112-529: The Barisal Conspiracy Case of 1913 was a trial prosecuted by the British colonial authorities against 44 Bengalis who were accused of planning to incite rebellion against the Raj and associated leaders were Trailokyanath Chakravarty and Pratul Chandra Ganguli . As such, it was part of the greater movement for independence that swept India in the decades prior to the departure of the British in 1947 . Barisal
224-651: A civil enclave , sharing airside facilities with INS Utkrosh of the Indian Navy . The airport has a single runway of 3,290 m (10,794 ft) in length, with the civilian terminal operated by the Airports Authority of India with air traffic operations managed by the Indian Navy. Andaman and Nicobar Command of Indian Armed Forces operates air bases of Car Nicobar AFS , INS Kohassa , INS Utkrosh and INS Baaz . There are 23 ports along
336-657: A hand axe in the upper Gandeshwari, Middle Dwarakeswar, Upper Kangsabati, Upper Tarafeni and Middle Subarnarekha valleys of the Indian state West Bengal , and Rangamati and Feni districts of Bangladesh. Evidence of 42,000 years old human habitation has been found at the foothills of the Ajodhya Hills in West Bengal. Hatpara on the west bank of Bhagirathi River has evidence of human settlements dating back to around 15,000-20,000 years. Artefacts suggest that
448-533: A 150 km (93 mi) wide channel . The capital and largest city of the territory, Port Blair (officially Sri Vijaya Puram), is located approximately 1,190 km (740 mi) from Chennai and 1,255 km (780 mi) from Kolkata in mainland India . The islands are situated between the Bay of Bengal to the west and the Andaman Sea to the east. The northernmost point is 901 km (560 mi) from
560-734: A ceremony performed at the Gymkhana Ground in Port Blair on 7 October 1945. During the Partition of India , the British announced their intention to retain possession of the islands and use them to resettle Anglo-Indians and Anglo-Burmese on these islands. The islands were claimed by the Indian National Congress for India and the Muslim League for Pakistan during the partition negotiations. After
672-482: A deputy commissioner. The Calcutta High Court has jurisdiction over the islands with a permanent seat at Port Blair. The indigenous communities have their own system of administration. There are long term settlements known as baraij and short-term settlements known as chang . The coast-dwellers ( aryoto ) have semi-permanent settlements and the interior groups ( eremtaga ) dwell on temporary settlements, which enable them to migrate during dry seasons. As of 2022 ,
784-670: A diverse group in terms of religious affiliations and practices. Approximately 70% are adherents of Islam with a large Hindu minority and sizeable communities of Christians and Buddhists. Bengali Muslims , who live mainly in Bangladesh, primarily belong to the Sunni denomination. Bengali Hindus , who live primarily in West Bengal, Tripura, Assam's Barak Valley, Jharkhand and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, generally follow Shaktism or Vaishnavism , in addition to worshipping regional deities. There exist small numbers of Bengali Christians ,
896-495: A historic legacy of borrowing vocabulary from languages such as Persian and Sanskrit , modern borrowings primarily come from the English language. Andaman and Nicobar Islands The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India comprising 836 islands, of which only 31 are inhabited. The islands are grouped into two main clusters: the northern Andaman Islands and the southern Nicobar Islands , separated by
1008-696: A large number of whom are descendants of Portuguese voyagers , as well as Bengali Buddhists , the bulk of whom belong to the Bengali-speaking Barua group in Chittagong and Rakhine . Bengalis have influenced and contributed to diverse fields, notably the arts and architecture, language , folklore , literature, politics, military, business, science and technology. The term Bengali is generally used to refer to someone whose linguistic, cultural or ancestral origins are from Bengal . The Indo-Aryan Bengalis are ethnically differentiated from
1120-543: A major role in the Indian independence movement , in which revolutionary groups such as Anushilan Samiti and Jugantar were dominant. Many of the early proponents of the independence struggle, and subsequent leaders in the movement were Bengalis such as Shamsher Gazi , Chowdhury Abu Torab Khan , Hada Miah and Mada Miah , the Pagal Panthis led by Karim Shah and Tipu Shah , Haji Shariatullah and Dudu Miyan of
1232-499: A major trade route connecting India to the South East Asia and had much contact with the outside world for centuries. But there are very few accounts of information as there was no written language with the indigenous people to document their history. The islands have been mentioned in the accounts of travellers like Faxian in the 6th century CE and I-T'sing in 7th century CE. In the 11th century CE, Rajendra Chola I of
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#17327904194441344-729: A nation and as Bangladeshis as citizens." Bengalis are the third-largest ethnic group in the world, after the Han Chinese and Arabs . They are the largest ethnic group within the Indo–European linguistic family and the largest ethnic group in South Asia. Apart from Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, Manipur, and Assam's Barak Valley, Bengali-majority populations also reside in India's union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands , with significant populations in
1456-593: A new 15 MW diesel power plant was established in South Andaman with Japanese assistance. Commissioned in June 2020, a 10 MW photovoltaic power station is operated by NLC India in Port Blair. In 2022, the government proposed additional power plants and infrastructure to be developed in Great Nicobar. 4G mobile service is provided by various telecom operators in the islands. Till 2020, Internet
1568-466: A rounded total of 280 million) worldwide. Bengalis constitute the largest ethnic group in Bangladesh, at approximately 98% of the nation's inhabitants. The Census of India does not recognise racial or ethnic groups within India, the CIA Factbook estimated that there are 100 million Bengalis in India constituting 7% of the country's total population. In addition to West Bengal , Bengalis form
