Land and People of

Bangladesh
Bangladesh is a delta – characterized by plain land,
mighty rivers, deep forests and Hills. Rising from the
Himalayas in the north, some of the greatest and mightiest
rivers of the world flow through Bangladesh and empty
them in the Bay of Bengal. Names of the Ganges, Padma,
Brahamaputra , the Jumna and Meghna are as familiar in
Bangladesh as throughout the world. They are still the
makers and breakers of life of the people of Bangladesh.
HIMALAYAS AND BANGLADESH
 Forests
• Forest - There are forests in the centre and
southern parts of Bangladesh. The Madhupur
Jungle/ Garh in the centre and the Sundarbans
in the south had great forests dominating the life
of the people of Bangladesh. They were the
world of animal life providing the environmental
balance of the country. The Sundarbans often
protected people from the fury of cyclones. But
these forest areas have diminished due to
human encroachment.
It became inscribed as a UNESCO world heritage site in 1997, but while the Bangladeshi
and Indian portions constitute the same continuous ecotope, these are separately listed
in the UNESCO world heritage list as the Sundarbans and Sundarbans National Park,
respectively. The Sundarbans is intersected by a complex network of tidal waterways,
mudflats and small islands of salt-tolerant mangrove forests. The area is known for the
eponymous Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), as well as numerous fauna
including species of birds, spotted deer, crocodiles and snakes, dominating the life of the
people. The Sunderbans often protected people from the fury of cyclones..
sundarbans
 Natural Calamities and disasters
• Natural Calamities and disasters
• Because of climatic condition and geographical location
Bangladesh is prone to natural calamities and disasters.
Man- made calamities have recently become even more
worse. There are instances of major catastrophes in the
past like floods, earthquakes, tornados and cyclones.
The floods and cyclone in the south of Bangladesh in
November (10 ) 1970 killing some 500,000 people led
eventually to the independence movement of
Bangladesh.
Cyclones
 Origin of the Name of Bengal
• ________________________________
• Origin of the name Bengal – The earliest name
of Eastern and Southern Bengal was Banga or
Bangal. West Bengal was called Rarh and North
Bengal as Pundravardhan, Varendra,
Laukhnauti and Gaur. The name Bangala to the
whole region was given during the Muslim period
particularly from the time of Shams al-Din Ilyas
Shah ( 1342-57 ).
SONARGAON
 Races
• Races
• The Bangas, Pundras ( Pundras were the ancient people of North-
Bengal ) and other earliest peoples of Bengal belonged to the non-
Aryan and non-Dravidian stock . Though there is a controversy over
the origin of the Bengali people it is generally believed that they
belong to the Austro- Asiatic or Austric group. Though the Mongolo-
Dravidian origins of the people of Bengal are rejected by many
scholars, it is believed that Dravidian and Mongolian speaking
people had settled in Bengal. After the Dravidian and Mongolian the
Homo- Alpinus, the people of the Alpines and Palmers came and
settled in Bengal. They were not however, Aryans. The Aryan
people began to come to Bengal from c. 1000 B.C. They came with
their superior language, intellect and various kinds of talents. They
established the Aryan civilization and culture in India as well as in
Bengal.
• [ Aryan God ]
 The Coming of the Muslims
• After the Aryans came the Muslims from the
Middle East and Abyssinians from Africa. From
the 17th century came the Europeans.
• The Chittagong Hill Tracts became the abode of
the various tribes of Sino-Indian descent from
the 15th century.
• Thus with the settlements of peoples of different
race and culture Bengal became a melting pot of
many diverse nationalities giving rise to
characteristics typical of her own.
 JANAPADAS
• Janapadas
• There existed no united or single state of
Bangladesh in ancient age. It was divided into
some small regions. Each region was identified
as a separate Janapada or principality (human
settlements). These Janapadas were always in
conflicts and war with one another. As a result
sometimes their boundaries expanded and
sometimes reduced. These Janapadas are
Pundra, Varendra, Banga, Samatata, Harikel,
Gour, and Rarh.
 PUNDRA

