Barua (Bangladesh)

2022-05-24T19:19:01Z

2600:1700:5F90:9190:5FF:5B89:5553:28A:

{{For|the Assamese surname see|Baruah}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2021}}{{Use Indian English|date=March 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group = Barua
| image =
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| total = 1.2 million{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}
| total_year =
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| genealogy =
| regions = {{flagicon|Bangladesh}} [[Bangladesh]]<br /> {{flagicon|Myanmar}} [[Myanmar]]<br /> {{flagicon|India}} [[India]]
| languages = Chatgaiya / Barua language.
| religions = [[Theravada|Theravada Buddhism]]
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
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}}
[[File:Buddhist Temple at Maheshkhali Island.jpg|thumb|Buddhist temple on [[Maheshkhali Island]] in [[Chittagong Division]], [[Bangladesh]]]]
The '''Barua''' ({{lang-bn|বড়ুয়া}}, ''Boṛua''; [[Arakanese language|Arakanese]]: မရမာကြီး), are a [[Chittagonian language|Chittagonian]]-speaking ethnic group native to [[Chittagong Division]] in [[Bangladesh]], [[Rakhine State]] in [[Myanmar]], where they are known as the '''Maramagyi''' or '''Maramagri''', and parts of [[West Bengal]] and [[Tripura]] in northeast [[India]].<ref>The thousand-petalled lotus: an English Buddhist in India, Sangharakshita (Bhikshu), Heinemann, 1976, p. 265</ref><ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OzEOKNPsv2EC |title = Peoples of the Buddhist World: A Christian Prayer Diary|isbn = 9780878083619|last1 = Hattaway|first1 = Paul|year = 2004}}</ref> According to [[Rakhine people|Arakanese]] chronology, the Barua Buddhists have lived there for five thousand years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/bangladesh-txt.htm|title = Buddhist Studies: Theravada Buddhism, Bangladesh}}</ref> Another derivation of 'Barua' is 'Baru' and 'Arya' meaning great arya. They are commonly identified by their [[last name]], "Barua". Barua is derived from "Baru" meaning "great" and "ua", meaning "noble rulers". In [[Myanmar]], the Barua is classified as one of the seven groups that make up the [[Rakhine people|Rakhine nation]].

[[Chittagong]] was formerly known as "Chaityagrama" or "town with Buddhist shrines".<ref>The Buddhists of Chittagong, Appendix to Chapter 3, Bengal district gazetteers, 1908, p. 65</ref> The region attracted Chinese Buddhist visitors in the 7th century. In 1929, in Jhewari village a hoard of 61 Buddhist images from 9th and 10th century was found.<ref>[https://www.jstor.org/stable/44147482 Sarita Khettry, SAKYABHIKSHU OF BRONZE IMAGE Inscriptions of Bengal, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 71 (2010-2011), pp. 148-153]</ref> It was a centre of [[Buddhism]] in the 10th century.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mahayana Buddhism|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Mahayana_Buddhism/|access-date=2021-01-14|website=[[World History Encyclopedia]]}}</ref> [[Taranatha]] mentions a monastery named Pinda-Vihara at Chittagong where the custom of wearing pointed caps originated.<ref>Taranatha’s History Of Buddhism In India, Motilal banarasidas, 1970, p. 254-255</ref> The scholar Vanaratna (1384–1468 CE) who is considered the last Indian Buddhist Pandit in Tibet,<ref>Rahul Sankrityanan, Bauddha Samskriti, 1952, p. 418</ref> was born in the Chittagong district.<ref>[https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110741124-018 The ‘Vanaratna Codex’: A Rare Document of Buddhist Text Transmission (London, Royal Asiatic Society, Hodgson MS 35), Martin Delhey, Education Materialised, 2021 ]</ref> He studied in Sri Lanka, parts of the old heartland of Buddhism in present-day Bihar including Bodh Gaya, Tibet and then he settled down in the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. He wrote in Sanskrit and Apabhramsha. Chittagong region is one of the two regions of the Indian subcontinent where Indian Buddhism has survived without interruption.