1680-654: A separate union territory administered by the Government of India , following the re-organization in 1956. The islands have been developed into a key defence establishment since the 1980 due to its strategic location in the Bay of Bengal across the Strait of Malacca . On 26 December 2004, the coasts of the Andaman and Nicobar islands experienced 10 m (33 ft) high tsunami waves following an undersea earthquake in
1792-734: A series of articles commenting on the case. A show cause motion was brought against the editor Motilal Ghose and the publisher of the newspaper, charging them with contempt of court. However, the motion was later dismissed by a special branch of the High Court. Bengalis Lores Genres Institutions Awards Folk genres Devotional Classical genres Modern genres People Instruments Dance Theater Organizations People Bengalis ( Bengali : বাঙ্গালী, বাঙালি [baŋgali, baŋali] ), also rendered as endonym Bangalee , are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with
1904-442: A total land area of approximately 8,249 km (3,185 sq mi) with a population of 380,581 as per the 2011 census . The territory is divided into three districts: Nicobar , South Andaman , and North and Middle Andaman with the capitals at Car Nicobar , Port Blair and Mayabunder respectively. Genetic and cultural studies suggest that the indigenous Andamanese people may have been isolated from other populations during
2016-524: A translation of Nakkavar with the same meaning. Genetic and cultural studies suggest that the indigenous Andamanese people may have been isolated from other populations during the Middle Paleolithic era, which ended 30,000 years ago. Archeological evidence obtained from middens have been dated the earliest civilisations back to 200-300 BCE. The islands have been mentioned by Ptolemy in the 2nd century CE. The Nicobar islands existed on
2128-594: Is also used a lingua franca among other ethnic groups and tribes living within and around the Bengal region. Bengali is generally written using the Bengali script and evolved circa 1000–1200 CE from Magadhi Prakrit , thus bearing similarities to ancient languages such as Pali . Its closest modern relatives are other Eastern Indo-Aryan languages such as Assamese , Odia and the Bihari languages . Though Bengali may have
2240-563: Is the mention of a land ruled by the king Xandrammes named Gangaridai by the Greeks around 100 BCE. The word is speculated to have come from Gangahrd ('Land with the Ganges in its heart') in reference to an area in Bengal. Later from the 3rd to the 6th centuries CE , the kingdom of Magadha served as the seat of the Gupta Empire . One of the first recorded independent kings of Bengal
2352-466: Is the official language of the region, while English is declared an additional official language for communication purposes. The islands form a part of the union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and is administered by a Lieutenant Governor on behalf of the Government of India. The union territory was established in 1956 with a chief commissioner as the head of the administration. In 1982,
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#17327904194442464-595: Is thought to ultimately derive from) in the south, Rāṛha in the west, Puṇḍravardhana and Varendra in the north, and Samataṭa and Harikela in the east. The historic land of Vaṅga ( bôngô in Bengali), situated in present-day Barisal , is considered by early historians of the Abrahamic and Dharmic traditions to have originated from a man who had settled in the area though it is often dismissed as legend . Early Abrahamic genealogists had suggested that this man
2576-539: Is trying to protect the remnant population by providing access to healthcare facilities, communication and social engagement. The Andamanese people speak about a dozen endangered Andamanese languages, which belong to two families, Great Andamanese and Ongan that are unrelated to each other or to any other language group. There are two unattested languages: Sentinelese , spoken by Sentinelese people, who refuse contact with outsiders, which might be related to Ongan as per Anvita Abbi and Jangil , which became extinct in
2688-635: The Bengal region of South Asia. The population is divided between the sovereign country Bangladesh and the Indian regions of West Bengal , Tripura , Barak Valley , Goalpara , Andaman and Nicobar Islands , and parts of Meghalaya , Manipur and Jharkhand . Most speak Bengali , a language from the Indo-Aryan language family. Sub-section 2 of Article 6 of the Constitution of Bangladesh states, "The people of Bangladesh shall be known as Bengalis as
2800-610: The Bengal Army , and had the world's sixth earliest railway network. Great Bengal famines struck several times during colonial rule, notably the Great Bengal famine of 1770 and Bengal famine of 1943 , each killing millions of Bengalis. Under British rule, Bengal experienced deindustrialisation. Discontent with the situation, numerous rebellions and revolts were attempted by the Bengali people. The Indian Rebellion of 1857
2912-635: The British colonised the Andaman islands to set up a naval base and establish a penal colony . In 1794, a first batch of 100 prisoners were sent to the island but the settlement was abandoned in 1796. In 1858, the British established a colony near Port Blair . Between 1864 and 1868, Italy tried to buy the island from the Danish. On 16 October 1868, the Danish sold the rights to the Nicobar islands to
3024-910: The Cellular Jail , Chatham Saw Mill, Forest Museum, Samudrika Naval Marine Museum, Anthropological Museum, Fisheries Aquarium, Science Center and Carbyn's cove in Port Blair; Bharatpur, Lakshmanpur and Sitapur beaches in Shaheed Dweep ; Elephant and Radhanagar beaches in Swaraj Dweep ; Hudi tikri, Red, Bird and Bat islands, Amkunj beach near Rangat; Dhaninallah mangroves and Karmatang beach near Mayabunder; limestone caves and mud volcanoes near Diglipur; Craggy island and Ross & Smith islands and various national parks and protected sanctuaries. The islands are served by Veer Savarkar International Airport near Port Blair which has regular flights to major cities in India. The airport operates as
