... people died in 1943 in Bengal Province of British India due to famine. [57][58], The Adina Mosque was India's largest mosque. The battle of Plassey was of immense historical importance. Bengal in particular was not to know peace again until it had been bled white. “Timelines of Major Famines in India during British Rule.” . Although protest had been largely Hindu-led, such eminent leaders of the Indian nationalist movement at Nazrul Islam and Rabindranath Tagore stressed Hindu-Muslim unity. He then retired from Calcutta to celebrate his easy victory, letting the English escape with their ships. The Bengal famine of 1943 occurred during World War II and caused the death of an estimated 2.1–3 million people. They demanded the re-imposition of duties on Indian traders. It boosted British prestige and at a single stroke raised them to the status of a major contender for the Indian empire. Dutch settlements in Bengal included the Dutch settlement in Rajshahi, the main Dutch port in Baliapal, as well as factories in Chhapra (saltpetre), Dhaka (muslin), Balasore, Patna, Cossimbazar, Malda, Mirzapur, Murshidabad, Rajmahal and Sherpur. The East India Company, during their first 60 years of rule didn’t care much for the education of those they ruled in India. [28] Remnants of Copper Age settlements, including pit dwellings, date back 4,000 years. From Shah Alam II, who was still the titular head of the Mughal Empire, the Company secured the Diwani, or the right to collect revenue of Bihar, Bengal and Orissa. [12] The capital Dhaka had a population exceeding a million people, and with an estimated 80,000 skilled textile weavers. It was the largest Bengali empire that was known to ancient and classical India. The lessons learnt there were profitably applied in Bengal. [46], The Chandra dynasty ruled southeastern Bengal and Arakan between the 10th and 11th centuries CE. M. Mukerjee, Churchill’s Secret War: The British Empire and the Ravaging of India during World War II, India Penguin, 2018. The Somapura Mahavihara built by Emperor Dharmapala is the greatest Buddhist monastery in the Indian subcontinent. It was either under Magadh or under Kalinga Rules except few years under Pals. [53] Gradually, eastern Bengal was absorbed into Muslim rule by the 14th century, such as through the Conquest of Sylhet. [5] The Sultans exerted influence in the Arakan region of Southeast Asia, where Buddhist kings copied the sultanate's governance, currency and fashion. British rule in Bengal simultaneously promoted the forces of unity and division in the society. In Bangladesh, a Nizari Ismaili community with diverse origins continues to play a significant role in economic sectors. In Ptolemy's world map, the emporium of Sounagoura (Sonargaon) was located in Bengal. According to Pala copperplate inscriptions, his successor Devapala exterminated the Utkalas, invade the Kamarupa Kingdom of Assam, shattered the pride of the Huna people and humbled the lords of Gurjara-Pratihara and the Rashtrakuta dynasty. The Kingdom of Bhurshut was a medieval Hindu kingdom spread across what is now Howrah and Hooghly in the Indian state of West Bengal. The French built a garden in Tejgaon. There are also records of the sultans' relations with Egypt, Herat and some kingdoms in Africa. Under the Mughals, Bengal Subah generated almost 50% of the empire's gross domestic product (GDP) and 12% of the world's GDP. Moreover, the two signed an alliance by which the Company promised to support the Nawab against an outside attack provided he paid for the services of the troops sent to his aid. [4] The region was part of several ancient pan-Indian empires, including the Mauryans and Guptas. In the late 16th and early 17th centuries, Isa Khan, a Muslim Rajput chief, who led the Baro Bhuiyans (twelve landlords), dominated the Bengal delta. He married a Western Chalukya princess and concentrated on building his empire eastwards, establishing his rule over nearly all of Bengal and large areas of lower Assam. The Arabs were among the earliest settlers, especially in coastal areas. The citadel of Gauda served as capital of the Gauda Kingdom, the Buddhist Pala Empire (eighth to 11th century) and Sen Empire (11th–12th century). The inscriptional evidences show that his kingdom was extended up to the present-day Comilla–Noakhali–Chittagong region. Its eastern boundary was formed by the Brahmaputra River. Led by Bakhtiar Khilji, an army of several thousand horsemen from the Ghurids overwhelmed Bengali Hindu forces during a blitzkrieg campaign. [11], Bengali farmers and agriculturalists were quick to adapt to profitable new crops between 1600 and 1650. While Anangabhimadeva defeated the Palas successively and counquered southern Bengal, he had to face stiffer opposition in the south from the great Chola ruler, Kulothunga Chola I. The Deva dynasty was a Hindu dynasty of medieval Bengal that ruled over eastern Bengal after the collapse Sena Empire. Around the early 18th century, the Maratha Empire led invasions of Bengal. Meghna Guhathakurta & Willem van Schendel (Edited) (2013) The Bangladesh Reader: History, Culture, Politics (The World Readers), Duke University Press Books, Pages: 568. The dynasty was founded by the first Nawab of Bengal Murshid Quli Khan. ", Momtazur