Bengali Hindus

2026-05-04T14:52:18Z

172.223.104.26:

{{Short description|Ethno-linguistic and religious population from India and Bangladesh}}
{{More footnotes needed|date=March 2016}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox religious group
| name = Bengali Hindus <br/> বাঙালি হিন্দু
| flag = [[File:Bengali Swastika Symbol half.svg|75px]]
| image = বাগবাজার সার্বজনীন দুর্গোৎসব ২০১৮.jpg
| image_caption = [[Durga Puja]], the most notable Hindu festival for Bengali Hindus.
| pop = '''{{Circa|95-97 million}}''' (2026 est.)<br/>
78-80 million (2011 & 2022 census)
| populace =
| region1 = {{flag|India}}
| pop1 = ~82 million (2026 est.){{Efn|The estimated population of India in 2026 is about 1.48 billion,<ref>{{Cite web |title=India population 2026 |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/263766/total-population-of-india/?srsltid=AfmBOooamdezfszPIjHhIIL1lMP9N5cS5LS6CHHcqlOGjZjOr8MGR2ib |access-date=24 March 2026 |website=Statista |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=World Bank Open Data |url=https://data.worldbank.org/ |access-date=24 March 2026 |website=World Bank Open Data}}</ref> of which approximately 8% are Bengalis.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CENSUS OF INDIA (LANGUAGE) |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/42458/download/46089/C-16_25062018.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260222053153/https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/42458/download/46089/C-16_25062018.pdf |archive-date=22 February 2026 |access-date=24 March 2026 |website=Census of India}}</ref> Approximately 70% of them are Bengali Hindus.<ref>[[2011 census of India]]</ref>}}<br/>
66,700,000–68,200,000 ([[2011 census of India|2011]]){{efn|including 55,000,000 in West Bengal <ref>{{cite web|first=Romita|last=Datta|date=13 November 2020|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/nation/story/20201123-the-great-hindu-vote-trick-1740691-2020-11-13|title=The great Hindu vote trick|website=[[India Today]]|access-date=4 October 2022|quote=Hindus add up to about 70 million in Bengal's 100 million population, of which around 55 million are Bengalis.|archive-date=17 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230217152015/https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/nation/story/20201123-the-great-hindu-vote-trick-1740691-2020-11-13|url-status=live}}</ref> 6,500,000-7,500,000 in [[Bengali Hindus in Assam|Assam]],<ref>{{cite web|first=Zamser|last=Ali|date=5 December 2019|url=https://sabrangindia.in/article/exclusive-bjp-govt-plans-evict-70-lakh-muslims-60-lakh-bengali-hindus-through-its-land|title=EXCLUSIVE: BJP Govt plans to evict 70 lakh Muslims, 60 lakh Bengali Hindus through its Land Policy (2019) in Assam|website=[[Sabrang Communications]]|access-date=4 October 2022|quote=Hence, about 70 lakh Assamese Muslims and 60 lakh Bengali-speaking Hindus face mass evictions and homelessness if the policy is allowed to be passed in the Assembly.|archive-date=3 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003180815/https://sabrangindia.in/article/exclusive-bjp-govt-plans-evict-70-lakh-muslims-60-lakh-bengali-hindus-through-its-land|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.thenewsweb.in/india/bengali-speaking-voters-may-prove-crucial-in-the-second-phase-of-assam-poll/ | title=Bengali speaking voters may prove crucial in the second phase of Assam poll | work=The News Web | date=April 2021 | access-date=11 January 2023 | archive-date=3 June 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603194154/https://www.thenewsweb.in/india/bengali-speaking-voters-may-prove-crucial-in-the-second-phase-of-assam-poll/ | url-status=live }}</ref> 3,000,000 in [[Jharkhand]] {{See below|[[#Jharkhand|below]]}} and 2,200,000 in [[Tripura]] {{See below|[[#Tripura|below]]}}}}
| ref1 =
| region2 = {{Flag|Bangladesh}}
| pop2 = ~15 million (2026 est.){{Efn|Bangladesh’s population is expected to be around 180 million in 2026.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bangladesh’s population hits 175.7 million {{!}} The Daily Star |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/bangladeshs-population-hits-1757-million-3934196 |access-date=2026-04-21 |website=www.thedailystar.net |language=en}}</ref> Approximately 7.95% of the population follows Hinduism.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2022/07/27/census-2022-number-of-muslims-increased-in-the-country |title=Census 2022: Number of Muslims increased in the country |work=[[Dhaka Tribune]] |date=27 July 2022 |access-date=1 October 2022 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326033444/https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2022/07/27/census-2022-number-of-muslims-increased-in-the-country |url-status=live}}</ref>}} <br/>
13,130,109 ([[2022 Census of Bangladesh|2022 census]])
| ref2 =
| region3 = [[Bengali Hindu diaspora]]
| langs = [[Bengali language|Bengali]]
| religions = [[Hinduism]] {{nowrap|([[Shaktism]], [[Vaishnavism]], [[Shaivism]])}}
|related-c=[[Bengali Muslims]], [[Bengali Buddhists]], [[Bengali Christians]]}}
{{Hinduism}}
{{Bengalis}}
'''Bengali Hindus''' ({{langx|bn|বাঙালি হিন্দু|translit=Bāṅgālī Hindu/Banghāli Hindu}}) are adherents of [[Hinduism]] who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as [[Bengalis]]. They make up the majority in the [[Indian states]] of [[West Bengal]], [[Tripura]], [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]], and Assam's [[Barak Valley]] region and make up the largest minority in [[Bangladesh]]. Comprising about one-third of the global Bengali population, they are the largest ethnic group among Hindus.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}} Bengali Hindus speak [[Bengali language|Bengali]], which belongs to the [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]] language family and adhere to the [[Shaktism]] school of thought of Hinduism (majority, the [[Shaktism#Kalikula: family of Kali|Kalikula tradition]]) or [[Vaishnavism]] (minority, [[Gaudiya Vaishnavism]] and [[Vaishnava-Sahajiya]]) of their native religion Hinduism with some regional deities.{{sfn|McDermott|2005|p=826}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Frawley|first=David|title=What Is Hinduism?: A Guide for the Global Mind|date=18 October 2018|publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing]]|isbn=978-93-88038-65-2|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=5x9vDwAAQBAJ 26]|author-link=David Frawley}}</ref> There are significant numbers of [[States of India by Bengali speakers|Bengali-speaking Hindus in different Indian states]].<ref name="BPSR_2015">{{cite news |url=http://www.thestatesman.com/news/opinion/bengal-s-topsy-turvy-population-growth/93152.html |title=Bengal's topsy-turvy population growth |author=B.P. Syam Roy |newspaper=The Statesman |date=28 September 2015 |access-date=1 March 2016 |archive-date=10 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910125228/http://www.thestatesman.com/news/opinion/bengal-s-topsy-turvy-population-growth/93152.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Citation|title=Population by religious community: West Bengal|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01/DDW19C-01%20MDDS.XLS|work=[[2011 Census of India]]|volume=36|publication-date=2012|author=[[Government of India]]|access-date=1 March 2016|archive-date=10 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910024649/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01/DDW19C-01%20MDDS.XLS|url-status=live}}.</ref>
[[File:Durga_Puja_at_Times_Square.jpg|thumb|200x200px|Durga Puja celebrations at Times Square by [[Bengali Hindu Americans]]]]
Around the 8th century, the Bengali language branched off from [[Magadhi Prakrit]], a derivative of [[Sanskrit]] that was prevalent in the eastern region of the [[Indian subcontinent]] at that time.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Chakrabarti |first1=Kunal |title=Historical Dictionary of the Bengalis |last2=Chakrabarti |first2=Shubhra |date=22 August 2013 |publisher=[[Scarecrow Press]] |isbn=978-0-8108-8024-5 |pages=351 |language=en}}</ref> During the [[Sena dynasty|Sena]] period (11th – 12th century) the Bengali culture developed into a distinct culture, within the civilisation. Bengali Hindus and Muslims were at the forefront of the [[Bengal Renaissance]] in the 19th century; the Bengal region was noted for its participation in the struggle for independence from the [[British Raj|British rule]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Muslim freedom martyrs of India |date=2 October 2009 |url=http://twocircles.net/2009oct01/muslim_freedom_martyrs_india.html |work=Two Circles |access-date=26 December 2012 |archive-date=29 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120329195037/http://twocircles.net/2009oct01/muslim_freedom_martyrs_india.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Role of Muslims in the Freedom Movement-II |url=http://www.radianceweekly.com/268/7501/the-arab-autumn/2011-08-21/independence-day/story-detail/role-of-muslims-in-thefreedom-movement-ii.html |work=Radiance Weekly |access-date=26 December 2012 |archive-date=25 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121225185127/http://www.radianceweekly.com/268/7501/the-arab-autumn/2011-08-21/independence-day/story-detail/role-of-muslims-in-thefreedom-movement-ii.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

At the time of the independence of India in 1947, the province of Bengal was [[Partition of Bengal (1947)|partitioned]] between India and [[East Pakistan]], part of the Muslim-majority state of Pakistan. Millions of Bengali Hindus numbering around 2,519,557 (1941–1951) have [[Mass migration|migrated]] from East Bengal (later Bangladesh) and settled in West Bengal and other states of India.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}} The migration continued in waves through the fifties and sixties, especially as a results of the [[1950 East Pakistan riots]], which led to the migration of 4.5 million Hindus to India, according to one estimate.<ref name="aroy94">{{cite book |last=Roy |first=A. |title=Genocide of Hindus & Buddhists in East Pakistan (Bangladesh) |year=1980 |place=Delhi |publisher=Kranti Prakashan |page=94 |oclc=13641966}}</ref> The massacre of East Pakistanis in the [[Bangladesh Liberation War]] of 1971 led to exodus of millions of Hindus to India.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kundu |first1=Kimtee |date=1 February 2023 |title=The Past has yet to Leave the Present: Genocide in Bangladesh |journal=Harvard International Review |url=https://hir.harvard.edu/the-past-has-yet-to-leave-the-present-genocide-in-bangladesh/ |access-date=14 January 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Habib |first1=Haroon |date=30 January 2022 |title=In East Pakistan in 1971: A 'forgotten' genocide |url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/world-affairs/in-east-pakistan-in-1971-a-forgotten-genocide-bangladesh-liberation-war/article38307183.ece |magazine=Frontline |access-date=14 January 2025}}</ref>

[[File:Debi Durga Sculpture by Sandalwood Murshidabad WB 30 01 2018.jpg|thumb|Sandalwood sculpture of [[Durga]], [[Indian Museum, Kolkata]].]]

