Bengal | |
Countries | Bangladesh India |
Area | 232,752 km2 (89,866 sq mi) |
Population (2011) | 250 million |
Density | 900/km2 |
Largest Cities | Dhaka Kolkata Chittagong |
Bengal (Bengali: বাংলা Bangla; বঙ্গ Bongo) is a transnational historical, cultural and geographical region in Asia. It forms the eastern region of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal.The population of Bengal is estimated to be 250 million.[1] The predominant majority of its inhabitants are the Bengali people, who speak the Indo-Aryan Bengali language, and are the world's third-largest ethnic group.
Today, Bengal proper is divided between the People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal. Its present-day boundaries were formed during the Partition of British India, when Hindu-majority West Bengal became a part of India, while Muslim-majority East Bengal became a part of Pakistan and later emerged as the independent country of Bangladesh.
With a recorded history spanning four millennia, Bengal has played an important role in the history of South Asia. Modern Bengal has been an epicentre of the Indian independence movement, revolutionary activities, the Bengal Renaissance, the Pakistan Movement and the Bangladesh War of Independence,[2] all of which have shaped the subcontinent since the late 19th century. Despite the legacy of partition, Bengalis maintain strong cultural bonds, including the world's tenth most spoken language, as well as their own uniform writing system, literature, music, art, architecture, festivals and cuisine. The region's geography is dominated by the fertile Bengal delta that is made up by hundreds of rivers, notably the major Asian rivers Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna.
Contents
Definition
Bengal proper is divided between Bangladesh in the east and the Indian state of West Bengal. Bengali-speaking majority populations also reside in India's Tripura state, the Barak Valley in Assam state and the federally-administered Andaman and Nicobar Islands. A large section of the Rohingya population in Myanmar's Rakhine State are of Bengali ancestry.
Etymology
The name of Bengal is derived from the ancient kingdom of Vanga,[3][4] the earliest records of which date back to the Mahabharata epic in the first millennium BCE.[4] Theories on the origin of the term Vanga point to the Proto-Dravidian Bong tribe that settled in the area circa 1000 BCE and the Austric word Bong (Sun-god).[5][6] The term Vangaladesa is used to describe the region in 11th century South Indian records.[7][8][9] The modern term Bangla is prominent from the 14th century, which saw the establishment of the Sultanate of Bengal, whose first ruler Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah was known as the Shah of Bangala.[10] The Portuguese referred to the region as Bengala in the Age of Discovery.[11]
History
Part of a series on the
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History of Bengal |
Ancient geopolitical units |
Ancient and classical dynasties |
Medieval |
European colonisation |
Bangladesh |
Indian Bengal |
Related |
Prehistory (Neolithic - Iron Age)
Human settlement in Bengal can be traced back 20,000 years. Remnants of Copper Age settlements date back 4,300 years.[12][13] 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.[14] The Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers were natural arteries for communication and transportation.[14] Estuaries on the Bay of Bengal allowed for maritime trade. The eary Iron Age saw the development of metal weaponry, coinage, permanent field agriculture and irrigation.[14] From 600 BCE, the second wave of urbanization engulfed the north Indian subcontinent, as part of the Northern Black Polished Ware culture.
Antiquity (1000 BCE - 1204 CE)
Ancient Bengal was divided between the regions of Varendra, Suhma, Anga, Vanga, Samatata and Harikela. Early Indian literature described the region as a thalassocracy, with colonies in Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean.[15] The first recorded king of Sri Lanka was the Bengali prince Vijaya. The region was known to the ancient Greeks and Romans as Gangaridai.[16] 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.
