Historical roots of the Victory Day

An interesting aspect of Bangladesh's political history is that this place had assumed different names over time since the ancient era. Among the provinces which have been identified as habitats of the native people since the ancient days, only three could maintain their dominant roles. These were Pundra, Gaud and Vanga. Horikel, Chandradwip, Samatata, Varendra, Dandabhukti and Rarha regions were however no less successful in exerting influence. But in the war of domination, Pundra, Gaud and Vanga were ultimately merged together, thereby losing their separate identities.
It may surprise many that at one time Gaud surpassed Vanga in terms of influence and domination. The ancient kings of Bangla used to prefer the title 'Gaudeshwar' (monarch of Gaud) instead of 'Vangeshwar' (monarch of Vanga). King Sasanka unified the whole of Bangla by the name 'Gaud', although the habitat of Vanga did not give up its individuality and honour at the time. The Pala Kings were known as 'Gaudeshwar'. The same applied to the Sena dynasty. But ultimately it was Vanga or Bangla which emerged victorious in this race for supremacy.
At a later phase, the Muslim Sultans unified the whole region and named it as 'Bangla'. That signalled the end of ancient names like Gaud, Pundra, Rarha, Horikel, Samatata, Chandradwip, Varendra, etc. In this way the habitat of Bangla could establish its supremacy over places such as Vanga, Gaud and Pundra. The period of Sultani rule was thus the period when Bangla's glory reached its zenith.
The place which was known as 'Vanga' or 'Bangla' in ancient times was only a part of today's Bangla (Bangladesh and West Bengal). Bangladesh was divided into different habitats then. They derived their names from their identities of statehood, such as Vanga, Gaud, Pundra and Rarha. They also possessed separate mechanisms for governance.
During the rule of Keshab Sen and Bishwarup Sen, Vanga was divided into two parts. One was the Bikrampur division and the other was Nabyamandal (extending from the Bakerganj district towards the east and reaching up to the sea). The name of another habitat called Horikel was mentioned quite often. Its boundary stretched from the Bakerganj district to Sylhet. It was also known as Chandradwip.
'Samatata' was another ancient habitat of Bangladesh whose confines stretched from Tripura up to the Chabbish Pargana district of present-day West Bengal. On the other hand, eastern Bangla itself was called Samatata during the Buddhist Pala era. The whole land area of eastern and southern Bangla (coastal belt) was included in it.
The capital of Pundrabardhan was Mohasthangarh of Bogra region. Dinajpur and Rajshahi regions were also included in it. The Varendra habitat, on the other hand, consisted of Bogra, Dinajpur, Rajshahi and Pabna. Although the districts of Bardhaman, Hoogli and Howrah had been identified as southern Rarha, in reality they belonged to the ancient Sukkha habitat.
The ancient Brajabhumi included places such as Murshidabad, Birbhum and Katwar. Although the Gaud habitat was originally located in Murshidabad and Birbhum, at one stage, the whole of Bangla was known by this name.
In the 6th century AD, an independent dynasty of Kings was installed in the Vanga habitat, giving rise to a new state apparatus. From 7th century onwards starting from the rule of King Sasanka, efforts were made to intertwine the different habitats of ancient Bangla. This same effort continued during the Pala and Sena rules (700-1200 AD). Keeping aside the Muslim Sultans of Delhi, the unified Bangali nation during the 200-year-rule of the independent Sultani era in Bangla was a landmark in the establishment of Bangladesh state. It was during this Sultani period (1342-1538) that Vanga and Gaud were fused together to form a new state. Its inhabitants were known as Bangali and the state was called Bangladesh.
This unified entity of Bangladesh existed during the Pathan rule (1538-1564) as well. But Sher Shah Suri used to rule from Delhi, and consequently the unified Bangladesh lost its sovereignty.
In this situation, the Mughals (1576-1757) became the rulers of this region and it was during the rule of Mughal emperor Akbar that Bangladesh was named as 'Suba Bangla'. Dhaka was then made its capital. Dhaka could then boast of being the capital of Bangla for the first time.
After the Mughal era, it was the British rulers (1757-1947) who seized power here. The English named Bangla as Bengal. Up to 1905, Bangladesh, West Bangla, Bihar, Orissa and Assam were included in the province of Bengal. When 'Vangabhanga' (dissolution of Bangla) was announced in 1905, eastern Bangla became a separate province and Dhaka was once again made the capital. This arrangement was again reversed in 1911.
Things continued like this up to 1947. But as a consequence of the 'divide and rule' policy of the British rulers, two separates states-India and Pakistan-were born by dividing the subcontinent on August 14-15, 1947; eastern Bangla was then included in Pakistan and was renamed as East Pakistan. The political status of Bangladesh remained like this up to 1971, when in the backdrop of a genocide launched by the barbaric Pakistani Army against unarmed Bangalis in March 1971, Bangladesh became independent through a glorious nine-month-long war of liberation. The capital was shifted to Mujibnagar from Dhaka in April 1971 during the liberation war, and it continued to be so until victory was achieved against the Pakistani occupation forces on December 16, 1971.
Dr. Helal Uddin Ahmed, a former editor of Bangladesh Quarterly, is a PhD from the Institute of Bangladesh Studies, Rajshahi University.
 hahmed1960@gmail.com