“An Assignment for The MID TERM

EXAM ”
Bangladesh Studies
SOC 102

Submitted to:

Farzana Mahbub

Assistant professor

Faculty of Business Administration

Submitted by:
Name ID
Shajnin Akter Mitu 162200006

6th June, 2020

Eastern University
Question 1(A): Show all the territorial units of ancient Bengal had in common.

The historic term ‘Janapad’ means human settlement. The sources of ancient Bengal
suggest that, in the earliest period Bengal was divided among various tribes or kingdoms which
are known as the Janapadas. The ancient Janapadas are as follows:

 Banga
 Pundra
 Gaura
 Radha
 Somotate
 Horkel
The name of these Janapads ware purely descriptive and had no ethnic connection. These
Janapads are inhabited by non-Aryan people.  The Hindu sources like : the Mohabharat
and other Bhedic literature are the primary sources about these human settlements.

The Banga:
The Banga is an ancient human settlement situated in Eastern Bengal. But its
geographical connotation varied in different periods of history. The Hindu literatures
indicate that the Banga is sea-faring nation and its realm extended up to the sea. They
also mentioned that this is an area where finest quality white & soft cotton fabrics were
produced. There was a coastal area approachable from the sea in the territory of Banga.
From the above mentioned references, Banga appears to be an area of south and
southeastern part of present Bangladesh.

The Pundra  
The Pundra or Pundranagara is the earliest urban centre in Bangladesh, which goes back
to the 4th century BC. The ruins of this have been identified at Mahasthan in Bogra
district. It continued to be the headquarters of the administration of Maurya, Gupta and
Pals. It was the capital of Pundrabardhan Bhukti under the Gupta rule. The famous China
visitor’ Hiuen-tsang’' visited this place in the 7th century AD.
Pundra was situated on the western bank of the Karatoya. It was well connected with
other parts of Bengal through land and river routes. For this connection it was an
important centre of trade and commerce throughout the ancient period.
Pundra continued its importance after the Hindu regime and in the early Muslim period.
The famous Muslim saint Shah Sultan Balkhi Mahisawar established his Khankah here.  

The Gauda
As an ancient human settlement, Gauda is the important Janopad of Bengal. The
discovered evidence suggests that ancient Gauda located at coastal region. The famous &
the first independent ruler of Gauda  is Shashanka. He ruled Gauda at the 7th century AD
and his capital was the Karnasuborna which is located at present Murshidabad district.
The Janapad of Gauda lay to the west of Bhagirathi and that its core area was
Murshidabad.
In the 13th century, under the Sultans, Gauda denoted the entire area of the Muslim
sultanate. Its capital also called Gaur or Lakhnaboti, located at present Chapai
Nawabgonj district.

The Radha (ra-ro)

Radha is the ancient human settlement of Bengal. It is difficult to locate exactly its
geographical position. But historical sources suggest that Radha is the west-southern part
of ancient Bengal.
Howrah, Hughli and Burdwan in West Bengal are some areas of ancient Radha.

The Somotate
Samatate is an ancient territorial unit in ancient Bengal.  Chinese traveler Hiuen-tsang
visited Samatat at 7th century AD. As per his account, it was the South-eastern part of
Bengal and was a Buddhist cultural centre. The archaeological discoveries in the Lalmai-
Mainamati area, it can now be stated with certainty that Samatata was formed at
Comilla-Noakhali areas and the adjacent parts of hilly Tripura.
 The Harikel
Harikel is another geographical entity in ancient Bengal. But it is so difficult to locate it.
Most of the evidence support that Harikel is the similar with our present Sylhet region.
Another archeological evidence suggests its location at present Chittagong district.
Harikel was situated by the side of Samatat.

Question 1(B): Enumerate the modern survivals of ideas and practices typical of ancient
Bengal.

