arsenic poisoning in Bangladesh/India

bengal It is not easy to give a historical account of ancient Bengal. It used to be accepted that the Brahmins and other high castes of bengal were descended from the aryans invaders who imposed their culture upon the'primitive barbarian tribes' of Bengal. It is now generally believed that foundation of agricultural-based village life, were laid by the Nishadas or Austric speaking people of Bengal.

For most of its history, the area known as Bangladesh was a political backwater--an observer rather than a participant in the great political and military events of the Indian subcontinent. Historians believe that Bengal, the area comprising present-day Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, was settled in about 1000 B.C. by Dravidian-speaking peoples who were later known as the Bang. Their homeland bore various titles that reflected earlier tribal names, such as Vanga, Banga, Bangala, Bangal, and Bengal.

Bangladesh is a new state in an ancient land. It has been described by an American political scientist as "a country challenged by contradictions". On the face of it, the recent twists and turns of her history are often inconsistent. It is neither a distinct geographical entity, nor a well-defined historical unit. Nevertheless, it is the homeland of the ninth largest nation in the world whose gropings for a political identity were protracted, intense and agonizing. The key to these apparent contradictions lies in her history

The first great indigenous empire to spread over most of present-day India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh was the Mauryan Empire (ca. 320-180 B.C.), whose most famous ruler was Asoka (ca. 273-232 B.C.). Although the empire was well administered and politically integrated, little is known of any reciprocal benefits between it and eastern Bengal. The western part of Bengal, however, achieved some importance during the Mauryan period because vessels sailed from its ports to Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. During the time of the Mauryan Empire, Buddhism came to Bengal, and it was from there that Asoka's son, Mahinda, carried the message of the Enlightened One to Sri Lanka. After the decline of the Mauryan Empire the eastern portion of Bengal became the kingdom of Samatata; although politically independent, it was a tributary state of the Indian Gupta Empire (A.D. ca. 319-ca. 540).

The original inhabitants were non-Aryan. From the historical point of view, Bengal spread over a much larger area than the current political boundaries of the nation of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal. However very little recorded information about the early ages is available. The early history of Bengal is based on the legends and epics and known as heroic. The Bodhayana Dharmasutra made the first unambiguous reference to Vangas as a historical area.The name Bengal is probably derived from Vanga, one of the many names of this region.Historical information about the Bengal region is available only from the Gupta period (320-520 AD). The Guptas ruled from Magadh (modern Bihar) and this period is considered to be the golden age of India. After the decline of the Guptas, the kingdom of Gaur in Bengal became well known. The first known independent Bengal king was Shashanka (circa 606 AD).

The major pre-Aryan racial elements in Bengal were the proto-Austroloids. There is a striking similarity between the language of the aborigines of Bengal and the people in South-East Asia, the archipelago and the aborigines of Australia. The Dravidian languages of South India also belong to proto-Australoid group. Bangladesh, being the frontier of South Asia, also came into contact with the Mongoloid tribes who lived in the adjoining areas. The Mongoloid influence was dominant in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region where Chakmas and other tribes belong to this category.

There is a place in this world-the most beautiful, compassionate.
There the green delta is awash with honey-sweet grass.
Trees have names like jackfruit, aswattha, banyan, jamarul, cashew.
There in clouds at dawn awakes the nata fruitlike red round sun.
There Varuni resides at the mouth of the Ganges-and there Varuna
Yields abundant river waters to the Karnafuli, Dhaleswari, Padma,
Jalangi .
There a white hawk is as full of movement as betel leaves in the wind.
There a spotted owl is as subtly young as the smell of paddy fields.
Jibanananda Das

1. INTRODUCTION

Etymologically, the word Bangladesh is derived from the cognate "Vanga" which was first mentioned in the Hindu scripture Aitareya Aranyaka (composed between 500 B C and 500 A D). Legend has it that Bengal was first colonized by Prince Vanga, the son of King Bali and Queen Sudeshna of the Lunar dynasty. According to linguists, the roots of the term Vanga may be traced to languages in the adjoining areas. One school of linguists maintain that the word "Vanga" is derived from the Tibetan word "Bans" which implies "wet and moist". According to this interpretation, Bangladesh literally refers to a wetland. Another school is of the opinion that the term "Vangla" is derived from Bodo (aborigines of Assam) words "Bang" and "la" which connote "wide plains."

Bangladesh is the frontier of South Asian civilization. It is the natural bridge between South and South East Asia. Because of its location, Bangladesh was the intermediary in trade and commerce between the South Asian sub-continent and the Far East. This region, as a distinguished historian observed, "played an important part in the great cultural association between the diverse civilizations of Eastern and South Eastern Asia which forms such a distinguished feature in the history of this great continent for nearly one thousand and five hundred years."

Tradition has it that Sri Lanka was colonized by a Bengalee Prince Vijayasingha who established the first political organization in that island. Gadadhara, another Bengalee, founded a kingdom in the Madras state in South India.

Bangladesh region also played a seminal role in disseminating her beliefs, art and architecture in the wider world of Asia. The Bengali missionaries preached Mahayana Buddhism in the Indonesian archipelago. Kumaraghosha, the royal preceptor of the Sailendra emperors of Java, Sumatra and Malaya peninsula, was born in Gauda. The Bengali scholar Santirakshit was one of the founders of the Buddhist monastic order in Tibet. The great Buddhist sage Dipankara Srijnana, also known as Atish ( 10th-l1th century) reformed the monastic order in Tibet. The Bengalee scholars Shilabhadra, Chandragomin, Abhayakaragupta, Jetari and Jnanasrimitra were venerated as great theologians in the Buddhist world.

Ancient Bangladesh also witnessed the flowering of temple, stupa and monastic architecture as well as Buddhist art and sculpture. There was discernible influence of the Pala art of Bengal on Javanese art. There was a close affinity between the scripts used on certain Javanese sculptures and proto-Bengali alphabet. A group of temples in Burma were built on the model of Bangladeshi temples. The architecture and iconographic ideas of Bengal inspired architects, sculptors and artists in Cambodia and the Indonesian archipelago. The influence of Pala art in Bengal could be easily traced in Nepalese and Tibetan paintings, as well as in Tang Art of China.

The Vedas, the ancient Holy Scriptures, uphold the timeless truth of eternal existence of the supreme power Mother Vision of Divinity -- Durga. The Hindu tradition, followed by over 900 million people today, is one of the oldest, richest, and most influential traditions on earth. Whatever sphere of the human mind one selects for study -- language, customs, art, traditional sciences, polity, literature, architecture, painting or music -- one has to look into this, because some of the most valuable and insightful materials in the history of humankind are encompassed within this tradition. For example, Aurveda, Yoga, Dhyana , astronomy, astrology, vegetarian experiments and spiritual disciplines have all been of continuous interest and much sought after by people cutting across all national and religious barriers

The Hindu tradition does not derive from any one prophet or founder. It has neither a uniform creed nor any organised church. Its history and prehistory are ageless.

Radha-Krishna and Hindu heritage
Country profile: Bangladesh

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2. THE BUDDHIST PERIOD

Buddhism originated from the teachings of Gautama Buddha, a prince from the Nepalese terai, who relinquished palace life for a life of meditation and spiritual upliftment, emphasized "dhamma" or right conduct, and organized monks and nuns into monasteries called "samghas". The philosophy of Buddhism is to take the Middle Path, avoiding the extremes of getting addicted to worldly pleasures and subjecting oneself to unnecessary rigours.
During the 3rd century BC Bengal became a part of the Mauryan kingdom (records discovered at Mahastangarh, Bangladesh). Chandragupta ruled for 24 years over a large area of India icluding Bengal. His grandson Asoka (273 BC-298 BC) inherited his greatness but became famous for spreading Budhism in Asia. He banned Hindu animal sacrifice rituals. Ponds excavated during Asoka's time are still to be found in bengal. He established medical clinics for animals and people. He introduced many medical plants and fruit bearing trees. He banned fishing during breeding times and banned sealing or marking trees. The bhakti.(devotion) and kindness preached by later reformers borrowed from Asoka's humanism.
Bengal had ancient links with Srilanka (Ceylon), and the founder of Srilanka is belived to have hailed from Bengal. Through Buddhism Bengal was connected with Tibet and China. From the 4th century AD, Chinese travellers Fa Hien, hung Tsang and Yet Sing traveled Bengal and wrote valuable details of contemporary society.
With the fall of the last Pala king at the hand of the Senas, Buddhism collapsed in Bengal. According to Dr. D. C. Sen, the Brahmins were resposible for wiping out Buddhism and Jainism from Bengal. The Budhists priests and tantric sidhas were forced to live as the lowest caste.
Of all budddhist scholars, Atisa Srigana Diphankara was the most famous and he is still worshipped in Tibet second only to Budha. Dipankara was born in 980 AD in the royal family of Gauda in Vikrampur, a site now identified in a rice field in Bangladesh. Dipankara succeeded in removing Tantric elements from Budhism. He wrote more than 200 books on buddhism.

Buddhism in Bangladesh

Bangladesh was once the cradle of Buddhism still bearing trances in the various architectural remains of temples and monasteries with large number of Buddha image, relics, copper and stone plates discovered at different times from various parts of the country.

There is difference of opinion among researchers as regards spread of Buddhism in Bangladesh. Much currency is given to the theory that the teaching of Buddha propagated during the lifetime of Buddha since he himself came to Bangladesh (Samatata) on a visit while preaching his new thoughts.The religion of Buddha could thrive and persist over a long time in Eastern India as it was outside the zone of traditional Vedic culture

Fa-Hien (5th Century), Hieun-Tsang (middle of the 7th century), It-Sing (end of the 7th century) and others in their travel accounts referred that Buddha came to the Pundra-Bardhan (northern part of Bangladesh). He preached his principles also at Samatata (south-eastern part of Bengal) presently Chittagong, Noakhali Kamasbama (now Murshidabad West Bengal). The Chinese travelers saw hundreds of monasteries and centers of Theravada and Mahayana Schools in these parts of Bangladesh and as well as in the West Bengal of India. The description in ancient Buddhist literature like Anguttara-nikaya, Samjutta-nikaya, Divyabadana, Asokabadana and Avadana-kalpalata also testify the truth of the above. The names of two prominent disciples of the Buddha, 'Bangisha' and 'Bangantaputta' show that they might have derived their names from Bangala (Bangladesh).

The copper plates, stone inscription found at Mahasthagar (Bogra), Paharpur, Sumpuri mahavihara (Rajshahi), Mainamati (Comilla) and Ashrafpur (Dhaka) were dated between 6th-10th Centuries. Very recently similar evidence discovered at Salimpur and Barauthan in Chittagong were dated between 10th-13th Centuries, speak highly of flourishing state of Buddhism in ancient Bangladesh.

The epigraphic findings and antiquities reveal hitherto unknown facts and cover wide area of information besides the Holy Scriptures and other religio-philosophical writings. Plenty of legends, folk-lore, popular devotional songs, tales relating to Buddhist life and teaching of Buddha as well as other followers and devotees of Buddha are spread over the interior of Bangladesh, enriching over the historical findings.

The Chinese traveler Fa-Hien visited India during thetime of Chandra Gupta Vikramaditya of Gupta dynasty. He records that there were twenty- two Buddhist monasteries at Tamralipi. Buddhism was in a flourishing condition in Samatata and in capital itself there were 2000 monks and thirty monasteries. Hiuen-Tsang states that Gautama Buddha stayed for sometime at Vasu Vihara, which was situated on the outskirts of Pundravardhana. At the close of the 7th Century AD the Chinese pilgrim Sheng Chi visited Samatata, the capital city of Vangrastra.

He described that as many as 4000 monks lived in Samatata, Buddhism was a predominant religion in the then Bengal. King Rajarajabhatha was a strong supporter of the Three Jewels (ti-ratana).

The rich ruins of Trikutaka Vasu at Mahasthangarh (Bogra), Jagaddal Somapuri mahavihara at Paharpur (Rajshahi), Salbana and Banakastupa Vihara (Comilla), Vikrampuri and Dhammarajika Vihara at Vikrampur (Dhaka) and Chakrashala Vihara at Hiaidgaon and Pandit Vihara at Chittagong were the glaring examples of seat of learning and Buddhist civilization. The ruins of Pandit Vihara are believed to be lying buried under the Deyang hills on the bank of the river Karnaphuly just on the other side of Patenga Airport, Chittagong.

