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{{EngvarB|date=June 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
The '''Bengali Hindu diaspora''' is the worldwide population of the [[Bengali Hindus]] of [[Indian people|Indian]] and [[Bangladesh]]i origin.

== History ==
In the modern era, the migration of the Bengali Hindus began during the [[British Raj|British colonial era]]. The Bengali Hindus migrants to [[Assam]] were mostly government officials, doctors, lawyers and teachers by profession. They also settled in parts of present [[Bihar]] and [[Jharkhand]], which were at the time included in the [[Bengal Presidency|Presidency of Bengal]]. After the [[Partition of India]] and subsequent incidents of [[Persecution of Hindus|anti-Hindu violence]] in [[East Pakistan]] and [[Bangladesh]] (for example, during the [[1971 Bangladesh genocide]]), waves of millions of Bengali Hindu refugees migrated to Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, [[Tripura]], [[Orissa, India|Orissa]], [[Chhattisgarh]], [[Maharashtra]], [[Uttarakhand]] and the [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]]. Over the years, professionals migrated from [[Kolkata]] to cities like [[New Delhi]], [[Mumbai]], [[Bangalore]] and [[Pune]], as well as overseas.

== Indian diaspora ==

=== Assam ===
The [[Barak Valley]] comprising the present districts of [[Cachar]], [[Karimganj]] and [[Hailakandi]] is contiguous to [[Sylhet]] (Bengal plains), where the Bengali Hindus, according to historian J.B. Bhattacharjee, had settled well before the colonial period, influencing the culture of Dimasa Kacaharis.<ref name="Cachar">{{cite book |last1=Baruah |first1=Professor of Political Studies Sanjib |last2=Baruah |first2=Sanjib |title=India Against Itself: Assam and the Politics of Nationality |date=29 June 1999 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-8122-3491-6 |page=103 |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/India_Against_Itself/8k-irMMTnywC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=bengalis+in+cachar&pg=PA103&printsec=frontcover |language=en}}</ref> Bhattacharjee describes that the Dimasa kings spoke Bengali and the inscriptions and coins written were in Bengali script.<ref name="Cachar"/> Migrations to Cachar increased after the British annexation of the region.<ref name="Cachar"/> The Bengali Hindus settled in [[Brahmaputra Valley]] largely during the colonial period as professionals. After the Partition and especially after the [[1950 East Bengal genocide|genocide of 1950]], Bengali Hindus of Sylhet immigrated to the Barak Valley. Later on during the 1971 Bangladesh genocide, thousands of Bengali Hindus took refuge in Assam. The Bengali Hindu organizations estimate that there are approximately 6.5 million Bengali Hindus in the state.<ref>{{cite news |title=12 groups move President - Hindu Bengalis in Assam allege harassment |url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1101127/jsp/northeast/story_13225697.jsp |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=27 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304071823/https://www.telegraphindia.com/1101127/jsp/northeast/story_13225697.jsp|archive-date=4 March 2016|access-date=15 July 2012}}</ref>
However different sources have varied estimation of Bengali Hindu population in Assam.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ ''Number of Bengali Hindus residing in Assam (2010-2019)''
|-
! Source/claimed by
! Population
|-