Let’s compare the ancient ideas and practices to the modern Bengal to see how many of them
servived :

Ancient Survival status in modern era

Agriculture was the main occupation in the Survived. Still agriculture is the main
ancient Bengal . occupation in modern Bengal.
Village weavers produced fabrics in Survived. Still this art survived in the people
handlooms. of Bengal, but due to modernization it is
pretty close to extinction.
Market, Baazar and business grew up by the Survived, Still we see many market, bazaar
side of river. and industrial areas in the side of river.
Men wear Dhooti and Chadar and women Extinct It is no longer survived in modern
wore saree and orna as attire. Bengal, Now people of Bengal wear pant and
shirt and women wear Kameez.
Married women used to put delicate red spot Extinct. Though it was a Hindu tradition but
with vermilion on their forehead and wiped now Hindus also don’t do that.
off after death of husband.
Fashionable for men to keep long hair. Extinct. Now men keep short hair most of the
time.
Both men and women wore rings and studs in Extinct. Now only women wear these
their ears, rings on their fingers, necklace and
hair ornaments.
Chess and dice were most common games. Extinct. Now cricket is most common game.
Bulling’s , Arts , Architect Not survived.

So here you can see that few of the ancient ideas and practices still exist in modern era.
Question 3: The battle of Pallashy has unlimited importance in the politics of Bengal even in
the whole subcontinent – Justify the statement.

The Battle of Palashi is considered as an important part of Indian history. These might be the few
things which make it a major event.

The Battle of Palashi took place on 23rd June 1757 in Palashi on the banks of river Bhagirathi.
With its victory over the Nawab Siraj Ud Daula, who was supported by the French troops, the
British East India Company (EIC) annexed Bengal. This resulted in strengthening of the
Company’s influence over the place which gradually expanded to the rest of India in next
hundred years.

Behind the battle, there was conspiracy between Mir Jafar (Commander-in-Chief of Nawab’s
army) and Robert Clive (Commander-in-Chief of British EIC). After the victory, EIC made Mir
Jafar the Nawab of Bengal. Mir Jafar was later replaced by Mir Qasim, due to his disobedience
towards EIC. Mir Qasim became a puppet in the hands of British, which let them gain control
over Bengal further.

Also, with this battle, British could defeat French and gain control over Northern Circars (north-
eastern coast). It also crushed the Dutch EIC, which in support to Mir Jafar, had sent seven huge
ships. The British gained confidence and continued to wage wars in South India(Deccan and
Hyderabad) in late 1700s. This eventually led the power into British EIC hands as the French and
Dutch couldn’t bear it’s audacity. Along with these, the war also led to puppet governments in
many parts of India.

India started going into hands of British with the Battle of Plassey.

The Battle of Plassey was a decisive victory of the British East India company over the Nawab

of Bengal and his French allies. The battle consolidated the company’s rule in Bengal by
defeating one of the strongest dynasties of the time. It was the first major event of East India
company meddling into Indian politics and establish political supremacy over Indian provinces.

It was the beginning of the political supremacy of the British as

 Sovereignty of British over Calcutta was recognized and established. The free trade and
revenue from Bengal provided the company resources to expand their rule.
 British were able to install a puppet nawab ‘Mir Jafar’ who gave them 
o A large sum of money as war compensation which was used by the British in their
future conquests.
o Zamindari rights of Bengal paraganas which upheld the taxing rights of British.
o Allowed the British to maintain their army at the expense of Bengal (which later
developed into subsidiary alliance by Wellesley).
o Robert Clive controlled the political affairs of the Bengal who appointed a
resident to assist (aka control) Mir Jafar in administration.
  It resulted in the ousting of the French from Bengal and left British without any rivals in
economic exploitation of Bengal.
 It displayed the military supremacy of the British which helped in subsequent diplomatic
efforts in expansion of British Empire.
 Further, it is on the success of Battle of Plassey, British built upon their military power
and allies which helped to defeat rivals in subsequent wars like Battle of Buxar etc.,
 It was after the Battle of Plassey (and later Battle of Buxar) Robert Clive started to
introduce the political administration of British in India. This later evolved into
regulating act of 1773 and so on. 

