NON-ARYAN
There is almost total unanimity among leading sources that the ‘Chandals’ were non –Aryans of the Gangetic delta. Riseley considers these people non-Aryan. All subsequent experts have not differed from him. “Chandal, a non –Aryan caste of Eastern Bengal, engaged for the most part in boating and cultivation”.(Risley,1891) “It may perhaps be inferred from the present geographical position of the Chandals that they came into contact with the Aryans at a comparatively late period, when the caste system had already been fully developed and alien races were regarded with peculiar detestation. This would account in some measure for the curious violence of the condemnation passed on a tribe in no way conspicuous for qualities calculated to arouse the feeling of physical repulsion which the early writers appear to regard the Chandals. It is possible, again, that they may have offered a specially stubborn resistance to the Aryan advance.”(op. cit.) The fairy tale of Manu on Chandala has been critically examined by eminent historian Mr. R.C. Dutt. “The castes which make up the 17 million Hindus are about a hundred in number; and those which number 200,000 souls or more are shown in the following list (Figures in thousands):
1. Kaivarta 2,006
2. Chandala 1,564
3. Koch 1,215
4. Brahman 1,077
5. Kayastha 1,056
6. Bagdi 720
7. Gowala 613
8. Sadgop 547
9. Napit 447
10. Vaishnav 439
11. Chamar 410
12. Sunri 383
13. Teli 383
14. Jeleya 375
15. Tanti 330
16. Pod 325
17. Baniya 318
18. Jugi 306
19. Kamar 286
20. Kumar 252
21. Bauri 252
22. Teor 229
23. Dhobi 227
13,760
Other castes numbering less than 200,000 souls 3,494
Total Hindu Population 17,254
The two most numerous castes, the Kaivarta and the Chandala, find mention in Manu’s list of mixed castes. The Kaivartas of Bengal form a solid body of two million people, making nearly one-eighth of the entire Hindu population of Bengal. They have much the same physical features, follow the same mental characteristics of patience and industry, docility, and dulness. Three fourths of them inhabit the south-western corner of Bengal, i.e., the districts of Midnapur, Hooghly and Howrah, 24-Pargunnahs, Nuddea and Murshedabad. Is there any one among our readers who is so simple as to believe with Manu that this solid and numerous race of men, possessing the same features and characteristics, and mostly inhabiting one definite part of Bengal, is descended from children borne by Ayogava women who deserted their own husbands and yielded themselves, - by the hundred thousand,- to the embraces of Nishadas! Where are the traditions of this strange and universal elopement, this rape of the Ayogava women by Nishadas, compared to which the rape of the Sabine women was but child’s play? Common-sense brushes aside such nursery-tales and recognizes in the million of hardworking and simple Kaivartas, one of those aboriginal races who inhabited Bengal before the Aryans came to the land, and who submitted themselves to the civilization, the language and the religion of the conquering Hindus, and learnt from them to till the land where they had previously lived by fishing and hunting.
Let us next turn to the Chandalas of Bengal. They too form a solid body of people numbering a million and a half, and inhabiting mostly the south-eastern districts of Bengal, Backergunj, Faridpur and Dacca, Jessore and Khulna. They are patient and hard-working and unrivalled in boating and fishing; and landlords like to have them as tenants for bringing waste and marshy lands under cultivation.
… There is a marked family likeness, both physical and mental, among the Chandalas, which shews them to be one distinct race. …
And how was this race formed? Manu has it that they are the issues of Brahmin women who yielded themselves to the embraces of Sudras. As the number of Brahmins in South Eastern Bengal was never very large in olden times, and does not even in the present day come to even a quarter of a million in the five districts named above, it is difficult to account for the presence of a million Chandalas in those districts on Manu’s theory. Shall we suppose that fair-skinned Brahmin Desdemonas habitually bestowed their hands on swarthy Sudra swains? Shall we suppose that beauteous but frail Brahmin matrons were seduced from their lords - by the hundred thousand- by gay Sudra Lotharios intent on creating a new caste? And shall we further suppose that the children begotten of such unions thrived and multiplied in marshes and fishing villages, amidst toil and privations, - more than trueborn Brahmin children basking in the sunshine of royal favour and priestly privileges? We have only to state such suppositions to shew their utter absurdity; and with these suppositions, Manu’s theory of mixed castes is brushed aside to the region of myths and nursery tales! Common -sense will tell every reader who knows any things of the Chandalas of Bengal that they were the primeval dwellers of South-Eastern Bengal, and lived by fishing in its numerous creeks and channels, and they naturally adopted the religion, the languages, and the civilization of the Hindus when the Aryans came and colonized Bengal.
We have shewn that the Kaivartas and the Chandalas were distinct primeval races, and that they formed Hindus castes when they were Hinduized by the conquering Aryans. There are other similar race castes in Bengal. The reader will find in the list given above the names of the Koch, the Bagdi, the Pod, the Bauri, and the Teor, which are all race-castes. They formed distinct aboriginal races before the Hindus came to Bengal; and from century to century in the long-forgotten ages, they submitted to the conquering Hindus, adopted their language and religion and mode of tillage, and formed low castes in the Hindu confederation of castes. The names of many of these Bengal races were unknown to Manu; those which he knew, he tried to account for by his own theory in the absence of all historical and statistical facts.”