Rahman Tarafdar, "Itihas O Aitihasik", Bangla Academy Dhaka, 1995, Encyclopaedia of North-East India by T. Raatan p.143, Nadia' Jillar Purakirti by Archaeological Survey of India, West Bengal, 1975, Imperial Gazetteer of India, New Edition (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1908–1931), Vol. Bengali influences were incorporated into the kingdom's architecture. In the spring of 1857 a number of units of the Bengal Army, one of three native armies in the employ of the East India Company, rebelled against British rule. A Hindu scholar produced a Bengali translation of the Quran. A Portuguese missionary published the first book on Bengali grammar. One of the sultans, Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah, kept a correspondence with the renowned Persian poet Hafez. He realised that a full treasury and an efficient army were essential to maintain his independence. The Pala dynasty lasted for four centuries and ushered in a period of stability and prosperity in Bengal. Under Mauryan rule, the economic system benefited from the creation of a single efficient system of finance, administration, and security. In addition to this, the Company and its servants forced the Indian officials and zamindars to give them presents and bribes. 9, p. 102, Om Prakash, "Empire, Mughal", History of World Trade Since 1450, edited by John J. McCusker, vol. The river Hooghly became the northern boundary of the Odishan kingdom. In all, the English lost 29 men while the Nawab lost nearly 500. British India During World War I Ganesha installed his son Jadu to the throne but his son was influenced to convert to Islam[citation needed] by the court's Sufi clergy. The records of Rajendra Chola I of the Chola dynasty, who invaded Bengal in the 11th century, use the term Vangaladesa. Eventually, the Mughals subdued the zamindar rebellion and brought all of Bengal under imperial control. However, Bengalis were also divided by religion due to the political situation in the rest of India. [10], Following the decline of the sultanate, Bengal came under the suzerainty of the Mughal Empire, as its wealthiest province. According to the Indian epic Mahabharata, the Vanga Kingdom was located in Bengal. At the same time, the British stoked rivalries between Hindus and Muslims, which had lain dormant during the previous 500 years of Muslim rule. The discovery of Gupta era coins across Bengal point to a monetised economy.[45]. [19][28] Archaeological evidence confirms that by the second millennium BCE, the Bengal delta was inhabited by rice-cultivating communities, with people living in systemically-aligned housing and producing pottery. The English, however, were not satisfied; they were aiming high. This was a mistake for he had underestimated the strength of his enemy. Thus, its control over Bengal was legalized and the revenues of this most prosperous of Indian provinces placed at its command. Vijaya Sena, second ruler of the dynasty, defeated the last Pala emperor, Madanapala, and established his reign formally. They brought about a revival of Hinduism and cultivated Sanskrit literature in eastern India. The Pala period is regarded as one of Bengal's golden ages. He was also the head of state of a parallel regime named 'The Provisional Government of Free India' or Arzi Hukumat-e-Azad Hind, that was recognised and supported by the Axis powers. The British government introduced the railway to Bengal in 1854. 237–240, World History in Context. [citation needed]. The leader of the expedition was Maharaja Raghuji of Nagpur. In return, the Company gave him a subsidy of 26 lakhs of rupees and secured for him the districts of Kora and Allahabad. The Company itself was seized with unsurpassable greed. The Portuguese settlers in Chittagong included bureaucrats, merchants, soldiers, sailors, missionaries, slave traders and pirates. [19][20] Other accounts speculate that the name is derived from Venga (Bôngo), which came from the Austric word "Bonga" meaning the Sun-god. [38] The empire was established by Chandragupta Maurya. Even though Mir Jafar owed his position to the Company, he soon repented the bargain he had struck. These included a realm led by Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah (and later his son) in Sonargaon;[55] a realm led by Alauddin Ali Shah in Gauda (also called Lakhnauti);[56] and a realm led by Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah in Satgaon. The company consolidated their hold on the region following the Battle of Plassey in 1757 and Battle of Buxar in 1764 and by 1793 took complete control of the region. The Mauryan Empire unified most of the Indian subcontinent into one state for the first time and was one of the largest empires in subcontinental history. East Bengal was renamed East Pakistan, and later became the independent nation of Bangladesh after the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. This can be seen in the sculptures and architectural style of the Sailendra (present-day Malay Peninsula, Java and Sumatra). Iftekhar Iqbal (2010) The Bengal Delta: Ecology, State and Social Change, 1840–1943, Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies, Palgrave Macmillan, Pages: 288. 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