Editing Bengal (section)

=== Other regions ===
[[File:Bengali speaking zone.png|thumb|Today, [[Bengali language|Standard Bengali]] is still spoken in areas beside Bengal proper, including the Barak Valley, Tripura and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.]]
Bengal was a regional power of the Indian subcontinent. The administrative jurisdiction of Bengal historically extended beyond the territory of Bengal proper. In the 9th century, the Pala Empire of Bengal ruled large parts of northern India. The Bengal Sultanate controlled Bengal, Assam, Arakan, Bihar and Orissa at different periods in history. In Mughal Bengal, the Nawab of Bengal had a jurisdiction covering Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. Bengal's administrative jurisdiction reached its greatest extent under the British Empire, when the Bengal Presidency extended from the Straits of Malacca in the east to the Khyber Pass in the west. In the late-19th and early-20th centuries, administrative reorganisation drastically reduced the territory of Bengal.

Several regions bordering Bengal proper continue to have high levels of Bengali influence. The Indian state of Tripura has a Bengali majority population. Bengali influence is also prevalent in the Indian regions of Assam, Meghalaya, Bihar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands; as well as in Myanmar's Rakhine State.

====Arakan====
[[File:Eastern Lower Bengal and Chittagong with Arakan.jpg|thumb|Bengal and Arakan in 1638.]]
[[Arakan]] (now [[Rakhine State]], [[Myanmar]]) has historically been under strong Bengali influence. Since antiquity, Bengal has influenced the culture of Arakan. The ancient Bengali script was used in Arakan.<ref>"Three medallions above the head contain sacred syllables in proto-Bengali script". [[Pamela Gutman]] and
Zaw Min Yu, 'Vesali', Burma's Lost Kingdoms: Splendours of Arakan (Orchid Press 2001). p. 57</ref> An Arakanese inscription recorded the reign of the Bengali [[Candra dynasty]]. [[Paul Wheatley (geographer)|Paul Wheatley]] described the "Indianization" of Arakan.<ref>[[Pamela Gutman]] and Zaw Min Yu,&nbsp;Burma's Lost Kingdoms: Splendours of Arakan&nbsp;(Orchid Press 2001). p. 3</ref>

According to [[Pamela Gutman]], "Arakan was ruled by kings who adopted Indian titles and traditions to suit their own environment. Indian Brahmins conducted royal ceremonies, Buddhist monks spread their teachings, traders came and went and artists and architects used Indian models for inspiration. In the later period, there was also influence from the Islamic courts of Bengal and Delhi".<ref>[[Pamela Gutman]] and Zaw Min Yu,&nbsp;Burma's Lost Kingdoms: Splendours of Arakan&nbsp;(Orchid Press 2001). p. 8</ref> Arakan emerged as a [[vassal state]] of the [[Bengal Sultanate]].<ref name="google6">{{cite book |last1=Chowdhury |first1=Mohammed |title=Bengal-Arakan Relations, 1430–1666 A.D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rohuAAAAMAAJ |year=2008 |publisher=Firma K.L.M. |isbn=9788171021185 |access-date=17 May 2023}}</ref> It later became an independent kingdom. The royal court and culture of the [[Kingdom of Mrauk U]] was heavily influenced by Bengal. [[Bengali Muslims]] served in the royal court as ministers and military commanders.<ref name="google6"/> [[Bengali Hindus]] and [[Bengali Buddhists]] served as priests. Some of the most important poets of medieval [[Bengali literature]] lived in Arakan, including [[Alaol]] and [[Daulat Qazi]].<ref name="Umran Chowdhury, Dhaka Tribune">{{cite news |author=Umran Chowdhury, Dhaka Tribune |url=https://scroll.in/article/1006362/the-history-of-the-rohingyas-that-myanmar-refuses-to-acknowledge |title=The history of the Rohingyas that Myanmar refuses to acknowledge |work=Scroll.in |date=29 September 2021 |access-date=17 May 2023}}</ref> In 1660, [[Shah Shuja (Mughal prince)|Prince Shah Shuja]], the governor of Mughal Bengal and a pretender of the [[Peacock Throne]] of India, was forced to seek asylum in Arakan.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://lostfootsteps.org/en/history/the-indian-prince-who-fled-to-mrauk-u |title=The Indian Prince who fled to Mrauk-U |website=Lost Footsteps |access-date=17 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44138771 |jstor=44138771 |title=A Contemporary Dutch Account of Shah Shuja at Arakan |last1=Ray |first1=Aniruddha |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |year=1974 |volume=35 |pages=112–118}}</ref> Bengali influence in the Arakanese royal court persisted until Burmese annexation in the 18th-century.