The terracotta figures from Paharpur Monastery (Rajshahi) arouse great popular interest. A few words can be added here on Vikrampur Vihara, which is only a few miles away from Vikrampur, the oldest historically recorded city in the neighborhood of Dhaka. It was an important place during the hey-day of Pala rulers of Bengal. According to some historians, the name Vikrampur is derived from the title Vikramaditya, said to have been assumed by Dharmapaladeva, the second and the greatest of the Pala dynasty who built a Buddhist monastery there.

After the death of Buddha in 646/647 AD his empire fell to pieces and independent kings established themselves in Bengal. For some centuries, knowledge about East Bengal (Bangladesh) remains scanty after the death of Sasanka in 639 AD for about a century from 650 AD to 750 AD. But certain amount of information has been derived from inscribed copper plates was to record their grant of land, but they are also of historical value. Preambles of these grants mention the king or chief in whose time the grant was made and record his ancestry.

The early traditions that have come down speak that Dhaka and some of the neighboring districts were originally under the sway of Buddhist King. The numerous Viharas scattered all over the country were meant not only for monastic way of teaching but also for imparting lessons on subjects like arts, crafts, astronomy, geography, agriculture, herbal medicines, pottery and so on. Thousands of monks and students used to reside in these viharas for equipping themselves with different skills and knowledge, in addition to their scriptural lessons.

Ancient religious writings speak of 'Vanga' (Benga/Bangalsdeh) which was later described by Kalidas, the great poet of the 5th Century A.D. as the territory situated within the Gangetic basin.

Hiuen-Tsang who traveled in different parts of India from 630-643 AD when Harsha was at the height of his power. According to his account, Samatata corresponded to the ancient Vanga, a low-lying country bordering the sea, rich in crops, flowers and fruits. The climate was soft, the manner of the people was agreeable. The inhabitants were of small stature and of dark complexion but diligent in acquisition of learning.

Ruins of stupas built by Asoka in the village Dhamrai (Dhaka) still stands as a witness of supposed to have derived its name from Dharmarajika. The historians Jatindra Nath Bose corroborated this view. The nomenclature itself has a significant background. Savar, not far from Dhaka was visited by Buddha according to Buddhist literature and was confirmed by the Bengal historian J. N. Bose. It has mount created by King Asoka. In course of time the place has been known as Dharmarajika which again turned into Dhammarajika. Like the ruins in Dhaka district bearing theatrics of rich Buddhist culture another district, Dinajpur (northern part of Bangladesh) also bears evidence of Buddhism, highly patronized by the ruler themselves. The Pala kings were princes of Gaur, a name that seems to have applied rather to the whole province, of which Dinajpur formed the principal part. The founder of this dynasty appears to have come from Western India and had become Buddhist. Francis Buchanan (Hamilton) while describing of education in the district of Dinajpur in the beginning the state of 19th century still found the trances of Buddhism there. He wrote, "the only vocabulary used in Dinajpur is the Omarkosh or Omorsinghe, whom the Pandit as usual considers a person belonging to the sect of Buddha. Since Buddhism flourished there in the court of Vikram". Buddhism has traveled a long way under the patronage of series of ruling dynasties (Prof. Latifa Akanda, 2004)

In 1973-4, excavation had laid bare at Bhasu Vihara a semi cruciform temple and two comparatively small monasteries. The shrine has three terraced ambulatory passage with the entrance on the north and a square mandapa at the center. Like Paharpur and Mainamati, the basement of the shrine is embellished with terra cotta plaques. Eighty-six bronze objects have been discovered during the excavation near Mahasthan and Bhasu Vihara.

Near the modern Ompur are found the ruins of Somapura Mahavihara, popularly known as Paharpur in the district of Rajshahi in northern Bangladesh. The central shrine of the Vihara measures 356x314 with a height well over one hundred feet. The general plan of the shrine is in the form of a cross with projections in between the arms. Above the basement it has three raised terraces with Caityangana (circumambulatory path). A continuous frieze of teracotta plaques runs on the inner wall of the path. K. N. Dikshit describes the Somapur Vihara as 'the biggest single sangharama that was ever erected in India for Buddhist monks'

Hiuen-Tsang came to Samatata and noticed thirty Buddhist monasteries with 2000 priests of the Sthavira School. There was a stupa nearby, the construction of which is traditionally attributed to Emperor Asoka. An image of Buddha made from green jade was found in a monastery near it. When Seng-Chi came to Samatata during the reign of King Rajabhata there was a population of 4000 monks and nuns in its capital. From the epigraphic and literary records we come to learn about the names of Pattikera Vihara, Asrama Vihara, Raja Vihara, Sanghamitra Vihara, Vendamati Vihara and Pandita Vihara.

THE OLDEST UNIVERSITY OF ASIA

recently discovered at maynamati The biggest assemblage of ancient Buddhist monastic sites can be found on the Mainamati-Lalmai hills. The ruins were discovered during the second world war. As many as 32 important mounds are being protected by the archaeology department in this area. Of these mounds excavations were carried out only on the ruins known as Salban Vihara, Kutila Mura, Charpatra Mura, the Palace and Temple of Queen Mainamati and Ananda Vihara. The Mainamati excavations have yielded an exceptionally rich harvest of valuable antiquities including 11 lengthy copper-plate grants, shorter image inscriptions, over 400 gold, silver and copper coins, innumerable baked-clay and terra cotta ceilings, a panoply of sculptural pieces in stone, bronze and terra cotta, semiprecious stone and terra cotta beads, gold and silver ornaments, copper vessels, earthenware pots, pans and utensils, oil lamps stone dabbler, and a variety of other objects of antiquity and works of art.

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BUDDHA AVATAR

Structures older than Pala Era found at Paharpur site

Evidence of the rise of Mahayana Buddhism in Bengal from the 7th century onwards, Somapura Mahavira, or the Great Monastery, was a renowned intellectual centre until the 12th century. Its layout perfectly adapted to its religious function, this monastery-city represents a unique artistic achievement. With its simple, harmonious lines and its profusion of carved decoration, it influenced Buddhist architecture as far away as Cambodia.

By far the most spectacular Buddhist site to be discovered is the gigantic temple and monastery of Paharpur, dating from the eighth century A.D. Paharpur is about 35 miles (56 km) northwest of Mahasthan via the busy market town of Jaipurhat. Access from Jaipurhat is along a rutted cart track that is sometimes passable in an ordinary car. Paharpur has been identified from a series of inscribed clay seals as the Somapura Vihara from the great Pala Dynasty. It is the biggest single vihara (image house) south of the Himalayas, measuring approximately 900 feet (273 meters) along each side and enclosed by an outer wall with 177 monastic cells built into it. In the center of the 22-acre (nine-hectare) courtyard are the ruins of a mighty temple which rises to a height of 72 feet (22 meters)- an unusual hillock giving the local village of Paharpur its name (pahar meaning 'hill'). The temple is cruciform in plan, built in high quality brick with thousands of terra-cotta plaques depicting the art form of that period, whether it be religious or secular, human or animal, mythological or purely an artist's whim .

During recent exploratory excavations, an important archaeological find of a large bronze Buddha dating from the Gupta period was accidentally discovered in one of the monks cells. It is considered to be one of the most splendid specimens of mature Pala art of the ninth century, cast using the 'wax loss' process. Paharpur's later history is uncertain but it seems to have been abandoned in the 12th century A.D., probably due to flooding. Today the site is under water during the monsoon.

the Paharpur world heritage site which they believe belonged to a period even earlier than the site's known time, the Pala Era. The department earlier found several stone statues, including Mithun and Vayu, from the Gupta Dynasty before the recent excavation.

Archaeology Department Director Dr Md Shafiqul Alam confirmed the recent finds, saying the brick-built structures were found under the foundation of the main temple at Paharpur. He said another structure was found outside the temple area. "These structures confirm that there was a civilization before the Pala Dynasty," he said.

Mahbubul Alam, assistant custodian of Paharpur site, said an ancient broken terracotta piece was found under the basement of the temple near the newly discovered structure while a decorated brick was found in the lower portion of the northern side of the temple. Meanwhile, archaeologists dug out another brick-built structure from an earth-filled base on top of the 72-feet high temple. They believe the structure was made for beautification.

Nahid Sultana, custodian of Rabindra Kacharibari Site of Shajadpur in Sirajganj and a member of the Paharpur excavation team, said an almost similar brick-built wall was found outside the temple premises. Both the structures were built with bigger size bricks. According to archaeological documents, at least 53 stone statues have been lying in the wall niches in the lower portion of the temple underground. Thirteen statues have so far been found during several archaeological excavations, according to officials ( Daily Star, March 15, 2008).

Paharpur

Ancient ruins of Mainamoti-Lalmai Hills

Mainamati an isolated ridge of low hills in the eastern margins of deltaic Bangladesh, about 8 km to the west of Comilla town is a very familiar name in our cultural heritage, where archaeological excavations have revealed very significant materials. A landmark of our ancient history, it represents a small mass of quasi-lateritic old alluvium. The ridge, set in the vast expanse of the fertile lower Meghna basin, extends for about 17 km north-south from Mainamati village on the Gumti River to Chandi Mura near the Lalmai railway station. In its widest parts, the ridge is about 4.5 km across and its highest peaks attain a height of about 45 metres. These highlands were once thickly wooded with an abundance of wild life, but modern developments have rudely disturbed its serene and idyllic setting. With an ever-expanding Cantonment at Mainamati, in the northern half of the ridge, and a fast growing township at Kotbari in about its centre, the fairy-tale beauty of the place is already a thing of the past.

The twin names - Lalmai- Mainamati - of the place have significant link with the past: Lalmai or the southern part is identical with Lalambi-vana of the Chandra epigraphs, while the northern part recalls the name of the legendary Chandra queen 'Maynamati', mentioned in local ballads and folk-songs. The archaeological finds have now established beyond any doubt that the cultural and political centre of ancient Vanga-Samatata (southeast Bengal) was located here. The glory and magnitude of that remarkable past is emphatically manifest in the innumerable monuments, mounds and excavated remains, adequately supplemented by an impressive array of stray finds from the area. Mainamati today is, however, better known for its Buddhist remains exposed by excavations. Here, indeed, lies the greatest assemblage of ancient Buddhist remains in Bangladesh.

Devaparvata meaning 'the mountain of gods' is the name of an ancient city in samatata. It is situated on the isolated mainamati ridge near comilla. Recent archaeological excavations and explorations in the Mainamati area have revealed its extraordinary historical importance and archaeological wealth. They provide a large variety of epigraphic records, over 400 ancient gold and silver coins, innumerable seals and sealings, an exceptionally rich collection of stone, bronze and terracotta sculptures, an extraordinary variety of architectural treasures and various other objects of art and everyday use - original, authentic and contemporary source materials for reconstructing the long-forgotten history and civilization of this region. Devaparvata is indeed more than a mere city; it is a prominent landmark in the history of the region.

The early Devas ruled Samatata from its capital at Devaparvata during the 8th and also probably 9th centuries AD. This was a period of unparalleled peace, prosperity and cultural developments, which is amply manifest in the Mainamati excavations. Two of their five inscriptions have so far been deciphered.

The Calcutta ASB plate of Bhavadeva (originally recovered from ananda vihara) gives a very elaborate and vivid description of Devaparvata and its great river Ksiroda. The city has now gained substantially in stature and glory and its river has become the most sacred. Huge monastic establishments and temples including the famous Ratna-Traya shines began to grow and flourish under the active support and patronage of Deva Kings and the place became really fit for the residence of not only kings but also gods.

The Discovery During the course of rebuilding the old axial road through these hills in 1875, workers accidentally uncovered the ruins of what at that time was thought to be 'a small brick fort'. It was actually a Buddhist monastery. Some 72 years earlier (1803), from the same area, was discovered the first Mainamati relic, the copperplate of Ranavankamalla Harikaladeva, dated 1220 AD, which records a description of the capital city of Pattikera as 'adorned with forts and monasteries'. The name now survives in the modern Patikara pargana of the locality.

