Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...
, specifically in the eastern part of the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
at the apex of the
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...
, predominantly covering present-day
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
and the
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n state of
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
. Geographically, it consists of the
Ganges-Brahmaputra delta system, the largest river delta in the world and a section of the
Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
up to
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
and
Bhutan
Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...
. Dense woodlands, including hilly
rainforest
Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...
s, cover Bengal's northern and eastern areas, while an elevated forested plateau covers its central area; the highest point is at
Sandakphu
Sandakphu or Sandakpur (3636 m; 11,930 ft) is a mountain peak in the Singalila Ridge on the border between India and Nepal. It is the highest point of the ridge and of the state of West Bengal, India. The peak is located at the edge of the ...
. In the
littoral
The littoral zone or nearshore is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely inundated), to coastal areas ...
southwest are the
Sundarbans
Sundarbans (pronounced ) is a mangrove area in the delta formed by the confluence of the Padma, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It spans the area from the Baleswar River in Bangladesh's division of Khulna to the Hooghly R ...
, the world's largest mangrove forest. The region has a
monsoon
A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...
climate, which the
Bengali calendar
The Bengali Calendar or Bangla Calendar ( bn, বঙ্গাব্দ , , Baṅgābda), colloquially ( bn, বাংলা সন, Baṅgla Śon), is a solar calendar used in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. A revised version of t ...
divides into six seasons.
Bengal, then known as
Gangaridai
Gangaridai ( gr, Γανγαρίδαι; Latin: ''Gangaridae'') is a term used by the ancient Greco-Roman writers (1st century BCE-2nd century AD) to describe a people or a geographical region of the ancient Indian subcontinent. Some of these writ ...
, was a leading power in ancient South Asia, with extensive trade networks forming connections to as far away as
Roman Egypt
, conventional_long_name = Roman Egypt
, common_name = Egypt
, subdivision = Province
, nation = the Roman Empire
, era = Late antiquity
, capital = Alexandria
, title_leader = Praefectus Augustalis
, image_map = Roman E ...
. The Bengali
Pala Empire
The Pāla Empire (r. 750-1161 CE) was an imperial power during the post-classical period in the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the region of Bengal. It is named after its ruling dynasty, whose rulers bore names ending with the suffi ...
was the last major
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
power in the subcontinent, founded in 750 CE and becoming the dominant power in the northern Indian subcontinent by the 9th century CE.
It was replaced by the Hindu
Sena dynasty
The Sena dynasty was a Hindu dynasty during the early medieval period on the Indian subcontinent, that ruled from Bengal through the 11th and 12th centuries. The empire at its peak covered much of the north-eastern region of the Indian subcont ...
in the 12th century.
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
had been introduced during the Pala Empire, through trade with the
Abbasid Caliphate
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
;
it spread across Bengal following the formation of the
Delhi Sultanate
The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526). . The region reached its highest prosperity under the
Bengal Sultanate
The Sultanate of Bengal ( Middle Bengali: শাহী বাঙ্গালা ''Shahī Baṅgala'', Classical Persian: ''Saltanat-e-Bangālah'') was an empire based in Bengal for much of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. It was the dominan ...
, founded in 1352, which became one of the world's richest
trading nation
A trading nation (also known as a trade-dependent economy, or an export-oriented economy) is a country where international trade makes up a large percentage of its economy.
Smaller nations (by population) tend to be more trade-dependent than larg ...
s.
Absorbed into the
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
in 1576, the
Bengal Subah
The Bengal Subah ( bn, সুবাহ বাংলা; fa, ), also referred to as Mughal Bengal ( bn, মোগল বাংলা), was the largest subdivision of the Mughal Empire (and later an independent state under the Nawabs of Ben ...
was the empire's wealthiest province, and became a major global exporter,
and center of industries such as cotton textiles, silk,
and
shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...
.
Its economy was worth 12% of the
world's GDP,
a value bigger than the entirety of Western Europe, and its citizens'
living standards
Standard of living is the level of income, comforts and services available, generally applied to a society or location, rather than to an individual. Standard of living is relevant because it is considered to contribute to an individual's quality ...
were among the world's highest.
The region was conquered by the British
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
after the
Battle of Plassey
The Battle of Plassey was a decisive victory of the British East India Company over the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies on 23 June 1757, under the leadership of Robert Clive. The victory was made possible by the defection of Mir Jafar, ...
in 1757, and became a part of the
Bengal Presidency
The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...
of
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
. Bengal made significant contributions to the world's first
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
, but later suffered its own
deindustrialisation
Deindustrialization is a process of social and economic change caused by the removal or reduction of industrial capacity or activity in a country or region, especially of heavy industry or manufacturing industry.
There are different interpre ...
.
East India Company policies, such as increasing agriculture tax rates from 10% to up to 50%, alongside drought and epidemics, contributed to famines such as the
Great Bengal famine of 1770
The Bengal Famine of 1770 was a famine that struck Bengal and Bihar between 1769 and 1770 and affected some 30 million people. It occurred during a period of dual governance in Bengal. This existed after the East India Company had been granted ...
, which resulted in the deaths of 1 million to 10 million Bengalis.
After
World War Two
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, during which Bengal was invaded by
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, Bengal played a major role in hosting
revolutionary groups of the
Indian independence movement
The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947.
The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...
. As part of the
Partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
,
Bengal was divided between predominantly
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
and
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
populations;
an independent, united Bengal was considered, but the idea was rejected, predominantly due to religious divisions.
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
subsequently became a part of
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and
East Bengal
ur,
, common_name = East Bengal
, status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan
, p1 = Bengal Presidency
, flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg
, s1 = East ...
a part of
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
, although it
won its independence as
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
in 1971. Today, Bengal is divided between Bangladesh and the Indian state of
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
; the historical region encompassed the modern-day states of
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...
,
Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . It ...
,
Odisha
Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...
, and
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
, among others in India, and some parts of Myanmar or Burma (
Rakhine State
Rakhine State (; , , ; formerly known as Arakan State) is a Administrative divisions of Myanmar, state in Myanmar (Burma). Situated on the western coast, it is bordered by Chin State to the north, Magway Region, Bago Region and Ayeyarwady R ...
).
The population of Bengal was estimated to be 250 million in 2011, with an estimated 160 million people in Bangladesh and 91.3 million people in India,
making it one of the most densely populated regions in the world.
The predominant
ethnolinguistic group
An ethnolinguistic group (or ethno-linguistic group) is a group that is unified by both a common ethnicity and language. Most ethnic groups share a first language. However, "ethnolinguistic" is often used to emphasise that language is a major bas ...
is the
Bengali people
Bengalis (singular Bengali bn, বাঙ্গালী/বাঙালি ), also rendered as Bangalee or the Bengali people, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of S ...
, who speak the
Indo-Aryan language of Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
. Bengali peoples also have a significant presence in the Indian states of
Tripura
Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...
,
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
,
Meghalaya
Meghalaya (, or , meaning "abode of clouds"; from Sanskrit , "cloud" + , "abode") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the state of As ...
,
Mizoram
Mizoram () is a state in Northeast India, with Aizawl as its seat of government and capital city. The name of the state is derived from "Mizo people, Mizo", the endonym, self-described name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", which in the Mizo ...
,
Nagaland
Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...
and
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...
, and others.
Etymology
The name of ''Bengal'' is derived from the ancient kingdom of
Banga
Banga may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Banga'' (album), a 2012 album by Patti Smith
* A song by Ali Shaheed Muhammad from the 2004 album '' Shaheedullah and Stereotypes''
* The name of Pontius Pilate's dog in Mikhail Bulgakov's novel ' ...
(pronounced Bôngô),
the earliest records of which date back to the ''
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
'' epic in the
first millennium BCE
The 1st millennium BC, also known as the last millennium BC, was the period of time lasting from the years 1000 BC to 1 BC (10th to 1st centuries BC; in astronomy: JD – ). It encompasses the Iron Age in the Old World and sees the transit ...
.
The reference to 'Vangalam' is present in an inscription in the Vrihadeshwara temple at Tanjore, which is perhaps the earliest reference to Bengal as such. Theories on the origin of the term Banga point to
Dravidian tribes, later known as the ''Bang'', that settled in the area circa 1000 BCE, and the
Austric
The Austric languages are a proposed language family that includes the Austronesian languages spoken in Taiwan, Maritime Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, and Madagascar, as well as the Austroasiatic languages spoken in Mainland Southeast As ...
word ''Bong'' (Sun-god).
The term ''Vangaladesa'' is used to describe the region in 11th-century South Indian records.
The modern term ''Bangla'' is prominent from the 14th century, which saw the establishment of the
Sultanate of Bengal
The Sultanate of Bengal ( Middle Bengali: শাহী বাঙ্গালা ''Shahī Baṅgala'', Classical Persian: ''Saltanat-e-Bangālah'') was an empire based in Bengal for much of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. It was the dominan ...
, whose first ruler
Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah
Haji Ilyas, better known as Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah ( bn, শামসুদ্দীন ইলিয়াস শাহ, fa, ), was the founder of the Sultanate of Bengal and its inaugural Ilyas Shahi dynasty which ruled the region for 150 year ...
was known as the ''
Shah
Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...
of Bangala''. The
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
referred to the region as ''Bengala'' in the
Age of Discovery
The Age of Discovery (or the Age of Exploration), also known as the early modern period, was a period largely overlapping with the Age of Sail, approximately from the 15th century to the 17th century in European history, during which seafarin ...
.
Geography
![Gangesdelta klein](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Gangesdelta_klein.jpg)
Most of the Bengal region lies in the
Ganges-Brahmaputra delta, but there are highlands in its north, northeast and southeast. The Ganges Delta arises from the confluence of the rivers
Ganges
The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...
,
Brahmaputra
The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, northeast India, and Bangladesh. It is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, Luit in Assamese, and Jamuna River in Bangla. It ...
, and
Meghna
The Meghna River ( bn, মেঘনা নদী) is one of the major rivers in Bangladesh, one of the three that form the Ganges Delta, the largest delta on earth, which fans out to the Bay of Bengal. A part of the Surma-Meghna River System, ...
rivers and their respective tributaries. The total area of Bengal is 232,752 km
2—West Bengal is and Bangladesh .
The flat and fertile Bangladesh Plain dominates the
geography of Bangladesh
Bangladesh is a densely populated, low-lying, mainly riverine country located in South Asia with a coastline of on the northern littoral of the Bay of Bengal. The delta plain of the Ganges (Padma), Brahmaputra (Jamuna), and Meghna Rivers an ...