| Claimed by Assam marriage board.<ref>{{cite news |title=Assam board suggests cash incentive to Bengali Hindus marrying Assamese Hindus |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/assam-board-suggests-cash-incentive-to-bengali-hindus-marrying-assamese-hindus/story-ghVIGWWqjquMWIwss7MFVI.html |work=Hindustan Times |date=18 February 2020 |language=en}}</ref>
| 3,000,000
|-
|Confusion, hope run high among Assam's Hindu Bengalis.<ref>{{cite news |title=Confusion, hope run high among Assam's Hindu Bengalis |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/national/east-and-northeast/confusion-hope-run-high-among-assams-hindu-bengalis-786418.html |work=Deccan Herald |date=17 December 2019 |language=en}}</ref>
| 5,000,000
|-
| Claimed KMSS leader Akhil Gogoi.<ref name="fp18Dec2019">{{cite news |title=Citizenship Amendment Act: BJP chasing ghosts in Assam; Census data shows number of Hindu immigrants may have been exaggerated |url=https://www.firstpost.com/india/citizenship-amendment-bill-bjp-chasing-ghosts-in-assam-as-census-data-shows-number-of-hindu-immigrants-couldve-been-exaggerated-5640511.html |work=Firstpost |date=18 December 2019}}</ref>
| 10,000,000
|-
| Claimed AASU chief adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya.<ref name="fp18Dec2019" />
| 7,000,000-7,200,000
|-
| BJP government estimation.<ref>https://sabrangindia.in/article/exclusive-bjp-govt-plans-evict-70-lakh-muslims-60-lakh-bengali-hindus-through-its-land</ref>
| 6,000,000
|-
| 2016 Assam election assembly results.<ref>https://www.india.com/news/india/assam-assembly-elections-2016-assamese-are-minority-muslims-are-largest-electoral-group-in-this-poll-battle-1093774/</ref>
| 6,000,000
|-
| Claimed by NDTV<ref>https://www.thenewsweb.in/india/bengali-speaking-voters-may-prove-crucial-in-the-second-phase-of-assam-poll/</ref>
| 5,620,000
|-
| Claimed by Assam Bengali Hindu organization (ABHO).<ref>{{cite news |title=12 groups move President - Hindu Bengalis in Assam allege harassment |url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1101127/jsp/northeast/story_13225697.jsp |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=27 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304071823/https://www.telegraphindia.com/1101127/jsp/northeast/story_13225697.jsp|archive-date=4 March 2016|access-date=15 July 2012}}</ref><ref name="sentinel3jan">{{cite news |title=Hindu Bengali youth body flays 'government neglect' |url=http://www.sentinelassam.com/ghy_city/story.php?sec=1&subsec=0&id=59144&dtP=2011-04-08&ppr=1 |work=The Sentinel |location=Guwahati |date=2 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928210951/http://www.sentinelassam.com/ghy_city/story.php?sec=1&subsec=0&id=59144&dtP=2011-04-08&ppr=1 |archive-date=28 September 2011}}</ref>
| 6,500,000-7,200,000
|-
| Claimed by The All Assam Bengali Hindu Association (AABHA)<ref>https://nenow.in/north-east-news/assam/hindu-bengalis-want-member-in-clause-6-panel-of-assam-accord.html</ref>
| 7,802,000
|-
| Claimed by Times of India<ref>https://m.timesofindia.com/city/kolkata/over-1cr-bengali-refugees-living-outside-bengal/amp_articleshow/67348291.cms</ref>
| 7,500,000
|-
| Claimed by Daily O News<ref>https://www.dailyo.in/politics/citizenship-amendment-bill-assam-nrc-illegal-immigration-bangladeshi-infiltration-bjp-hindu-muslim-divide/story/1/24330.html</ref>
| 7,000,000
|-
| Claimed by The Wire<ref>https://thewire.in/politics/assam-on-the-boil-again-this-time-over-hindu-migrants-from-bangladesh</ref>
| 5,900,000-7,500,000
|-
| Claimed by The News Web <ref>https://www.thenewsweb.in/india/bengali-speaking-voters-may-prove-crucial-in-the-second-phase-of-assam-poll/</ref>
| 7,500,000
|}

=== Tripura ===
The non-tribal population of Tripura, the mostly Bengali-speaking Hindus and Muslims, constitute more than two-thirds of the state's population. The resident and the migrant Bengali population benefitted from the culture and language of the [[Manikya dynasty|royal house of Tripura]] thanks to embracement of Hinduism and adoption of Bengali as the state language by the Maharajahs of Tripura much before [[Indian Independence Act 1947|Indian independence]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dikshit |first1=K. R. |last2=Dikshit |first2=Jutta K. |title=North-East India: Land, People and Economy |date=21 October 2013 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-94-007-7055-3 |page=352 |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/North_East_India_Land_People_and_Economy/iorHBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Manikya+kings+adopted+Bengali+culture&pg=PA352&printsec=frontcover |language=en}}</ref> After the Partition of India and Tripura's accession to the [[Dominion of India]], thousands of Bengali Hindus from eastern Bengal took refuge in Tripura. The influx of the Bengali Hindus increased during the [[Bangladesh Liberation War]], when of Bengali Hindus were massacred in Bangladesh by the [[Pakistan Army|Pakistani occupation army]]. At present there are around 2.2 million Bengali Hindus in Tripura, making them the largest ethnic group in the state, constituting over 60% of the total population.<ref>{{cite news |title=BJP eyes 2.2 m Bengali Hindus in Tripura quest |url=https://www.dailypioneer.com/2017/sunday-edition/bjp-eyes-22-m-bengali-hindus-in-tripura-quest.html |work=The Pioneer |date=14 May 2017}}</ref>

==Worldwide diaspora==
===Europe===
The Bengali Hindus started migrating into the [[United Kingdom]] from the colonial times. However, the majority of the immigrants settled in the UK in the latter half of the 20th century mostly with white collar jobs. The exact population of the Bengali Hindus are not maintained in the census records. Project Joshua estimates the Bengali Hindu population of Bangladeshi origin to be around 33,900.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.joshuaproject.net/people-profile.php?peo3=10790&rog3=UK|title=Bengali, Bangla-Bhasa of United Kingdom|work=Joshua Project|publisher=U.S. Center for World Mission|access-date=9 June 2013}}</ref> It is estimated that in there are more than 30,000 Bengali Hindus in the [[Greater London]] area.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.londonkalibari.org.uk/about_us.php |title=What Are London Kalibari's Aims for the Future? |publisher=London Kalibari |access-date=5 December 2010}}</ref>

In [[Italy]], the Bengali Hindus celebrate [[Durga Puja]] in [[Bologna]], [[Brescia]], [[Rome]] and [[Milan]]. There are around 150 Bengali Hindu families in [[Paris]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Durga Puja festivities kicked off in Paris |last=Nayar |first=Ranvir |url=http://www.rediff.com/us/2001/oct/23fra.htm |newspaper=Rediff.com |date=23 October 2001 |access-date=15 July 2012}}</ref> The Bengali Hindus began to migrate to Germany in the 1950s and the 1960s.<ref name="goel">{{cite web|url=http://www.urmila.de/forschung/bergen/Vortrag/GoelVortragAHKR101007.pdf|title=Indian Religions in Germany|last=Goel|first=Urmila|date=October 2007|access-date=10 September 2014}}</ref>

Notable Bengali Hindus in Europe include British Communist leader [[Rajani Palme Dutt]], German politician [[Anita Bose Pfaff]], German football manager [[Robin Dutt]], and the richest hotelier of Sweden [[Bicky Chakraborty]].

===North America===
According to the Canadian Encyclopedia the Bengali Hindus began to arrive in [[Canada]] as professionals in the 1960s.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Goa |first1=David J. |last2=Coward |first2=Harold G. |author-link2=Harold Coward |encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia |title=Hinduism |publisher=Historica Foundation |url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/hinduism |access-date=15 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120727062424/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/hinduism |archive-date=27 July 2012}}</ref> However, other scholars have put the date in the 1970s.<ref name="cowardetal">{{cite book |editor-last1=Coward |editor-first1=Harold G. |editor-link1=Harold Coward |editor-last2=Hinnells |editor-first2=John R. |editor-last3=Williams |editor-first3=Raymond Brady |title=The South Asian Religious Diaspora in Britain, Canada, and the United States|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mXrdXMaaYCkC|access-date=11 September 2014|series=SUNY series in religion|date=1 February 2012|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=9780791493021|page=153}}</ref> In 1991, there were an estimated 2,000 Bengali Hindus living in Canada, mainly from India.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Buchignani |first1=Norman |encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia |title=South Asians |publisher=Historica Foundation |url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/south-asians |access-date=15 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120708203640/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/south-asians |archive-date=8 July 2012}}</ref> However, after the IT boom in the late 1990s, more and more professionals began to settle in Canada. According to the 2006 census, there are 12,130 Bengali Hindus in Canada.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/tbt/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GID=837928&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=92333&PRID=0&PTYPE=88971,97154&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2006&THEME=80&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF= |title=Ethnic Origin (247), Single and Multiple Ethnic Origin Responses (3) and Sex (3) for the Population of Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2006 Census – 20% Sample Data |publisher=Statistics Canada |access-date=17 October 2010}}</ref> The Bengali Hindus are mostly concentrated in the cities of [[Toronto]], [[Ottawa]], [[Montreal]], [[Edmonton]], [[Calgary]], [[Vancouver]] and [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]].