Animism, Hinduism and Jainism were the early chief religions in Bengal. The Brahmins developed agriculture.[14] Buddhism flourished during the first millennium. Chinese and Tibetan travelers in the 7th century described Bengal as the leading center of Buddhism. It hosted numerous monasteries and universities, with monks and students from across Asia. One Bengali monk, Atisa, emerged as one of classical Buddhism's foremost thinkers. He traveled to Tibet and Sumatra to pioneer Mahayana Buddhism. By the 9th century, Arab Muslim traders frequented Bengali seaports, and found the thriving seafaring kingdom of Harikela, with well-developed coinage and banking.[14]
The dynasties of ancient Bengal included the Mauryans, Guptas, Varmans, Khadgas, Palas, Chandras and Senas among others. Shashanka founded the kingdom of Gauda, which later became the springboard of successive Bengali states.[17]
Medieval (1204 CE - 1757 CE)
The Islamic conquest of the Indian subcontinent absorbed Bengal in 1204.[18][19] The region was annexed by the Delhi Sultanate. Muslim rule introduced agrarian reform, a new calendar and Sufism. In the 14th and 15th centuries, the Bengal Sultanate 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. The Mughal Empire conquered Bengal in the 16th century. The Bengal Subah 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.[20] The region was also notable for its powerful semi-independent aristocracy, including the Twelve Bhuiyans and the Nawabs of Bengal.[21]
Since the 16th century, European traders traversed the sea routes to Bengal, following the Portuguese conquests of Malacca and Goa. The Portuguese established a 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 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 in 1757.[21]
Colonial (1757 CE - 1947 CE)
Company rule in India began under the Bengal Presidency. Calcutta was named the capital of British India 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 Bengal famines struck several times during colonial rule. 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 abolishment of the Mughal Court and direct rule by the British Raj. The late 19th and early 20th century Bengal Renaissance had a great impact on the cultural and economic life of Bengal. Between 1905 and 1912, an abortive attempt was made to divide the province of Bengal into two zones, that included the short-lived province of Eastern Bengal and Assam based in Dacca and Shillong.[22]
Bengal played a major role in the Indian independence movement, 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 British 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 to form a United Bengal,[23] when India gained independence in 1947, Bengal was partitioned along religious lines.[24] The western part went to India (and was named West Bengal) while the eastern part joined Pakistan as a province called East Bengal (later renamed East Pakistan, giving rise to Bangladesh in 1971). The circumstances of partition were bloody, with widespread religious riots in Bengal.[24][25]
Post-partition (1947 CE- )
West Bengal
West Bengal became one of India's most populous states. Calcutta, the former capital of the British Raj, 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 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 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.[26] Since the 2000s, West Bengal has experienced an economic rejuvenation, particularly in its IT industry.
Tripura
The princely state of Hill Tippera, that was under the suzerainty of British India, was ruled by a Bengali-speaking monarchy. Following the death of Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Debbarman, the princely state acceded to the 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 Hindus 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 by indigenous people affected the state for several years. The two main political blocs are the Left Front and the Indian National Congress. The Left Front ruled the state between 1978 and 1988, followed by a stint of Congress rule until 1993, and then a return to the Communists.[27]
East Pakistan and Bangladesh
East Pakistan 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.[28] 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 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 within months of taking office.[29][30]
East Pakistan witnessed the rise of Bengali self determination calls led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Maulana Bhashani in the 1960s.[31] Rahman launched the Six point movement for autonomy in 1966. After the 1970 national election, Rahman's party, the Awami League, had emerged as the largest party in Pakistan's 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 genocide that caused the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. The first Government of Bangladesh and the Mukti Bahini waged a guerrilla campaign with support from neighboring 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.[32]
After independence, Bangladesh adopted a secular democracy under its new constitution in 1972. Awami League premier Sheikh Mujibur Rahman became the country's strongman and implemented many socialist policies. A one party state was enacted in 1975. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated in 1975 during a military coup that ushered sixteen years of presidential governments and military dictatorships. 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 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 the devolution of Bangladesh's administrative regions.[33] The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was founded in Dhaka in 1985.[34] The Jatiya Party government made Islam the state religion in 1988.[35] 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 governments. 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 to prosecute surviving colloborators of the 1971 genocide. Today, the country is an emerging economy, listed as one of the Next Eleven and experiencing growing industrial development, but continues to face political, economic and social challenges.[36][37]
Geography
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, Brahmaputra, and Meghna rivers and their respective tributaries. The total area of Bengal is 232,752 km2—West Bengal is 88,752 km2 (34,267 sq mi) and Bangladesh 147,570 km2 (56,977 sq mi).
The flat and fertile Bangladesh Plain dominates the geography of Bangladesh. The Chittagong Hill Tracts and Sylhet regions are home to most of the mountains in Bangladesh. Most parts of Bangladesh are within 10 metres (33 feet) 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 1 metre (3.3 feet).[39] 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 1,052 metres (3,451 feet).[40] A major part of the coastline comprises a marshy jungle, the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world and home to diverse flora and fauna, including the royal Bengal tiger. In 1997, this region was declared endangered.[41]
West Bengal is on the eastern bottleneck of India, stretching from the Himalayas in the north to the Bay of Bengal in the south. The state has a total area of 88,752 km2 (34,267 sq mi).[42] The Darjeeling Himalayan hill region in the northern extreme of the state belongs to the eastern Himalaya. This region contains Sandakfu (3,636 m (11,929 ft))—the highest peak of the state.[43] The narrow Terai region separates this region from the plains, which in turn transitions into the Ganges delta towards the south. The Rarh region intervenes between the Ganges delta in the east and the western plateau and high lands. 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 (micro gram per litre) or 50 parts per billion and the untreated water is unfit for human consumption.[44] The water causes arsenicosis, skin cancer and various other complications in the body. Arsenic is four times as poisonous as mercury.