. The
Chittagong Hill Tracts
The Chittagong Hill Tracts ( bn, পার্বত্য চট্টগ্রাম, Parbotto Chottogram), often shortened to simply the Hill Tracts and abbreviated to CHT, are group of districts within the Chittagong Division in southeast ...
and
Sylhet region
The 1947 Sylhet referendum was held in the Sylhet District of the Assam Province of British India to decide whether the district would remain in Undivided Assam and therefore within the post-independence Dominion of India, or leave Assam for E ...
s are home to most of the
mountains in Bangladesh. Most parts of Bangladesh are within above the sea level, and it is believed that about 10% of the land would be flooded if the sea level were to rise by .
Because of this low elevation, much of this region is exceptionally vulnerable to seasonal flooding due to monsoons.
The highest point in Bangladesh is in Mowdok range at . A major part of the coastline comprises a
marsh
A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...
y
jungle
A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century.
Etymology
The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅ ...
, the
Sundarbans
Sundarbans (pronounced ) is a mangrove area in the delta formed by the confluence of the Padma, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It spans the area from the Baleswar River in Bangladesh's division of Khulna to the Hooghly R ...
, the largest
mangrove
A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...
forest in the world and home to diverse flora and fauna, including the
royal Bengal tiger
The Bengal tiger is a population of the ''Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies. It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna.
The tiger is estimated to have been present in ...
. In 1997, this region was declared endangered.
West Bengal is on the eastern bottleneck of India, stretching from the
Himalaya
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
s in the north to the Bay of Bengal in the south. The state has a total area of .
The
Darjeeling Himalayan hill region
Darjeeling Himalayan hill region or Darjeeling Himalaya is the mountainous area on the north-western side of the state of West Bengal in India. This region belongs to the Eastern Himalaya range. The Darjeeling district except the Siliguri subdiv ...
in the northern extreme of the state belongs to the eastern Himalaya. This region contains
Sandakfu
Sandakphu or Sandakpur (3636 m; 11,930 ft) is a mountain peak in the Singalila Ridge on the border between India and Nepal. It is the highest point of the ridge and of the state of West Bengal, India. The peak is located at the edge of the ...
()—the highest peak of the state.
The narrow
Terai region
, image =Terai nepal.jpg
, image_size =
, image_alt =
, caption =Aerial view of Terai plains near Biratnagar, Nepal
, map =
, map_size =
, map_alt =
, map_caption =
, biogeographic_realm = Indomalayan realm
, global200 = Terai-Duar savanna a ...
separates this region from the plains, which in turn transitions into the Ganges delta towards the south. The
Rarh region
Rarh region () is a toponym for an area in the Indian subcontinent that lies between the Chota Nagpur Plateau on the West and the Ganges Delta on the East. Although the boundaries of the region have been defined differently according to various ...
intervenes between the Ganges delta in the east and the
western plateau and high lands
Vajjabhumi was a part of Rarh in ancient times. It is located in what is now Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal. The more rugged western part of the district was known as Vajjabhumi, the country of the thunderbolt.O,Malley, L.S.S. ...
. A small coastal region is on the extreme south, while the Sundarbans mangrove forests form a remarkable geographical landmark at the Ganges delta.
At least nine districts in West Bengal and 42 districts in Bangladesh have
arsenic levels in groundwater above the World Health Organization maximum permissible limit of 50 µg/L or 50 parts per billion and the untreated water is unfit for human consumption.
The water causes arsenicosis, skin cancer and various other complications in the body.
File:Burishwar River in Barguna, Bangladesh (2).jpg, A river in Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
File:A Canvas- Mustard field and Date Trees (11923934543).jpg, A mustard and date palm farm in West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
File:Tea Garden near Srimangal, Sylhet, Bangladesh.jpg, A tea garden in Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
File:Early morning golden color Kangchenjunga (Kanchenjunga).jpg, Kanchenjunga
Kangchenjunga, also spelled Kanchenjunga, Kanchanjanghā (), and Khangchendzonga, is the third List of highest mountains on Earth, highest mountain in the world. Its summit lies at in a section of the Himalayas, the ''Kangchenjunga Himal'', wh ...
from Singalila National Park
Singalila National Park is a National park of India located on the Singalila Ridge at an elevation of more than 2300 metres above sea level, in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal. It is well known for the trekking route to Sandakphu that ru ...
, West Bengal
Geographic distinctions
North Bengal
North Bengal
North Bengal ( bn, উত্তরবঙ্গ/উত্তর বাংলা) is a term used for the north-western part of Bangladesh and northern part of West Bengal. The Bangladesh part denotes the Rajshahi Division and Rangpur Division. Gen ...
is a term used for the north-western part of Bangladesh and northern part of West Bengal. The Bangladeshi part comprises
Rajshahi Division
Rajshahi Division ( bn, রাজশাহী বিভাগ) is one of the eight first-level administrative divisions of Bangladesh. It has an area of and a population at the 2011 Census of 18,484,858. Rajshahi Division consists of 8 district ...
and
Rangpur Division
Rangpur Division ( bn, রংপুর বিভাগ) is one of the Divisions in Bangladesh. It was formed on 25 January 2010, as Bangladesh's 7th division. Before that, it was under Rajshahi Division. The Rangpur division consists of eight di ...
. Generally, it is the area lying west of
Jamuna River
The Jamuna River ( bn, যমুনা ''Jomuna'') is one of the three main rivers of Bangladesh. It is the lower stream of the Brahmaputra River, which originates in Tibet as Yarlung Tsangpo, before flowing into India and then southwest into ...
and north of
Padma River
The Padma ( bn, পদ্মা ''Pôdma'') is a major river in Bangladesh. It is the main distributary of the Ganges, flowing generally southeast for to its confluence with the Meghna River near the Bay of Bengal. The city of Rajshahi is sit ...
, and includes the
Barind Tract Barind Tract (alternately called the Varendra Tract in English and Borendro Bhumi in Bengali) is the largest Pleistocene era physiographic unit in the Bengal Basin. It covers most of Dinajpur, Rangpur, Pabna, Rajshahi, Bogra, and Joypurhat distri ...
. Politically, West Bengal's part comprises
Jalpaiguri Division
Jalpaiguri Division is one of the 5 divisions in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the northernmost division of West Bengal. It is surrounded by Nepal on the western side, Bihar on South-Western side, Bhutan on the Northern side and Bangla ...
(
Alipurduar
Alipurduar is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Alipurduar district. Situated on the east bank of Kaljani River on the foothills of the Himalayas, the city is a gateway to Bhutan and no ...
,
Cooch Behar
Cooch Behar (), or Koch Bihar, is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Cooch Behar district. It is in the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas at . Cooch Behar is the only planned city in the ...
,
Darjeeling
Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, ...
,
Jalpaiguri
Jalpaiguri is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Jalpaiguri district as well as of the Jalpaiguri division of West Bengal, covering the jurisdiction of the five districts of North Bengal. The city is loca ...
,
North Dinajpur
Uttar Dinajpur () is a district of the Indian state of West Bengal. Created on 1 April 1992 by the division of the erstwhile West Dinajpur district, it comprises two subdivisions: Raiganj and Islampur.
History
Undivided Dinajpur district ...
,
South Dinajpur
Dakshin Dinajpur () or South Dinajpur is a district in the Indian state of West Bengal, India. It was created on 1 April 1992 by the division of the erstwhile West Dinajpur District. The Headquarter (sadar) of the district is at Balurghat. It ...
and
Malda) together and Bihar's parts include
Kishanganj district
Kishanganj district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state, India, and Kishanganj town is the administrative headquarters of this district. Kishanganj district is a part of Purnia division (Seemanchal).
History
Kishanganj district ...
.
Darjeeling
Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, ...
Hills are also part of North Bengal. Although only people of Jaipaiguri, Alipurduar and Cooch Behar identifies themselves as North Bengali. North Bengal is divided into
Terai
The Terai or Tarai is a lowland region in northern India and southern Nepal that lies south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas, the Sivalik Hills, and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. This lowland belt is characterised by tall grasslands, scr ...
and
Dooars
The Dooars or Duars ( as, দুৱাৰ, duar, rkt, দুৱাৰ, duar, bn, দুয়ার, duyar) () are the alluvial floodplains in eastern-northeastern India that lie south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas and north of the ...
regions. North Bengal is also noted for its rich cultural heritage, including two UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Aside from the Bengali majority, North Bengal is home to many other communities including Nepalis,
Santhal people
The Santal or Santhal are an Austroasiatic speaking
Munda ethnic group in South Asia. Santals are the largest tribe in the Jharkhand and West Bengal state of India in terms of population and are also found in the states of Odisha, Bihar and A ...
, Lepchas and Rajbongshis.
Northeast Bengal
![Madhabkunda waterfall (1)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Madhabkunda_waterfall_%281%29.JPG)
Northeast Bengal
refers to the Sylhet region, comprising
Sylhet Division
Sylhet Division ( bn, সিলেট বিভাগ) is the northeastern division of Bangladesh. It is bordered by the Indian states of Meghalaya, Assam and Tripura to the north, east and south respectively, and by the Bangladeshi divisions of ...
of Bangladesh and the
Karimganj district
Karimganj district is one of the 34 districts of the Indian state of Assam. Karimganj town is both the administrative headquarters district and the biggest town of this district. It is located in southern Assam and borders Tripura and the Sylh ...
in the Indian state of
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
. The region is noted for its distinctive fertile highland terrain, extensive tea plantations, rainforests and wetlands. The
Surma and
Barak
Barak ( or ; he, בָּרָק; Tiberian Hebrew: '' Bārāq''; ar, البُراق ''al-Burāq'' "lightning") was a ruler of Ancient Israel. As military commander in the biblical Book of Judges, Barak, with Deborah, from the Tribe of Ephraim, ...
river are the geographic markers of the area. The city of
Sylhet
Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট) is a metropolitan city in northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative seat of the Sylhet Division. Located on the north bank of the Surma River at the eastern tip of Bengal, Sylhet has a subtropical climate an ...
is its largest urban center, and the region is known for its unique regional language known as
Sylheti
Sylheti may refer to:
* Sylhetis, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group in the Sylhet division and South Assam
* Sylheti language, a language of the Sylheti region
* Sylheti Nagri
Sylheti Nagri or Sylheti Nagari ( syl, , ISO: , ), known in cla ...
. The ancient name of the region is Srihatta.
