Bengalis: Difference between revisions
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| work = [[Banglapedia]] |
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| publisher = Asiatic Society of Bangladesh |
| publisher = Asiatic Society of Bangladesh |
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}}</ref> After a period of anarchy, the [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] [[Pala Empire |
}}</ref> After a period of anarchy, the [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] [[Pala Empire]] of Bengali origin ruled the region for four hundred years, and expanded across much of [[South Asia|Southern Asia]], from [[Assam]] in the [[North-East India|northeast]], to [[Kabul]] in the west, to [[Andhra Pradesh]] in the south. The Pala dynasty was later followed by a shorter reign of the [[Hindu]] [[Sena dynasty]]. [[Islam]] was introduced to Bengal in the twelfth century by [[Sufism|Sufi]] missionaries. Subsequent Muslim conquests helped spread Islam throughout the region.<ref name=islambanglaped>{{cite web |
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| url = http://banglapedia.search.com.bd/HT/I_0103.htm |
| url = http://banglapedia.search.com.bd/HT/I_0103.htm |
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| title = Islam (in Bengal) |
| title = Islam (in Bengal) |
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Revision as of 15:58, 15 April 2007
| File:Bengalis.PNG | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Majority populations in Bangladesh, India (West Bengal)
Significant populations in the following Indian states: Assam,Orissa, Tripura, Jharkhand Significant populations in the following countries: Pakistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, Canada, United Arab Emirates, United States of America | |
| Languages | |
| Bengali | |
| Religion | |
| Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Austro-Asiatic, Tibeto-Burman, Proto-Australoid, Assamese, Bihari, Dravidian, Oriya, Tripuri |
The Bengali people are the ethnic community from Bengal (divided between India and Bangladesh) on the Indian subcontinent with a history dating back four millennia. They speak Bengali (বাংলা Bangla), a language of the eastern Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী Bangali. They are Indo-Aryans closely related to the Oriya, Assamese, Biharis, and other East Indians, as well as the Munda, Proto-Australoid, Tibeto-Burman, Austro-Asiatic and Dravidian peoples. As a result, Bengalis are a heterogeneous and considerably diverse ethnic group. They are mostly concentrated in Bangladesh and in the state of West Bengal in India. There are also a number of Bengali communities scattered in New Delhi and several other states of India, such as Assam, Jharkhand, Bihar, Maharastra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, and the North-East Indian states, as well as in other countries such as Pakistan, the Middle East, United Kingdom and United States.
History
Ancient history
Remnants of civilisation in the greater Bengal region date back 4,000 years,[1][2] when the region was settled by Dravidian, Tibeto-Burman and Austro-Asiatic peoples. The exact origin of the word Bangla or Bengal is unknown, though it is believed to be derived from the Dravidian-speaking tribe Bang that settled in the area around the year 1000 BCE.[3] After the arrival of Aryans (Indo-Iranians), the kingdom of Magadha was formed in 7th century BCE, consisting of the Bihar and Bengal regions. It was one of the four main kingdoms of India at the time of Buddha and was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas. Under the Maurya dynasty founded by Chandragupta Maurya, the Magadha Empire extended over nearly all of South Asia, including parts of Persia and Afghanistan under Ashoka the Great in the 3rd century BCE. One of the earliest foreign references to Bengal is the mention of a land named Gangaridai by the Greeks around 100 BCE. The word is speculated to have come from Gangahrd (Land with the Ganges in its heart) in reference to an area in Bengal.[4] Later from the 3rd to the 6th centuries CE, the kingdom of Magadha served as the seat of the Gupta Empire.
Middle Ages
The first recorded independent king of Bengal was Shashanka, reigning around early 7th century.[5] After a period of anarchy, the Buddhist Pala Empire of Bengali origin ruled the region for four hundred years, and expanded across much of Southern Asia, from Assam in the northeast, to Kabul in the west, to Andhra Pradesh in the south. The Pala dynasty was later followed by a shorter reign of the Hindu Sena dynasty. Islam was introduced to Bengal in the twelfth century by Sufi missionaries. Subsequent Muslim conquests helped spread Islam throughout the region.[6] Bakhtiar Khilji, a Turkic general of the Slave dynasty of Delhi Sultanate, defeated Lakshman Sen of the Sena dynasty and conquered large parts of Bengal. Consequently, the region was ruled by dynasties of sultans and feudal lords under the Delhi Sultanate for the next few hundred years. In the sixteenth century, Mughal general Islam Khan conquered Bengal. However, administration by governors appointed by the court of the Mughal Empire gave way to semi-independence of the area under the Nawabs of Murshidabad, who nominally respected the sovereignty of the Mughals in Delhi.
Renaissance
The Bengal Renaissance refers to a social reform movement during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in the region of Bengal in undivided India during the period of British rule. The Bengal renaissance can be said to have started with Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1775-1833) and ended with Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), although there have been many stalwarts thereafter embodying particular aspects of the unique intellectual and creative output.[7] Nineteenth century Bengal was a unique blend of religious and social reformers, scholars, literary giants, journalists, patriotic orators and scientists, all merging to form the image of a renaissance, and marked the transition from the 'medieval' to the 'modern'.[8]
Independence movement
Bengalis also played a notable role in the Indian independence movement. Many of the early proponents of the freedom struggle, and subsequent leaders in movement were Bengalis such as Chittranjan Das, S. N. Bannerjee, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Prafulla Chaki, Khudiram Bose and Rashbehari Bose. Some of these leaders, such as Netaji, did not subscribe to the view that non-violent civil disobedience was the best way to achieve Indian Independence, and were instrumental in armed resistance against the British force. Netaji was the founder of the Indian National Army (distinct from the army of British India) that challenged British forces in several parts of India.
Among the Muslims, A. K. Fazlul Huq and Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy were the most prominent Bengali leaders of British India's independence movement.
Partitions of Bengal
Bangladesh Liberation War
Culture
The Bengalis are known for their artistic and cultural achievements. Noted Bengali authors, playwrights, music composers, painters and film-makers have played a significant role in the evolution and development of Indian artistic expression. The Bengal renaissance of the 19th century was brought about when the British introduced Western education and ideas. Among the various Indian cultures, the Bengalis were relatively quick to adapt to the British rule and actually use its principles (such as the judiciary and the legislature) in the subsequent political struggle for independence. The Bengali renaissance contained the seeds of a nascent Political Indian Nationalism and was the precursor in many ways to modern Indian artistic and cultural expression. The Bengali poet and novelist, Rabindranath Tagore became the first Nobel laureate from Asia when he won the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature.
See also
Notes
- ^ "History of Bangladesh". Bangladesh Student Association. Retrieved 2006-10-26.
- ^ "4000-year old settlement unearthed in Bangladesh". Xinhua. 2006-March.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ James Heitzman and Robert L. Worden, ed. (1989). "Early History, 1000 B.C.-A.D. 1202". Bangladesh: A country study. Library of Congress.
- ^ Chowdhury, AM. "Gangaridai". Banglapedia. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. Retrieved 2006-09-08.
- ^ "Shashanka". Banglapedia. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. Retrieved 2006-10-26.
- ^ "Islam (in Bengal)". Banglapedia. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. Retrieved 2006-10-26.
- ^ History of the Bengali-speaking People by Nitish Sengupta, p 211, UBS Publishers' Distributors Pvt. Ltd. ISBN 81-7476-355-4.
- ^ Calcutta and the Bengal Renaissance by Sumit Sarkar in Calcutta, the Living City edited by Sukanta Chaudhuri, Vol I, p 95.