The modern-day [[Rohingya people|Rohingya]] population is a legacy of Bengal's influence on Arakan.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Islam |first=Nurul |title=Rohingya: The descendants of ancient Arakan |url=https://archive.dhakatribune.com/magazine/weekend-tribune/2017/10/12/rohingya-descendants-ancient-arakan |magazine=Weekend Tribune |date=12 October 2017}}</ref><ref name="Umran Chowdhury, Dhaka Tribune"/> The [[Rohingya genocide]] resulted in the displacement of over a million people between 2016 and 2017, with many being uprooted from their homes in Rakhine State.

====Assam====
[[File:Bengali-Assamese subbranches.png|thumb|Region of the [[Bengali-Assamese languages]].]]
The Indian state of [[Assam]] shares many cultural similarities with Bengal. The Assamese language uses the same script as the Bengali language. The [[Barak Valley]] has a Bengali-speaking majority population. During the [[Partition of India]], Assam was also partitioned along with Bengal. The [[Sylhet Division]] joined [[East Bengal]] in Pakistan, with the exception of [[Karimganj]] which joined Indian Assam. Previously, East Bengal and Assam were part of a single province called [[Eastern Bengal and Assam]] between 1905 and 1912 under the [[British Raj]].<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43553644 | jstor=43553644 | last1=Iqbal | first1=Iftekhar | title=The Space between Nation and Empire: The Making and Unmaking of Eastern Bengal and Assam Province, 1905–1911 | journal=The Journal of Asian Studies | year=2015 | volume=74 | issue=1 | pages=69–84 | doi=10.1017/S0021911814001661 | s2cid=161412009 }}</ref>

Assam and Bengal were often part of the same kingdoms, including [[Kamarupa]], [[Gauda Kingdom|Gauda]] and [[Kamata Kingdom|Kamata]]. Large parts of Assam were annexed by [[Alauddin Hussain Shah]] during the Bengal Sultanate.<ref>Sarkar, J. N. (1992), "Chapter II The Turko-Afghan Invasions", in Barpujari, H. K. (ed.), The Comprehensive History of Assam, vol. 2, Guwahati: Assam Publication Board, pp. 35–48</ref> Assam was one of the few regions in the subcontinent to successfully resist Mughal expansion and never fell completely under Mughal rule.

====Andaman and Nicobar Islands====
Bengali is the most spoken language among the population of the [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]], a strategically important archipelago which is controlled by India as a federal territory. The islands were once used as a British penal colony. During [[World War II]], the islands were seized by the Japanese and controlled by the [[Provisional Government of Free India]]. Anti-British leader [[Subhash Chandra Bose]] visited and renamed the islands. Between 1949 and 1971, the Indian government resettled many [[Bengali Hindus]] in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://reviews.history.ac.uk/review/2042 |title=Review of ''Crossing the Bay of Bengal'' |first1=Madhumita |last1=Mazumdar |doi-access=free |doi= 10.14296/RiH/2014/2042 |publisher=Reviews in History |date= 5 January 2017 |access-date=17 May 2023}}</ref>

====Bihar====
[[File:Pope1880BengalPres2.jpg|thumb|Bengal in 1880, including Bihar, Orissa and Assam.]]
In antiquity, Bihar and Bengal were often part of the same kingdoms. The ancient region of [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magadha]] covered both Bihar and Bengal. Magadha was the birthplace or bastion of several pan-Indian empires, including the [[Mauryan Empire]], the [[Gupta Empire]] and the [[Pala Empire]]. Bengal, Bihar and Orissa together formed a single province under the [[Mughal Empire]]. The Nawab of Bengal was styled as the Nawab of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.<ref name="banglapedia1">{{cite web|url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Nawab |title=Nawab |website=Banglapedia |date=18 June 2021 |access-date=17 May 2023}}</ref>