The Mainamati ruins were rediscovered during the Second World War. While setting up an advance camp, the military came across ancient remains at a number of points in the ridge. In the hurried survey that followed, 18 sites were recognised and protected by the government. In more regular and systematic surveys undertaken between 1955 and 1957, when the entire ridge was undisturbed by human occupation, more than 50 sites were located. Most of those sites lie in the northern half of the ridge, now within the Cantonment. Archaeological excavations started in January 1955. In several phases of excavation of the 50 odd sites nine have so far been exposed. Though the excavations have not yet been completed and have been limited in many respects, the results so far obtained and the information gained provide a sound archaeological basis for the reconstruction of the history and culture of the early period of this hitherto obscure region.

Excavated Sites Most important among the excavated sites is shalvan vihara, which lies about the middle of the ridge in the vicinity of the present day Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD) at Kotbari. Excavations have exposed a large paharpur type Buddhist monastery and a wealth of material objects datable from the 7th to 12th centuries AD. The discoveries from the site include eight inscribed copperplates, about 400 gold and silver coins, many terracotta and baked clay seals and sealings, a large number of sculptural specimens in stone, bronze and terracotta found in situ or otherwise. The grand monastery together with its central shrine was built by Shri Bhavadeva, the fourth ruler of the early deva dynasty of devaparvata, sometime towards the end of the 7th or early 8th century AD.

At kutila mura, the highest mound in the northeastern part of the ridge near ananda vihara, were unearthed the most attractive monuments in Mainamati The excavated monuments include three principal stupas and a number of subsidiary chapels and chaitya-halls built around them, all of which were enclosed by a massive boundary wall. Interesting and intricate structural forms and decorative styles have been preserved at the site. Excavations have not yet been completed here; the monastery in the northern end and two grand stupas in two wings of the site remain to be cleared yet. The excavated evidence suggests 7th century AD as the date of the beginning of these monuments. The site continued to be occupied till the 13th century AD as indicated by an Abbasid gold coin recovered from an upper level of the site.

charpatra mura is an interesting small site, situated in the northern part of the ridge in about the centre of the Cantonment area, where was uncovered the remains of a small Hindu temple dated in the Chandra period (10th-11th century AD). It is one of the earliest known examples of Hindu temple architecture in Bangladesh. Four copperplates were discovered in this monument and hence the name Charpatra (four plates) Mura.

Largest among the Mainamati monuments is the Ananda Vihara. Situated in the archaeologically rich Kotbari central area, it represents a huge religious-cum-educational establishment of viharas, stupas and chapels all around. Together with the largest water tank in the area, this Vihara complex was built by Shri Anandadeva, the third ruler of the early Deva dynasty, sometime at the end of the 7th or beginning of the 8th century AD. Military contractors and brick hunters damaged this great establishment with its central shrine beyond recognition in 1944-45. Subsequently, the process of Cantonment building seriously affected the site. Excavations carried out here for a few seasons in the late seventies on a limited scale were incomplete in nature.

Next to Shalvan Vihara and Ananda Vihara, the third most important and extensive monastic establishment in Mainamati is the bhoja vihara, situated almost in the centre of the Kotbari area adjacent to BARD. A huge water tank lies on its east. Excavations have revealed the outlines of a square monastery with a large cruciform shrine in the centre of its open courtyard, very similar to Shalvan Vihara and Ananda Vihara.

Queen 'Maynamati's Palace Mound is the largest and highest mound in the northern extremity of the ridge near to the village that still bears the name of the queen, just east of Brahmanbaria road. The site is traditionally associated with the legendary Chandra queen Mainamati, mother of the last-known Chandra king, govindachandra. Excavations on a limited scale have uncovered here parts of a massive defense wall round different parts of the site, probably a citadel, and the corner of a substantial structure, probably a palace, at the centre of the site. This is probably the only site in Mainamati that has revealed structures of secular nature. rupban mura, an important site, lies on a hillock between modern BARD and BDR establishments in the Kotbari area on the south of the Comilla-Kalirbazar road. Excavations have revealed here the remains of a remarkable semi-cruciform shrine together with other subsidiary structures. Deep diggings have revealed three main periods of building and rebuilding, the earliest of which correspond to c.6th - 7th centuries AD. Very little of the last period remains (10th - 11th centuries AD) survive now in this very heavily disturbed site. Significant discoveries from the site include, besides the colossal stone Buddha, five debased gold coins of Balabhatta, the Khadga ruler.

rupbahn mura Rupban Mura an important archaeological site of mainamati lying on a hillock just between the modern BARD and BDR establishments in the Kotbari area on the south of the Comilla-Kalirbazar road. Excavations have revealed here the remains of a remarkable semi-cruciform shrine of medium size (28.2m east - west, 28m north - south), together with a number of subsidiary structures, including an octagonal stupa and another one on a square base. A boundary wall within the oblong stupa courtyard encloses all these. Its regular entrance is on the east, facing the monastery entrance. Deep diggings have revealed three main periods of building and repairs and rebuilding, the earliest corresponding to c.6th-7th centuries AD. Very few remains of the latest period (10th-11th century AD) survive now in this very heavily disturbed site.

The archaeological remains of itakhola mura lie in three terraces on the hillock opposite to the Rupban Mura site across the Kotbari road. It served for long as a quarry for old bricks and hence the name. Excavations have revealed here a grand stupa complex with an attached monastery to its north. Of the five cultural phases the earlier three lie buried underneath the later remains. Mentionable antiquities from the site, besides the stucco image, are three round pellets of solid gold (19 tolas) and a copperplate, which is still to be deciphered.

Just near the Mainamati Bus Stop, north of the Dhaka-Chittagong highway, lies mainamati mound 1a, where limited excavations have revealed six long walls, straight and cross roads, gateways and other scant remains. The non-religious and secular features of the remains suggest the existence of a garrison barrack (?) here.

Unexcavated Sites Among the many unexcavated sites, mention may be made of the Bairagir Mura, a medium sized high mound directly to the west of Kutila Mura in the Cantonment. Brickbats, potsherds and fragments of stone images found scattered on the surface strongly indicate its archaeological importance. The site has been badly damaged by the construction of two huge water tanks on its top for water supply to the Cantonment. A number of objects were discovered during construction work; only two (dated in the Chandra period) have found their place into the local museum - the lower part of an inscribed colossal stone image standing on a lotus throne, and the bronze life-size head of a Bodhisattva image.

The discovery of a colossal bronze bell, large dressed stone square blocks (presumably pillar bases), one copperplate, and one stone plaque inscriptions, and a number of bronze and terracotta sculptures clearly indicate the importance of the Rupban Kanya Mura, situated in the middle of the Kotbari area. But the site has now been levelled to accommodate the parade ground and garages of the Cantonment.

The Kotbari Mound showed clear traces of a Shalvan Vihara type monastery with a cruciform shrine in the centre. A grand mosque and its attached graveyard have taken over the site.

Pakka Mura is an important unexcavated site (274m by 91m, 15m high) on the western edge of the ridge, about a mile and a half southwest of the Kotbari ruins. The importance of the site lies in its subsequent extension to its lower base on the west, presumably after the river had dried out or changed its course. A part of the silted up riverbed was turned into a huge water reservoir called Tara Dighi, the deeper central part of which has now been turned into two modern tanks. While constructing the larger tank, about two acres in size, two interesting black stone images of Visnu, one life-size and the other slightly smaller, showing mature Sena-Deva characteristics, were found. Among other associated finds most significant is a copperplate inscription of Dasharathadeva (13th century), son and successor of Damodaradeva of the later Deva dynasty.

The extensive high mound on the western edge of the ridge, about 2.5 km to the northwest of the southernmost site of Chandi Mura, locally known as Rupban Mura, had visible structural remains in the shape of a circular dome at the top of the mound. Removal of bricks by local inhabitants has already caused destruction of the exposed structural remains. The site has the potential of yielding important remains.

At the extreme southern end of the ridge, about 1.6 km to the northwest of Lalmai railway station, is a prominent mound (457m by 183m, 18m high), locally called Chandi Mura. The site derives its name from the twin temples of Chandi built on the summit of the mound, some 250 years back by a Maharaja of Tripura. The archaeological character of the site is undisturbed; the mound probably contains the remains of a large temple. The top of the mound was badly damaged, first by the construction of the Chandi temples, and later by modern constructions undertaken by people associated with the temples. However, the archaeological remains at the lower levels may still be intact.

Among other unexcavated sites, mention may be made of Mainamati Mound 2, Abbas Ali Mura, Station Commander's Residence, Hatigara Mound, Ujirpur Mound, Ghila Mura and Balaghazir Mura. All these sites have yielded evidence of remains of archaeological importance. Most of these sites are now in bad shape due to willful or unwillful negligence of the people occupying the mounds or their neighbourhood.

Antiquities The Mainamati excavations have yielded an exceptionally rich harvest of valuable antiquities including twelve copperplate grants and shorter image-inscriptions, over 400 gold and silver coins, innumerable terracotta and clay seals and sealings, some Neolithic stone axes and chisels, a large collection of stone, bronze, stucco and terracotta sculptures, stone and terracotta beads, gold, silver and bronze ornaments, decorative terracotta and architectural pieces, metal and earthenware pots, pans, vases and utensils, oil lamps and a variety of other objects of everyday use. The majority of these objects comes from Shalvan Vihara, the most systematically excavated site. Together, they contribute significantly to our knowledge of ancient Vanga-Samatata, covering a period of about seven hundred years from the 6th to 13th centuries AD.

No fewer than twelve copperplate grants have been recovered from the excavations, which throw most welcome light on the history, culture, society, and economy of southeastern Bengal. Among the many short dedicatory or votive inscriptions the few bearing the original name of Shalvan Vihara and its royal builder are very significant.

Mentionable among the numismatic finds are a few Gupta and post-Gupta imitation gold coins, a rare silver coin of shashanka, about a dozen gold coins of the Khadga ruler Balabhatta, few Arakanese and hundreds of harikela and 'Akara' dynasty coins, and one gold, and a few silver coins of Abbasid Caliphs.

The sculptural finds in stone, bronze, stucco and terracotta represent the largest single group of antiquities other than pottery. Stone sculptures are rare, but include a fine stucco sculpture though damaged, it is an interesting specimen. The bronzes primarily represent religious art and show a perplexing variety of iconographic types, revealing the gradual transformation of the popular faith Mahayana to Tantric and ultimately to polytheistic forms in which Buddhism became inextricably mixed with Hindu and aboriginal elements. The sculptured terracotta plaques are the most numerous, attractive and representative of local folk art. They are remarkable both for their crude but vigorous style and local characteristics.

About a dozen ground and polished narrow-butted hand-axes and chisels, mainly of fossil wood, have been recovered from the excavations. Recent explorations have uncovered a few Neolithic settlements in the southern part of the Mainamati ridge. The collected specimens must have originally come from there. They show clear affinity with the Neolithic industries of West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.

Mainamati excavations have, thus, thrown a flood of light on almost every aspect of the life and culture of the southeastern part of Bengal. It has supplied detailed information regarding the social, political and economic condition of the region and has led to the discovery of the remarkable early Deva dynasty and of Balabhatta, the founder of Devaparvata. It has settled a number of historical and geographical questions, for instance, concerning the extent and bounds of Samatata, the location of Devaparvata, Pattikera and Lalambi-vana, and the situation of Harikela. More important, with the studies and analysis of terracotta and the classification and sequence dating of the pottery types and other common objects, Mainamati has now provided set a workable basis for further investigations and research in the field. Mainamati finds have no doubt broadened the horizon of our understanding of our past.

The primary significance of this collection lies in the fact that it represents the only available authentic and contemporary stratified materials from southeast Bengal that provide for the first time a dependable archaeological basis for the reconstruction of the history and civilisation of this region of Bengal. (M Harunur Rashid]

Moinamoti A rough date between 7-13th AD is assigned to the ancient ruins of Mainamoti-Lalmai hills in Comilla. Interestingly this archeological marvel even contains traces of pre-historic life with a number or fossils found in the Lalmai region. According to Imam Abu in Excavations At Mainamoti: An Exploratory Study, this area during the making of the Mainamoti monasteries, was known as Samatata, or eastern-Bengal, and the capital was Devaparvata, also referred to as Pattikera. Mainamoti was the name of the queen Maynamati (Madanavati), wife of Manikchandra, ruler of the Chandra dynasty who ruled in the 10-11th AD.