• The Pundra or Pundranagara is the earliest urban centre

of Bangladesh which dates back to the 4th century B.C.
The ruins of this have been identified at Mahasthan in
Bogra district. The ancient Pundra comprised of the
present Rajshahi, Bogra, Dinajpur and Rangpur districts.
The area was called Pundra because a race of people
known as Pundra lived here. Mahasthangarh was
another name of the area where Chinese traveler Hiuen-
Tsang visited in the 7th century. It was a capital and a
centre of administration during the Maurya (c. 321–185
bce) , Gupta(320 C.E-55o C.E.) and Pala ((750–1174 A.
D ) empires.
Mahasthangarh
 Varendra

• Varendra –
• Parts of Rajshahi,
Rangpur and Bogra of
modern days.
 BANGA

• The South Eastern part of present Bangladesh was

known as Banga. A race named Banga inhabited this
region. Territories included were the greater districts of
Dhaka, Comilla, Faridpur, Barisal and Patuakhali. The
Banga kings and the warriors earned great name and
fame in those days. The Hindu literary sources indicate
the Banga is a sea-faring nation. They also mentioned
that this is an area where the finest quality white and soft
cotton fabrics were produced.
• [ Slide of Vikrakpur or Dhaka ] Sonargaon and Muslin
MASLIN
 SAMATATA
• Samatata – Comilla- Noakhali
• This territory was situated in the south western part of
Bengal. The large coastal belt emanating from the
eastern bank of the Bhagirathi to the mouth of Meghna
constituted this territory. The Chinese traveler Hiuen-
Tsang visited Samatata in the 7th century A.D. He
mentioned that the Samatata was a centre of Buddhist
culture. The archaeological discoveries in the Lalmai-
Mainamati area confirm that the area comprised of
modern Comilla- Noakhali and the adjacent part of the
hilly Tipperah.
• [ slide of Comilla- Mainamati ]
Samatata
 Harikel
• Harikel
• Most of the literary and archaeological
evidence indicate that the area was
situated in the modern Sylhet and
Chittagong districts.
• [ Slide of old Sylhet-Chittagong area ]
 The Chandanpura Masjid at old part part (north) of
Chittagong and The Chandanpura Masjid at old Gour
Gobinda Fort, Sylhet
 GOUR
• Gour
• The Gour region comprised of the central parts of present day West
Bengal. In the early years of the Muslim rule the kingdom of
Laukhnauti was situated in this region and Gour was the capital of
this kingdom. In the 13th century Gour was the capital of the entire
Muslim Sultanate.
• It is believed that the areas which are now known as Maldah,
Murshidad, Birbhum and Burdwan were called Gour Janapada in
the ancient period. The famous and the first independent King of
Gour was Sashanka. He ruled Gour in the 7th century and his
capital was Karnasubarna which was situated adjacent to the
present day Murshidabad city.
• [ Slide of Gour ]
Murshidabad-Katra-Mosque
Gaur, Malda, West Bengal
 RARH
• It is now believed that Rarh of the ancient
days was the south- western part of
ancient Bengal.
• Howrah, Hughli and Burdwan are some
areas of ancient Rarh. The river Ajay
divided this region into two parts namely
North and South Rarh.
• [ Slide of Burdwan and Ajoy River ]
Burdwan at Map
Ancient Bengal/ Modern Bengal
• With the passage of time most of these ancient
Janapadas were integrated and united into the land of
Bengal. The Janapadas maintained their sovereign
status until the rise of the Maurya and Gupta empires.
After centuries of separate existence these were
integrated into one sovereign state under the Muslim
rule. The name of these Janapadas is purely descriptive
and had no ethnic connotation. These Janapadas were
inhabitated by non- Aryan people. The ancient epics like
Mohabharat and other Vedic literature are the principal
sources of information about these Janapadas.
BENGAL KINGDOM
Bengal