Bengal: From a Periphery to the Heartland of South Asia

Bengal: from a Periphery to the Heartland of South Asia. The historical province of Bengal, one of South Asia’s most densely populated areas from ancient times, was mainly a periphery within the states that succeeded on the subcontinent until the late Middle Ages. Conquered in the 16th century by the Mughals, an important part of its population embraced Islam. The arrival of the Europeans put the province into the frontline of international trade. In the 18th century Bengal became the center of the British Raj, which gradually extended to the whole of India, with its capital at Calcutta until 1911. In the first half of the 20th century, Bengal became one of the main centers of anti-British resistance. However, when India finally became independent, the unfortunate partition of the former British colony resulted in the second partition of Bengal too, the consequences of which are visible until today, especially taking into consideration the mass of refugees which flowed from Eastern Bengal to India. Though West Bengal and especially the great urban agglomeration of Kolkata remains one of India’s most important industrial and commercial zones and is quickly developing today, the region was for decades lagging behind other states, while Kolkata lost its primacy (behind Delhi and Mumbai) among the great cities of India. Keywords: colonialism, Raj, British Empire, independence, Partition