3136-758: The Chandraketugarh , which flourished in present-day North 24 Parganas , date as far back as 600 BC to 300 BC, and Wari-Bateshwar civilisation , which flourished in present-day Narsingdi , date as far back as 400 BC to 100 BC. Not far from the rivers, the port city of Wari-Bateshwar, and the riverside port city of the Chandraketugarh, are believed to have been engaged in foreign trade with Ancient Rome , Southeast Asia and other regions. The people of this civilisation live in bricked homes, walked on wide roads, used silver coins and iron weaponry among many other things. The two cities are considered to be
3248-669: The Chola dynasty of Tamilakam invaded parts of South East Asia using the Nicobar islands as an intermediate naval base. It was part of an established Chola trade route connecting India and South East Asia, with the practice continuing in the subsequent years during the reigns of Rajendra II and Kulothunga I . Chola inscriptions from Thanjavur , dated to 1050 CE, describe the islands as Ma-Nakkavaram meaning "great open/naked land" in Tamil. The islands are later mentioned by Marco Polo in
3360-465: The Chola dynasty , who invaded Bengal in the 11th century, speak of Govindachandra as the ruler of Vaṅgāladeśa (a Sanskrit cognate to the word Bangladesh , which was historically a synonymous endonym of Bengal). 16th-century historian Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak mentions in his ʿAin-i-Akbarī that the addition of the suffix "al" came from the fact that the ancient rajahs of the land raised mounds of earth 10 feet high and 20 in breadth in lowlands at
3472-574: The Faraizi movement , Titumir , Ali Muhammad Shibli, Alimuddin Ahmad , Prafulla Chaki , Surendranath Banerjee , Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani , Bagha Jatin , Khudiram Bose , Sarojini Naidu , Aurobindo Ghosh , Rashbehari Bose , and Sachindranath Sanyal . Leaders such as Subhas Chandra Bose did not subscribe to the view that non-violent civil disobedience was the best way to achieve independence, and were instrumental in armed resistance against
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3584-485: The GSDP was ₹ 103 billion (US$ 1.2 billion). Agriculture is a major occupation with nearly 50% of the population engaged in the sector. Only about 48,675 hectares (120,280 acres) of land, which is about 6% of the total land area, can be used for agriculture. Paddy is the main food crop, grown in about 20% of the arable land. Most of the food for consumption is imported from mainland India. Coconut and arecanut are
3696-680: The Hejaz , which popularly became known by the Arabs as Bengali madrasas . As a result of the British conquest of Bengal, some Bengalis decided to emigrate to Arabia. Notable examples include Mawlana Murad, an instructor of Islamic sciences based in Mecca in the early 1800s, and Najib Ali Choudhury , a participant of the Battle of Shamli . Notable people of Bengali-origin in the Middle East include
3808-637: The Indian Independence in 1947, the islands became part of the Dominion of India . As per the Constitution of India , the Islands were designated as the only part D territory in 1950, to be administered by a lieutenant governor appointed by the Government of India . The islands were later used to resettle people displaced during the partition with a substantial number of displaced immigrants establishing agricultural colonies. The islands became
3920-703: The Lieutenant Governor replaced the Chief Commissioner as the head of administration. In 1981, a "Pradesh council" with councillors as representatives of the people was constituted to advise the Lieutenant Governor. The territory sends one representative to Lok Sabha of the Indian Parliament from its Andaman and Nicobar Islands Lok Sabha constituency . The territory is divided into three districts, each headed by
4032-538: The Middle Paleolithic era, more than 30,000 years ago. Archeological evidence of civilisation has been dated back to 2,200 years. In the 11th century CE, Cholas , one of the three Tamil kingdoms , used the islands as a naval base to launch expeditions in South East Asia. The Danish were the first Europeans to arrive on the islands in 1755. The islands became part of the British Raj in 1868. During
4144-729: The Navy . While Hindi and English are the official languages, the major spoken languages include Bengali , Tamil and Telugu . Indigenous people speak any of the Andamanese or Nicobarese family of languages. Hinduism is the majority religion in the union territory, with a significant Christian minority. The islands include the North Sentinel Island , home to the Sentinelese people , an uncontacted tribe . The name Andaman might have been derived from Handuman , after
4256-705: The Nawabs of Bengal in 1717. Already observing the proto-industrialization, it made direct significant contribution to the first Industrial Revolution (substantially textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution ). Bengal became the basis of the Anglo-Mughal War . After the weakening of the Mughal Empire with the death of Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707, Bengal was ruled independently by three dynasties of Nawabs until 1757, when
4368-909: The Prince of Sylhet . The man, presumably from Sylhet in eastern Bengal, was waited upon by the Prime Minister of Great Britain William Pitt the Younger , and then dined with the Duke of York before presenting himself in front of the King. Today, the British Bangladeshis are a naturalised community in the United Kingdom, running 90% of all South Asian cuisine restaurants and having established numerous ethnic enclaves across
4480-743: The Second World War , the islands were invaded by the Japanese as a part of their attack on the allies in 1942. Port Blair was captured by the Japanese on 23 March 1942 and established control over the island. The provisional control was passed on to the Azad Hind of Subhash Chandra Bose on 29 December 1943, based on the understanding with the Japanese with the islands renamed as Shaheed-Dweep (Martyr Island) and Swaraj-dweep (Self-rule Island). Bose appointed General A. D. Loganathan as