The present writer has often witnessed the curious way in which the Chandalas of some parts of Backergunj District turn beels or marshes into solid cultivable lands. They either connect the beels with tidal rivers by artificial canals, so as to induce a deposit of silt on the bed of the marshes day by day and year by year; or they collect a kind of weed growing in the marshes, and lay them stratum upon stratum, until the lowest stratum reaches the bottom. The present writer has seen houses and trees on lands thus manufactured. (Source: Dutt, R.C.: Civilization in the Buddhist Age, BC 320- AD 500)
(Social Manners, &c., pp-153-251).
There is absolutely no doubt that the Vangas of Ancient Vanga were non-Aryan. The Vangas lived outside the pale of Aryandom.
‘NAMASUDRAS’ ARE ‘DESCENDANTS OF THE
ORIGINAL INHABITANTS OF DELTAIC BENGAL’
Enormous evidence drawn from the above mentioned sources conclusively identify not only the overwhelming majority of the autochthons-the original inhabitants of the Gangetic delta, but also the most numerous aboriginals of entire Bengal. Overwhelming number in the eastern part of the Gangetic delta, the whole of the Gangetic delta and East Bengal among the total population belonged to the people who are now denominated as Namasudra since 1911 whose main profession was boating and cultivation. Therefore we can safely say that the Namasudras are the descendants of the Vangas of Vanga. (The core of Vanga was the eastern Gangetic delta.) Which is why Census 1891 considered them as the people of the Gangetic delta and said that Banga or the Barendla Desh was peopled by them [Census, 1891, Report, pp.255, 262] and the noted geographer late S.P. Chatterjee in his famous book, BENGAL IN MAPS published by Orient Longmans Ltd. in 1949 [reprinted by Natmo, Govt. of India, 2003] stated that, “The Namashudras are believed to be the descendants of the original inhabitants of deltaic Bengal”. It is necessary to quote the full paragraph. “In the dense zone of East Bengal there were over 6 lakhs of scheduled castes on approximately 1,500 square miles. If its peripheral zones be taken into account, there would be another addition of 6 lakhs. Here the majority belong to the sturdy Namasudra caste. In 1931 as many as 15 lakhs were returned as Namasudras from Faridpur, Bakarganj, Dacca, Khulna and Jessore districts. It is often said that the present number of Namasudras, large as it is, is only a fraction of their former number, as a large percentage has dropped off by conversion to Islam. The Namasudras are believed to be the descendants of the original inhabitants of deltaic Bengal. It is mainly with their help that marshy tracts in and outside the Sundarbans can be reclaimed even to-day. They make their living mainly by cultivation and fishing. In Khulna the Namasudras live in the north and east of the district, and the Pods in the south and west. In Jessore the Namasudras inhabit the low-lying tracts of Magura and Narail; and in Tippera district they live in the northern marshy tract of Brahmanbaria.”(emphasis added).
METHODOLOGY COMPARED
Since this research has relied upon various sources including the findings of the project,’ Man in India’ to reject the central thesis of the caste system of India, it is felt necessary that our discussion will not be complete unless we compare our methodology to identify the descendants of the original inhabitants of Ancient Vanga with the methodology adopted by Man in India project to identify the ‘the original inhabitants of Bengal’ or migrants from adjacent areas to Bengal. Kashyap et. al. adopted the following classification for demographic identity:
Bengali Bengali
Brahmin Kayasth
Abbreviation Used WB KW
Location West Bengal West Bengal
Sample Size 110 103
Linguistic Affiliation Indo European Indo European
Traditional Occupation Priesthood Service
Socio Cultural Affiliation Caste Caste
Demographic History Migrated from Original
adjacent areas Inhabitant
(Kashyap et. al., Genetic variation at fifteen microsatellite loci in human population of India, Current Science, Vol. 85, No. 4, 25 August 2003, p.466).
Only ‘Demographic history’ is relevant to us. Therefore, demographic history is taken for examination. We have made an effort to identify demographic history or statistics that establishes that the ‘Brahmins’ of Bengal are immigrants from adjacent areas and the ‘Kayasths’ are original inhabitants of Bengal. No demographic account right from the first census of India in 1872 onwards has ever stated that the Brahmins of Bengal migrated from adjacent areas to settle in Bengal. That however does not mean that no Brahmin ever migrated from other states and settled in Bengal. Human migration is common from early age of civilization. People migrate from one geographical location to another. There are no demographic or historical records to indicate that the Brahmins in tens of thousands migrated from other states to settle in Bengal. We may like to mention that the Brahmins returned fourth numerous people of Bengal in 1872 census. Kashyap et al study has not conducted any genetic investigation to define migrants or original inhabitants. They however have undertaken genetic marking of various castes including Brahmins and Kaysths of Bengal and adjacent areas. Following table developed from their statistics gives us the average heterozygosity …of the Brahmins and Kayasths of Bengal and neighbouring states.
Bengali Brahmin 0.823
Oriya Brahmin 0.816
Bihari Brahmin 0.821
Bengali Kayasth 0.828
Bihar Kaysath 0.819
There is no significant genetic affinity among the Brahmins of India
Bengali Brahmin 0.823
Oriya Brahmin 0.816
Bihar Brahmin 0.821
Chitpavan Brahmin 0.809
Desastha Brahmin 0.832
Iyengar Brahmin 0.824
Their research has demolished the concept of caste. They have concluded that genetic difference among the castes is not significant. Next table reflects their results.
