first time in India,

Bengali nationalist Bengali nationalism (, ) is a form of ethnic nationalism that focuses on Bengalis as a single ethnicity by rejecting imposition of other languages and cultures while promoting its own in Bengal. Bengalis speak the Bengali language and mos ...

organization "

Bangla Pokkho Bangla Pokkho () is a pro-Bengali advocacy organisation that focuses on rights for Bengalis in the Republic of India. Based on Bengali nationalism, it works against the enforcing of the Hindustani language in West Bengal. It is organised along l ...

" raised the slogan Joy Bangla.

In popular culture

On 7 March 1971

called for independence and asked the people of Bangladesh to launch a major campaign of civil disobedience and organized armed resistance at a mass gathering of people held at the Race Course Ground in Dhaka.

The struggle now is the struggle for our emancipation; the struggle now is the struggle for our independence. Joy Bangla!..
(For more info, see: ''
7th March Speech of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman The 7th March Speech of Mujib, or the 7/3 Speech (), was a public speech given by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding leader of Bangladesh on 7 March 1971 at the Ramna Race Course (now Suhrawardy Udyan) in Dhaka to a gathering of over one milli ...
'')

The surrender ceremony of the Pakistani military also took place at the Race Course Ground on 16 December 1971. About 93,000 Pakistani troops surrendered, making it the largest military surrender that occurred after World War 2.

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Jagjit Singh Aurora Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora (or Arora), PVSMBoth spellings are used in official documents; though "Aurora" predominates in the listings in the pre-Independence ''Indian Army List'', as do those in the ''Gazette of India''. (13 Februa ...

, Joint Commander of Indian and Bangladesh Forces accepted the surrender without a word, while the crowd on the race course erupted in celebrations, shouting victory slogans, "Joy Bangla". The phrase has also given its name to * '' Joy Bangla weekly'' (1971), one of the two official mouthpieces of the provisional

Mujibnagar Mujibnagar (), formerly known as Baidyanathtala (Boiddonathtola) and Bhoborpara, is a town in the Mujibnagar Upazila of Meherpur District in Khulna, Bangladesh. The Provisional Government of Bangladesh was formed on 10 April 1971, however, swo ...

government, that led the Bangladesh's independence war. * ''

Joy Bangla Banglar Joy "Joy Bangla, Banglar Joy" is a patriotic and awakening song. Gazi Mazharul Anwar wrote this song in March 1970. He composed the song by rhythmicizing the deprivation and misery and dreams and aspirations of seven and a half million Bengalis at tha ...

'', a patriotic and popular song. It was the signature tune of the

Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra () was the radio broadcasting centre of Bengali nationalist forces during the Bangladesh War in 1971. The station played an important role in broadcasting the Declaration of Independence and increasing the morale of ...

. * ''

Joy Bangla Concert Young Bangla is an initiative launched by the Bangladeshi government The Cabinet of Bangladesh () is the chief executive body in the People's Republic of Bangladesh. The cabinet is the collective decision-making body of the entire gover ...

'', annual benefit concert by

Young Bangla Young Bangla is an initiative launched by the Bangladeshi government in 2014. The Young Bangla Programme comprises several schemes involving youth-led organizations. History The Young Bangla campaign was launched by the government of Bangl ...

. * ''

Joy Bangla Youth Award Young Bangla is an initiative launched by the Bangladeshi government The Cabinet of Bangladesh () is the chief executive body in the People's Republic of Bangladesh. The cabinet is the collective decision-making body of the entire gover ...

'', the flagship Award event of Young Bangla.

References

{{Bangladesh topics Bengali nationalism Battle cries Bangladesh Liberation War Bengali words and phrases Bangladeshi political slogans Awami League