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Course Code: Hst 103

Students Name: Sanjit Kumer Chanda

ID:11109036

Sec: 1


































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1. What are the main areas of ancient Bengal ? What are the present regions where Pundra,
vanga, Harikela etc was?

The ancient Bengal was divided in different parts:
Vanga,
Pundra,
Harikela,
Gaur,
Samatata.

Vanga was mainly the southern part of present Bnagladesh. Some of the parts of West
Bengal of present India are also included.

Pundra was the name of Northern parts of present Bnagladesh. Bogra, Rangpur etc of the
recent Bangladesh and Bihar of present India are located in Pundra region.

Harikela was mainly the name of the coastal areas of present Bnagladesh. Chittagong and
its surroundings are included in this part.

Gaur was mainly named the Western part of present Bangladesh. Most of the areas of
Gaur is now under the present India like the part of Orrisha.


2. What was the ethnic identity of the people who lived in ancient Bengal ? Was it a people of
mixed identities? Names some of them?


In the ancient time, there were no single ethnic identity found in the people in Bengal.
The existance of numerous and varied ethic groups can be indentified in the mixed blood
of the Bengalis:
Mainly four principal ethnic groups of the world came to Bengal in different
times:
Negroid,
Mongoloid,
Caucasoid,
Australoid.

Aforesaid mentioned ethic groups are found along with Dravidians, Veddas in Bengal.





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3. Who were the rulers of ancient Bengal? What was their ethnic identity? Were they local or
from outside Bengal and how did it influence our history.

The rulers of ancient Bengal were :
1. Sasanka,
2. Gopala,
3. Dharmapala,
4. Devapala,
5. Ramapala,
6. Vijayasena,
7. Vallalasena,
8. Laksmanasena,
9. Vishvarupasena,
10. Bakhtiyar Khalji,
11. Iliyas Shahi,
12. Husain Shahi,
13. Sher Khan (Sher Shah),
14. Mughal (Akbor).

Sasanka, Gopalas, Palas,Senas were Aryans.
Khalji and Shahi were Turko Afghans.
Sher Khan was Afghan.
Mughal was Turko Parsian.



They all were from outside bengal, hence our identities have shifted from popular
versions of Buddhism, Hinduism, Islamism, Bengali, etc. Each are incomplete and often in self
conflict. More than constructing our own identity we create one in response to a threat to our
livelihood. We moved from Tantric Buddhists to Hindus to Muslim Bengalis to Bengali Muslims
to Bengalis that finally led to Bangladesh in response to threats to survival and not a conscious
search for identity. We have never participated in our ruling, our trade, our cultural construction
which were in the hands of outsiders, outside Bengal or India. Our survival has depended on how
we negotiate nature or invaders. We are a mix but not by choice. We have had to deal with Aryans,
Karnataks, Turko-Afghans, Mughals, Brits, Pakistanis and finally Bangladeshis as rulers.








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4. What was the religious faith of the Bengal rulers such as Sasanka, Palas, Senas etc. Did they
force religion upon the people or they patronized the practices of the local people?

Sasanka: The first independent ruler in the post Maurya-Gupta period was Sasanka, an
Aryan Brahmin chieftain. He patronized the religious practices of the local people.
Palas: He was an Aryan Khatriya who built a Buddhist power network. This period
generated an environment of religious toleration in Bengal and we notice an atmosphere of
Hindu-Buddhist amity and co-existence.
Senas: Senas were Brahmin- Khatryias from Karnatak who replaced the Palas. The Sena
rulers were Hindus and their rule is considered to be a period of revival of Hinduism in Bengal.
Vallalasena is known to have attempted the establishment of an orthodox Hindu social order with
caste rigidity. It was an attempt to bring back Hindu caste system in a society that had long lived
in a social surroundings of religious toleration and Hindu-Buddhist amity. The decline of
Buddhism in Bengal may begin due to this change in social order.


5. 'Bengal is a conquered people, never in charge of their own rule'. Explain this statement with
examples.