Population Average
Heterozygosity
Bengali Brahmin 0.823
Oriya Brahmin 0.816
Bihar Brahmin 0.821
Chitpavan Brahmin 0.809
Iyengar Brahmin 0.824
Bihar Kayastha 0.819
Bengali Kayastha 0.828
Bhumihar 0.821
Yadav 0.815
Bihar Kurmi 0.803
UP Kurmi 0.828
Bihar Baniya 0.817
Marathas 0.814
Naga 0.822
Lingayat 0.822
UP Jat 0.816
Thakur 0.866
It is interesting that the Nagas [0.822] and the Lingyats [0.822] score the same. So caste falls. Science rejects theory of biological difference on the basis of caste. Global research rejects biological difference on the basis of race or colour. Science is race and colour blind.
The Kayasths have never been returned as the original inhabitants of Bengal in any demographic statistics, however at least one anthropometric measurement known to us, has confirmed that they, like the Pods and Sadgopes are indigenous peoples of Bengal.[Mahalonibis,1927]The anthropometric data in the census of 1891 suggest that the Brahmins of Bengal are also the original inhabitants of Bengal. The relevant point here is not whether the Brahmins and the Kayasths are original inhabitants or immigrants. We wanted to examine the methodology for determination of demographic identity.
Against this, we have collected huge evidence from the demographic statistics of the Govt. of India, statistical accounts of the Govt. of India, gazetteers of the Govt. of India, anthropological, ethnological and anthropometrical data of the Govt. of India and non-govt. sources, known and accredited historical accounts, geographers of the Govt. of India and various other reliable sources to identify the autochthons/aboriginals/aborigines/indigenous/ original inhabitants eastern part of the Gangetic delta, Gangetic delta and entire East Bengal to prove beyond all reasonable doubts that the Namashudras are the descendants of the original inhabitants of the eastern part of the Gangetic delta- the core Vanga, the Gangetic delta and the whole of East Bengal.
VANGA: SUPERIOR PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
The Vangas were people of superior physical development. “Their occupations, and their enforced practice of going about in boats during a great portion of the year, have rendered the Chandals a hardy and muscular race.” (Collector Fureedpur, quoted by Hunter, W.W., A Statistical Account of Bengal, 1877,Vol.Vp.260)
“Their superior physical development is attributed, not to their being of a different race, but to their mode of life: inhabiting a river District, and constantly employed in rowing, the muscles of the arms and chest get more developed than in men who pass their days at the plough.”(Hunter, W.W., A Statistical Account of Bengal, 1877, Vol. Vp.285).
“Muscular figures and deep, expanded chests.” (Dr. Wise in Risley, The Tribe and Caste of BengalVol.-I,1891, pp.183-189).
“...they have got a very strong physique.” (Ghosh, Modern Review, 1909, p.554).
“Whatever their origin, they are a hardy and muscular race, capable of enduring much exposure and fatigue” (Fureedpur, L.S.S. ‘Omalley, 1925, p.47)
They were
l ‘Hard Working’; l ‘Strong’;
l ‘Sturdy’; l ‘Industrious Race’;
l ‘Able-bodied; l ‘Prudent’;
l ‘Perseverant’; l ‘Natuarlly Quiet’;
l ‘Fine’; l ‘Useful Race’;
l ‘Uncomplaining’; l ‘Honest’;
l ‘Reasonable’; l ‘Sufficiently eager to learn’;
l ‘Laborious’; l ‘Painstaking’;
l ‘Very patient’; l ‘Inoffensive people’;
l ‘Superior qualities’; l ‘Scrupulous in Cleanliness’
[Hunter,W.W., 1877,Vol-V, p.285; Owen, W. L.,No. 66, 18th March 1873, Wells, W. S., No. 340, 8th April 1873, No. 414, 22nd April, 1873, No. 272, 19th March 1873 (State Archive, Govt. of W.B.); Dr. Wise in Risley, 1891, pp.183-189; Ghosh, Modern Review, 1909, p.554; L.S.S. ‘Omalley, 1925, p.47; Chatterjee, S. P., Orient Longman, 1949,Natmo, 2003,p.48].
TRADITION AND CULTURE
The Vangas developed a highly advanced civilization long before the birth of the Christ .The Vangas earned international fame in production and international maritime trade and commerce of the finest of silk and muslin, Gangetic Spikenard and pearls. [Arthasastra 4th century B.C. Periplus/1st century A.D.]. “That which is manufactured in the country, Vanga (vangaka) is a white and soft fabric (dukula); that of Pandya manufacture (Pundraka) is black and as soft as the surface of a gem; and that which is the product of the country, Suvarnakudya, is as red as the sun, as soft as the surface of the gem, woven while the threads are very wet, and of uniform (chaturasra) or mixed texture (vyamisravana).”
“Of cotton fabrics, those of Madhura, of Aparanta, eastern parts, of Kalinga, of Kasi, of Vanga, of Vasta, and of Mahisha are the best.” [Chapter XI. 80-18]
“there is a river near the land Ganges, and it rises and falls in the same as the Nile, on its bank is a market town which has the same name as the river, Ganges. Through this place are brought malabathrum and gangetic skinenard and pearls and muslins of finest sorts which are called Gangetic.” (Trans Scoff, p.47) – Periplous tes Erythras Thalasses of 1st Century A.D.).
Various clans of the region in the east of Magadha formed a confederation in Pundranagara in 400 B.C. which was styled samvamgiyas (united Vamgiyas) after the prominent Vanga clan. [Mauryan Brahmi Inscription of Mahasthan, 400 BC.].
The excellence of the Vangas in maritime trade and commerce continued in the earlier centuries of Christian era. The Buddhist Vangas dominated the high seas of south East Asia. This history has been chronicled by Radha Kumud Moookerjee in Indian Shipping, 1912.