4592-415: The Second World War , the islands were invaded by the Japanese Empire . After Indian Independence in 1947, the region became a province and later a union territory after the adoption of the Constitution of India in 1950. The islands host the Andaman and Nicobar Command , the only geographical command operated jointly by the three major wings of the Indian Armed Forces : the Army , the Air Force and
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4704-456: The language of the Bengali people to gain patronage and support, contrary to previous states which exclusively favoured Sanskrit , Pali and Persian . The born-Hindu Sultan Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah funded the construction of Islamic institutions as far as Mecca and Madina in the Middle East. The people of Arabia came to know these institutions as al-Madaris al-Bangaliyyah ( Bengali madrasas ). The Mughal Empire conquered Bengal in
4816-426: The 10th century were of various religious backgrounds. Tilopa was a prominent Buddhist from modern-day Chittagong , though Samatata was ruled by the Buddhist Chandra dynasty . During this time, the Arab geographer Al-Masudi and author of The Meadows of Gold , travelled to the region where he noticed a Muslim community of inhabitants residing in the region. In addition to trade, Islam was also being introduced to
4928-413: The 13th century CE and Friar Oderic in early 14th century CE. The European colonisation on the islands began when settlers from the Danish East India Company arrived on the Nicobar Islands on 12 December 1755. On 1 January 1756, the Nicobar Islands were made into a Danish colony, first named Nye Danmark (New Denmark) and later Frederiksøerne (Frederick's Islands). The islands were managed from
5040-409: The 16th century, ending the independent Sultanate of Bengal and defeating Bengal's rebellion Baro-Bhuiyan chieftains. Mughal general Man Singh conquered parts of Bengal including Dhaka during the time of Emperor Akbar and a few Rajput tribes from his army permanently settled around Dhaka and surrounding lands, integrating into Bengali society. Akbar's preaching of the syncretic Din-i Ilahi ,
5152-433: The 16th century. One such example is I'tisam-ud-Din , a Bengali Muslim cleric from Nadia in western Bengal, who arrived to Europe in 1765 with his servant Muhammad Muqim as a diplomat for the Mughal Empire . Another example during this period is of James Achilles Kirkpatrick 's hookah-bardar ( hookah servant/preparer) who was said to have robbed and cheated Kirkpatrick, making his way to England and stylising himself as
5264-403: The 1800s. On the other hand, Ram Mohan Roy led a socio-Hindu reformist movement known as Brahmoism which called for the abolishment of sati (widow sacrifice), child marriage , polytheism and idol worship . In 1804, he wrote the Persian book Tuḥfat al-Muwaḥḥidīn (A Gift to the Monotheists) and spent the next two decades attacking the Kulin Brahmin bastions of Bengal. Bengal played
5376-485: The 1920s. Indigenous to the Nicobar Islands are the Shompen language , spoken by Shompen people and the five Nicobarese languages , which form part of the Austroasiatic language family and are spoken by about 29,000 people or 7.6% of the population. The majority of the population, however, are speakers of immigrant languages which include Bengali (28.5%), Tamil (15.2%), Telugu (13.2%), Hindi (12.9%), Malayalam (7.2%). Sadri (5.5%), and Kurukh (4%). Hindi
5488-444: The 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War against the Pakistani military junta. The war caused millions of East Bengali refugees to take shelter in neighbouring India, especially the Indian state of West Bengal , with Calcutta, the capital of West Bengal, becoming the capital-in-exile of the Provisional Government of Bangladesh . The Mukti Bahini guerrilla forces waged a nine-month war against the Pakistani military. The conflict ended after
5600-460: The Bengal region in British India into two provinces for administrative and development purposes. However, the partition stoked Hindu nationalism . This in turn led to the formation of the All India Muslim League in Dhaka in 1906 to represent the growing aspirations of the Muslim population. The partition was annulled in 1912 after protests by the Indian National Congress and Hindu Mahasabha . The breakdown of Hindu-Muslim unity in India drove
5712-410: The British, which was made part of the British India in 1869. In 1872, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands were united under a single command and administered by a chief commissioner based out of Port Blair. The construction of the Cellular Jail started in 1896 and was completed in 1906. The jail was used to house political prisoners and independence activists away from the Indian mainland. During
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#17327904194445824-418: The British. The trial of the 44 commenced in Calcutta in June 1913. The prosecutor for the Crown purported to show evidence of how the conspirators had divided up Bengal into several districts in order to preach sedition. The Samiti had specifically targeted students and unmarried youth by means of meetings and religious services, and their membership numbered hundreds in Barisal district alone. Judgment
5936-448: The British. Bose was the co-founder and leader of the Japanese-aligned Indian National Army (distinct from the British Indian Army ) which fought against Allied forces in the Burma campaign . He was also the head of state of a parallel regime, the Azad Hind . A number of Bengalis died during the independence movement and many were imprisoned in the notorious Cellular Jail in the Andaman Islands . The first partition in 1905 divided
6048-406: The Caribbean during the 1830s. Workers from Bengal were chosen because they could easily assimilate to the climate of British Guyana , which was similar to that of Bengal. Swami Vivekananda is considered a key figure in the introduction of Vedanta and Yoga in Europe and America, and is credited with raising interfaith awareness, and bringing Hinduism to the status of a world religion during
6160-433: The Danish colony of Tranquebar in the Indian mainland. However, various attempts to settle on the islands were unsuccessful due to repeated outbreaks of malaria , which led to the death of the colonists. Between 1778 and 1783, William Bolts tried to establish an Austrian colony on the Nicobar islands, mistakenly assuming that the Danish had abandoned the claims to the islands, renaming them Theresa Islands . In 1789,
