The general history of Bangladesh is long and quite complicated. What originally was known as the “region” of Bengal, the country of Bangladesh wasn’t officially formed until the 20th century, and has cultural influences from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

Despite being an Asian country, Bangladesh has a rich Medieval history, which is typically associated with European culture. Like many long standing nations, early Bangladeshi writing was religious in nature. These early religious texts were written in Sanskrit and Pali, two of the world’s oldest known languages, with Sanskrit being considered the second oldest language still being used today.

During the Medieval period, “Vaishnava literature” became popular in Bangladesh. These works worshipped Vishnu, Krishna, and Rama. These works included poems and songs, philosophical writings, and of course religious texts. These works played a crucial role in the Bhakti movement which emphasized personal devotion to god and opposed the caste system of the time. 

In the early 12th century, Islamic followers reached the region, which was previously dominated by Buddhism and Hinduism. The Persian influence that came along with Islam had a major impact on Bengal writing.

In the 19th century arose a Bengali Renaissance of cultural and intellectual “awakening”, with writers like Rabindranath Tagore, a Nobel Laureate in literature. His work’s included poetry, short stories, novels and plays, and he is considered one of the most influential figures in modern Bengali literature.

At the turn of the 20th century, Bengal was under British colonial rule. Britain tried to partition the country based on religious lines in 1905, but that decision was later reversed in 1911. In the 1940s the regions of Bengal were divided with the western territory going to India, and the eastern territory going to Pakistan. 

Bangladesh finally gained its independence in 1971 after the Bangladesh Liberation War. It is at this point we truly start to see modern Bengali literature start to take shape. The desire for independence was fueled by revolutionary writing like that of Kazi Nazrul Islam.

Today Bengali literature reflects the country’s diverse and interesting history, with a blend of European influence, traditional Asian culture, Persian and Islamic influence, and much more.