Maynamati-Gopichandrer Gan is the story of Queen Maynamati and her husband, Manik Chandra, which propagates yoga-guidelines. Queen Maynamati, who was a disciple of Goraksanath, advised Manik Chandra to renounce the temporal world through accepting the life of sannyas (asceticism). Manik Chandra refused to listen to his wife and died prematurely. The queen then advised her son, Gopichandra, to accept the path of asceticism under the guidance of Hadipa, a stable sweeper. Gopichandra listened to his other and became Hadipa's disciple and lived the life of an ascetic for twelve years. Gopichandra had learned a number of magic tricks during his sannyas and, after returning home, he entertained his wives with these tricks. Hadipa rebuked his disciple, at which Gopichandra grew angry and, at the advice of his wives, buried his master alive. Kanupa, a disciple of Hadipa, rescued his master. Gopichandra repented and renounced his kingdom permanently and became a saint.

Nath Literature medieval bangla literature, based on the Nath cult or yoga-sadhana, and part of the ancient religious heritage of India. The main god of the Naths is shiva, who is also called Adinath. The five Nath siddhas (or enlightened ones), Minanath, Goraksanath, Hadipa, Kanupa and Chauranginath, are described as having been born from different parts of the body of Adinath. Nath literature was of two types, didactic and narrative. Didactic literature was in the form of doha, prahelika or chara, where secrecy was observed with the abundant use of code words and sentences. Instructive doha or verses by Kanupa and Jalandharipa are to be found in Charyagitikos. Other dohas are included in collections such as Goraksa-Sanghita and Yogachintamani. Minanath and Goraksanath left no individual texts. Goraksanath's compositions were mainly oral.

Narrative Nath literature was based on legends and stories about the siddhas. The aim of the stories was to attract people to the cult. Narrative Nath literature follows dohas by about two centuries. Perhaps the most popular of these tales and legends was goraksavijay. Raja Manik Chandrer Git, Maynamatir Gan, and gopichandrer gan are different versions of the same story. Apart from Bangla, versions of these stories are available in different Indian languages such as Hindi, Oriya, Marathi, Gujrati, Nepali, and Tibetan. Goraksa-Vijay is based on the contrast between Goraksanath, the perfect yogi, and his guru Minanath, who went astray. Minanath was cursed twice in his life: once, when in the shape of a fish at Jalatungi he secretly listened to the mahajnan recited by Shiva and the second time when he was attracted to Shiva's wife, Gauri. He was punished for listening to the mahajnan by losing his memory. For his second offence he was forced to spend an immoral life surrounded by 1600 women in Kadali. Minanath was rescued by his disciple Goraksanath in the guise of a female dancer.

Gopichandrer Gan famous Nath poem, based on the life of Prince Gopichandra of Meherkul. This poem, which was once very popular in north-eastern India, is an allegory describing the true yogic way of sannyas (life of a saint). On the advice of his ascetic mother, Maynamati, Gopichandra became a disciple of the sage, Hadipa. After twelve years of ascetic life, Gopichandra returned home. However, he did not understand the true implication of yoga and used the magical skills he had learned to amuse his wives. Hadipa became annoyed at this misuse of yogic lore. Gopichandra realized his mistake and rectified his ways. Finally understanding the meaning of yoga, he permanently accepted sannyas. The story is familiar to Bengalis under three names: Maynamatir Gan, Govindachandrer Git and Gopichandrer Sannyas. The three poets who are associated with these versions are Durlabh Mallick, Bhabani Das and Sukur Mohammad.

She was a famous yogic scholar and many famous Bangla ballads are sung in her honor. The ruins lie about 8 km from the main city, the hills sloping up and down a region that is now interspersed with the BARD and cantonment area, along with markets and the general hullabaloo of a bustling town. This area was home to intense Buddhist activities, visited by scholar and traveler Hiuen Tsang in the 7th century AD who found 70 monasteries, about 2000 Buddhist monks and an Ashoka stupa from the 2nd century BC. The likes of such an establishment are unparalleled, even in India's Nalanda ruins. However, an additive to its mysterious past is the fact that no Tibetan text acknowledges its presence! Or we just never found them.

The main part of Mainamoti that is flashed on covers of any brochure or travel documentary of Bangladesh, is actually one of the many mounds that were mapped, and only 1 out of 9 other excavated. This is the Salbon Vihara, (Vihara means Monastery) possibly named due to the presence of Sal trees, of which I forced myself to believe I could still spot a few. The remains of a bygone monastery reveal the typical structure of the ones found in Paharpur and the famous Nalanda ruins in Bihar, India. The reason why this particular site is so famous is because it is the only one thoroughly excavated and shows the perfect cruciform design, (following the popular style as Angkor Wat or other Javan, Burmese sites of those days) a crucifix shaped structure, than the other sites excavated.

The structure is built of red brick and if its presence bang in the middle of a huge vast and empty plot is not enough to give one an eerie feeling, the staircases leading to nowhere are a sure winner. These may have led to a terrace but archaeologists are not entirely sure. However this main building is not the only resident of the Mainamoti ruins. Other similar stupas stretch across the Lalmai hills and most of them follow the same basic structure of a cruciform temple, except for Itakhola Mura, (Mura means Mound) which is also well known for housing the largest headless Stucco (plaster) image found in Bangladesh. The other major site of interest to historians and any lover of archaeology would be the Kutila Mura, where three stupas are found side by side representing the Buddhist "Trinity" or three jewels i.e. the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. The first cruciform structure however was detected in Rupban Mura, where the famous sandstone Buddha was discovered. This image demonstrates Gupta influence, which means it was most probably installed in the 7th century. The statue has a final resting home in the Mainamoti museum right next to the Salbon Vihar site.

The Terracotta plaques found in Ananda Vihar are fashioned after similar ones found in Burma, Siam and Java, depicting carvings of divine, semi-divine human & animal forms. The plaques are also on display in the Mainamoti museum, but interestingly, do not try to read too much into them, since when excavated, the archaeologists noticed adjoining plaques were not related to one another. However, plaques from other sites depict an interesting medley of scenes from everyday life. The other winner of a find housed in the museum is the bronze Vajrasattva from Bhoja vihara sitting at 1.5 m high, in the typical position of a Boddhisatva.

However, one first needs to overcome the overpowering feeling that there is still enormous scope for discovery at the Mainamoti ruins, where lack of funding and neglect make things worse. To be casually viewing a place which was once the hub of all Buddhist religious activities, with a string of dynasties ruling it and an entire infrastructure of management personnel, catering to the needs of the students and visitors alike, among the many other everyday activities that went on, is a very overwhelming feeling to return with. A feeling that nonetheless instills a veritable amount of pride in our rich past (Daily Star, november 10, 2006)

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3. THE PALAS (750-1161 AD)

In 750 AD Gopala was elected the king of Gaur. This led to foundation of the Pala dynasty in Bengal. Gopala ( reign 750-775) was succeeded by his son Dharmapala (reign 775-810). Devapala (reign 810-850) ascended the throne after his father. All the three consolidated their positions in Bengal and the surrounding regions making the Palas one of the most powerful dynasties of this period. The reign of Narayanpala (reign 854-908) witnessed the beginning of the dynasty's decline. Mahipala I's (reign 977-1027) reign saw a period of ascendacy for the Pala power. Although Mahipala I regained control of large parts of lost territories, he was defeated by the Chola king from southern India. A series of lost wars and internal dissensions weakened the Palas and consequently various independent kingdoms were established in Bengal. Rampala's reign (1077-1133) saw some consolidation of the Pala hold in Bengal. Madanpala (1143-1161) is considered to be the last of the Pala kings. The other important dynasty in Bengal at this time included the Chandras in south Bengal. It may be noted here that the Palas and the Chandras were Buddhists.

Prospects of eco-tourism and Buddhist heritage tourism in Bangladesh

THE SENAS (1095-1260 AD)

The Senas were originally from Karnat. The first Sena king Hemantasena ascended the throne in 1095 AD and was probably one of the petty rulers under the Pala king Rampala. The Senas were Hindus and Hindu traditions became stronger and prevalent in their kingdom. After Rampala's death, it is assumed that Hemantasena probably established independent rule. Under his son Vijaysena (reign 1096-1159) the Senas became one of the important powers in Bengal. In 1158, Ballalsena ascended the throne. He conquered Gaur (from the Palas).
Dr. Dinesh Chandra Sen, a leading historian, noted that a time when Bengalis sailed the seas and excellent in sea trade, sea travel was banned by the Hindu Sena rulers. Before Bengal was connected with Java, Bali and Sumatra by sea-. The Sena kings banned sea journey for fear of losing Hindu control and influence. Bengal remained trapped during Sena period.

Sonargao, capital of Bengal

Northern India had by this time fallen to the Turkish invaders from Central Asia. In 1203/1204, Muhammed Bakhtiyar Khilji, a Turkish general, attacked Nabadwip. Laxmansena was defeated but he managed to escape. After his death, his sons Vishwarupsena and Keshavsena ruled and were the last important Sena rulers. The Deva dynasty, which ruled in eastern Bengal, was probably the last independent Hindu dynasty of Bengal. Their capital is believed to be in Sonargaon (near present day Dhaka).

The period of the Palas and the Senas witnessed the growth of Bengali language. Joydev (12th century), the famous poet of Bengal, was one of the Pancharatnas in the court of Laxmansena. Joydev composed the Geeta Govinda one of the first literary works in Bengali language.

Durga Puja (worship) - Victory over the Ugliness and Terror

The Hindu tradition, followed by over 900 million people today, is one of the oldest and the richest, and most influential traditions on earth. Whatever sphere of the human mind one selects for study whether it be language, customs, art, ancient sciences, polity, literature, architecture, painting or music-one has to look to this heritage, because some of the most valuable and insightful materials in the history of humankind are encompassed within this tradition. For example, Ayurveda, Yoga, Dhyana, Astronomy, Astrology, Vegetarian experiments and Spiritual Disciplines have all been of continuous interest and much sought after by people cutting across all national and religious barriers.

The Hindu tradition does not derive from any one prophet or founder. It has neither a uniform creed nor any organized church. Its history and prehistory are ageless. The Vedas, which are the scriptures of the Hindus, are unique in character. We find in the Vedas a great variety of subjects and a great flexibility of doctrines. For example, there are several interpretations of the Upanishads, Brahmasutras and the Bhagavadgita, and they are all considered authoritative.

This is the result of freedom from dogma. Man has created such an environment that it reacts unwholesomely upon him. Mankind is terribly heading as if towards a total annihilation by committing licentious suicide. Heart rendering cry for peace happiness and poise is heard from all corners of this bewildered world. The state of affairs resembles that of the Devas in the reign of Mahisasura. In the course of the eternal strife of the Devas (Gods) and Asuras (Demons), the former being defeated the latter reigned supreme in the heaven inflicting inhuman suffering to the Devas The helpless Devas came to Brahma, the creator of their distress, led the commission of the Gods to Vishnu and Shiva for appraisal of the grave situation and redress.

The tales of intolerable atrocities of Mashisasura raged vehement anger in Vishnu and Shiva and in a feat of this their vital energies in the form of burning flashes came out from them. This created similar reaction among the Gods whose vital energies too came out in like manner. These energies took the form of an unmatchable, sublime and superb woman. She is Divine Durga. This Divine-embodiment of all spiritual energies had decoration with the numerous weapons offered by the Gods. Thus descends the Divine mother, the Supreme Being. Energy incarnate who embodies in herself the multifarious modes of life. She happens to be too affectionate to Her Children to become fierce to those who tend to do evil to them. On the other hand Durga is also daughter of Bengali Hindu.

durga Durga is the progenitor of the universal process in its entirety. She is the presiding principle of the cosmic manifestation and the source of ultimate goal of all perfection and attainment of all existence She is essentially Unique and One. She is the fountain-head of the highest good both spiritual attainment and material prosperity. The worship of the Mother Durga would ensure our communion with her. The constant communion universal fraternity. We pray to the Divine Mother for succor to save us from a confused world order (P. R. Dev, October20, 2004).

