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Bangal is a term used to refer to the people of East Bengal (usually from regions around Dhaka and Barisal), now in Bangladesh (as opposed to the Ghotis of West Bengal). The term is used to describe Bengalis from the east, who are marked by a distinct accent.

Some of the people from East Bengal, mainly Hindus, migrated to West Bengal during the Partition of India in 1947. These refugees were sometimes referred to as Bangals by the native population of West Bengal.

The terms Ghoti and Bangal are mostly used in West Bengal while in Bangladesh, the usage of these is rare except in regions with relatively high concentrations of immigrants from West Bengal.

Amongst the high-caste Bengali Hindus, "Bangal" and "Ghoti" are used as social sub-groups. Those whose families came from East Bengal at the time of Partition are Bangals and those whose families were staying in West Bengal at that time are Ghotis.Similarly the people who came West Bengal from East Bengal Before the Independence of India,1947 are also known as Ghotis as they were staying in West Bengal, India at the time of Independence. The term as used here has little relation to actual geography, since most members of these groups all now live in India. Historically, in addition to marrying within their castes, people from these groups also preferred to marry within the group, whether Bangal or Ghoti.

Bangals and Ghotis keep up their cultural rivalry through their respective support of the football clubs East Bengal (Bangals) and Mohun Bagan (Ghotis). They also cherish a rivalry through claim of supremacy of their respective cuisines and especially river-food delicacies, i. e., Chingri (prawn) for Ghotis and Ilish (hilsa) for Bangals.

References

A social history of Indian football: striving to score. Routledge. 2006. pp. 92–95. ISBN 0415348358. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

