All Topics  
Bengali people

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Bengali people
 
 
  Topics Bengali people Topic Home

The Bengali people are the ethnic community from Bengal
Bengal

Bengal , is a historical and geographical region in the northeast of South Asia. Today it is mainly divided between the independent sovereign nation of the Bangladesh and the state of West Bengal in India, although some regions of the previous kingdoms of Bengal are now part of the neighboring Indian states of Bihar, Assam, Tripura and Oris...
 (now divided between Bangladesh
Bangladesh

, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a country in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south....
 and India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
) in South Asia
South Asia

South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries on the west and the east....
 with a history dating back four millennia. They speak Bengali
Bengali language

Bengali or Bangla is an Indo-European languages language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages....
 (????? Bangla), a language of the eastern Indo-Aryan
Indo-Aryan languages

The Indo-Aryan languages are a branch of the Indo-European languages family.SIL International in a 2005 estimate counted a total of 209 varieties, the largest in terms of native speakers being Hindustani language , Bangla language , Punjabi language , Marathi , Gujarati language , Nepali language , Oriya language , Sindhi language , Sinhal...
 branch of the Indo-European languages
Indo-European languages

The Indo-European languages are a Language family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau , Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent ....
. In their native language, they are referred to as ?????? (pronounced Bangali). They are an eastern Indo-Aryan people, who are also descended from Austro-Asiatic
Austro-Asiatic languages

The Austro-Asiatic languages are a large language family of Southeast Asia, and also scattered throughout India and Bangladesh. The name comes from the Latin word for "south" and the Greek language name of Asia, hence "South Asia." Among these languages, only Vietnamese language, Khmer language, and Mon language have a long established record...
 and Dravidian peoples
Dravidian peoples

Dravidian people also Dravidians refers to the peoples that natively speak languages belonging to the Dravidian languages. Populations of speakers are found mostly in South India....
, and closely related to the Assamese
Assamese people

The Assamese people are defined by the Assamese government as the multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-linguistic people of Assam but can also refer to the Assamese language Indo-Aryans of the Brahmaputra valley....
, Biharis
Bihari people

Bihari are an Indo-Aryans ethnic group and an early Australoid parent group originating from the state of Bihar in India with a history going back three millennia....
 and other East India
East India

East India, or more properly Eastern India, is a List_of_regions_in_India of India consisting of the states of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Orissa....
ns, as well as to Munda
Munda people

The Munda are Adivasi people of the Chotanagpur region, which is spread over eastern states of India , and in parts of Bangladesh. Their language is Mundari language, which belongs to the Munda languages of the Austro-Asiatic languages; the Munda language group is in fact named after the Munda people....
 and Tibeto-Burman
Tibeto-Burman languages

The Tibeto-Burman family of languages is spoken in various Central Asia, East Asia, South Asia and southeast Asian countries, including Burma , Tibet, northern Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, parts of central China , northern parts of Nepal, eastern parts of Bangladesh , Bhutan, northern parts of Pakistan , and various regions of India ....
 peoples.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Bengali people'
Start a new discussion about 'Bengali people'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


The Bengali people are the ethnic community from Bengal
Bengal

Bengal , is a historical and geographical region in the northeast of South Asia. Today it is mainly divided between the independent sovereign nation of the Bangladesh and the state of West Bengal in India, although some regions of the previous kingdoms of Bengal are now part of the neighboring Indian states of Bihar, Assam, Tripura and Oris...
 (now divided between Bangladesh
Bangladesh

, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a country in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south....
 and India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
) in South Asia
South Asia

South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries on the west and the east....
 with a history dating back four millennia. They speak Bengali
Bengali language

Bengali or Bangla is an Indo-European languages language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages....
 (????? Bangla), a language of the eastern Indo-Aryan
Indo-Aryan languages

The Indo-Aryan languages are a branch of the Indo-European languages family.SIL International in a 2005 estimate counted a total of 209 varieties, the largest in terms of native speakers being Hindustani language , Bangla language , Punjabi language , Marathi , Gujarati language , Nepali language , Oriya language , Sindhi language , Sinhal...
 branch of the Indo-European languages
Indo-European languages

The Indo-European languages are a Language family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau , Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent ....
. In their native language, they are referred to as ?????? (pronounced Bangali). They are an eastern Indo-Aryan people, who are also descended from Austro-Asiatic
Austro-Asiatic languages

The Austro-Asiatic languages are a large language family of Southeast Asia, and also scattered throughout India and Bangladesh. The name comes from the Latin word for "south" and the Greek language name of Asia, hence "South Asia." Among these languages, only Vietnamese language, Khmer language, and Mon language have a long established record...
 and Dravidian peoples
Dravidian peoples

Dravidian people also Dravidians refers to the peoples that natively speak languages belonging to the Dravidian languages. Populations of speakers are found mostly in South India....
, and closely related to the Assamese
Assamese people

The Assamese people are defined by the Assamese government as the multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-linguistic people of Assam but can also refer to the Assamese language Indo-Aryans of the Brahmaputra valley....
, Biharis
Bihari people

Bihari are an Indo-Aryans ethnic group and an early Australoid parent group originating from the state of Bihar in India with a history going back three millennia....
 and other East India
East India

East India, or more properly Eastern India, is a List_of_regions_in_India of India consisting of the states of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Orissa....
ns, as well as to Munda
Munda people

