Bengali Hindus: Difference between revisions

Hinduism has existed in Bengal before the 16th century BC and by the third century, Buddhism has also gain popularity in [[Bengal]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mukherjee|first=Ishan|title=The historical roots of Hindu majoritarianism in West Bengal|url=https://caravanmagazine.in/politics/historical-roots-of-hindu-majoritarianism-in-west-bengal|access-date=22 April 2021|website=The Caravan|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=8 October 2017|title=The rich history of Buddhism in Bengal|url=https://www.dhakatribune.com/magazine/arts-letters/2017/10/08/rich-history-buddhism-bengal|access-date=22 April 2021|website=Dhaka Tribune}}</ref> West Bengal was created in 1947 as an act of [[Bengali Hindu Homeland Movement]] to save guard the political, economical, cultural, religious, demographic and land owning rights of Bengali Hindus of undivided [[Bengal region]] and as a result predominantly Hindu majority West Bengal became a part of Indian union. The vast majority of Hindus in West Bengal are Bengali Hindus numbering around 5.5 crore out of the total estimated state population of 10 crore,<ref>{{Cite news|first=Romita|last=Datta|date=13 November 2020|title=The great Hindu vote trick|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/nation/story/20201123-the-great-hindu-vote-trick-1740691-2020-11-13|access-date=11 May 2021|work=India Today|language=en}}</ref><ref name="indianewsrepublic.com">{{Cite web|url=https://indianewsrepublic.com/great-hindu-voting-trick-nation-news/63490/|title=Great Hindu Voting Trick-Nation News|access-date=17 June 2021|website=India Today- Get the Latest India news|archive-date=30 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210930170327/https://indianewsrepublic.com/great-hindu-voting-trick-nation-news/63490/|url-status=dead}}</ref> but a notable section of non-Bengali Hindus also exist, particularly among [[Marwaris]], [[Bihari people|Biharis]], [[Odias]], [[Gurkha]]s, [[Punjabis]], [[Sindhis]], [[Gujaratis]] and various tribal communities such as [[Koch Rajbongshi|Koch Raj bongshi]], [[Santals]], [[Munda people|Munda]] and particularly [[Adivasi|Adivadis]] numbering around 1.557 crore comprising rest 15% of the state population.<ref name="indianewsrepublic.com"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiaonlinepages.com/population/west-bengal-population.html|title=Population of West Bengal-West Bengal Population 2021|access-date=10 July 2021|website=India Guide- Festivals, Culture, City Guide, Weddings, Population,Indianonlinepages.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/india/opinion-divided-on-most-non-bengali-voters-favouring-bjp-in-west-bengal|title=Opinion divided on most non-Bengali voters favouring BJP in West Bengal|access-date=12 July 2021|website=National Herald: Live News Today,India News,Top Headlines,Political and World News|date=3 April 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.magzter.com/stories/News/India-Today/THE-GREAT-HINDU-VOTE-TRICK|title=THE GREAT HINDU VOTE TRICK|access-date=14 July 2021|website=Magzter}}</ref>