"The testimony that history bears to the military, religious, and maritime enterprise and achievements of the ancient Buddhist Bengali in the earlier centuries of the Christian era now scarcely wins belief and acceptance"? (Emphasis added)
“It is hardly sufficiently known that during the first few centuries of the Christian era an enthusiastic band of devoted Bengalis, burning with a proselytizing zeal, went as far as China, Corea, and Japan, carrying with them the torch of the Buddhistic faith, while her Buddhistic scholars and reformers, like Atisha, Dipankara, and Silabhadra, achieved an Asiatic fame, and were known throughout the wider Buddhistic world. It is also a recent discovery that some of the scriptures of the Japanese priests preserved in the Horiuzi temple of Japan are written in Bengali characters of the 11th century, thus testifying to the extraordinary vitality of Bengali religious activity that made itself felt even in the Land of the Rising Sun. Artists and art-critics also see in the magnificent sculptures of the Burobudur temple in Java the hand of Bengali artists who worked side by side with the people of Kalinga and Gujarat in thus building up its early civilization. And the numerous representations of the ships which we find in the vast panorama of the bas-reliefs of that colossal temple reveal the type of the ships which the people of the Lower Bengal built and used in sailing to Ceylon, Java, Sumatra, China, and Japan, in pursuit of their colonizing ambition, commercial interests, and artistic and religious missions.”
“But by far the most important emporium of ancient Bengal was Tamralipta, the great Buddhist harbour of the Bengal sea-board. It is referred to in the Mahawanso (ch.xix.) as Tamalitta, and was probably meant by the author of Periplus when he spoke of “a great commercial city near the mouth of the Ganges, the trade of which consisted chiefly in cloths of the most delicate texture and extreme beauty.”
“The Chinese pilgrim, Fa-Hien, when he visited India in A.D. 399-414, found it a maritime settlement of the Buddhists. “There are twenty-four Sangharamas in this country,” he says; “all of them have resident priests.” After his residence there for two years he shipped himself on board a great merchant vessel which he found in the harbour of Tamluk, and putting to sea, they proceeded in a south-westerly direction, and catching the first fair wind of the winter season (i.e. of the N. E. monsoon), they sailed for fourteen days and nights, and arrived at Ceylon. Two hundred and fifty years later, a yet more celebrated pilgrim from China speaks of Tamluk as still an important Buddhist harbour, with ten Buddhist monasteries, a thousand monks, and a pillar by Asoka 200 feet high. It was “situated on a bay, could be approached both by land and water, and contained stores of rare and precious merchandise and a wealthy population.” And another Chinese traveler, I-Tsing, who followed Hiuen Tsang, thus wrote of the Bengal port: “tamalipti is forty yojanas south from the eastern limit of India. There are five or six monasteries; the people are rich….. This is the place where we embarked when returning to China1.” (1. Takakusu’s I-Tsing, xxxiii.,xxxiv.) (Mookherji, Indian Shippimg, 1912,pp.155-162).
It is worthwhile to note that the the maps of ancient India as from 600 BC to 250 BC describe the Bay of Bengal as Purvasamudra. The name however changes to Bangopasagar which can be traced to Vanga. The maps of the Orient Longman on this subject show Bangopasagar from 150 AD to 1707 AD. It is a matter of great pride that such a vast sheet of sea water, larger than the total area of Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Malayasia and Sri Lanka and more than 2/3 of the size of India is still known a Bangopasagar.
BANGOPASAGAR
BHARATVARSHA 6TH CENTURY BC PURVA SAMUDRA
EMPIRE OF ASHOKA 250 BC PURVA SAMUDRA
INDIA IN AD 150 BANGOPASAGAR
EMPIRE OF THE GUPTAS BANGOPASAGAR
EMPIRE OF HARSHAVARDHANA AD 646 BANGOPASAGAR
INDIA DURING THE 9TH CENTURY BANGOPASAGAR
INVASION OF GHURI, AD 1192—1206 BANGOPASAGAR
SULTANATES OF DELHI, AD 1206—1236 BANGOPASAGAR
ALAUDDIN KHALJI'S KINGDOM AD 1316 BANGOPASAGAR
MUHAMMAD BIN TUGHLAQ'S
KINGDOM AD1335 BANGOPASAGAR
GREAT MUGHAL EMPIRE AD 1539—1707 BANGOPASAGAR
BEGINING OF BRITISH RULE AD 1772 BAY OF BENGAL
(Source: NATMO, 1999, p. 7, The Concise,
Orient Longman Atlas, 2004, p. 5-7)
Indigenous and “The Buddhist Sovereigns of the ‘Chandals’,” were” known as the Pal dynasty.” “ The most glorious period of the history of Bengal is from 8th to 12th century when Bengal was reigned by Pala dynasty.”[Census, 1891, Smith, 1958, Ray, Nihar Ranjan, Bhattacharya, A, 1977, Natmo, Govt. of India, 2001, et al].
