Bengali Hindus in Assam

Bengali Hindu community in Assam

Ethnic group

Bengalis of Assam
(আসামের বাঙালি হিন্দু)

Durga Puja Pandal in Assam.

Total population
6,022,677–7,502,012 (est. 2011)[1][2][3]
(19.3%–25% of the Assam's population)
Regions with significant populations
Brahmaputra Valley| 4.5 - 5 Million
Barak Valley| 2 Million
Languages
Mother Tongue - Bengali and its dialects

2nd language - Assamese

Sacred language - Sanskrit
Religion
Hinduism

Primary:
Shaktism

Secondary:
Vaishnavism and Shaivism
Related ethnic groups
Bengali Hindus, Assamese Hindus
Part of a series on

Hinduism in India

History

* History
* Indus Valley Civilisation
* Historical Vedic religion
* Vedic period
* Indo-Aryan migrations
* Gupta Empire
* Sanskritisation
* Greater India
* Maratha Empire
* Late-Classical Hinduism
* Bhakti movement
* Bengal Renaissance
* Partition of India
* Akhand Bharat

Architecture

* Ancient India
* Rajput
* Rock-cut
* Temple
* Dravidian
* Māru-Gurjara
* Indian vernacular

Temples

* list

Communities

* Bengali Hindus
* Punjabi Hindus
* Kashmiri Hindus
* Hindu-Muslim tribes
* Tamil Hindus
* Marathi Hindus
* South Indian Hindus
* Nepali Hindus
* Assamese-Bengali Hindus
* Hussaini Brahmin
* Sindhi Hindus

Topics

* Hindu nationalism
* Hindutva
* District wise population

* v
* t
* e

The Bengali Hindus are the second-largest ethno-religious group just after Assamese Hindus in Assam. As per as estimation research, around 6–7.5 million Bengali Hindus live in Assam as of 2011, majority of whom live in Barak Valley and a significant population also resides in mainland Brahmaputra Valley. The Bengali Hindus are today mostly concentrated in the Barak Valley region,[4][5] and now are politically, economically and socially dominant.[6][1][2] Assam hosts the second-largest Bengali Hindu population in India after West Bengal.[7]

## History

[edit]

See also: Sylhet referendum

### Barak Valley

[edit]

Main article: Barak Valley

The Barak Valley region of Assam comprising the present districts of Cachar and Hailakandi (together formerly part of the Kachari kingdom) and Karimganj (formerly part of Sylhet), where the Bengalis, according to historian J.B. Bhattacharjee, had settled here for more than 2 centuries.[8] Bhattacharjee argues that the Dimasa kings spoke Bengali and the inscriptions and coins were written in Sanskrit in Bengali script.[8] Migrations to Cachar increased after the British annexation of the region.[8] Bengalis have been living in Barak Valley for at least 224 years.[6] In 1835 Pemberton reported that the population of the Cachar plains was around 50,000 dominated by the Dimasa people, followed by Muslim immigrants from Sylhet and their descendants; a third group was Bengali and Assamese Hindu immigrants and their descendants and Naga, Kuki and Manipuris forming the smallest groups.[9][10] According to David R. Syiemlieh, up to 1837 A.D. the plains of Cachar Valley were sparsely populated and were dominated by the Dimasa Cachari, a Tibeto Burmese tribe, under the rule of the Kachari Raja, who have established his kingdom's capital at Khaspur, Cachar plains. He had a good number of Bengali advisers (mostly Brahmins) around him and gave grants of land to some of them, but the population resembled that of the North Cachar Hills of today as evident from various historical chronicles and sources. The British Annexation of Cachar transformed the demographic patterns of the valley overnight. There was a sudden phenomenal growth in population, while the plains of Cachar had about 50,000 inhabitants in all in 1837 A.D. that is five years after its annexation. The population rose to more than five lakhs a few years later, which eventually indicates that there was a large-scale immigration.[11] For instance in the 1851 Census, the population of the Cachar Valley was recorded at 85,522, comprising diverse backgrounds including hill tribes. Muslims and Hindus, predominantly Bengalis, made up 30,708 and 30,573 individuals respectively, constituting 70% of the total population. The remaining population included 10,723 Manipuris, 6,320 Kukis, 5,645 Nagas, and 2,213 Cacharis.[12]