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 '''Bangal''' is a term used to refer to the people of [[East Bengal]] (usually from regions around [[Dhaka]] and [[Barisal]]), now in [[Bangladesh]] (as opposed to the [[Ghotis]] of [[West Bengal]]). The term is used to describe Bengalis from the east, who are marked by a distinct accent.
+Some of the people from East Bengal, mainly [[Hindu]]s, migrated to West Bengal during the [[Partition of India]] in 1947. These refugees were sometimes referred to as Bangals by the native population of West Bengal.
-Some of the people from East Bengal, mainly [[Hindu]]s, migrated to West Bengal during the [[Partition of India]] in 1947. These refugees were sometimes referred to as Bangals by the native population of West Bengal. The partition of Bengal entailed the greatest exodus of people in human history. Millions of Hindus migrated from East Pakistan to India but few Muslims went across the borders from secular India to East Pakistan. Because of the immigration of the refugees, there occurred the crisis of land and food in West Bengal; and such condition remained in long duration for more than three decades. Hindus made up 30% of the total population of [[East Bengal]] in 1947. However, after the [[Partition of India|partition]], the Hindu population went down to 19% in 1961.<ref name="saikia">Saikia, Jaideep, [http://acdis.illinois.edu/assets/docs/257/TerrorsansFrontiersIslamicMilitancyinNorthEastIndia.pdf Terror Sans Frontiers: Islamic Militancy in North East India], Appendix 5, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, July 2003.</ref> On 1991, it was down to 10.5%<ref>http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3452.htm</ref> and on 2001 census, it was 9.2% which is estimated to be further down to 8% at 2008. The 'Bangladesh Government' is mute spectator.<ref>http://hrcbm.org/</ref> Due to high growth rate of Muslims deluging others by numbers alone, already Bengal region turned Muslim majority in 1931 which was 52% Hindu majority in 1921 census. Later, in 1941 census on whose basis, Partition was made showed 45.5% Hindus & now 28% in entire Bengal region comprising West Bengal & Islamic Bangladesh. On the other hand due to secularism, the Muslim population in the neighbouring West Bengal has increased from 9% in 1951 (down from 19% in 1941 due to influx of Hindu Refugees from Bangladesh) to thriving 28% in 2001 according to Census of India. In addition, millions (even Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics census accepted 10 million missing Bangladeshis<ref>http://www.bharatvani.org/books/tfst/appii1.htm</ref>) of additional Muslim Bangladeshi illegal infiltrators<ref>http://books.google.co.in/books?id=G9XfpVlLfHoC&pg=PA41&lpg=PA41&dq=Bangladesh+census+10+million+missing&source=bl&ots=trcaA8irEx&sig=5nEs85E61kT2jp8GOCekf_OHVOE&hl=en&ei=gGUKTMe5N8-9rAfImJC4DQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CDMQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=Bangladesh%20census%2010%20million%20missing&f=false</ref> for work purposes & invasion of east India like they earlier did to Bangladesh during Islamic [[Turk]] & [[Afghan]] invasions. took their numbers to around 35% in West Bengal.<ref>http://koenraadelst.bharatvani.org/books/demogislam/part2.html</ref> Naturally, Hindu MLAs of West Bengal region of Assembly during 1947 Partition, returned a 58-21 verdict in the favour of partition to save Hindu Bengali & forming West Bengal as Hindu Bengali Homeland which was later proved by Pakistan (then Bangladesh was [[East Pakistan]]) Hindu Minister [[Jogendra Nath Mandal]]'s resignation.<ref>http://mayerdak.com/jnmandal.htm</ref>
-Main issue based on which the Hindu–Muslim polarization was taking place in undivided Bengal from 1945 to 1947 was the Muslim League’s Pakistan demand. In northern Bengal, the [[Kamtapur]]is or Koch-Rajbansis, supported by the Scheduled Caste Federation leader Jogendranath Mandal, raised the demand for ‘Rajasthan’ (separate from modern western Indian state by same name which was then known as [[Rajputana]] after its native Rajput people) or a separate Rajbansi Kshatriya homeland. As per 1941 census, Rajbanshi & Namashudra were the second and third largest caste in Bengal. Their homelands with over 60% of their ethnic population was concentrated in Dinajpur Region in north & Khulna Region in south respectively. Unfortunately both Hindu majority Northwest & Southwest Bangladesh were given to Muslims who comprising only 54.5% of entire Bengal in 1946-47 got 72% of Bengal land after Partition, later giving rise to [[Bangabhumi]] demands both in southern Khulna & northern Dinajpur regions from mainly Namashudra<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jogendra_Nath_Mandal</ref> & Rajbanshi-Koch communities respectively. Inspite of heavy [[persecution of Hindus]] by Muslim majority<ref>http://mayerdak.com/jnmandal.htm</ref> the Northwest Bangladesh still have 18% Hindus compared to 50.5% during 1947 Partition & Southwest Bangladesh 16.5% approximately compared to 52% in same period which were both wrongfully given to Islamic Bangladesh (earlier [[East Pakistan]]). [[Anti-Hinduism]] has wiped out millions of these Bengali Hindus and now Muslims form around 72% of Bengali population in Bengal region comprising [[West Bengal]] & [[Bangladesh]]. However, after [[Direct Action Day]] & [[Noakhali genocide]] Bengali Muslim majority made it clear that minority indigenous Hindus can't leave in peace with them resulting in [[1947 Partition of Bengal]]. A survey by [[Amrita Bazar Patrika]] in early May 1947 showed that 98.5 per cent of the Bengali Hindus supported Partition. On 10 May 1947 at Jatiya Banga Mahasammelan, attended by 10,000 people, [[Shyama Prasad Mukherjee]] declared if Partition could not be secured constitutionally, Bengali Hindus would fight for same. Every Hindu locality was turned into a bastion under protection of volunteers. Mahasabha held its annual provincial conference at Tarakeswar on 4–6 April 1947, where Hindu leaders as [[Bhopatkar]], Shyama Prasad Mukherjee and [[Master Tara Singh]] spoke. Preparations were made, as in the final Hindu conference, said its handbill, ‘the Hindus of Bengal…[were to] decide their future.’ Several petitions from the Muslim inhabitants of Tarakeswar and other neighbouring police stations & also local Muslim MLA tried unsuccessfully to stop the meeting, attended by about 25,000 people. In his presidential address, [[Nirmal Chandra Chatterjee]] provided justification & blue print of the 1947 Partition of Bengal. 'Every Bengalee Hindu’, he said, ‘whatever may be his political belief or party affiliation, wants to remain a citizen of the Indian Union and resents the very idea of being the subject of a theocracy, namely, a Muslim Pakistan State.’ So as the Muslim League ‘persisted in its fantastic idea of establishing Pakistan in Bengal’, the Hindus should demand a separate homeland for themselves, consisting of the Hindu majority areas, which were, ‘the Presidency Division, Burdwan Division, Calcutta, Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling along with portions of Malda, Dinajpur and Barisal remaining within the Indian Union.’<ref>CASTE, CULTURE AND HEGEMONY - SOCIAL DOMINATION IN COLONIAL BENGAL by SEKHAR BANDYOPADHYAY, Sage Publications Inc, 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, California 91320, Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data, Page 221-233</ref> The politics of West Bengal since the partition in 1947 developed round the nucleus of refugee problem. Both the Rightists and the Leftists in the Politics of West Bengal have not yet become free from the socio-economic conditions created by the partition of Bengal. These conditions as have remained unresolved in some twisted forms have given birth to local socio-economic, political and ethnic movements.<ref>Dr. Sailen Debnath, 'West Bengal in Doldrums'ISBN 978-81-86860-34-2; & Dr. Sailen Debnath ed. Social and Political Tensions In North Bengal since 1947, ISBN 81-86860-23-1</ref>
-In addition, a new amendment in the citizenship law<ref>http://www.indianembassy.org/consular/Overseas_Citizen/para7.htm</ref> of India has passed, restricting Bangladeshis and Pakistanis to become Indian citizens. Therefore, the refugees, who entered India after the creation of Pakistan (including 1971) have become illegal in India.
-[[Ziaur Rahman]] amended the Enemy Property Act giving the government the sole power to control the disputed lands of the minorities.<ref name="bhowmik">Bhowmik, N. C.,[http://drishtipat.org/HRLaw/vested2.htm Repeal Enemy (Vested) Property Act for National Interest]</ref> As a result of the amendments, the government started to capture the lands of the minorities by the name of hunting down the enemy properties.
-Salam Azad, a staunch opponent of Islamic Jihadis and an internationally renowned [[humanist]]<ref>http://www.unbconnect.com/component/news/task-show/id-16781</ref> has written 150-page book, "Hindu Sampraday Keno Bangladesh Tag Korche" (Why are the Hindus migrating from Bangladesh), where he mentions, "The ones described in this book relate to the period between 1989 and 1997. Thousands of such instances will never come to the notice of the world, because they have not been recorded or the records have not been preserved. The ones described in this book are collected from journals and newspapers, and from workers of non-governmental organisations working among the victims. I have tried to visit some of the locations in order to check the correctness of the reports. Wherever I have done so, I have been struck by the enormity of the crime, I have been shaken to my roots."<ref>http://www.unbconnect.com/component/news/task-show/id-16781</ref> Similarly, people like Dr. [[Humayun Azad]] and [[Taslima Nasrin]] talked about the rights of Hindus in Bangladesh.
 The terms [[Ghotis|Ghoti]] and Bangal are mostly used in [[West Bengal]] while in [[Bangladesh]], the usage of these is rare except in regions with relatively high concentrations of immigrants from West Bengal.

Revision as of 08:11, 12 June 2010

See also

References