The essence of this deepest layer of Hindu religious conduct is conveyed in a prayer to the Goddess Durga : "O great Goddess Durga thou art fame, thou art prosperity, thou art steadiness, thou art success, thou art knowledge, thou art intellect; and as I bow to thee ... O Supreme Goddess grant me protection."

The devotional songs in our culture -- the devotional approach to the divine -- place the devotee himself in relation to the Godhead as a child to his parent; he seeks forgiveness for transgressions and tries to evoke the parental response. To give two illustrations: the first a short poem by Saint Kabir of fifteenth century: " Mother, I am your child why not forgive my faults?...Kabir says, it is evident child's unhappiness is the mother's pain." Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam also wrote quite a considerable number of devotional songs i.e. Shyama sangit. The second is by the Bengali poet and saint Ramprosad: "O Mother! my desires are unfulfilled, my hopes are ungratified; but my life is fast coming to an end. Let me call thee, Mother, for the last time; come and take me in thy arms ..." The attributes of the child ( a devotee) emphasised are his yearning for infinite and unconditional love, the wish for a forgiving acceptance of his imperfections and his search for the Mother's responsive blessing.

The conception of which Devi Durga is made is the stuff of eternal challenge and fight and victory over the ugliness and terror that forms the morass of the world out of which like the lotus from slush the beauty of the good arises.

According to Vedanta on Vedas (the paramount scriptures of the Hindus) consists of three propositions. First, that man's real nature is divine. Secondly, that the aim of human life is to realise this divine nature. Thirdly, that all religions are essentially in agreement. A little elaboration will make the propositions clearer. What does it mean that man's real nature is divine? Vedanta asserts that the Universe, which is perceived by our senses, is only an appearance.Man's sole aim should be to realize himself, the divinity in him, which is atman (soul), and the Supreme Godhead is the Paramatman (pronounced as Paramatma), and enjoy unlimited ananda or ecstasy. This realization will make any human being sublime and liberate him from the bondage of the cycle of birth and rebirth, meaning that he undergoes eternal salvation.

Bangladesh is a homogenous society and a monolingual nation, a great strength that is seldom utilised to our advantage, but is often manipulated to divide the nation into religious groups.

Goddess Durga who is usually called by Hindus as "Ma Durga" is worshipped by Hindus in Bangladesh, all over India and around the globe annually usually in the month of Ashwina/Kartika and Falguna as per Bengali calendar corresponding to September - October and February - March respectively of Gregorian calendar. However, Durga Puja held in September - October is the greatest festival of North Eastern India and Bengali Hindus in Bangladesh and other parts of the world. According to Hindu mythology, goddess Durga is one of many forms of 'Shakti' or Power and the consort of Lord Shiva. She was created, for the purpose of slaying the buffalo-demon Mahisasura, out of flames and flashes of light ensued from the mouths of Brahma, Bishnu, Shiva (Maheshwara) - Trinity and other gods and goddesses. She was born fully grown and beautiful; nevertheless presented herself a fiercely menacing form to the demons. She is depicted in painting and sculpture riding a lion with 10 arms, each holding the special weapon of one or another of the gods, who gave them to her for her battle against the buffalo-demon.

Durga, the originator of the universal process in its entirety, is praised and worshipped in the last five days of Durga Puja, a festival specially set-aside for her:

"O great goddess Durga,
thou art fame, thou art prosperity, thou art steadiness, thou art success, thou art knowledge, thou art intellect;
and as I bow to thee …
O supreme goddess, grant me protection".

During the Durga Puja (Rite of Durga), special idols of goddess Durga commemorating her victory over the buffalo-headed demon surrounded by gods Kartikeya, Ganesha, and goddesses Saraswati and Lakshmi, are worshipped daily during 'Navaratra', a festival of nine days, particularly from Shasthi to Navami (6th to 9th day) and on the 10th day, Dashahara, are taken in jubilant processions to nearby rivers or reservoirs for immersion in water.

Durga Puja is not only a religious festival but it has strong social dimension - message of Hinduism, that is, the message of love for mankind, compassion for all living beings, respect for all religions and peace that Hinduism and Durga Puja have been propagating for ages, will reverberate during the Durga Puja and beyond and devotees will focus on the social aspect equally well, as one of the basic tenets of Hinduism, to make it more cosmopolitan and meaningful to the followers of other religions

Sri Ramakrishna Paramahangsa, who is regarded by Hindus as one of the incarnations of God, followed the scriptures of all major religions, including Islam and realised the same God. Mahendranath Gupta, Headmaster of a renowned high school in Calcutta (Kolkata), recorded everything, which was said and done in his presence by Ramakrishna and his disciples. The result is a very large volume of religious biography known in English as The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. The book states that his appetite for spiritual experience in all its forms was insatiable. "Cake tastes nice", he used to say, "Whichever way you eat it". In 1866, people saw him practising the disciplines of Islam, dressing as a Muslim and repeating the name of Allah, under the direction of a Muslim teacher. Eight years later, he became fascinated by the personality of Jesus. The Bible was read aloud to him. He went into ecstasy before a painting of Madonna and Child.

Divine Mother worship or Durga Puja

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Temple Architecture

Temple architecture secures one of the fascinating sectors of Bangladesh's architectural heritage. Temples had been built in various forms, shapes and designs and according to their stylistic features they have been categorised into the traditional Rekh and Pira, the hut-shaped style (Bangla- Ak bangla with one roof and the two roofed Jor bangla. Chala Char Chala or four roofed, Aat Chala or eight roofed and Baro Chala or twelve roofed), Indo-Islamic (Ratna Ak Ratna, Pancha Ratna, Navaratna etc), European Influence (Shikhara, Flat roof and with verandah, Dolmancha, Raashmancha etc) too fall into other categories.

Temple architecture dates far back, but no presence of Pre-Muslim temples are seen. What testify their presence in history are epigraphic and literary records and a few illuminated old manuscripts. As a result of the non-existence of the early temples, the newer instances have been divided into three main groups. They are Chala (roof type), Ratna type and the Shikhara type. Many temples of Bangladesh were constructed to the Jor Bangla style, which evolved with a blend of the Indian subcontinent temple architecture and the traditional hut of Bangla.

These plaques silently depict tales from the war of Ramayan and Ravan, of Krishna, Balram, gods and goddesses, draws various animals and their activities. On another side are pictures showing a procession of drummers, dancers and a palanquin bearer while another group holding weapons and their hunt is seen returning with much joy. The popularity of hunting in that area can be easily anticipated from these expressions. Like all the terracotta works that Bengal has borne with it along the ages, this temple also has helped in contributing the cultural history of the area. These are not mere decorations but also the mute mines of information. Stories from the Ramayana or Mahabharat endow moral lessons benefiting people who had studied the panels. Dresses and costumes, ornaments and hair styles of a particular time or place or the different aspects of daily life regarding sports, leisure, music, dance and hunting had been modelled skilfully by clay craftsmen and clad on such religious edifices.

The early 7th century Baroshivaloy temple in Joypurhat

The early 7th century temples in Joypurhat decorated with terracotta plaques, which were indiscreetly painted white recently The early 7th century Baroshivaloy temple in Joypurhat is on the verge of ruin due to sheer negligence of the authorities, lack of maintenance and high salinity in the soil seeping through the structures. The Baroshivaloy is a large brick-built temple with clay terracotta plaques and 11 other smaller similar temples surrounding it, according to Department of Archaeology officials. They said they cannot maintain the temples, at Delamla about four kilometres from Joypurhat town, due to lack of funds.

According to sources, poor maintenance work and high ground salinity have caused much of the ornamental terracotta plaques and the walls of the temples to erode over the years. The Daily Star correspondent saw that the temples have lost much of their charm of terracotta beauty as the archaeology department turned a blind eye to them. The situation got worse when the locals painted the brickworks of the temple with white lime. The terracotta plaques bear images of religious events but the beauty of the walls, pillars and the rooms is almost all gone.

According to local historians, the temples were built between 700AD and 800AD by the devotees of Shiva for their prayer needs. Shituram Mohanto, caretaker of the temples, said high salinity, lack of maintenance and protection from the weather have eroded a large number of the terracotta plaques and there has never been any renovation work.

A number of the plaques and bricks on the walls have also been stolen. Fearing further theft, the maintenance committee of the temples encircled the temples with concrete walls. The archaeology department officials, however, claimed the temples could be restored to their former glory if funds were made available (Kongkon Karmaker, Dinajpur ; Daily Star, January 21, 2008).

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4. MUSLIM RULERS

battle The Senas continued to rule over eastern Bengal until the later part part of the 13 th century. According to Dr. D. C. Sen (Brihat Banga, p. 530) , at the end of Buddhist rul in Bengal and the begining of of Brahmin rule under the Sena kings, the common people felt helpless at the hand of Hindu rulers supporting cast system. The newly created caste system built walls around the people, and they lost the close contact with their ruler they had enjoyed under Pala rulers. So when Muslims invaded Bengal, ordinary people sighed relief (Sen, 1993).
With the victory in Nabadwip, Bakhtiyar Khilji established Muslim rule in parts of Bengal. Slowly most of Bengal came under Muslim rule. The control of Bengal's destiny shifted to the north Indian power center of Delhi. The power struggle between the Turk and the Afghan invaders resulted in Delhi and northern India changing hands from one dynasty to another. Bengal didn't remain unaffected and the rulers of Bengal were often under the control of the various rulers of Delhi and northern India.

The early Sultans of Bengal ruled till 1282. This was followed by the rule of several successive dynasties. Iliyas Shahi (reign 1342-1358) of the Iliyas Shahi dynasty (1342-1412) established full control of Bengal and shifted the capital to Sonargaon (near present day Dhaka, Bangladesh). He was one of the independent rulers of Bengal. His son Sikandar Shah (reign 1358 - c1390) built the Adina Masjid at Pandua (near Gaur), the subcontinent's largest mosque.

THE SURIS AND THE MUGHALS

Meanwhile in north India, the emergence of one of Asia's greatest powers - the Mughals had a strong impact on Bengal's status. Babur was a Turk and related to Timur and Chengiz Khan. He invaded northern India and in 1526 he defeated the Afghan king Ibrahim Lodhi of Delhi's Lodhi Dynasty. Babur became the first ruler (1526-1530) of the Mughal dynasty. After his death, his son Humayun became the emperor.

Akabar Humayun was succeeded by Akbar whose reign (1556-1605) is considered to be the greatest amongst the Mughal rulers. Akbar promoted a unifying religion and literature but his propogation of a unified religion and literature did not survive. The mystic appeal of Bhakti and Sufism blossomed through literature to this day because it was spontaneous, unconscios and it appealed to the people. Akbar defeated Dawood Khan Karnani of Bengal's Karnani dynasty (1564-1576). With this, Bengal's rule passed into the hands of Governors appointed by the Mughal emperors. These Governors ruled Bengal from 1575 till 1716.

Mass Islamization occurred under the Mughals and followed by British Colonization

Akbar, the Great Mughal Emperor: The story of Islam in South Asia

Islamic City Of The Mughal Empire

akbar A little over four hundred years ago, a monarch ruled South Asia with an élan never seen before in these lands. His Empire was truly massive. It was larger than the famous Ottoman Empire; also larger than the neighbouring Safavid Empire. It was larger than Ashoka’s great empire, as it was than the empire of the mighty Guptas. While this monarch held sway, his armies pummeled English and French armies off the coasts of Hindustan. One must not forget that European presence in Indian lands was a threat long before the infamous East India Company set up shop in Bengal in 1757. But while this monarch was in power, European armies were no match for his. Such was his military prowess and confidence, the legend goes, that his soldiers, while stationed in front of enemy fortresses, instead of always bringing ready made cannons with themselves - would make them cannons from scratch. while stationed in front of enemy fortresses.

The monarch was also famous for his kindness and altruism. During his reign, religious harmony reached levels never known before. Although he was Muslim by birth just like his famous forefathers, Hindu Rajputs proliferated in his army and in the upper echelons of his administration. He also greatly loved and married a Rajput woman.