### Assam Valley

[edit]

After the annexation of Assam in 1826 A.D., the British encouraged the mass emigration of Bengali Hindus into Assam's mainland Brahmaputra Valley from the neighboring Bengal region in the first phase. This influx served to fill various roles within the colonial administration, including administrative workers, court officials, bankers, railway employees, businessmen, and bureaucrats. This was because, during that time, the Assamese population was largely uneducated, lacked experience, and had not been exposed to western english education, unlike the Bengali Hindus, who were regarded as educated, experienced and well-versed in western english education due to their earlier exposure to it, thus making them more favorable and desirable candidates for various roles within the colonial administration set up.[13][14] Bengali Hindus migrated during the Partition of Bengal in 1947 and before the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 as refugees, in the second and third phases respectively.[15]

## Culture

[edit]

The culture of Bengalis in Assam is mainly influenced by a hybrid mixture of Assamese-Bengali culture and traditions. Bengalis specially living in Assamese-dominated Brahmaputra Valley/Assam Valley speaks Bengali as their mother tongue, but also speaks Assamese as their 2nd language and have got assimilated into mainstream Assamese society as "Greater Assamese society".[16] The Bengali identity as a whole, most particularly in Assam Valley is linguistic, while Bengali as an ethnic is considered as Assamese.[17]

While in Barak Valley, the Bengali identity differs significantly from that in the Brahmaputra Valley of Assam. People in Barak Valley predominantly identify as Bengalis rather than as Assamese.[18] This distinction is rooted in historical, cultural, and linguistic differences between the two valleys. Bengalis in Barak Valley often emphasize their distinct cultural heritage, which includes Bengali language, literature, music, and customs that are more closely aligned with neighbouring Sylhet region of Bangladesh rather than Assam.[19] Many in Barak Valley express a desire for greater autonomy or even separation from Assam, advocating for recognition of their unique identity within India as separate state. This sentiment is reflected in formal discussions and political movements aimed at addressing their cultural and political aspirations, as well as the grievances of being deprived and neglected for years.[20]

## Demography

[edit]

### Population

[edit]

Assam has a large Bengali Hindu population as per as estimation research, but various sources have varied estimation of Bengali Hindu population in Assam, as the census of India, does not allow religious segregation of languages spoken, it is very difficult to arrive at official estimates of a religious-linguistic matrix for the Assam state.[21] It has been said that Bengali Hindus are the third largest community in Assam after Assamese Hindus and Bengali Muslims (locally known as Miyas) with a population of 6 million approx, constituting 19.3% of state population as of 2011 census estimation figure by Assam government.[1]

Number of Bengali Hindus residing in Assam (2010–2019 est. research by various agencies) Source/claimed by  | Population

|

Confusion, hope run high among Assam's Hindu Bengalis.[22] | 5,000,000
Claimed KMSS leader Akhil Gogoi.[23] | 10,000,000
Claimed AASU chief adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya.[23] | 7,000,000-7,200,000
BJP government estimation.[24] | 6,000,000
2016 Assam election assembly results.[25] | 6,000,000
Claimed by NDTV[26] | 5,620,000
Claimed by Morungexpress.[27] | 6,400,000
Claimed by Assam Bengali Hindu organization (ABHO).[28] | 6,500,000-7,200,000
Claimed by The All Assam Bengali Hindu Association (AABHA)[29] | 7,802,000
Claimed by Times of India[30] | 7,500,000
Claimed by Daily O News[31] | 7,000,000
Claimed by The Wire[32] | 5,900,000-7,500,000
Claimed by The News Web [26] | 7,500,000
Claimed by The Hindu [33] | 7,801,250

### Geographical concentration

[edit]

Barak Valley, a southern most Bengali majority region of Assam

They are highly concentrated in the Barak Valley region where they a form a slide majority and the population of Bengali Hindus in Barak Valley is 20 lakh, constituting 50% of the total population of the region.[34][35][36]

