Handout 1 Lands of Bengal PDF

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Handout 1 Lands of Bengal_MMGR...

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This is a draft handout for the students based on the online available information.

Lands of Bengal Ancient Janapadas/Settlements in the lands of Bengal -

In ancient times, there was nothing named Bengal. The land of modern Bengal was divided into many settlements. A few became famous such as Pundra/Pundraverdhana, Varendra, Banga, Gaur, Radh, Samatata, Horikel; as time went on, Banga and Gaur became dominant.

Banga: The regions bordered on the north by the Jamuna River, on the south by the Padma River, and on the east by the Meghna river was the Banga janapada in the ancient times (present Khulna and Barisal regions. Present Mymensingh regions were also sometimes included in the Banga janapad). There was another janapada in Bakla/Bakerganj i.e. present Barishal, known as Chndradip (chandra island). The region on the eastern side of the Meghna i.e. present noakhali. The Banga and Samatata regions were comparatively low-lying, riverine and wetland. Pundra: The Pundra was situated on the northern banks of the Ganges-Padma. On the south, it was bordered by the Jamuna. It was indeed the lower part (southern part) of the present northern districts of Bangladesh. The Pundra janpada was the oldest janapada. It is said that before the coming of the Muslims, the oldest Pundra janapada was replaced by the Varendra janapada. Varenda: The extreme north-western part of present Bangladesh (Rajshahi, Rangpur Dinajpur etc.) was known as Varendra janapada. As a newer janapada it came into existence in the regions of the old Pundra janapada. Gaura: Roughly the areas of present Rajshahi and Chapai-Nawabganj districts of Bangladesh and Malda and Murshidabad districts of West Bengal of India were the Gaura Janapad Radha: The western part of the Ganges-Bhagirathi rivers, the ancient Radh janapada including present Medinipur, Burdwan, Purulia, Hoogly etc. of West Bengal. Radha was divided north and south by the Ajay river. The Horikel janapada was located in the present

regions and Sylhet

regions. Political History of Bengal -

Before and after the Aryans came to India, Bengal was divided into many janapadas. The first Kindom of Bengal was founded by Shashanka around 600 AD in the ancient Gaur janapada. Karnasuvarna (present Murshidabad district of West Bengal) was his capital. After Shashanka died, anarchy and political chaos existed for about a century, known as Matsyanyayam (650-750 AD). At the end of the century-long anarchy, the Pala Dynast started its rule (750 -1150 AD)

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The Sena Dynasty ruled from 1150 to 1204 AD which Bakhtiyar Khalji ousted. Thus Muslim Rule under the Delhi Sultanate started in Bengal in 1204 AD. The Independent Bengal Sultanate existed for two centuries from 1338 to 1538 AD.

This is a draft handout for the students based on the online available information.

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Bengal was a Subah under the Mughal from 1576 to 1757 AD. The British colonial rule started in Bengal in 1757 and then spread all over India, ending in 1947.

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During the Great Divide of 1947, Bengal was partitioned, and then East Bengal became a province of Pakistan. In 1971, the then East Pakistan was liberated from Pakistan and emerged as a sovereign country under the outstanding leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Rise of the east-west political division in the lands of Bengal -

There is no sufficient evidence that Shaashanka could subjugate Banga in his Gaur Kingdom, which was the first in Bengal it its kind. Since Gaura was in the west and the Banga janapada was in the east, a political difference arose between the eastern part (East Bengal/ Bangladesh) and western part (Radha/Gaur/West Bengal) of the lands of Bengal. Also, there was ecological otherness between these two parts of Bengal. Geographical location and climatic conditions were significantly different between these two parts •

Western and northern parts were high and dry

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Eastern and southern parts were low, moist and riverine

Origins of the name “Bengal”: The modern name “Bengal” originated from the ancient name Bang/Banga. According to Abul Fazl (Ain-i-Akbari) the rulers of Banga raised mounds [embankment] measuring ten yards in height and twenty yards in breadth throughout the province, which were called Al (Sanskrit Ali means a mound of earth or ridge for crossing ditches, dividing fields and the like). From this suffix, the name Bengal took its rise and currency. (Banga+Al = Bangal →Bengala (Portugues) → Bengal (English) →Bangla) Areas of Bengal: Abul Fazl narrates, “…Its (Bengal Subah) length from Chittagong to Garhi [Teliagarhi] is four hundred kos (kos=2.4 miles). Its breadth from the northern range of mountains to the southern frontier of the Sarkar of Mandaran, is two hundred kos… It is bounded on the east by the sea, north and south by mountains and the west by the Subah of Behar.” The Bengal Delta: The Bengal Delta/ Ganges Delta/Sundarbans Delta) is a river delta in the Bengal region, consisting of Bangladesh and West Bengal of India. It is the world's largest river delta, and it empties into the Bay of Bengal with the combined waters of several river systems, mainly those of the Brahmaputra and the Ganges. Being an active delta Bengal is one of the most fertile regions in the world. The Ganges River: The Ganges or Ganga is a transboundary river of Asia that flows through India and Bangladesh. This 2,525 km (1,569 mi) long river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It flows south and east through Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and then enters Bangladesh and became the Padma. It is the third-largest river on Earth by discharge. The Brahmaputra River: The Brahmaputra is a transboundary river with its origin in the Manasarover Lake region, near Mount Kailas, in Tibet as the Yarlung Tsangpo. It flows along with southern Tibet, Arunachal Prades (Siang/Dihang River) and Assam (Brahmaputra River). The Brahmaputra enters into Bangladesh through the northern district of Kurigram

This is a draft handout for the students based on the online available information.