The region was ruled by the
Kamarupa
Kamarupa (; also called Pragjyotisha or Pragjyotisha-Kamarupa), an early state during the Classical period on the Indian subcontinent, was (along with Davaka) the first historical kingdom of Assam.
Though Kamarupa prevailed from 350 to 11 ...
and
Harikela
Harikela () was an ancient empire located in the eastern region of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, it was a neighboring independent and independent township of ancient East Bengal, which had a continuous existence of about 500 years. The st ...
kingdoms as well as the
Bengal Sultanate
The Sultanate of Bengal ( Middle Bengali: শাহী বাঙ্গালা ''Shahī Baṅgala'', Classical Persian: ''Saltanat-e-Bangālah'') was an empire based in Bengal for much of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. It was the dominan ...
. It later became a district of the
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
. Alongside the predominant Bengali population resides a small
Bishnupriya Manipuri
Bishnupriya Manipuri, also known as simply Bishnupriya, is an Indo-Aryan language belonging to the Bengali–Assamese languages, Bengali–Assamese linguistic sub-branch. It is a creole language, creole of Bengali language and Meitei languag ...
,
Khasia
''Khasia'' ("from Antin Khasa") is a fossil genus of marsupial in the family Microbiotheriidae. It contains one known species, ''Khasia cordillerensis'', which is known from teeth found in the Santa Lucia Formation of Mizque, Bolivia, where it ...
and other tribal minorities.
The region is the crossroads of Bengal and
northeast India
, native_name_lang = mni
, settlement_type =
, image_skyline =
, image_alt =
, image_caption =
, motto =
, image_map = Northeast india.png
, ...
.
Central Bengal
Central Bengal refers to the
Dhaka Division
Dhaka Division ( bn, ঢাকা বিভাগ, ''Ḑhaka Bibhag'') is an administrative division within Bangladesh. Dhaka serves as the capital city of the Dhaka Division, the Dhaka District and Bangladesh. The division remains a populati ...
of Bangladesh. It includes the elevated
Madhupur tract
Madhupur tract is a large upland area of 4,244 km2 in north central part of Bangladesh, stretching from east of Jamalpur in the north, to Fatullah and Narayanganj, in the south. The tract is mostly one large tract, unlike the Barind Tract. I ...
with a large
Sal tree forest. The Padma River cuts through the southern part of the region, separating the greater
Faridpur region. In the north lies the greater
Mymensingh
Mymensingh ( bn, ময়মনসিংহ) is the capital of Mymensingh Division, Bangladesh. Located on the bank of Brahmaputra River, about north of the national capital Dhaka, it is a major financial center and educational hub of north ...
and
Tangail
Tangail ( bn, টাঙ্গাইল, ), is a major city within the Dhaka Division in central Bangladesh. It sits on the bank of the Louhajang River, north-west of Dhaka, the nation's capital. It is considered to be the main urban area of ...
regions.
South Bengal
South Bengal covers the southwestern Bangladesh and the southern part of the Indian state of West Bengal.The Bangladeshi part includes
Khulna Division
The Khulna Division ( bn, খুলনা বিভাগ) is the second largest of the eight divisions of Bangladesh. It has an area of and a population of 15,563,000 at the 2011 Bangladesh census (preliminary returns). Its headquarters and lar ...
,
Barisal Division
Barishal Division is one of the eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh. Located in the south-central part of the country, it has an area of , and a population of 8,325,666 at the 2011 Census. It is the least populous Division within the ent ...
and the proposed
Faridpur Division
Padma Division ( bn, পদ্মা বিভাগ) is a proposed administrative division within Bangladesh for the southern parts of the existing Dhaka Division, comprising Faridpur, Gopalganj, Madaripur, Rajbari, and Shariatpur Districts ...
The Indian part of South Bengal includes 12 districts:
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
,
Howrah
Howrah (, , alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River opposite its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively it lies within Howrah district, and is th ...
,
Hooghly,
Burdwan
Bardhaman (, ) is a city and a municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of Purba Bardhaman district, having become a district capital during the period of British rule. Burdwan, an alternative name for the city, ...
,
East Midnapur
Purba Medinipur (English: ''East Medinipur'', alternative spelling ''Midnapore'') district is an district, administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the southernmost district of Medinipur division – one of the five Divisi ...
,
West Midnapur
Paschim Medinipur district or West Midnapore district (also known as Midnapore West) is one of the districts of the state of West Bengal, India. It was formed on 1 January 2002 after the Partition of Midnapore into Paschim Medinipur and Purba M ...
,
Purulia
Purulia is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Purulia district. It is located on the north of the Kangsabati River.
Geography
Location
Purulia is located at . It has an average elev ...
,
Bankura
Bankura () is a city and a municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Bankura district.
Etymology
In the Mahabharata, Bankura was described as Suhmobhumi. The word or (in Nagari: rāḍh) was introduced af ...
,
Birbhum
Birbhum district () is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the northernmost district of Burdwan division—one of the five administrative divisions of West Bengal. The district headquarters is in Suri. Other impor ...
,
Nadia
Nadia is a female name. Variations include Nadja, Nadya, Nadine, Nadiya, and Nadiia. Most variations of the name are derived from Arabic, Slavic languages, or both.
In Slavic, names similar to ''Nadia'' mean "hope" in many Slavic languages: Uk ...
,
South 24 Parganas
South 24 Parganas (Pron: pɔrɡɔnɔs; abbr. 24 PGS (S)), or sometimes South Twenty Four Parganas and Dakshin 24 Parganas, is a district in the Indian state of West Bengal, headquartered in Alipore. It is the largest district of West Bengal by ...
,
North 24 Parganas
North 24 Parganas (abv. 24 PGS (N)) or sometimes North Twenty Four Parganas is a district in southern West Bengal, of eastern India. North 24 Parganas extends in the tropical zone from latitude 22° 11′ 6″ north to 23° 15′ 2″ north and f ...
.
The
Sundarbans
Sundarbans (pronounced ) is a mangrove area in the delta formed by the confluence of the Padma, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It spans the area from the Baleswar River in Bangladesh's division of Khulna to the Hooghly R ...
, a major
biodiversity hotspot
A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity that is threatened by human habitation. Norman Myers wrote about the concept in two articles in ''The Environmentalist'' in 1988 and 1990, after which the co ...
, is located in South Bengal. Bangladesh hosts 60% of the forest, with the remainder in India.
Southeast Bengal
![Cox's Bazar beach 15](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Cox%27s_Bazar_beach_15.jpg)
Southeast Bengal
refers to the hilly and coastal Bengali-speaking areas of
Chittagong Division
Chittagong Division, officially known as Chattogram Division, is geographically the largest of the eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh. It covers the south-easternmost areas of the country, with a total area of and a population at the 2 ...
in southeastern Bangladesh. Southeast Bengal is noted for its
thalassocratic
A thalassocracy or thalattocracy sometimes also maritime empire, is a state with primarily maritime realms, an empire at sea, or a seaborne empire. Traditional thalassocracies seldom dominate interiors, even in their home territories. Examples ...
and
seafaring
Seamanship is the art, knowledge and competence of operating a ship, boat or other craft on water. The'' Oxford Dictionary'' states that seamanship is "The skill, techniques, or practice of handling a ship or boat at sea."
It involves topics a ...
heritage. The area was dominated by the Bengali
Harikela
Harikela () was an ancient empire located in the eastern region of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, it was a neighboring independent and independent township of ancient East Bengal, which had a continuous existence of about 500 years. The st ...
and
Samatata
Samataṭa (Brahmi script: ''sa-ma-ta-ṭa'') was an ancient geopolitical division of Bengal in the eastern Indian subcontinent. The Greco-Roman account of ''Sounagoura'' is linked to the kingdom of Samatata. Its territory corresponded to much ...
kingdoms in antiquity. It was known to Arab traders as ''Harkand'' in the 9th century. During the medieval period, the region was ruled by the
Sultanate of Bengal
The Sultanate of Bengal ( Middle Bengali: শাহী বাঙ্গালা ''Shahī Baṅgala'', Classical Persian: ''Saltanat-e-Bangālah'') was an empire based in Bengal for much of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. It was the dominan ...
, the
Kingdom of Tripura
The Twipra Kingdom (Sanskrit: Tripura, Anglicized: Tippera) was one of the largest historical kingdoms of the Tripuri people in Northeast India.
Geography
The present political areas which were part of the Twipra Kingdom are:
* Barak Valley ( ...
, the
Kingdom of Mrauk U
The Kingdom of Mrauk-U ( Arakanese: မြောက်ဦး နေပြည်တော်,) was a kingdom that existed on the Arakan littoral from 1429 to 1785. Based out of the capital Mrauk-U, near the eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal, t ...
, the
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the l ...
and the
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
, prior to the advent of British rule. The
Chittagonian language
Chittagonian ( ''saṭgãia'' or ''siʈaiŋga'') is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in parts of the Chittagong Division in Bangladesh. Its speakers identify with Bengali culture and the Bengali language, but Chittagonian and Bengali are not mut ...
, a sister of Bengali is prevalent in coastal areas of southeast Bengal. Along with its Bengali population, it is also home to
Tibeto-Burman
The Tibeto-Burman languages are the non- Sinitic members of the Sino-Tibetan language family, over 400 of which are spoken throughout the Southeast Asian Massif ("Zomia") as well as parts of East Asia and South Asia. Around 60 million people spea ...
ethnic groups, including the
Chakma,
Marma,
Tanchangya and
Bawm peoples.
Southeast Bengal is considered a bridge to Southeast Asia and the northern parts of
Arakan
Arakan ( or ) is a historic coastal region in Southeast Asia. Its borders faced the Bay of Bengal to its west, the Indian subcontinent to its north and Burma proper to its east. The Arakan Mountains isolated the region and made it accessi ...
are also historically considered to be a part of it.
Places of interest
There are four
World Heritage Sites
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNES ...
in the region, including the
Sundarbans
Sundarbans (pronounced ) is a mangrove area in the delta formed by the confluence of the Padma, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It spans the area from the Baleswar River in Bangladesh's division of Khulna to the Hooghly R ...
, the
Somapura Mahavihara
Somapura Mahavihara ( bn, সোমপুর মহাবিহার, Shompur Môhabihar) in Paharpur, Badalgachhi Upazila, Badalgachhi, Naogaon District, Naogaon, Bangladesh is among the best known Buddhist viharas or monasteries in the Indi ...