The Barak Valley comprising the present districts of [[Cachar]], [[Karimganj]] and [[Hailakandi]] is contiguous to [[Sylhet]] (Bengal plains), where the Bengali Hindus, according to historian J.B. Bhattacharjee, had settled well before the colonial period, influencing the culture of Dimasa Kacharis.<ref name="Cachar">{{cite book |last1=Baruah |first1=Professor of Political Studies Sanjib |last2=Baruah |first2=Sanjib |title=India Against Itself: Assam and the Politics of Nationality |date=29 June 1999 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-8122-3491-6 |page=103 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8k-irMMTnywC&dq=bengalis+in+cachar&pg=PA103 |language=en}}</ref> Bhattacharjee describes that the Dimasa kings spoke Bengali and the inscriptions and coins written were in Bengali script.<ref name="Cachar" /> Migrations to Cachar increased after the British annexation of the region.<ref name="Cachar" /> Bengalis in plains of Cachar valley were a significant, and sometimes dominant tribe/group/demographic for at least a period since the reign of [[Dhanya Manikya]] in the 15th century who hosted several Bengali Brahmin scholars in his court during his reign/rule.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DcKGAwAAQBAJ&dq=dhanya+manikya+bengali+brahmins&pg=PA357 |title=Low Intensity Conflicts in India: An Analysis - Vivek Chadha - Google Books |date= 4 March 2005|isbn=9788132102014 |accessdate=11 August 2022|last1=Chadha |first1=Vivek |publisher=SAGE Publications India }}</ref> The Bengalis have been living in Barak Valley for at least 1,500 years, settling there much earlier than the [[Koch people|Koch]], [[Dimasa people|Dimasa]] and the [[Tripuris]].<ref name="Statesman"/> The Koches settled in Barak Valley in the 16th century, while the Dimasas settled in the late 16th - early 17th century A.D respectively.<ref name="Statesman">{{cite web | url=https://www.thestatesman.com/opinion/the-assam-narrativeii-1502844495.html | title=The Assam narrative~II | website=[[The Statesman (India)|The Statesman]] | date=13 January 2020 }}</ref> The Muslim population of the Cachar was in majority before it was annexed to the [[Bengal Presidency]] of British India in 1832. Mostly farmers, the population of Muslims in the Barak Valley decreased in the late 19th century largely because the fertile lands were occupied by earlier settlers of the region, later those Muslims have immigrated to Un-divided Nagaon region of Assam.<ref name="Barbhuiya">{{cite book |last1=Barbhuiya |first1=Atiqur Rahman |title=Indigenous People of Barak Valley |date=27 January 2020 |publisher=Notion Press |isbn=978-1-64678-800-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5SLMDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT77 |language=en}}</ref> A population 85,522 of diverse backgrounds including hill tribes, in 1851, Muslims and Hindus, 30,708 and 30,573 receptively mostly Bengalis, constituted 70% of the total population of Cachar Valley, followed by 10,723 [[Manipuris]], 6,320 [[Kukis]], 5,645 [[Naga people|Naga]] and 2,213 [[Dimasa people|Cachari]].<ref name="Barbhuiya"/> Bengali Hindus first came into Assam's Brahmaputra valley during the time of British era of 1826 from neighbouring [[Bengal region]] as colonial official workers, bankers, railway employees, bureaucrats and later on during the time [[Partition of Bengal (1947)|Partition of Bengal]] in 1947.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Khalid|first=Saif|title='We're sons of the soil, don't call us Bangladeshis'|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2018/6/23/harassed-discriminated-story-of-assams-bengali-origin-people|access-date=11 May 2021|website=www.aljazeera.com|language=en}}</ref> Between the period of first patches (1946-1951), around 274,455 Bengali Hindu refugees have arrived from what is now called Bangladesh (former East Pakistan) in various locations of Assam as permanent settlers and again in second patches between (1952-1958) of the same decade, around 212,545 Bengali Hindus from Bangladesh took shelter in various parts of the state permanently.<ref>India (1951). "Annual Arrival of Refugees in Assam in 1946–1951". Census of India. XII, Part I (I-A): 353 – via web.archive.org.</ref><ref>http://iussp2005.princeton.edu {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629180038/https://iussp2005.princeton.edu/ |date=29 June 2021 }} › ...PDF

The Bengali Hindus generally follow the beliefs and practices that fall under the broad umbrella of [[Hinduism]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hinduism in Bengal and Surrounding Areas|url=https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195399318/obo-9780195399318-0124.xml|access-date=12 May 2021|website=obo}}</ref> Majority of them follow either [[Shaktism]] (the [[Shaktism#Kalikula: family of Kali|Kalikula tradition]]) or [[Vaishnavism]] ([[Gaudiya Vaishnavism]], [[Vaishnava-Sahajiya]], [[Baul]]s), and some follow a synthesis of the two. The Shaktas belong to the upper [[caste]]s as well as lowest castes and tribes, while the lower middle castes are Vaishnavas.{{sfn|McDermott|2005|p=826}} The minor traditions include [[Shaivites]]. A small minority is [[atheist]] who do not follow any rituals.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Aquil|first=Raziuddin|title=History of a distinct culture|url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/books/article26003781.ece|access-date=12 May 2021|website=Frontline|date=17 January 2019 |language=en}}</ref> [[Brahmoism]] is also found among Bengali Hindus.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Studying religion|url=https://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/culture/religious-studies/studying-religion/content-section-0|access-date=12 May 2021|website=OpenLearn|archive-date=12 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512001426/https://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/culture/religious-studies/studying-religion/content-section-0|url-status=dead}}</ref>