6272-402: The Indian Armed Forces intervened on the side of Bangladeshi forces in the final two weeks of the war, which ended with the surrender of East Pakistan and the liberation of Dhaka on 16 December 1971. Thus, the newly independent People's Republic of Bangladesh was born from what was previously the East Pakistan province of Pakistan. Approximate distribution of native Bengali speakers (assuming
6384-418: The Indian God Hanuman from the Hindu epic Ramayana . The place was called with a similar name by the Malay , who used to be involved in slave trade in the region. The place was also referred by various names such as Angademan by Ptolemy in the 2nd century CE and Angamanian by Marco Polo in 13th century CE. Nicobar, which was located in the sea route connecting South India to South East Asia ,
6496-675: The Indian Ocean which resulted in more than 2,000 casualties, 46,000 injuries and rendering at least 40,000 homeless. The locals and tourists on the islands suffered the greatest casualties while the indigenous people largely survived unscathed due to movement to high grounds following the oral traditions passed down over generations that warned them to evacuate following earthquakes. The territory consists of 836 islands and islets occupying an area of 8,249 km (3,185 sq mi), of which only 31 are permanently inhabited. The islands extend from 6° to 14° North latitudes and from 92° to 94° East longitudes . The islands are grouped into
6608-431: The Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh , Delhi , Odisha , Chhattisgarh , Jharkhand , Mizoram , Nagaland and Uttarakhand as well as Nepal 's Province No. 1 . The global Bengali diaspora have well-established communities in the Middle East , Pakistan , Myanmar , the United Kingdom , the United States , Malaysia , Italy , Singapore, Maldives , Canada , Australia , Japan and South Korea . Bengalis are
6720-449: The Japanese on suspicion of spying. Japanese Vice Admiral Teizo Hara and Major-General Tamenori Sato surrendered to Lieutenant Colonel Nathu Singh , the commanding officer of the Rajput Regiment on 15 August 1945, on board the Royal Navy warship HMS Sandbar and the territory was officially handed back over to the British to Brigadier J. A. Salomons, commander of 116th Indian Infantry Brigade , and Chief Administrator Noel Patterson, in
6832-485: The Muslim League to adopt the Lahore Resolution in 1943, calling the creation of "independent states" in eastern and northwestern British India. The resolution paved the way for the Partition of British India based on the Radcliffe Line in 1947, despite attempts to form a United Bengal state that was opposed by many people. The rise of self-determination and Bengali nationalism movements in East Bengal , led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman . This eventually culminated in
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#17327904194446944-414: The Muslim rulers in Bengal to conquer Sylhet , turning the town into Jalal's headquarters for religious activities. Following the conquest, Jalal disseminated his followers across different parts of Bengal to spread Islam, and became a household name among Bengali Muslims . The establishment of a single united Bengal Sultanate in 1352 by Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah finally gave rise to the name Bangala for
7056-609: The National Institute of Transforming India (NITI) Aayog was initiated by Government of India, with the aim of increasing tourist inflows. Foreign tourists are issued Restricted Area Permits (RAP) which gives access to specific areas with conditions. While domestic tourists do not require a permit to visit the accessible parts of the islands, the tribal reserves are forbidden and requires special permission for access. The islands have many beaches due to its long coastline and various water sports are practised including kayaking , scuba diving and parasailing . Major attractions include
7168-424: The cash crops grown in the Nicobar islands. Other crops include pulses , oilseeds , vegetables like okra , brinjal , cucurbit and radish ; spices and fruits such as mango , sapota , orange, banana, guava and pineapple . Rubber, red oil , palm and cashew are grown on a limited scale in plantations. The territory has an exclusive economic zone of more than 0.6 million sq. km, which contributes to
7280-490: The coast. There are twelve types of forests that occur in the islands including evergreen , deciduous , mangrove, littoral , bamboo , sub-montane and brackish water forests. North Andaman is characterised by wet evergreen forests with climbing plants , Middle Andaman has moist deciduous forests and South Andaman islands have epiphytic vegetation, mostly ferns and orchids . The North Nicobar islands are mostly barren with grasslands while evergreen forests form
7392-425: The commercial exploitation of which began in the early 20th century. There are about nine national parks , 96 wildlife sanctuaries and one biosphere reserve in the islands. As per the 2011 census , the population was 380,581, of which 202,871 (53.3%) were males and 177,710 (46.7%) were females. The sex ratio was 878 females per 1,000 males. There were a total of 94,551 households and about 143,488 (37.7%) of
7504-399: The country – most prominent of which is Banglatown in East London . An important and unifying characteristic of Bengalis is that most of them use Bengali as their native tongue, which belongs to the Indo-Aryan language family. With about 226 million native and about 300 million total speakers worldwide, Bengali is one of the most spoken languages , ranked sixth in the world, and
7616-432: The demographic majority in Assam 's Barak Valley and Lower region as well as parts of Manipur . The state of Tripura as well as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands union territory , which lies in the Bay of Bengal , are also home to a Bengali-majority population, most of whom are descendants of Hindus from East Bengal (now Bangladesh) that migrated there following the 1947 Partition of India . Bengali migration to