, the
Mosque City of Bagerhat
The Mosque City of Bagerhat ( bn, মসজিদের শহর বাগেরহাট; historically known as Khalifatabad) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Bagerhat District, Bangladesh. It contains 360 mosques, public buildings, mausoleu ...
and the
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, also known as the DHR or the Toy Train, is a narrow-gauge, gauge railway that runs between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling in the Indian state of West Bengal. Built between 1879 and 1881, it is about long. It c ...
. Other prominent places include the
Bishnupur, Bankura
Bishnupur is a city and a municipality of Bisnupur district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Bishnupur District. It is famous for its terracotta temples built by the Malla rulers, historic Radha Krishna temple ...
temple city, the
Adina Mosque
The Adina Mosque is a former mosque in Malda District, West Bengal, India. It was the largest such structure in the Indian subcontinent and was built during the Bengal Sultanate as a royal mosque by Sikandar Shah, who is also buried inside. T ...
, the
Caravanserai Mosque, numerous
zamindar
A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...
palaces (like
Ahsan Manzil
Ahsan Manzil is the erstwhile official residential palace and seat of the Nawab of Dhaka. The building is situated at Kumartoli along the banks of the Buriganga River in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Construction was started in 1859 and was completed in ...
and
Cooch Behar Palace
Cooch Behar Palace, is a landmark in Cooch Behar city, West Bengal. It was designed after the Italian Renaissance style of architecture and was built in 1887, during the reign of Maharaja Nripendra Narayan of Koch dynasty. It is currently a ...
), the
Lalbagh Fort
Lalbagh Fort ( bn, লালবাগ কেল্লা) is a fort in the old city of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Its name is derived from its neighborhood Lalbagh, which means Red Garden. The term Lalbagh refers to reddish and pinkish architecture from ...
, the
Great Caravanserai ruins, the
Shaista Khan Caravanserai ruins, the Kolkata
Victoria Memorial
The Victoria Memorial is a large marble building on the Maidan in Central Kolkata, built between 1906 and 1921. It is dedicated to the memory of Queen Victoria, Empress of India from 1876 to 1901.
The largest monument to a monarch anywhere ...
, the Dhaka Parliament Building, archaeologically excavated ancient fort cities in
Mahasthangarh
Mahasthangarh ( bn, মহাস্থানগড়, ''Môhasthangôṛ'') is one of the earliest urban archaeological sites so far discovered in Bangladesh. The village Mahasthan in Shibganj upazila of Bogra District contains the remain ...
,
Mainamati
Moinamoti (''Môynamoti'') is an isolated low, dimpled range of hills, dotted with more than 50 ancient Buddhist settlements dating between the 8th and 12th century CE. It was part of the ancient Tripura division of Bengal. It extends through the ...
,
Chandraketugarh
Chandraketugarh is a 2,500 years old archaeological site located near the Bidyadhari river, about north-east of Kolkata, India, in the district of North 24 parganas, near the township of Berachampa and the Harua Road railhead. Once it was a ...
and
Wari-Bateshwar
The Wari-Bateshwar (Bengali: উয়ারী-বটেশ্বর,''Uari-Bôṭeshshor'') ruins in Narsingdi, Dhaka Division, Bangladesh is one of the earliest urban archaeological sites in Bangladesh. Excavation in the site unearthed a ...
, the
Jaldapara National Park
Jaldapara National Park (Pron: ˌʤʌldəˈpɑ:rə) is a national park situated at the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas in Alipurduar, Alipurduar District of northern West Bengal, India, and on the banks of the Torsa River. Jaldapara is sit ...
, the
Lawachara National Park
Lawachara National Park ( bn, লাউয়াছড়া) is a major national park and nature reserve in Bangladesh. The park is located at Kamalganj Upazila, Moulvibazar District in the northeastern region of the country. It is located with ...
, the
Teknaf Game Reserve
Teknaf Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area in the Cox's Bazar District of southern Bangladesh comprising a hill forest area of . In the east it is bordered by the Naf River, and in the west by the Bay of Bengal. It was established in 1983.
It ...
and the
Chittagong Hill Tracts
The Chittagong Hill Tracts ( bn, পার্বত্য চট্টগ্রাম, Parbotto Chottogram), often shortened to simply the Hill Tracts and abbreviated to CHT, are group of districts within the Chittagong Division in southeast ...
.
Cox's Bazar
Cox's Bazar (; bn, কক্সবাজার, Kôksbajar; ) is a city, fishing port, tourism centre, and district headquarters in Southeastern Bangladesh. It is located south of the city of Chittagong. Cox's Bazar is also known by the na ...
in southeastern Bangladesh is home to the longest natural sea beach in the world with an unbroken length of 120 km (75 mi). It is also a growing surfing destination. St. Martin's Island, off the coast of Chittagong Division, is home to the sole coral reef in Bengal.
Flora and fauna
![Bengal tiger jumping in Sundarban](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Bengal_tiger_jumping_in_Sundarban.jpg)
The flat Bengal Plain, which covers most of Bangladesh and West Bengal, is one of the most Soil fertility, fertile areas on Earth, with lush vegetation and farmland dominating its landscape. Bengali villages are buried among groves of mango, jackfruit, betel nut and date palm. Rice, jute, mustard plant, mustard and sugarcane plantations are a common sight. Body of water, Water bodies and wetlands provide a habitat for many aquatic plants in the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta. The northern part of the region features Himalayan foothills (''
Dooars
The Dooars or Duars ( as, দুৱাৰ, duar, rkt, দুৱাৰ, duar, bn, দুয়ার, duyar) () are the alluvial floodplains in eastern-northeastern India that lie south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas and north of the ...
'') with densely wooded Sal (tree), Sal and other tropical evergreen trees. Above an elevation of 1,000 metres (3,300 ft), the forest becomes predominantly subtropical, with a predominance of temperate-forest trees such as oaks, conifers and rhododendrons. Sal woodland is also found across central Bangladesh, particularly in the Bhawal National Park. The
Lawachara National Park
Lawachara National Park ( bn, লাউয়াছড়া) is a major national park and nature reserve in Bangladesh. The park is located at Kamalganj Upazila, Moulvibazar District in the northeastern region of the country. It is located with ...
is a
rainforest
Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...
in northeastern Bangladesh. The Chittagong Hill Tracts in southeastern Bangladesh is noted for its high degree of biodiversity.
The
littoral
The littoral zone or nearshore is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely inundated), to coastal areas ...
Sundarbans
Sundarbans (pronounced ) is a mangrove area in the delta formed by the confluence of the Padma, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It spans the area from the Baleswar River in Bangladesh's division of Khulna to the Hooghly R ...
in the southwestern part of Bengal is the largest mangrove forest in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The region has over List of mammals in Bangladesh, 89 species of mammals, List of birds of Bangladesh, 628 species of birds and List of fishes in Bangladesh, numerous species of fish. For Bangladesh, the Nymphaea, water lily, the oriental magpie-robin, the hilsa and mango tree are national symbols. For West Bengal, the white-throated kingfisher, the Alstonia, chatim tree and the night-flowering jasmine are state symbols. The Bengal tiger is the national animal of Bangladesh and India. The fishing cat is the state animal of West Bengal.
History
Prehistory
Human settlement in Bengal can be traced back 20,000 years. Remnants of Copper Age settlements date back 4,300 years.
Archaeology, Archaeological evidence confirms that by the second millennium BCE, rice-cultivating communities inhabited the region. By the 11th century BCE, the people of the area lived in systemically aligned housing, used human cemeteries and manufactured copper ornaments and fine black and red pottery.
The
Ganges
The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...
, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers were natural arteries for communication and transportation.
Estuary, Estuaries on the
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...
allowed for maritime industry, maritime trade. The early Iron Age saw the development of metal weaponry, coinage, permanent field agriculture and irrigation.
From 600 BCE, the second wave of urbanisation engulfed the north Indian subcontinent, as part of the Northern Black Polished Ware culture.
Antiquity
![WLA lacma Bangladesh Dinajpur District Dancing Ganesha](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/WLA_lacma_Bangladesh_Dinajpur_District_Dancing_Ganesha.jpg)
Ancient Bengal was divided between the regions of Varendra, Suhma, Anga, Vanga Kingdom, Vanga,
Samatata
Samataṭa (Brahmi script: ''sa-ma-ta-ṭa'') was an ancient geopolitical division of Bengal in the eastern Indian subcontinent. The Greco-Roman account of ''Sounagoura'' is linked to the kingdom of Samatata. Its territory corresponded to much ...
and
Harikela
Harikela () was an ancient empire located in the eastern region of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, it was a neighboring independent and independent township of ancient East Bengal, which had a continuous existence of about 500 years. The st ...
. Early Indian literature described the region as a thalassocracy, with colonies in Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean.
For example, the first recorded king of Sri Lanka was a Bengali prince called Prince Vijaya, Vijaya. The region was known to the ancient Ancient Greece, Greeks and Roman world, Romans as
Gangaridai
Gangaridai ( gr, Γανγαρίδαι; Latin: ''Gangaridae'') is a term used by the ancient Greco-Roman writers (1st century BCE-2nd century AD) to describe a people or a geographical region of the ancient Indian subcontinent. Some of these writ ...
.
The Greek ambassador Megasthenes chronicled its military strength and dominance of the Ganges delta. The invasion army of Alexander the Great was deterred by the accounts of Gangaridai's power in 325 BCE. Later Roman accounts noted maritime trade routes with Bengal. A Roman amphora has been found in Purba Medinipur district of West Bengal, made in Aelana (present day Aqaba in Jordan) between the 4th and 7th centuries AD. Another prominent kingdom in ancient Bengal was Pundravardhana, which was located in Northern Bengal with its capital being located at
Mahasthangarh
Mahasthangarh ( bn, মহাস্থানগড়, ''Môhasthangôṛ'') is one of the earliest urban archaeological sites so far discovered in Bangladesh. The village Mahasthan in Shibganj upazila of Bogra District contains the remain ...
in modern-day Bogra district. The kingdom was Buddhist, and left behind historic ''viharas'' (monasteries).
[Hossain, Md. Mosharraf, ''Mahasthan: Anecdote to History'', 2006, pp. 69–73, Dibyaprakash, 38/2 ka Bangla Bazar, Dhaka, ][.] In vedic mythology the royal families of Magadha, Anga, Vanga, Suhma and Kalinga were all related and descended from one King.
[(Mbh 1:104), (2:21).]
Ancient Bengal was considered a part of Magadha region, which was the cradle of Indian arts and sciences. Currently the Maghada region is divided into several states that are
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...
