Bengali Americans are Americans who can trace their ancestry to the region of Bengal in South Asia. This region comprises the Indian state of West Bengal and the country Bangladesh. Bengalis form a heterogeneous ethnic group which shares a common language and a similar culture. In the United States, Bengalis often fall under the broader category of Indian American or, even more broadly, South Asian American. Bengali Americans can be further subdivided into Bangladeshi Americans and Indian Bengali Americans, although these two terms can overlap. Large communities reside in most major metropolitan areas of the United States, including those of New York City, New Jersey, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Detroit, Chicago, Miami, and Dallas.
Culture [edit]
Many Bengali Americans participate in an annual conference, the North American Bengali Conference, in order to celebrate their culture and discuss issues the community faces. They often form regional organizations to network and plan events.
Religions [edit]
Bengali Americans are mostly adherents of either Hinduism or Islam. This is manifested in the yearly celebration of Durga Puja, Eid ul-Fitr, and other religious celebrations. Several secular holidays are also enjoyed by the whole community, such as the Bengali new year, Pohela Boishakh.
Notable People [edit]
Many Bengali Americans have contributed much to the larger American culture:
- A.K. Mozumdar, first person of South Asian descent to earn US citizenship, until it was revoked by the Supreme Court in 1924
- Tarak Nath Das, anti-British Bengali Indian revolutionary and internationalist scholar
- Dhan Gopal Mukerji, first South Asian winner of Newbery Medal in 1928
- Hansen Clarke, member of the House of Representative
- Jawed Karim, co-founder of YouTube
- Amar Bose, founder of Bose Corporation
- Salman Khan, educator and founder of Khan Academy
- Norah Jones, singer and actress
- Jhumpa Lahiri, author of The Namesake
- Ananda Mohan Chakrabarty, scientist
- Purnendu Chatterjee, industrialist
- Rajat Gupta, former CEO of McKinsey and Company
- Sezan Mahmud, professionally known as Dr. Saleh M. M. Rahman M.D., MPH, Ph.D, praised writer, lyricist, and columnist of Bengali literature as well and award-winning physician and contributor to the field of public health.
- Abul Hussam, professor and inventor of the Sono filter
- Dr. Rafiq Alam, Founder and CEO of Bangla News TV Los Angeles. A Senior Thin Film Engineer and Scientist. An Inventor of Optical Thin Film Coatings for Ophthalmic Applications.
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| Americas |
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| See also |
| Related diasporas |
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| Other related articles |
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| East Asian2 |
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| South Asian4,5 |
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| Southeast Asian |
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| Other |
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| History |
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1 The Middle East is geographically in Asia; According to the US Census Bureau persons in any of the original people of the Middle East are White American. [1]
2 The United States Government classified Kalmyks as Asian until 1951, when Kalmyk Americans were reclassified as Caucasians.[2]
3 The US Census Bureau reclassifies anyone identifying as "Tibetan American" as "Chinese American".[3]
4 Punjabi Americans may be classified as Indian or Pakistani.[4] Bengali Americans may be classified as Bangladeshi or Indian.[5]
5 The US Census Bureau considers Afghanistan a South Asian country, but does not classify Afghan Americans as Asian.[6]
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