Bengali language was developed and nurtured by only the Buddhist Vangas for several centuries before the Muslim conquest. [Sastri, Haraprasad, Banglar Purano Akshar, Sahitya Parisat Patrika, Pratham Sankhya, 1327, Haraprasad Sastri Rachna Sangrah, Ditiya Khanda, Paschim Banga Rajiya Pustak Parsad, 1981, pp,689-690; Address:V, Sahitya Parisat, Bangla; 1329, Sahitya Parisat Patrika, Pratham Sankhya, 1329, Haraprasad Sastri Rachna Sangrah, Ditya Khanda, Paschim Banga Rajiya Pustak Parsad, 1981, p.435; Haraprasad Sastri Rachna Sangrah, Ditiya Khanda, Paschim Banga Rajiya Pustak Parsad, 1981,p.725;Prof. Anisuzzaman, 2002]
The clans – Kirata, Paundra, Kaibarta, Vanga and Bagadha who lived in Ancient Vanga were all Buddhists. [Sastri, Haraprasad , Govt. of West Bengal ed.1984, Vol III, p. 488]
WE ARE ONE
Modern researchers of genome science say, race that means nothing and science is race, caste and colour blind. Not caste, but “The physio- geography of India seems to have played a major role in evolving the observed genetic differentiation among populations.”[Kashyap, et al, 2003].
“Table 6. Percentage of variation at three levels of population hierarchy by AMOVA in four distinct clusters of population in India.
Percentage of total variance
Basic No. of Between Within Between population
Groups Groups Population within group
Language 4 0.39 98.86 0.79
Geographical 5 0.92 97.42 1.66
Ethnicity 4 0.34 98.84 0.83
Social 3 0.04 97.59 2.37
The Bhagirathi is a great geographical boundary. The noses of the Brahmins have hardly any difference with the noses of the Bauris in Burdwan, but there is significant difference between the Brahmins of the west of the Bhagirathi and the Brahmins on the banks of the Padma/Meghna.[1891 Census Report, p. 260].
There is no significant genetic unity among the Brahmins of the different states of India, on the other hand there is more genetic difference between the individuals within the Brahmins than the non-Brahmins. More than hundred years ago 1891 Census of India records greater proximity of the Brahmins of North India with the Namashudras of Bengal than the Brahmins and the Kayasths of Bengal in most significant anthropometric parameter. [1891 Census Report, p.255].
We share 99.9% DNA among us. We are one. The so called ‘European looking caste populations of India’ and the aboriginal tribes of Andaman Archipelago significantly share same group of DNA M2. [Phlip Endicott, 2003]. Ethnicity is a social, cultural, economic and political construct. Science demolishes caste. Should we not take the opportunity of the advancement of science, to be more particular, of molecular biology to erase the false sense of difference among us! Indigenous peoples of the world are being discriminated and marginalized on the basis of race, caste and colour. Therefore we are liable to address this question. Today and now. The discriminated and the marginalized are losing patience.
Appendix – I
CASTE CLAIMS
Appendix - II
VANGA, GOND AND GANGARIDAI
As ethnic group, the Vangas are different from the typical Dravidian Male Paharia. “The average nasal proportions of the Male Paharia tribe are expressed by the figure 94.5, which the pastoral Gujars of the Panjab have an index of 66.9, the Sikhs of 68.8, and the Bengal Brahmans and Kayasthas of 70.4. In other words, the typical Dravidian, as represented by the Male Paharia, has a nose as broad in proportion to its length as the Negro, while this feature in the Aryan group can fairly bear comparison with the noses of 68 Parisians, measured by Topinard, which gave an average of 69.4.” (Gait:1891,p.254) Average Nasal Index of the Vangas is 70.4. Ethnologically they are far away from the Gonds - “the principal tribe of Dravidian family and the most important of the non-Aryan or forest tribes of India (Russel, R. V. et al, The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India, 1916,Vol-III, p.41, for exhaustive reading pp. 39-143).
The word ‘Gond’ has not been derived from the ‘Gangaridai’ or ‘Gangahrida’. The ‘Gangariod people’ of Pliny’s description are not Gonds. We cannot draw any inference from the description of Pliny and Pltomey that the ‘Gangaridai’ people were Gonds. [Gangahrida>Gangarida>Gangaridai]. The Word Gangahrida originated from the river Ganga. (B. N. Mukherjee, 1990, p.66).
Sunity K. Chatterjee suggested that possibly some Dravidian clan lived in Punjab area. The Greeks might have picked up the word from them (Gangapather Itikatha, Asok Kumar Basu, 1989, p.361). Mention of one sentence of Satish Mitra in his history of Jessore-Khulna that ‘Chandal’/Chandals came from Barendra to live in different places of Upavanga can not be over stretched.
Pltomey’s map printed at Rome in 1490 which suffers from some glaring mistakes. It shows ‘Gangaridae’ in the centre of the Delta. The Sailor of Peri Plus anchored at the mouth of river Ganges. A city on the bank of the river and the country were known to him as Ganges.
The name Vanga as a name of people occurs in Aitareya Aranyaka. Arthasastra (321-300 BC) of Kautilya mentions the country Vanga where finest of silk and cotton were produced. Mahasthan Garh inscription (400 BC) is an evidence in stone which refers ‘Samavangiyas’ - a confederation of the various Vanga clans. This inscription was discovered by Baru Fakir of village Mahasthan in Bogra district of undivided Bengal and now in Bangladesh on 30 November 1931. This inscription, preserved in Indian Museum of Calcutta has pushed the history of Bengal definitely up to 400 BC. History of Bengal has to be rewritten in accordance with the information offered by this inscription. Mention of ‘Samavangiyanam’ draws us to the word Vanigyas and Vanga. The Greek and Latin authors who wrote mostly from 1st century BC to 150 AD obviously were not aware of this inscription. The Mahabharata (600 BC) has eight references on Vanga. Drona Parba (Chapter - 70, stanzas-10-13) of the Mahabharata records ‘Anga’, ‘Vanga, Kalinga, Vedeha, ‘Tamralipta ‘ and of some other countries. The recorded history confirms that these countries existed in reality. A cultural map of India of around 600 BC reconstructed by NATMO (1999:p.9) shows all these countries. The geographers of NATMO are knowledgeable scientist. We have been given to understand that before drawing this map, they consulted eminent historians and available sources on Ancient India. This map shows Vanga in the centre of the gangetic delta. The account of names in the Mahabharata stated above is compatible with the map drawn by NATMO.
