Bengal
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|---|---|
Region | |
 Bengal region in Asia | |
| Continent | Asia |
| Countries |  Bangladesh  India (West Bengal, and parts of Assam) |
| Iron Age India, Vedic India, Suhma kingdom, Pundravardhana, Vanga kingdom | 1500 – c. 500 BCE |
| Gangaridai, Nanda Empire | 500 – c. 350 BCE |
| Mauryan Empire | 4th century – 2nd century BCE |
| Shunga Empire, Gupta Empire, Later Gupta dynasty | 185–75 BCE, 3rd century CE – 543 CE, 6th–7th century |
| Gauda Kingdom | 590–633 CE |
| Pala Empire, Sena Empire, Deva Empire | 8th–11th century, 11th–12th century, 12th–13th century |
| Delhi Sultanate, Bengal Sultanate | 1204–1339 CE, 1338–1576 CE |
| Bengal Subah (Mughal Empire), Nawabs of Bengal | 1565–1717 CE, 1717–1765 CE |
| Bengal Presidency (British India) | 1765–1947 CE |
| Divisions | |
| Area | |
• Total | 254,625 km2 (98,311 sq mi) |
| Population (2011 census) | |
• Total | 242,689,949 |
| • Density | 953/km2 (2,470/sq mi) |
| Demonym(s) | Bengali |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30, UTC+6:00 |
| Internet TLD | .bd, .in (English) .বাংলা, .ভারত (Bengali) |
| Largest urban areas | |
| Part of a series on |
| Bengalis |
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Bengal (/bɛnˈɡɔːl/ ben-GAWL)[1][2][a] is a historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Bengal proper is divided between the modern-day sovereign nation of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal.
The ancient Vanga Kingdom is widely regarded as the namesake of the Bengal region.[3] The Bengali calendar dates back to the reign of Shashanka in the 7th century CE. The Pala Empire was founded in Bengal during the 8th century. The Sena dynasty and Deva dynasty ruled between the 11th and 13th centuries. By the 14th century, Bengal was absorbed by Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent. An independent Bengal Sultanate was formed and became the eastern frontier of the Islamic world.[4][5][6] During this period, Bengal's rule and influence spread to Assam, Arakan, Tripura, Bihar, and Orissa.[7][8] Bengal Subah later emerged as a prosperous part of the Mughal Empire.
The last independent Nawab of Bengal was defeated in 1757 at the Battle of Plassey by the East India Company. The company's Bengal Presidency grew into the largest administrative unit of British India with Calcutta as the capital of both Bengal and India until 1911. As a result of the first partition of Bengal, a short-lived province called Eastern Bengal and Assam existed between 1905 and 1911 with its capital in the former Mughal capital Dhaka. Following the Sylhet referendum and votes by the Bengal Legislative Council and Bengal Legislative Assembly, the region was again divided along religious lines in 1947.
Bengali culture, particularly its literature, music, art and cinema, are well known in South Asia and beyond. The region is also notable for its economic and social scientists, which includes several Nobel laureates. Once home to the city with the highest per capita income level in British India,[9] the region is today a leader in South Asia in terms of gender parity, the gender pay gap and other indices of human development.[10][11][12][13][14]
- ^ "Bengal". The Chambers Dictionary (9th ed.). Chambers. 2003. ISBN 0-550-10105-5.
- ^ "Oxford Dictionaries". Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
- ^ "Vanga | ancient kingdom, India". Encyclopædia Britannica.
- ^ "The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204–1760".
- ^ "Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica".
- ^ "Know your history". Dhaka Tribune. 27 November 2022.
- ^ David Lewis (31 October 2011). Bangladesh: Politics, Economy and Civil Society. Cambridge University Press. pp. 44–45. ISBN 978-1-139-50257-3.
- ^ Perween Hasan (2007). Sultans and Mosques: The Early Muslim Architecture of Bangladesh. I.B.Tauris. pp. 16–17. ISBN 978-1-84511-381-0. "[Husayn Shah pushed] its western frontier past Bihar up to Saran in Jaunpur ... when Sultan Husayn Shah Sharqi of Jaunpur fled to Bengal after being defeated in battle by Sultan Sikandar Lodhi of Delhi, the latter attacked Bengal in pursuit of the Jaunpur ruler. Unable to make any gains, Sikandar Lodhi returned home after concluding a peace treaty with the Bengal sultan."
- ^ "Looking ahead retrospectively: A Bangladeshi perspective | ORF".
- ^ "Why West Bengal is like Canada, and Bihar like Swaziland". mint. 25 December 2014.
- ^ "Bangladesh ahead of India in social indicators: Amartya". The Daily Star. 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Bangladesh is better off than India, not a poor, backward neighbour anymore". ThePrint. 11 October 2018.
- ^ "New directions for human development in Bangladesh".
- ^ "Bangladesh marches ahead of India in Global Gender Gap Index". The Times of India.
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