== Ethnonym ==
The Hindus are a religious group,<ref name="tagore1">{{cite web |url=http://www.rabindra-rachanabali.nltr.org/node/14858 |title=Atmaparichay |last=Tagore |first=Rabindranath |publisher=Society for Natural Language Technology Research |access-date=8 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320151334/http://www.rabindra-rachanabali.nltr.org/node/14858 |archive-date=20 March 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Hindu (ethnicity)|url=http://www.indopedia.org/index.php?title=Hindu_%28ethnicity%29|access-date=5 June 2011|publisher=Indopedia}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Hindus ethnic groups|url=http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Hindu+%28ethnic+group%29|url-status=live|access-date=5 June 2011|work=The Hindu|publisher=Fairlex|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512233829/http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Hindu+(ethnic+group) |archive-date=12 May 2013 }}</ref> native to the [[Indian subcontinent]], speaking a broad range of [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]] and [[Dravidian languages]] and adhering to the native belief systems, rooted in the [[Veda]]s. The word Hindu is popularly believed to be a [[Persian language|Persian]] [[exonym]] for the people native to the Indian subcontinent. The word is derived from [[Sindhu]],<ref>{{cite book |title=Encyclopaedia of the Hindu world (Volume I) |last=Garg |first=Ganga Ram |year=1992 |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |isbn=81-7022-374-1 |page=3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w9pmo51lRnYC |access-date=5 June 2011}}</ref> the [[Sanskrit]] name for the river [[Indus]] and it initially referred to the people residing to the east of the river. The Hindus are constituted into various [[ethno-linguistic]] subgroups, which in spite of being culturally diverse, share a common bond of unity.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sharma|first=Arvind|author-link=Arvind Sharma|date=1 January 2002|title=ON HINDU, HINDUSTĀN, HINDUISM, AND HINDUTVA|journal=Numen|language=en|volume=49|issue=1|pages=1–36|doi=10.1163/15685270252772759|issn=1568-5276}}</ref>

The word Bengali is derived from the [[Bengali language|Bengali]] word ''bangali''. The English word Bengali denoting the people as well as the language is derived from the English word [[Bengal]] denoting the region, which itself is derived ultimately from the Bengali word [[Vanga kingdom|Vanga]] which was one of the five historical kingdoms of Eastern India. According to [[Harivamsa]], [[Mahabali|Bali]], the king of the [[asura]]s had five sons from his wife Sudeshna through sage Dirghatama. The five sons namely [[Anga]], [[Vanga kingdom|Vanga]], [[Kalinga (historical kingdom)|Kalinga]], [[Pundra]] and [[Suhma kingdom|Sumha]] went on to found five kingdoms of the same name in the eastern region of the Indian subcontinent. In ancient times Vanga proper consisted of the deltaic region between [[Hooghly River|Bhagirathi]], [[Padma River|Padma]] and [[Madhumati River|Madhumati]], but later on extended to include the regions which now roughly comprise [[Bangladesh]] and the Indian state of [[West Bengal]].

In India, they tend to identify themselves as [[Bengalis]]<ref>{{cite news |title=In Apu's World |author=Sandipan Deb |url=http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?224925 |newspaper=Outlook |date=30 August 2004 |access-date=12 March 2011 |archive-date=26 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110126055015/http://outlookindia.com/article.aspx?224925 |url-status=live }}</ref> while in Bangladesh they tend to identify themselves as [[Hindu]]s.<ref>{{cite book |script-title=bn:ইছামতীর মশা (Ichhamatir Masha) |last=Ghosh |first=Shankha |year=2002 |publisher=Swarnakshar Prakashani |page=80 |language=bn}}</ref> In the global context, the terms [[Indian Bengali]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cmhc.ca/en/inpr/graw/upload/Sutama_Eng.pdf |title="We Are Not All the Same":The Differential Migration, Settlement Patterns and Housing Trajectories of Indian Bengalis and Bangladeshis in Toronto |first=Sutama |last=Ghosh |publisher=Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation |year=2007 |access-date=3 March 2011 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303235620/http://cmhc.ca/en/inpr/graw/upload/Sutama_Eng.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Bangladeshi Hindu]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.banglastories.org/about-the-project/the-interviews/bengali-hindu-migrant-ashim-sen---bradford.html |title=Bengali Hindu Migrant: Ashim Sen – Bradford |publisher=Bangla Stories |access-date=3 March 2011 |archive-date=26 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101026212449/http://www.banglastories.org/about-the-project/the-interviews/bengali-hindu-migrant-ashim-sen---bradford.html |url-status=live }}</ref> are respectively used. In India, Bengali generally refers to Bengali Hindus, excluding a significant number of [[Bengali Muslims]] who are also ethnically [[Bengalis]].<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Bose |first=Neilesh |year=2009 |title=Anti-colonialism, regionalism, and cultural autonomy: Bengali Muslim politics, c.1840s – 1952 |type=PhD |publisher=Tufts University |url=http://gradworks.umi.com/33/69/3369941.html |access-date=16 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110817112247/http://gradworks.umi.com/33/69/3369941.html |archive-date=17 August 2011}}</ref> The 'other' is usually identified as 'non-Bengali', a term that generically refers to the Hindu people who are not Bengali speaking, but sometimes specifically used to denote the [[Hindi]] speaking population.

== Ethnology ==
The Bengali Hindus constitute of numerous [[endogamy|endogamous]] [[caste]]s, which are sometimes further subdivided into endogamous subgroups. The [[Caste system in India|caste system]] evolved over centuries and became more and more complex with time. In the medieval period, several castes were boycotted by the ruling classes from time to time and this isolation continued till the 19th century. These social boycotts were somewhat discriminatory in nature. After the [[Bengal Renaissance|Renaissance]], the rigidity of the caste system ceased to a great extent, so much so that the first celebrated intercaste marriage took place as early as in 1925.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}

The Bengali Hindu families are [[patriarchy|patriarchal]] as well as [[patrilocal residence|patrilocal]] and traditionally follow a joint family system. However, due to the [[Partition of Bengal (1947)|Partition]] and subsequent urbanisation, the [[Hindu joint family|joint families]] have given way to the [[nuclear family|nuclear families]]. The Bengali Hindus were traditionally governed by the [[Dāyabhāga]] school of law, as opposed to the [[Mitākṣarā]] school of law, which governed the other Hindu ethno-linguistic groups. In India, after the promulgation of the [[Hindu code bills]], the Bengali Hindus along with other Hindus are being governed by a uniform [[Modern Hindu law|Hindu law]].

There are two major social subgroups among the Bengali Hindus – the [[ghotis]] and the [[bangal]]s. The Bengali Hindus who emigrated from East Bengal (Bangladesh) at the wake of the Partition and settled in West Bengal, came to known as the bangals, while the native Bengali Hindus of West Bengal came to known as ghotis. For several decades after partition, these two social subgroups possessed marked difference in their accents and their rivalry was manifested in many spheres of life, most notably in the support for the football clubs of [[Kingfisher East Bengal FC|East Bengal]] and [[Mohun Bagan AC|Mohun Bagan]] respectively. Several such differences have eased with passing years.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

== History ==

=== Prehistoric period ===
20,000-year-old stone weapons including small axes, [[Pottery|potteries]] and [[charcoal]] remains have been unearthed from Chandthakurer Danga in Haatpara mouza, 8 km northeast of [[Sagardighi, Murshidabad|Sagardighi]] in [[Murshidabad district|Murshidabad]].<ref name="tt1">{{cite news|last=Sarkar|first=Sebanti|date=28 March 2008|title=History of Bengal just got a lot older|work=The Telegraph|location=Kolkata|url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080328/jsp/frontpage/story_9067406.jsp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080401002150/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080328/jsp/frontpage/story_9067406.jsp|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 April 2008|access-date=22 October 2010}}</ref> Microliths dating to 10000 BC has been excavated from Birbhanpur, situated in [[Paschim Bardhaman district]] on the [[Damodar River]] valley near Durgapur. Microliths, potteries, copper fishhooks and iron arrowheads have been found at [[Pandu Rajar Dhibi]].{{Sfn|Sultana|2003|p=44}}

=== Ancient period ===
[[File:Ganesh (musée d'art asiatique de Berlin).jpg|thumb|Dancing [[Ganesha]] sculpture from [[North Bengal]], 11th century CE, [[Museum of Asian Art|Asian Art Museum]] of Berlin ([[Dahlem (Berlin)|Dahlem]]).]]
In the ancient times, some of the Bengali Hindus were [[seafaring]] people as evident from the tales of merchants like [[Chand Sadagar]] and [[Dhanapati Saudagor]] whose ships sailed to far off places for trade and establishment of colonies in [[South East Asia]]. By the 3rd century B.C.E. they were united into a powerful state, known to the [[Ancient Greek|Greeks]] as [[Gangaridai]], whose military prowess demoralised [[Alexander the Great|Alexander]] from further expedition to the east.<ref>"When he (Alexander) moved forward with his forces certain men came to inform him that Porus, the king of the country, who was the nephew of that Porus whom he had defeated, had left his kingdom and fled to the nation of '''Gandaridai'''... He had obtained from Phegeus a description of the country beyond the Indus: First came a desert which it would take twelve days to traverse; beyond this was the river called the Ganges which had a width of thirty two stadia, and a greater depth than any other Indian river; beyond this again were situated the dominions of the nation of the Prasioi and the Gandaridai, whose king, Xandrammes, had an army of 20,000 horse 200,000 infantry, 2,000 chariots and 4,000 elephants trained and equipped for war".... "Now this (Ganges) river, which is 30 stadia broad, flows from north to south, and empties its water into the ocean forming the eastern boundary of the '''Gandaridai''', a nation which possesses the greatest number of elephants and the largest in size." –Diodorus Siculus (c.90 BC – c.30 BC). Quoted from The Classical Accounts of India, {{Harvnb|Majumdar|2017|pp=170–172, 234}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Bosworth|first=A. B|title=Alexander and the East|date=1996|publisher=[[Clarendon Press]]|others=[[Internet Archive]]|isbn=978-0-19-814991-0|pages=[https://archive.org/details/alexandereasttra00bosw_0/page/192 192]}}</ref>

=== Medieval period ===
[[File:Chaitanya-Mahabrabhu-at-Jagannath.jpg|thumb|[[Chaitanya Mahaprabhu]], the founder of [[Gaudiya Vaishnavism]]]]
In the middle of the 8th century, the Bengali Hindu nobility democratically elected [[Gopala]] as the ruler of [[Gauḍa region|Gauda]], ushering in an era of peace and prosperity in Bengal, ending almost a century of chaos and confusion. The Buddhist [[Pala Empire|Pala]] rulers unified Bengal into a single political entity and expanded it into an empire, conquering a major portion of [[North India]]. During this time, the Bengali Hindus excelled in art, literature, philosophy, mathematics, sciences and statecraft. The first scriptures in Bengali ''Charyapada'' was composed during the [[Pala Dynasty|Pala rule]]. The Pala were followed by the Senas who made far reaching changes in the social structure of Bengali Hindus, introducing 36 new [[Caste system in India|castes]] and orthodox institutions like [[Kulinism]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Kulinism |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Kulinism |encyclopedia=Britannica |access-date=14 January 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Bangladesh o india orientale, la dea serpente manasa, XI secolo.jpg|thumb|[[Manasa|Devi Manasa]] with her husband [[Jaratkaru]] and son [[Astik]] flanked by Nagas, 11th century [[Pala Empire|Pala period]] statue from [[Bengal]]]]
The literary progress of the Pala and Sena period came to a halt after the Turkish conquest in the early 13th century. Except for [[Haridas Dutta|Haridas Datta's]] ''Manasar Bhasan'' no significant literary work was composed for about a century after the conquest.<ref>{{cite book |first=Jagadish Narayan |last=Sarkar |title=Banglay Hindu-Musalman Samparka (Madhyayuga) |publisher=Bangiya Sahitya Parishad |year=1981 |page=53 |location=Kolkata}}</ref> Even though the ruling classes resisted the invaders, Gauda, the centre of Bengal polity, fell to the Islamic invaders. During this period hundreds of temples and monasteries were desecrated. The next attack on the society came from the Islamic [[missionary|missionaries]].<ref>"When the Islamic missionaries arrived they found in several instances that the conquering armies had destroyed both the temples of revived Hinduism and the monasteries of the older Buddhism; in their place—often on the same sites—they built new shrines. Moreover, they very frequently transferred ancient Hindu and Buddhist stories of mir." Quoted in [http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00islamlinks/ikram/part1_09.html ''The Interaction of Islam and Hinduism''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150311043424/http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00islamlinks/ikram/part1_09.html |date=11 March 2015 }}. Retrieved 9 September 2015.</ref> Local chieftains like [[Akananda and Bakananda|Akananda]], Dakshin Ray and Mukut Ray, resisted the missionary activities.