The Mahabharata is not history, it is an epic. If the names of places can be located on the ground, we may not have any objection in accepting the authenticity of the information contained in the epic. Such reliance is universal in history.
The pertinent question arises if the name ‘Vanga’ figures in the centre of the delta in 600 BC and 300 BC, how can we reconcile with the name of a country ‘Gangaridai' located in the centre of gangetic delta in 150 A.D.?
We have referred Greek and Roman evidence on Gangaridai (For detailed study please refer to F J Monhan, Early history of Bengal). No one can ignore this evidence, although some accounts may be exaggerated. Ptlomey might have erred in the calculation of longitudes and latitudes, but his map records the name ‘Ganga-ridai’ right in the centre of the delta. This is perhaps the earliest recorded map of India, and no geographer has overlooked Ptlomey’s map.(150 AD) Periplus (1st Century, AD) does not mention the country of ‘Ganga-ridai’. He refers the country as ‘Gange’.
The Vangas were most numerous in the Gangetic Delta. It appears the Greeks called them Gangarides and Vanga was known to them as ‘Gangaridai’.
If there is a controversy over ‘Gangaridai’, there is however no controversy over Vanga or the Vangas. Mahasthangarh inscription and Arthasastra are reliable historical evidence to support the contention that there was a country called ‘Vanga’ in 400 BC and the people were called ‘Vangas’ in 400 BC. Aitareya Aranyaka mentions the Vanga and Magadha tribes.
Orient Longman is a reputed publisher. They have published the concise Orient Longman Atlas (2004). We would like to deal seven of these historical maps. The map of Bharatvarsha, 6th century BC has been drawn on the information contained in the Mahabharata. Magadha gets a prominent place. In the East of Magadha we get Videha, Anga, Pundra and Vanga (Plate I). Mention of Vanga in the map of Asokan Empire is quite conspicuous (Plate II). The Maruryas extended their empire in Pundra and Vanga in 400 B. C. (Mahasthangarh inscription 400 BC, found in 1931) So we have continuity of Vanga from 600 B.C. to 250 BC.
From Asokan period we come to the Guptas (320-414 AD). Vanga came under Gupta administration (Plate III). We do not have to repeat that in 9 century AD Pala Dyanasty of the Vangas of Vanga had a huge empire including Magadha. Sultan Mahmud of Gazni repeatedly invaded India and went back with the loot. Muhammad Guri occupied Multan in 1192 . He established Muslim rule in India (Plate IV).
In the East, drastic political changes had taken place. The Senas dethroned the indigenous Palas of the Vangas and introduced rigid Brahmnical system. They, however did not change the name Vanga.
The Senas could not continue long. Their misrule destroyed the social equity that prevailed in the Pala administration. By 1316 Alauddin Khalji’s Kingdom included Vanga. Instead of Vanga they called Bangala (Plate V). (They added LA and thus Vanga became Vangala (Vanga+la). We may or may not agree with Abul Fazal. In Arabia LA is an important word (Plate VI). The Mughals retained the name Bangala (Plate VI).
The British dropped the last letter of Bangala, and substituted second letter by ‘e’. It became Bengal (Plate VII). It is interesting to note that historiographers both Muslims and the British did not use the letter V to write Bangala, Bengala or Bengal. we welcome it. (The concise Orient Longman Atlas 2004 pp. 5-7)
Note: Not to Scale
Attention: Vanga
Appendix - III
THE MUHAMMADANS OF BENGAL
OPINION OF EARLY OBSERVERS
OPINION OF EARLY OBSERVERS
In this connection it is important to notice the opinion of that able and close observer, Brain Hodgson. Speaking of the Koch tribe he says1:
“In a word Visva Singh with all the people of condition apostatised to Hinduism; the country was re-named Bihar; the people Rajbansi; so that none but the low and mean of this race could longer tolerate the very name of Koch, and most of them being refused a decent status under the Hindu regime, yet infected like their betters, with the disposition of change, very wisely adopted Islam in preference to helol Hinduism. Thus the mass of the Koch people became Muhammadans.”
ANTHROPOMETRICAL CONCLUSIONS
305. But the most convincing testimony is that afforded by the exact measurements carried out by Mr. Risley. The average Cephalic index (proportion of breadth of head to length) of 185 Muhammadans of East Bengal is almost identical with that of 67 Chandals. The nasal index (proportion of breadth of nose to height) of the Muhammadans was greater than that of the Chandals’ half-brothers, the Pods, and in any case a broad nose is characteristic of the Dravidian rather than of the Aryan and Semitic types. These measurements show clearly that the foreign elements amongst the Muhammadans of East Bengal is very small. The author of the book already referred to has protested strongly against the manner in which the subjects for measurement were chosen, i.e. against the selection of ordinary cultivators and the exclusion of all Muhammadans of birth, but his protest seems to be based on a misunderstanding. The object of the measurements was to ascertain the affinities of the low class Muhammadans of East Bengal who form the great bulk of the Muhammadan population of that part of the Province. There is no question as to the foreign origin of many of those of the better class; the difference between the coarse features and dark complexion of the ordinary villagers and the fair skin, and fine features of some of the gentry is apparent to all, and it was precisely for this reason that instructions were given to exclude the latter from the operations of the Anthropometric survey.2 There have been no measurements of the Muhammadans of North Bengal, but there seems no reason to doubt that, if they could be taken, they would fully confirm the popular view that they are for the most part very closely allied to the Rajbansis amongst whom they live and whom they closely resemble in feature.
