Amar Sonar Bangla

Amar Sonar Bangla (Bengali: "My Golden Bengal") is the national anthem of Bangladesh. The lyrics and music were composed by the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore. The song was written in the early twentieth century and was among many works by Tagore that depicted the landscape and people of Bengal.

When Bangladesh gained independence in 1971, the song was adopted as the national anthem of the new state. Only the opening section of the song (the first stanza) is officially performed, although the original text is longer.

Origins and history

The song is connected to the political ferment arising from the British colonial administration's partition scheme for Bengal. Tagore and other writers composed songs and poems expressing the unity of Bengali culture. For this reason, the song began as a work of cultural and political expression rather than as an official national anthem.

Following the Bengali language movement and the independence war, the song became a symbol used by Bengali nationalist movements. This led the new administration in Dhaka to adopt it in 1971 as the national anthem.

Lyrics and music

The text speaks of land, rivers, fields, and the motherland figured as soil. The music is based on the musical traditions of Bengal, particularly the baul style (a rural devotional-folk music form of Bengal). There is a cultural tradition suggesting that Tagore's composition drew from a pre-existing baul song.

Present use

The song is performed at state ceremonies, in schools, and on national commemoration days such as Independence Day and Language Martyrs' Day. Tagore also wrote the national anthem of India, making him the only person to have composed the national anthems of two countries.