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The national anthem of Bangladesh is extracted from a longer version of Amar Shonar Bangla written by Rabindranath Tagore in 1906. Reproduced below is the official English translation of the anthem by the eminent academic Syed Ali Ahsan:

The shonar Bangla (golden Bangla) of Bangladesh’s national anthem is a place of endless abundance and captivating natural beauty, an idyllic rural landscape where ‘man’ is in harmony with nature. In overtly masculinist language, the poet pictures Bengal as a fertile and nurturing mother to whom its (male) inhabitants cannot help but offer their devotion and protection. The tranquil imagery and placid strains of the musical score notwithstanding, heated discussions have raged intermittently over Amar Shonar Bangla’s suitability as Bangladesh’s national anthem. Not unexpectedly, controversies around the anthem mirror the many fissures and instabilities of national identity.

The Bangladesh constitution of 1972 directs the first 10 lines of Amar Shonar Bangla to be sung as the national anthem

Rabindranath Tagore wrote Amar Shonar Bangla as a protest against the partition of Bengal Province by the British administration in 1905. A romantic rallying cry for the integrity of undivided Bengal, the song remained in vogue throughout the first two decades of the 20th century. According to the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh’s forthcoming Banglapaedia, swadeshi activists, revolutionaries and those who opposed the partition of Bengal used it to evoke “the spirit of patriotism among the Bangali masses”. The entry attributes the song’s diminishing popularity to the decline in regional nationalism in the 1920s, and traces its revival to the eve of Bangladesh’s liberation war.

Whatever the reason, between the 1920s and the 1960s, Tagore’s popularity declined somewhat in East Bengal/East
Pakistan. But music increasingly occupied centre stage in the cultural practices of the autonomy movement in East Pakistan and cultural activists came to embrace the poet’s work unequivocally. The centenary of Tagore’s birth in 1961 provided an initial impetus for rallying around the poet as a symbol of secular Bengali cultural identity. In 1967, the Pakistani information minister galvanised the movement by banning the performance of Rabindra shongeet, the songs of Tagore, from state-run radio on the grounds that Tagore’s ideas were not consistent with Pakistani national feeling. Days after the ban, a group of prominent Bengali intellectuals declared in an open statement that Tagore’s songs and poems belonged to the soul of the Bengalis of Pakistan. Subsequently, performing Rabindra shongeet and reciting Tagore poetry became dangerous and subversive practices.

From 1969 onwards, the leading institute for the performing arts in East Pakistan, Chaayanaut, proceeded to transform Amar Shonar Bangla into a major emblem of the struggle for Bengali cultural autonomy. I was told that Chaayanaut had briefly considered a different piece, written by a Calcutta-based composer Dwijendranath Lal Roy; it was rejected because Roy’s outlook was deemed to be too narrow, that is, too grounded in Calcutta. In contrast, the scope of Tagore’s work and vision was held to be representative of all of Bengal.

The Amar Shonar Bangla is a song that asserts the integrity of undivided Bengal

Moreover, Amar Shonar Bangla had quintessentially ‘Bengali’ origins. The story goes that the original score was written by Gagan Horkora, a disciple of Lalon Shah who worked as town crier in Shilaidah, Kushtia (now in Bangladesh). Tagore, while he was based in Shilaidah supervising his family’s zamindari estates, apparently took a liking to Horkora’s composition and set it to music with his own lyrics in 1906. Tagore is credited, more generally, with recovering Baul music from obscurity and popularising it for the consumption of the Bengali middle classes.

For Bengali middle class intellectuals and activists, the emotive appeal and uses of Tagore’s music increased in proportion to the increase in Pakistani repression. Indeed, Amar Shonar Bangla became an informal anthem long before any official declaration of independence. By March 1971, critical political meetings convened by students and workers, as well as by Awami League leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, to discuss the possibility of declaring independence from Pakistan, opened with performances of Amar Shonar Bangla. Less than a month after the war started, the Bangladesh government in exile adopted the song as the national anthem. Clearly, Chaayanaut was tremendously successful in its mission. Meanwhile, music of other kinds continued to be a primary means of mobilising popular support and sentiment for the independence movement that followed the brutal army occupation of East Pakistan on 25 March 1971. Almost overnight, songs depicting the heroic and bloody nature of the freedom movement flooded the airwaves of the underground Bangladeshi radio station, Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra.

The formal decision to adopt Rabindra-nath’s composition as the national anthem in 1972 appears to have been uncontested. The song was a ‘natural’ choice, for the very emergence of Bangladesh seemed to redeem Tagore’s vision of Bengali harmony and solidarity – just as it appeared to refute the ‘communal’ underpinnings of the 1905 partition of Bengal.

National Anthem, official song of the People's Republic of Bangladesh composed by rabindranath tagore in Bangla language in 1906, the song 'Amar Sonar Bangla' became popular during the swadeshi movementin the first two decades of the 20th century. The anti-partitionists (those who opposed the partition of bengalin 1905), Swadeshi activists and the revolutionaries used this song as a medium to stir the spirit of patriotism among the Bangali masses. But with the decline of regional nationalism from the 1920s, this song went out of currency until its revival on the eve of Bangladesh war of liberation. On 3 March 1971, the song was played at a meeting organised at Paltan Maidan by the Students League and the Sramik League. The seventh march addressof Bangabandhu sheikh mujibur rahmanat the Racecourse Maidan (now Suhrawardy Udyan) in Dhaka was preceded by this song. On 23 March it was played when Swadhin Bangla Kendriya Chhatra Sangram Parishad held ceremonial parade marking independence.

The Bangladesh Government in exile adopted this song as the national anthem of Bangladesh, and it was accordingly used by swadhin bangla betar kendrathroughout the period of War of Liberation. The Constitution of Bangladesh (Article 4.1) adopted the song as the national anthem of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. The first ten lines of the song have been specified to make the anthem for vocal music and the first four lines for instrumental music.

Protocol regarding playing the national anthem:

Full national anthem has to be played on special days like Independence Day, Victory Day and Shaheed Day.

While the President/Prime Minister attends a function as chief guest, full national anthem has to be played on his/her arrival at and departure from the venue of function.

Full national anthem has to be played before a toast is proposed to President/Prime Minister in his/her presence, but only first four lines to be played if absent.

While presenting Guard of Honour to a head of state of a foreign country, full national anthem shall be played while the President's salute is given. On such occasion, the national anthem of the visitor's nation shall be played first, to be followed by the national anthem of Bangladesh. But if the visitor is a head of government, only first four lines should be played. All other ceremonies remain the same.

At official functions held by foreign missions in Bangladesh, the first four lines shall be played. The national anthem of Bangladesh shall be played first, be followed by the national anthem of the foreign state concerned.

At all other inaugural and ceremonial functions and public meetings etc held by President, Prime Minister, diplomatic missions, national anthem is played according to approved rules.

There are approved rules of showing respect to the national anthem by civilians and persons in uniform, and there are rules regarding singing national anthem at educational institutions and all other public places. For armed forces, there are detailed rules as regards singing or playing the national anthem.