Classes from which converts chiefly come
307. It has already been noted that the affinities of the Muhammadans of East Bengal seem to be with the Pods and Chandals and those of North Bengal with the Rajbansis and Koches. The conclusion is based, not only on their striking physical resemblance to their neighbours, but also on the fact that the proportion of Hindus of other castes in these parts of the country is, and always bas been, very small.3 The main castes are the Rajbansis (including Koches) in North Bengal and the Chandals and other castes of no-Aryan origin in East Bengal, so that even if the different groups yielded converts in equal proportions, the absolute number of converts from such castes would be much greater than from others. But, except in the case of forcible conversion, it is not likely that the proportions were at all equal. The Musalman religion, with its doctrine that all men are equal in the sight of God, must necessarily have presented far greater attractions to the Chandals and Koches who were regarded as outcastes by the Hindus, than to the Brahmans, Baidyas, and Kayasthas, who in the Hindu castes system enjoy a position far above their fellows. The convert to Islam could not of course expect to rank with the higher classes of Muhammadans, but he would escape from the degradation which Hinduism imposes on him; he would no longer be scorned as a social leper; the mosque would be open to him; the Mullah would perform his religious ceremonies, and, when he died, he would be accorded a decent burial.( Emphasis added) The experience of the Christian missionaries in Bengal at the present day points to the same conclusion. Converts from the higher Hindu castes are rare, and it is amongst the non-Aryan tribes of the Chota Nagpur Plateau and North Bengal, and amongst the Chandals of Bakerganj, that the greatest success is met with.
It is not contended that the higher castes did not contribute their quota, but it was undoubtedly a comparatively small one,4 and obtained usually by force or accident,rather than by a voluntary adhesion to the tenets of the Koran. This seems clearly indicated by the history of Muhammadan families of known Hindu origin. The Piralis, for example, became Muhammadans because they were out-casted on account of having been forced to taste (or smell) forbidden food cooked by a Muhammadan, and they still retain many Hindu beliefs and customs.5 The Rajas of Kharagpur were originally Khetauris, and only became Muhammadans because, after being defeated by one of Akbar’s generals, the acceptance of Islam was made a condition of being allowed to retain the family estates.6 The present Raja of Parsouni in Darbhanga is descended from Raja Purdil Singh, who rebelled against the Emperor and became a Muhammadan by way of expiation.7 The family of Asad Ali Khan, of Baranthan in Chittagong, is by origin a branch of the Srijukta family of Naopara. Their ancestor, Syam Rai Chaudhuri, was deprived of his caste by being forced to smell beef and was fain to become a Muhammadan. Jadu, the son of Raja Kans, the only Hindu King of Bengal, embraced the Muhammadan religion in order to be allowed to succeed his father. In Bakerganj many Hindus became Musalmans after the Maghs had passed through their houses and so caused them to be outcasted.8
Methods of conversion
308. This leads to the question how far the conversion of Hindus generally was voluntary and how far it was due to force. The Moghals were as a rule, tolerant in religious matters, but the Afghans who preceded them were often very fanatical. It does not appear, however, that the Afghan rulers of Bengal often used force to propagate their faith, and the only organised persecution of the Hindus is that of Jalaluddin, mentioned by Dr. Wise, who is said to have offered the Koran or death, and who must have effected wholsale conversions.9 But although there was no general attack on the Hindu religion, there are numerous traditions of conversions on a large scale by enthusiastic freelances, such as the renowned Shah Jalal of Sylhet. In Mandaran thana in the Arambagh subdividion of Hooghly, where the Muhammadan population preponderates over the Hindu, there is a tradition that Muhammad Ismail Shah Ghazi defeated the local Raja and forcibly converted the people to Islam. These traditions are not confirmed by history, but history tells us very little of what went on in Bengal during the reigns of the independent kings, and, when even the names of some of them are known to us only from the inscriptions on their coins, while there is no record whatever of many of the local satraps, it is not to be expected that, even if forcible conversions were common, there would be any written account of them. There must doubtless, here and there, have been ruthless fanatics like the notorious Tipu Sabib of more recent times, who forcibly circumcised many of his Hindu subjects and perpetrated many acts of the grossest oppression, and the fact that Muhammadan mosques were often constructed of stones taken from Hindu temples, clearly shows that, at some times and in some places, the Hindus were subjected to persecution at the hands of their Musalman conquerors. Several cases in which persons belonging to the higher castes were forced to become Muhammadans have been quoted above, and these are doubtless typical of many others. We read, for instance, in the accounts of Chaitanya’s life, that two of his leading disciples were Brahmans who had been compelled to embrace the faith of Islam.