The earliest Bengali Hindus in the [[United States]] were the revolutionaries fighting for [[Indian independence movement|Indian independence]]. They arrived in the first few decades of the twentieth century. Examples include Noni Gopal Bose,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?201416 |title=Rich & Famous in the US | Padma Rao Sundarji |publisher=Outlookindia.com |date=22 May 1996 |access-date=21 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130817090746/http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?201416 |archive-date=17 August 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | first = Brad | last = Lemley | title = Discover Dialogue: Amar G. Bose | date = 1 October 2004 | url = http://discovermagazine.com/2004/oct/discover-dialogue | work = [[Discover (magazine)|Discover Magazine]] | access-date = 1 February 2012}}</ref> the father of [[Bose Corporation|Bose Corp]]'s [[Amar Bose]]. In 1913, the Bengali Hindu [[A.K. Mozumdar|Akhoy Kumar Mozumdar]] became the second Indian-born person to get U.S. citizenship. Later the citizenship was stripped from him for not being White/Caucasian.<ref>[[Indian American#Timeline]]</ref> In the 1960s, professionals began to settle in the United States. The present Bengali Hindu population is around 47,600.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.joshuaproject.net/people-profile.php?rog3=US&rop3=101254|title=Bengali of United States|work=[[Joshua Project]]|publisher=[[U.S. Center for World Mission]]|access-date=9 June 2013}}</ref> According to the 2006 census, there were around 33,400 Bengali Hindus of Indian origin in the United States.<ref name="mpi">{{cite web|url=http://www.migrationinformation.org/usfocus/display.cfm?ID=687|title=Indian Immigrants in the United States|last=Terrazas|first=Aaron|date=July 2008|publisher=Migration Policy Institute|access-date=9 June 2013}}</ref>

===Asia===
The Bengali Hindu diaspora in [[Asia]] is distributed in two major regions, [[South East Asia]] and the [[Middle East]]. India had developed [[Greater India#Indianised kingdoms|religious and economic ties with South East Asia since the ancient times]]. This cultural cross exchange took place through the port of [[Tamralipta]] in [[Bengal]]. In the modern age, the emigration of Bengali Hindus to South East Asia has taken place since the colonial times. Famous Bengali Hindus from [[Myanmar]] include [[H. N. Goshal]] and [[Dr. Amar Nag (Yebaw Tun Maung)|Amar Nath]], both of whom were foremost and important leaders of the [[Communist Party of Burma]].<ref>[[H. N. Goshal]]</ref><ref>[[Dr. Nath (Yebaw Tun Maung)]]</ref>

Bengali Hindus settled in present-day Myanmar, [[Singapore]] and [[Malaysia]] since the beginning of the 20th century. A small community of Bengali Hindus numbering around 1,600 live in [[Thailand]]. The annual Durga Puja festival is celebrated in [[Bangkok]].

== See also ==
* [[States of India by Bengali speakers]]
* [[East Bengali refugees]]
* [[Hindu diaspora]]
* [[Non-resident Indian and person of Indian origin]]
* [[Bangladeshi diaspora]]
* [[Bengali Hindus in Myanmar]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Overseas Asians}}
{{NRI-PIO}}
{{Bengali Hindu people}}

[[Category:Bengali Hindus]]

Bengali Hindu diaspora - Revision history

Filmeekeeda: enhance citations to improve readability and updated info

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2409:4065:E07:5D5F:4047:4B19:685D:70F4 at 14:55, 1 June 2021