,
Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . It ...
and Bengal (West Bengal and East Bengal)
The legacy of Magadha includes the concept of 0, zero, the invention of Chess
and the theory of solar and lunar eclipses and the Earth orbiting the Sun. Sanskrit and derived Old Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan dialects, was spoken across Bengal. The Bengali language evolved from Old Indo-Aryan Sanskrit dialects. The region was ruled by
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
,
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
and Jain dynasties, including the Mauryans, Gupta Empire, Guptas, Varman dynasty, Varmans, Khadga dynasty, Khadgas, Pala Empire, Palas, Candra dynasty, Chandras and Sena dynasty, Senas among others. In the 9th century, Arab Muslim traders frequented Bengali seaports and found the region to be a thriving seafaring kingdom with well-developed coinage and banking.
Medieval era
![Malda ~ Adina Mosque 5](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Malda_~_Adina_Mosque_5.JPG)
The Pala Empire was an imperial power in the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
, which originated in the region of Bengal. They were followers of the Mahayana and Tantras, Tantric schools of Buddhism. The empire was founded with the election of Gopala as the emperor of Gaur, West Bengal, Gauda in 750.
At its height in the early 9th century, the Pala Empire was the dominant power in the northern subcontinent, with its territory stretching across parts of modern-day eastern
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
, northern and northeastern
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
and
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
.
The empire enjoyed relations with the Srivijaya Empire, the Tibetan Empire, and the Arab
Abbasid Caliphate
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
.
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
first appeared in Bengal during Pala rule, as a result of increased trade between Bengal and the Middle East.
The resurgent Hindu
Sena dynasty
The Sena dynasty was a Hindu dynasty during the early medieval period on the Indian subcontinent, that ruled from Bengal through the 11th and 12th centuries. The empire at its peak covered much of the north-eastern region of the Indian subcont ...
dethroned the Pala Empire in the 12th century, ending the reign of the last major Buddhist imperial power in the subcontinent.
Beginning around 1199, a military commander from the
Delhi Sultanate
The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526). , Muhammad Khilji, Bakhtiar Khilji, overran a few western districts of Bengal.
Muslim rule introduced agrarian reform, a Bengali calendar, new calendar and Sufism. The region saw the rise of important city states in Sonargaon, Satgaon and Gauḍa (city), Lakhnauti. By 1352, Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah, Ilyas Shah achieved the unification of an independent Bengal. In the 14th and 15th centuries, the
Bengal Sultanate
The Sultanate of Bengal ( Middle Bengali: শাহী বাঙ্গালা ''Shahī Baṅgala'', Classical Persian: ''Saltanat-e-Bangālah'') was an empire based in Bengal for much of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. It was the dominan ...
was a major diplomatic, economic and military power in the subcontinent. It developed the subcontinent's relations with China, Egypt, the Timurid Empire and East Africa. In 1540, Sher Shah Suri was crowned Emperor of the northern subcontinent in the Bengali capital Gaur, West Bengal, Gaur.
Mughal era (1576–1757)
![Renaldis muslin woman](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Renaldis_muslin_woman.jpg)
The Mughal Empire conquered Bengal in the 16th century. The Bengal Subah province in the Mughal Empire was the wealthiest state in the subcontinent. Bengal's trade and wealth impressed the Mughals so much that it was described as the ''Paradise of the Nations'' by the Mughal Emperors. The region was also notable for its powerful semi-independent Zamindars of Bengal, aristocracy, including the Baro-Bhuyan, Twelve Bhuiyans and the Nawabs of Bengal.
It was visited by several world explorers, including Ibn Battuta, Niccolo De Conti and Admiral Zheng He.
Under Mughal rule, Bengal was a center of the worldwide muslin and silk trades. During the Mughal era, the most important center of cotton production was Bengal, particularly around its capital city of Dhaka, leading to muslin being called "daka" in distant markets such as Central Asia.
[Richard Maxwell Eaton (1996)]
''The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204–1760'', page 202
University of California Press Domestically, much of India depended on Bengali products such as rice, silks and cotton textiles. Overseas, Europeans depended on Bengali products such as cotton textiles, silks and opium; Bengal accounted for 40% of Dutch East India Company, Dutch imports from Asia, for example, including more than 50% of textiles and around 80% of silks.
[Om Prakash (historian), Om Prakash,]
Empire, Mughal
, ''History of World Trade Since 1450'', edited by John J. McCusker, vol. 1, Macmillan Reference USA, 2006, pp. 237–240, ''World History in Context''. Retrieved 3 August 2017 From Bengal, saltpetre was also shipped to Europe, opium was sold in Indonesia, raw silk was exported to Japan and the Netherlands, cotton and silk textiles were exported to Europe, Indonesia, and Japan,
[John F. Richards (1995)]
''The Mughal Empire'', page 202
Cambridge University Press cotton cloth was exported to the Americas and the Indian Ocean.
Bengal also had a large
shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...
industry. In terms of shipbuilding tonnage during the 16th–18th centuries, economic historian Indrajit Ray estimates the annual output of Bengal at 223,250 tons, compared with 23,061 tons produced in nineteen colonies in North America from 1769 to 1771.
Since the 16th century, European traders traversed the sea routes to Bengal, following the Portuguese conquests of Malacca and Goa. The Portuguese established a Portuguese Chittagong, settlement in Chittagong with permission from the Bengal Sultanate in 1528, but were later expelled by the Mughals in 1666. In the 18th-century, the Mughal Court rapidly disintegrated due to Nader Shah's invasion of India, Nader Shah's invasion and internal rebellions, allowing European colonial powers to set up trading posts across the territory. The British East India Company eventually emerged as the foremost military power in the region; and defeated the last independent Nawab of Bengal at the
Battle of Plassey
The Battle of Plassey was a decisive victory of the British East India Company over the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies on 23 June 1757, under the leadership of Robert Clive. The victory was made possible by the defection of Mir Jafar, ...
in 1757.
Colonial era (1757–1947)
![Clive](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Clive.jpg)
In Bengal effective political and military power was transferred from the old regime to the British East India Company around 1757–65.
Company rule in India began under the
Bengal Presidency
The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...
. Kolkata, Calcutta was named the capital of
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
in 1772. The presidency was run by a military-civil administration, including the Bengal Army, and had the world's sixth earliest railway network. Great Famines in India, Bengal famines struck several times during colonial rule (notably the
Great Bengal famine of 1770
The Bengal Famine of 1770 was a famine that struck Bengal and Bihar between 1769 and 1770 and affected some 30 million people. It occurred during a period of dual governance in Bengal. This existed after the East India Company had been granted ...
and Bengal famine of 1943).
About 50 million were killed in Bengal due to massive plague outbreaks and famines which happened in 1895 to 1920, mostly in western Bengal.
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was initiated on the outskirts of Calcutta, and spread to Dhaka, Chittagong, Jalpaiguri, Sylhet and Agartala, in solidarity with revolts in North India. The failure of the rebellion led to the abolition of the Company Rule in India and establishment of direct rule over India by the British, commonly referred to as the British Raj. The late 19th and early 20th century Bengal Renaissance had a great impact on the cultural and economic life of Bengal and started a great advance in the literature and science of Bengal. Between 1905 and 1911, an abortive attempt was made to Partition of Bengal (1905), divide the province of Bengal into two: Bengal proper and the short-lived province of Eastern Bengal and Assam.
Under British rule, Bengal experienced
deindustrialisation
Deindustrialization is a process of social and economic change caused by the removal or reduction of industrial capacity or activity in a country or region, especially of heavy industry or manufacturing industry.
There are different interpre ...
.
In 1876, about 200,000 people were killed in Bengal by the 1876 Bangladesh cyclone, Great Bangladesh cyclone.
Bengal played a major role in the
Indian independence movement
The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947.
The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...
, in which
revolutionary groups were dominant. Armed attempts to overthrow the British Raj began with the rebellion of Titumir, and reached a climax when Subhas Chandra Bose led the Indian National Army against the British. Bengal was also central in the rising political awareness of the Muslim population—the All-India Muslim League was established in Dhaka in 1906. The Muslim homeland movement pushed for a sovereign state in eastern India with the Lahore Resolution in 1943. Hindu nationalism was also strong in Bengal, which was home to groups like the Hindu Mahasabha. In spite of a last-ditch effort by politicians Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, Sarat Chandra Bose to form a United Bengal,
when India History of the Republic of India, gained independence in 1947, Bengal was Partition of Bengal (1947), partitioned along religious lines.
The western joined India (and was named West Bengal) while the eastern part joined Pakistan as a province called
East Bengal
ur,
, common_name = East Bengal
, status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan
, p1 = Bengal Presidency
, flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg
, s1 = East ...
(later renamed East Pakistan, giving rise to Bangladesh in 1971). The circumstances of partition were bloody, with widespread religious riots in Bengal.
Post-partition (1947–present)
The 1970 Bhola cyclone took the lives of 500,000 people in Bengal, making it one of the deadliest recorded cyclones.
India
;
![Picture_from_the_street_of_college_street](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Picture_from_the_street_of_college_street.jpg)
West Bengal
West Bengal became one of India's most populous states. Calcutta (later renamed to Kolkata to be consistent with the Bengali pronunciation), the former capital of the British Indian Empire, became the state capital of West Bengal and continued to be India's largest city until the late 20th century, when severe power shortages, strikes and a violent Naxalite, Marxist-Naxalite movement damaged much of the state's infrastructure in the 1960s and 70s, leading to a period of economic stagnation. West Bengal politics underwent a major change when the Left Front (West Bengal), Left Front won the 1977 assembly election, defeating the incumbent Indian National Congress. The Left Front, led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) governed the state for over three decades, which was the world's longest elected Communist administration in history. Since the 2000s, West Bengal has experienced an economic rejuvenation, particularly in its IT industry.
;Tripura
![Land mark agartala](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Land_mark_agartala.jpeg)
The princely state of Hill Tippera, which was under the suzerainty of
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
, became the modern state of
Tripura
Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...
. Following the death of Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Debbarman, the princely state acceded to the Dominion of India, Union of India on 15 October 1949 under the Tripura Merger Agreement signed by Maharani Regent Kanchan Prava Devi. By the 1950s, the region had a Bengali majority population due to the influx of Hindu refugees from East Pakistan after partition. It became a Union Territory of India in November 1953. It was granted full statehood with an elected legislature in July 1963. An Insurgency in Northeast India, insurgency by indigenous people affected the state for several years. The Left Front (Tripura), Left Front ruled the state between 1978 and 1988, followed by a stint of Indian National Congress rule until 1993, and then a return to the Communists.
