NATIONAL
ANTHEM: BANGLADESH
A FAREWELL TO TAGORE ?
1.0-BANGLADESH’S
PRESENT NATIONAL ANTHEM:-
Bangladesh’s
national anthem is ( soon may become ‘WAS’) still--
‘Amar Sonar Bangla…’ . (আমার
সোনার বাংলা---)
An ode to Mother Bangla, the lyrics were written by
Bengali polymath and genius Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore , while the melody is
derived from Baul singer Gagan Harkara's "Ami Kothay Pabo Tare", ( আমি কোথায় পাবো তারে---) set
to classical Dadra tala.
2.0-GENESIS OF THE SONG, & HISTORY:--
The song was written in 1905 during the first partition of
Bengal Suba, when the ruling British Masters had split an undivided province of
Bengal Presidency into two parts; the decision was announced on 20 July by the
then-Viceroy of India Lord Curzon. This divide of
Bengal, being along the communal lines–East Bengal with Assam having a majority of
Muslims and West Bengal having a majority of Hindus–was politically motivated
to create a fissure between ‘Hindus’ and
‘Muslims’ of British India. Objective was to control and slow down the Freedom Struggle . Tagore came in
the forefront of People’s resistance.
Started ‘RAKHI’ Bandhan ceremony between Hindu, and Muslim as a token of
repledging the Hindu-Muslim ‘BROTHERHOOD’. Along with a
host of others, songs such as this were meant to rekindle the unified spirit of
Bengal, and INDIA, to raise public
consciousness against the political divide in communal line .
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 Swaralipi in Bengali), first appeared in
the periodical musical journal “Songeet Biggnan Probeshika” in the same month
and year. Indira Devi, Tagore's niece, Satyendra Nath Tagore's daughter, jotted
down the musical notation hearing it from Tagore himself. This was the norm, Tagore singing the song, and someone formally jotting down the musical
notations. In Shantiniketan-- it used to be done by Dinu Thakur.
THE DISPUTE ON NATIONAL ANTHEM IN
BANGLADESH:-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 and orchestra rendition was
composed by Samar Das.
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 existing one by an appropriate
song of Kazi Nazrul Islam or Farrukh
Ahmed. However, the process was halted
after his removal. In 1979, in a letter sent to the Cabinet Division, the 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" ( 'First is Bangladesh') for the
national anthem.
During the presidency of the then President Ziaur Rahman,
the song was played after “Amar Sonar Bangla” on national television and
government programmes. However, after the death of Mr. Rahman in 1981, the initiative was stopped
and the song lost its status. Today,’ Prothom Bangladesh’ is the party anthem
of Bangladesh Nationalist Party, commonly known as “BNP”—headed by Begum
Khaleda Zia..
In 2002, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Emir Motiur Rahman
Nizami proposed an amendment to the lyrics of “Amar Sonar Bangla”, citing
Islamic values and spirit. However, the Cabinet Division rejected that
proposal.
In 2019, Bangladeshi singer Mainul Ahsan Nobel, who was a
runner-up in the Indian-Bengali musical show Sa Re Ga Ma 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, as well as
in West Bengal. Later, he apologized for his this remark.
In a press conference on 3 September 2024, Abdullahil Amaan
Azmi, former Brigadier General of Bangladesh Army and son of Jamaat-e-Islami
Emir Ghulam Azam, called for a replacement of “Amar Sonar Bangla”, claiming
that Indian government forced the Provisional Government of Bangladesh to adopt
the song. He also argued that “Amar Sonar Bangla” contradicts with the
characteristics of Bangladesh, as the song was composed in the context of the
partition of Bengal to unite the two Bengals. This speech sparked a large controversy on the importance and the
historical context of the anthem.
It is in the latest news that Dr. UNUS advised to read “ Surah Al-Fatiha ” of QURAN in
place of ‘NATIONAL ANTHEM’ of Bangladesh.
MY OPINION:
I as a Bengali Hindu, presently living in India as Indian
Citizen, and had ROOTS in erstwhile Eastern and Western part of Bengal before independence , fully agree that
Gurudev’s subject song in no way
represent the present aspirations of majority
of the people of “BANGLADESH”.
The “BAUL” spirit of the
song doesn’t gel well with spirit of “ISLAM”, to my understanding. In fact, it was having a
conflict for a long time, as is evidenced from the prolonged internal disputes
on this in Bangladesh, as chronicled above.
I request them to replace it, as soon as possible, which the majority of
BANGLADESHIS seem to aspire.
However, Hindus still residing in Bangladesh, and may be, some of the Awami league people
also, may not like this change. But,
Majority opinion shall govern.
Many times I wondered—why Gurudev expressed his softest
feelings about Bengal in a Lyric, and put a Baul (A TYPE OF SPIRITUAL YET MYSTIC) tune to that.
There must be a cosmic connection.
“OM SHIV SHAMVU”!
DISCLAIMER:-
All information on above ‘BLOG[‘ is available in PUBLIC DOMAINS, and
NEWSPAPERS, EXCEPT ‘MY OPINION’. This BLOG in no way is intended to harm the
feelings of any State, or its people.
I will edit,
and correct the BLOG, if any person point out any mistake, and provide evidence.
Information Source:- The information is available in many
Indian, and Bangladeshi newspapers. I read a lot, and referred only a few.
- 1.
Newspapers published in Bangladesh.
- 2.
TOI—September-9
- 3.
https://www.news18.com/education-career/who-wrote-bangladeshs-national-anthem-know-meaning-history-and-current-controversy-9044509.html
- 4.
https://m.economictimes.com/news/international/world-news/protests-in-bangladesh-against-radicals-demanding-new-anthem-and-flag/articleshow/113136772.cms
- 5.
https://ipanewspack.com/jamaat-e-islami-criticizes-national-anthem-over-alleged-foreign-influence/
- 6.
Image:-- Facebook—the source is acknowledged
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