The monarch was none other than Akbar, the Great Mughal Emperor. The Mughals were originally Turkic tribes who came from what’s today Uzbekistan. The first great Mughal Emperor Babur summarily defeated the Afghani Lodis near Delhi in 1526. Thus started an empire that could surpass some of history’s best, in its size, statescraft, prosperity, intellectual endeavours and artistic feats. The magnificent Taj Mahal in Agra is a fitting archive of this great Empire. The story of Islam in South Asia was very different four hundred years ago, than the ones you or I could try to tell of our times. Fast forward about three hundred years: the year is 1857. The British had broken the back of most Indian and Muslim rulers of the subcontinent.

Bahadur Shah Zafar

The last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, a token ruler if there ever was one, yet the titular head of a great rebellion, was sent packing to Rangoon. The rebellion was sizable and spread all across North India. Bullets rained from British guns on the Indian rebels. Bullet holes on various edifices of the once great city, Lucknow, will bear testimony to the event’s tremendous violence. Soldiers, peasants, landlords, and a variety of other groups had united in trying to overthrow the British. Yet the British Empire did not fall. And in the aftermath, the wrath of the Empire came crashing on the Muslims of South Asia. Muslims, predictably or unpredictably, were seen as the chief architects of the event.

Muslims didn’t like being ruled by others and they yearned for days when they ruled South Asia, the British thought. Muslims were seen as perfidious and jihadis. Those weren’t heady days if you were a Muslim; they perhaps signaled the beginning of a fall. Fast forward now to the late 19th century: the year is 1895, give or take five years.

Beautiful Taj Mahal of India

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Taj Mahal in Japanese

Hindu- Muslim tensions

Hindu- Muslim tensions had taken a turn for the worst. The census, an instrument seemingly innocuous, but greatly aiding British policies of divide and rule, had helped sharpen religious identities in South Asia. Thanks to the census, for the first time ever, it was possible for various caste and religious communities to think of themselves as monolithic aggregates that could compete for patronage from the colonial state. Then there were various reform movements within Indian Islam. The Deobandis of UP and the Aligarh School of Sir Sayyid Ahmed Khan tried to uplift the falling Muslims of South Asia, the first with more spiritual ends in mind, and the second more secular and political. Then there were the Urdu-Hindi language riots which often turned ugly. Slowly but surely, fault lines between the two communities -– which, come to think of it, were hardly all-pan-Indian wide communities before – started to deepen. The culmination perhaps was the Partition of Bengal in 1905 along religious lines with a Muslim majority East and a Hindu majority West - seen by many as a necessary precursor to the Partition of India itself about forty years later. Surely then, the All India Muslim League’s founding in Dhaka in 1906, to fight for an independent Muslim polity, must not have surprised anyone.

Seeds of a national awakening

Fast forward once again, to 1955. Less than a decade earlier, a momentous historical event, the Partition of the Indian subcontinent had resulted in a blood bath that uprooted 10 million from their homes and claimed at least a million lives. Women, with their bodies upheld as sites where nationalist paranoia could be sketched, paid a tragic price. The nation-states of India and Pakistan had been born. Within months, they were locked in war over the disputed territory of Kashmir. But by 1955, Kashmir was not the only region where Pakistan and India’s nationalist imaginations wrestled. The eastern wing of Pakistan, East Pakistan, sat uncomfortably, separated from the central government by a thousand miles of Indian territory. In 1952, the Language Movement of East Pakistan, ended with Bengalis experiencing martyrdom for the first time. Seeds of a national awakening were sown.

Exactly 36 years earlier, in 1971, the third partition of the Indian subcontinent witnessed the violent birth of Bangladesh. Muslim nationalism in South Asia had to re-imagine itself in only 24 years after it created Pakistan. Thereafter, under the hands of Zia-ul Huq, the Pakistani state not only reimagined its nationalist paradigms, aligning more with West Asia, than South Asia, it also took active part in the mujahideen resistance in Afghanistan to drive out the invading Soviets, culminating with the ISI becoming one of the foremost intelligence agency in the Third World. Pakistan had already gone nuclear in response to India’s own programme. Nuclear weapons promised to deter each state from attacking each other, and taken a step further, assumed to be a harbinger of status in the international community. But weapons of mass destruction would do precious little in the wake of September 11, as the Pakistani state, military and the ISI, had to turn their backs on the Afghan mujahideens and unconditionally aid America in its effort to root out Osama bin Laden. Of course, a general was in power yet again after a short democratic interregnum through Nawaz Sharif.

Muslims in India and Bangladesh did not have it much better. Indian Muslims confronted the wrath of the Hindutva, first in 1992 through the annihilation of the Babri Masjid and then in the pogroms in Gujarat in 2002, when Muslim homes were picked out and razed to the ground. In such moments, Partition appeared strangely necessary and at the same time unnecessary. To the east, the more demographically homogenuous Bangladeshi state continued to be ravaged by the war of its identity politics waged by the families of its founding fathers. And after shaky attempts at maintaining a democracy hard earned, the country once again, fell under military rule. Bangladesh, a part of undivided Bengal, more prosperous than Europe’s finest in the time of the Mughals, continued another war, a war against unending poverty. The nation also continued its unbroken run of topping Transparency Index’s list of corrupt nations. Meanwhile, Balochis and Sindhis continued their secessionist designs in Pakistan.

The story of Islam in South Asia has come a long way since the heady days of the Mughal Empire. No longer are South Asian Muslims setting standards in building stupendous monuments, producing powerful art, or setting standards in statecraft. They are battling corruption, dictatorships, poverty, nepotistic politics, or chauvinistic majoritarianism; to say nothing of their increasing limelight in the spectacle that is the war on terror. Akbar would have certainly been dismayed (Sajid Huq, June 1, 2007).

Splendours of Lalbagh Fort

The Glory of Mediaeval Bengal (1204-l757)

In 1342, a powerful noble, Shams-al-din Ilyas Shah, wrested Bengal free from Delhi’s grip and established the first of several dynasties that remained independent from North India for the next two and half centuries. The Muslim rulers followed a policy of religious tolerance and granted perfect freedom of belief to the people. There is no reference in the chronicles of any of the rulers having ever attempted to impose Islam by force on anyone of the conquered people. There is no evidence of the destruction of any Hindu temples or Buddhist’s monasteries. The Muslim rulers in fact identified themselves with the land, encouraged the cultivation of Bengali language and extended their patronage to both Muslim and Hindu writers and scholars. Although the Sultanate aligned itself ideologically to the Middle East, it was rooted politically in Bengal.

The reigns of Sultan Hussain Shah (1493 - 1519) and his son Nusrat Shah (1519 - 1532) are generally regarded as the Golden Age of Bengal Sultanate. Secure in power, these kings now presented themselves to all Bengalis as indigenous rulers. They had become Bengali kings.

The Mughal period in Bengal starts with the overthrow of the last independent Sultan Daud Karani in 1575 by Akbar’s governor Khan Jahan. Soon after the advent of the Mughals there was the rise of an illustrious noble Isa Khan. He virtually ruled Bengal for fifteen years as the Mughal governors failed to subdue him. This period also saw the rise of the twelve Bhuiyans which was a sort of a joint venture among the Bengali and Afghan nobles. In fact I find Isa Khan as one of the most colourful personalities in the history of Bengal. Akbar finally had to send his most powerful General Man Singh to bring Bengal under Mughal rule. To achieve his objective in 1602 Man Singh shifted his capital to what is today Dhaka. The conquest of the Baro Bhuiyans took several years and their resistance led by Musa Khan, son of Isa Khan, is a glorious chapter for the Bengalis.

It was in emperor Jahangir’s reign (1605 - 1627) that the Baro Bhuiyans were finally defeated by the relentless efforts of Ala-al-Din Islam Khan. Islam Khan was the grandson of Salim Chishti, a direct descendent of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti of Ajmer. Islam Khan was appointed governor of Bengal and he was an extraordinarily able and determined commander. A man of about thirty seven years of age at that time, Islam Khan enjoyed close ties with the emperor - the two had grown up together since childhood as foster brothers - and possessed remarkable powers of self discipline. “He had grown up with me from youth and was one year my junior”, wrote Emperor Jahangir in his memoirs about Islam Khan. “He was a brave man, of most excellent disposition, and in every respect distinguished above his tribe and family. Up to this day he has never tasted any stimulants, and his fidelity to me was such that I honoured him with the title of Farzand (son).” The above expression of opinion sufficiently indicates the high esteem in which the Founder of Dacca was held by his master, the Emperor of Delhi. Islam Khan came of a very respectable stock. His father was Shaikh Badruddin and his grandfather the celebrated saint, Shaikh Selim Chishti of Fatehpur, who was held in the utmost veneration by Emperor Akbar.

It is worth getting a glimpse of Dhaka during Mughal rule. At the centre of all this political activity was Dhaka, or “Jahangirnagar”, as it was officially known, which in the seventeenth century attained a peak of power and influence.

Fray Sebastiao Manrique, who was there in 1640, described the place as a “Gangetic emporium”, with a population of over two hundred thousand. Recalling that the population of Gaur had been estimated at only forty thousand at the height of the sultanate’s power around 1515, one sees how rapidly the Mughal capital must have grown in the thirty years since Islam Khan’s arrival. Manrique was especially impressed with the city’s wealth. “Many strange nations”, he wrote, ‘resort to this city on account of its vast trade and commerce in a great variety of commodities, which are produced in profusion in the rich and fertile lands of this region. These have raised the city to an eminence of wealth which is actually stupefying, especially when one sees and considers the large quantities of money which lie principally in the houses of the Cataris [Khatri], in such quantities indeed that, being difficult to count, it is usual commonly to be weighed.’

The Bangladesh region reached the zenith of economic affluence during the mediaeval period. It was known as one of the most prosperous lands in the world. The Moorish traveller Ibn Batuta who visited Bengal in the fourteenth century described Bengal as the wealthiest and cheapest land of the world and states that it was known as "a hell full of bounties".

In the same vein, the seventeenth century French traveller Francois Bernier observed: "Egypt has been represented in every age as the finest and most fruitful country in the world, and even our modern writers deny that there is any other land so peculiarly favoured by nature; but the knowledge I have acquired of Bengal, during two visits paid to that Kingdom inclines me to believe that pre-eminence ascribed to Egypt is rather due to Bengal".

Because of her fertile land and abundance of seasonal rainfall, Bengal was a cornucopia of agricultural products. Famines and scarcity were virtually unknown as compared to other areas of Asia. Bengal was the focal point of free trade in the Indian Ocean since the 14th century. She was the virtual store-house of silk and cotton not only of India and neighbouring countries but also of Europe.

The Dhaka region used to produce the finest cotton in the world. A very large quantity of cotton cloth was produced in different areas of Bengal. The best and well-known variety of textile was muslin produced in Dhaka. Some of the muslins were so fine that, as the seventeenth century traveller Tavernier notes, "even if a 60 cubit long turban were held you would scarcely know what it was that you had in your hand".

Some of the muslins were so fine that a full size muslin could be passed through a small ring. Bangladesh also had extensive export of silk clothes. According to Tavernier, Bengal silks were exported to other parts of India, Central Asia, Japan and Holland. The Bangladesh region was also one of the largest producers of sugar. The sugar from this region used to be exported to other parts of South Asia and the Middle East.

One can, on the other hand, relate Bengal’s known price stability between ca. 1650 and 1725 to the economic boom then taking place in the province. Put simply, consumer prices remained stable because the production of agricultural and manufactured goods, together with the population base, grew at levels high enough to absorb the expanding money supply caused by the influx of outside silver. Moreover, since additional increments to the money supply did not flow out of the province, newly minted silver percolated freely throughout Bengali society, penetrating ever lower levels and facilitating the kinds of land transfers and cash advances that necessarily accompanied an expanding agrarian frontier.

In sum, a number of factors—natural, political, and economic—combined to create the seventeenth century’s booming rice frontier in theeast: the eastward movement of Bengal’s rivers and hence of the active delta, the region’s political and commercial integration with Mughal India, and the growth in the money supply with the influx of outside silver in payment for locally manufactured textiles.

