Prothom Bangladesh Explained
"Prothom Bangladesh" (Bengali: প্রথম বাংলাদেশ; "First is Bangladesh") is a patriotic song by Shahnaz Rahmatullah. Moniruzzaman Monir wrote and Alauddin Ali composed the song. The song was first broadcast in a TV program on Bangladesh Television in the late 1970s.[1]
On 12 December 1978, when the Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Chowdhury Kamal Ibne Yusuf asked the party founder and president Ziaur Rahman in a session to change the national flag, he replied with assurance that he would think about it after changing the national anthem of the country, "Amar Sonar Bangla", which was written by a Hindu.[2] On 30 April 1979,[3] Shah Azizur Rahman, prime minister of Bangladesh, sent a secret letter to the cabinet department, which stated that Rabindranath Tagore, the writer of the national anthem of the country was the writer of "Jana Gana Mana", national anthem of India, and not a citizen of Bangladesh. The national anthem made the Islamic world worried because it is written by a person who religiously adhered to Hinduism. Because the national anthem is contradictory with the spirit of culture of Bangladesh, it needs to be changed. In the letter, the prime minister proposed this song as the new national anthem. After receiving this letter from the prime minister, the cabinet department issued instructions to broadcast the song on radio, television and all government programs. Meanwhile, the proposed national anthem song started singing along with the National Anthem at the president's functions. But after the initiative stalled after Zia was assassinated in 1981.[4] Around the 1980s, the song was announced as the official anthem of the Zia's Party. The party's official website mentions the song as its anthem. However, the singer Shahnaz Rahmatullah and composer Alauddin Ali claimed that the party is using the song as the official anthem without their permission.[5]
Notes and References
- Web site: গানের কোথাও ‘বিএনপি’ শব্দ আনিনি: মনিরুজ্জামান মনির. I did not bring the word 'BNP' anywhere in the song: Moniruzzaman Monir. bn. Saimum. Saad. 30 June 2018. 29 May 2024. Bdnews24.com. 30 June 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180630121645/https://bangla.bdnews24.com/glitz/article1512837.bdnews. live.
- Web site: জাতীয় পতাকা, জাতীয় সঙ্গীত বদলাতে চেয়েছিলেন জিয়া. Zia wanted to change the national flag, national anthem. bn. Sabbir. Hossain. 13 July 2016. 29 May 2024. Channel i. 29 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240129073822/https://www.channelionline.com/%E0%A6%9C%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%80%E0%A7%9F-%E0%A6%AA%E0%A6%A4%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%95%E0%A6%BE-%E0%A6%9C%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%80%E0%A7%9F-%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%99%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%97%E0%A7%80%E0%A6%A4/. live.
- News: যে ৩ সময়ে ‘জাতীয় সংগীত’ পরিবর্তনের উদ্যোগ নেয়া হয়েছিল. During which 3 initiatives were taken to change the 'National Anthem'. bn. 7 August 2019. 29 May 2024. Jugantor. 18 November 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20231118113926/https://www.jugantor.com/national/207858/%E0%A6%AF%E0%A7%87-%E0%A7%A9-%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%AE%E0%A7%9F%E0%A7%87-%E0%A6%9C%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%80%E0%A7%9F-%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%82%E0%A6%97%E0%A7%80%E0%A6%A4-%E0%A6%AA%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A4%E0%A6%A8%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B0-%E0%A6%89%E0%A6%A6%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF%E0%A7%8B%E0%A6%97-%E0%A6%A8%E0%A7%87%E0%A7%9F%E0%A6%BE-%E0%A6%B9%E0%A7%9F%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%9B%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%B2. live.
- Web site: আগেও 'সোনার বাংলা' বদলাতে চেয়েছেন অনেক বড় বড় নাম, তবে ঝড় তুলেছেন নোবেলই!. Earlier, many big names wanted to change 'Golden Bangla', but it was Nobel who raised a storm!. bn. 5 August 2019. 29 May 2024. Ei Samay Sangbadpatra. 19 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240119152457/https://eisamay.com/entertainment/tv-news/not-onlt-noble-many-noted-public-figures-voiced-their-opinion-to-replace-sonar-bangla-penned-by-rabindranath-tagore-as-the-national-song-of-bangladesh-in-the-past/articleshow/70537992.cms. live.
- Web site: ‘প্রথম বাংলাদেশ’ কীভাবে বিএনপির দলীয় সংগীত, প্রশ্ন শিল্পী-সুরকারের. How is 'Prothom Bangladesh' becomes the party anthem of BNP, the question of the artist-composer. bn. Saimum. Saad. 22 June 2018. 29 May 2024. Bdnews24.com. 25 March 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190325030315/https://bangla.bdnews24.com/glitz/article1509542.bdnews. live.
