People and the Culture of Bengal (A lecture for the student of Theology at Parashmani, Bolpur, Santiniketan on 24th July, 2012)

The Root of Bengali Culture

Towards the end of the eighteenth century, a few Europeans started a historical and cultural inquiryIndia. Perhaps it was assumed they had no cultural traditions of their own different from the Vedic Aryan. It was not until the latter part of the nineteenth century that a few Bengalee scholars started to enquire specifically into the culture and history of Bengal. Consequent research indicated that the cultural tradition of the pre Aryan people or more generally the people of Eastern India is distinct in many features from that of the dominant Vedic Aryan civilization of Northern India.

into Aryan civilization. However, no similar effort was made towards exploring the civilization of the different regional peoples of pre-Aryan

Haraprashad Shastri, one of the pioneers of research into the history of Bengal, characterized the Bengalees as “self-oblivious”. According to him, the beginning of the Bengali history are so uncertain, that for all anybody can tell, it may be quite as old as Egypt, Babylon and China: “ When the Aryan had reached the Punjab, Bengal had already attained a high level of civilization, and when they had advanced up to Allahabad, they begun to abuse Bengalees as speechless and devoid of religious sense-presumably, being jealous of their distinctive culture. Before the birth of Buddha, Bengalees had become so powerful on land and sea that a disinherited son of Bengal conquered Ceylon (Sri Lanka) with seven hundred men, and gave the island its name Simhal.”

 “We have the long standing