Map representing Assamese majority Brahmaputra valley region of Assam

In Assam's Brahmaputra valley region, there is no real data for Bengali Hindu population available through census, but it is just assumed that region Brahmaputra valley have around "40 Lakh Bengali Hindus" as per as New president of the All Assam Bengali Youth Students Federation (AABYSF), Mahananda Sarkar Dutta who have stated the above demographic statement.[37]

## Social issues

[edit]

### Immigration

[edit]

Main article: East Bengali refugees

(East Pakistan's Bengali Hindus of Sylhet Division coming to Barak's Cachar district as refugees, 1947)

Since after partition of Bengal in 1947 there were large scale Bengali migration into Assam. Between the period of first patches (1946–1951), around 274,455 Bengali Hindu refugees have arrived from what is now called Bangladesh (former East Pakistan) in various locations of Assam as permanent settlers and again in second patches between (1952–1958) of the same decade, around 212,545 Bengali Hindus from Bangladesh took shelter in various parts of the state permanently.[38][39] After the 1964 East Pakistan riots many Bengali Hindus have poured into Assam as refugees and the number of Hindu migrants in the state rose to 1,068,455 in 1968 (sharply after 4 years of the riot).[40] The fourth patches numbering around 347,555 have just arrived after Bangladesh liberation war of 1971 as refugees and most have decided to stay back in Assam afterwards.[41]

### Politics and discrimination

[edit]

See also: Bongal Kheda and Anti-Bengali sentiment in India

Bangali Hindus are being targeted by xenophobic Assamese nationalist organization and political party from time to time. In the context of linguistic politics in Assam, Bengalis are discriminatively tagged as "Bongal" (outsiders), which is derogatory and a racial slur.[42][43][44][45] Bengali Hindus living in Assam from decades before Bangladesh was born in 1971 are routinely called 'Bangladeshis' as because antipathy towards Bengalis is prime mover of Assam politics since the formation of All Assam Students Union. Bengali Hindus are being victimized due to D voter policy in the state as according to Sudip Sarma, the publicity secretary of the Assam unit of the Nikhil Bharat Bangali Udbastu Samanway Samiti, there are 6 lakh Bengali Hindu D voters in the state.[46] Thousands of Bengalis are being held in Detention Camps. As far as NRC is concerned in the state, 40 lakhs names have been kept out from the second draft of NRC, out of which 12 lakhs were Bengali Hindus.[47] The CAA bill which was passed at 2019 December have promised to give citizenship to Bengali refugees living in the state living in Assam prior to 1971.[48][49] In January 2019, the Assam's peasant organisation Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) claimed that there are around 2 million Bangladeshi Hindus in Assam who would become Indian citizens if the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is passed. BJP, however claimed that only eight lakh Hindu Bangladeshis will get citizenship.[50] The number of Hindu immigrants from Bangladesh in Barak Valley has varied estimates. According to the Assam government, 1.3-1.5 lakh such people residing in the Barak Valley are eligible for citizenship if the Citizenship Amendment Act of 2019 becomes a law.[51][52] During Bongal Kheda (chased out Bengali) movement lakhs of Bengali Hindus were forcefully displaced from Assam and they subsequently took refugee in West Bengal, Barak valley and Tripura. According to an estimate, roughly 500,000 Bengalis have left Assam, and thousands were killed in Goreswar, Khoirabari, Silapathar, and North Kamrup following attacks from radical Assamese nationalist mobs and the All Assam Students Union during the 1980s and 1960s.[53]

### 1960s Assam language riots

[edit]

See also: Assam Movement, Assamese Language Movement, Bengali Language Movement (Barak Valley), and Barak state movement

