Amar Sonar Bangla
Who wrote the national anthem of Bangladesh?
Why did “Amar Sonar Bangla” become significant during the Bangladesh Liberation War?
When was “Amar Sonar Bangla” officially adopted as the national anthem of Bangladesh?
What are the major themes of “Amar Sonar Bangla”?
Amar Sonar Bangla, national anthem of Bangladesh, written in Bengali by polymath and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore and set to a tune composed by Baul (folk art form) musician Gagan Harkara. The title of the anthem translates to “My Golden Bengal.” It consists of the first 10 lines of a song (also called “Amar Sonar Bangla”) penned by Tagore in 1905 during the movement opposing the partition of the province of Bengal in British-ruled India. It became a symbol of resistance during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, an armed conflict that resulted in East Pakistan’s independence from West Pakistan and the formation of Bangladesh. The song was officially adopted as Bangladesh’s national anthem on January 13, 1972.
History
First published in a Bengali literary magazine in 1905, “Amar Sonar Bangla” is among the most well known of the literary works Tagore produced during his participation in the Swadeshi Movement. The anti-colonial movement was launched in opposition to the partition of Bengal, which cleaved the province into two—a Hindu-majority west and a Muslim-majority east. Set to the tune of Harkara’s “Ami Kothay Pabo Tare” (“Where Shall I Find Thee”), the song captures the idyllic beauty of rural Bengal, envisions a unified Bengali motherland, and embodies the ideals of the Swadeshi Movement, which emphasized self-reliance (swadeshi: “of one’s own country”) and promoted indigenous industries.
The partition of India in 1947 led to the formation of two countries, India and Pakistan. At the time, Pakistan itself consisted of West Pakistan and East Pakistan, which lay more than a thousand miles apart, with the territory of India between them. In the decades that followed, the government, based in the politically dominant West Pakistan, sought to suppress Bengali language and culture. When it outlawed the broadcast of Tagore’s songs and other works in the 1960s, Bengali nationalists in East Pakistan resisted the ban, defiantly celebrating the poet and his music.
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“Amar Sonar Bangla,” along with other songs by Tagore, gained new political currency as the fulcrum of a secular Bengali identity when it was championed by Mujibur Rahman, who would go on to become the first prime minister of Bangladesh after the war. The song became popular at political rallies and protests against West Pakistan. On March 3, 1971, students and youth activists played the song at a large rally at Paltan Maidan, Dhaka. It was also played before Mujibur Rahman’s historic March 7 address at Race Course Maidan (now Suhrawardy Udyan). In his speech he called on Bangladeshis to prepare for the freedom struggle that would culminate in the Bangladesh Liberation War, which began on March 26.
Following a violent crackdown by West Pakistan on the Bengali nationalist movement in East Pakistan and Rahman’s arrest, members of his party, the Awami League, fled to India, set up a government-in-exile there, and declared Bangladesh’s independence. Less than a month after the start of the war, this provisional government adopted the song as Bangladesh’s unofficial anthem. It was frequently broadcast by the nationalist radio station Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra throughout the war, which ended in December 1971. “Amar Sonar Bangla” was officially declared the national anthem of Bangladesh on January 13, 1972. The orchestral instrumental version of the anthem was arranged by composer and music director Samar Das.
The anthem
Rabindranath Tagore holds the unique distinction of having authored the national anthems for both India (“Jana Gana Mana” [“Ruler of the Minds of the People”]) and Bangladesh (“Amar Sonar Bangla”). Tagore also has an indirect connection to the national anthem of Sri Lanka: Ananda Samarakoon, who composed “Sri Lanka Matha,” had been a student of Tagore at Shantiniketan and is said to have been inspired to write the anthem during his stay there.
The official anthem comprises the first 10 lines of Tagore’s 25-line song, eschewing the more explicit references to the partition of Bengal and the Swadeshi Movement in the later stanzas of the complete version. The lines of the anthem focus exclusively on the pastoral beauty of Bengal. Rejoicing in its landscape and the simple pleasures of rural life, the anthem personifies the Bengali motherland as the benevolent provider of these generous gifts. The transliteration of the anthem in Latin script is as follows:
Amar sonar bangla, ami tomay bhalobashi
Chirodin tomar akash, tomar batash, amar prane bajay bashi.
O ma, Fagune tor aamer bone ghrane pagol kare,
Mori hay, hay re—
O ma, Aghrane tor bhara khete ami ki dekhechi modhur hashi.
Ki sobha, ki chhaya go, ki sneho, ki maya go—
Ki anchol bichayecho bater mule, nodir kule kule
Ma tor mukher bani amar kane lage sudhar moto
Mori hay, hay re—
Ma tor bodonkhani molin hale, o ma ami nayan-jale bhashi.
The official English translation of the song by poet and academic Syed Ali Ahsan approximates some of the Bengali words that do not have direct correlates in English; for example, the names of the Bengali months (corresponding to the Hindu calendar) “Fagun” and “Aghran” are translated to the seasons spring and autumn, respectively. The official translation is as follows:
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My Bengal of gold, I love you
Forever your skies, your air set my heart in tune
as if it were a flute.
In Spring, Oh mother mine, the fragrance from
Your mango-groves makes me wild with joy––
Ah, what a thrill!
In Autumn, Oh mother mine,
in the full-blossomed paddy fields,
I have seen spread all over––sweet smiles!
Ah, what a beauty, what shades, what an affection
and what a tenderness!
What a quilt have you spread at the feet of
banyan trees and along the banks of rivers!
Oh mother mine, words from your lips are like
Nectar to my ears!
Ah, what a thrill!
If sadness, Oh mother mine, casts a gloom on your face,
my eyes are filled with tears!
The National Anthem Rules, 1978, stipulate the occasions on which the anthem should be played, the number of lines to be played, and the conduct expected of officials and citizens. The anthem is played in full at key national events, such as Shaheed Dibas Day (Martyrs’ Day; February 21), Independence Day (March 26), and Victory Day (December 16). Schoolchildren are required to sing the anthem at the start of each day. The rules prescribe that only the first two lines be played at a range of ceremonial and diplomatic functions, including state funerals, the beginning of cinema screenings, and the conclusion of radio and television programs. When the national anthem is being played, citizens and officials are directed to stand at attention, facing the flag or the musicians playing the tune.
Calls for a new anthem
Despite its legacy as a rallying point during the freedom struggle, “Amar Sonar Bangla” has faced scrutiny over the decades. Critics have argued that the song, written by Tagore to inspire unity across the Bengal region during the partition of the province, no longer reflects the ideals of the independent country of Bangladesh, which was carved out of India during partition.
Attempts to change the national anthem began shortly after the assassination of Mujibur Rahman in 1975. During Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad’s short-lived tenure as prime minister that year, he set up a committee to recommend a new anthem. However, no action was taken on the committee’s recommendations amid political turmoil in the country. One of the most serious bids to change the anthem came during the presidency of Ziaur Rahman, when the song “Prothom Bangladesh, Amar Sesh Bangladesh” (“Bangladesh Is My First and Last”) was proposed as a replacement and played alongside “Amar Sonar Bangla” at presidential events until Ziaur Rahman’s assassination in 1981. In 2002 members of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami appealed for the national anthem to be changed to reflect Islamic values and ideals, but the proposal was not accepted.
After Sheikh Hasina resigned as prime minister and fled the country in 2024, the debate concerning the anthem was reignited after a former military officer claimed that it was imposed by India during the Bangladesh Liberation War and suggested that the government pick a new anthem. In response the Muhammad Yunus-headed interim government said it was not considering changing the national anthem.