Barua's are also termed as ''Rajbansi'' "of royal descent". They are not known as Maghs because their mother tongue is Bengali .[[Dipa Ma]] was the pride of these ethnic Buddhists because she was the first Bengali Buddhist woman of India who influenced the [[Vipassana movement|Vipassanā movement]] in America, which was founded by [[S. N. Goenka|S.N.Goenka.]]The [Barua] ethnicity is originally from Magadh.The Baruas are Bengali Father by Arakanese Mother not Arakanese Father by Bengali Mother. The Illiterate groups of Barua Community and Some other members of Barua community for the sake of facility gave wrong information to the British Comissoner, Herbert Risely. They said they are arakanese father by bengali mother.The Baruas of west Bengal can not show any relative of them from mog community from their paternal side. It is a matter of shame that some well known buddhist scholers such as Dr. Benimadhab Barua gave wrong information about Barua community.He said the Baruas are Bajji. There is no evidence of it.Origin of Barua Buddhist ethnic group is the hindus and buddhists of Magadh, according to Dr. Bikiran Prasad Barua. The Hindus and Muslims of Banglafesh support the same opinion.

They insist that they came from the Āryāvarta or the country of the Āryans which is practically identical to the country later known as Majjhimadesa or [[Madhyadesha|Madhyadesa]] in the Pali texts.<ref>[http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/bangladesh-txt.htm Buddhism in Bangladesh]</ref>

A Magh king, Jaychand, ruled the Chittagong region in the 16th century.<ref>Magh raiders in Bengal, Jamini Mohan Ghosh
Bookland, 1960p. 55</ref>

==Theravada Buddhism==
[[File:Buddhist Monastery in Moheshkhali .jpg|thumb|left|Buddhist Monastery in Moheshkhali]]
[[File:Dipa Ma IMS.png|thumb|right|[[Dipa Ma]], a prominent Buddhist master in Asia of Barua descent.]]
The Baruas used to follow [[Mahayana|Mahayana Buddhism]] and followed some of the Hindu customs until the mid 19th century when Saṅgharaj Sāramedha Mahāthera (1801–82) of [[Arakan]], returning from [[Bodh Gaya]], was invited to [[Chittagong]] in 1856.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=3TPgCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA184&lpg=PA184&dq=S%C4%81ramedha+Mah%C4%81thera&source=bl&ots=y1KHSo5_3e&sig=ACfU3U0a27Kz8muG6BWRhFXOUMIJupooEQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjp4MPH9bXlAhWLqZ4KHReTCtoQ6AEwAHoECAcQAQ#v=onepage&q=S%C4%81ramedha%20Mah%C4%81thera&f=false South Asian Buddhism: A Survey, Stephen C. Berkwitz, Routledge, 2012, p. 184]</ref>

In the mid 19th century, the Baruas came into contact with other Theravada Buddhists from [[Myanmar|Burma]] and [[Sri Lanka|Ceylon]], and these Baruas were the first groups like the [[Chakma people|Chakmas]] who converted into Buddhists during [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha's]] time.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=BUkpAQAAIAAJ&q=chittagong+theravada+mahayana&dq=chittagong+theravada+mahayana&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi96caq9LXlAhXS6Z4KHYGHB8o4ChDoATAIegQICBAC Young East, 1979, Volumes 5-7, pp. 25-26]</ref>

The first Pāli school in modern times was started in [[Pahartali Thana|Pahartali, Chittagong]] by Ācarya Punnācāra with the financial backing from a [[zamindar]], Haragobinda Mutsuddi, in 1885.<ref>[https://sajalmegh.wordpress.com/2015/02/27/buddhist-education-in-bangladesh-challenges-and-possibilities/ Buddhist Education in Bangladesh: Challenges and Possibilities, Sajal Barua, Feb. 27, 2015]</ref> Bauddha Dharmankur Sabha Buddhist religious organization founded by Venerable [[Kripasaran]] Mahasthavir in [[Kolkata|Calcutta]] on 5 October 1892.<ref>[http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Mahasthavir,_Kripasharan Mahasthavir, Kripasharan, 5 May 2014]</ref> Kripasharan Mahasthavir was its first president, and Surendralal Mutsuddi was its secretary. The journal of the Dharmankur Sabha, Jagajjyoti, edited by Gunalangkar Sthavir and Shraman Punnananda Swami, was first published in 1908. It was subsequently edited by [[Benimadhab Barua|Dr. Benimadhab Barua]].