7728-469: The dominant vegetation in the central and southern islands of the Nicobar group. The forest coverage is estimated to be 86.2% of the total land area with about 2,200 varieties of plants of which 200 are endemic and 1,300 do not occur in mainland India. There are more than 200 species used for timber. There are more than 8300 species of fauna of which 1117 are endemic to the islands. There are about 64 species of reptiles of which half of them are endemic to
7840-436: The early 17th century, Islam Khan I had conquered all of Bengal and was integrated into a province known as the Bengal Subah . It was the largest subdivision of the Mughal Empire , as it also encompassed parts of Bihar and Odisha , between the 16th and 18th centuries. Described by some as the "Paradise of Nations" and the "Golden Age of Bengal", Bengalis enjoyed some of the highest living standards and real wages in
7952-484: The extinct Dodo . The territory is home for about 896 species of winged insects including 225 butterflies species. There are more than 1350 species of echinoderms and molluscs and 200 species of corals in the seas surrounding the islands. Larger marine species include salt water crocodiles , dugongs , turtles, dolphins and whales. There are more than 1350 species of fishes including 13 fresh water species. The islands are well known for prized shellfish ,
8064-426: The fishing industry. As of 2017 , the region produced 27,526 tonnes of fish, mostly from marine sector with minor contribution from inland fisheries. As of 2008 , there were 1,833 registered small-scale industries with majority being involved in engineering, woodworking and textiles apart from 21 factories. District Industries Centre (DIC) is the body responsible for the development of small and medium industries in
8176-641: The foot of the hills which were called "al". This is also mentioned in Ghulam Husain Salim 's Riyāz us-Salāṭīn . In 1352, Muslim nobleman Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah united the region into a single political entity known as the Bengal Sultanate . Proclaiming himself as Shāh -i-Bangālīyān , it was in this period that the Bengali language gained state patronage and corroborated literary development. Ilyas Shah had effectively unified
8288-470: The governor of the islands, who had limited power while the real control of the islands remained with the Japanese. In the years under Japanese occupation, there have been reports of widespread looting , arson, rape and extra judicial killings . Local people were often killed on trivial matters with the largest being the Homfreyganj massacre on 30 January 1944, where 44 local civilians were shot by
8400-404: The islands including one high school. As of 2023 , there are 428 schools functioning in the islands with a total enrolment of 86,081 students. Jawaharlal Nehru Rajkeeya Mahavidyalaya was the first institute of higher education, established in 1967. Mahatma Gandhi Government College was established in 1990 and is affiliated to Pondicherry University . Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Government Polytechnic
8512-500: The islands is 901 km (560 mi) away from the mouth of the Hooghly River in the Indian mainland. The territory shares maritime borders with Indonesia located about 165 km (103 mi) to the south, Myanmar located 280 km (170 mi) to the north-east and Thailand located 650 km (400 mi) to the south-east. Indira Point, the southernmost point of India, is located at 6°45'10″N and 93°49'36″E at
8624-471: The islands of which 90 are endemic. The islands' caves are nesting grounds for the Edible-nest swiftlet , whose nests are prized for bird's nest soup . The islands serve as an intermediate resting site for birds such as Horsfield's bronze cuckoo , Zappey's flycatcher and Javan pond heron during long distance migrations . The Nicobar pigeon found in the islands is the closest living relative to
8736-447: The islands with a major port at Port Blair and eight other significant ports including Diglipur , Mayabunder , Rangat , Hut Bay , Car Nicobar , Katchal and Campbell Bay . In 2022, the Government of India proposed the development of a new container ship terminal and an airport at Great Nicobar. There are 39 light houses situated across the islands. As of 2018 , there are 422 km (262 mi) long national highways in
8848-424: The islands. Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation Limited (ANIIDCO), established in 1988, is responsible for the development and economic growth of the islands. Tourism is one of the major contributors to the economy of the islands. The islands had more than 400,000 visitors in 2016 with a 94% contribution from domestic tourists. In 2018, plans to develop facilities in various islands under
8960-421: The islands. Most of the larger species were introduced by colonists and travellers, some of which became endemic due to their prolonged isolation. There are about 55 mammal species of which 32 are endemic with 26 species of rats and 14 species of bats, the most among the mammals. The endangered Indian elephant can be found in forested or mountainous areas of the islands, which were originally introduced from
9072-590: The latter archipelago was also boosted by subsequent state-funded Colonisation Schemes by the Government of India . Bengali ethnic descent and emigrant communities are found primarily in other parts of the subcontinent , the Middle East and the Western World. Substantial populations descended from Bengali immigrants exist in Saudi Arabia , Pakistan and the United Kingdom where they form established communities of over 1 million people. The majority of
9184-507: The mainland to help with the timber extraction in 1883. Endangered and critically endangered species endemic to the islands include the Andaman white-toothed shrew , Andaman spiny shrew , Jenkin's shrew , Nicobar spiny shrew , Nicobar tree shrew , Miller's Nicobar rat , Palm rat , Andaman teal , Nicobar scops owl , Andaman boobook and Darwin's eastern frog . Other large fauna include Wild boar , Spotted deer , Barking deer and Sambar deer . There are about 270 species of birds in