In spite, however, of the fact that cases of forcible conversion were by no means rare, it seems probable that very many of the ancestors of the Bengal Muhammadans voluntarily gave in their adhesion to Islam. The advantages which that religion offered to persons held in low esteem by the Hindus, have already been pointed out, and under Muslim rule there was no lack of pious Pirs and Fakirs who devoted their lives to gaining converts to the faith. There were special reasons which, during the early years of the Muhammadan supremacy, made conversion comparatively easy. Although the days when Buddhism was a glowing faith had long since passed, the people of Bengal were still to a great extent Buddhistic, and when Bakhtyar Khilji conquered Bihar and massacred the Buddhist monks assembled at Odontapuri, the common people, who were already lukewarm, deprived of their priests and teachers, were easily attracted from their old form of belief, some to Hinduism and others to the creed of Muhammad.10
The higher castes probably found their way back to Hinduism, while the non-Aryan tribes who had, in all probability, never been Hindus, preferred the greater attractions of Islam. (Emphasis added)
309. The dislike which educated Muhammadans have for the theory that most of the local converts in Eastern and Northern Bengal are of Chandal and Koch origin seems to be due to the influence of Hindu ideas regarding social status, according to which these tribes occupy a very degraded position. This, however, is merely due to the fact that they are of known non-Aryan origin. If instead of the British, the Hindus had succeeded the Moghals as the paramount power in India, and the Muhammadan faith had gradually grown weak and its votaries had attorned to Hinduism, the Moghals and Pathans would have been given much the same rank as that now accorded to the Chandals and Koches. These tribes were formerly dominant, and it is only because they have lost their political supremacy and have fallen under the yoke of the Brahmans, that they have sunk to their present low position.11(Emphasis added)
In the days of their supremacy they were accorded Kshattriya rank, and it is certain that, if they had maintained their independence, they would no more have been regarded as low castes today, than are the descendants of the Moghal conquerors of Delhi. They are in fact allied by race to the Moghals, but while they entered India from the north-east, the latter did so from the north-west, and came earlier under the influence of the greatest proselytising religion next to Buddhism, that Asia has yet seen. The Moghals are converts, just as much as are the Chandals. It is only a question of time and place. The Christian religion prides itself as much on converts from one race as on those from another, and except for the influence of Hindu ideas it is not clear why the Muhammadans should not do so too.
1. Essays on Indian Subjects, Vol. I, p. 108.
2. It would be most interesting if a second series of measurements could be taken for the better classes of Muhammadans. Nothing would more clearly bring out the difference between their origin and that of their co-religionists of lower rank.
3. The Koches are generally supposed to have spread in any numbers only as far westwards as the Mohananda which runs through the Purnea district. East of that river, where the bulk of the population is Koch, less than two-thirds of the population are Muhammadans, while to the west of it where the Koch element is weak, less than one-third of the population was returned under this religion. This too in spite of the fact that the old Muhammadan capital in Purnea lay in the centre of the latter tract.
4. It will be seen, moreover, further on, that the converts from the higher castes do not usually assume the designation of Shekh.
5. Some only of the Piralis are Muhammadans. Others have succeeded to a certain extent in recovering their original caste and have remained Hindus. They are named after Pir Ali, the dewan of Khan Jahan Ali or Khanja Ali, who ruled in the South of Jessore about four centuries ago. Pir Ali, whose proper name was Muhammad Tahir, was a Brahman apostate, and, like all renegades, he probably proved a worse persecutor of his original faith than others who were Muhammadans by birth. Very little is known of Pir Ali, but a good deal of information regarding his master will be found in Sir James Westland’s ‘Jessore’, pp.11-22.
6. Statistical Account of Monghyr, p.179.
7. It would be interesting to carry this enquiry further and to trace the cause of conversion in other families of known Hindus origin, such as the Dewan families of Pargana Sarail in Tippera, and of Haibatnagar and Jangalbari in Mymensingh, who were formerly Brahmans, the Pathans of Majhouli in Darbhanga, who sprang from the family of the Raja of Narhan, etc. Amongst early Brahman coverts may be mentioned Murshid Kuli Khan and the dreaded iconoclast, Kala Pahar.
8. Beveridge’s History of Backergunge, p.340.
9. Dr. Wise, as we have seen, conjectures that there were more converts to Islam during the seventeen years of this crusade than in the next three hundred.
10. As noted elsewhere, the Pods and Chandals were probably the dominant tribes in the kingdom of Paundra, Vardhana and to this day traces of the Buddhist faith can still be found in the working religion of the Pods. Amongst the Koches also, traces of Buddhist influence still survived when Ralph Fitch, visited the country in the 16th century. (J.A.S.B., 1873, Part -I, p. 240.)
11. The present depressed condition of these castes is due to political reasons. There is nothing inherently low in the them, and at one time they enjoyed a considerable amount of civilisation. Speaking of the Bhars, who once ruled on the north bank of the Ganges from Monghyr to Oudh, and whose skill is evidenced by the remains of numerous embankments, tanks and forts, Sherring points out that they were not by any means a Barbarous race. He adds: The more I investigate the matter the stronger do my convictions become that the Hindus have learnt much from the aboriginal races, but that, in the course of ages, these races have been so completely subdued, and treated with such extreme rigour and scorn, that in the present condition of abject debasement in which we find them. we have no adequate means of judging of their original genious and power (Hindu Tribes and Castes, Vol. -I, p. 363) The Bhars have for the most part disappeared owing to absorption into other social groups (e.g., the Pasi?). Those still known by the old tribal name occupy a very degraded position and are frequently swineherds like the Kaoras.
[ TheMuhammadans of Bengal, Extracts from ‘Census of India, 1901’ by E. A. Gait, F.S.S. (Vol – VI, Published in 1902,pp.165-181]
© - NCMB MEMORIAL TRUST, 2005
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