During the [[Pashtun people|Pathan]] occupation of Bengal, some regions were held in sway by different Bengali Hindu rulers. Islam religion gradually spread throughout the Bengal region, and many Bengali Hindus converted to Islam.<ref>{{Cite web|title=GlobalFront Homepage|url=http://globalfront.com/nabic_archive/islam_in_bangladesh.htm |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014060857/http://globalfront.com/nabic_archive/islam_in_bangladesh.htm|archive-date=14 October 2007|access-date=13 May 2021|website=globalfront.com}}</ref> When the Delhi-based [[Mughal Empire|Mughals]] tried to bring Bengal under their direct rule, the Bengali chiefs along with some Bengali Muslims consolidated themselves into confederacies and resisted the Mughals. After the fall of the confederacies, the Mughals brought a major part of Bengal under their control, and constituted a ''subah''.

=== Early modern period ===
During the decline of the [[Mughal Empire]], [[Nawabs of Bengal and Murshidabad|Nawabs of Bengal]] (who were Muslim) ruled a large part of Bengal. During the reign of [[Alivardi Khan]]. a Nawab, the severe taxation and frequent [[Maratha Empire|Maratha]] raids made the life miserable for the ordinary Bengali Hindus.<ref>Chaudhuri, B.B. (2008). ''Peasant history of late pre-colonial and colonial India''. Pearson Education India, p. 184.</ref> A section of the Bengali Hindu nobility helped the [[British East India Company]] in overthrowing the Nawab [[Siraj ud-Daulah]] regime. After obtaining the revenue rights, the [[East India Company]] imposed more oppressive taxation.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}} In the famine of 1770, approximately one third of the Bengali population died.<ref>{{cite book |last=Chaudhuri |first=B. |editor1-last=Kumar |editor1-first=Dharma |editor2-last=Desai |editor2-first=Meghnad |year=1983 |chapter=Regional Economy (1757–1857): Eastern India, II |title=The Cambridge Economic History of India |volume=2 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=299 |isbn=978-0-521-22802-2}}</ref>

The [[East India Company|British]] began to face stiff resistance in conquering the semi-independent Bengali Hindu kingdoms outside the pale of Muslim occupied Bengal. In some cases, even when their rulers have been captured or killed, the ordinary people began to carry on the fight.<ref>{{Cite book|title=History of the Bengali-speaking people|last=Sengupta, Nitish K. |date=2001|publisher=UBS Publishers' Distributors|isbn=81-7476-355-4|location=New Delhi|oclc=49326692}}</ref> These resistances took the form of [[Chuar Rebellion|Chuar]] (''Chuar'' is a derogatory term used by the Britishers and local zamindars to denote the [[Bhumij people]]s) and [[Paik Rebellion]]. These warring people were later listed as [[Denotified tribes of India|criminal tribes]]<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jiELAQAAIAAJ&q=history+of+bengal|title=The History of Bengal, 1757–1905|last=Sinha|first=Narendra Krishna|date=1967|publisher=University of Calcutta|language=en}}</ref> and barred from recruitment in the Indian army. In 1766, the British troops were completely routed by the ''sanyasi''s and ''fakir''s or the warrior monks at [[Dinhata]], where the latter resorted [[guerrilla warfare]]. [[Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay|Bankim Chandra]]'s ''[[Anandamath]]'' is based on the [[Bengal famine of 1770|Famine]] and consequential [[Sannyasi Rebellion]].<ref>''Bangali Charitabhidhan Volume I''. Sansad, p. 489.</ref>

=== British rule ===
According to author James Jeremiah Novak, as British rulers took power from Bengal's ruling Muslim class, they strategically catered to Bengali Hindus (a majority in Bengal region at that time).<ref name="Novak1993">{{cite book|last=Novak|first=James Jeremiah|title=Bangladesh: Reflections on the Water|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qmIEqWSjZ7gC&pg=PA140|year=1993|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0-253-34121-1|page=140}}</ref> The British rule destroyed the bases of Bengali Muslim society.<ref name="Novak1993"/> Bengali Hindus got favours from the British rulers, and experienced development in education and social mobility. In the 19th century, the elite class of Bengali Hindu people underwent radical [[social reform]]s and rapid modernisation; the phenomenon came to be known as the [[Bengal Renaissance]].
[[File:Swami vivekanand old archive.jpg|right|thumb|[[Swami Vivekananda]] was a leading figure of the Bengal Renaissance [[Vivekananda at the Parliament of the World's Religions (1893)]]]]
Public media like [[News media|press]] and [[Bengali theatre|theatres]] became vents of nationalist sentiments, apolitical organisations had given way to political platforms, secret revolutionary societies emerged and the society at large became restive.

With rising nationalism among Bengalis, the British rulers applied [[Divide and rule#Indian subcontinent|divide and rule]] policy, and started to make favours to Bengali Muslims.<ref name="Novak1993"/> To keep the rising Bengali Hindu aspirations at bay, the British partitioned the province in 1905 and along with some additional restructuring came up with two provinces – Eastern Bengal & Assam and Bengal itself, in each of which the Bengali Hindus were reduced to minorities. The Bengalis, however, opposed to the [[Partition of Bengal (1905)|Partition]] tooth and nail, embarked on a political movement of [[Swadeshi]], boycott and revolutionary nationalism. On 28 September 1905, the day of [[Mahalaya]], 50,000 Bengali Hindus resolved before the [[Kali|Mother]] at [[Kalighat]] to boycott foreign goods and stop employing foreigners.<ref>Das, S.N.(ed). ''The Bengalis: The People, their History and Culture''. Genesis Publishing, p. 214. {{ISBN|81-7755-393-3}}</ref><ref>Beck, Sanderson. ''Ethics of Civilization Volume 20: South Asia 1800–1950''. World Peace Communications {{ISBN|978-0-9792532-3-2}}</ref> The [[British Raj]] finally annulled the Partition in 1911. The Raj, however, carried out some restructuring, and carved out Bengali Hindu majority districts like [[Manbhum]], Singbhum, Santal Pargana and [[Purnia]] awarding them to [[Bihar]] and others like [[Cachar]] that were awarded to [[Assam]], which effectively made the Bengali Hindus a minority in the united province of Bengal. The Britishers also transferred the capital from [[Calcutta]] to New Delhi.

The revolutionary movement gained momentum after the Partition. Bengali revolutionaries [[Hindu–German Conspiracy|collaborated with the Germans]] during the [[World War I|War]] to liberate [[British India]]. Later the revolutionaries defeated the British army in the Battle of Jalalabad and liberated [[Chittagong]]. During the [[Quit India Movement]], the revolutionaries liberated the [[Tamluk]] and [[Contai]] subdivision of [[Midnapore]] district from British rule and established the Tamralipta National Government.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Chatterjee|first=Pranab Kumar|title=Quit India Movement of 1942 and the Nature of Urban Response in Bengal|year=1982|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44141311|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=43|pages=687–694|jstor=44141311|issn=2249-1937|access-date=12 May 2021|archive-date=12 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512134408/https://www.jstor.org/stable/44141311|url-status=live}}</ref>

The British, unable to control the revolutionary activities, decided to hinder the Bengali Hindu people through administrative reforms. The [[Government of India Act 1919]] introduced in the 144 member Bengal Legislative Assembly, 46 seats for the Muslims, 59 for the institutions, Europeans and others and left the rest 39 as General,<ref group="N">There were no separate electorates for Hindus, in spite of them being minorities in the province.</ref> where the Bengali Hindus were to scramble for a representation. The situation worsened with the [[Communal Award]] of 1932, where in the 250 member Bengal Legislative Assembly a disproportionate 119 seats were reserved for the Muslims, 17 for Europeans, [[Anglo-Indian]]s and [[Indian Christian]]s, 34 for the institutions, and the rest 80 were left as General.<ref name="goiact1935">{{Cite web|title=Constitution of India|url=https://www.constitutionofindia.net/historical_constitutions/government_of_india_act_1935_2nd%20August%201935|url-status=live|access-date=12 May 2021|website=[[Constitution of India]]|series=Ch: 2|publisher=[[Government of India]]|page=254|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724102746/https://www.constitutionofindia.net/historical_constitutions/government_of_india_act_1935_2nd%20August%201935 |archive-date=24 July 2019 }}</ref> The Communal Award further divided the Hindus into Scheduled Caste Hindus and Tribal Hindus.<ref name="goiact1935"/> Out of the 80 General seats, 10 were reserved for the [[Scheduled Caste]]s.<ref group="N">The Caste Hindus were supposed to contest in the 70 General seats. However as per the [[Poona Pact]] between [[Mahatma Gandhi|Gandhi]] and [[B. R. Ambedkar|Ambedkar]], 20 General seats were reserved for Scheduled Castes.</ref> In response the leading Bengali Hindu [[landholder]]s, lawyers and professionals signed the Bengal Hindu Manifesto on 23 April 1932 rejecting the justification of reservation of separate electorates for Muslims in the Bengal Legislative Assembly.<ref>{{Cite journal |editor-last=Mitra |editor-first=N. N. |year=1932 |title=The Hindu Polity |language=en |url=http://dspace.gipe.ac.in/xmlui/handle/10973/17784 |journal=The Indian Annual Register |volume=I |pages=323}}</ref> They joined hands with Sikhs and non-Bengali Hindus in attacking Muslims and ultimately it turned out to be a violent [[reprisal]] that resulted in heavy casualties of Muslims, finally forcing the government to stop the mayhem.{{Sfn|Dastidar|2008|p=189}} Later in the year, the Muslim League government orchestrated the infamous [[Noakhali genocide]].