The Munda are Adivasi people of the Chotanagpur region, which is spread over eastern states of India , and in parts of Bangladesh. Their language is Mundari language, which belongs to the Munda languages of the Austro-Asiatic languages; the Munda language group is in fact named after the Munda people....
 and Tibeto-Burman
Tibeto-Burman languages

The Tibeto-Burman family of languages is spoken in various Central Asia, East Asia, South Asia and southeast Asian countries, including Burma , Tibet, northern Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, parts of central China , northern parts of Nepal, eastern parts of Bangladesh , Bhutan, northern parts of Pakistan , and various regions of India ....
 peoples. As such, Bengalis are a homogoneous
Homogeneity

Homogeneity means "being similar throughout".Homogeneity may also refer to:* Homogeneous , a variety of meanings* In statistics homogeneity can refer to...
 but considerably diverse ethnic group with heterogeneous
Heterogeneous

Heterogeneous is an adjective used to describe an object or system consisting of multiple items having a large number of structural variations. It is the opposite of homogeneous, which means that an object or system consists of multiple identical items....
 origins.

They are mostly concentrated in Bangladesh and in the states of West Bengal
West Bengal

West Bengal is a States and territories of India in eastern India. With Bangladesh, which lies on its eastern border, the state forms the ethno-linguistic region of Bengal....
 and Tripura
Tripura

is a States and territories of India in North-East India, with an area of 4,036 square mile or 10,453 km?. Tripura is surrounded by Bangladesh on the north, south, and west....
 in India. There are also a number of Bengali communities scattered in North-East India
North-East India

North-East India refers to the easternmost region of India consisting of the contiguous Seven Sister States, Sikkim, and parts of North Bengal ....
, New Delhi
New Delhi

New Delhi is the capital city of India. With a total area of 42.7 km2, New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi and serves as the seat of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi ....
, and the Indian states of Assam
Assam

Assam ) is a North-East India state of India with its capital at Dispur, in the outskirts of the city Guwahati. Located south of the eastern Himalayas, Assam comprises the Brahmaputra and the Barak River river valleys and the Karbi Anglong District and the North Cachar Hills with an area of 30,285 square miles ....
, Jharkhand
Jharkhand

Jharkhand is a States and territories of India in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar state on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east....
, Bihar
Bihar

Bihar is a States and territories of India in East India. Bihar is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size 38,202 square mile and 3rd largest by population....
, Maharastra, Karnataka
Karnataka

Karnataka is a States and territories of India in the southern part of India. It was Unification of Karnataka on November 1, 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act....
, Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh , abbreviated A.P.,is a state situated on eastern coast of India. It is India's List of states of India by area and List of states of India by population....
, Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a States and territories of India in central India. Its capital is Bhopal. Madhya Pradesh was originally the largest state in India until November 1, 2000 when the state of Chhattisgarh was carved out....
, Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh , [often referred to as U.P.] is a States and territories of India located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 190 million people,...
 and Orissa
Orissa

Orissa , is a states and territories of India located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It was established on 1 April 1936 as a province in British India, and consists, predominantly of Oriya language speakers....
. In addition, there are significant Bengali communities beyond South Asia, in places such as Burma (the Rohingya people
Rohingya people

The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic group of the Northern Rakhine State of Western Burma . The Rohingya population is mostly concentrated in five townships namely Maungdaw, Buthidaung, Akyab, Kyaunktaw and Rathidaung in the northern Rakhine State ....
), the Arab states of the Persian Gulf (Bangladeshis in the Middle East
Bangladeshis in the Middle East

Although Bangladesh only came into existence in 1971, the land which is today Bangladesh has strong ties to the Middle East. Bangladeshis in the Middle East form the largest part of the worldwide Bangladeshi diaspora....
), the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 (in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
London Borough of Tower Hamlets

The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough to the east of the City of London, England and north of the River Thames in East London, England, taking in much of the East End of London....
, 30.5% of the population is British Bangladeshi
British Bangladeshi

A British Bangladeshi is someone of Bangladeshi origin or heritage who resides in the United Kingdom having emigrated to the UK and attained citizenship through naturalisation or whose parents did so....
; some 65,000 people), Malaysia
Malaysia

Malaysia is a federation that consists of States of Malaysia in Southeast Asia with a total landmass of . The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government....
 (Bangladeshis in Malaysia
Bangladeshis in Malaysia

Bangladeshis in Malaysia form a large proportion of Malaysia's foreign labour force. The first migrant workers from Bangladesh are believed to have been a group of 500 who came in 1986 to work on plantations; the two countries concluded a governmental-level agreement on manpower exports in 1992, following which migration expanded sharply....
), the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 (Bangladeshi American
Bangladeshi American

Bangladeshi Americans are individuals of Bangladeshi descent who are citizens of the United States. The overwhelming majority of Bangladeshi Americans are ethnically Bengali people....
s), South Korea
South Korea

South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea , ), often referred to as Korea and the "names of Korea#Revival of the names", is a Semi-presidential system republic in East Asia, located in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula....
, Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
 (Bangladeshi Canadian
Bangladeshi Canadian

Bangladeshi Canadian refers to a Bangladeshi person born in Canada or a Bangladeshi that has migrated to Canada. There is an estimated number of 100,000 Bangladeshi people who live in Canada , primarily in provinces like Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec, & Alberta....
s), Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
 (Bangladeshis in Japan
Bangladeshis in Japan

form one of the smaller populations of foreigners in Japan. As of 2005, Japan's Ministry of Justice recorded 11,055 Bangladeshi nationals among the total population of registered foreigners in Japan....
), and many other countries.

History


Ancient history