Bengaliness and its Evolution Across India and Bangladesh

Bengaliness and its unique evolution find a new watershed through the twin memoirs of Amartya Sen and Krishna Bose; Somjyoti Mridha, through his review, seeks to delve deep into issues responsible for cataclysmic changes Bengal has undergone since the mid-18th century.

Two eminent Bengalis recently published their memoirs. Amartya Sen, the renowned economist, published Home in the World : A Memoir which recounts his journey from Dacca to the world of global academia via Shantiniketan, Kolkata and New Delhi. Sumantra Bose translated and published his mother, Krishna Bose’s memoir titled Lost Addresses: A Memoir of India (1934-1955). Krishna Bose, an academic and former member of parliament (MP) from the Jadavpur constituency in West Bengal wrote her memoir during the tumultuous decades of the 1930s to the 1950s.

In the 21st century, Bengaliness resides in the interstitial space between Lost Addresses and a Home in the World. Bengal has undergone cataclysmic changes that swept across the Indian sub-continent since the mid-eighteenth century—from  being the richest province of the Mughal Empire, the first province in the Indian sub-continent to embrace colonial modernity along with the economic depredations of British colonization and the partition of the province resulting in communal riots, mass migration and subsequent economic hardships for millions trying to eke out a precarious existence in altered socio-political circumstances.

The Historical Phenomenon

The collective fortunes of the Bengali people in recent past has been conditioned by the gradual shrinking and partitioning of the erstwhile administrative behemoth, Bengal Presidency created on the basis of British territorial conquests in the eastern part of the Indian sub-continent. This historical phenomenon was aided and abetted by official Indian and Pakistani nationalism since the 1950s and Bangladeshi nationalism since the 1970s.

In contemporary times, Bengaliness is shaped by the imprints that macro-historical factors have left on the Bengali psyche along with recent economic and socio-political developments like globalization. Bengaliness or the essence of being Bengali is fractured due to the construction of Bangladeshi identity after the creation of Bangladesh while the Kolkata centric Bengali bhadralok identity touted by the Indian state of West Bengal as the standard form of Bengaliness.

Formation of Bengali Identity

Identity formation is a complex and ambiguous process that entails myriad possibilities, permutations, combinations and negotiations. Bengali identity is complicated by the presence of Bengali speakers in two neighbouring nation-states of India and Bangladesh. While Bengali is the pre-eminent language in the nation state of Bangladesh, it is one of the twenty-two scheduled languages in India.

Occasionally, Bengaliness transcends the constricting nature of national identity, though there are instances when nationality overrides linguistic identity. Bengali society has been riddled with religious polarization since the emergence of nationalism in the Indian sub-continent. The cataclysmic event of partition and communal disharmony of the 1940s is the resultant effect of religious identity overriding the commonality of linguistic community.

Partition of Bengal

Partition of Bengal was a violent historical event which left an indelible mark on the collective psyche of the Bengalis on both sides of the border. Selective victimization of Hindu minorities primarily on account of their religious identity in contemporary Bangladesh is a reality that cannot be neglected.

History of Bengal is part and parcel of the larger patterns of communal relationship in the Indian sub-continent which has an impeccable history of communal harmony and camaraderie interspersed with bouts of communal frenzy. Partition of the erstwhile Bengal Presidency has scattered the Bengali community across the Indian sub-continent and beyond.

The historical event of partition is primarily responsible for Bengali emerging as the second most spoken language in India apart from West Bengal and Tripura where it is the language of the majority community. Loss of homeland and memory of partition is one of the most important characteristics of Bengali culture and society in contemporary times.

The geographically spurious prefix ‘west’ added to a state located in the eastern part of India testifies to this geo-political reality. It has also created a social bifurcation among Hindu Bengalis—the Bangal/Ghoti divide. Bangal refers to people from eastern part of Bengal who came to West Bengal as refugees during partition and Ghotis refers to the original inhabitants of West Bengal, the ones unaffected by partition.

These labels have an enduring presence in Bengali society, though social stigma associated with these labels have mitigated with time.

Renaissance in Bengal

The Bengal renaissance coincided with the high tide of colonial expansion and economic exploitation during the nineteenth century. It has informed the contours of modern Bengali identity. In fact, all the icons of contemporary Bengali culture belong to the nineteenth century irrespective of their political predilections and contribution in public life.

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The political events that led to political subjugation and untold economic exploitation also catapulted Bengal to the forefront of Indian society primarily due to Bengali alacrity in adopting what has been academically termed as colonial modernity. It was tantamount to emulation of the colonizer’s language, ways of life and philosophical outlook. This sociological phenomenon led to Bengali dominance in spheres of government employment and Anglicized education for almost two centuries.

Bengali nostalgia for the 19th century is primarily because of their preponderance in the services sector. It is crucial to note that Bengali dominance in government service and Anglicized education during the 19th and 20th century has diverted them from commerce and entrepreneurial ventures transforming the Bengalis into an impoverished, employment seeking community.

Middle class Bengalis consider permanent government jobs as the pinnacle of personal success. It is most likely a social outcome of the Permanent Settlement Act of 1793 which fixed the taxation on land thereby making landed estates more lucrative than business enterprises.

To be Continued in Part-2