After the failure of the [[United Bengal]] plan, it became evident that either all of Bengal would go to Pakistan, or it would be partitioned between India and Pakistan. Direct Action Day and the Noakhali genocide prompted the Bengali Hindu leadership to vote for the [[Partition of Bengal (1947)|Partition of Bengal]] to create a Hindu-majority province.<ref name="Fraser2008">{{cite book |editor1-last=Fraser |editor1-first=Bashabi |editor1-link=Bashabi Fraser |editor2-last=Sengupta |editor2-first=Sheila |year=2008 |title=Bengal Partition Stories: An Unclosed Chapter |publisher=Anthem Press |pages=25–26 |isbn=978-1-84331-225-3}}</ref> In late April 1947, the ''[[Amrita Bazar Patrika]]'' published the results of an opinion poll, in which 98% of the Bengali Hindus favoured the creation of a separate homeland.{{Sfn|Roy|2002|p=131}} The proposal for the Partition of Bengal was moved in the Legislative Assembly on 20 June 1947, where the Hindu members voted 58–21 in favour of the Partition with two members abstaining.<ref group="N">Rup Narayan Roy and [[Jyoti Basu]], the two Communist Party MLAs abstained.</ref>

The Boundary Commission implementing the [[Radcliffe Line]] announced that the [[Khulna District]] (with a marginal Hindu majority of 51%) would be given to East Pakistan in lieu of the [[Murshidabad district]] (with a 70% Muslim majority) to be went to India.<ref>{{Cite web |title=NDLI Presents: Amrita Bazar Patrika: 19th August 1947, Tuesday, Page 5 |url=https://ndl.iitkgp.ac.in/document/dnRXSXI2MHZXMHpiU29aRTFhNHNhUT09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115184437/http://ndl.iitkgp.ac.in/document/dnRXSXI2MHZXMHpiU29aRTFhNHNhUT09 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=ndl.iitkgp.ac.in |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Post-partition period ===
After the [[Partition of Bengal (1947)|Partition]], the majority of the urban upper class and middle class Bengali Hindu population of East Bengal immigrated to West Bengal. The ones who stayed back were the ones who had significant landed property and believed that they will be able to live peacefully in an Islamic state. However, after the [[1950 East Pakistan genocide|genocide of 1950]], Bengali Hindus fled East Bengal in thousands and settled in West Bengal. In 1964, tens of thousands of [[1964 East-Pakistan riots|Bengali Hindus were massacred]] in East Pakistan and most of the Bengali Hindu owned businesses and properties of [[Dhaka]] were permanently destroyed.<ref name="sgd131-134">{{cite book |title=Empire's Last Casualty: Indian Subcontinent's vanishing Hindu and other Minorities |last=Ghosh Dastidar |first=Sachi |year=2008 |publisher=Firma KLM |location=Kolkata |isbn=978-81-7102-151-2 |pages=131–134}}</ref> During the [[Bangladesh Liberation War]], large number of Bengali Hindus were [[Bangladesh genocide|massacred]]. The [[Enemy Property Act (Bangladesh)|Enemy Property Act]] of the [[Pakistan]] regime which is still in force in the new incarnation of [[Vested Property Act]], has been used by successive Bangladeshi governments to seize the properties of the Hindu minorities who left the country during the [[Partition of India]] and Bangladesh liberation war. According to Professor Abul Barkat of [[Dhaka University]], the Act has been used to misappropriate {{convert|2100000|acre|km2}} of land from the Bengali Hindus, roughly equivalent to the 45% of the total landed area owned by them.<ref name="barkat73-74">{{cite book|last1=Barkat|first1=Abul|title=Deprivation of Hindu Minority in Bangladesh: Living With Vested Property|last2=Zaman|first2=Shafique uz|last3=Khan|first3=Md. Shahnewaz|last4=Poddar|first4=Avijit|last5=Hoque|first5=Saiful|last6=Uddin|first6=M Taher|date=February 2008|publisher=Pathak Shamabesh|location=Dhaka|pages=73–74|asin=B005MXLO3M}}</ref>

In Assam's, Assamese dominated [[Brahmaputra Valley]] region [[Bongal Kheda]] movement (which literally means drive out Bengalis) was happened in the late 1948-80s, where several thousands of Hindu Bengalis was massacred by jingoists Assamese nationalists mob in various parts of Assam and as a result of this jingoist movement, nearly 500,000 Bengali Hindus were forced to flee from Assam to take shelter in neighbouring West Bengal particularly in [[Jalpaiguri]] division in seek for safety.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/2/26/we-foreigners-what-it-means-to-be-bengali-in-indias-assam |title=We foreigners: What it means to be Bengali in India's Assam |first=Manash Firaq |last=Bhattacharjee |publisher=Al Jazeera |access-date=25 October 2020 |archive-date=17 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117051504/https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/2/26/we-foreigners-what-it-means-to-be-bengali-in-indias-assam |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://magazine.outlookindia.com/story/india-news-opinion-antipathy-towards-bengalis-prime-mover-of-assam-politics/302538 |title=Opinion | Antipathy Towards Bengalis Prime Mover Of Assam Politics |magazine=Outlook |date=4 February 2022 |access-date=25 October 2020 |archive-date=30 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130170041/https://magazine.outlookindia.com/story/india-news-opinion-antipathy-towards-bengalis-prime-mover-of-assam-politics/302538 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.asianage.com/opinion/columnists/171219/assam-protests-due-to-politics-of-xenophobia.html |title=Assam protests due to politics of xenophobia |work=The Asian Age |access-date=16 August 2020 |archive-date=3 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203132129/https://www.asianage.com/amp/opinion/columnists/171219/assam-protests-due-to-politics-of-xenophobia.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In the Bengali dominated [[Barak Valley]] region of Assam, violence broke out in 1960 and 1961 between Bengali Hindus and ethnic Assamese police over a state bill which would have made [[Assamese language|Assamese]] mandatory in the secondary education curriculum. On 19 May 1961, eleven Bengali protesters were killed by Assamese police fired on a demonstration at the [[Silchar railway station]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Baruah |first=Sanjib |year=1999 |title=India Against Itself: Assam and the Politics of Nationality |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |page=105 |isbn=0-8122-3491-X |quote=The most notorious 'language riots' in Assam were in 1960 and 1961, before and after the passing of the Official Language Bill by the state Assembly ... There were violent conflicts between ethnic Assamese and Hindu Bengalis ... On the Bengali side, for instance, Paritosh Pal Choudhury's book ''Cacharer Kanna'' (The Cry of Cachar) has a frontispiece with pictures of eleven garlanded dead bodies of people killed in 1961 as a result of police firing on a demonstration in support of Bengali in Silchar.}}</ref><ref name="silchar">{{cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/Silchar-rly-station-to-be-renamed-soon/articleshow/4633120.cms |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104010112/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-06-09/guwahati/28188207_1_railway-ministry-station-meter-gauge-line |url-status=live |archive-date=4 November 2012 |title=Silchar rly station to be renamed soon |location=Silchar |date=9 June 2009 |work=[[The Times of India]] |access-date=30 November 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Ganguly |first=M. |date=20 May 2009 |title=All for love of language |url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090520/jsp/jharkhand/story_10993189.jsp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025202201/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090520/jsp/jharkhand/story_10993189.jsp |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 October 2012 |work=The Telegraph |access-date=30 November 2010 |location=Ranchi}}</ref> Subsequently, the Assam government allowed Bengali as the medium of education and held it as an official position in Barak Valley.<ref name="silchar"/> The [[United Liberation Front of Asom]], [[National Democratic Front of Bodoland]], [[Muslim United Liberation Tigers of Assam]] and [[National Liberation Front of Tripura]] [[militant]]s have selectively targeted the Bengali Hindu people, prompting the latter to form the Bengali Tiger Force.<ref name="ie1">{{cite news |url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/Storyold/47285/ |title=Now Bengali militants raise heads in Assam |work=The Indian Express |location=India |date=18 August 1998 |access-date=30 November 2010}}</ref>

Discrimination against refugee Bengali Hindu population is not limited to the [[Northeast India|North East]]. In [[Odisha]], in a family of ten individuals, only half of them has been recognised as Indians while the rest were branded as Bangladeshis.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Indians-Bangladeshis-in-same-Orissa-family/416529/ |title=Indians, Bangladeshis in same Orissa family! |work=The Indian Express |location=Kendrapara |date=29 January 2009 |access-date=30 November 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113210306/http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Indians-Bangladeshis-in-same-Orissa-family/416529/ |archive-date=13 January 2012 }}</ref>

The Bengali refugees who had settled in [[Bihar]] after the [[partition of India]] are denied land owning rights, caste certificates and welfare schemes. However, the [[Nitish Kumar]] government had promised to solve this problems and also to raise the status of Bangla as a language in the state.<ref>{{cite news |first=Madhuri |last=Kumar |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/JDU-Bangla-bait-for-Bengalis-in-Bihar/articleshow/6811578.cms |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104024712/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-10-26/patna/28219961_1_bengalis-bangla-language-caste-certificates |url-status=live |archive-date=4 November 2012 |title=JD(U) Bangla bait for Bengalis in Bihar |location=Patna |date=26 October 2010 |work=[[The Times of India]] |access-date=30 November 2010}}</ref>

== Geographic distribution ==
Bengali Hindus constitute a minority [[ethnic group]] of the total population in both Bangladesh and India,<ref name="togawa">{{cite journal |last1=Togawa |first1=Masahiko |year=2008 |title=Hindu Minority in Bangladesh – Migration, Marginalization and Minority Politics in Postcolonial South Asia |journal=Discussion Paper Series |volume=6 |pages=2 |publisher=Hiroshima University |url=http://home.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/hipec/HipecHPmoto/ja/products/DP6%20small.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722071535/http://home.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/hipec/HipecHPmoto/ja/products/DP6%20small.pdf |archive-date=22 July 2011 |access-date=12 March 2011}}</ref> forming less than 10% of the population in both countries.

