"Prothom Bangladesh" () is a patriotic song by

Shahnaz Rahmatullah Shahnaz Rahmatullah (; 2 January 1952 – 23 March 2019) was a Pakistani and later Bangladeshi singer. Her notable songs are Prothom Bangladesh, ''Prothom Bangladesh Amar Sesh Bangladesh'', ''Ekbar Jete De Na Amar Chotto Sonar Gaye'', ''Je Chilo ...

. Moniruzzaman Monir wrote and Alauddin Ali composed the song. The song was first broadcast in a TV program on

Bangladesh Television Bangladesh Television (), commonly known by its acronym BTV (), is the state-owned television network of Bangladesh. The network was originally established as the East Pakistan branch of Pakistan Television Corporation, Pakistan Television in 1 ...

in the late 1970s. It's the party anthem of

Bangladesh Nationalist Party The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (), popularly abbreviated as BNP (), is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. It was founded on 1 September 1978 by President of Bangladesh, President Ziaur Rahman, wit ...

(BNP). Journalist Azizul Islam Bhuiya claimed that on 12 December 1978, when the

leader Chowdhury Kamal Ibne Yusuf asked the party founder and president

Ziaur Rahman Ziaur Rahman (19 January 193630 May 1981) was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the sixth president of Bangladesh from 1977 until Assassination of Ziaur Rahman, his assassination in 1981. One of the leading figures of t ...

in a session to change the

national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and national symbol, symbolizes a given nation. It is Fly (flag), flown by the government of that nation, but can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanin ...

, he replied with assurance that he would think about it after changing the a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

-written national anthem of the country, "

Amar Sonar 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 ...

". At the time he mentioned the song as the new national anthem. On 30 April 1979, Shah Azizur Rahman, then-

Prime Minister of Bangladesh The prime minister of Bangladesh (, : Bāṅlādēśēr Prôdhānmôntrī), officially prime minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh (, : Gôṇôprôjātôntrī Bāṅlādēśēr Prôdhānmôntrī), is the head of government of the Ba ...

, sent a secret letter to the

Cabinet Division The Cabinet Division () is the executive office of the Chief Adviser of Bangladesh. As a division of the Government of Bangladesh The government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh () is the central government of Bangladesh. The gove ...

, which stated that the national anthem of Bangladesh was contradictory with the spirit of the

culture of Bangladesh The culture of Bangladesh is intertwined with the culture of the ''Bengal region'' of the Indian subcontinent. It has evolved over the centuries and encompasses the cultural diversity of several social groups of Bangladesh. The Bengal Renaissa ...

, as the writer of the anthem,

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...

, was not a citizen of Bangladesh and was the writer of "

Jana Gana Mana "" is the national anthem of the Republic of India. It was originally composed as " Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata" in Bengali by polymath and activist Rabindranath Tagore on 11 December 1911. The first stanza of the song " Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata" ...

", national anthem of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. He instead proposed this song as the new national anthem. After receiving this letter from the Prime Minister, the Cabinet Division issued instructions to broadcast the song on radio, television and all government programs. Meanwhile, the proposed national anthem song started singing along with Amar Sonar Bangla at the

Presidential Presidential may refer to: * "Presidential" (song), a 2005 song by YoungBloodZ * Presidential Airways (charter), an American charter airline based in Florida * Presidential Airways (scheduled), an American passenger airline active in the 1980s * ...

functions. But the initiative stalled after Rahman was assassinated in 1981. According to singer Baby Naznin, the song was a favorite of Rahman. It was performed at the beginning and end of his events. When Baby and other artists used to sing it on stage, Rahman and his wife

Khaleda Zia Begum Khaleda Zia (born August–September 1945) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the prime minister of Bangladesh from 1991 to 1996 and again from 2001 to 2006. She was the first female prime minister of Bangladesh and the second fema ...

would also sing along sometimes. Therefore, around the 1980s, the song was announced as the official anthem of Rahman's party BNP. However in 2018, the singer Shahnaz Rahmatullah and composer Alauddin Ali claimed that the party is using the song as the official anthem without their permission. In 2016,

Bangladesh Betar Bangladesh Betar (; ), is the state-owned radio broadcaster of Bangladesh, initially established as the Dhaka station of All India Radio in 1939. It was later made part of Radio Pakistan. After the independence of the country in 1971, Radio Pakis ...

fired 6 employees for broadcasting the song during the 2016–2017 budget session of the

Jatiya Sangsad The Jatiya Sangsad (), often simply referred to as Sangsad and also known as is the unicameral Legislature, legislative body of Bangladesh. The current parliament of Bangladesh contains 350 seats, including 50 seats reserved exclusively for w ...

. In 2025, during a cultural program organized by the

Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (; ) or simply known as Shilpakala Academy is the principal state-sponsored national cultural centre of Bangladesh. It is a academy of fine and performing arts. History It is the national academy of fine and pe ...

Kishoreganj Kishoreganj is a city and the headquarters of Kishoreganj District in Dhaka Division, Bangladesh. The city is divided two sides by the Narasundha River. Demographics According to the 2011 Bangladesh census In 2011, the Bangladesh Bureau o ...

, controversy arose when the on-duty cultural officer interrupted the performance of the song.

References

{{reflist 1970s singles Songs in Bengali Bangladeshi patriotic songs Songs about Bangladesh Bangladesh Nationalist Party Bangladesh Television Bangladeshi nationalism Anti-Hindu sentiment Bangladeshi anthems Political party songs