The Coming-of-Age of the East Bengali Culture

A Vernacular Space Thus Etched (1950s – 1970s)

Abstract

The correct or exact understanding of popular culture remains inconceivable. The constant change in the idea of populous and thus, the choice of consumption in time, enhances the fluidity of the notion, problematizing the analysis. In contemporary times, the term ‘popular culture’ has shifted from a production to a consumption perspective. Hence, the people's conscious or subconscious choice needs to be considered. In this term paper, I will be taking up the political space of East Pakistan through the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, bringing out the process of growth of a popular notion of culture in the background of a politically turmoiled space- the story of etching out of a vernacular space into a nation. I will also briefly show the implications of appropriating Bengali nationalism as a national strategy in the 1970s, which in the pre-independence period was a counter or rather anti-national force.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.46700/asssr/2023/v5/i2/2023120502004