History Of Bengali Community
History Of Bengali Community: Do you know? The Bengali community defeated Alexander the Great during Nanda Dynasty. To search such more interesting facts related to the Indian community lets Go of Travel Blogger. The Word “Bengal” or “Bangaal” has its roots in the Persian word “Bangla”. And the word “Bangla” originated from Vangla.
Previously in earlier times, Vangla was known as Vanga Pradesh. According to Atharva-Ved, in 1000 BC, the demon king Vali used to live here. The Vanga Dynasty mentioned in Mahabharata was also part of Bengal. When the archaeologists excavated in Bengal, they found remnants that belonged to the stone age some 20,000 years ago.
And the relics of pit dwellings found here are even older than the stone age. Bengal was inhabited by migrants from various lands, which included Austroasiatic, Tibeto-Burman, Dravid, and Indo-Aryans. Historians also find evidence that 2000 years ago, Bengal was inhabited by rice cultivators. But it is also believed that the first settlers in Bengal came from Sri Lanka.
And they were nomads who used to hunt with bow and arrow for their living. Those nomads were known as Vedda. After China and Arabs, the Bengali community is considered the world’s third-largest ethnic community and is the largest ethnic group amongst Indo-Europeans. The rivers Ganga and Brahmaputra were always used for transportation.
And Bengali community used to trade with different countries via the Silk route as well. Therefore, this community became prosperous very quickly. In the 4th century BC, Bengalis defeated Alexander the Great during the rule of the Nanda Dynasty.
At the beginning of the 7th century, the first independent king of Bengal Shashank united the states of Bengal. After this, there was prosperity even during the Pala dynasty. Then the Arabs, Turkish, and people of Persian origin settled in Bengal. And along with them, communities like Kola, Bheel, Santhal, Shabar, and Pulinda also settled here. A multi-ethnic Bengali community was formed after the union of all these communities. Which became the origin of today’s Bengali Community.
In the 10th century, Islam started spreading here. And in the 12th century, Bengal State was merged with the Delhi Sultanate. In 1352 AD, under the rule of Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah people got their own identity as Bengalis. The Bengali language received state patronage. Along with Persian and Arabic languages, the Bengali language too gained popularity. From the 14th-16th century, the Bengali community progressed a lot in business.
During this period, a network of districts was formed where coins were minted, which were known as ‘Taksal Qasbon’. During that time in those districts, the Taka coins were also molded. Europeans considered Bengal as the richest country for trade. By 1772, when the British started ruling India, they made Calcutta, the capital of India. Calcutta which is known as Kolkata today, was the largest political administration and trade centre of India, during British rule.
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After coming in contact with the Britishers, when the prosperous people of the Bengali community got exposed to the European countries, they adopted Western-Style, English Language, Scientific Approach, Institutional Education, and Social Reforms very easily. The after-effects of the Renaissance of Europe were first felt in India in Bengal.
And a new Bengal was formed. This is also the reason, that from journalism to politics, from Science to Philosophy, the Bengali People were leading in every field from the very start.”What Bengal Thinks Today, India Thinks Tomorrow” This is the phrase that aptly summarises the essence of this community.