In Assam's, Assamese dominated Brahmaputra Valley region Bongal Kheda movement (which literally means drive out Bengalis) was happened in the late 1948–80s, where several thousands of Hindu Bengalis was massacred by jingoists Assamese nationalists mob in various parts of Assam and as a result of this jingoist movement, nearly 5 lakh Bengali Hindus were forced to flee from Assam to take shelter in neighbouring West Bengal particularly in Jalpaiguri division in seek for safety.[54][55][56] In the Bengali dominated Barak Valley region of Assam, violence broke out in 1960 and 1961 between Bengali Hindus and ethnic Assam police over a state bill which would have made Assamese mandatory in the secondary education curriculum. On 19 May 1961, eleven Bengali protesters were killed by Assam police fired on a demonstration at the Silchar railway station.[57][58][59] Subsequently, the Assam government allowed Bengali as the medium of education and held it as an official position in Barak Valley.[58]

### Statehood demand

[edit]

Main article: Barak state movement

Barak Valley district map

The native Bengali people of Barak Region demanded a separate state for themselves within the Bengali majority areas of Assam, particularly Bengali majority Barak valley, comprising the three districts Cachar, Hailakandi, Karimganj, to meet the criteria for creating a separate state for themselves by carving out from Assam's Assamese majority Brahmaputra valley post NRC.[60][61][62][63] Silchar is the proposed capital of Barak state.[64] Barak valley is the most neglected part of Assam in terms of its infrastructure development, tourism sector, educational institutions, hospitals, IT industries, G.D.P, H.D.I etc. which is still lagging behind in comparison to the Assam's mainland Brahmaputra valley which have access to all of those facilities mentioned above.[65][66][67][68][69][70] In fact, the Southern most region of Assam that is Barak Valley have an overwhelming Bengali majority population of about (80.8%) as per 2011 census report respectively.[71][72]

## Occupation

[edit]

Bengali Hindus control around half of the state's business. Most of the sweets store, jewellery businesses, books stores and cosmetic stores are owned by them. Many of the well known teachers, accountants, engineers, high level officials and government employees are from the community. A few of them are also engaged into low level works.[73]

## Notable personality

[edit]

* Priyadarshini Chatterjee, is an Indian model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Femina Miss India World in 2016.[74] She represented India at the Miss World 2016 pageant.[75][76] She is the first Indian Bengali women from Dhubri to represent India at Miss World.
* Devoleena Bhattacharjee, is an Indian actress, born and brought up in Upper Assam.
* Jaya Bhattacharya, is an Indian television actress born and brought up in Guwahati, Assam.
* Parimal Suklabaidya, is an Indian politician BJP (MLA) born in Barak valley region of Assam.
* Gautam Roy, is an Indian politician born in the Indian state of Assam's Barak valley region.
* Sushmita Dev, is an Indian politician from congress party born and brought up in Assam's Barak Valley region.
* Dipankar Bhattacharjee, is an Indian Badminton player, born and Brought up in Assam.
* Santosh Mohan Dev, was a congress political leader and key member of the party was born and brought up in Assam. His family was also belonged to freedom fighter lineage.
* Debojit Saha, is an Indian playback singer born and brought up in Assam's Barak valley.
* Jaya Seal, was a renowned actress and dancer, born and brought up in Assam.
* Seema Biswas, is an Indian film and theatre actress, born and brought up in Assam.
* Amalendu Guha, (30 January 1924 – 7 May 2015) was an historian, economist, and poet from Assam, India.
* Rumi Nath, Rumi Nath is an Indian politician and was a member of Assam Legislative Assembly.
* Ramkrishna Ghosh, a BJP MLA from Hojai.
* Kalika Prasad Bhattacharya, singer who was born and brought up in Assam's Barak valley.
* Radheshyam Biswas, former member of Lok Sabha), AIUDF, who was born and brought up in Assam's Barak valley.
* Karnendu Bhattacharjee, ex-MP of Rajya Sabha, Indian National Congress
* Rajdeep Roy, Member of Lok Sabha, Silchar
* Kripanath Mallah, Member of Lok Sabha, Karimganj
* Gautam Roy, Ex Minister, Assam
* Pritam Das, Cricketer
* B. B. Bhattacharya, former vice-chancellor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
* Sushmita Dev Leader, All India Trinamool Congress

## See also

[edit]