;Karimganj district of Assam
Karimganj District joined the Union of India after its partition from Sylhet region, Sylhet as per the Sylhet referendum in 1947 and became a part of Assam's Barak Valley. One of the most significant events in the region's history was the Bengali Language Movement (Barak Valley), language movement in 1961, in which the killing of agitators by state police led to Bengali being recognised as one of the official languages of Assam. The issue of Bengali settlement in the state has been a contentious part of the Assam conflict.
Bangladesh
=East Pakistan (1947–1971)
=
In 1948, the Governor-General of Pakistan, Government of the Dominion of Pakistan ordained Urdu as the sole national language, sparking extensive protests among the Bengali-speaking majority of East Bengal. Facing rising sectarian tensions and mass discontent with the new law, the government outlawed public meetings and rallies. The students of the University of Dhaka and other political activists defied the law and organised a protest on 21 February 1952. The movement reached its climax when several student demonstrators were shot dead by police firing. As a result of the movement, Pakistan government in 1956 included Bengali as national lanuage along with Urdu. UNESCO in 1999 declared 21 February as International Mother Language Day honouring the 1952 incident.
East Bengal
ur,
, common_name = East Bengal
, status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan
, p1 = Bengal Presidency
, flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg
, s1 = East ...
, which was later renamed to East Pakistan in 1955, was home to Pakistan's demographic majority and played an instrumental role in the founding of the new state. Strategically, Pakistan joined the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization under the Bengali prime minister Mohammad Ali of Bogra as a bulwark against communism.
However, tensions between East and West Pakistan grew rapidly over political exclusion, economic neglect and ethnic and linguistic discrimination. The State of Pakistan was subjected to years of military occupation, military rule due to fears of Bengali political supremacy under democracy. Elected Bengali-led governments at the federal and provincial levels, which were led by statesmen such as A. K. Fazlul Huq and H. S. Suhrawardy, were deposed.
![Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1950](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Sheikh_Mujibur_Rahman_in_1950.jpg)
During the 1960s, calls for greater self determination grew in East Pakistan. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman emerged as the leader of the province's dissent against the Pakistani state. Rahman launched the Six point movement for autonomy in 1966. In the 1970 national election, Rahman's party, the Awami League, won a majority of seats in parliament.
The erstwhile Pakistani military junta refused to accept election results which triggered civil disobedience across East Pakistan. The Pakistani military responded by launching a 1971 Bangladesh genocide, genocide that caused the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. The Provisional Government of Bangladesh, first Government of Bangladesh and the Mukti Bahini waged a guerrilla campaign with support from neighbouring India, which hosted millions of war refugees. Global support for the independence of East Pakistan increased due to the conflict's humanitarian crisis, with the Indian Armed Forces intervening in support of the Bangladesh Forces in the final two weeks of the war and ensuring Pakistan's surrender.
=Bangladesh (1971–present)
=
After independence, Bangladesh adopted a secular democracy under its new Constitution of Bangladesh, constitution in 1972. Awami League premier Sheikh Mujibur Rahman became the country's strongman and implemented many socialist policies. A BAKSAL, one party state was enacted in 1975. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, assassinated later that year during a Military coups in Bangladesh, military coup that ushered in sixteen years of military dictatorships and presidential governments. The liberation war commander Ziaur Rahman emerged as Bangladesh's leader in the late 1970s. He reoriented the country's foreign policy towards the West and restored free markets and the multiparty polity. President Zia was Assassination of Ziaur Rahman, assassinated in 1981 during a failed military coup. He was eventually succeeded by his army chief Hussain Muhammad Ershad. Lasting for nine years, Ershad's rule witnessed continued pro-free market reforms and the devolution of some authority to local government. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was founded in Dhaka in 1985. The Jatiya Party (Ershad), Jatiya Party government made Islam the state religion in 1988.
A popular uprising restored parliamentary democracy in 1991. Since then, Bangladesh has largely alternated between the premierships of Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League and Khaleda Zia of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, as well as technocratic Caretaker government of Bangladesh, caretaker governments. State of emergency, Emergency rule was imposed by the military in 2007 and 2008 after widespread street violence between the League and BNP. The restoration of democratic government in 2009 was followed by the initiation of the International Crimes Tribunal (Bangladesh), International Crimes Tribunal to prosecute surviving collaborators of the 1971 genocide. Today, the country is one of the emerging and growth-leading economies of the world. It is listed as one of the Jim O'Neill, Baron O'Neill of Gatley#Next Eleven, Next Eleven countries, it also has one of the List of countries by real GDP growth rate, fastest real GDP growth rates. Its gross domestic product ranks List of countries by GDP (nominal), 39th largest in the world in terms of market exchange rates and List of countries by GDP (PPP), 30th in purchasing power parity. Its per capita income ranks List of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita, 143th and List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita, 136th in two measures. In the field of human development, it has progressed ahead in life expectancy, maternal and child health, and gender equality. However, it continues to face challenging problems, including Poverty in Bangladesh, poverty, Corruption in Bangladesh, corruption, Terrorism in Bangladesh, terrorism, Education in Bangladesh, illiteracy, and inadequate Health in Bangladesh, public healthcare.
Historical maps and flags of states
The Bengal region had been part of major empires and kingdoms like
Gangaridai
Gangaridai ( gr, Γανγαρίδαι; Latin: ''Gangaridae'') is a term used by the ancient Greco-Roman writers (1st century BCE-2nd century AD) to describe a people or a geographical region of the ancient Indian subcontinent. Some of these writ ...
, Nanda Empire, Maurya Empire, Gupta Empire,
Pala Empire
The Pāla Empire (r. 750-1161 CE) was an imperial power during the post-classical period in the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the region of Bengal. It is named after its ruling dynasty, whose rulers bore names ending with the suffi ...
,
Sena dynasty
The Sena dynasty was a Hindu dynasty during the early medieval period on the Indian subcontinent, that ruled from Bengal through the 11th and 12th centuries. The empire at its peak covered much of the north-eastern region of the Indian subcont ...
, and
Bengal Sultanate
The Sultanate of Bengal ( Middle Bengali: শাহী বাঙ্গালা ''Shahī Baṅgala'', Classical Persian: ''Saltanat-e-Bangālah'') was an empire based in Bengal for much of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. It was the dominan ...
. It has also been a regional empire, ruling over neighbouring regions like
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...
, Orissa, India, Orissa, Rakhine State, Arakan, and parts of North India,
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
and
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
.
Maps
File:Ptolemy Asia detail.jpg, Gangaridai
Gangaridai ( gr, Γανγαρίδαι; Latin: ''Gangaridae'') is a term used by the ancient Greco-Roman writers (1st century BCE-2nd century AD) to describe a people or a geographical region of the ancient Indian subcontinent. Some of these writ ...
in Ptolemy's map, 1st century
File:Asia 800ad.jpg, The Pala Empire
The Pāla Empire (r. 750-1161 CE) was an imperial power during the post-classical period in the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the region of Bengal. It is named after its ruling dynasty, whose rulers bore names ending with the suffi ...
, 9th century
File:Sultanate of Bengal.png, At its greatest extent, the Bengal Sultanate
The Sultanate of Bengal ( Middle Bengali: শাহী বাঙ্গালা ''Shahī Baṅgala'', Classical Persian: ''Saltanat-e-Bangālah'') was an empire based in Bengal for much of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. It was the dominan ...
's realm and protectorates stretched from Jaunpur in North India in the west to Tripura and Arakan in the east
File:Bengal Sultanate.png, The Bengal Sultanate
The Sultanate of Bengal ( Middle Bengali: শাহী বাঙ্গালা ''Shahī Baṅgala'', Classical Persian: ''Saltanat-e-Bangālah'') was an empire based in Bengal for much of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. It was the dominan ...
, 16th century
File:1776 Rennell - Dury Wall Map of Bihar and Bengal, India - Geographicus - BaharBengal-dury-1776.jpg, Bengal & Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...
in 1776 by James Rennell
File:Bengalpresidency 1858.jpg, Bengal Presidency, Colonial Bengal, 19th century
File:Bengal gazetteer 1907-9.jpg, Colonial Eastern Bengal and Assam, early 20th century
File:Bengal Province 1931.png, Province of Bengal (1931)
File:WestBengalDistricts numbered.svg, Map of West Bengal
File:BD Map admin.svg, Map of Bangladesh
File:Tripura-district-map.svg, Map of Tripura
Flags
File:Bengal Sultanate Flag.gif, Flag of Bengal Sultanate
The Sultanate of Bengal ( Middle Bengali: শাহী বাঙ্গালা ''Shahī Baṅgala'', Classical Persian: ''Saltanat-e-Bangālah'') was an empire based in Bengal for much of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. It was the dominan ...
File:Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg, Flag of the Bengal Subah
The Bengal Subah ( bn, সুবাহ বাংলা; fa, ), also referred to as Mughal Bengal ( bn, মোগল বাংলা), was the largest subdivision of the Mughal Empire (and later an independent state under the Nawabs of Ben ...
(15-18th Century)
File:Flag of British Bengal.svg, Flag of Bengal Presidency
The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...
, under British rule
File:Flag of Bangladesh (1971).svg, Flag of Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
during Bangladesh Liberation War and after
File:Flag of Bangladesh.svg, Flag of Bangladesh, Flag of Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
from 1972 onwards
Politics
Politically, the region is divided between the Bangladesh, People's Republic of Bangladesh, an independent Sovereign state, state, and the eastern provinces of the India, Republic of India, including
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
. Politically both Bangladesh and Indian Bengal are socialist, with left wing parties dominating the region's politics.
Bangladeshi Republic
The state of Bangladesh is a parliamentary republic based on the Westminster system, with a Constitution of Bangladesh, written constitution and a President of Bangladesh, President elected by parliament for mostly ceremonial purposes. The Government of Bangladesh, government is headed by a Prime Minister, who is appointed by the President from among the popularly elected 300 Members of Parliament in the Jatiyo Sangshad, the national parliament. The Prime Minister is traditionally the leader of the single largest party in the Jatiyo Sangshad. Under the constitution, while recognising
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
as the country's established religion, the constitution grants freedom of religion to non-Muslims.
Between 1975 and 1990, Bangladesh had a presidential system of government. Since the 1990s, it was administered by non-political technocratic Caretaker government of Bangladesh, caretaker governments on four occasions, the last being under military-backed emergency rule in 2007 and 2008. The Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) are the two largest political parties in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh is a member of the UN, World Trade Organization, WTO, International Monetary Fund, IMF, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, ADB, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, OIC, Islamic Development Bank, IDB, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, SAARC, Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, BIMSTEC and the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition, IMCTC. Bangladesh has achieved significant strides in List of countries by Human Development Index, human development compared to its neighbours.
Indian Bengal
![Writer's Building (14839639795)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Writer%27s_Building_%2814839639795%29.jpg)
West Bengal is a constituent state of the India, Republic of India, with local State governments of India, executives and Vidhan Sabha, assemblies- features shared with other states in the Indian federal system. The president of India appoints a governor as the ceremonial representative of the Government of India, union government. The governor appoints the chief minister on the nomination of the legislative assembly. The chief minister is the traditionally the leader of the party or coalition with most seats in the assembly. President's rule is often imposed in Indian states as a direct intervention of the union government led by the prime minister of India.
Each state has popularly elected members in the Indian lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha. Each state nominates members to the Indian upper house of parliament, the Rajya Sabha.
The state legislative assemblies also play a key role in electing the ceremonial president of India. The former president of India, Pranab Mukherjee, was a native of West Bengal and a leader of the Indian National Congress.
The two major political forces in the Bengali-speaking zone of India are the Left Front (West Bengal), Left Front and the Trinamool Congress, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Congress being minor players.
Crossborder relations
India and Bangladesh are the world's second and eighth most populous countries respectively. Bangladesh-India relations began on a high note in 1971 when India played a major role in the liberation of Bangladesh, with the Indian Bengali populace and media providing overwhelming support to the independence movement in the former East Pakistan. The two countries had a twenty five-year friendship treaty between 1972 and 1996. However, differences over river sharing, border security and access to trade have long plagued the relationship. In more recent years, a consensus has evolved in both countries on the importance of developing good relations, as well as a strategic partnership in South Asia and beyond. Commercial, cultural and defence co-operation have expanded since 2010, when Prime Ministers Sheikh Hasina and Manmohan Singh pledged to reinvigorate ties.
The Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi operates a Deputy High Commission in
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
and a consular office in Agartala. India has a High Commission in Dhaka with consulates in Chittagong and Rajshahi. Frequent international air, bus and rail services connect major cities in Bangladesh and Indian Bengal, particularly the three largest cities- Dhaka, Kolkata and Chittagong. Undocumented immigration of Bangladeshi workers is a controversial issue championed by right-wing nationalist parties in India but finds little sympathy in West Bengal.
India has since fenced the border which has been criticised by Bangladesh.
Demographics
The Bengal region is one of the Population density, most densely populated areas in the world. With a population of 300 million, Bengalis are the third largest ethnic group in the world after the Han Chinese and Arabs.
According to provisional results of 2011 Bangladesh census, the population of Bangladesh was 149,772,364;
however, CIA's ''The World Factbook'' gives 163,654,860 as its population in a July 2013 estimate. According to the provisional results of the 2011 Indian national census, West Bengal has a population of 91,347,736.
"So, the Bengal region, , has at least 241.1 million people. This figures give a population density of 1003.9/km
2; making it among the most densely populated areas in the world.
[World Bank Group, World Bank Development Indicators Database, 2006.]
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
is the main language spoken in Bengal. Many phonological, lexical, and structural differences from the standard variety occur in peripheral varieties of Bengali across the region. Other regional languages closely related to Bengali include
Sylheti
Sylheti may refer to:
* Sylhetis, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group in the Sylhet division and South Assam
* Sylheti language, a language of the Sylheti region
* Sylheti Nagri
Sylheti Nagri or Sylheti Nagari ( syl, , ISO: , ), known in cla ...
, Chittagonian language, Chittagonian, Chakma language, Chakma, Rangpuri language, Rangpuri/Rajbangshi, Hajong language, Hajong, Rohingya language, Rohingya, and Tangchangya language, Tangchangya.
English is often used for official work alongside Bengali. Other major Indo-Aryan languages such as Hindi, Urdu, Assamese language, Assamese, and Nepali language, Nepali are also familiar to Bengalis.
In addition, several minority ethnolinguistic groups are native to the region. These include speakers of other Indo-Aryan languages (e.g., Bishnupriya Manipuri language, Bishnupriya Manipuri, Sadri language, Oraon Sadri, various Bihari languages), Tibeto-Burman languages (e.g., A'Tong language, A'Tong, Chak language, Chak, Koch language, Koch, Garo language, Garo, Megam language, Megam, Meitei language, Meitei Manipuri, Mizo language, Mizo, Mru language, Mru, Pangkhua language, Pangkhua, Rakhine language, Rakhine/Marma Language, Marma, Kok Borok language, Kok Borok, Reang language, Riang, Tippera language, Tippera, Usoi language, Usoi, various Chin languages), Austroasiatic languages (e.g., Khasi language, Khasi, Koda language, Koda, Mundari language, Mundari, Pnar language, Pnar, Santali language, Santali, War language, War), and Dravidian languages (e.g., Kurukh language, Kurukh, Sauria Paharia language, Sauria Paharia).
Life expectancy is around 72.49 years for Bangladesh and 70.2 for West Bengal.
In terms of literacy, West Bengal leads with 77% literacy rate,
in Bangladesh the rate is approximately 72.9%. The level of poverty in West Bengal is at 19.98%, while in Bangladesh it stands at 12.9%
West Bengal has one of the lowest total fertility rates in India. West Bengal's TFR of 1.6 roughly equals that of Canada.
About 20,000 people live on ''chars''. Chars are temporary islands formed by the deposition of sediments eroded off the banks of the Ganges in West Bengal, which often disappear in the monsoon season. They are made of very fertile soil. The inhabitants of the chars are not recognised by the Government of West Bengal on the grounds that it is not known whether they are Indian people, Indians or Bangladeshis. Consequently, no identification documents are issued to char-dwellers who cannot benefit from health care, barely survive because of very poor sanitation and are prevented from emigrating to the mainland to find jobs when they have turned 14. On a particular char, it was reported that 13% of women died at childbirth.
Economy
Historically, Bengal has been the industrial leader of the subcontinent.
The region is one of the largest rice producing areas in the world, with West Bengal being India's largest rice producer and Bangladesh being the world's fourth largest rice producer.
Other key crops include jute, tea, sugarcane and wheat. There are significant reserves of limestone, natural gas and coal. Major industries include textiles, leather goods, pharmaceuticals, shipbuilding, banking and information and communication technology.
Three stock exchanges are located in the region, including the Dhaka Stock Exchange, the Chittagong Stock Exchange and the Calcutta Stock Exchange.
Intra-Bengal trade
Bangladesh and India are the largest trading partners in South Asia, with two-way trade valued at an estimated US$6.9 billion. Most of this trade relationship is centered on some of the world's busiest land ports on the Bangladesh-India border, particularly the West Bengal section.
The partition of India severed the once strong economic links which integrated the region. Decades later, frequent air, rail and bus services are increasingly connecting cities in Bangladesh and West Bengal, as well as the wider region, including Northeast India,
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
and
Bhutan
Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...
. However the overall economic relationship remains well below potential.
Major cities
Urban Areas
The following are the largest urban areas in Bengal (in terms of population):
Major ports
Tourist attractions
Strategic importance
![Stacking Intermodal container in Port of Chittagong (11)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Stacking_Intermodal_container_in_Port_of_Chittagong_%2811%29.jpg)
The Bengal region is located at the crossroads of two huge economic blocs, the SAARC and ASEAN. It gives access to the sea for the landlocked countries of
Bhutan
Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...
and
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
, as well as the Seven Sister States of North East India. It is also located near China's southern landlocked region, including Yunnan and Tibet.
Both India and Bangladesh plan to expand onshore and offshore oil and gas operations. Bangladesh is Asia's seventh-largest Natural gas in Bangladesh, natural gas producer. Its maritime exclusive economic zone potentially holds many of the largest gas reserves in the Asia-Pacific.
The Bay of Bengal is strategically important for its vital shipping lanes and its central location between the Middle East and the Pacific. The Bay of Bengal Initiative, based in Dhaka, brings together Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka to promote economic integration in the subregion. Other regional groupings include the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Forum for Regional Cooperation (BCIM) and the Bangladesh Bhutan India Nepal (BBIN) Initiative.
Culturally, Bengal is significant for its huge Muslim and Hindu populations. Bengali Muslims are the world's second largest Muslim ethnicity (after Arab Muslims), and Bangladesh is the world's Islam by country, third largest Muslim-majority country (after Indonesia and
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
). Bengali Hindus make up the second largest linguistic community in India.
Culture
Language
![Bengali letters](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Bengali_letters.svg)
The Bengali language developed between the 7th and 10th centuries from Apabhraṃśa and Magadhi Prakrit.
It is written using the indigenous Bengali alphabet, a descendant of the ancient Brahmi script. Bengali is the List of languages by number of native speakers, 5th most spoken language in the world. It is an eastern Indo-Aryan language and one of the easternmost branches of the Indo-European language family. It is part of the Bengali-Assamese languages. Bengali has greatly influenced other languages in the region, including Odia language, Odia, Assamese language, Assamese, Chakma language, Chakma, Nepali language, Nepali and Rohingya language, Rohingya. It is the sole state language of Bangladesh and the second most spoken language in India. It is also the seventh most spoken language by total number of speakers in the world.
Bengali binds together a culturally diverse region and is an important contributor to regional identity. The 1952 Bengali Language Movement in East Pakistan is commemorated by UNESCO as International Mother Language Day, as part of global efforts to preserve linguistic identity.
Currency
![Coin - Silver - Circa 9-10th Century 13th Century CE - Harikela Kingdom - ACCN 90-C2752 - Indian Museum - Kolkata 2014-04-04 4303](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Coin_-_Silver_-_Circa_9-10th_Century_13th_Century_CE_-_Harikela_Kingdom_-_ACCN_90-C2752_-_Indian_Museum_-_Kolkata_2014-04-04_4303.JPG)
In both Bangladesh and West Bengal, currency is commonly denominated as taka. The Bangladesh taka is an official standard bearer of this tradition, while the Indian rupee is also written as taka in Bengali script on all of its banknotes. The history of the taka dates back centuries. Bengal was home one of the world's earliest coin currencies in the first millennium BCE. Under the Delhi Sultanate, the taka was introduced by Muhammad bin Tughluq in 1329. Bengal became the stronghold of the taka. The silver currency was the most important symbol of sovereignty of the
Sultanate of Bengal
The Sultanate of Bengal ( Middle Bengali: শাহী বাঙ্গালা ''Shahī Baṅgala'', Classical Persian: ''Saltanat-e-Bangālah'') was an empire based in Bengal for much of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. It was the dominan ...