Noted scholar Dr. Benimadhab Barua (1888-1948) was born in 1888 in the village of Mahamuni under Raozan Thana, Chittagong. He was the son of Kaviraj Rajchandra Talukder. Benimadhab assumed the title of ‘Barua. In 1913, he obtained an MA degree in [[Pali]] from [[University of Calcutta]]. He also studied law at [[City College, Kolkata|Calcutta City College]] and Calcutta Law College.

He became one of the pioneers of the revitalization of Buddhism in the Barua Community. Benimadhab joined the Mahāmuni Anglo-Pāli Institution as headmaster in 1912. From 1913 to 1914 he worked as a lecturer in the Pāli department of the University of Calcutta. He went to [[England]] on a government scholarship in 1914. He earned an MA in Greek and Modern European Philosophy from the [[University of London]]. In 1917 he was awarded a D.Litt. by the University of London. He was the first Asian to do so.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-12-31|title=Remembering Dr. B. M. Barua - A Distinguished Scholar of Indology - 1st Indian to Get a D.Lit From University of London|url=https://thedarjeelingchronicle.com/remembering-dr-b-m-barua/|access-date=2021-01-15|website=The Darjeeling Chronicle|language=en-GB}}</ref> After returning to India in 1918, Benimadhab rejoined Calcutta University and was promoted to professorship. He improvised the syllabus of the MA course in Pali, in addition his work in the departments of Ancient Indian History and Culture, (1919–48) and [[Sanskrit]] (1927–48), in the same university.[1] <ref>Dr. B.M. Barua Birth Centenary Commemoration Volume, 1989, Bauddha Dharmankur Sabha, 1989</ref>

[[Anagarika Dharmapala]] visited Chittagong in 1917, where he influenced a 9-year-old boy, who later became the well known Pali scholar Prof. Dwijendra Lal Barua.<ref>Sugat Barua, The Maha Bodhi,1891-1991, Volumes 98-99; Maha-Bodhi Society, p. 307</ref>[[File:New Traditional costume of Maramargyi.jpg|thumb|New Traditional outfit of Maramargyi.]]

Today, the Baruas of Bangladesh are considered a [[model minority]], with a majority of the group being highly educated. Baruas have advanced to high ranks in government, academic institutions, science, and technology. Many Baruas have emigrated to developed countries as part of the overall [[Bangladeshi diaspora]], commonly to countries including the [[Bangladeshi American|United States]], [[British Bangladeshi|United Kingdom]], [[Bangladeshi Canadian|Canada]], and [[Bangladeshi Australian|Australia]].

==Notable Barua==

{{more footnotes needed|date=October 2012}}
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
*[[Benimadhab Barua]]
*[[Dipa Ma]]
*[[Kripasaran]]
*[[Sukumar Barua]]
*[[Partha Barua]]
*[[Bipradash Barua]]
*[[Subrata Barua]]
*[[Sukomal Barua]]
*[[Dibyendu Barua]]
*[[Bikiran Prasad Barua]]
*[[Shakuntala Barua]]
*[[Dilip Barua]]
{{Div col end}}

==See also==
* [[Anagarika Munindra]]
* [[Barua Buddhist Institutes in India and Bangladesh]]
* [[Bengali Buddhists]]
* [[Dalit Buddhist movement#Re-emergence of Buddhism in India|Dalit Buddhist movement § Re-emergence of Buddhism in India]]
* [[Dipa Ma]]
* [[Shalban Vihara]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.booksie.com/other/article/kabyasikhari/a-brief-introduction-to-barua-community-of-bangladesh Article: A Brief History of Barua Community in Bangladesh]

{{Tribes of Bangladesh}}
{{Ethnic groups in Myanmar}}

[[Category:Buddhism in Bangladesh]]
[[Category:Bangladeshi Buddhists| ]]
[[Category:Buddhist communities of Bangladesh]]
[[Category:Social groups of Bangladesh]]

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Barua (Bangladesh)