Revisiting geographies of nationalism and national identity in Bangladesh

On 15 August 1947, the subcontinent of undivided India was partitioned into India and Pakistan (West and East Pakistan) using the two-nation theory. However, approximately 24 years after, Bangladesh was carved out of East Pakistan. The key purpose of this study is to revisit the geographies of nationalism and national identity in Bangladesh, which emerged at the cost of colossal sacrifice during its 1971 Liberation War against Pakistani forces when its people derived gargantuan inspiration from ‘creole nationalism’ stemming from their language and culture. There is a severe dearth of literature by geographers on nationalism in Bangladesh. Hence, this study deploys a collage of both rich and grey literature from interdisciplinary subjects, including geography. Following the independence of Bangladesh, Bengali nationalism and Bengali identity were enshrined in the Constitution.