Bangladeshi nationalism

The history of nationalism in the country dates back to the colonial era, when the region started witnessing anti-colonial movements against the British Empire.

However, authoritarian and dictatorial rule and alienation of ethnic minorities post-independence led later leaders to espouse a more democratic civic form of nationalism based on territorial attachment of the people.

[1] When army chief Ziaur Rahman came to power, he sought to invigorate state policy and began to promote Bangladeshi nationalism.

[2][3] The history of development of the territorial and cultural identity in Bangladesh coincided with the origination and growth of Bengali language and literature, predominantly during the period of Bengal Sultanate.

[5] The concept of nationalism first emerged in the country after the Indian Rebellion of 1857 in the mid 19th century, grounded on the anti-colonial sentiment during the British rule.

Sheikh Mujib, rejecting the demands of constitutional recognition for the tribal culture and identity, urged upon the indigenous peoples to become Bengalis.

Dissatisfied with the acts of the government, the indigenous peoples from Chittagong Hill Tracts formed Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samiti, a political party, to demand autonomy.

According to scholars, Zia's main aim to foster this new thought was to distant the country from neighbouring India which had developed extensive ties with the Sheikh Mujib government.

[13] A major feature of Bangladeshi nationalism is the territorial boundary of Bangladesh, which emphasizes on the protection of the sovereign geographic sanctity of the state against the expansionist and colonialist forces.

[13] Rahman, while describing Bangladeshi nationalism, also introduced the idea of "peaceful revolutionary economic system" as a key feature of the ideology.

However, Rahman had dismissed theocracy as the governing system for Bangladesh and had opined that "religion should not form the ideological framework of a political party".

[13] After the assassination of Ziaur Rahman in 1981, Hussain Mohammed Ershad, who held the power following the 1982 coup d'état, also actively nurtured Bangladeshi nationalism with high priority on Islam.