===West Bengal===
{{See also|Hinduism in West Bengal}}
Hinduism has existed in Bengal before the 16th century BC and by the third century, Buddhism has also gain popularity in [[Bengal]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Mukherjee |first=Ishan |title=The historical roots of Hindu majoritarianism in West Bengal |url=https://caravanmagazine.in/politics/historical-roots-of-hindu-majoritarianism-in-west-bengal |access-date=22 April 2021 |magazine=The Caravan |language=en |archive-date=21 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421101107/https://caravanmagazine.in/politics/historical-roots-of-hindu-majoritarianism-in-west-bengal |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=8 October 2017 |title=The rich history of Buddhism in Bengal |url=https://www.dhakatribune.com/magazine/arts-letters/2017/10/08/rich-history-buddhism-bengal |access-date=22 April 2021 |work=Dhaka Tribune |archive-date=25 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125023007/https://www.dhakatribune.com/magazine/arts-letters/2017/10/08/rich-history-buddhism-bengal |url-status=live}}</ref> West Bengal was created in 1947 as an act of [[Bengali Hindu Homeland Movement]] to save guard the political, economical, cultural, religious, demographic and land owning rights of Bengali Hindus of undivided [[Bengal region]] and as a result predominantly Hindu majority West Bengal became a part of Indian union. The vast majority of Hindus in West Bengal are Bengali Hindus numbering around 5.5 crore out of the total estimated state population of 10 crore,<ref>{{Cite news |first=Romita |last=Datta |date=13 November 2020 |title=The great Hindu vote trick |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/nation/story/20201123-the-great-hindu-vote-trick-1740691-2020-11-13 |access-date=11 May 2021 |work=India Today |language=en |archive-date=17 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230217152015/https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/nation/story/20201123-the-great-hindu-vote-trick-1740691-2020-11-13 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="indianewsrepublic.com">{{Cite web |url=https://indianewsrepublic.com/great-hindu-voting-trick-nation-news/63490/ |title=Great Hindu Voting Trick-Nation News |access-date=17 June 2021 |website=India Today- Get the Latest India news |archive-date=30 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210930170327/https://indianewsrepublic.com/great-hindu-voting-trick-nation-news/63490/ |url-status=usurped}}</ref> but a notable section of non-Bengali Hindus also exist, particularly among [[Marwaris]], [[Bihari people|Biharis]], [[Odias]], [[Gurkha]]s, [[Punjabis]], [[Sindhis]], [[Gujaratis]] and various tribal communities such as [[Koch Rajbongshi|Koch Raj bongshi]], [[Santals]], [[Munda people|Munda]] and particularly [[Adivasi|Adivasis]] numbering around 1.557 crore comprising rest 15% of the state population.<ref name="indianewsrepublic.com"/><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.indiaonlinepages.com/population/west-bengal-population.html |title=Population of West Bengal-West Bengal Population 2021 |access-date=10 July 2021 |website=India Guide- Festivals, Culture, City Guide, Weddings, Population, Indianonlinepages.com |archive-date=27 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727051653/https://www.indiaonlinepages.com/population/west-bengal-population.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/india/opinion-divided-on-most-non-bengali-voters-favouring-bjp-in-west-bengal |title=Opinion divided on most non-Bengali voters favouring BJP in West Bengal |access-date=12 July 2021 |work=National Herald |date=3 April 2021 |archive-date=12 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210712065739/https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/india/opinion-divided-on-most-non-bengali-voters-favouring-bjp-in-west-bengal |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.magzter.com/stories/News/India-Today/THE-GREAT-HINDU-VOTE-TRICK |title=The Great Hindu Vote Trick |access-date=14 July 2021 |website=Magzter |archive-date=14 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210714075152/https://www.magzter.com/stories/News/India-Today/THE-GREAT-HINDU-VOTE-TRICK |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Bangladesh===
{{See also|Hinduism in Bangladesh}}
Hinduism has existed in what is now called Bangladesh since the ancient times. In nature, the Bangladeshi Hinduism closely resembles the ritual and customs of Hinduism practised in the Indian state of West Bengal, with which Bangladesh (at one time known as [[East Bengal]]) was united until the partition of India. While in Bangladesh, Bengali Hindus are the second largest community with a population of 12.8 million out of 149.77 million people constituting (8.5%) of the country as per 2011 year census.<ref name="census2011">{{cite web |url=http://203.112.218.65:8008/WebTestApplication/userfiles/Image/National%20Reports/Union%20Statistics.pdf |title=Population & Housing Census-2011: Union Statistics |date=March 2014 |publisher=Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics |page=xiii |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170903181037/http://203.112.218.65:8008/WebTestApplication/userfiles/Image/National%20Reports/Union%20Statistics.pdf |archive-date=3 September 2017 |access-date=17 April 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Bangladesh Population 1950-2021 |url=https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/BGD/bangladesh/population |access-date=11 May 2021 |website=macrotrends.net |archive-date=23 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023184822/https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/BGD/bangladesh/population |url-status=live}}</ref> But distinct Hindu population also exist among indigenous tribes like [[Garo people|Garo]], [[Khasi people|Khasi]], [[Jaintia people|Jaintia]], [[Santal people|Santhal]], [[Bishnupriya Manipuri people|Bishnupriya Manipuri]], [[Tripuri people|Tripuri]], [[Munda people|Munda]], [[Kurukh people|Oraon]], [[Dhanuk]] etc. In terms of population, Bangladesh is the third largest Hindu populated country in the world after India and [[Nepal]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Haider |first1=M. Moinuddin |last2=Rahman |first2=Mizanur |last3=Kamal |first3=Nahid |date=6 May 2019 |title=Hindu Population Growth in Bangladesh: A Demographic Puzzle |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/jrd/6/1/article-p123_123.xml |journal=Journal of Religion and Demography |language=en |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=123–148 |doi=10.1163/2589742X-00601003 |s2cid=189978272 |issn=2589-7411 |access-date=4 April 2021 |archive-date=3 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230603095536/https://brill.com/view/journals/jrd/6/1/article-p123_123.xml |url-status=live|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Do Hindus feel threatened in Bangladesh? |url=https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/do-hindus-feel-threatened-in-bangladesh-40917 |access-date=22 April 2021 |publisher=TRT World |language=en |archive-date=31 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210331144924/https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/do-hindus-feel-threatened-in-bangladesh-40917 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=31 March 2021 |title=Why Narendra Modi's visit to Bangladesh led to 12 deaths |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-56586210 |access-date=11 May 2021 |archive-date=9 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509084516/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-56586210 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Out of 21 million population of [[Dhaka]] as far estimated by 2020, Bengali Hindus are at present the second largest community just after Bengali Muslims in Dhaka numbering around at 1,051,167 (5% of population) and are mainly concentrated in [[Shankhari Bazaar]].{{Sfn|Pramanik|2005|pp=54-57}}

===Indian States other than West Bengal===
{{See also|Bengali Hindu diaspora|Bengali Hindus in Assam}}

====Assam====
The Barak Valley comprising the present districts of [[Cachar]], [[Karimganj]] and [[Hailakandi]] is contiguous to [[Sylhet]] (Bengal plains), where the Bengali Hindus, according to historian J.B. Bhattacharjee, had settled well before the colonial period, influencing the culture of Dimasa Kacharis.<ref name="Cachar">{{cite book |last1=Baruah |first1=Professor of Political Studies Sanjib |last2=Baruah |first2=Sanjib |title=India Against Itself: Assam and the Politics of Nationality |date=29 June 1999 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-8122-3491-6 |page=103 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8k-irMMTnywC&dq=bengalis+in+cachar&pg=PA103 |language=en |access-date=18 March 2023 |archive-date=1 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201230333/https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/India_Against_Itself/8k-irMMTnywC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=bengalis+in+cachar&pg=PA103&printsec=frontcover |url-status=live}}</ref> Bhattacharjee describes that the Dimasa kings spoke Bengali and the inscriptions and coins written were in Bengali script.<ref name="Cachar" /> Migrations to Cachar increased after the British annexation of the region.<ref name="Cachar" /> Bengalis in plains of Cachar valley were a significant, and sometimes dominant tribe/group/demographic for at least a period since the reign of [[Dhanya Manikya]] in the 15th century who hosted several Bengali Brahmin scholars in his court during his reign/rule.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DcKGAwAAQBAJ&dq=dhanya+manikya+bengali+brahmins&pg=PA357 |title=Low Intensity Conflicts in India: An Analysis - Vivek Chadha - Google Books |date=4 March 2005 |isbn=9788132102014 |accessdate=11 August 2022 |last1=Chadha |first1=Vivek |publisher=SAGE Publications India}}</ref> The Bengalis have been living in Barak Valley for at least 1,500 years, settling there much earlier than the [[Koch people|Koch]], [[Dimasa people|Dimasa]] and the [[Tripuris]].<ref name="Statesman"/> The Koches settled in Barak Valley in the 16th century, while the Dimasas settled in the late 16th - early 17th century A.D respectively.<ref name="Statesman">{{cite news |url=https://www.thestatesman.com/opinion/the-assam-narrativeii-1502844495.html |title=The Assam narrative~II |work=[[The Statesman (India)|The Statesman]] |date=13 January 2020 |access-date=14 September 2022 |archive-date=8 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221008120000/https://www.thestatesman.com/opinion/the-assam-narrativeii-1502844495.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Bengali Hindus first came into Assam's Brahmaputra Valley during the time of British era of 1826 from neighbouring [[Bengal region]] as colonial official workers, bankers, railway employees, bureaucrats and later on during the time [[Partition of Bengal (1947)|Partition of Bengal]] in 1947.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Khalid |first=Saif |title='We're sons of the soil, don't call us Bangladeshis' |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2018/6/23/harassed-discriminated-story-of-assams-bengali-origin-people |access-date=11 May 2021 |publisher=Al Jazeera |language=en |archive-date=2 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202104436/https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2018/6/23/harassed-discriminated-story-of-assams-bengali-origin-people |url-status=live}}</ref> Between the period of first patches (1946–1951), around 274,455 Bengali Hindu refugees have arrived from what is now called Bangladesh (former East Pakistan) in various locations of Assam as permanent settlers and again in second patches between (1952–1958) of the same decade, around 212,545 Bengali Hindus from Bangladesh took shelter in various parts of the state permanently.<ref>India (1951). "Annual Arrival of Refugees in Assam in 1946–1951". Census of India. XII, Part I (I-A): 353 – via web.archive.org.</ref><ref>http://iussp2005.princeton.edu {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629180038/https://iussp2005.princeton.edu/ |date=29 June 2021 }} › ...PDF
The Brahmaputra Valley of India can be compared only with the Indus ...</ref> After the [[1964 East Pakistan riots]] many Bengali Hindus have poured into Assam as refugees and the number of Hindu migrants in the state rose to 1,068,455 in 1968 (sharply after 4 years of the riot).<ref>{{Cite web |title=iussp2005 |url=https://iussp2005.princeton.edu/ |access-date=22 April 2021 |website=iussp2005.princeton.edu |archive-date=22 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422052125/https://iussp2005.princeton.edu/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> The fourth patches numbering around 347,555 have just arrived after [[Bangladesh liberation war]] of 1971 as refugees and most of them being Bengali speaking Hindus have decided to stay back in Assam permanently afterwards.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Adelaide Research & Scholarship: Home |url=https://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/ |access-date=22 April 2021 |website=digital.library.adelaide.edu.au |archive-date=19 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419004649/https://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Bengali Hindus are now the third largest community in [[Assam]] after [[Assamese people]] and Bengali Muslims with a population of 6,022,677 (million), comprising (19.3%) of state population as of 2011 census.<ref>{{Cite web |date=5 December 2019 |title=EXCLUSIVE: BJP Govt plans to evict 70 lakh Muslims, 60 lakh Bengali Hindus through its Land Policy (2019) in Assam |url=https://sabrangindia.in/article/exclusive-bjp-govt-plans-evict-70-lakh-muslims-60-lakh-bengali-hindus-through-its-land |access-date=22 April 2021 |website=SabrangIndia |language=en |archive-date=3 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003180815/https://sabrangindia.in/article/exclusive-bjp-govt-plans-evict-70-lakh-muslims-60-lakh-bengali-hindus-through-its-land |url-status=live}}</ref> They are highly concentrated in the Barak Valley region where they a form a slide majority and the population of Bengali Hindus in Barak Valley is 2 million, constituting 55% of the total population of the region.<ref>{{Cite news |date=18 December 2019 |title=Citizenship Amendment Act: BJP chasing ghosts in Assam; Census data shows number of Hindu immigrants may have been exaggerated |url=https://www.firstpost.com/india/citizenship-amendment-bill-bjp-chasing-ghosts-in-assam-as-census-data-shows-number-of-hindu-immigrants-couldve-been-exaggerated-5640511.html |access-date=22 April 2021 |work=Firstpost |archive-date=25 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725082148/https://www.firstpost.com/india/citizenship-amendment-bill-bjp-chasing-ghosts-in-assam-as-census-data-shows-number-of-hindu-immigrants-couldve-been-exaggerated-5640511.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1 April 2021 |title=Assam Elections: Why Stakes Are High for BJP in Bengali-speaking Barak Valley |url=https://www.news18.com/news/opinion/assam-elections-why-stakes-are-high-for-bjp-in-bengali-speaking-barak-valley-3596135.html |access-date=22 April 2021 |work=CNN-News18 |language=en |archive-date=20 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420134214/https://www.news18.com/news/opinion/assam-elections-why-stakes-are-high-for-bjp-in-bengali-speaking-barak-valley-3596135.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=24 March 2021 |title=The role of language and religion in Assam battle |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/the-role-of-language-and-religion-in-assam-battle-101616533256395.html |access-date=22 April 2021 |work=Hindustan Times |language=en |archive-date=21 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421215224/https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/the-role-of-language-and-religion-in-assam-battle-101616533256395.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In Assam's [[Brahmaputra Valley]] region, their numbers are 4 million covering up 14.5% of the valley population respectively and are mainly concentrated in [[Hojai District]] where Bengali are spoken by (53%) of the district population, [[Goalpara District]], [[Nagaon district]], [[Bongaigaon district]], [[Barpeta District]], [[Kamrup District]], [[Darrang district]], [[Dhubri District]], [[Morigaon district]], [[Tinsukia district]], [[Karbi Anglong]], [[Guwahati]], [[Bodoland Territorial Region|Bodoland]], [[Dibrugarh district]], [[Jorhat district]], [[Sonitpur district]] with percentage ranging 15-25% in all those districts mentioned above.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Kalita |first1=Kangkan |date=14 February 2020 |title='Bengalis in Assam uncertain over Assamese people tag' {{!}} Guwahati News |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/bengalis-in-assam-uncertain-over-assamese-people-tag/articleshow/74280409.cms |access-date=22 April 2021 |work=The Times of India |language=en |archive-date=31 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201231034024/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/bengalis-in-assam-uncertain-over-assamese-people-tag/articleshow/74280409.cms |url-status=live}}</ref>

In January 2019, the Leftist organisation Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) claimed that there are around 2 million Hindu Bangladeshis in Assam who would become Indian citizens if the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is passed. BJP, however claimed that only eight lakh Hindu Bangladeshis will get citizenship.<ref>{{Cite news |title=20 lakh Bangladeshi Hindus to become Indians if Citizenship Bill is passed: Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti |work=The Economic Times |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/20-lakh-bangladeshi-hindus-to-become-indians-if-citizenship-bill-is-passed-krishak-mukti-sangram-samiti/articleshow/67574226.cms?from=mdr |access-date=22 April 2021 |archive-date=12 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112021109/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/20-lakh-bangladeshi-hindus-to-become-indians-if-citizenship-bill-is-passed-krishak-mukti-sangram-samiti/articleshow/67574226.cms?from=mdr |url-status=live}}</ref> The number of Hindu immigrants from Bangladesh in Barak Valley has varied estimates. According to the Assam government, 1.3 lakh such people residing in the Barak Valley are eligible for citizenship if the [[Citizenship Amendment Act]] of 2019 becomes a law.<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 December 2019 |title=Bengali Hindu refugees in Assam's Barak Valley hope for CAB's passage in RS |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/bengali-hindu-refugees-in-assam-s-barak-valley-hope-for-cab-s-passage-in-rs/story-aIbL0La9A2zcyrfehKFx6M.html |access-date=22 April 2021 |work=Hindustan Times |language=en |archive-date=22 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422052125/https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/bengali-hindu-refugees-in-assam-s-barak-valley-hope-for-cab-s-passage-in-rs/story-aIbL0La9A2zcyrfehKFx6M.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

====Jharkhand====
Most Bengali Hindus came into [[Jharkhand]] during the colonial period, brought up by the British as colonial workers mainly from the western part of Bengal.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ghosh|first=Arunabha|date=16–23 January 1993|title=Jharkhand Movement in West Bengal|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4399308|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|volume=28|issue=3/4|pages=121–127|jstor=4399308|issn=0012-9976|access-date=12 May 2021|archive-date=12 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512043427/https://www.jstor.org/stable/4399308|url-status=live}}</ref> In [[Jharkhand]], the Bengali Hindu population is over 2.5 million comprising 8.09% but the overall Bengali speaking population are a slight majority there and the percentage of Bengali speakers ranges from 38%–40%.{{Sfn|Sengupta|2002|p=98}}

====Tripura====
The non-tribal population of Tripura, the mostly Bengali-speaking Hindus and Muslims, constitute more than two-thirds of the state's population. The resident and the migrant Bengali population benefitted from the culture and language of the [[Manikya dynasty|royal house of Tripura]] thanks to embracement of Hinduism and adoption of Bengali as the state language by the Maharajahs of Tripura much before [[Indian Independence Act 1947|Indian independence]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dikshit |first1=K. R. |last2=Dikshit |first2=Jutta K. |title=North-East India: Land, People and Economy |year=2013 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-94-007-7055-3 |page=352 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iorHBAAAQBAJ&dq=The+Manikya+kings+adopted+Bengali+culture&pg=PA352 |language=en |access-date=18 March 2023 |archive-date=12 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230512205541/https://books.google.com/books?id=iorHBAAAQBAJ&dq=The+Manikya+kings+adopted+Bengali+culture&pg=PA352 |url-status=live}}</ref> Since the partition of India, many Bengali Hindus have migrated to Tripura as refugees fleeing religious persecution in Muslim-majority East Pakistan, especially after 1949 and this is primarily attributed by the immigration of 610,000 Bengalis — the figure almost equal to the State's total population in 1951 — from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) between 1947 and 1951.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Karmakar |first=Rahul |date=27 October 2018 |title=Tripura, where demand for Assam-like NRC widens gap between indigenous people and non-tribal settlers |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/tripura-where-demand-for-assam-like-nrc-widens-gap-between-indigenous-people-and-non-tribal-settlers/article25348269.ece |access-date=22 April 2021 |issn=0971-751X |archive-date=9 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109040851/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/tripura-where-demand-for-assam-like-nrc-widens-gap-between-indigenous-people-and-non-tribal-settlers/article25348269.ece |url-status=live}}</ref> Settlement by Hindu Bengalis increased during the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, where around at that time, nearly 1,381,649 Bengalis (mostly Hindus) have came into various parts of Tripura to take refugees and most of them have settled here permanently afterwards.<ref>{{Cite news |title=When Indira Gandhi said: Refugees of all religions must go back – Watch video |url=https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/indira-gandhi-rahul-gandhi-rajiv-gandhi-east-pakistan-pakistan-assam-accord-national-register-of-citizens-congress-bharatiya-janata-party-tripura/264462 |access-date=22 April 2021 |work=Times Now |language=en |archive-date=23 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123092721/https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/indira-gandhi-rahul-gandhi-rajiv-gandhi-east-pakistan-pakistan-assam-accord-national-register-of-citizens-congress-bharatiya-janata-party-tripura/264462 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Parts of the state were shelled by the [[Pakistan Army]] during the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]].{{citation needed|date=June 2022}} Following the war, the Indian government reorganised the North East region to try to improve control of the international borders – three new states came into existence on 21 January 1972: Meghalaya, Manipur, and Tripura.<ref name="Wolpert2008">{{cite book |last=Wolpert |first=Stanley A. |author-link=Stanley Wolpert |year=2000 |orig-year=First published 1977 |title=A new history of India |url=https://archive.org/details/newhistoryofindi06edwolp/page/390/mode/2up |edition=6th |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=390–1 |isbn=978-0-19-512876-5}}</ref> Before independence, most of the population was indigenous.<ref name="hdrchap1">{{cite book |title=Tripura Human Development Report 2007 |url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/nhdr/support/other/national/Tripura_india_hdr_2007.pdf |publisher=Government of Tripura |year=2007 |page=9 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502120425/http://hdr.undp.org/en/nhdr/support/other/national/Tripura_india_hdr_2007.pdf |archive-date=2 May 2013 |access-date=6 April 2021}}</ref> In [[Tripura]], now Bengali Hindus form a clear majority due to immigration from neighbouring East Pakistan during 1947 and 1971 and as a result Tripura has become a Bengali dominant state with Bangla as its official language along with Kokborok and English. Bengali Hindus comprise nearly 60% of the state population which is around 2.2 million whereas native Tripuris are 30% of the state population which is around 1.2 million as of 2011 census.<ref>{{Cite news |title=BJP eyes 2.2 m Bengali Hindus in Tripura quest |url=https://www.dailypioneer.com/2017/sunday-edition/bjp-eyes-22-m-bengali-hindus-in-tripura-quest.html |access-date=22 April 2021 |work=The Pioneer |language=en |archive-date=14 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220914144242/https://www.dailypioneer.com/2017/sunday-edition/bjp-eyes-22-m-bengali-hindus-in-tripura-quest.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=4 March 2018 |title=Tripura election 2018: What prompted Bengali-majority Tripura to forgive BJP {{!}} India News |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/what-prompted-bengali-majority-tripura-to-forgive-bjp/articleshow/63155511.cms |access-date=22 April 2021 |work=The Times of India |language=en |archive-date=17 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417194456/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/what-prompted-bengali-majority-tripura-to-forgive-bjp/articleshow/63155511.cms |url-status=live}}</ref>

====Andaman and Nicobar islands====
There is also a significant number of Bengali Hindus residing in the [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]], estimated approximately 100,000 comprising 26%–28% of the population. Bengali is also the most widely spoken language in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, despite it lacking official status.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Andaman |first1=Team Explore |title=Andaman Nicobar population - a description|url=http://www.exploreandaman.com/population-colonisation-andaman-nicobar-islands.php|access-date=22 April 2021|website=Population mix of Andaman and Nicobar|language=en|archive-date=29 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929044748/http://www.exploreandaman.com/population-colonisation-andaman-nicobar-islands.php|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Myanmar ===
{{Main|Bengali Hindus in Myanmar}}

The [[Bengali Hindus in Myanmar]] are present from long back historical times, when they were brought from [[Bengal region]] to [[Arakan|Arakan region]] by many [[Arakanese kingdom of Mrohaung|Arakanese kings]], especially the [[Bengali Brahmins|Brahmins]] for the worship and teaching purpose in the [[Pagoda]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Islam in Arakan: An interpretation from the Indian perspective: History and the Present - Kaladan Press Network |url=https://www.kaladanpress.org/index.php/seminar-and-event-mainmenu-38/58-arakan-historical-seminar/195-islam-in-arakan-an-interpretation-from-the-indian-perspective-history-and-the-present.html |access-date=12 May 2021 |website=kaladanpress.org |archive-date=12 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512084703/https://www.kaladanpress.org/index.php/seminar-and-event-mainmenu-38/58-arakan-historical-seminar/195-islam-in-arakan-an-interpretation-from-the-indian-perspective-history-and-the-present.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> Then afterwards 1920, most of them start settling to the urban areas and main cities, mainly in [[Yangon]], [[Mandalay]] and in urban areas of [[Rakhine State]]. In modern times, they have faced persecution which was mainly started after [[1962 Burmese coup d'état|1962 coup]] by [[Ne Win]].

===Outside Indian subcontinent===
Both the United States and United Kingdom have large immigrant Bengali Hindu populations, who are mostly from the professional classes and have migrated through education and employment. Former [[England women's cricket team|Cricketer]] [[Isa Guha]] and [[Rhona Mitra]] are prominent descendants of the [[Bengali Hindu diaspora]].

