Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay (1838-1894), a writer, poet and journalist from undividedBengal, composed an ode to Mother Bengal calledVande Mataram around 1876 as an alternative to the British royal anthem.[8]
InAmar Sonar Bangla, the national anthem of Bangladesh,Rabindranath Tagore used the word "Maa" (Mother) numerous times to refer to the motherland, i.e. Bengal. Despite her popularity in patriotic songs and poems, her physical representations and images are rare.
The Swadeshi movement was a campaign that promoted self-sufficiency through the use of indigenous goods while rejecting British products.[10] It emerged as a major response to the partition of Bengal, which was announced by the colonial administration in December 1903 and formally implemented in 1905. Widespread discontent in Bengal, the epicenter of the agitation, led to the formal launch of the movement at a meeting in Calcutta’s Town Hall on 7 August 1905. The movement not only encouraged economic self-reliance but also contributed significantly to the growth of Indian nationalism.[11] During this period,Abanindranath Tagore created the painting originally titled Banga Mata (“Banga” meaning Bengal), which was later renamedBharat Mata (“Bharat” being an ancient name for India) on the suggestion ofSister Nivedita. The painting came to symbolize nationalist aspirations and became closely associated with the ideals of the Swadeshi movement.[1][12]
The first incarnations of Mother Bengal, or Bangamata, emerged during resistance to thepartition of Bengal. The partition took place in October 1905 and separated the largely Muslim areas of Eastern Bengal from the largely Hindu areas of Western Bengal. Wealthy Hindus centered around Calcutta, who dominated Bengal's businesses and rural life complained that the partition would make them a minority in a province due to the incorporation of theBihar and Orissa Province into theBengal Presidency.[13] It was during this time the Mother Bengal was an immensely popular theme in Bengali patriotic songs and poems and was mentioned in several of them, such as the song ″Dhana Dhanya Pushpa Bhara″ and ″Banga Amar Janani Amar″ (Our Bengal Our Mother) byDwijendralal Ray. These songs were meant to rekindle the unified spirit of Bengal, to raise public consciousness against the communal political divide.[14][13]
Although Bengali Muslims played crucial role setting up the partition of Bengal in response to their socio-economic aspirations, it was reinterpreted, often aligning withBengali nationalism during theIndependence of Bangladesh. Many of Bengali patriotic songs were regularly played on theSwadhin Bangla Betar Kendra, the clandestine radio station broadcast to revolutionaries and the Bengali public during theBangladesh Liberation War.[15] Some of these patriotic songs, such as “Jonmo Amar Dhonno Holo Maa-go” and “Bangla Moder Bangla Maa Amra Tomar Koti Shontan” have significant representations of “Mother Bengal”. These patriotic songs are still immensely popular in modern dayBangladesh[15]
^Sri Aurobindo commented on his English translation of the poem, saying, "It is difficult to translate the National Anthem of BengalBangladesh (East Bengal) andIndia'sWest Bengal into verse in another language owing to its unique union of sweetness, simple directness and high poetic force." Quoted in Bhabatosh Chatterjee (ed.),Bankim Chandra Chatterjee: Essays in Perspective, Sahitya Akademi, Delhi, 1994, p. 601.
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