9296-423: The mouth of the Hooghly River . Indira Point , located at 6°45'10″N and 93°49'36″E on the southern tip of Great Nicobar , is the southernmost point of India. The territory shares maritime borders with Indonesia located about 165 km (103 mi) to the south, Myanmar located 280 km (170 mi) to the north-east and Thailand located 650 km (400 mi) to the south-east. The islands occupy
9408-488: The non-Indo-Aryan tribes inhabiting Bengal. Their ethnonym , Bangali , along with the native name of the Bengali language and Bengal region, Bangla , are both derived from Bangālah , the Persian word for the region. Prior to Muslim expansion , there was no unitary territory by this name as the region was instead divided into numerous geopolitical divisions. The most prominent of these were Vaṅga (from which Bangālah
9520-535: The north Andaman islands and south Nicobar islands, separated by the 150 km (93 mi) wide Ten Degree Channel . The Andamans cover an area of 6,408 km (2,474 sq mi) while the Nicobar group covers an area of 1,841 km (711 sq mi). The highest point is the Saddle Peak at 737 m (2,418 ft), located in North Andaman Island. The northernmost point of
9632-568: The oldest cities in Bengal . It is thought that a man named Vanga settled in the area around 1000 BCE founding the Vanga kingdom in southern Bengal. The Atharvaveda and the Hindu epic Mahabharata mentions this kingdom, along with the Pundra kingdom in northern Bengal. The spread of Mauryan territory and promotion of Buddhism by its emperor Ashoka cultivated a growing Buddhist society among
9744-593: The overseas Bengali diaspora are Muslims as the act of seafaring was traditionally prohibited in Hinduism; a taboo known as kala pani (black/dirty water). The introduction of Islam to the Bengali people has generated a connection to the Arabian Peninsula , as Muslims are required to visit the land once in their lifetime to complete the Hajj pilgrimage. Several Bengali sultans funded Islamic institutions in
9856-548: The people of Bengal through the migration of Sufi missionaries prior to conquest. The earliest known Sufi missionaries were Syed Shah Surkhul Antia and his students, most notably Shah Sultan Rumi , in the 11th century. Rumi settled in present-day Netrokona, Mymensingh where he influenced the local ruler and population to embrace Islam. The Pala dynasty was followed by a shorter reign of the Hindu Sena Empire . Subsequent Muslim conquests helped spread Islam throughout
9968-598: The people of present-day Bengal from the 2nd century BCE. Mauryan monuments as far as the Great Stupa of Sanchi in Madhya Pradesh mentioned the people of this region as adherents of Buddhism. The Buddhists of the Bengal region built and used dozens of monasteries, and were recognised for their religious commitments as far as Nagarjunakonda in South India . One of the earliest foreign references to Bengal
10080-585: The population lived in urban areas. Hinduism (69.5%) is the major religion of people of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands followed by Christianity (21.7%) and Islam (8.5%). The Andaman islands were populated by the indigenous people (the Great Andamanese , the Onge , the Jarawa and the Sentinelese ) who were isolated and spoke Andamanese languages for thousands of years. The Nicobar islands, which
10192-522: The population of islands temporarily increased during colonisation, the population saw a massive spike post-1960s due to the policies of the Union Government that encouraged settlers from other parts of the country. In the early 21st century, the population of indigenous people has drastically dropped and As of 2016 , it was estimated to consist of 44 Great Andamanese, 380 Jarawas, 101 Onges, 15 Sentinelese and 229 Shompens. The Government of India
10304-401: The present-day Rajshahi Division in northern Bengal, preaching to the communities there. A community of 13 Muslim families headed by Burhanuddin also existed in the northeastern Hindu city of Srihatta (Sylhet) , claiming their descendants to have arrived from Chittagong . By 1303, hundreds of Sufi preachers led by Shah Jalal , who some biographers claim was a Turkistan-born Bengali, aided
10416-404: The region into one country. Archaeologists have discovered remnants of a 4,700-year-old Neolithic and Chalcolithic civilisation such as Dihar and Pandu Rajar Dhibi in the greater Bengal region, and believe the finds are one of the earliest signs of settlement in the region. However, evidence of much older Palaeolithic human habitations were found in the form of a stone implement and
10528-684: The region was annexed by the East India Company after the Battle of Plassey . In Bengal, effective political and military power was transferred from the Afshar regime to the British East India Company around 1757–65. Company rule in India began under the Bengal Presidency . Calcutta was named the capital of British India in 1772. The presidency was run by a military-civil administration, including
10640-464: The region, and the development of Bengali language . The Ilyas Shahi dynasty acknowledged Muslim scholarship , and this transcended ethnic background. Usman Serajuddin , also known as Akhi Siraj Bengali , was a native of Gaur in western Bengal and became the Sultanate's court scholar during Ilyas Shah's reign. Alongside Persian and Arabic, the sovereign Sunni Muslim nation-state also enabled
10752-494: The region. Bakhtiyar Khalji , a Turkic general, defeated Lakshman Sen of the Sena dynasty and conquered large parts of Bengal. Consequently, the region was ruled by dynasties of sultans and feudal lords under the Bengal Sultanate for the next few hundred years. Many of the people of Bengal began accepting Islam through the influx of missionaries following the initial conquest. Sultan Balkhi and Shah Makhdum Rupos settled in
10864-567: The renowned author and journalist Ahmad Abd al-Ghafur Attar of Saudi Arabia and Qur'an translator Zohurul Hoque from Oman . The family of Princess Sarvath al-Hassan , wife of Jordanian prince Hassan bin Talal , are descended from the Suhrawardy family of Midnapore . Earliest records of Bengalis in the European continent date back to the reign of King George III of England during
10976-780: The revival of Buddhism in Tibet and also held the position of Abbot at the Vikramashila monastery in Bihar . The Pala Empire enjoyed relations with the Srivijaya Empire , the Tibetan Empire , and the Arab Abbasid Caliphate . Islam first appeared in Bengal during Pala rule, as a result of increased trade between Bengal and the Middle East. The people of Samatata , in southeastern Bengal, during
