Slide Summer 21 Bangla Language and Literature

HIS 101:
Bangladesh History &

Culture
 Content
Bangla Language and
Literature: Growth and
Development
Presented By
Professor Chitta Ranjan Misra
Department of History
University of Rajshahi
HELLO!
I am Chitta Ranjan Misra
You can find me at
chitta.misra@northsouth.edu
4
EVOLUTION OF BANGLA LANGUAGE AND
LITERATURE
 INTRODUCTION
 Bangla is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken by Map of major Indo-Aryan languages and
language groups
the Bengali peoples in South Asia.
 It is the official and most widely spoken language of

Bangladesh and second most widely spoken of the 22
scheduled languages of India, behind Hindi.
5
LITERATURE
 ORIGIN AND HISTORY

 Bangla is the state language of Bangladesh. Bangla speakers number about more
than 230 million today, making Bangla the seventh language after Chinese,
English, Hindi, Spanish, Arabic, and Portuguese. It is perhaps the only language
on the basis of which an independent state- Bangladesh-was created.
 Generally, it is understood that Bangla was born from Sanskrit, but there are
scholars and linguists who believe that this language was derived from Indo-Aryan
languages like Magadhi Prakrit and Pali. Modern Bangla comprises of words taken
from languages like Turkish, Portuguese, Persian as well as English. This effect
can be explained through the eras of different rulers of Bengal.
6
LITERATURE
 ORIGIN AND HISTORY : MAURYAN PERIOD

 The conquest of Bengal by the Mauryas in the 3 rd century BC led to the spread of
Aryan languages in the Bengal delta. The Bengali linguists Suniti Kumar Chatterji
and Sukumar Sen suggested that Bengali had its origin in the 10th century,
deriving from Magadhi Prakrit (a spoken language) through Magadhi
Apabhramsha (its written counterpart).
 The Bengali scholar Muhammad Shahidullah and his followers offered a
competing theory, suggesting that the language began in the 7th century and
developed from spoken and written Gauda (also, respectively, a Prakrit and an
Apabhramsha).
7
LITERATURE
 ORIGIN AND HISTORY

 Bangla emerged as a new Indo-Aryan language by 900-1000 AD through Magadhi
Apabhramsh and Abahattha, two stages of Magadhi-Prakit (600 BC-600 AD),
along with two other Indo-Aryan languages, Oriya and Assamese. Until the 14 th
century, there was little linguistic difference between Bangla and Assamese.
 Bangla Literature dates back to the 7th century at least and it may be divided into
three main periods: ancient, medieval, and modern.
8
LITERATURE
 THE DIFFERENT PERIODS MAY BE DATED AS FOLLOWS:
1. ANCIENT PERIOD FROM 650 AD-1200 AD,
2. MEDIEVAL PERIOD FROM 1200 AD-1800 AD, and
3. THE MODERN PERIOD FROM 1800 AD TO THE PRESENT.
9
LITERATURE
 THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD MAY AGAIN BE DIVIDED INTO THREE PERIODS:
1. EARLY MEDIEVAL ALSO KNOWN AS THE PERIOD OF TRANSITION FROM

1200 AD-1350 AD;
2. HIGH MEDIEVAL FROM 1350 AD-1700 AD, INCLUDING THE PRE-CHAITANYA

PERIOD FROM 1350 AD-1500 AD AND THE CHAITANYA PERIOD FROM 1500
AD-1700 AD; AND
3. LATE MEDIEVAL FROM 1700 AD-1800 AD.
10
LITERATURE
THE MODERN PERIOD BEGINS IN 1800 AD AND CAN AGAIN BE DIVIDED INTO
SIX PHASES:
I. The era of prose from 1800 AD-1860 AD,
II. The era of development from 1860 AD-1900 AD,
III. The phase of Rabindranath Tagore (1861 AD-1941 AD) from 1890 AD-1930 AD,
IV. The post-Rabindranath phase from 1930 AD to 1947 AD,
V. The post-partition phase from 1947 AD to 1970 AD, and
VI. The Bangladesh phase from 1971 AD to the present.

11
LITERATURE
 ANCIENT PERIOD
I. The conquest of Bengal by the Mauryas in the 3 rd century BC
led to the spread of Aryan languages in the Bengal delta.
II. The Bangla Language, however, developed from Prakrit,

through Apabhramsa and Abahattha and outside the direct
influence of Aryan languages.
III. The earliest extant specimens of ancient Bangla are the 47 Charyapada
spiritual hymns now known as Charyapada composed by
Buddhist monks.
IV. Because the language of these hymns is only partly

understood, it is called Sandhya or sunset language. The
Charyapada hymns possess both linguistic and literary value. 12
LITERATURE
 ANCIENT PERIOD
1. Charyapada the earliest surviving Bangla poems, also known as Charyagiti and dating
back to at least the 9th century. A manuscript of writings on palm-leafs containing the
poems was discovered in the library of the royal court of Nepal in 1907 by Haraprasad
Shastri.
2. Shastri edited the manuscript which was published by the Vangiya Sahitya
Parisad under the title of Hajar Bachharer Purana Bangala Bhasay Bauddhagan O
Doha (Thousand-year-old Buddhist songs and verses in Bangla) in 1916.
3. The manuscript contains 47 verses, composed by 23 poets, estimated to have lived

between the 9th and 11th centuries AD. However, Muhammad Shaidullah suggests
that the poems go back to the 7th or 8th centuries. The language of the Charyapada is
referred to as Alo-Andhari (light and shadow) or Sandhya Bhasa (twilight language).
13
LITERATURE
 EARLY MEDIEVAL: PERIOD OF TRANSITION (1201 AD-1350 AD)
1. The stories, rhymes and sayings of Dak and Khana may be dated to this period. The
Apabhramsa of the Charyapada became more Bangla in character.
2. Example of early Bangla is a collection of lyrical poems in Apabhramsa entitled

Prakrtapaingala. A Bangla song has also been found in Halayudh Misra’s
Sanskrit book Sekhasubhodaya (c 1203 AD).
14
LITERATURE
 HIGH MEDIEVAL: PRE-CHAITANYA PERIOD (1350 AD-1500 AD)
1. During this period, Bangla literature developed in three main areas: Vaishnava
literature, Mangala literature and translation literature. This period also saw the
beginning of Muslim Bangla literature in the form of romantic and narrative poems.
2. The greatest of Vaishnava writers was the poet Baru Chandidas (14 th century) who
extracted Jaydev’s Sanskrit words about Radha and Krishna into Bangla.
15
LITERATURE
 HIGH MEDIEVAL: PRE-CHAITANYA PERIOD (1350 AD-1500 AD)
1. The patronage provided by the Muslim rulers, particularly Sultan Alauddin Husain
Shah, his son Nusrat Shah and commander-in-chief, Paragal Khan, in promoting
Bangla literature is especially remarkable.
2. The 45-year rule of the Husain Shahi dynasty (1493-1538 AD) in Bengal not only led
to political, social and cultural prosperity, but also developed Bangla Language and
literature.
16
LITERATURE
 TRANSLATED LITERATURE OF PRE-CHAITANYA PERIOD
1. Maladhar Basu composed Srikrisnavijay, a free translation of the Sanskrit

Srimadbhagavata. Several poets translated the Sanskrit Bhagavata, Ramayana and
Mahabharata into Bangla during this period. Krttivas Ojha (15 th century AD) was the
first to translate the Ramayana into Bangla. He was followed by several other poets.
2. Sanjay and Srikar Nandi also wrote versions of the Mahabharata. Popularly, the most
important Bangla Mahabharata was, however, composed by Kashiram Das around
1602-1610 AD.
17
LITERATURE
 MUSLIM BANGLA LITERATURE DURING THE MIDDLE AGES

1. The poems written by Muslim writers during the Middle Ages can be divided into 5
groups:
2. Narrative poems (based on Muslim and Indian stories),
3. Religious poems,
4. Poems on cultural links,
5. Hymns, poems on astrology and
6. Poems on musicology.
The greatest contribution of the Muslims to Bangla literature during this period was,
however, the introduction of narrative and romantic poems.
18
LITERATURE
 MUSLIM BANGLA LITERATURE DURING THE MIDDLE AGES
1. Shah Muhammad Sagir (c 1400) was one of the earliest of the
Bengali Muslim poets. Other epic poets include Jainuddin,
Muzammil, Sheikh Faizullah, Daulat Uzir Bahram Khan.
Jainuddin became famous with Rasulbijay, his only epic.
2. Muzammil became famous mainly for his three-poetic works:

Nitisastravarta and Khanjancharita. Donagazi’s Saifulmuluk,
Badiuzzamal is written in simple language and reveals the
influence of Prakrit. Sheikh Faizullah occupies an important place
among the Muslim poets of the medieval period with Goraksavijay,
Gazivijay, Satyapir, Zainaber Chautisa and Ragnama. Several
Muslim poets were influenced by Vaishnavism, among them
Chand Kazi (15th century), and Afzal Ali. Chand Kazi was the Kazi
of Nabadwip under Sultan Alauddin Hussain Shah when
Vaishnavism spread to Nabadwip. 19
LITERATURE
CHAITANYA ERA (1500-1700 AD)

1. Chaitanyadev not only introduced the Gaudiya school of Vaishavism
in Bengal, but also inspired a powerful group of writers to write Chaitanyadev
biographies about him.
2. Among them Govindadas Karmakar’s Govindadaser Kadacha,

Jayananda’s Chitanyamangal, Brindabandas’ Chaitanyabhagavat
(1573 AD), Lochanda’s (1523-1589 AD) Chaitanyamangal and
Krishnadas Kaviraj’s Chaitanyacharitamrta (1615 AD).
20
LITERATURE
 LATE MEDIEVAL PERIOD (1700-1800 AD)
1. The close of the medieval period was in many ways a
period of decline. The decline of the Mughal Empire, the
inroads of the European trading powers and the
establishment of the British halted the natural flow of
literary creation.
2. However, the tradition of Vaishnava literature,

Mangalkavya, and translation work continued. There was
a great deal of influence of both the Hindu Puranas and
Islamic thoughts. The main literary productions of the
period include Padavali and Mangalkavya. Map of Bengal at the eve of
Colonial rule
21
LITERATURE
 RAMPRASAD AND OTHERS
1. In the artificial atmosphere of an age of decline,
Ramprasad Sen (1721-1781 AD) was an exception
because of his sincere devotionalism and simplicity of
language. Although he was reputed for his
Shaktapadavali, he also wrote Vidyasundarkahini and
Krsnakirtan.
2. In the songs of Ramprasad the angry Goddess Kali turned

into a kindly mother. Some other poets of this category
Ramprasad Sen
were Radhakanta Mishra, Kavindra Chakravarti and
Nidhiram Acharya.
22
LITERATURE
 MODERN PERIOD (1800- )
The modern period of Bangla literature is usually dated from

the foundation of Fort William College at Calcutta in 1800.
The distinguishing features of Bangla literature of this period
were:
1. The rise and development of powerful prose literature;
2. The influence of Sanskrit scholars on prose during the
first half of the 19th century;
3. The influence of western literature;
4. The diversification of subjects;
5. The rise of periodical literature; William College
6. The elevation of colloquial language to the status of a

literary language;
7. The development of new poetic categories.
23
LITERATURE
 THE MODERN PERIOD MAY BE DIVIDED INTO SIX PHASES:
1. In the first phase (1800-1850 AD), the era of prose, Christian missionaries and Sanskrit
scholars helped in modernism through their prose writing.
2. In the second phase, the era of development (1850-1900 AD), Bengali writers, influenced by
the west, created novels and poems that have stood the test of time.
3. The third phase, the era of Rabindranath Tagore (1890-1930 AD), was dominated by the
poet, and, although shorter, was creative.
4. The very short fourth phase, the post-Rabindranath Tagore phase (1930-1947 AD), from the
era of Rabindranath Tagore to the partition of India, is regarded as a separate phase outside
the Tagore influence.
5. The fifth phase, the post-partition phase (1947-1970 AD), saw the political division of Bengal
and the division of Bangla literature into the literature of West Bengal and the literature of
East Bengal/East Pakistan.
6. The six and latest phase is the Bangladesh phase. 24
LITERATURE
MODERN PERIOD: THE ERA OF PROSE (1800-1860 AD)

1. Bangla prose writing developed in the 18 th century mainly for administrative and preaching
purposes. The first Bangla books were those by Christian missionaries. Dom Antonio’s
Brahmin-Roman-Catholic-Sambad, for example, was the first Bangla book to be printed
towards the end of the 17th century.
2. The foreign rulers also felt the need to learn Bangla, leading to the compilation of dictionaries
and the writing of books of grammar.
25
LITERATURE
MODERN PERIOD: THE ERA OF PROSE (1800-1860 AD)

1. Nathaniel Brassey wrote the first Bangla Grammar, A Grammar of
Bengal Language (1776), to help the English to learn Bangla. The book
was printed in 1778 AD from Hughli Press, and Bangla Script was used
in its examples and quotations.
2. For administrative purposes law books in Bangla were needed. That is

why a number of law books were translated and published at this time.
Forster became well known particularly for his Cornwalisi Code (1793)
and Shabdakos (1799). Although these are not original works, they give
an idea of the nature of Bangla prose in the 18th century.
26
LITERATURE
 MODERN PERIOD: THE ERA OF PROSE (1800-1860

AD)
1. Willian Carey (1761-1834 AD) came to Bengal for missionary
work but became famous as the pioneer of Bangla prose. In 1800
AD he published Mathi Rachita Mangal Samachar, a Bangla
translation of the Bible, from Serampore Mission.
2. He later joined Fort William College and devoted himself to

writing textbooks.
27
LITERATURE
 RAJA RAMMOHAN ROY (1772/4-1833 AD)

1. Raja Rammohan Roy also contributed to the further development
of Bangla prose. Some of his well-known books are translations:
Vedanta Grantha (1815), Vedantasar (1815), Kenopanisad (1816)
and Ishopanisad (1816).
2. His original books include Bhattacharyer Sahit Vichar (1817),

Gosvamir Sahit Vichar (1817), Sahamaran Virodhi Pustika, etc.
The main themes of these books are religious and educational.
28
LITERATURE
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF BANGLA PERIODICALS AND NEWSPAPERS

1. The appearance of Bangla periodicals and newspapers in the second decade of the 19 th
century helped create and develop Bangla prose. The missionaries of Serampore
published the first Bangla journal, Masik Digdarshan (April 1818).
2. Other well-known regular and irregular periodicals published between 1818 and 1831
include Samachardurpan (1818), edited by John Marshman; Sambadkaumudi (1821),
edited by Tarachand Dutta and Bhabanicharan Bandyopadhyay.
29
LITERATURE
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF BANGLA PERIODICALS AND
NEWSPAPERS
1. An important role was also played by the mouthpiece of the
Brahmo Samaj, Tattvbodhini Patrika, which appeared in
1843 and which was edited by Akshay Kumar Datta for 12
years.
2. Other who contributed to it were Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar

(1820-1891 AD), Debendranath Tagore (1817-1905 AD),
Rajnarayan Basu (1826-1899 AD), Dwijendranath Tagore
(1840-1926 AD). The journal significantly furthered the
literary efforts of Bengalis.
30
LITERATURE
 THE RISE OF THE BANGLA NOVEL
1. Peary Chand Mitra (1814-1883 AD) and Kali Prasanna Singh (1840-1870 AD) were the
first Bangla novelists. Peary Chand Mitra was a fine essayist, writing on a variety of
varied subjects. His Bangla Novel, Alaler Gharer Dulal (1858).
2. His language, the common people’s language with its mixture of Arabic, Persian and
Hindustani vocabulary, was fondly called ‘Alali prose’.
31
LITERATURE
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF SADHU BHASA
1. The principal architect of 19th century Bangla prose was Iswar

Chandra Vidyasagar. Writing textbooks and articles,
Vidyasagar developed a form of Sadhu Bhasa or formal prose
that influenced future writers.
2. Among other writers who contributed to the development of

prose was Bhudev Mukhopadhyay (1827-94 AD), who wrote
on society, education, history, science, and religion.
32
LITERATURE
 MODERN PERIOD: THE ERA OF DEVELOPMENT (1860-

1900 AD)
1. The first modern Bangla novelist was Bakimchandra
Chattopadhyay whose fourteen novels include
Durgeshnandini, Kapalkundala, Krishnakanter Will, Bisbrksa
and Ananadamath.
2. Other significant writers of the time include Bankimchandra’s

elder brother Sanjeeb Chandra Chattopaddhyay (1834-1889
AD) who also was well known for his novels as well as
Palamau, an excellent travel story.
33
LITERATURE
MODERN PERIOD: THE ERA OF DEVELOPMENT (1860-1900): BENGALI MUSLIM

WRITERS
1. For a considerable period, Bengali Muslim poets had made no significant contribution
to literature. They accepted neither Company rule nor the modern ways of the British.
2. While the ‘Young Bengalis’ were emulating western ways, the Muslims were agitating
against the British.
34
LITERATURE
MODERN PERIOD: THE ERA OF DEVELOPMENT (1860-1900):

BENGALI MUSLIM WRITERS
 Mir Mosharraf Hossain wrote nearly 30 books including novels,
plays, satire, poetry, musical plays, and essays.
 His best-known writing is, however, Bisad-Sindhu, based on the

incidents at Karbala.
35
LITERATURE
 MODERN PERIOD: THE ERA OF DEVELOPMENT (1860-

1900 AD): THE ERA OF MICHAEL MADHUSUDAN DUTT’
 Michael Madhusudan Dutt (1824-1873 AD) began writing
in English but soon moved to writing in Bangla. Influenced
by his English readings, he used blank verse and the
sonnet form to write his poems.
 His epic, Meghnadbadh Kavya (1861), combines an eastern

subject with western techniques and style.
36
LITERATURE
 MODERN PERIOD: THE ERA OF DEVELOPMENT (1860-1900

AD)
• MODERN DRAMATIC LITERATURE
 Madhusudan’s first play, Sharmistha (1859), was based on the
Mahabharata story of Sharmistha-Devayani-Yayati. His second
play, Padmavati (1860), was based on a Greek classical story.
 Madhusudan was followed by Dinabandhu Mitra whose Nildarpan

