Tag: history

Indian National Army was an armed force formed by Mohan Singh in 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II with an aim  to secure Indian independence from British rule. It was formed of Indian soldiers of the British regiment which were taken prisoners by Japan after it occupied Malaya. The first INA collapsed and was disbanded in December that year after differences between the INA leadership and the Japanese military over its role in Japan's war in Asia.

Bengali is a language spoken mostly in the state of Bengal and by Bengalis. Bengali is now recognised as a language derived from Sanskrit, but early Sanskrit texts (mid-first millennium BCE) suggest that the people of Bengal did not speak Sanskritic languages. From the fourth-third centuries BCE, commercial ties began to develop between Bengal and Magadha (south Bihar), which may have led to the growing influence of Sanskrit. During the fourth century the Gupta rulers established political control over north Bengal and began to settle Brahmanas in this area.Thus, the linguistic and cultural influence from the mid-Ganga valley became stronger. In the seventh century the Chinese traveller Xuan Zang observed that languages related to Sanskrit were in use all over Bengal. 

The early settlers in Eastern Bengal who migrated from the more fertile Western Bengal from 16th century onwards, sought some order and assurance in the unstable conditions of the new settlements. These were provided by community leaders, who also functioned as teachers and adjudicators and were sometimes ascribed with supernatural powers. People referred to them with affection and respect as pirs. This term included saints or Sufis and other religious personalities, daring colonisers and deified soldiers, various Hindu and Buddhist deities and even animistic spirits. The cult of pirs became very popular and their shrines can be found everywhere in Bengal.

Early Bengali literature may be divided into two categories one indebted to Sanskrit and the other independent of it. The first includes translations of the Sanskrit epics, the Mangalakavyas (literally auspicious poems, dealing with local deities) and bhakti literature such as the biographies of Chaitanyadeva, the leader of the Vaishnava bhakti movement.The second includes Nath literature such as the songs of Maynamati and Gopichandra, stories concerning the worship of Dharma Thakur, and fairytales, folk tales and ballads.

Bengali is a language spoken mostly in the state of Bengal and by Bengalis. Bengali is now recognised as a language derived from Sanskrit, but early Sanskrit texts (mid-first millennium BCE) suggest that the people of Bengal did not speak Sanskritic languages. From the fourth-third centuries BCE, commercial ties began to develop between Bengal and Magadha (south Bihar), which may have led to the growing influence of Sanskrit.

From the sixteenth century, people began to migrate in large numbers from the less fertile western Bengal to the forested and marshy areas of south-eastern Bengal. As they moved eastwards, they cleared forests and brought the land under rice cultivation. Gradually, local communities of fisher folk and shifting cultivators, often tribals, merged with the new communities of peasants

Bengal also witnessed a temple-building spree from the late fifteenth century, which culminated in the nineteenth century. Temples and other religious structures were often built by individuals or groups who were becoming powerful to both demonstrate their power and proclaim their piety. Many of the modest brick and terracotta temples in Bengal were built with the support of several low social groups, such as the Kolu (oil pressers) and the Kansari (bell metal workers). With the coming of the European trading companies, their socio-economic conditions improved. As their social and economic position improved, they proclaimed their status through the construction of temples.

Bengali is a language spoken mostly in the state of Bengal and by Bengalis. Bengali is now recognised as a language derived from Sanskrit, but early Sanskrit texts (mid-first millennium BCE) suggest that the people of Bengal did not speak Sanskritic languages. From the fourth-third centuries BCE, commercial ties began to develop between Bengal and Magadha (south Bihar), which may have led to the growing influence of Sanskrit. During the fourth century the Gupta rulers established political control over north Bengal and began to settle Brahmanas in this area.Thus, the linguistic and cultural influence from the mid-Ganga valley became stronger.

The early settlers in Eastern Bengal who migrated from the more fertile Western Bengal from 16th century onwards, sought some order and assurance in the unstable conditions of the new settlements. These were provided by community leaders, who also functioned as teachers and adjudicators and were sometimes ascribed with supernatural powers. People referred to them with affection and respect as pirs.