* Hinduism portal
* India portal
* Bangladesh portal

* Bengali Hindus
* Bongal Kheda
* D voter
* Bongal
* Bengali Hindu diaspora

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "EXCLUSIVE: BJP Govt plans to evict 70 lakh Muslims, 60 lakh Bengali Hindus through its Land Policy (2019) in Assam". SabrangIndia. 5 December 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
2. ^ a b "Bengali speaking voters may prove crucial in the second phase of Assam poll". April 2021.
3. ^ "Help Hindu Bengalis in Assam to save them from becoming refugee again". milaap.org.
4. ^ "According to Pemberton's report in 1835, the population of the Cachar plains was estimated at about 50,000, among which the Dimasa-Kacharis were the most dominant section; the second were Bengali Muslim immigrants and their descendants; the third were Bengali and Assamese Hindu immigrants and their descendants; and the last bulk of the population consists of Manipuris, Nagas and Kookis." (Shin 2020:67)
5. ^ "The population of Lower and Upper Cachar was estimated at around 60,000. In Upper Cachar Cacharis, Kookees, Aooloongs, and Nagas were recorded. The inhabitants of Lower Cachar was predominantly Cacharis and Bengali Muslims (descendants of immigrants). There were also Kookees, Manipuris, and Nagas there." (Cederlöf 2014:116f)
6. ^ a b "The Assam narrative~II". The Statesman. 13 January 2020.
7. ^ "Every 5th Bengali speaker lives outside Bengal". The Times of India. 28 June 2018.
8. ^ a b c Baruah (1999, p. 102)
9. ^ "According to Pemberton's report in 1835, the population of the Cachar plains was estimated at about 50,000, among which the Dimasa-Kacharis were the most dominant section; the second were Bengali Muslim immigrants and their descendants; the third were Bengali and Assamese Hindu immigrants and their descendants; and the last bulk of the population consists of Manipuris, Nagas and Kookis." (Shin 2020:67)
10. ^ "The population of Lower and Upper Cachar was estimated at around 60,000. In Upper Cachar Cacharis, Kookees, Aooloongs, and Nagas were recorded. The inhabitants of Lower Cachar was predominantly Cacharis and Bengali Muslims (descendants of immigrants). There were also Kookees, Manipuris, and Nagas there." (Cederlöf 2014:116f)
11. ^ "The rise and fall of glorious Cachari kingdom".
12. ^ Barbhuiya, A. R. (2020). Indigenous people of Barak Valley. Notion Press. https://books.google.co.in/books?id=5SLMDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT77&redir_esc=y
13. ^ IJISSH https://ijissh.org › Issue2 › IJ...PDF Immigration in Assam during Colonial rule: Its Impact on the Socio
14. ^ "The Economic Basis of Assam's Linguistic Politics and Anti-Immigrant Movements".
15. ^ Khalid, Saif. "'We're sons of the soil, don't call us Bangladeshis'". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
16. ^ ""Bengalis of Assam should learn both their mother tongue and Assamese" : Himanta Biswa Sarma". 30 May 2023.
17. ^ "'Bengali' in Assam is linguistic identity, not ethnic one: Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma - Sentinelassam". 31 May 2023.
18. ^ ""Whispers of Valor: The 19th May Satyagraha of Bengalis"". 19 May 2024.
19. ^ ""Whispers of Valor: The 19th May Satyagraha of Bengalis"". 19 May 2024.
20. ^ "Dejected, yet Northeast Bengalis confide in pluralism". 19 May 2023.
21. ^ "Assembly polls 2021: Assam politics' tryst with religion and language | Deccan Herald". 24 March 2021.
22. ^ "Confusion, hope run high among Assam's Hindu Bengalis". Deccan Herald. 17 December 2019.
23. ^ a b "Citizenship Amendment Act: BJP chasing ghosts in Assam; Census data shows number of Hindu immigrants may have been exaggerated". Firstpost. 18 December 2019.
24. ^ "EXCLUSIVE: BJP Govt plans to evict 70 lakh Muslims, 60 lakh Bengali Hindus through its Land Policy (2019) in Assam". 5 December 2019.
25. ^ "Assam Assembly Elections 2016: Assamese are minority, Muslims are largest electoral group in this poll battle!". 8 April 2016.
26. ^ a b "Bengali speaking voters may prove crucial in the second phase of Assam poll - the News Web". April 2021.
27. ^ "Cong poll win in Assam boosted by Bengali-Hindu support".
28. ^ "Hindu Bengali youth body flays 'government neglect'". The Sentinel. Guwahati. 2 January 2011. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011.
29. ^ "Hindu Bengalis want member in Clause 6 panel of Assam Accord". 26 August 2019.
30. ^ "Over 1 crore Bengali refugees living outside Bengal | Kolkata News - Times of India". The Times of India. 2 January 2019.
31. ^ "Citizenship Amendment Bill — What is it the Assamese fear the most".
32. ^ "Assam on the Boil Again, this Time over Hindu Migrants from Bangladesh".
33. ^ "Former officers' plea to respect diversity of Barak Valley". The Hindu. 27 August 2019.
34. ^ "Citizenship Amendment Act: BJP chasing ghosts in Assam; Census data shows number of Hindu immigrants may have been exaggerated". Firstpost. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
