West Bengal is certainly an Indian state but when it comes 'Bengali culture' - it is more than a community and more than a country.
Certain aspects of a 'larger Bengali culture' starting from red-bordered-white (or cream) sari, Shakha Pola (a set of white-red bangles) and celebration of 'Bangali bhoj (cuisine) on occasions like Poila Baishakh (first day of Bengali year) stand out as unique but 'rhythmic heartbeat' of a group of people who refuse to give up their roots.
Festivals like 'Poila Baishakh (first day of Vaishakh month)' is universal for all Bengalis including Muslims and Hindus. The rituals may appear typical Hinduized; but Bengali Muslims have also followed as well as cherished them.
In Bangladesh the Poila Baishakh is a "secular holiday" that brings together the rural farmer and the urban artist, a homemaker and an educated elite weaving a tapestry of identity.
In Bangladesh, Muslims loosely and rather easily use phrases such as 'Shonir Dasha' (it is linked to Hindu deity Shani; but Muslims also care to take note that the deity is angry - the fallout could be adverse). Post-partition; both the Hindus and the Muslims had reconciled to the reality of Partition and started living peacefully with harmony in West Bengal, Assam or any other place including foreign countries and cities such as London.
For long the common word used for London was 'beelet (meaning foreign land).
Old timers know it pretty well that problems started in Indian state of West Bengal when 'appeasement' of Muslims garnered votes. People (Muslims) started relishing the so-called appeasement and more they started rooting for parties such as CPI-M.
A typical example of appeasement and without any basis has been glorification of Urdu language. This has nothing to do with Bengali Muslims and whatever they have today is only distorted version.
The debate about Bengali culture should not be mixed or confused with national interests of both the nations - India and Bangladesh. But deliberately a twist is given to the real issue.
Left to common people cultural symbolism has universal and secular appeal and importance.
Thus, 'alpona strokes' (like Rangoli done during Diwali in north India) to melodies under the banyan tree and Baul songs or Rabindra Sangeet have secular appeal. Bengali women including young girls use rice paste for creating the decoration on house floors, pooja mandaps and courtyards as symbols of good omen.
Having said these; we cannot, however, justify that people from Bangladesh and chiefly Muslims should be provided with illegal facilities and identities to exercise their franchise in Indian elections. In all these comes political hypocrisy.
Mamata Banerjee had herself flagged the issue of illegal immigration rather angrily in Lok Sabha during UPA-I tenure. But today, she denies any Bangladeshi has been staying and voting in her state.
The bitter truth is after her party's poll debacle in 2004 Lok Sabha polls; she realised (and was even advised by a few senior journalists) that to come to power in Bengal; she would have to defeat the Marxists and that was not possible without Muslim votes.
So slowly; she parted ways from the BJP. One may call sheer opportunism and selfishness; many intellectuals in Bengal called it Pragmatism.
"Walking through the streets of Dhaka on Boishakh morning is like witnessing a sea of red and white. Historically, the red-bordered white saree represented a balance with white for the purity of a new beginning and red for the energy and fertility of the earth". - read the above quote minutely.
It's not from any propaganda toolkit of the BJP. The fact is the brief para is an extract from an article published in Dhaka's 'Daily Star'.
'Baul music' in northern part of West Bengal represents a particular type of folk song, carrying influences of Hindu bhakti movements as well as the shuphi, a form of Sufi song. Songs are also used by the spiritual leader to instruct disciples in Baul philosophy, and are transmitted orally.
Baul songs (Baul Gaan) frequently incorporate Krishna bhakti by blending Vaisnava philosophy.
“In our time, a simple cotton taant saree with a thick red border was enough to feel the spirit,” says Jahanara Begum, 72, a retired schoolteacher (as reported in 'Daily Star')
“I wear red and white because it makes me feel connected to my mother,” shares Rubaba Haque (also quoted in Daily Star)
During my visit to Dhaka in December 2017 when a hotel staff (and a Muslim) came to know of my Sylhet-based ancestors; he started addressing me as "desher manush sir (a man from my own country)". These are not mere 'exceptions'.
Pointers:
Bengali culture, rooted in the Bengal region, is defined by shared language (Bangla), literature, and arts rather than just nationality.
While sharing a common ancestry, distinctions exist between Indian Bengalis (mostly Hindu) and Bangladeshis (mostly Muslim), heavily influenced by regional accents, religious demographics, and the 1947 partition.
** West Bengal Bengalis (or Bengalis in Assam, Tripura or other states in India) are Hindu-majority, using Sanskritized words like jal (water) and mashi (aunt).
But in modern times; Bangladeshis are Muslim-majority, using words of Persian/Arabic origin like paani and khala.
Bangladeshi culture has a strong focus on Islamic traditions integrated with language-focused pride and a pride for Banglaesh as a nation. And rightly so -- especially post 1947, post-1971 and even more post-voting out of the Yunus regime (which was extensively pro-Islamabad).
In contrast, Indian Bengalis often lean toward academics, arts, and literature, while leaning towards Hindu rituals and poojas but maintaining a secular, even Leftist, or politically intense cultural atmosphere.
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| A glimpse of Street Alpona Festival in Dhaka |
Fact Sheet:
Syama Prasad Mookerjee (1901–1953) - founder of Jan Sangh party - viewed Bengali culture as deeply intertwined with Hindu spirituality, education, and national integrity.
He advocated for the "protection of Bengali Hindu identity", serving as the creator of West Bengal by opposing its inclusion into East Pakistan.
ends
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