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Bengalis through the centuries

Our heritage Bengal used to produce enough agricultural products to feed its population and export the surplus to feed the imperial army. During the Muslim rule in Bengal, many Muslim saints came to this region. Mention may be made of the great saint Hazrat Shah Jalal accompanied by 360 of his disciples who conquered Sylhet. In each of the sub regions there had been more than one saint, they spread Islam among the masses and this helped making Bengal a Muslim majority state.
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Initially they developed British education here for the sake of their administration. But it transcended their initial motivation and we got real taste of education. Calcutta and later Dhaka University were established on the pattern of British universities and they also helped development of the Bengali Language.
They at the end of their rule also gave us a taste of Parliamentary democracy. India acts of 1909, 1919 and 1935 led the subcontinent gradually to parliamentary democracy. Special mention may be made of 1935 Act. Under this act, provincial elections were held in 1937 and Sher-e-Bangla A.K. Fazlul Huq became the Chief Minister of Bengal. When he was expelled by Jinnah from Muslim League, he formed a coalition Ministry with Hindu Mahashaba. When this ministry collapsed, Khaja Nazimuddin became the Chief Minister as leader of Muslim League. Sher-e -Bangla was in the opposition then and nobody could restrain him from making fiery speeches in the legislative assembly. In the 1946 provincial election, Muslim league obtained a
resounding victory and this time H.S. Suhrawardy became the Chief Minister because he was the architect of the Muslim League victory in Bengal. This victory of the Muslim League in Bengal was a decisive factor in the creation of Pakistan as in no other Muslim majority province of India, Muslim League could win majority seats in Parliament. Suhrawardy of course proposed an independent Greater Bengal. He was deprived of the leadership of newly formed Parliament in East Bengal by a conspiracy. If Suhrawardy was made Chief Minister of the newly formed East Bengal, the history of Pakistan would have been different. We all recognize Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as the Father of the Nation. Moulana Bhashani is also given the credit for raising his voice in favor of independence. But very few people know that when Jawharlal Nehru was invited by the Viceroy to form the interim cabinet in 1946, Suharwardy warned the Viceroy that if Congress forms the interim Govt, Bengal would declare independence and form its own Cabinet. Later of course, a coalition interim Govt, by both Congress and the
League was formed. Thus a psyche of independence was there in the hearts and minds of all our genuine leaders. Those who think that Parliamentary democracy of Westminster type has failed in independent Bangladesh, they should go
through the proceedings of the Bengal legislature during 1937-1947 period. This would show how in very restrained circumstances under an imperial rule and highhandedness of the political party chiefs, democ-racy functioned. In
Bangladesh, we never allowed parliamentary democracy to function. 1 shall throw more light on British Parliamentary democracy during my writing on Britain.
Sher-e- Bangla Fazlul Huq moved the Lahore Resolution
as the Chief Minister of the only Muslim League Govt, in India. In the resolution there was the provision that more than one sovereign Muslim states could come into existence and those who say that "s" in the word states was a typing mistake
should read Jinnah's letter to Viceroy on 1 July, 1941, which reads, "No statement should be made by the Government which would in any way militate against the basic principles of Lahore Resolution regarding creation of Muslim States in the
north-western and eastern zones." Here he categorically puts states in the plural.
We are very proud of our past. In spite of many adverse circumstances, this region has witnessed die birth of many eminent personalities like
Rabindranath Tagore, Subash Chandra Bose, C.R. Das, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Raja Ram Mohon Roy, Sree Ramkrishna, Swami Bibekananda, Arobindo Ghosh. Kazi Nazrul Islam, Iswar Chandra Bidyasagar, Bankim Chatterjee, Michael Madhusudon Datta, Amartya Sen, Satyajit Roy, Jagadish Chandra Bose, P.C.Roy, Satyen Bose, Meghnad Saha and many others.
Of the eight personalities, who received Nobel Prize from this subcontinent, five are from this region. They are Rabindranath Tagore, Amartya Sen, C.V.Raman, Mother Teresa and Professor Yunus. C.V.Raman though born in South India, got the prize while working in Calcutta. Mother Teresa though she came from outside became a citizen of Bengal. Dr Khorana and Dr Chandrasekhar, the two Indian scientists who got Nobel Prize, lived in USA. Professor Abdus Salam of Pakistan who got Nobel Prize lived in U.K. and Italy. It is no mean achievement for a region.
Bengal had a well settled civilization and culture at (he time of Aryan penetration. Bengal had its own dynasty of independent rulers, namely the
Palas, the Senas and the Muslim Sultanate who occupied Bengal and they shaped a distinct identity of Bengal. Bangladesh is characterized by a unique coming together of many races, languages and religions. Its culture is distinctive to which Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians have all contributed. The people of Bengal had never accepted the land of Bengal as a mere province of India. They looked upon it as a separate country and called it Bangladesh and not Bangla P r o d e s h. When Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman named the province of East Pakistan as Bangladesh after his six-point program, every body thought that independence was his ultimate aim and it was a very bold step. The psyche developed by our original inhabitants guides us in all our affairs. It inspires us to die for the preservation of our language and to die for the achievement of our independence and it will again inspire us to make our country’ a prosperous one. Let our glorious past inspire us towards a glorious future.
(The writer is a former Academic)
Photos: Amihul Rajiv Mask & Doll: Rupa SlNHA