Riverine Changes and Economic Growth

Changing Bengal Delta Map 1 - 1548 by Gastaldi, Map II - 1615 by de Barros, Map III 1660 by van den Broeke, Map IV - 1779 by Rennekl

A distinguishing feature of East Bengal during the Mughal period—that is, in “Bhati”—was its far greater agricultural productivity and population growth relative to contemporary West Bengal. Ultimately, this arose from the long-term eastward movement of Bengal’s major river systems, which deposited the rich silt that made the cultivation of wet rice possible.

Thus the delta as a whole experienced a gradual eastward movement of civilization as pioneers in the more ecologically active regions cut virgin forests, thereby throwing open a widening zone for field agriculture. From the fifteenth century on, writes the geographer R. K. Mukerjee, “man has carried on the work of reclamation here, fighting with the jungle, the tiger, the wild buffalo, the pig, and the crocodile, until at the present day nearly half of what was formerly an impenetrable forest has been converted into gardens of graceful palm and fields of waving rice.

The late sixteenth century, southern and eastern Bengal were producing so much surplus grain that for the first time rice emerged as an important export crop. From two principal seaports, Chittagong in the east and Satgaon in the west, rice was exported throughout the Indian Ocean to points as far west as Goa and as far east as the Moluccas in Southeast Asia.[8] In this respect rice now joined cotton textiles, Bengal’s principal export commodity since at least the late fifteenth century, and a major one since at least the tenth. In 1567 Cesare Federici judged Sondwip to be “the fertilest Iland in all the world,” and recorded that one could obtain there “a sacke of fine Rice for a thing of nothing.”[9] Twenty years later, when ‘Isa Khan still held sway over Sonargaon, Ralph Fitch wrote: “Great store of Cotton doth goeth from hence, and much Rice, wherewith they serve all India, Ceilon, Pegu, Malacca, Sumatra, and many other places.

François Pyrard in 1607 writes:

There is such a quantity of rice, that, besides supplying the whole country, it is exported to all parts of India, as well to Goa and Malabar, as to Sumatra, the Moluccas, and all the islands of Sunda, to all of which lands Bengal is a very nursing mother, who supplies them and their entire subsistence and food. Thus, one sees arrive there [i.e., Chittagong] every day an infinite number of vessels from all parts of India for these provisions

The most productive area of rice production gradually shifted eastward together with the locus of the active delta, the production of cash crops, especially cotton and silk, flourished throughout the delta in the Mughal period. The most important centers of cotton production were located around Dhaka

The Mughal connection also made Bengal a major producer for the imperial court’s voracious appetite for luxury goods. This was especially so in the case of raw silk, whose major center of production was located in and around Cossimbazar in modern Murshidabad District.

The Legendary Baro Bhuiyans of Bengal (12 Chiefs - 16th century)

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5. EUROPEAN TRADERS

Bengal had a very special place with the Mughal Emperors as Shahjahan’s son Prince Shuja was the governor in Dhaka for twenty one years (1639 - 1660) and subsequently Aurangzeb’s son’s Prince Azam and Prince Azim-al-din also served as governors. The capital of Bengal was shifted to Murshidabad by Murshid Quli Khan in around 1704 and Mughal rule finally ended with the defeat of Sirajuddowla in the Battle of Plassey in 1757.

The Indian Subcontinent: The location of the province of undivided Bengal. Today the eastern half is the nation of Bangladesh with Dhaka as the capital and the western half is the Indian state of West Bengal with Calcutta as the capital.In a country steeped in 5000 years of history, Its history in a way represents the power struggle between the gradually declining Mughal empire based in Delhi, the Nawabs of Bengal trying to assert their independence and the East India Company trying to expand its hold over India. The Anglo French rivalry also added spice to the events of this time.

In the sixteenth century, the Mughal empire was the most predominant power in the Indian subcontinent. Many of the provinces like Bengal were ruled by Governors appointed by the Mughals. At the same time the European traders started establishing trading outposts or factories in India. Permission for these settlements was granted by the Mughal emperors of Delhi. The province of Bengal, in eastern India, soon attracted the Portuguese, the Dutch, the French, the Danish and the English traders.

With Vasco da Gama's successful sea voyage (1492-1500 AD) to Calicut (not Calcutta), the Portuguese got a head start in India. They also became the first European power to establish footholds in Bengal. However of all the European trading companies, the England based East India Company went on to become the most successful. The East India Company received the Royal Charter, granting it the monopoly of eastern trade. In 1613, the Mughal Emperor Jahangir granted permission to the Company to establish its factory in Surat, western India. These were followed by Madras (Chennai), Bombay (Mumbai) and other locations.

In Bengal, the Company established factories at Hooghly, Cassim Bazar and English Bazar. In 1658 all the Company settlements in India were brought under Fort St George, Madras. In the very same year Emperor Aurangzeb ascended the Mughal throne. Meanwhile the Company was not having a smooth passage in its bid to expand its trade in Bengal. Hostilities between the local administration and the Company continued. The company was forced to abandon some of its trading posts. Also the gradual silting up of the Hooghly river made access to some of the East India Company factories difficult.

Dhaka's incomplete sixteenth century Lalbagh Fort: From the early thirteenth century Bengal was ruled by several Muslim dynasties. From 1575 to 1717 Bengal was ruled by administrators appointed by the Mughal emperors. Dhaka served as the Mughal capital of Bengal from 1608-1704. Later the Nawabs of Bengal gained control of the province. The capital was shifted from Dhaka to Murshidabad. Named after Nawab Murshidkuli Khan, Murshidabad became the capital of Bengal in 1713.

Rober Clive The battles of Plassey and Buxar paved the way for almost two hundred years of British colonial rule of India. As the fortunes of the Company and its revenue area in eastern India increased, so did the importance of Calcutta, the company's administrative headquarters of this region.

Sirajdullah As the East India Company grew in size so did its lust for power. The decline of the Mughal empire and the rise of regional provinces like Bengal, presented the Company an opportunity for political interference. In 1740, Nawab Alivardi Khan of Bengal became practically independent. In 1756, his death led to a power struggle between his widow Ghasiti Begum and grandson Siraj Ud Daulah who became the Nawab of Bengal. On 23rd June, 1757, the Company troops marched against Siraj. Betrayed by his own men Siraj was defeated in the Battle of Plassey, which is said to have lasted only a few hours. He was soon assassinated in his capital Murshidabad. From being traders, the Company turned kingmakers in Bengal and Mir Jafar was installed as the new Nawab. Clive got his pound of flesh from the Nawab in terms of 234,000 pounds and was awarded an annual salary of 30,000 pounds per year. This made him one of the richest Britons in the world.

Fall of the Great Mughal Empire
Growth of the Mughal Empire

Glimpses of Dacca

The 'India Collection' at the India International Centre Library in New Delhi earlier constituted the 'Collection of British Books on India' of the British Council, New Delhi. Numbering over 3000 rare and old books, documents, personal accounts, prints, memoirs, maps and manuscripts; the 'India Collection' consists largely the works of British authors on India, particularly covering the British period. The Collection spans the period from the 17th century (the earliest title is dated 1672) to 1947.

To the Right Honourable Charles W. Williams Wynn,
Dacca, July 13, 1824.
My Dear Wynn,

…Two thirds of the vast area of Dacca are filled with ruins, some quite desolate and overgrown with jungle, others yet occupied by Mussulman chieftains the descendants of the followers of Shah Jehanguire, and all of the “Lions of war,” “Prudent and valiant Lords,” “Pillars of the Council,” “Swords of Battle,” and whatever other names of Cawn, Emir, or Omrah, the court of Delhi dispensed in the time of its greatness. These are to me a new study.

I had seen abundance of Hindoo Baboos and some few Rajahs in Calcutta.

But of the 300,000 inhabitants who yet roost like bats in these old buildings, or rear their huts amid their desolate gardens, three-fourths are still Mussulmans, and the few English, and Armenian, and Greek Christians who are found here, are not altogether more than sixty or eighty persons, who live more with the natives, and form less of an exclusive society than is the case in most parts of British India.

All the Mussulmans of rank whom I have yet seen, in their comparatively fair complexions, their graceful and dignified demeanour, particularly on horseback, their shewy dresses, the martial curl of their whiskers, and the crowd, bustle, and ostentation of their followers, far outshine any Hindoos; but the Calcutta Baboos leave them behind toto coelo, in the elegance of their carriages, the beauty of their diamond rings, their Corinthian verandahs, and the other outward signs of thriving and luxury.

Yet even among these Mahommedans, who have, of course, less reason to like us than any other inhabitants of India, there is a strong and growing disposition to learn the English language, and to adopt, by degrees, very many of the English customs and fashions.”

“…The most whimsical instance of imitation, is perhaps that of Mirza Ishraf Ali, a Zemindar of 100,000 acres, and with a house like a ruinous convent, who in his English notes, signs here hereditary title of “Kureem Cawn Bahadur” in its initials, K.C.B.”

“…a desire of learning our language is almost universal even here, and in these waste bazaars and sheds, where I should never have expected any thing of the kind, the dressing-boxes, writing-cases, cutlery, chintzes, pistols, and fowling-pieces engravings, and other English goods, or imitations of English, which are seen, evince how fond of them the middling and humbler classes are become…” '

British India: Its History, Topography, Government, Military Defence, Finance, Commerce and Staple Products with an Explanation of the Social and Religious State of One Hundred Million Subjects of the Crown of England' by Robert Montgomery Martin, Esq.

Published in London, 1855. Reprint 1983.

(RH Note): Robert Montgomery Martin was Treasurer to Queen Victoria in Hong Kong and Member of Her Majesty's Legislative Council in China.

Extract : “Dacca, - on the Burha Gunga, an offset of the Koniae or Jabuna; 4 m. long, and 1 and ¼ m. broad. It is at present a wide expanse of ruins.

The castle of its founder, Shah Jehangir, the noble mosque he built, the palaces of the ancient newaubs, the factories and churches of the Dutch, French and the Portuguese, are all sunk into ruin, and overgrown with jungle.

The city and suburbs are stated to possess ten bridges, thirteen ghauts, seven ferry-stations, twelve bazaars, three public wells, a variety of buildings for fiscal and judicial purposes, a gaol and gaol-hospital, a lunatic asylum, and a native hospital. Population, 200,000.

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6. PLUNDER OF BENGAL & CALCUTTA BECOMES THE SEAT OF POLITICAL POWER

In less than a century the fortunes of the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent crashed from a pinnacle of glory to an abyss of ignominy. The contributing factors were (i) decline of the Mughal Empire after the death of Aurangzeb (ii) the Battle of Plassey (iii) Permanent Settlement in 1793 by Lord Cornwallis and (iv) the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. Although the Mutiny was at best a joint venture between the Hindus and Muslims, the wrath of the British fell on the Muslims.

With the humbling of the great Mughal empire, Delhi the traditional political hub of North India, was replaced by the British power centers in the three towns - Bombay in the west coast, Madras in the south east coast and Calcutta in the east. After Clive's departure a period of corruption set in. The plunder of the province of Bengal and complete mismanagement led to a major famine which is said to have killed a third of the population. In 1771 Warren Hastings, a Company official became the chief of the Calcutta Presidency. He became the Governor of Bengal in 1772. In 1773, with the passing of the Regulating Act in the British Parliament, Warren Hastings was appointed the first Governor General (Ft William, Bengal) with defacto control of the other regions. Calcutta became the capital city of British India and the Madras and the Bombay presidencies came under its control. In 1774, The British Parliament established a Supreme Court in Calcutta with Sir Elijiah Impey as the Chief Justice.

The company continued its policy of expansion and consolidation of its base in India.1784 saw the passage of the Pitt's (William Pitt, Prime Minister of Britain) India Act whereby the Crown gained the administrative control of India's affairs. Calcutta's importance increased further with the passage of the bill. Lord Cornwallis was appointed the Governor General of India. In 1793 Lord Cornwallis executed the Permanent Settlement of Bengal guaranteeing a free flow of revenues to the Company coffers from the local Zamindars (landlords).

Around Warren Hastings time (1732-1818), Calcutta's population had grown to over two hundred thousand. Calcutta became an important center for opium trade as the company earned huge amounts of money by exporting opium to China. The Company also traded in saltpetre, indigo, muslin, silk and spices. The seeds for Calcutta's growth as a premier trading center were sown. As British India's most important city, infrastructure improvements and the spread of western education began to have an effect on the citizens of Calcutta

During the initial years of British administration in 1770 a terrible famine resulted through collection of revenue, where ten million Bengalis died, one-third of the population.