and takes the name Jamuna and then flows towards the south and merged with the Padma in Goalanda (Rajbari). Main River of East Bengal (Bangladesh) The Jamuna: The Brahmaputra enters Bangladesh from Assam through the northern district of Kurigram and takes the name Jamuna. Then it flows towards the south and merged with the Padma in Goalanda (Rajbari). The Padma: The great Ganga became the Padma when it enters Bangladesh through the western district of Rajshahi and flows towards the south-east. In Goalanda (Rajbari), it receives the waters of the Jamuna (coming from the north) and further flows towards the south-east and merged with the Meghna in Munshiganj. The Meghna: Meghna River is a major watercourse in Bangladesh. The name is appropriately applied to a channel of the Old Brahmaputra downstream from Bhairab Bazar after it receives the Surma (Barak) River. The Brahmaputra in Bangladesh is a branch of the Jamuna with its origin in Gainandha and flows east-southward through Jamalpur, Mymensingh and Kishoreganj up to it receives the waters of Surma near Bhairab and forms the Meghna. –

The Surma and Kushiyara, both of which originate in the hilly regions of eastern India as the Barak River. When Borak enters Bangladesh through the north-eastern border district of Sylhet, it got divided into two channels

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The Surma and Kushiara. Surma flows towards the west through Sunamganj, and Kushiara flows towards the southwest through Habiganj and Kishoreganj.

Flowing almost due south, the Meghna receives the combined waters of the Padma and Jamuna near Chandpur. Then, after about 164 miles (264 km), it empties in the Bay of Bengal. Influence of Rivers in the division of the Lands of Bengal The east-west and north-south divisions of the land of Bengal got their origins from the flows of the rivers and riverine networks. East Bengal: The lands on the eastern side of the line of the confluence of the Padma, the Jamuna and the Meghna came to be known as East Bengal. Abul Fazl says, “The tract of country on the east [East Bengal] called Bhati, is reckoned a part of this province [Bengal Suba]. …To the south-east of Bengal is a considerable tract called Arakan which possesses the port of Chittagong. The name was given by the Muhammadan historians to the coast-strip of the Sundarbans from Hijili to the Meghna North Bengal: The lands on the northern bank of the Ganga-Padma with its eastern boundary by the Jamuna river is known as North Bengal. The ancient Pundra janapada originated in this region. Before the coming of the Muslims, the pundra janapade was absorbed into Varendra janapada. South Bengal: The areas bounded by the Ganga-Padma on the north, Bhagirathi-Hoogly on the west, Meghna on the east and by the bay on the south came to be known as south Bengal.

This is a draft handout for the students based on the online available information.

West Bengal: The western part of the Ganga-Bhagirathi rivers came to be known as West Bengal. In ancient times, the Radh janapada originated in this region. The Political Dominance of the East-West Division As time went on, the north-south division of Bengal became insignificant while the east-west division became dominant. Over the centuries, political polarisation was taking place in the east-west division. Minhaj-i-Siraj determined Lakhnauti (Gaur/Laxmanavati) in the northwestern part and Banga in the south-eastern region. There was ecological, economic and political otherness between these two parts. Eventually, these two parts (politicised ecological division) were divided into two states in 1947. The political calculation vis-à-vis demography caused deviations to the ecological east-west divisions in the final partition of 1947. Importance of East Bengal -

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Among the seven influential ancient janapadas five were located in east Bengal (present Bangladesh). Gaur was in the middle point covering parts of the west and parts of North Bengal. Only Radha was situated in present West Bengal. In the early ancient times, i.e., before the coming of the Aryans, there were only two great janapadas named Banga and Pundra and both of them were located in present Bangladesh The independent rule in Bengal (Independent Bengal Sultanate, 1338-1538 AD) started from Sonargaon by Fakhr-ud-Din Mubarak Shah. Mubarak Shah occupied the Chittagong port from the Arakan King in 1343/44 AD. Since then, Chittagong has been the chief port of Bengal. (Grande Porte). Sonargaon was very close to the ancient capital of Bengal Bikrampur. Mughal Subadar Islam Khan built the capital of Bengal subah in Dhaka in 1608/10 AD. There is no sufficient document that Shashanka was able to subjugate East Bengal. Bakhtiyar Khalji, the founder of Muslim rule in Bengal, refrained from directly ruling the eastern regions known as bhati. Sher Shah was also unable to suppress the Sonargaon-centric eastern Bengal. The great Mughal Emperor Akbar had quickly annexed Gaur (West Bengal) to his empire in 1576, but he could not do so in eastern Bengal. It was known as bughlakpur, which was mainly caused by its natural protection against outsiders. Akbar’s successor, Emperor Jahangir, was able to subjugate Sonargaon by his great general Islam Khan in 1608/10 when Dhaka became the capital city of Bengal Subah. On the other hand, even in 1690, Kolkata was a village. British merchant Job Charnak founded a factory in Sutanati, a neighbouring village of Kolkata. In 1690 he bought Sutanati, Kolkata and Govindpur villages. In 1700 the Fort William was founded in Kolkata. Thus Kolkata started its journey as a city, and shortly, it became the capital of the colonial government. So, Dhaka is much older than Kolkata which is now the capital of Bangladesh

East Bengal: Active Delta - West Bengal: Moribund Delta The Bengal delta has its south-eastern face, and its gravity is moving to the south-east. So, day by day, West Bengal went out of the active delta zones.

This is a draft handout for the students based on the online available information.

Western Bengal - high and dry - non-availability of land for agricultural expansion and scarcity of water - caste system and prejudices Eastern and Southern parts (East Bengal) - low, moist and riverine - availability of land and water for agricultural expansion, and fertility of the land - people are brave, freedom-loving and free of prejudices...