. It was traded on the Silk Road and replicated in
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
and China's Tibetan protectorate. The Pakistani rupee was scripted in Bengali as taka on its banknotes until Bangladesh's creation in 1971.
Literature
![Tagore Iran](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Tagore_Iran.jpg)
Bengali literature has a rich heritage. It has a history stretching back to the 3rd century BCE, when the main language was Sanskrit written in the brahmi script. The Bengali language and Bengali–Assamese script, script evolved circa 1000 CE from Magadhi Prakrit. Bengal has a long tradition in folk literature, evidenced by the ''Charyapada, Chôrjapôdô'', ''Mangalkavya'', ''Shreekrishna Kirtana'', ''Maimansingha Gitika'' or ''Thakurmar Jhuli''. Bengali literature in the medieval age was often either religious (e.g. Chandidas), or adaptations from other languages (e.g. Alaol). During the Bengal Renaissance of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Bengali literature was modernised through the works of authors such as Michael Madhusudan Dutta, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Rabindranath Tagore, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Satyendranath Dutta and Jibanananda Das. In the 20th century, prominent modern Bengali writers included Syed Mujtaba Ali, Jasimuddin, Manik Bandopadhyay, Tarasankar Bandyopadhyay, Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay, Buddhadeb Bose, Sunil Gangopadhyay and Humayun Ahmed.
Prominent contemporary Bengali writers in English include Amitav Ghosh, Tahmima Anam, Jhumpa Lahiri and Zia Haider Rahman among others.
Personification
The Bangamata is a female national personification, personification of Bengal which was created during the Bengali Renaissance and later adopted by the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalists. Hindu nationalism, Hindu nationalists adopted a modified Bharat Mata as a national personification of India. The Mother Bengal represents not only biological motherness but its attributed characteristics as well – protection, never ending love, consolation, care, the beginning and the end of life. In Amar Sonar Bangla, the national anthem of Bangladesh, Rabindranath Tagore has used the word "Maa" (Mother) numerous times to refer to the motherland i.e. Bengal.
Art
![CezanneGalleryofSaifulIslam2012](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/CezanneGalleryofSaifulIslam2012.JPG)
The Pala-Sena School of Art developed in Bengal between the 8th and 12th centuries and is considered a high point of classical Asian art.
It included sculptures and paintings.
Islamic Bengal was noted for its production of the finest cotton fabrics and saris, notably the Jamdani, which received warrants from the Mughal court.
The Bengal School of Art, Bengal School of painting flourished in
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
and Shantiniketan in the British Raj during the early 20th century. Its practitioners were among the harbingers of modern painting in India.
Zainul Abedin was the pioneer of modern Bangladeshi art. The country has a thriving and internationally acclaimed contemporary art scene.
Architecture
![Momin Mosque after restoration](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Momin_Mosque_after_restoration.jpg)
Classical Bengali architecture features terracotta buildings. Ancient Bengali kingdoms laid the foundations of the region's architectural heritage through the construction of monasteries and temples (for example, the
Somapura Mahavihara
Somapura Mahavihara ( bn, সোমপুর মহাবিহার, Shompur Môhabihar) in Paharpur, Badalgachhi Upazila, Badalgachhi, Naogaon District, Naogaon, Bangladesh is among the best known Buddhist viharas or monasteries in the Indi ...
). During the Bengal Sultanate, sultanate period, a distinct and glorious Islamic style of architecture developed the region.
Most Islamic buildings were small and highly artistic terracotta mosques with multiple domes and no minarets. Bengal was also home to the largest mosque in South Asia at Adina Mosque,
Adina. Bengali vernacular architecture is credited for inspiring the popularity of the bungalow.
The Bengal region also has a rich heritage of Indo-Saracenic architecture, including numerous
zamindar
A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...
palaces and mansions. The most prominent example of this style is the Victoria Memorial, Kolkata.
In the 1950s, Muzharul Islam pioneered the modernist terracotta style of architecture in South Asia. This was followed by the design of the Jatiyo Sangshad Bhaban by the renowned American architect Louis Kahn in the 1960s, which was based on the aesthetic heritage of Bengali architecture and geography.
Sciences
![FR khan sculputure at Sears tower](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/FR_khan_sculputure_at_Sears_tower.jpg)
The Gupta dynasty, which is believed to have originated in North Bengal, pioneered the invention of chess, the concept of zero, the heliocentrism, theory of Earth orbiting the Sun, the study of Sun, solar and Moon, lunar eclipses and the flourishing of Sanskrit literature and Sanskrit drama, drama.
Bengal was the leader of scientific endeavours in the subcontinent during the British Raj. The educational reforms during this period gave birth to many distinguished scientists in the region. Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose pioneered the investigation of radio and microwave optics, made very significant contributions to plant science, and laid the foundations of experimental science in the Indian subcontinent. IEEE named him one of the People known as the father or mother of something, fathers of radio science. He was the first person from the Indian subcontinent to receive a United States patent law, US patent, in 1904. In 1924–25, while researching at the University of Dhaka, Prof Satyendra Nath Bose well known for his works in quantum mechanics, provided the foundation for Bose–Einstein statistics and the theory of the Bose–Einstein condensate.
Meghnad Saha was the first scientist to relate a star's spectrum to its temperature, developing thermal ionization equations (notably the Saha ionization equation) that have been foundational in the fields of astrophysics and astrochemistry.
Amal Kumar Raychaudhuri was a physicist, known for his research in general relativity and cosmology. His most significant contribution is the eponymous Raychaudhuri equation, which demonstrates that singularities arise inevitably in general relativity and is a key ingredient in the proofs of the Penrose–Hawking singularity theorems. In the United States, the Bangladeshi-American engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan emerged as the "father of tubular designs" in skyscraper construction. Ashoke Sen is an Indian theoretical physicist whose main area of work is string theory. He was among the first recipients of the Fundamental Physics Prize "for opening the path to the realisation that all string theories are different limits of the same underlying theory".
Music
![Tharundas baul](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Tharundas_baul.jpg)
The Baul tradition is a unique heritage of Bengali folk music.
The 19th century mystic poet Lalon Shah is the most celebrated practitioner of the tradition. Other folk music forms include Gombhira, Bhatiali and Bhawaiya. Hason Raja is a renowned folk poet of the
Sylhet region
The 1947 Sylhet referendum was held in the Sylhet District of the Assam Province of British India to decide whether the district would remain in Undivided Assam and therefore within the post-independence Dominion of India, or leave Assam for E ...
. Folk music in Bengal is often accompanied by the ektara, a one-stringed instrument. Other instruments include the dotara, dhol, flute, and tabla. The region also has a rich heritage in Hindustani classical music, North Indian classical music.
Cuisine
Bengali cuisine is the only traditionally developed multi-course tradition from the Indian subcontinent. Rice and fish are traditional favourite foods, leading to a saying that "fish and rice make a Bengali".
Bengal's vast repertoire of fish-based dishes includes Hilsa preparations, a favourite among Bengalis. Bengalis make distinctive confectionery, sweetmeats from milk products, including ''Rasgulla, Rôshogolla'', ''Chômchôm'', and several kinds of ''Pithe''. The old city of Dhaka is noted for its distinct Indo-Islamic cuisine, including biryani, bakarkhani and kebab dishes.
Boats
![Frans Balthasar Solvyns - Budgerow](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Frans_Balthasar_Solvyns_-_Budgerow.jpg)
There are 150 types of Bengali country boats plying the List of rivers in Bangladesh, 700 rivers of the Bengal delta, the vast floodplain and many oxbow lakes. They vary in design and size. The boats include the dinghy and sampan among others. Country boats are a central element of Bengali culture and have inspired generations of artists and poets, including the ivory artisans of the Mughal era. The country has a long shipbuilding tradition, dating back many centuries. Wooden boats are made of timber such as ''Jarul'' (dipterocarpus turbinatus),'' sal'' (shorea robusta), ''sundari'' (heritiera fomes), and ''Teak, Burma teak'' (tectons grandis). Medieval Bengal was shipbuilding hub for the Mughal Empire, Mughal and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman navies.
The British Royal Navy later utilised Bengali shipyards in the 19th century, including for the Battle of Trafalgar.
Attire
Bengali women commonly wear the ''sari, shaŗi'' and the salwar kameez, often distinctly designed according to local cultural customs. In urban areas, many women and men wear Western-style attire. Among men, European dressing has greater acceptance. Men also wear traditional costumes such as the ''kurta'' with ''dhoti'' or ''pyjama'', often on religious occasions. The lungi, a kind of long skirt, is widely worn by Bangladeshi men.
Festivals
The two religious festival, Eids and Muharram are the biggest and most important festivals for Muslims, who are the majority.Durga Puja is the biggest festival of the Hindus in Bengal as well as the most significant socio-cultural event of the Bengali Hindus in general.
Christmas (called Borodin in Bengali) is also a major festival where people irrespective of their beliefs and faiths participate. Other major festivals include Kali Puja, Saraswati Puja, Holi, Rath Jatra, Janmashtami, Poila Boishakh and Makar Sankranti, Poush Parbon.
Media
Bangladesh has a diverse, outspoken and privately owned News media, press, with the largest circulated Bengali language newspapers in the world. English-language titles are popular in the urban readership.
West Bengal had 559 published newspapers in 2005,
of which 430 were in Bengali.
Cinema of Bangladesh, Bengali cinema is divided between the media hubs of Dhaka and Kolkata.
Sports
Cricket and association football, football are popular sports in the Bengal region. Local games include sports such as Kho Kho and Kabaddi, the latter being the national sport of Bangladesh. An Indo-Bangladesh ''Bengali Games'' has been organised among the athletes of the Bengali speaking areas of the two countries.
See also
* Bengali Renaissance
* Bengalis
* Greater Bengal
* East India
* Hindi Belt
* List of Bengalis
* North-East India
* Punjab
Notes
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
Bengal,
Regions of Asia
Regions of Eurasia
Geography of South Asia
Geography of Bangladesh
Geography of India
History of Bengal, B
Regions of India
Historical Indian regions
Subdivisions of British India
Divided regions
Bengali-speaking countries and territories
Historical regions