35. ^ "Assam Elections: Why Stakes Are High for BJP in Bengali-speaking Barak Valley". www.news18.com. 1 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
36. ^ "The role of language and religion in Assam battle". Hindustan Times. 24 March 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
37. ^ "'Bengalis in Assam uncertain over Assamese people tag' | Guwahati News - Times of India". The Times of India. 24 February 2020.
38. ^ India (1951). "Annual Arrival of Refugees in Assam in 1946–1951". Census of India. XII, Part I (I-A): 353 – via web.archive.org.
39. ^ http://iussp2005.princeton.edu › ...PDF The Brahmaputra valley of India can be compared only with the Indus ...[Link to precise page]
40. ^ "iussp2005". iussp2005.princeton.edu. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
41. ^ "Adelaide Research & Scholarship: Home". digital.library.adelaide.edu.au. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
42. ^ "NRC, Assamese Nationalism And Xenophobia". Retrieved 6 September 2023.
43. ^ "Assam protests due to politics of xenophobia". 17 December 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
44. ^ "Are the Bengalis Enemy of Northeast? - TIME8". Retrieved 6 September 2023.
45. ^ "In Assam's Brahmaputra Valley, the citizenship bill has opened old Assamese-Bengali fissures". 23 June 2018.
46. ^ "Pincer attack on D-voters". The Telegraph. Kolkata. 26 March 2012. Archived from the original on 3 February 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
47. ^ "Exclusion of Hindu Bengalis from Assam NRC changing political". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 22 September 2019 – via Business Standard.
48. ^ "BJP using CAA-NRC to reach out to Bengali-speaking Hindu voters in Assam, Bengal". Hindustan Times. 19 December 2019.
49. ^ Bhalla, Abhishek (14 December 2019). "Citizenship Amendment Act creates more confusion for Bengali Hindus in Assam". India Today.
50. ^ "20 lakh Bangladeshi Hindus to become Indians if Citizenship Bill is passed: Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti". The Economic Times. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
51. ^ Naqvi, Sadiq (11 December 2019). "Bengali Hindu refugees in Assam's Barak Valley hope for CAB's passage in RS". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
52. ^ "Citizenship Amendment Bill protests: Here's why Assam is burning". 12 December 2019.
53. ^ Bhaumik, Subir (2008). Samir Kumar Das (ed.). Blisters on their Feet (PDF). Sage. p. 303\. ISBN 978-81-7829-819-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
54. ^ Bhattacharjee, Manash Firaq. "We foreigners: What it means to be Bengali in India's Assam". www.aljazeera.com.
55. ^ "OPINION | Antipathy Towards Bengalis Prime Mover Of Assam Politics | Outlook India Magazine". Outlook. 4 February 2022.
56. ^ "Assam protests due to politics of xenophobia". www.asianage.com. 17 December 2019.
57. ^ Baruah 1999, p. 105.
58. ^ a b "Silchar rly station to be renamed soon". The Times of India. Silchar. 9 June 2009. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2010.
59. ^ Ganguly, M. (20 May 2009). "All for love of language". The Telegraph. Ranchi. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2010.
60. ^ "Assam NRC LIVE: Not Hindus or Muslims, But Bengalis Being Targeted, Says Mamata". News18. 30 July 2018.
61. ^ "Exclusion of Hindu Bengalis from Assam NRC changing political". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 22 September 2019 – via Business Standard.
62. ^ "What the NRC reveals about the challenges of being Bengali in Assam". Hindustan Times. 7 September 2018.
63. ^ Daniyal, Shoaib (31 July 2018). "'An expel Bengalis campaign': Opposing NRC in Assam, Mamata makes her strongest identity pitch yet". Scroll.in.
64. ^ "Silchar - Assam". www.east-himalaya.com.
65. ^ "Statehood demand grows louder in Assam's Barak Valley". The New Indian Express. 12 July 2018.
66. ^ Desk, Sentinel Digital (27 December 2016). "Barak organization demands creation of separate state - Sentinelassam". www.sentinelassam.com. `{{cite web}}`: `|last=` has generic name (help)
67. ^ "Give up separate Barak state demand: Sonowal to Dutta Roy". 26 July 2018.
68. ^ Saikia, Arunabh (29 December 2017). "A tale of two valleys: What's behind the demand for a separate Union Territory in southern Assam?". Scroll.in.
69. ^ "Why there is a demand for the separate state for Barak valley? - GKToday". www.gktoday.in.
70. ^ "Statehood sought for Assam's Barak Valley". The Hindu. 31 October 2018 – via www.thehindu.com.
71. ^ "Assam Elections 2021 | Can Barak Valley Pay BJP the Dividend of CAA Bid?". 30 March 2021.
72. ^ "2011 Census data". censusindia.gov.in.
73. ^ "Confusion, hope run high among Assam's Hindu Bengalis". 17 December 2019.
74. ^ "Miss World India 2016 Priyadarshini Chatterjee: 5 lesser-known facts". Indian Express. 18 December 2016.
75. ^ "Guwahati Girl Priyadarshini Chatterjee Wins Coveted Femina Miss India Title". Retrieved 14 May 2016.
76. ^ "Priyadarshani Chatterjee bags the coveted Femina Miss India World 2016 crown!". www.hindustantimes.com. HindustanTimes. 11 April 2016.

