Bangladesh: Difference between revisions

The etymology of ''Bangladesh'' ("Bengali country") can be traced to the early 20th century, when Bengali patriotic songs, such as ''Namo Namo Namo Bangladesh Momo'' by [[Kazi Nazrul Islam]] and ''Aaji Bangladesher Hridoy'' by [[Rabindranath Tagore]], used the term in 1932 and 1905 respectively.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.geetabitan.com/lyrics/A/aaji-bangladesher-hridoy.html |title=Notation of song aaji bangladesher hridoy |access-date=10 September 2015 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904011316/http://www.geetabitan.com/lyrics/A/aaji-bangladesher-hridoy.html |archive-date=4 September 2015}}</ref> Starting in the 1950s, Bengali nationalists used the term in political rallies in [[East Pakistan]]. The term ''Bangla'' is a major name for both the [[Bengal]] region and the [[Bengali language]]. The origins of the term ''Bangla'' are unclear, with theories pointing to a [[Bronze Age]] [[Proto-Dravidian language|proto-Dravidian]] tribe,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field%28DOCID+bd0014%29 |title=Bangladesh: early history, 1000&nbsp;B.C.–A.D. 1202 |date=September 1988 |website=Bangladesh: A country study |publisher=[[Library of Congress]] |access-date=1 December 2014 |quote=Historians believe that Bengal, the area comprising present-day Bangladesh and the Indian state of [[West Bengal]], was settled in about 1000 B.C. by Dravidian-speaking peoples who were later known as the Bang. Their homeland bore various titles that reflected earlier tribal names, such as Vanga, Banga, Bangala, Bangal, and Bengal. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207010051/http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+bd0014%29 |url-status=live |archive-date=7 December 2013 }}</ref> and the Iron Age [[Vanga Kingdom]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Vanga|title=Vanga &#124; ancient kingdom, India|website=Britannica|access-date=24 April 2023|archive-date=30 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160730062030/https://www.britannica.com/place/Vanga|url-status=live}}</ref> The earliest known usage of the term is the [[Nesari|Nesari plate]] in 805&nbsp;AD. The term ''Vangala Desa'' is found in 11th-century South Indian records.<ref>{{cite book |last=Keay |first=John |author-link=John Keay |year=2000 |title=India: A History |publisher=Atlantic Monthly Press |page=220 |isbn=978-0-87113-800-2 |quote=In C1020 ... launched Rajendra's great northern escapade ... peoples he defeated have been tentatively identified ... 'Vangala-desa where the rain water never stopped' sounds like a fair description of Bengal in the monsoon.}}</ref><ref name="Sen-1999">{{cite book |last=Sen |first=Sailendra Nath |year=1999 |orig-year=First published 1988 |title=Ancient Indian History and Civilization |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wk4_ICH_g1EC&pg=PA281 |publisher=New Age International |page=281 |isbn=978-81-224-1198-0 |access-date=25 July 2023 |archive-date=16 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116111745/https://books.google.com/books?id=Wk4_ICH_g1EC&pg=PA281 |url-status=live }}</ref> The term gained official status during the [[Sultanate of Bengal]] in the 14th century.<ref name="Ahmed2004">{{cite book |last=Ahmed |first=Salahuddin |date=2004 |title=Bangladesh: Past and Present |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Szfqq7ruqWgC&pg=PA23 |publisher=APH Publishing |page=23 |isbn=978-81-7648-469-5 |access-date=14 May 2016 |archive-date=6 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206161602/https://books.google.com/books?id=Szfqq7ruqWgC&pg=PA23 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>"But the most important development of this period was that the country for the first time received a name, ie Bangalah." [http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Islam,_Bengal Banglapedia: Islam, Bengal] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723091245/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Islam,_Bengal |date=23 July 2015 }}</ref> [[Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah]] proclaimed himself as the first "[[Shah]] of Bangala" in 1342.<ref name="Ahmed2004"/> The word ''Bangāl'' became the most common name for the region during the Islamic period.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sircar |first=D.C. |author-link=Dineshchandra Sircar |year=1971 |orig-year=First published 1960 |title=Studies in the Geography of Ancient and Medieval India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AqKw1Mn8WcwC |edition=2nd |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |page=135 |isbn=978-81-208-0690-0 |access-date=19 April 2016 |archive-date=6 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206161603/https://books.google.com/books?id=AqKw1Mn8WcwC |url-status=live }}</ref> 16th-century historian [[Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak]] mentions in his ''[[Ain-i-Akbari]]'' that the addition of the suffix ''"al"'' came from the fact that the ancient rajahs of the land raised mounds of earth in lowlands at the foot of the hills which were called "al".<ref>Land of Two Rivers, [[Nitish Sengupta]]</ref> This is also mentioned in [[Ghulam Husain Salim]]'s [[Riyaz-us-Salatin]].<ref name="riaj">[http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=07601010&ct=11 RIYAZU-S-SALĀTĪN: A History of Bengal] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215055926/http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=07601010&ct=11|date=15 December 2014}}, [[Ghulam Husain Salim]], The Asiatic Society, Calcutta, 1902.</ref> The Indo-Aryan suffix ''Desh'' is derived from the Sanskrit word ''deśha'', which means "land" or "country". Hence, the name ''Bangladesh'' means "Land of Bengal" or "Country of Bengal".<ref name="Sen-1999"/>