The first independent ruler in the post Maurya-Gupta period was Sasanka, an Aryan
Brahmin chieftain (590-625). Then, after the period of anarchy (matsanyam) Gopala became the
chief ruler (750 AD). He was an Aryan Khatriya who built a Buddhist power network and
patronized the Nalanda University. People practiced a loose mix of animism, Tantric Buddhism
etc. Next, Senas were Brahmin- Khatryias from Karnatak who replaced the Palas. Introduced or
strengthened caste system. Hindu period of Bengal (1095-1208). Later, Turko- Afghan Muslims
replaced the Senas (1200-1500). Next, The big social change came with the Mughal particularly
Akbar. Then, the British took over in 1757 and finally Bangladeshis as rulers after defeating
Pakistan in the Liberation War of Bangladesh at 1971.
We have never participated in our ruling, our trade, our cultural construction which were
in the hands of outsiders, outside Bengal or India. From above statement, it is clear that Bengalis
have never experienced self rule. Aryans, South Indians, Turkics, Afghans, Ethiopians, Brits,
Pakistani have all ruled us but not us until the Liberation War of Bangladesh at 1971.






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6. What was the greatest significance of Turko-Afghan rule in terms of social features? How did
syncreticism help them rule over an alien people?

During Turko-Afghan period things changed greatly and the rudiments of a well-organised
system of administration statred to take shape. Bengals economy also made great strides during
this time. There was remarkable prosperity in agriculture, industries and commerce. The
abundance of agricultural and industrial products and the large volume of trade, both external and
internal, evoked the wonder and admiration of foreign merchants and travellers. Great changes
also took place in the field of art and architecture. Later, more new forms of art emerged which
surviving specimens of fine arts and architecture indicate an advanced stage of development and
seem to reflect the prosperity of the period.

Turko- Afghan Muslims replaced the Senas. The religious life of the period had a number
of distinct element such as Islam, Vaisnavism, Tantricism, Manasa, Nath and Dharma cults. As
various religious people lived together on that period, they didnt progress to the way of convert
rather encouraged syncretism because they had to set up networks from zero. Turko- Afghan was
the first ruler who introduce Muslim in Bengal and on that period not only Muslim but also Hindu
religious people reside in Bengal. If they tried to impose conversion, they know that it will failed
and their dream to ruled Bengal will be lost forever. Hence, they choose the easy and risk free way
of syncretism. They emphasize dualism rather than monism.












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8. What was the economic situation under Turko-Afghan rule? Did it attract external colonial
attention? Was the intention of foreign traders like the Arabs and the Portuguese different from
each other?

Bakhtiyar Khalji got permission to plunder and take over in 1204 and defeated Lakhsman Sena
and captured Gaud. He consolidated his rule, introduced Islamic institutions and schools to build
a supporters base and placed the area under his trusted generals. He tried to capture Tibet and
failed and soon died. He was followed by a series of CA rulers from various dynasties; power
struggle continued and rulers sat for a short while and would be killed and replaced. Increasingly,
they became independent of Delhi rule. Ghiyasuddin Iwaz Khalji was best known who fought
the Delhi kings twice, lost and was killed. Muslim rule doesnt mean monolithic Islamic rule. The
period 1227 to 1342 was ruled by Delhi through its viceroys. A period of expansion and economic
development linked to a central rule happened. But infighting between the governors also went
on. Remnants of the Senas and other non-Central Asian rules were gone. Finally infighting
increased and it led to the fall of Delhi direct rule and the independent Iliyas Shahi rule in Bengal
followed by the Hossain Shahi rule. The abundance of agricultural and industrial products and the
large volume of trade, both external and internal, evoked the wonder and admiration of foreign
merchants and travellers.


9. How did Islam spread at a large scale in the Bengal delta during the Mughals? Would you agree
that livelihood issues have been central to the rise of the Bengali people and its culture including
their religious identities?