11088-471: The southern tip of Great Nicobar . The capital and largest city is Port Blair (officially Sri Vijaya Puram ), located 1,190 km (740 mi) from Chennai and 1,255 km (780 mi) from Kolkata on the Indian mainland. Barren Island , the only active volcano in India, is located in the Andaman Sea. The islands have a 1,962 km (1,219 mi) long coast-line. The topography of
11200-471: The state with the major highway being the 230.7 km (143.4 mi) long NH 4 connecting Port Blair and Diglipur. There is no single power grid connecting all the islands and independent power houses caters to the power requirements of individual islands. The islands have an installed power capacity of 68.46 MW with majority of the power generated from diesel power plants and a single hydroelectric powerplant of 5.25 MW on Kalpong river. In 2016,
11312-416: The territory varies significantly across various islands. The islands may have sandy, rocky sandstone or marshy beaches on the coastlines and might be surrounded by shoals and coral reefs . The altitude varies significantly from completely flat islands to gradually raising topography from the coast to the interior in larger islands. The islands are generally surrounded by shallow seas of varying depths in
11424-475: The vicinity with some deep natural bays occurring along certain coasts. The islands have a moderate temperature around the year with the average ranging from 23 °C to 31 °C. The islands have a tropical climate with warm summers and not so chill winters. The rainfall is dependent on the monsoons and tropical cyclones are common in late summer. The islands have mangroves interspersed with marshes, coconut trees or dispersed bushy vegetation along
11536-399: The world at the time. Singlehandedly accounting for 40% of Dutch imports from Asia, eastern Bengal was globally prominent in industries such as textile manufacturing and shipbuilding , and was a major exporter of silk and cotton textiles, steel, saltpetre , and agricultural and industrial produce in the world. Mughal Bengal eventually became a quasi-independent monarchy state ruled by
11648-472: Was Shashanka , reigning around the early 7th century, who is generally thought to have originated from Magadha , Bihar, just west of Bengal. After a period of anarchy, a native ruler called Gopala came into power in 750 CE. He originated from Varendra in northern Bengal, and founded the Buddhist Pala Empire . Atiśa , a renowned Buddhist teacher from eastern Bengal, was instrumental in
11760-662: Was Bang, a son of Hind who was the son of Ham (son of Noah) . In contrast, the Mahabharata , Puranas and the Harivamsha state that Vaṅga was the founder of the Vaṅga kingdom and one of the adopted sons of King Vali. The land of Vaṅga later came to be known as Vaṅgāla ( Bôngal ) and its earliest reference is in the Nesari plates (805 CE) of Govinda III which speak of Dharmapāla as its king. The records of Rajendra Chola I of
11872-504: Was a district in the south-eastern corner of Bengal . The colonial police there reported that they had seized certain documents implicating the Anushilan Samiti , a revolutionary organization whose East Bengal chapters were under the leadership of Trailokyanath Chakravarty and Pratul Chandra Ganguli . The seized documents included a proposal to seduce native-born troops and to incite them to rebellion and wholesale massacre of
11984-523: Was described as a blasphemy by the Qadi of Bengal, which caused huge controversies in South Asia. In the 16th century, many Ulama of the Bengali Muslim intelligentsia migrated to other parts of the subcontinent as teachers and instructors of Islamic knowledge such as Ali Sher Bengali to Ahmedabad , Shah Manjhan to Sarangpur , Usman Bengali to Sambhal and Yusuf Bengali to Burhanpur . By
12096-533: Was initiated on the outskirts of Calcutta, and spread to Dhaka, Jalpaiguri and Agartala, in solidarity with revolts in North India . Havildar Rajab Ali commanded the rebels in Chittagong as far as Sylhet and Manipur . The failure of the rebellion led to the abolishment of the Mughal court completely and direct rule by the British Raj . Many Bengali labourers were taken as coolies to the British colonies in
12208-540: Was known as Nakkavaram , meaning "open/naked land" borrowed from Tamil language which later became Nicobar . In the middle ages (500-1500 AD), Nicobar was known as Lankhabatus in Arabia , probably a mis-transcription of the name Nakkavaram . An 11th-century CE work Kathasaritsagar indicates the name as Narikel Dweep . Marco Polo termed the island as Necuverann , while the islands were known as Lo-Jan Kuo in China,
12320-493: Was part of trade routes and was frequented by travellers, were populated by Shompen people before the islands were settled by Nicobarese people , who spoke Austroasiatic languages. The islands include the North Sentinel Island , home to the Sentinelese people, among the only known uncontacted tribe in India. When the islands were first colonised, the population of the natives were estimated to be around 5,000 and while
12432-717: Was passed in January 1914. Of the original 44 accused, 32 were discharged or pardoned, or had the cases against them withdrawn. The remaining 12 pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy against the British Crown. Five of the 12 - among them Pratul Chandra - were given lengthy transportation sentences to the Andamans of between 10 and 12 years. The remaining seven convicts were given transportation sentences between two and seven years. The case had further consequences. The Calcutta daily Amrita Bazar Patrika had published
12544-508: Was provided through satellite links and access was limited. Bharat Broadband Network started work on laying fiber optic submarine cables connecting the islands with Chennai in December 2018. On 10 August 2020, the undersea optical fibre cable went live, which enabled high-speed broadband connections in the islands. The first primary school in the islands was established in 1881. During Independence, 12 schools were functioning on
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