We Bengalis

Bangla is the 7th most spoken language of the world, that is more than the number of people speaking russian, japanese or german! So when did this language come into being and who are the people speaking this language? What is their origin and basic culture? These questions were prompted by my nanaji's understanding that bengalis were actually a "lutera" tribe in earlier times!!!

Obviously history coursebooks are the last place you look for such answers. I did some research on this and came across some interesting observations and inferences.


History of Bengal

If we look at history, there is mention of Vanga (South Bengal + Bangladesh) + Anga (North Bengal) in Atharvaveda, along with Magadha (Bihar). They are a part of the solah mahajanpadas (16 great nations of the indian subcontinent) in 600 B.C. ReThe mahajanpadas are the first example of democracy in the history of the world. In hindu mythology epic The Mahabharata, Duryodhan had made Karna the King of Anga. Mahabharata (I.104.53-54) and Puranic literature (Matsya Purana: 48.19) attest that the name Anga had originated eponymously from the name of prince Anga, the founder of the kingdom. Matsya Purana describes the father of this eponymous hero as the chief among the demons (danavarshabhah).

Later, Bengalis were ruled by hindu kings, then buddishts, then muslim kings, and then the britishers. The first buddhist king of Bengal of the Pal dynasty, came into rule by election in 750 A.D., the first resurgence of democracy in south asia. But if you look at the history of bengal, it is not a part of a large empire for the longest times in history. If a large empire was breaking up, bengal would be one of the first to break apart. They had their own territory, often broken into smaller parts.

The fighting spirit of bengalis lived on. The idea of raising an army to fight the huge British empire could only have come from a true Bengali like Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. People just 5 years back burnt an atrocious and exploitative zamindar alive in a bengal village. Even today, there are no pick-pockets in Bengal because if one is caught, the matter never reaches the police or court. The public beats the criminal to death on the spot! As i write this piece, army is being called into the city of Kolkata to control the mobs that are protesting against the communist party ruling Bengal for the past 30 continuous years. This is just the second week of the protest!


Economy of Bengal

The trade was flourishing with other parts of the country and the world. Champa, the capital of Anga was known for its wealth and commerce. The Mughals called Bengal as the "Paradise of the Nations" after being impressed with its trade and wealth. Farming was indeed one of the major activities of livelihood.


Geography of Bengal

Bengal is situated served by two huge rivers, Ganga and Brahmaputra. Both of them meet at the delta and merge with the sea. This is the mix of the marshy and forested area of the Sunderbans. Though rivers formed a major mode of transport in bengal, the terrain was so unique that only the locals of the area could fight a war there and win.


Religion of Bengal

History shows us that bengal on the average had been a hindu state in ancient times, then buddhist in early medieval times. There was a resurgence of hinduism at around 1000 A.D., followed by influx of islam. It is worth nothing that the caste system though observed in bengal, is not staunch at all.

If we look at the calendar of bengalis, we are always a day behind the lunar calendars followed in north india. In fact, the bengali calendar is said to be the only living remnant of the Tarikh-i-ilahi of Akbar the Great. Baisakhi, the new year day comes a day late in bengali. Bengalis do not pray to Lord Ram during Dusshera, but instead pray to Goddess Durga on the same day of Vijay Dashmi. On the day of diwali, bengalis do not celebrate lakshmi puja like the banias of north india. Instead they celebrate Kali Puja on the day of diwali with mutton/non-veg being a compulsory part of the prasad. Interestingly, the bengalis primary pray to war goddesses and the main festivals are to celebrate triumph in war.

It must be noted that it was in bengal that religious reform movements like Brahmo Samaj and abolition of archaic anti-female religious rituals like sati and child-marriage were started in Bengal, notably by Raja Ram Mohan Roy. Even today, liberal view islamic writer Taslima Nasreen lives in Kolkata, not in any muslim country.


Music and Dance of Bengal

Bengalis never had a classical music or dance form. It was all folk music and dance. The formal music emerged only in the late nineteenth and early 20th century with Rabindra Sangeet of Nobel Laureate Rabindra Nath Tagore.


Language of Bengal

The bangla language started emerging at around 1000 A.D., at the same time as that of the resurgence of hinduism. It is worth mentioning that bangla is closer to sanskrit or shudh hindi, not khadi boli. There are probably above a 100 dialects in bengali. But bengali, unlike hindi and like english, is a unisex language. The vocubulary is not very large and the words are sweet sounding. Interestingly, bengalis pronouce 'V' and 'BH' exactly the same inspite of having two different alphabets for it in the devanagari script. It is to be noted that a proper script of bangla was developed by Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar only in the 19th century.

There are two more things to note about the bangla language. Bangla unlike english and like hindi, has three sets of addressing styles, mai, tum and aap. Plus, unlike hindi and unlike english, spitting and throwing has the same corresponding word in bangla. Obviously, there is no epic in bangla!


Sciences in Bengal

If you have heard of Indian scientists, you must have heard of Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose and Meghnad Saha. And if you are well-read, you must have read about Bose-Einstein theory and Bose-Einstein condensate! This emergence of scientific education in bengal started in English, not in Bengali. The bengali script had just taken form, let alone knowledge being present in bengali language!


Households and Culture of Bengal

The Bengali household is unusual compared to the other indian ones. The females have a far greater voice in the house and society. It is only the bengali husband that is known to be beaten up by his wife. This sense of violence is demonstrated in bringing up children as well. How many children would have heard the following dialogues on almost a daily basis from their parents while being disobedient:
1. Eat your food or i'll stuff so much food in your mouth that you will never be able to open it your entire life
2. Come here quickly or i will smash your head into the wall
3. If you do not study hard, i will bang the saucepan hard on your head and break it.
You would agree that such children would only be bengali.

Moreover, even in the early 20th century, Tagore's stories talk of a girl and boy sitting all night in one room and studying together. Too modern for India even now right?


So who is this bengali we all know? He is a human being who is a genetic mixture of aryans, dravidians, chinese and malays. It is the geographical area where all these human sub-species meet and mingle. He is a fierce warrior who has villages named golakaata (neck-slicked), pota-paadaa (buried-alive-colony) and mathaphaata (smashed-heads). He was influenced by many religions and cultures but still managed to stay independent. That is why the caste system of north india/aryan hindus could never grow strong. Bengalis fought a lot among themselves too, that is why even today bengalis are never a good linguistic political force/party. The bengali tribes were brought together by the Britishers who first captured trade and then power. That effect of english education is seen on the formalized unisex language and the modern nature of bengal households. The emergence of music, arts, social sciences and other intellectual activities in bengalis was a result of the primary activity of war being taken away from them. All this happened just about a century ago!!!

(Written by me on 21-nov-2007)