Patriotic Songs songs inspired by love of one's country and its people. In Bangladesh many of these songs are also inspired by the conditions of the working class and attempt to secure their rights. When the subject of a song is the country it is called a patriotic song; when its subject is the people it is called people's song. These are the two streams of this genre of songs.

Patriotic songs in Bangla first appeared at the beginning of the 19th century through the songs of ishwar chandra gupta and his followers. It further developed around the swadeshi movement, encouraging the use of home products. It was nourished through the national fair and inspirational meetings at the Tagore house in Jorasako. These songs became even more popular during the 1905 movement against the partition of Bengal. From this time onward a series of patriotic songs were composed to whip up sentiments against British rule and to awaken the nationalistic feelings of the masses. The themes of these songs were the richness of the country's resources and the heroism of the country's freedom fighters. Innumerable patriotic songs were composed by such poets and lyricists as Bankimchandra, Rabindranath, Dwijendralal, Rajanikanta, Atulprasad, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Mukundadas, Talim Hossain and Farrukh Ahmed. Patriotic Songs instill hope and courage in the minds of the people. During the Bangladesh liberation war, patriotic songs provided a great deal of strength, courage and hope in the minds of the people and the freedom fighters on the battle fields. Even today these songs help the new generation to know the nation's past and inspire patriotic feelings.

People's songs in Bangla developed in 1943 through the establishment of the People's Theatre. The incomparable talents of Binoy Roy, Hemango Biswas and Salil Chowdhury made these songs very popular. They set the songs to the tunes of regional folk songs, western songs, as well as tagore songs. The western tunes used by Salil Chowdhury set an important trend in the composition of people's songs.

Two distinct trends may be noticed in these songs. Some songs centred upon the demand for political independence and inspired the struggle for India's freedom. Another set of songs called for the establishment of an exploitation-free socialistic society. These were composed mainly by Mukundadas and Nazrul Islam.

In due course, international themes got into these songs to express solidarity with the exploited people of the world and to raise a voice of protest against imperialism, racialism and colonialism. Among those associated with people's songs in Bangladesh are Sheikh Lutfar Rahman, Abdul Latif, and Fakir Alamgir. Abdul Latif and his followers have a group of their own. Several other groups, including Udichi Shilpigosthi, and Rishis Shilpigosthi, are also associated with this genre. [Mobarak Hossain Khan]