today's shape through a
long history of political
evolution. Bengal was
probably the wealthiest
part of the subcontinent
up till the 16th century.
The area's early history
featured a succession of
Indian empires, internal
squabbling, and a tussle
between Hinduism and
Buddhism for dominance.
All of this was just a
prelude to the
unstoppable tide of Islam
which washed over
northern India at the end
of the 12th century.
Mohammed Bakhtiar
Khalzhi from Turkistan
captured Bengal in 1199
with only 20 men.
Under the Mughal
viceroys, art and literature
flourished, overland trade
expanded and Bengal was
opened to world maritime
trade - the latter marking
the death knell of Mughal
power as Europeans
began to establish
themselves in the region.
The Portuguese arrived as
early as the 15th century
but were ousted in 1633
by local opposition. The
East India Company
negotiated terms to
establish a fortified trading
post in Calcutta in 1690.
The decline of Mughal
power led to greater
provincial autonomy,
heralding the rise of the
independent dynasty of
the nawabs of Bengal.
Humble East India
Company clerk Robert
Clive ended up effectively
ruling Bengal when one of
the impetuous nawabs
attacked the thriving
British enclave in Calcutta
and stuffed those unlucky
enough not to escape in
an underground cellar.
Clive retook Calcutta a
year later and the British
Government replaced the
East India Company
following the Indian
Mutiny in 1857.
The Britons established an
organizational and social
structure unparalleled in
Bengal, and Calcutta
became one of the most
important centers for
commerce, education and
culture in the
subcontinent. However,
many Bangladeshi
historians blame the
British dictatorial
agricultural policies and
promotion of the semi-
feudal zamindar system
for draining the region of
its wealth and damaging
its social fabric. The British
presence was a relief to
the minority Hindus but a
catastrophe for the
Muslims. The Hindus
cooperated with the Brits,
entering British
educational institutions
and studying the English
language, but the Muslims
refused to cooperate, and
rioted whenever crops
failed or another local
product was rendered
unprofitable by
government policy.
At the closure of World
War II it was clear that
European colonialism had
run its course and Indian
independence was
inevitable. Independence
was attained in 1947 but
the struggle was bitter
and divisive, especially in
Bengal where the fight for
self-government was
complicated by internal
religious conflict. The
British, realizing any
agreement between the
Muslims and Hindus was
impossible, decided to
partition the subcontinent.
That Bengal and Punjab,
the two overwhelmingly
Muslim regions, lay on
opposite sides of India
was only one stumbling
block. The situation was
complicated in Bengal
where the major cash
crop, jute, was produced
in the Muslim-dominated
east, but processed and
shipped from the Hindu-
dominated city of Calcutta
in the west.
Inequalities between the
two regions i.e. East and
West Pakistan soon
stirred up a sense of
Bengali nationalism that
had not been reckoned
with during the push for
Muslim independence.
When the Pakistan
government declared that
`Urdu and only Urdu'
would be the national
language, the Bangla-
speaking Bengalis decided
it was time to assert their
cultural identity. The drive
to reinstate the Bangla
language metamorphosed
into a push for self-
government and when
the Awami League, a
nationalistic party, won a
majority in the 1971
national elections, the
president of Pakistan,
faced with this
unacceptable result,
postponed opening the
National Assembly. Riots
and strikes broke out in
East Pakistan, the
independent state of
Bangladesh was
unilaterally announced,
and Pakistan sent troops
to quell the rebellion.
The ensuing war was one
of the shortest and
bloodiest of modern
times, with the Pakistan
army occupying all major
towns, using napalm
against villages, and
slaughtering and raping
villagers. Bangladeshis
refer to Pakistan's brutal
tactics as attempted
genocide. Border clashes
between Pakistan and
India increased as Indian-
trained Bangladeshi
guerrillas crossed the
border. When the
Pakistani air force made a
pre-emptive attack on
Indian forces, open
warfare ensued. Indian
troops crossed the border
and the Pakistani army
found itself being attacked
from the east by the
Indian army, the north
and east by guerrillas and
from all quarters by the
civilian population. In