Thus, the British started to control the politics of Bengal and began to rule.

Battle of Plassey was of immense historical importance. It paved the way for the British mastery
of Bengal and eventually whole of India. As Historian Edward Thompson noted, it boosted
British prestige and the rich revenues of Bengal enabled them to organize a strong army. It also
played a decisive role in Anglo-French rivalry and made the British the only contender of the
Indian empire.

So we can say that, the battle of Pallashy has unlimited importance in the politics of Bengal
even in the whole subcontinent.
Question 4 : Account the progress made in education in the age of renaissance.

Referred to as the Bengal Renaissance, the 19th century is considered to have been a time of
transition from medieval to modern in a number of fields, including literature, religion, social
reform, political leanings and scientific discoveries. During this time Bengal formed part of
undivided India under British rule, and the Renaissance is said to have begun with Indian
religious, educational and social reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy (22 May 1772-27 September
1833) who pushed the boundaries of traditional Hindu culture and advocated progress for Indian
society even though under the rule of the British. Together with Dwarkanath Tagore of the
influential Tagore family of Kolkata, as well as other prominent Bengalis, Ram Mohan Roy
established the Brahmo Sabha in 1828, which later become the societal aspect of Brahmo
religion referred to as Brahmo Samaj. It is generally agreed that the Bengal Renaissance period
ended with the death of Rabindranath Tagore in 1941, but it is also acknowledged that many
staunch supporters of the Renaissance continued to encourage progress in different fields.

The intellectual awakening that took place during the time of the Bengal Renaissance has been
compared to the 16th century European Renaissance, although it must be noted that Europeans
did not face the challenges of colonialism as was the case with Bengal under British rule. In the
case of the Bengal Renaissance there was a questioning of practices such as the burdensome
dowry system, the unjust caste system and the constraints of some religious beliefs. It was during
this time too, that one of the Bengal region’s first social movements came into being, as the
Young Bengals promoted atheism and rationalism as a code of conduct to level the caste system.

With Ram Mohan Roy and Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar leading the way, the Bengal Renaissance
produced a wealth of Bengali literature. Prominent literary figures at the time included Bengali
poet, writer and journalist Bankim Chandra Chatterjee (1838-1894), and later Saratchandra
Chatterjee (1876-1938). With a specific interest in educational reform, the Tagore family was
very influential and active in the Bengal Renaissance. Rabindranath Tagore became the first
Asian to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, awarded to him in 1913 for his English translation of
poems titled the Gitanjali.

Scientific advances during the Bengal Renaissance included pioneering work in a number of
fields by Bengali physicist, biologist, archeologist, botanist and science fiction writer Jagadish
Chandra Bose. Other notable Bengali and Indian scientists from this era are Satyendra Nath
Bose, Meghnad Saha and Upendranath Brahmachari.
Certainly, the Bengal Renaissance was an exciting time in Bengali history, with contributions by
innovative and motivated people benefiting subsequent generations.

Women enrollment in academia is another fascinating feature of this era of enlightenment.

Begum Rokeya (1880-1932), a polymath with a gusto and the pioneer feminist of Bengal,
Kadambini Ganguli (1861-1923), one of the first two female graduates of India and entire British
Empire as well as the first south Asian female physician trained in western medicine, Lila Nag
(1900-1970), the first post-graduated from University of Dhaka and notable activist in Indian
independence and many others can be named who have proved their worth in the male
dominated intellectual and futuristic society. But the reversal of the penny was still unseen. At
the dawn of twentieth century, a devastating set-back started to get its formation. In the process
of the revival of self-actualization, conflict over communal difference, even among the scholars,
got an acute picture which resulted in the ‘partition of Bengal’ in 1905.
Though it was diminished in 1911, but the partition among the people of Bengal got nonetheless
any distortion.

SO from the above discussion you can understand the progress of education in the time of
renaissance.