Portal:Bengal

The Bengal Portal

Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast of South Asia. Today it is mainly divided between the independent nation of Bangladesh (previously East Bengal), and the Indian federal republic's constitutive state of Paschimbanga, although some regions of the previous kingdoms of Bengal (during local monarchial regimes and British rule) are now part of the neighboring Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Tripura, Orissa and Assam. The majority of Bengal is inhabited by Bengali people who speak the Bengali language, also called Bangla.

The region of Bengal is one of the most densely populated regions on earth, with population density exceeding 900/km². Most of the Bengal region lies in the low-lying Ganges–Brahmaputra River Delta or Ganges Delta, the world's largest delta. In the southern part of the delta lies Sundarbans— the world's largest mangrove forest and home to the famed Bengal tiger. Though the population of the region is mostly rural and agrarian, two megacities, Kolkata (previously Calcutta) and Dhaka, are located in Bengal. The Bengal region is notable for its contribution to the socio-cultural uplift of Indian society in the form of Bengal Renaissance, and revolutionary activities during the Indian independence movement.

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Credit: Toufiq Parag

The Nakshi Kantha is traditional stitched quilt of Bengal.

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Darjeeling is a hill station (a hill town) in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of Darjeeling district, situated in the Shiwalik Hills (or Lower Himalaya) at an average elevation of 2,134 m above sea level. Once ruled by the Kingdom of Sikkim, the Darjeeling region was converted into a hill station by the British East India Company in the 1800s, and came to be known as the "Queen of the Hills." It remained as a part of the state of West Bengal in independent India. The name Darjeeling is a composition of two Tibetan words – Dorje ("thunderbolt") and ling ("place"). Hence, darjeeling translates as "Land of the Thunderbolt".

Darjeeling is famous for its tea industry, which produces blends considered among the world's finest. Once used as a sanitarium for British troops and administrators, the town is now a popular tourist destination. The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway connecting the town with the plains was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. Darjeeling is noted for several western-style public schools attracting students from all over India and neighbouring countries. The town was a major centre of Gorkhaland separatism in the 1980s, resulting in a decrease in tourism-related commerce. Darjeeling has continued to grow in the recent years and the region's fragile ecology is threatened by a rising demand for environmental resources stemming from growing tourist traffic and rapid urbanisation.

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Swami Vivekananda, whose pre-monastic name was Narendranath Dutta, (January 12, 1863 - July 4, 1902) was one of the most famous and influential spiritual leaders of the Vedanta philosophy. He was the chief disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and was the founder of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission. Many consider him an icon for his fearless courage, his positive exhortations to the youth, his broad outlook on social problems, and countless lectures and discourses on Vedanta philosophy.

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In The News

The current time is 2:38, Wednesday June 19, 2013 (IST) • 3:08, Wednesday June 19, 2013 (BST) • Asharh 5, 1420.

Bangladesh

Jun 12: A 36-hour nationwide strike takes place in Bangladesh over changes to the electoral system. (Straits Times) Jun 4: Bangladesh receives a loan from the World Bank to strengthen regional co-operation on wildlife protection. (Straits Times) Apr 25: A court in Bangladesh clears Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus of misappropriating Norwegian aid money at a micro-finance bank he founded. (The Times of India) Apr 11: Australian cricket player Shane Watson breaks the world record for number of sixes in a One Day International in the second match in the series against Bangladesh. Apr 5: Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus loses his final appeal in the Supreme Court of Bangladesh against his dismissal from his own Grameen micro-finance bank; the bank thought him too old for the job. (BBC) Apr 4: Severe thunderstorms kill 13 people in Bangladesh. (San Francisco Chronicle) Archive of old items

West Bengal
June 18:Operation Lalgarh has been started against the Maoist who have been active in organising a tribal movement alongside a group called the People's Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA) by the police and security forces in Lalgarh, West Bengal to restore law and order in the area and flush out the Maoists. Indian Express

Did You Know...

• ...that the ship breaking industry in Sitakunda began when a 20,000-ton ship was accidentally beached by a tidal bore in 1965?
• ...that Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh was also known as Jahangir Nagar?
• ...that the largely unexplored Buddhist archaeological site of Noapara-Ishanchandranagar in Bangladesh is conjectured to be the lost city of Karmanta Vasaka?
  • ...that when John Elliot Drinkwater Bethune opened the first secular girls' school in Calcutta in 1849, outraged bystanders swore at the girls as they were carried to school in covered carriages?
• ...that Gnanendramohan Tagore was the first Asian to be called to the bar in England in 1862?
  • ...that in the Sandeshkhali region of West Bengal more than 100 women get trafficked to red-light areas in Mumbai and Pune each year?
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Wikipedia In Bengali

There is a Bengali version of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

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