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The Bengali edition of “The History of Lithuania” was released in Dhaka, Bangladesh this Thursday (March 10), on the eve of Lithuania’s independence restoration day.

The book was published by the Dhaka-based International Mother Language Institute (IMLI), in collaboration with the Lithuanian Embassy in Delhi and Lithuania’s Honorary Consul in Bangladesh.

“From now on Lithuanian history will be available in Bengali, which is a mother tongue to more than 250 million Bengalis. What a wonderful gift our nation has got on its independence restoration day,” – said Lithuanian Minister of Culture Šarūnas Birutis during the official release ceremony at IMLI’s headquarters.

“Like Lithuania’s, our struggle for freedom takes its roots in the resistance to linguistic oppression. I am sure this remarkable book will reassert this connection and bring our nations even closer,” said Hon’ble Foreign Minister Abdul Hassan Ali Mahmoud of Bangladesh, who also graced the occasion with his presence. 

“The History of Lithuania” book is a joint product by a group of eminent historians: Ambassador Alfonsas Eidintas, Prof. Alfredas Bumblauskas, Prof. Antanas Kulakauskas and Dr. Mindaugas Tamošaitis. 

It was originally published by Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2013, on the occasion of Lithuania’s EU presidency.

The book briefly covers the underlying periods of Lithuania’s historical development: ancient times, the Union with Poland, the Russian tsarist oppression, the epoch of national revival, the interwar period, Soviet and Nazi occupations, the Holocaust, anti-Soviet resistance, and restoration of independence in 1990, followed by Lithuania’s accession to the European Union and NATO in 2004. 

“The history of Lithuania” has already been published in a dozen of European languages, but its translation into Bengali is the first of its kind in South Asia.

Bengali is a native language to some 160 million speakers in Bangladesh and around 80 million in East India.

The idea of translating “The History of Lithuania” into Bengali was conceived by Lithuanian Embassy in New Delhi. The first edition has been published in 1,000 copies.