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Baruah, Sanjib (29 June 1999). India Against Itself: Assam and the Politics of Nationality. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-3491-6.
* Cederlöf, Gunnel (2014). Founding an Empire on India's Northeast Frontiers 1790–1840: Climate, Commerce, Polity. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-809057-1.
* Shin, Jae-Eun (2020). "Descending from demons, ascending to kshatriyas: Genealogical claims and political process in pre-modern Northeast India, The Chutiyas and the Dimasas". The Indian Economic and Social History Review. 57 (1): 49–75\. doi:10.1177/0019464619894134. S2CID 213213265.

* v
* t
* e

Hinduism in India

States|

* Andhra Pradesh
* Arunachal Pradesh
* Assam
* Bihar
* Chhattisgarh
* Goa
* Gujarat
* Haryana
* Himachal Pradesh
* Jharkhand
* Karnataka
* Kerala
* Madhya Pradesh
* Maharashtra
* Manipur
* Meghalaya
* Mizoram
* Nagaland
* Odisha
* Punjab
* Rajasthan
* Sikkim
* Tamil Nadu
* Tripura
* Uttaranchal
* Uttar Pradesh
* West Bengal

Union Territories|

* Andaman and Nicobar Islands
* Chandigarh
* Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
* Delhi
* Jammu and Kashmir
* Ladakh
* Lakshadweep
* Pondicherry

Communities|

* Assamese-Bengali Hindus
* Bengali Hindus
* Dalit Hindus
* Kashmiri Hindus
* Hindu-Muslim tribes
* Marathi Hindus
* Nepali Hindus
* Punjabi Hindus
* Sindhi Hindus
* South Indian Hindus
* Tamil Hindus

*[est.]: estimation
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template