Demographics
- Main articles: Demographics of Bangladesh, Demographics of West Bengal and Languages of Bangladesh
With a population of 320 million, Bengalis are the third largest ethnic group in the world after the Han Chinese and Arabs.[45]
The Bengal region is also one of most densely populated areas in the world.
According to provisional results of 2011 Bangladesh census, population of Bangladesh was 142,319,000;[46] 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.[47] So, the Bengal region, as of 2011, has at least 233 million people. This figures give a population density of 1003.9/km2; making it among the most densely populated areas in the world.[48][49]
Bengali is the main language spoken in Bengal. Many phonological, lexical, and structural differences from the standard variety occur in peripheral varieties of Bengali; these include Sylheti, Chittagonian, Chakma, Rangpuri/Rajbangshi, Hajong, Rohingya, and Tangchangya.[50]
English is often used for official work alongside Bengali, and many Bengalis are also familiar with other major Indo-Aryan languages such as Hindi, Urdu, Assamese, and Nepali.
In addition, there are several minority ethnolinguistic groups native to the region. These include speakers of other Indo-Aryan languages (e.g. Bishnupriya Manipuri, Oraon Sadri, various Bihari languages), Tibeto-Burman languages (e.g. A'Tong, Chak, Koch, Garo, Megam, Meitei Manipuri, Mizo, Mru, Pangkhua, Rakhine/Marma, Kok Borok, Riang, Tippera, Usoi, various Chin languages), Austroasiatic languages (e.g. Khasi, Koda, Mundari, Pnar, Santali, War), and Dravidian languages (e.g. Kurukh, Sauria Paharia).[50]
Life expectancy is around 70.36 years for Bangladesh[51] and 63.4 for West Bengal.[52][53] In terms of literacy, West Bengal leads with 77% literacy rate,[48] in Bangladesh the rate is approximately 59.82%.[54][55] The level of poverty and illiteracy is high, the proportion of people living below the poverty line is more than 30%.[56][57]
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 Bengalis or Bangladeshi refugees. 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.[58]
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.[59][59] 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.
Inter-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.[60] Much 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 and Bhutan. However the overall economic relationship remains well-below potential.
Major cities
The following are the largest cities in Bengal (in terms of population): The following are the largest cities in Bengal (in terms of population):
Rank | City | Country | Population (2011) | Area (in km2) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Dhaka | Bangladesh | 14,543,124 | 1463.6 [61] |
2 | Kolkata | India | 14,112,536[62] | 1886.67 |
3 | Chittagong | Bangladesh | 4,079,862 | 168.07[63] |
4 | Sylhet | Bangladesh | 2,675,346 | 26.50 [64] |
5 | Gazipur | Bangladesh | 1,820,374 | 49.32[64] |
6 | Narayanganj | Bangladesh | 1,636,441 | 759.57[64] |
7 | Khulna | Bangladesh | 1,490,835 | 80.01 |
8 | Asansol | India | 1,243,414 | 340.13[62] |
9 | Rajshahi | Bangladesh | 842,701 | 96.68 |
10 | Siliguri | India | 705,579 | 640.0[62] |
11 | Rangpur | Bangladesh | 650,000 | 204[64] |
12 | Durgapur | India | 580,990 | 154.0[62] |
13 | Bardhaman | India | 347,016 | 59.0[62] |
14 | Comilla | Bangladesh | 346,238 | 153[64] |
15 | Barisal | Bangladesh | 328,278 | 45 [64] |
Source: World Gazetteer 2012[65] |
Strategic importance
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 Nepal and Bhutan, 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 producer. Its maritime exclusive economic zone potentially holds many of the largest gas reserves in the Asia-Pacific.[66]
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 Hindu and Muslim populations. Bengali Hindus make up the second largest linguistic community in India. Bengali Muslims are the world's second largest Muslim ethnicity (after Arab Muslims), and Bangladesh is the world's third largest Muslim-majority country (after Indonesia and Pakistan).