== Culture ==
{{further|Culture of West Bengal}}

=== Cuisine ===
{{See also|Bengali cuisine}}[[File:Fish And Rice.jpg|thumb|Signature dish of Bengali: [[Machher Jhol|Fish And Rice]].|left]] [[Bengali cuisine]] is mainly influenced by the [[Diet in Hinduism|diet habits]] similar to the [[Hindus]] and includes a very large variety of sweets and dishes.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Pearce|first=Melissa|title=Defining Bengali Cuisine: The Culinary Differences of West Bengal and Bangladesh|url=https://theculturetrip.com/asia/bangladesh/articles/defining-bengali-cuisine-the-culinary-differences-of-west-bengal-and-bangladesh/|access-date=12 May 2021|website=Culture Trip|date=10 July 2013|archive-date=3 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221103004718/https://theculturetrip.com/asia/bangladesh/articles/defining-bengali-cuisine-the-culinary-differences-of-west-bengal-and-bangladesh/|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Bengali sweets]] includes desserts made by milk, includes [[Rasgulla]], [[Sandesh (sweet)|Sandesh]], [[Cham cham]], etc.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Krondl|first=Michael|date=1 August 2010|title=The Sweetshops of Kolkata|url=https://online.ucpress.edu/gastronomica/article-abstract/10/3/58/44455/The-Sweetshops-of-Kolkata?redirectedFrom=fulltext|journal=Gastronomica|language=en|volume=10|issue=3|pages=58–65|doi=10.1525/gfc.2010.10.3.58|issn=1529-3262|jstor=10.1525/gfc.2010.10.3.58|doi-access=|jstor-access=free|access-date=12 May 2021|archive-date=12 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512150339/https://online.ucpress.edu/gastronomica/article-abstract/10/3/58/44455/The-Sweetshops-of-Kolkata?redirectedFrom=fulltext|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref> In [[Hinduism]], the consumption of meat is often avoided in diets due to the Hindu principle of ''[[ahimsa]]'' which prohibits meat consumption. However, Bengali Hindus adore eating meat of [[Mutton|goat]], [[Chicken as food|chicken]], [[Duck meat|duck]] and [[Lamb meat|lamb]].{{Sfn|Sengupta|2002|ps=Ch-XII}} Most of the Hindus refrain from eating beef. Meat, especially beef is readily consumed in [[Bangladesh]] and where it is considered the meal's main course and the Fish curry (or [[Machher Jhol]]) with rice is considered as one of the most staple food by both Hindus and Muslims in Bengal.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Machha [ Fish Curries ] {{!}} Authentic Odia Cuisines & Recipes|url=http://www.odiakitchen.com/category/oriya-non-veggie/machha-fish-curries/|access-date=12 May 2021|language=en-US|archive-date=20 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220040844/http://www.odiakitchen.com/category/oriya-non-veggie/machha-fish-curries/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

{{Clear}}

=== Wedding ===
{{Main|Bengali Hindu wedding}}

=== Society ===
{{See also|List of Bengalis}}
Bengali Hindu society used to be [[Caste system in India|caste-oriented]] throughout centuries and the professional status of men depended exclusively on the [[Varna (Hinduism)|hierarchical caste divisions]].<ref name="Ghosh"/> In traditional [[Bengali Culture|Bengali Hindu society]], nearly every occupation is carried on by a ranked hierarchy of [[Hindu caste|specialised caste groups]] such as weaving, pottery, carpentry and blacksmithing. However, with the introduction of [[British Raj|British rule]] and appearance of urban civilisation, the former rural agrarian and artisan economy gradually crumbled and gave way to modern middle class economy. However, agriculture, land tenure, farming and fishing form the predominant economic activity in most of the rural area till now.<ref name="Ghosh">{{cite journal |last1=Ghosh |first1=Anjan |title=Review of Caste Dynamics Among the Bengali Hindus |journal=Sociological Bulletin |date=March 1981 |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=96–99 |doi=10.1177/0038022919810109 |jstor=23619215 |s2cid=220049219 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23619215 |issn=0038-0229 |access-date=27 October 2023 |archive-date=15 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230515183436/https://www.jstor.org/stable/23619215 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bose |first1=Nirmal Kumar |title=Some Aspects of Caste in Bengal |journal=The Journal of American Folklore |date=July–September 1958 |volume=71 |issue=281 |pages=397–412 |doi=10.2307/538569 |jstor=538569 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/538569 |issn=0021-8715 |access-date=27 October 2023 |archive-date=27 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231027112428/https://www.jstor.org/stable/538569 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> According to the census in 1881, 12.81 per cent of Bengali Hindus belonged to the upper castes,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Seal |first1=Anil |title=The emergence of Indian nationalism: competition and collaboration in the later nineteenth century. |date=1968 |publisher=Cambridge U.P |location=London |isbn=9780521096522 |page=43 }}</ref> while a 2020 ''[[Deccan Herald]]'' publication puts the percentage of the upper castes ([[Bengali Brahmin|Brahmins]], [[Bengali Kayastha|Kayasthas]] and [[Baidya|Vaidyas]]) at 15 to 18 per cent of the Hindu population.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Raychaudhuri |first=Diptendra |date=3 September 2020 |title=BJP brings caste politics to Bengal |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/bjp-brings-caste-politics-to-bengal-881894.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241123121955/https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/bjp-brings-caste-politics-to-bengal-881894.html |archive-date=23 November 2024 |work=Deccan Herald |access-date=14 January 2025 |quote=In Bengal, the forward castes – Brahmin, Vaidya and Kyastha – who dominate the big cities comprise only about 15 to 18 per cent of the Hindu population and about 12 to 13 per cent of the total voters.}}</ref>

==== Economy ====
{{Main|Economy of West Bengal|Economy of Bangladesh}}

=== Literature ===
{{Main|Bengali literature|List of Bengali poets}}

[[File:Kalighat Savitri begs Yama not to take Satyaban.jpg|thumb|right|Savitri-Satyavan story on Kalighat Painting, 3rd quarter of the 19th century.]]
The proper Bengali literary history begins with the early [[Vaishnava]] literature like the [[Shreekrishna Kirtana]] and the [[Vaishnava padavali]]s followed by translation literatures like [[Ramayana]] and [[Sri Krishna Vijayamu|Srikrishna Vijaya]].{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} In the medieval period literary works on the life and teachings of [[Chaitanya Mahaprabhu]] were composed. This period saw the emergence of Shakta padavalis.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Chaitanya Mahaprabhu: A relook at the saint and reformer |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/heritage/chaitanya-mahaprabhu-a-relook-at-the-saint-and-reformer/cid/1695447 |url-status=live |access-date=12 May 2021 |work=[[The Telegraph (India)|The Telegraph]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190729162915/https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/heritage/chaitanya-mahaprabhu-a-relook-at-the-saint-and-reformer/cid/1695447 |archive-date=29 July 2019}}</ref> The characteristic feature of Bengali Hindu literature in the middle age are the [[mangalkavya]]s, that glorify various Hindu gods and goddesses often using folkloristic backgrounds.

The [[early modern period]] saw a flurry in the literary activity especially after the emergence of the Bengali press. The first Bengali prose ''Raja Pratapaditya Charitra'' was written during this time. The [[Bengal Renaissance|Renaissance]] saw a rapid development in modern Bengali literature.{{Sfn|Sultana|2003|pp=183-184}} Most of the epics, poems, novels, short stories and dramas of the modern classical literature were written during this period. The Bengal Literary Society that later came to be known as [[Bangiya Sahitya Parishad]] was founded. [[Bankim Chandra Chatterjee]] wrote commentaries on ''Krishna Charita, Dharmattatva, Bhagavad Gita''. The literary development during the Renaissance culminated in [[Rabindranath Tagore|Tagore's]] [[Nobel Prize for Literature]].<ref>{{Britannica|60791|title=Bengali literature}}. pp. 2.</ref>

In the Post-Partition period, the Bengali Hindus pioneered the [[Hungry generation]], ''Natun Kabita'' and the [[Little magazine movement#Bengali little magazine movement|little magazine]] movements. Of late, some of them have made their mark in contemporary English literature.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Clark|first=T. W.|year=1955|title=Evolution of Hinduism in Medieval Bengali Literature: Śiva, Caṇḍī, Manasā|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/609593|journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London|volume=17|issue=3|pages=503–518|doi=10.1017/S0041977X00112418|jstor=609593|s2cid=161974582|issn=0041-977X|access-date=12 May 2021|archive-date=12 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512123613/https://www.jstor.org/stable/609593|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

=== Art ===
The [[Kalighat painting|Kalighat school of painting]] flourished in Bengal in the early modern period, and especially after the first paper mill was set up in 1809.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Nambiar|first=Sridevi|title=A Brief History of Kalighat Paintings in Kolkata, India|url=https://theculturetrip.com/asia/india/articles/a-brief-history-of-kalighat-paintings-in-kolkata-india/|access-date=13 May 2021|website=Culture Trip|date=March 2017|archive-date=13 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513041712/https://theculturetrip.com/asia/india/articles/a-brief-history-of-kalighat-paintings-in-kolkata-india/|url-status=live}}</ref> During the rise of [[Hindu nationalism|nationalism]] in the early 20th century, the Bengali Hindus pioneered the [[Bengal school of art]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Chatterjee|first=Partha|date=August 1975|title=Bengal: Rise and Growth of a Nationality|journal=Social Scientist|volume=4|issue=1|pages=67–82|doi=10.2307/3516391|jstor=3516391|issn=0970-0293}}</ref> It provided the artistic medium of expression to the [[Hindu nationalism|Hindu nationalist movement]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=9 September 2018|title=Nationalism and Art in India|url=https://www.theheritagelab.in/nationalism-art/|access-date=13 May 2021|website=The Heritage Lab|language=en-GB|archive-date=13 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513041713/https://www.theheritagelab.in/nationalism-art/|url-status=live}}</ref> Though the Bengal school later gave way to [[modernist]] ideas, it left an enduring legacy. In the post-liberalisation phase of India, modern art acquired a new dimension as young artists like [[Devajyoti Ray]], Sudip Roy and [[Paresh Maity]] started gaining international recognition. Devajyoti Ray is known for introducing [[Pseudorealism]], which is one of the most original genres of Indian art today.<ref>{{cite web |title=Artist Profile: Devajyoti Ray |url=https://www.artsceneindia.com/search?updated-max=2014-05-26T05:09:00-07:00&max-results=15&reverse-paginate=true&m=0 |website=Art Scene India |access-date=14 January 2025}}</ref>

== Religion ==
{{Further|Prithvi Vrata|Hinduism in West Bengal|Hinduism in Bangladesh|label1=the annual Prithvi Vrata ritual}}
The Bengali Hindus generally follow the beliefs and practices that fall under the broad umbrella of [[Hinduism]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hinduism in Bengal and Surrounding Areas |url=https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195399318/obo-9780195399318-0124.xml |access-date=12 May 2021 |website=obo |archive-date=13 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413214800/https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195399318/obo-9780195399318-0124.xml |url-status=live}}</ref> Majority of them follow either [[Shaktism]] (the [[Shaktism#Kalikula: family of Kali|Kalikula tradition]]) or [[Vaishnavism]] ([[Gaudiya Vaishnavism]], [[Vaishnava-Sahajiya]], [[Baul]]s), and some follow a synthesis of the two. The Shaktas belong to the upper [[caste]]s as well as lowest castes and tribes, while the lower middle castes are Vaishnavas.{{sfn|McDermott|2005|p=826}} The minor traditions include [[Shaivites]]. A small minority is [[atheist]] who do not follow any rituals.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Aquil |first=Raziuddin |title=History of a distinct culture |url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/books/article26003781.ece |access-date=12 May 2021 |magazine=Frontline |date=17 January 2019 |language=en |archive-date=13 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513054835/https://frontline.thehindu.com/books/article26003781.ece |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Brahmoism]] is also found among Bengali Hindus.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Studying religion |url=https://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/culture/religious-studies/studying-religion/content-section-0 |access-date=12 May 2021 |website=OpenLearn |archive-date=12 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512001426/https://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/culture/religious-studies/studying-religion/content-section-0 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

A part of the parent tradition, the Bengali Hindus usually affiliate themselves to one of the many sects that have come to be established as institutionalised forms of the ancient [[guru-shishya tradition]]s.<ref>{{Cite news |title=A documentary on India's guru-shishya parampara |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bengali/movies/news/a-documentary-on-indias-guru-shishya-parampara/articleshow/75800141.cms |access-date=13 May 2021 |website=The Times of India |language=en |archive-date=13 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513041711/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bengali/movies/news/a-documentary-on-indias-guru-shishya-parampara/articleshow/75800141.cms |url-status=live}}</ref> Major amongst them include the [[Ramakrishna Mission]], [[Bharat Sevashram Sangha]], [[Bijoy Krishna Goswami]], [[Thakur Anukulchandra|Anukul Thakur]], [[Matua Mahasangha|Matua]], [[ISKCON]], [[Gaudiya Mission]], [[Ananda Marga]], [[Ram Thakur]] etc.<ref>{{Cite news |date=17 April 2021 |title=Celebrating the 'essence of Hinduism': How 19th century Brahmo Samaj altered Bengali society |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/research/celebrating-the-essence-of-hinduism-how-19th-century-brahmo-samaj-altered-bengali-society-7277307/ |access-date=12 May 2021 |work=The Indian Express |archive-date=12 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512134428/https://indianexpress.com/article/research/celebrating-the-essence-of-hinduism-how-19th-century-brahmo-samaj-altered-bengali-society-7277307/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