====Chittagong Hill Tracts====
The [[Chittagong Hill Tracts]] is the southeastern frontier of Bangladesh. Its indigenous population includes [[Tibeto-Burman]] ethnicities, including the [[Chakma people]], [[Bawm people]] and [[Mru people|Mro people]] among others. The region was historically ruled by tribal chieftains of the [[Chakma Circle]] and [[Bohmong Circle]]. In 1713, the [[Chakma Raja]] signed a treaty with [[Mughal Bengal]] after obtaining permission from [[Farrukhsiyar|Emperor Farrukhsiyar]] for trade with the plains of Chittagong.<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003406020-6/mughal-influence-chittagong-chittagong-hill-tracts-cht-ashfaque-hossain-ananda-bikash-chakma |doi=10.4324/9781003406020 |isbn=9781003406020 |title=The Mughals and the North-East |chapter=Mughal Influence on Chittagong and Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) |year=2023 |publisher=Routledge |last1=Nag |first1=Sajal |s2cid=258409383}}</ref><ref name="thedailystar2">{{cite news |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/in-focus/news/chakma-resistance-british-rule-3090111 |title=Chakma resistance to British rule |work=The Daily Star |date=8 August 2022 |type=Opinion}}</ref> Like the kings of Arakan, the Chakma Circle began to fashion themselves using Mughal nomenclatures and titles. They initially resisted the [[Permanent Settlement]] and the activities of the [[East India Company]].<ref name="thedailystar2"/> The tribal royal families of the region came under heavy Bengali influence. The Chakma queen [[Benita Roy]] was a friend of [[Rabindranath Tagore]]. The region was governed by the [[Chittagong Hill Tracts manual]] under colonial rule. The manual was significantly amended after the end of British rule; and the region became fully integrated with Bangladesh.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/act-1313.html |title=The Chittagong Hill-tracts Regulation, 1900}}</ref>

====Malay Archipelago====
[[File:Bengal Presidency (1849-1853) with modern borders.png|thumb|Extent of the Bengal Presidency between 1858 and 1867, including the Straits Settlements]]
Through trade, settlements and the exchange of ideas; parts of [[Maritime Southeast Asia]] became linked with Bengal.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ghosh |first=Suchandra |year=2013 |title=Locating South Eastern Bengal in the Buddhist Network of Bay of Bengal (C. 7th Century CE-13th Century CE) |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |volume=74 |pages=148–153 |jstor=44158810}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/19480881.2019.1640577|title=Crossings and contacts across the Bay of Bengal: a connected history of ports in early South and Southeast Asia|first=Suchandra|last=Ghosh|date=2 September 2019|journal=Journal of the Indian Ocean Region|volume=15|issue=3|pages=281–296|via=Taylor and Francis+NEJM|doi=10.1080/19480881.2019.1640577|s2cid=202332142 }}</ref> Language, literature, art, governing systems, religions and philosophies in ancient [[Sumatra]] and [[Java]] were influenced by Bengal. [[Indianized kingdom|Hindu-Buddhist kingdom]]s in Southeast Asia depended on the Bay of Bengal for trade and ideas. [[Islam in Southeast Asia]] also spread through the Bay of Bengal, which was a bridge between the Malay Archipelago and Indo-Islamic states of the Indian subcontinent.<ref>{{cite book|author=Sunil S. Amrith|title=Crossing the Bay of Bengal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8eWwAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA37|date=7 October 2013|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-72846-2|page=37}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Formichi|first=Chiara|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t-fWDwAAQBAJ|title=Islam and Asia: A History|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2020|isbn=978-1-107-10612-3|pages=75–79}}</ref> A large number of wealthy merchants from Bengal were based in Malacca.<ref name="autogenerated185"/> Bengali ships were the largest ships in the waters of the Malay Archipelago during the 15th century.<ref>Tapan Raychaudhuri; Irfan Habib, eds. (1982). The Cambridge Economic History of India. Vol. I. Cambridge University Press. p. 130. ISBN 978-0-521-22692-9.</ref>

Between 1830 and 1867, the ports of Singapore and [[Malacca]], the island of [[Penang]], and a portion of the [[Malay Peninsula]] were ruled under the jurisdiction of the [[Bengal Presidency]] of the [[British Empire]].<ref>Jarman, J. L. (Ed). (1998). Annual reports of the Straits Settlements 1855–1941 (Vol 1: 1855–1867, pp. 3–4). Slough, UK: Archive Editions. Call no.: RSING English 959.51 STR.</ref> These areas were known as the [[Straits Settlements]], which was separated from the Bengal Presidency and converted into a [[Crown colony]] in 1867.<ref name=EB1911>{{EB1911|wstitle=Straits Settlements|last=Clifford|first=Hugh Charles|author-link=Hugh Clifford (colonial administrator)|volume=25|pages=980–981|inline=1}}</ref>{{RP|980}}

====Meghalaya====
The Indian state of [[Meghalaya]] historically came under the influence of [[Shah Jalal]], a Muslim missionary and conqueror from [[Sylhet]]. During [[British Raj|British rule]], the city of [[Shillong]] was the [[summer capital]] of [[Eastern Bengal and Assam]] (modern Bangladesh and Northeast India). Shillong boasted the highest per capita income in British India.<ref name="orfonline1"/>