The arrival of newcomers (Bakhtiyar Khaliji, Hossain Shahi,Iliyas Shahi) turned out to be
momentous because it marked the beginning of an era in which Islam was the creed of those who
ruled most of Bengal (and, indeed, most of the Indian subcontinent). This era lasted some five
centuries and is usually referred to as the Sultanate period (up to the sixteenth century), followed
by the the Mughal period, it ended only when the British conquered Bengal in the mid-eighteenth
century. In the sixteenth century, when the Mughal state ruled most of what is now Bangladesh,
the agrarian forntier began to move decisively due to earthquake into the eastern delta. State
officials rode the crest of an ecological change the Ganges shifted its channel to the east (the
current Padma) as the Bengal Basin slowly titled eastwards, a movement that is still contibuing.
As a result the agrarian potential of the eastern delta increased. Hence, Mughal officials
encouraged the clearing of forests and the establishment of wet-rice plough cultivation. Later,
Mugal permits and grants to enterprising colonists who undertook to reclaim land in the eastern
delta and pay taxes in return for land rights. Colonists needed to mobilize labor and this gave the
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edge to charismatic pioneers men with a reputation for religious power and piety. They
introduced an agriculture policy which influence the indigenous population for whom the rigid
caste system of Hinduism had become intolerable. Actually, the policy intend to encourage non -
Muslim poor people to follow Islam by providing them land for cultivation. In other words, those
who grant Islam will provide agriculture land for cultivation and also it will symbolize them as a
higher class in the society. This policy basically provides them way to escape from Hindu caste
system by providing them higher stander in the society and also provides them land to cultivate
which is also a huge economic support to continue their life amicably. Although they did not know
the proper religious way of Islam as Arabic or Portages did but the first Mosque in Bengal was
established in Noakhali, Bangladesh. Their main reason of conversion is to develop their economic
condition and social status rather than religious belief.

10. Explain your own identity on the basis of your own history?
Stryker (2000) points out, there are multiple views of identity within sociology. A single
person may contain various identity. Such as Ethnic, Nationalistic, Linguistics, Religion etc.
Religion:
I am a follower of Hinduism, also known by the name Sanatana-Dharma.
There are four castes in Hindu religion arranged in a hierarchy. The highest caste is Brahman, and
they are the priest caste of Hinduism. After them are the Kshatria, who are the warrior castes. After
them are the Vaishya caste , who are business people. And after them are the Sudra, who are the
common peasants and workers.
Kayastha (also referred to as Kayasth or Kayeth) is a caste or community of Hindus originating in
India. Kayasthas are traditionally considered to be members of the literate scribe caste, who acted
as record-keepers, keepers of public accounts, writers and administrators of the state.
According to the Hindu scriptures known as the Puranas, Kayasthas are descended from
Chitragupta Maharaj, "who was born from the body of Brahma", and is the deity responsible for
recording the deeds of humanity, upholding the rule of law, and judging whether human beings go
to heaven or hell upon death.
Brahmanical religious texts refer to them as a caste of scribes, recruited in the beginning from
the Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya castes. Kayasthas have therefore also been mentioned as a
"mixed caste", combining Brahman-Sudra (lower caste).
In eastern India, Bengali Kayasthas are consider as putative Kshatriyas and mostly Brahmins
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My name is Sanjit Kumer Chanda. My family name is chanda. Chanda belong to Kayastha
Kshatriya.
Nationalistic:
Nationalism is a belief, political ideology that involves an individual identifying with, or becoming
attached to, one's nation. Nationalism involves national identity.
My nationalism is Bangladeshi.
Linguistics:
Language is the human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, and
a language is any specific example of such a system. The scientific study of language is called
linguistics.
I practice Bangla language and charchapad (the first book of bangla lit) which was found in the
Nepal Royal Court Library in 1907.

Ethnic:
An ethnicity, or ethnic group, is a social group of people who identify with each other based on
common ancestral, social, cultural, or national experience.
Ethnically I am Bengali.