Bengali people in the context of "Burmese Indians"

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay (anglicised as Sarat Chandra Chatterjee; 15 September 1876 – 16 January 1938) was a Bengali novelist and short story writer of the early 20th century. He generally wrote about the lives of Bengali family and society in cities and villages. However, his keen powers of observation, great sympathy for fellow human beings, a deep understanding of human psychology (including the "ways and thoughts and languages of women and children"), an easy and natural writing style, and freedom from political biases and social prejudices enable his writing to transcend barriers and appeal to all Indians. He remains the most popular, translated, and adapted Indian author of all time.

Bengali Pakistanis, in the present day, refers to Pakistani citizens who are of ethnic Bengali background. They are predominantly the descendants of East Pakistani migrants in West Pakistan who stayed in Pakistan following Bangladeshi independence. They are predominantly bilingual speaking both Urdu and Bengali and are mainly settled in Karachi. Bengalis that arrived in Pakistan before 1971 have now assimilated with the Urdu-speaking people in Karachi.

Despite the historical fact that Bangladesh was formerly East Pakistan, the term 'Pakistani Bengali' is now no longer popularly used. However, a large population of nearly 3 million exists.

Mangal-Kāvya (Bengali: মঙ্গলকাব্য; lit. "Poems of Benediction") is a group of Bengali religious texts, composed more or less between 13th and 18th centuries, notably consisting of narratives of indigenous deities of rural Bengal in the social scenario of the Middle Ages. The Mangal-Kāvyas usually give prominence to a particular deity amalgamated with a Vedic or Hindu mythological god and the narratives are usually written in the form of verses.

Manasā Mangal, Chandī Mangal and Dharma Mangal, the three major genus of Mangal-Kāvya tradition include the portrayal of the magnitude of Manasā, Chandī and Dharmathakur respectively. They are considered the greatest among all the native divinities in Bengal. But restraining the accounts of other deities, there are also minor Mangal-Kāvyas known as Shivāyana, Kālikā Mangal, Rāya Mangal, Shashtī Mangal, Sītalā Mangal and Kamalā Mangal etc. Each strain is composed by more than one poet or group of poets who are on the whole the worshipper of the god or goddess concerning their verses.

The Bengali language movement was a political movement in East Bengal (modern-day Bangladesh) in 1952, advocating the recognition of the Bengali language as a co-lingua franca of the then-Dominion of Pakistan to allow its use in government affairs, the continuation of its use as a medium of education, its use in media, currency and stamps, and to maintain its writing in the Bengali alphabet and Bengali script.

When the Dominion of Pakistan was formed after the separation of the Indian subcontinent in 1947, when the British left, it was composed of various ethnic and linguistic groups, with the geographically non-contiguous East Bengal province having a mainly ethnic Bengali population. In 1948, the Government of the Dominion of Pakistan ordained as part of Islamization of East Pakistan or East Bengal that Urdu will be the sole federal language, alternately Bengali writing in the Perso-Arabic script or Roman script (Romanisation of Bengali) or Arabic as the state language of the whole of Pakistan was also proposed, sparking extensive protests among the Bengali-speaking majority of East Bengal. Facing rising sectarian tensions and mass discontent with the new law, the government outlawed public meetings and rallies. The students of the University of Dhaka and other political activists defied the law and organised a protest on 21 February 1952. The movement reached its climax when police killed student demonstrators on that day. The deaths provoked widespread civil unrest. After years of conflict, the central government relented and granted official status to the Bengali language in 1956.

Kṛttivāsī Rāmāyaṇ,; also called Śrīrām Pãcālī, composed by the fourteenth-century Bengali poet Krittibas Ojha, from whom it takes its name, is a rendition of the Rāmāyaṇa into Bengali. Written in the traditional Rāmāyaṇa Pā̃cālī form of Middle Bengali literature, the Kṛttivāsī Rāmāyaṇ is not just a rewording of the original Indian epic, but also a vivid reflection of the society and culture of Bengal across the period of its circulation, from the Middle Ages into the modern period. It was characterised by Dinesh Chandra Sen in 1911 as 'by far the most popular book in Bengal' and 'the Bible of the people of the Gangetic Valley'.

Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda is a spiritual classic published in 1946. It recounts Yogananda's life, his search for his guru, and his teachings on Kriya Yoga. The book has introduced many to meditation and yoga and has been influential in both Eastern and Western spiritual circles. It has been translated into over fifty languages and continues to be widely read. Notable admirers have included Steve Jobs, George Harrison, and Elvis Presley.

Paramahansa Yogananda was born as Mukunda Lal Ghosh in Gorakhpur, India, into a Bengali Hindu family. Autobiography of a Yogi recounts his life and his encounters with spiritual figures of the Eastern and the Western world. The book begins with his childhood and family life, then finding his guru, becoming a monk and establishing his teachings of Kriya Yoga meditation. The book continues in 1920 when Yogananda accepted an invitation to speak at a religious congress in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He then travelled across the USA, lecturing and establishing his teachings in Los Angeles, California. In 1935, he returned to India for a yearlong visit. When he returned to the USA, he continued to establish his teachings, including writing this book.

The World of Apu, initially released as Apur Sansar (Bengali: অপুর সংসার), is a 1959 Indian Bengali-language drama film written, produced, and directed by Satyajit Ray. It is adapted from the second half of Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay’s novel Aparajito. Preceded by Pather Panchali (1955) and Aparajito (1956), it is the concluding instalment of Ray’s acclaimed Apu Trilogy, chronicling the life of Apu, a young Bengali man, through his formative years in early twentieth-century India.

The film stars Soumitra Chatterjee in his debut role as Apu, alongside Sharmila Tagore as Apu’s wife, Aparna—both of whom would become frequent collaborators in Ray’s later works.

Sukumar Ray FRPS (Sukumār Rāẏ; 30 October 1887 – 10 September 1923) was a Bengali writer and poet from British India. He is remembered mainly for his writings for children. He was the son of children's story writer Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury and the father of Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray.