The Real Bengal: A Historical Discussion of Identity

The declaration of Bangladesh’s independence marked a momentous event with both political and theoretical repercussions upon post World War II society. The Bangladeshi originally desired sovereignty because they could not identify with Pakistani nationalism. The Bangladeshi people spoke another language entirely and were connected to Pakistan via Islamic religion alone. Bangladesh was established on commonalities in the population that went beyond religion. Instead, the national identity was linked to common linguistic and cultural practices

This sort of ethno-linguistic based national identity is singular in South Asia. Bangladesh gained sovereignty because a religious connection to West Pakistan was not enough to constitute a union. However, India is characterized by separate states with individual cultural norms and languages or dialects. As such, Bangladesh could have easily been taken in by its Hindu counterpart in West Bengal. Bangladesh, however, cannot fit into either side. Bangladesh is unique in that its identity is specific; neither common religion or general pan-Indian identity sufficed as a claim to a national identity. The people themselves display strong nationalism and fervor for their homeland, which, to this magnitude, is unprecedented of South Asian countries.

The first imaginary of Bengal produced in this journal begins with the Bengali Renaissance, but has roots in the idea of a homeland, which connects a people with the land from which they originate. The concept of “homeland” is no more than a construct put up as a summative territorial ideal that becomes a self-replicating societal norm as time passes. It very clearly applies to some more than others, a fact that was very clear during the Bengali Renaiss...

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...American” is difficult to define, because it varies greatly from person to person. A recent immigrant will never be American to people who are from America, but will instantly become American to their friends from their homeland. Categorizing a group of people into a specific identity is always difficult, but even more so when the group is comprised of nearly a quarter of a million people. No mater how broad the category is, you will invariably exclude someone. My personal definition of being American is citizenship, although this excludes illegal immigrants and people in the process of attaining citizenship. I chose this definition because people immigrate to America to exploit the benefits of being a citizen in America, not simply living on the land. Once they have become citizens, they have reached their end goal and can officially be integrated into society.