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"Prothom Bangladesh" (Bengali: প্রথম বাংলাদেশ, lit. 'The First Bangladesh') is a patriotic song by Shahnaz Rahmatullah. Moniruzzaman Monir wrote and Alauddin Ali composed the song. The song was first broadcast in a TV program on Bangladesh Television in the late 1970s. It's the party anthem of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

Journalist Azizul Islam Bhuiya claimed that on 12 December 1978, when the Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Chowdhury Kamal Ibne Yusuf asked the party founder and president Ziaur Rahman in a session to change the national flag, he replied with assurance that he would think about it after changing the a Hindu-written national anthem of the country, "Amar Sonar Bangla". At the time he mentioned the song as the new national anthem. On 30 April 1979, Shah Azizur Rahman, then-Prime Minister of Bangladesh, sent a secret letter to the Cabinet Division, which stated that the national anthem of Bangladesh was contradictory with the spirit of the culture of Bangladesh, as the writer of the anthem, Rabindranath Tagore, was not a citizen of Bangladesh and was the writer of "Jana Gana Mana", national anthem of India. He instead proposed this song as the new national anthem. After receiving this letter from the Prime Minister, the Cabinet Division issued instructions to broadcast the song on radio, television and all government programs. Meanwhile, the proposed national anthem song started singing along with Amar Sonar Bangla at the Presidential functions. But the initiative stalled after Zia was assassinated in 1981. Around the 1980s, the song was announced as the official anthem of Zia's party BNP. However in 2018, the singer Shahnaz Rahmatullah and composer Alauddin Ali claimed that the party is using the song as the official anthem without their permission. In 2016, Bangladesh Betar fired 6 employees for broadcasting the song during the 2016–2017 budget session of the Jatiya Sangsad.

References

1. Molla, Mohammad Al-Masum (29 March 2019). "What more can the world expect from a Singer?". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 20 June 2023.
2. Saad, Saimum (30 June 2018). গানের কোথাও 'বিএনপি' শব্দ আনিনি: মনিরুজ্জামান মনির [I did not bring the word 'BNP' anywhere in the song: Moniruzzaman Monir]. Bdnews24.com (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
3. Bhuiya, Azizul Islam (2007). বিএনপি ও সাম্প্রদায়িক রাজনীতি (in Bengali). Srabon Prokashoni. p. 13.
4. যে ৩ সময়ে 'জাতীয় সংগীত' পরিবর্তনের উদ্যোগ নেয়া হয়েছিল [During which 3 initiatives were taken to change the 'National Anthem']. Jugantor (in Bengali). 7 August 2019. Archived from the original on 18 November 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
5. আগেও 'সোনার বাংলা' বদলাতে চেয়েছেন অনেক বড় বড় নাম, তবে ঝড় তুলেছেন নোবেলই! [Earlier, many big names wanted to change 'Golden Bangla', but it was Nobel who raised a storm!]. Ei Samay Sangbadpatra (in Bengali). 5 August 2019. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
6. Saad, Saimum (22 June 2018). 'প্রথম বাংলাদেশ' কীভাবে বিএনপির দলীয় সংগীত, প্রশ্ন শিল্পী-সুরকারের [How is 'Prothom Bangladesh' becomes the party anthem of BNP, the question of the artist-composer]. Bdnews24.com (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 25 March 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
7. 'প্রথম বাংলাদেশ' গান বাজিয়ে শাস্তির মুখে ১৬ কর্মকর্তা-কর্মচারী [16 officers-employees face punishment for playing 'Prothom Bangladesh' song]. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). 5 June 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2024.

• 1970s singles
• Songs in Bengali
• Bangladeshi patriotic songs
• Songs about Bangladesh
• Bangladesh Nationalist Party
• Bangladesh Television
• Bangladeshi nationalism
• Anti-Hindu sentiment
• Bangladeshi anthems
• Political party songs