Bangal

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Bangal is a term used to refer to the people of East Bengal (usually from regions around Dhaka and Barisal), now in Bangladesh (as opposed to the Ghotis of West Bengal). The term is almost exclusively used in either derogatory or jocular fashion by people of Western part of Bengal (mainly West Bengal) to describe Bengalis from the East, who are marked by a distinct accent.

Some of the people from East Bengal, mainly Hindus, migrated to West Bengal during the Partition of India in 1947. These refugees were sometimes referred to as Bangals by the native population of West Bengal.

The terms, Ghoti and Bangal are mostly used in West Bengal while in Bangladesh, the usage of these is rare except in regions with relatively high concentrations of immigrants from West Bengal.

Amongst the high-caste Bengali Hindus (Brahmins, Kayasthas, and Baidyas) of India, "Bangal" and "Ghoti" are used as social sub-groups indicating the ancestral origin of a family. Those whose families came from East Bengal are Bangals and those whose families originated in West Bengal are Ghotis. The term as used here has little relation to actual geography, since most members of these groups all now live in India. Historically, in addition to marrying within their castes, people from these groups also preferred to marry within the group, whether Bangal or Ghoti. The term is used freely and not considered derogatory within this social class.

Some of the famous Bangals are - Amartya Sen, Satyajit Ray and Rabindranath Tagore.

[edit] External links

Cooking up cross-border bites , The Telegraph, April 28, 2005

[edit] See also

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