(1860) has considerable historical value as it depicts the merciless
exploitation of Bengali farmers by English Indigo traders. The play
played a significant role in ending indigo cultivation.
37
LITERATURE
 MODERN PERIOD: THE ERA OF DEVELOPMENT (1860-1900

AD)
• MODERN DRAMATIC LITERATURE
 Mir Mosharraf Hossain wrote several plays in Bangla.
 Among them Basantakumari (1873 AD), written on the style of

Sanskrit plays, and Zamidar-Darpan (1873 AD), depicting the
oppression of farmers by the landlords.
38
LITERATURE
 MODERN PERIOD: THE ERA OF DEVELOPMENT (1860-1900 AD)

• LATE MUSLIM WRITERS
 In the 1860s the English rulers severely suppressed the Faraizi, Wahabi and other
religious and political movements.
 Towards the end of the century, Munshi Meherullah and his disciple, Munshi
Muhammad Zamiruddin, launched a movement to make Bangali Muslims aware of their
Muslim identity through literary efforts.
39
LITERATURE

 This movement, known as the ‘Sudhakar’ movement, was led by Moulvi Mearajuddin
Ahmad, Pandit Reazuddin Ahmad Mashadi, Munshi Sheikh Abdur Rahim and Munshi
Muhammad Reazuddin Ahmad.
 They attempted to make Muslims conscious of their Islamic heritage and glorious past by
creating literature in their mother tongue Bangla.
40
LITERATURE

 Some other Muslim writers of repute were Deen Muhammad (1853-1916 AD), Sheikh
Abdul Jabbar (1881-1918 AD), Munshi Abdul Latif (1870-1936) and Kaji Akram
Hossain (1896-1963 AD).
 Kazi Akram Hossain became famous for his book Islamer Itihas (1924). Yakub Ali
Chowdhury (1888-1940 AD) was a rare scholar in the Muslim society of the time. His
Manab Mukut testified to his depth of knowledge as a philosopher.
41
LITERATURE
 MODERN PERIOD: THE TAGORE PHASE (1890-1930 AD)

 Rabindranath Tagore was an extraordinary man who made
major contributions to all fields of Bangla literature. He
wrote an immense range of rich and varied forms of poetry,
plays, dance dramas, novels, short stories, essays and over
two thousand songs.
 Although he was known as ‘Vishvakavi’ and won the Nobel

Prize for literature in 1913 for his book of poems Gitanjali.
42
LITERATURE

 The volume and variety of his writings, his high ideals, his social commitment,
rendered Rabindranath an institution by himself.
 He dominated Bangla literature for an entire generation and continued to do so long

after his death.
43
LITERATURE

 The most popular novelist of this period was Sharat Chandra
Chattopadhyay (1876-1938 AD). His novels depict, with a great
deal of logic and sympathy, the daily life of the Bangalis, and,
above all, the life of the Bangali woman.
 Other writers of the period include Pramatha Chowdhury (1868-

1946 AD), whose essays and linguistic style greatly influenced a
group of writers.
44
LITERATURE

• BANGLA POETRY IN RABINDRA ERA
 Most of Rabindranath’s contemporary poets were overshadowed
by him and remained under his influence for over half a
century.
 A number of poets were, however, able to shake off his influence

and establish themselves in their own rights. Among these poets
were Satyendranath Dutta (1882-1922 AD), Mohitlal Majumder
(1888-1952 AD), Kazi Nazrul Islam and Jasimuddin (1902-1976
AD). Satyendranath demonstrated extraordinary ability in
creating new poetic metres. He was also a sensitive translator.
45
LITERATURE

 Kazi Nazrul Islam is a Bengali poet, writer, musician and
the national poet of Bangladesh. He produced a large body of
poetry and music with themes that included religious devotion
and rebellion against oppression. Nazrul’s activism for political
and social justice earned him the title of “Bidrohi Kobi” (Rebel
Poet).
 Nazrul’s writings explored themes such as freedom, humanity,
love, and revolution. He opposed all forms of racism and
fundamentalism, including religious, caste-based and gender-
based. Nazrul wrote short stories, novels, and essays but is best
known for his songs and poems. Nazrul wrote and composed
music for nearly 4,000 songs collectively known as Nazrul
Geeti. 46
LITERATURE
 MODERN PERIOD: FICTION AND SHORT STORIES OF THE THIRTIES
 The appearance of some able litterateurs at this time helped the development of Bangla
novels and short stories.
 These writers depicted the lives of working people, the problems of human existence, the
politics of India, etc.
 Rajshekhar Basu (1880-1960 AD) was the main architect of satirical short stories in
Bangla.
 Other famous writers included Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay, Tarashankar