====North India====
[[File:Sepoy of the Indian Infantry, 1900 (c)..jpg|thumb|A sepoy of the [[Bengal Army]], which played a key role in the expansion of the Bengal Presidency into the northern reaches of India up to the [[Khyber Pass]].]]
The ancient Mauryan, Gupta and [[Pala Empire|Pala]] empires of the [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magadha]] region (Bihar and Bengal) extended into northern India. The westernmost border of the Bengal Sultanate extended towards [[Varanasi]] and [[Jaunpur district|Jaunpur]].<ref>Kunal Chakrabarti; Shubhra Chakrabarti (22 August 2013). Historical Dictionary of the Bengalis. Scarecrow Press. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-8108-8024-5.</ref><ref name="Hasan2007p16-17"/> In the 19th century, [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]] and the [[Ceded and Conquered Provinces]] formed the western extent of the Bengal Presidency. According to the British historian [[Rosie Llewellyn-Jones]], "The Bengal Presidency, an administrative division introduced by the East India Company, would later include not only the whole of northern India up to the Khyber Pass on the north-west frontier with Afghanistan, but would spread eastwards to Burma and Singapore as well".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Llewellyn-Jones |first1=Rosie |title=Empire Building: The Construction of British India, 1690–1860 |year=2023 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vXysEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT26 |access-date=28 July 2023 |publisher=Hurst Publishers |isbn=978-1-80526-026-4 |page=25}}</ref>

====Odisha====
[[Odisha]], previously known as Orissa, has a significant Bengali minority. Historically, the region has faced invasions from Bengal, including an invasion by [[Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Iliyas_Shah |title=Iliyas Shah |website=Banglapedia |date=18 June 2021 |access-date=17 May 2023}}</ref> Parts of the region were ruled by the [[Bengal Sultanate]] and [[Mughal Bengal]]. The [[Nawab of Bengal]] was styled as the "Nawab of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa" because the Nawab was granted jurisdiction over Orissa by the [[Mughal Emperor]].<ref name="banglapedia1"/>

====Tibet====
During the [[Pala Empire|Pala dynasty]], Tibet received missionaries from Bengal who influenced the emergence of [[Tibetan Buddhism]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pala-dynasty |title=Pala dynasty {{pipe}} Indian Empire, Buddhist Monarchs, Bengal Region |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |date=14 June 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Pala_Dynasty |title=Pala Dynasty |website=Banglapedia |date=18 June 2021 |access-date=28 July 2023}}</ref> One of the most notable missionaries was [[Atisa]]. During the 13th century, Tibet experienced an [[Islamic invasion of Tibet|Islamic invasion]] by the forces of [[Bakhtiyar Khalji]], the Muslim conqueror of Bengal.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://tibetpolicy.net/china-and-strategic-infrastructures-in-tibet-ccps-recipe-for-a-troubled-relationship/ |title=China and Strategic Infrastructures in Tibet: CCP's Recipe for a Troubled Relationship |date=16 May 2023}}</ref>

====Tripura====
The [[Tripura (princely state)|princely state of Tripura]] was ruled by the [[Manikya dynasty]] until the 1949 [[Tripura Merger Agreement]]. Tripura was historically a [[vassal state]] of Bengal. After assuming the throne with military support from the Bengal Sultanate in 1464, [[Ratna Manikya I]] introduced administrative reforms inspired by the government of Bengal. The Tripura kings requested Sultan [[Ruknuddin Barbak Shah|Barbak Shah]] to provide manpower for developing the administration of Tripura. As a result, [[Bengali Hindu]] bureaucrats, cultivators and artisans began settling in Tripura.<ref>Sarma, Ramani Mohan (1987). Political History of Tripura. Puthipatra.</ref> Today, the Indian state of [[Tripura]] has a Bengali-majority population. Modern Tripura is a gateway for trade and transport links between [[Bangladesh]] and [[Northeast India]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Deb |first=Debraj |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/north-east-india/representatives-japan-bangladesh-tripura-gateway-ne-india-at-conclave-8553149/ |title=Representatives of Japan, Bangladesh look at Tripura as potential gateway of NE India at conclave |work=The Indian Express |date=12 April 2023 |access-date=17 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/tripura-emerging-as-international-trade-gateway-of-northeast-pm-modi-101671372968462.html |title=Tripura emerging as international trade gateway of northeast: PM Modi |date=18 December 2022 |work=Hindustan Times |access-date=17 May 2023}}</ref> In [[Bengali culture]], the celebrated singer [[S. D. Burman]] was a member of the Tripura royal family.