Ray (1979) remarked that Permanent Settlement(1793) created a new class of landlords (Zamindars)

The East India Company's profit earned from the exploitation of Bengali textile workers. Thousands of textile workers gave up their traditional employment fled from the city to the countryside. The vaccum which was created was filled by the import of textile goods produced in the mechanised of England (Allen, 1912).

British Rule in Bangladesh (1757-1947)

The greatest discontinuity in the history of Bengal region occurred on June 23, 1757 when the East India Company - a mercantile company of England became the virtual ruler of Bengal by defeating Nawab Siraj-ud Daulah through conspiracy. Territorial rule by a trading company resulted in the commercialization of power. The initial effects of the British rule were highly destructive. As the historian R.C. Dutt notes,
"the people of Bengal had been used to tyranny, but had never lived under an oppression so far reaching in its effects, extending to every village market and every manufacturer's loom. They had been used to arbitrary acts from men in power, but had never suffered from a system which touched their trades, their occupations, their lives so closely. The springs of their industry were stopped, the sources of their wealth dried up".

The plunder of Bengal directly contributed to the industrial revolution in England. The capital amassed in Bengal was invested in the nascent British industries. Lack of capital and fall of demand, on the other hand, resulted in deindustrialization in the Bangladesh region. The muslin industry virtually disappeared in the wake of the British rule.

The Rising - India's Mutiny
1857 The First War of Independence of India
Warlocks of the Revolution

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7. THE BENGAL RENAISSANCE

In the long run, the British rule in South Asia contributed to transformation of the traditional society in various ways. The introduction of British law, a modern bureaucracy, new modes of communication, the English language and a modern education system, and the opening of the local market to international trade opened new horizons for development in various spheres of life. The new ideas originating from the West produced a ferment in the South Asian mind. The upshot of this ferment were streams of intellectual movements which have often been compared to the Renaissance.The British rule in Bengal promoted simultaneously the forces of unity and division in the society. The city-based Hindu middle classes became the fiery champions of all-India based nationalism. At the same time, the British rule brought to surface the rivalry between the Hindus and Muslims.

Ishwar Chandra Vidasagar Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar (1820-1891) was a social reformer and educationist. He was in the forefront of introducing modern education for women in Bengal. He helped John Bethune establish the Hindu female school in 1849-50. He fought for widow re-marriage and was against practices of child marriage and polygamy.
The Asiatic Society was founded in 1784 by Sir William Jones. William Carey, a missionary, established a printing press in 1799 and Asia's first modern university in Serampore (a Danish settlement) in 1827. Bengali language, literature and culture went through a period of renaissance and Calcutta became the center of what is generally known as the Bengal Renaissance. Many of India's modern reform movements started in Calcutta. Some of the finest people of India came into limelight at this time. These include Raja Rammohan Roy (1774-1833) social reformer, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820-1891) - reformer and educationist, Henry Louis Vivian Derozio (1809-1831) a poet and nationalist, Raibahadur Bankim Chandra Chatterjee (1838-1899) father of modern Bengali literature and poet Michael Madhusudhan Dutt (1829-1873). Great spiritual leaders like Ramakrishna Paramahansa (Gadadhar Chattopadhyay; 1836-1886) also appeared on the scene

THE FIRST WAR OF INDEPENDENCE (1857)

The highhanded ways of the East India Company made it unpopular amongst the Indians. The pent up feelings snowballed over the use of cow and pig fat in bullets, which hurt the religious sentiments of the Indian troops. Just a century after the Battle of Plassey, in 1857, Mangal Pandey, shot his Sergeant Major in the Parade Grounds at Barrackpore, a cantonment near Calcutta. He was hanged and his infantry was disbanded. This was one of the first events of what is known as the First Battle of Independence or the Sepoy Mutiny depending on the perspective of the concerned historian. The revolt soon spread throughout the country in various forms but the Company was able to put down the struggle. The end of the struggle also ended the remnants of the once mighty Mughal empire. The last emperor of the Mughal Dynasty - Bahadur Shah II was deposed and died in Burma.

Mutiny 1857

Last Mughal emperor This year was the 150th anniversary of the bloody events of 1857. The year marks the beginning of the end (for 90 years) of South Asia ruled by the sons of soil. The events that followed led the symbolic power change seat from the imperial palace in Delhi to Buckingham Palace in London by 1858. It was then even the Peacock Throne of the Indian emperors as well as the legendary dazzling diamond of the imperial crown, known as Koh-i-Noor (literally: the mount of light) was looted and physically taken to Britain by the mutineers.

The British call the war of 1857 as the great Mutiny. Mutiny, it definitely was, but not a "great" one. It was a mutiny of British officers of the company in the service of the Indian emperor against him, and not the other way round. That is why I have chosen the word "unique" for this mutiny since it is the first major mutiny the facts of which have been so disfigured by the new British rulers that our own textbooks sixty years after independence still call it as a mutiny of the Indian emperor against his British servants/subjects. What a mutilation and dishonesty towards history as well as a linguistic paradox. Mutiny is a rebellion by servants against master. A master cannot be said to be rebelling against servants.

Let us understand the nature of the 1857 war first. In many parts of the Indian empire, it had been a franchise issue just like the governance itself in the last century of the imperial rule had been. Most provinces were fully or semi-independent and owed little or nominal allegiance to the emperor at Delhi. This all changed when the subjects of the emperor felt the existential threat to the empire due to the division and fragmentation. Bakht Khan, a military general from the independent state of Awdh, descended in and defended Delhi, while taking over the command of the imperial forces on the emperor's behalf. The Rani of Jhansi, Satay Ram, Maulvi Ahmadullah Khan, and many local political and military leaders rose to the occasion, professed their allegiance to the emperor and tried to expel the rapacious British servants of the East India Company from the India soil. It is a misfortunate that neither in India nor in Pakistan, any of the top military medals is named after the military heroes of the 1857 war.

Till as late as 1835, Persian had remained the imperial language for the court and the country and official one for the Company too. The Company's so-called governor of Bengal paid ritual obeisance to the emperor every year. The emperor's was the de jure government and Company was exercising de facto delegated authority mainly on revenue and law and order matters in a limited part of his domains.

Same was the case of around 564 other rulers, sultans, dukes and princes, who were ruling their own mini-kingdoms within the empire. Bahadur Shah Zafar (picture- left), the 38th ruler of united India and the 17th and the last one from the Mughul dynasty, was on the throne.

At the beginning of the outbreak of hostilities, history tells us, the old and ailing poet-emperor was not hopeful of winning the war to expel the British intruders, but seeing the zeal of his subjects, he gave in and accepted to lead them as their symbolic head. Since it was the emperor who wanted to get rid of the British, it would be frivolous to call it as an independence struggle since emperor is not supposed to be getting "independence" from disloyal subjects. We can call his campaign as the one of retribution towards his British subjects who had shown seditionist tendencies, i.e. the officers of the British East India Trading Company that was operating under a license by the great ancestor of the incumbent, Emperor Shah Jehan in consideration of medical help that the British doctors had provided in a serious burn injury to a princess.

It may be recalled that Indian sub-continent boasts of one of the oldest civilisations of the known history. The Indus valley civilisation whose relics are found in Punjab province of what is now Pakistan, date back to 2500 BC when people lived in properly designed urban settlements and were fairly advanced in arts and learning.

The Arab Muslims first conquered and annexed parts of India between 668 to 712 AD. The latter date marks the conquest of Deebal a town near the present day Karachi, now a bustling port metropolis of 12 million people, by the Arabs. Between 998 and 1030 AD the Afghans, who had by then turned Muslims under Sultan Mahmood of Gazna, invaded India seventeen times for plunder. By 1206, the Muslims had captured Delhi and at least the northern half of the sub-continent had become a political unity under Sultan Qutbuddin Aibak, the first Muslim ruler of Delhi and the founder of slaves' dynasty. The rule continued for around seven centuries under successive dynasties like the Tughlaqs, the Khiljis, the Syeds, the Lodhis, and the Suris. It was under the Mughals that the whole of India came under a single rule. By the early 19th century, anarchy and chaos best described Indian political landscape. A trading company, named East India Comapny became powerful and a time came that even the emperor was apprehensive of its power. Though the trouble started with Indian soldiers of the Company over the use of gun-lids allegedly made of cow fat, but once the emperor saw his opportunity to throw his weight behind and try to get rid of the British it became a national struggle. Now it was emperor and his loyalists fighting against the ones, whom the emperor wanted out of his realms (Saad S. Khan Daily Star, August 26, 2007).

Military conflict and geopolitical brinkmanship have shaped the fate of the region since 1404 AD

Geopolitically, the Bay of Bengal is a glittering feather in Bangladesh's semi-landlocked status and, Arakan played a vital role in shaping Bangladesh's destiny in the past. Stretching along the Bay of Bengal from the Naaf River (which separates Myanmar from Bangladesh) to Cape Negrais in southern Burma, the land and sea routes of Arakan connect it with Bengal to the west and Burma proper to the east, hence to the Far East and China.

Military conflict and geopolitical brinkmanship have shaped the fate of the region since 1404 AD when the independent state of Arakan was invaded by Burmese forces, driving out king Min Saw Mun to seek refuge under the Sultanate of Gaur in Bengal. The reminiscences are pretty disturbing. The Bengal Sultanate, independent of Delhi, was founded in the mid-14th century and the genesis of today's Bangladesh remains hidden in the blood-soaked history of the era. Ever since, a predominant Muslim Bengal began to emerge gradually under an Islamic culture that had been laying roots since the 13th century, leading eventually to the formation of East Pakistan in 1947 and then to Bangladesh.

In between came the Moguls, who too were Muslims as were West Pakistanis. Mugal emperor Humayan conquered the Sultanate of Gaur, sparking off a long period of civil war to provoke Arakan king Min Bin to take advantage of the instability and occupy East Bengal with a strong naval fleet and infantry. Bengal remained a vassal of Arakan for the next one hundred and twenty years, till 1666. Its administration was left in the hands of twelve local rajas who all paid annual tribute to the Arakan king's Chittagong-based viceroy. Almost similar power play characterised the region's colonization. From 1731-1784, instability gripped Arakan and thirteen kings vied for succession of the throne, the average rule of each not exceeding more than two years. The instability resulted in the annexation in 1784 of the entire region into the Kingdom of Burma, which in turn became part of the British dominion in 1826.

Ever since, Burma enjoyed sovereignty over the territory, but Bangladesh has had to suffer an unwanted burden with respect to sheltering Muslim refugees from the region. The geopolitical significance of the region was intensely felt by Japan that occupied Arakan from 1942 to 1945. The allies and axis powers battled each other in the same region during Second World War.

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8. PARTITION OF BENGAL

Throughout the centuries Bengal was a comparative haven of peace and prosperity, gaining for itself the title of Golden Bengal. Communal strife was unknown in this region. Although this communal discord had manifested itself for a variety of reasons in nineteenth century India, it cannot be conclu

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BANGLADESH/ BENGAL

HISTORY OF BENGAL

CONTENT

1. INTRODUCTION

2. THE BUDDHIST PERIOD

Buddhism in Bangladesh

Structures older than Pala Era found at Paharpur site

Ancient ruins of Mainamoti-Lalmai Hills

3. THE PALAS (750-1161 AD)

THE SENAS (1095-1260 AD)

Durga Puja (worship) - Victory over the Ugliness and Terror

Temple Architecture

The early 7th century Baroshivaloy temple in Joypurhat

4. MUSLIM RULERS

THE SURIS AND THE MUGHALS

Akbar, the Great Mughal Emperor: The story of Islam in South Asia

The Glory of Mediaeval Bengal (1204-l757)

5. EUROPEAN TRADERS

Glimpses of Dacca

6. PLUNDER OF BENGAL & CALCUTTA BECOMES THE SEAT OF POLITICAL POWER

British Rule in Bangladesh (1757-1947)

7. THE BENGAL RENAISSANCE

THE FIRST WAR OF INDEPENDENCE (1857)

Mutiny 1857

Military conflict and geopolitical brinkmanship have shaped the fate of the region since 1404 AD

8. PARTITION OF BENGAL