Bandyopadhyay (1898-1971 AD), and Manik Bandyopadhyay (1908-1956 AD).
47
LITERATURE
 MODERN PERIOD: FICTION AND SHORT STORIES OF THE THIRTIES

 Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay’s work is distinguished by descriptions of the domestic
life of rural Bangladesh and its scenic beauty.
 He analyses human behaviour even as he describes nature’s tranquil and charming

scenes. His best work was Pather Panchali (1929 AD).
48
LITERATURE
 POST-PARTITION ERA (1947-1971 AD)
 The most important development in the intellectual history of Muslim Bengal was the
establishment in Dhaka of the Muslim Sahitya Samaj the thirties.
 The group’s principal source of inspiration was Abul Hussain (1896-1938 AD) and its
main writer was Kaji Abdul Wadud (1894-1970 AD). The Samaj’s mouthpiece was
Shikha which proclaimed the idea of free thought.
 Among those who paved the way for a new stream of literature in the then East Pakistan
and later in independent Bangladesh, Mohammad Najibur Rahman (1860-1923 AD)
deserves particular mention. His novel Anwara (1912 AD), which depicts the life of an
ideal Muslim family, was read very widely in Muslim homes.
49
LITERATURE

 Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (1880-1932 AD) demonstrated
considerable skill in writing novels, short stories, essays and
poems, many of them inspired by her ideals of social and
educational reform.
 Her Abarodhbasini (1928) depicted the plight of women in a

Purdah society.
50
LITERATURE

 The primary objective of Golam Mostafa (1897-1964 AD) was
to introduce Islamic ideas in Bangla literature.
 Apart from writing poetry, he also wrote Vishwanabi (1942

AD), a fine biography of the prophet of Islam.
51
LITERATURE

 Some other well-known writers of this phase include Dr.
Muhammad Shahidullah (1885-1969), Wazed Ali (1890-1951),
Abul Kalam Shamsuddin (1897-1978), Qazi Motahar Hossain,
Abul Mansur Ahmed (1898-1979), Abul Fazal (1903-1983),
Motaher Hossain Chowdhury (1903-1956), Bande Ali Mia (1906-
1979), Dr. Muhammad Enamul Huq, Sufi Motahar Hosen (1907-
1975) and Sufia Kamal (1911-1999), etc.
52
LITERATURE
 BANGLADESH ERA
The literature of Bangladesh may be divided into three phases:
 1. First phase 1947-1957 AD, 2. Second phase 1958-1970 AD and 3. Third phase from
1971 onward.
 BANGLADESH ERA: FIRST PHASE (1947-1957 AD)

 This phase extended from pre-partition days to the pre-Ayub period.
 East Bengal faced a host of problems, such as an influx of refugees, economic distress
and communal disturbances, as well as the Pakistani regime’s hostile attitude to East
Bengal and Bangla.
53
LITERATURE
 Soon after the creation of Pakistan, the people of the eastern region realized the
illogicality of a state based on religion.
 The decision to make Urdu the sole state language of the country caused Bengalis to
protest, culminating in the Language Movement of 1952.
 NOVELS
 The novels produced in Bangladesh was in fact a continuation of the novels produced by
the Muslim writers of undivided Bengal.
 Prominent among them were Muhammad Najibur Rahman, Korban Ali, Sheikh Idris Ali,
Kazi Imdadul Huq, Kazi Abdul Wadud, Abul Fazal and Humayun Kabir.
54
LITERATURE

 ESSAYS
 Most of the post-partition essays were on subjects of literature and culture.
 These writers continued to carry out valuable research on Bangla language, literature
and culture. Shahidullah’s Bangla Sahityer Katha (volume 1, 1953, volume 2, 1965) and
Abdul Hai’s Sahitya O Samskrti (1954) deserve special mention in the essay literature of
this phase.
55
LITERATURE
 BANGLADESH ERA: SECOND PHASE (1958-1970 AD)

