Bengali Nationalism

In 1971, Bangladesh secedes from Pakistan and becomes an independent and sovereign
state. Following a decisive fight, the people of Bangladesh gained a separate territory as
well as a distinct national identity. Then there's the question of what the inhabitants of
this newly independent country's national identity will be. It becomes a topic of
discussion shortly after Bangladesh's independence struggle in 1971, when the
government of Bangladesh adopts parliamentary democracy, socialism, secularism, and
nationalism as key values in its 1972 constitution based on the Indian model.
Nationalism represents a uniform that brings people together under one roof. With this
uniform, a nation can introduce itself as an autonomous and essential nation with a
distinct identity all over the world. Nationalism is characterized by a strong identification
of a group of people with a political entity defined in national terms, like a nation. It is
the concept that a nation has the right to become a state. 8 (1993, Smith, Anthony D.)
Although there are multiple conceptions of what comprises a nation, this leads to a
variety of nationalism positions. It might be the notion that citizenship in a state should
be limited to one ethnic, cultural, or identity group, or that multi-nationality in a single
state entails the right of minorities to express and exercise national identity.
(Kymlicka,Will, 1995) It can also involve the view that the state is the most important
thing, or that one state is naturally superior to all others.
Bengali nationalism is the political manifestation of the Bengali people's ethno-national
identity, who live in the ethno-linguistic region of Bengal. Bangladesh and the Indian
state of West Bengal share the region's area. It emerged in the nineteenth century with the
Bengal Renaissance and the Indian independence struggle, and it would have a major
impact on the Bengali Language Movement, the Bangladesh Liberation War, and the
establishment of Bangladesh in 1971. Bengali nationalism is built in a sense of pride in
Bengal's history and cultural heritage. What is referred to as the Bengal Renaissance, in
which the introduction of Western culture, science, and education resulted in a significant
transformation and growth of Bengali society? During the British Raj, Bengal became a
hub of modern culture, intellectual and scientific pursuits, politics, and education.
In the late nineteenth century, the Bhadralok elite assumed and the Ashraf class
recognized that a Bangali meant a Hindu and that the Bangla language signified the
language of the Hindus. The colonial rule was directly responsible for such an ahistorical
shift in societal perspective. Following Bengal's partition, the Hindu Bhadralok and
Muslim Ashraf classes had a raucous relationship (1905).
In conclusion Bengali Nationalism was divided in earlier with different aspects of life.
But Bengali people was always found to their root which attracted towards their culture
and social identity. With many up and downs they always resisted any changes and
developed with rich Bengali culture and heritage, which glorified the nationalism of
Bengal.