Crossborder relations
Cultural, historic and commercial ties are growing, with both Bangladesh and India recognising the importance of good relations. During and immediately after Bangladesh's struggle for independence from Pakistan in 1971, India assisted refugees from East Pakistan, and intervened militarily to help bring about the independence of Bangladesh. The Indo-Bangladesh border length of 4,095 km (2,545 mi), West Bengal has a border length of 2,216 km (1,377 mi).[67] Despite overlapping historic, geographic and cultural ties, the relation between West Bengal and Bangladesh is still well below full potential.[68] The pan-Bengali sentiment among the people of the two parts of Bengal was at its height during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.[69] While the government radio and national press in India might have backed the struggle out of strategic considerations, the Bengali broadcast and print media went out of its way to lend overwhelming support.[69]
Frequent air services link Kolkata with Dhaka and Chittagong. A bus service between Kolkata and Dhaka is operational. The primary road link is the Jessore Road which crosses the border at Petrapole-Benapole about 175 km (109 mi) north-west of Kolkata. The train service between Kolkata and Dhaka (Moitri Express), which was stopped after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, was resumed in 2008.[70]
Visa services are provided by Bangladesh's consulate at Kolkata's Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Road and India's high commissions in Dhaka, Chittagong and Rajshahi. India has a liberal visa policy and nearly 500,000 visas[68] are issued every year to Bangladeshi students, tourists, health-tourists and others who visit West Bengal and often transit to other parts of India.
Undocumented immigration of Bangladeshi workers is a controversial issue[68] championed by right-wing nationalist parties in India but finds little sympathy in West Bengal. India has fenced the border to control this flow but immigration is still continuing.[71]
The official land border crossing at Petrapole-Benapole is the primary conduit for the over $1 billion trade between the two-halves of Bengal. The volume of unofficial exports to Bangladesh from India is reportedly in the range of $350–500 million each year.[72]
Culture
The common Bengali language and culture anchors the shared tradition of two parts of politically divided Bengal. Bengal has a long tradition in folk literature, evidenced by the 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, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Rabindranath Tagore, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay and Kazi Nazrul Islam.
The Baul tradition is a unique heritage of Bengali folk music.[73] The 19th century mystic poet Lalon Shah is the most celebrated practitioner of the tradition.[74] Other folk music forms include Gombhira, Bhatiali and Bhawaiya. Hason Raja is a renowned folk poet of the Sylhet region. 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 North Indian classical music.
Bengal had also been the harbinger of modernism in Indian arts. Abanindranath Tagore, one of the important 18th century artist from Bengal is often referred to as the father of Indian modern art. He had established the first non-British art academy in India known as the Kalabhavan within the premises of Santiniketan. Santiniketan in course of time had produced many important Indian artists like Gaganendranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose, Jamini Roy, Benode Bihari Mukherjee and Ramkinkar Baij. In the post-independence era, Bengal had produced important artists like Somenath Hore, Meera Mukherjee and Ganesh Pyne. Modern Bangladeshi art was heralded by Zainul Abedin, and includes important figures like SM Sultan, Mohammad Kibria, Shahabuddin Ahmed and Kanak Chanpa Chakma among others.
Rice and fish are traditional favourite foods, leading to a saying that in Bengali, mach ar bhaath bangali baanaay, that translates as "fish and rice make a Bengali".[75] Bengal's vast repertoire of fish-based dishes includes Hilsa preparations, a favourite among Bengalis. Bengalis make distinctive sweetmeats from milk products, including Rôshogolla, Chômchôm, and several kinds of Pithe.
Bengali women commonly wear the 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.
The greatest religious festivals are the two Eids (Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha) for the Muslims, and the autumnal Durga Puja and Kali Puja for Hindus.[76] Christmas (called Borodin (Great day) in Bengali), Buddha Purnima are other major religious festivals. Other festivities include Pohela Baishakh, Dolyatra, Rathayatra, Nobanno and Poush Parbon. Bangladesh has a diverse, outspoken, sometimes unprofessional private-owned press, with the largest circulated Bengali language newspapers in the world. English-language titles are popular in the urban readership.[77] West Bengal had 559 published newspapers in 2005,[78] of which 430 were in Bengali.[78] Cricket and football are popular sports in the Bengal region. Local games include sports such as Kho Kho and Kabaddi, the later 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.[79]
-
Rabindranath Tagore, winner of the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature
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Kazi Nazrul Islam, the national poet of Bangladesh
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Academy Award-winning film director Satyajit Ray
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Ali Akbar Khan, master of sarod
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Painter Shahabuddin
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Fashion designer Sabyasachi
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Theatre performer Sharmin Ali
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Singer Runa Laila
See also
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