 The literary and cultural activities in Pakistan and especially in East Pakistan were
frustrated following the promulgation of martial law by the army chief Ayub Khan in
1958.
 The people’s uprising in 1968, the students’ movement in 1969 to realise their 11-point
demand, the victory of the Bengalis in the general elections of 1970 but the refusal of the
Pakistani junta to transfer power to them, the liberation war of 1971, the victory won by
the Bengalis and the establishment of the sovereign state of Bangladesh all there deeply
affected the social life of the people and were amply reflected in the Bangla literature of
the 1958-1970 period.
56
LITERATURE
 BANGLADESH ERA: SECOND PHASE (1958-1970 AD)
 Shamsur Rahman was a Bangladeshi poet, columnist and journalist.
A prolific writer, Rahman produced more that sixty books of poetry
collection and is considered as a key figure in Bengali literature from
the latter half of the 20th century. He was as the unofficial poet
laureate of Bangladesh. Major themes of his poetry and writings
include liberal humanism, human relations, romanticized rebellion of
youth, the emergence and consequent events in Bangladesh, and
opposition to religious fundamentalism.
 FICTION
 Syed Shamsul Huq is an expert in writing such novels. His most well-
known novels are Deyaler Desh (1959), Ek Mahilar Chhabi (1959) and
Anupam Din (1962).
 Zahir Raihan’s Shes Bikeler Meye (1960) was apparently a romantic
love story but it really portrayed the complicated life of the rising 57
Bengali middle class of the time.
LITERATURE
 BANGLADESH ERA: THIRD PHASE (1971- )

 The liberation war of 1971 and the independence of Bangladesh
marks the third phase of the literature of this region.
 FICTION
 Syed Shamsul Huq’s novels of this phase depict the complex and
multifaceted conflicts. His novel Duratva (1981) very faithfully
portrays, the intricate socio-political realities of post-1975
Bangladesh.
58
LITERATURE

 Hasnat Abdul Hai’s novel Timi (1981) depicts the instability and socio-political scenario of
the years immediately following independence.
 Bashir al-Helal’s Shes Panpatra (1986) is also a fine portrayal of conflicts and questions of
existence in post-independent rural Bangladesh.
59
LITERATURE
 The post-1971 novels painted pictures of the post-independence
instability and despondency. Sarder Jayenuddin’s Shrimati Ka
O Kha depicts the overwhelming corrosion in the life of the
middle class in the post-liberation days.
 Humayun Ahmed’s Nandita Narake (1972) and Shankhanil

Karagar (1973) depict the static state of the life of the middle
class and their frustrations and loneliness. Rizia Rahman’s
Rakter Aksar (1978), on the other hand, paints the dark picture
of an urban slum of sex workers. Her Ekti Fuler Janya (1986)
presents a freedom fighter’s face wearing the scars of defeat.
60
LITERATURE

• POETRY
 Poetry in the post-independence days could be described as poetry of the liberation war,
for it was inspired by the war, its sentiments and experiences.
 Those who started writing poetry prior to liberation and continued to be active in the
post-independence days include Abdul Mannan Syed, Abdullah Abu Sayeed, Rafiq Azad,
Muhammad Rafiq, Jinat Ara Rafiq, Altaf Husain and Asad Choudhury.
61
LITERATURE

• ESSAYS AND RESEARCH
 In post-liberation Bangladesh there has been a noticeable progress in research.
 The major themes of research include ancient and medieval literature, modern literature,
Rabindra literature, Nazrul literature, Folkore Literature, linguistics, the language
movement, and the liberation war.
62
LITERATURE

 Those who made significant contributions in research were
Sanjida Khatun, Rafiqul Islam, Anisuzzaman, Abu Hena
Mostafa Kamal, Mohammad Moniruzzaman and Abdul Hafiz.
 Sanjida Khatun worked on Rabindranath and Rafiqul Islam on

Nazrul. Abu Hena Mostafa Kamal’s book had the title of Bengali
Press and Literary Writing (1977).
63
LITERATURE

 Valuable research on folk as well as other literature has also been carried on by Abul
Kalam Muhammad Zakaria, Zillur Rahman Siddiqui, Ashraf Siddiqui, Mazharul Islam,
Abdus Sattar, Wakil Ahmed, Abdul Hafiz, Anwarul Karim, Khondkar Reazul Huq, SM
Lutfur Rahman and Abul Ahsan Choudhury.
 Those who worked on linguistics were Mohammad Abdul Qayyum, Rafiqul Islam, Abul
Kalam Manjoor Morshed, Mansur Musa, Humayun Azad, Daniul Huq and
Moniruzzaman.
64
LITERATURE

 Valuable research on folk as well as other literature has also been carried on by Abul
Kalam Muhammad Zakaria, Zillur Rahman Siddiqui, Ashraf Siddiqui, Mazharul Islam,
Abdus Sattar, Wakil Ahmed, Abdul Hafiz, Anwarul Karim, Khondkar Reazul Huq, SM
Lutfur Rahman and Abul Ahsan Choudhury.
 Those who worked on linguistics were Mohammad Abdul Qayyum, Rafiqul Islam, Abul
Kalam Manjoor Morshed, Mansur Musa, Humayun Azad, Daniul Huq and
Moniruzzaman.
65
THANKS!
66