The main [[devi]]s of the Shakta Kalikula tradition are ''[[Kali]]'', ''[[Chandi]]'', ''[[Jagaddhatri]]'', ''[[Durga]]'', as well as regional goddesses such as ''[[Bishahari]]'' and ''[[Manasa]]'', the snake goddesses, ''[[Shashthi (goddess)|Shashthi]]'', the protectress of children, ''[[Shitala]]'', the smallpox goddess, ''[[Annapurna (goddess)|Annapurna]]'' and ''[[Umā]]'' (the Bengali name for [[Parvati]]).{{sfn|McDermott|2005|p=826}}

=== Festivals ===
<gallery widths="200">
File:Durga puja, garlands for her.JPG|[[Durga Puja]], the largest festival of Bengali Hindus
File:Dakshina Kali 2 Shakespeare Sarani Arnab Dutta 2011.jpg|[[Kali Puja]], a major Hindu festival of Bengal
File:Roth Procession.jpg|[[Ratha Yatra|Rath Yatra]] at [[Dhamrai Rathayatra|Dhamrai]] in Dhaka district, Bangladesh
File:Durga Puja DS.jpg|A traditional Durga idol with [[Chalchitra]]
File:Durga Puja by countries.png|The Bengali Hindu diaspora celebrate [[Durga Puja]] all over the world.
</gallery>
According to a famous Bengali proverb, there are thirteen festivals in twelve months ({{Langx|bn|বারো মাসে তেরো পার্বণ|translit=Bārō māsē tērō pārbaṇa}}).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ghosh |first=Dipankar |script-title=bn:বারো মাসে তেরো পার্বণ |url=https://www.anandabazar.com/culture/book-reviews/thirteen-festivals-in-twelve-months-1.525191 |access-date=12 May 2021 |work=Anandabazar Patrika |language=bn |archive-date=12 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512045753/https://www.anandabazar.com/culture/book-reviews/thirteen-festivals-in-twelve-months-1.525191 |url-status=live}}</ref> Bengali Hindus celebrate all major Indian festivals. The year begins with the Bengali New Year's Day or [[Pohela Boishakh]] which usually falls on 15 April. Traditional business establishment commence their fiscal year on this day, with the worship of [[Lakshmi]] and [[Ganesha]] and inauguration of the halkhata (ledger). People dress in ethnic wear and enjoy ethnic food. Poila Baishakh is followed by [[Rabindra Jayanti]], [[Rath Yatra]] and [[Janmashtami]] before the commencement of the Pujas.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ghosh |first=Bishwanath |date=22 January 2020 |title=In Bengal, significant hike in the number of holidays for Hindu festivals |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/in-bengal-significant-hike-in-the-number-of-holidays-for-hindu-festivals/article30625869.ece |access-date=12 May 2021 |issn=0971-751X |archive-date=12 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512060027/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/in-bengal-significant-hike-in-the-number-of-holidays-for-hindu-festivals/article30625869.ece |url-status=live}}</ref>

The puja season begins with the [[Vishwakarma Puja]] and is followed up by [[Durga Puja]]—the last four days of [[Navaratri]]—the greatest and largest Bengali Hindu festival.{{sfn|McDermott|2005|p=826}}<ref>[http://www.durga-puja.org/ Durga Puja.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010101852/http://www.durga-puja.org/ |date=10 October 2018 }}.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Durga Puja festival|url=http://www.durgapuja.net/durga-puja-festival/|url-status=live|access-date=12 May 2021|website=durgapuja.net|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013015815/http://www.durgapuja.net/durga-puja-festival/|archive-date=13 October 2012}}</ref> It is the commemoration of the victory that teaches none is good and none is evil. Each and every war starts, continues and ends with an objective to fulfill their own minimum demands that is required to exist. The defeated always have to accept the dictations of the victors and the defeated becomes free from the guilt of having defeated in the war and again both victors and defeated become friends.
According to Chandi Purana, goddess [[Durga]] killed [[Mahishasura]], the demon-like asura and saved the devas. [[Rama]] the prince of [[Ayodhya (Ramayana)|Ayodhya]] invoked the blessings of goddess Durga in a battle against [[Ravana]] of Lanka. Durga Puja is the commemoration of Goddess Durga's victory over Mahishasura and it ends in [[Vijayadashami|Bijoya Dashami]]. Durga Puja is followed by [[Kojagari Lakshmi Puja]], [[Kali Puja]], [[Bhai phonta]], [[Jagaddhatri|Jagaddhatri Puja]].<ref>{{Britannica|174256|title=Durga Puja}}.</ref>

The winter solstice is celebrated a [[Makar Sankranti|Paush Sankranti]] in mid January, followed by Netaji Jayanti and [[Saraswati Pooja]], a puja dedicated to Goddess of Knowledge and music Goddess Saraswati.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Bengal celebrates Saraswati Puja |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/bengal-celebrates-saraswati-puja/1720379 |url-status=live |access-date=12 May 2021 |magazine=[[Outlook India]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512150329/https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/bengal-celebrates-saraswati-puja/1720379 |archive-date=12 May 2021}}</ref>

The spring is celebrated in the form of Dolyatra or [[Holi]]. The year ends with [[Charak Puja]] and [[Gajan (festival)|Gajan]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Religious power in Bengal |url=https://ari.nus.edu.sg/20331-64/ |url-status=live |access-date=12 May 2021 |website=ari.nus.edu.sg|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119100224/https://ari.nus.edu.sg/20331-64/ |archive-date=19 November 2020 }}</ref>

Durga Puja became the main religio-cultural celebration within the Bengal diaspora in the West (together with Kali and Saraswati Pujas, if a community is large and prosperous enough).{{sfn|McDermott|2005|p=830}}

=== Temples ===
{{Main|Bengal temple architecture}}

{{See also|List of Hindu temples in West Bengal|List of Hindu temples in Bangladesh|label 2=Bangladesh}}
As per [[David McCutchion|David J. McCutchion]], historically the religious architecture in Bengal may be divided into three periods: the early Hindu period (up to the end of the 12th century, or maybe a little later in certain areas), the [[Bengal Sultanate|Sultanate period]] (14th to early 16th century), and the Hindu revival period (16th to 19th century).<ref>{{cite book |last1=McCutchion |first1=David |author-link=David McCutchion |title=Late Mediaeval Temples of Bengal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c2tPAQAAMAAJ |year=1972 |location=Calcutta |publisher=The Asiatic Society |oclc=1019953308 |page=1}}</ref>
<gallery mode="packed" widths="250" heights="250">
File:Temple of Ichai Ghosh.jpg|[[Ichhai Ghosher Deul]] at [[Gourangapur]] in [[Paschim Bardhaman district|Paschim Bardhaman]], West Bengal.
File:Main Temple of Dhakeswari.jpg|[[Dhakeshwari Temple]] in [[Dhaka]].
File:Baro Chala temple of Buro Shiva at Jalsara under Ghatal Police Station in Paschim Medinipur district in West Bengal 05.jpg|Baro-chala Buro Shiva temple at [[Jalshara]] in [[Paschim Medinipur district|Paschim Medinipur]], West Bengal.
</gallery>

== Businesspeople ==
{{Columns-list|colwidth=10em|}}
* [[Mohit Burman]], [[Dabur]]
* [[Amar Bose]], [[Bose Corporation]]
* [[Chandra Shekhar Ghosh]], [[Bandhan Bank]]
* [[Purnendu Chatterjee]]
* Bijon Nag, [[IFB Home Appliances]]
* [[Aveek Sarkar]], [[ABP Group]]
* [[Jayanta Roy]], [[Peerless Group]]

== See also ==
* [[All Assam Bengali Youth Students Federation]]
* [[East Bengali refugees]]
* [[Hinduism in Bangladesh]]
* [[Hinduism in West Bengal]]
* [[Bengali Hindu diaspora]]
* [[Bengali Muslims]]
* [[Bengali Buddhists]]
* [[Bengali Christians]]
* [[Culture of Bengal]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group=N}}
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
{{refbegin|40em}}
* {{Cite book|last=Chaudhuri|first=Rachita|title=Buddhist Education in Ancient India|date=2008|publisher=Punthi Pustak|isbn=978-81-86791-77-6|pages=243–345}}
* {{Cite book|last=Dastidar|first=Sachi G|title=Empire's last casualty: Indian subcontinent's vanishing Hindu and other minorities|date=2008|publisher=Firma KLM|isbn=978-81-7102-151-2|location=Kolkata|language=English|oclc=220925148}}
* {{Cite book|last=Ghosh|first=Binoy|title=Paschimbanger Sanskriti|publisher=Press & People Republic|year=1950}}
* {{Cite book|last1=Inden|first1=Ronald B.|title=Kinship in Bengali culture|last2=Nicholas|first2=Ralph W.|date=2005|publisher=[[Orient Blackswan]]|isbn=978-81-8028-018-4|language=en|author-link=Ronald Inden}}
* {{Cite book|last=Kamra|first=A. J|title=The prolonged partition and its pogroms|date=2000|publisher=[[Voice of India]]|isbn=978-81-85990-63-7|location=New Delhi|oclc=47168311}}
* {{Cite book|last=Majumdar|first=R. C|title=Ancient India History|publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]]|year=2017|isbn=978-8120804357|author-link=R. C. Majumdar|orig-year=1977}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |year=2005 |surname=McDermott |given=Rachel Fell |title=Bengali religions |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Religion: 15 Volume Set |editor=Lindsay Jones |edition=2nd |place=Detroit, Mi |publisher=MacMillan Reference USA |volume=2 |pages=824–832 |isbn=0-02-865735-7}}
* {{Cite book|last=Mitra|first=Satish Chandra|title=Jashor Khulnar Itihash|publisher=Deys Publishers|year=2015}}
* {{Cite book|last=Pramanik|first=Bimal|title=Endangered Demography: Nature and Impact of Demographic Changes in West Bengal|date=2005|publisher=G.C. Modak|isbn=978-1-4985-3742-1}}
* {{Cite book|last=Ray|first=Niharranjan|title=History of the Bengali People: Ancient Period|date=1994|publisher=[[Orient Longman]]|isbn=978-0-86311-378-9}}
* {{Cite book |last=Roy |first=Tathagata |title=My People, Uprooted: A Saga of the Hindus of Eastern Bengal |year=2002 |location=Kolkata |publisher=Ratna Prakashan |isbn=978-81-85709-67-3}}
* {{Cite book|last=Sengupta|first=Nitish|title=History of the Bengali-Speaking People|publisher=UBS Publishers|year=2002|isbn=978-8174763556}}
* {{Cite encyclopedia |last=Sultana |first=Jasmin |year=2003 |editor-last=Islam|editor-first=Sirajul|editor-link=Sirajul Islam |title=Banglapedia: Kotalipara |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]] |volume=6 |isbn=978-984-32-0581-0}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline}}
*{{URL|http://www.hindunet.org/hindu_history/modern/hindu_bangla.html|Bengali Hindu modern history}}

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Bengali Hindus