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HIS 101:

Bangladesh History &

 It is the official and most widely spoken language of

 ORIGIN AND HISTORY

 ORIGIN AND HISTORY : MAURYAN PERIOD

 ORIGIN AND HISTORY

 THE DIFFERENT PERIODS MAY BE DATED AS FOLLOWS:

1. ANCIENT PERIOD FROM 650 AD-1200 AD,

2. MEDIEVAL PERIOD FROM 1200 AD-1800 AD, and

3. THE MODERN PERIOD FROM 1800 AD TO THE PRESENT.

 THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD MAY AGAIN BE DIVIDED INTO THREE PERIODS:

1. EARLY MEDIEVAL ALSO KNOWN AS THE PERIOD OF TRANSITION FROM

2. HIGH MEDIEVAL FROM 1350 AD-1700 AD, INCLUDING THE PRE-CHAITANYA

3. LATE MEDIEVAL FROM 1700 AD-1800 AD.

II. The era of development from 1860 AD-1900 AD,

IV. The post-Rabindranath phase from 1930 AD to 1947 AD,

V. The post-partition phase from 1947 AD to 1970 AD, and

VI. The Bangladesh phase from 1971 AD to the present.

II. The Bangla Language, however, developed from Prakrit,

IV. Because the language of these hymns is only partly

3. The manuscript contains 47 verses, composed by 23 poets, estimated to have lived

 EARLY MEDIEVAL: PERIOD OF TRANSITION (1201 AD-1350 AD)

2. Example of early Bangla is a collection of lyrical poems in Apabhramsa entitled

 HIGH MEDIEVAL: PRE-CHAITANYA PERIOD (1350 AD-1500 AD)

 HIGH MEDIEVAL: PRE-CHAITANYA PERIOD (1350 AD-1500 AD)

 TRANSLATED LITERATURE OF PRE-CHAITANYA PERIOD

1. Maladhar Basu composed Srikrisnavijay, a free translation of the Sanskrit

 MUSLIM BANGLA LITERATURE DURING THE MIDDLE AGES

2. Muzammil became famous mainly for his three-poetic works:

CHAITANYA ERA (1500-1700 AD)

2. Among them Govindadas Karmakar’s Govindadaser Kadacha,

2. However, the tradition of Vaishnava literature,

2. In the songs of Ramprasad the angry Goddess Kali turned

The modern period of Bangla literature is usually dated from

6. The elevation of colloquial language to the status of a

MODERN PERIOD: THE ERA OF PROSE (1800-1860 AD)

MODERN PERIOD: THE ERA OF PROSE (1800-1860 AD)

2. For administrative purposes law books in Bangla were needed. That is

 MODERN PERIOD: THE ERA OF PROSE (1800-1860

2. He later joined Fort William College and devoted himself to

 RAJA RAMMOHAN ROY (1772/4-1833 AD)

2. His original books include Bhattacharyer Sahit Vichar (1817),

 THE DEVELOPMENT OF BANGLA PERIODICALS AND NEWSPAPERS

2. Other who contributed to it were Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar

 THE RISE OF THE BANGLA NOVEL

 THE DEVELOPMENT OF SADHU BHASA

1. The principal architect of 19th century Bangla prose was Iswar

2. Among other writers who contributed to the development of

 MODERN PERIOD: THE ERA OF DEVELOPMENT (1860-

2. Other significant writers of the time include Bankimchandra’s

MODERN PERIOD: THE ERA OF DEVELOPMENT (1860-1900): BENGALI MUSLIM

MODERN PERIOD: THE ERA OF DEVELOPMENT (1860-1900):

 His best-known writing is, however, Bisad-Sindhu, based on the

 MODERN PERIOD: THE ERA OF DEVELOPMENT (1860-

 His epic, Meghnadbadh Kavya (1861), combines an eastern

 MODERN PERIOD: THE ERA OF DEVELOPMENT (1860-1900

 Madhusudan was followed by Dinabandhu Mitra whose Nildarpan

 MODERN PERIOD: THE ERA OF DEVELOPMENT (1860-1900

 Among them Basantakumari (1873 AD), written on the style of

 MODERN PERIOD: THE ERA OF DEVELOPMENT (1860-1900 AD)

 MODERN PERIOD: THE ERA OF DEVELOPMENT (1860-1900 AD)

 MODERN PERIOD: THE ERA OF DEVELOPMENT (1860-1900 AD)

 MODERN PERIOD: THE TAGORE PHASE (1890-1930 AD)

 Although he was known as ‘Vishvakavi’ and won the Nobel