Bengal

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search This article is about the region on the Indian subcontinent. For the animal named after this region, see Bengal tiger.

Bengal

Map of the Bengal region: West Bengal, Tripura and Bangladesh Largest Cities[1] Dhaka 23.42N 90.22E Kolkata 23.34N 88.22E Main language Area Population (2001) Density Bengali (Bangla) 232,752 km 245,598,679[2][3] 951.3/km[2][3]

Infant mortality rate 55.91 per 1000 live births[4][5] Websites westbengal.gov.in and bangladesh.gov.bd

Bengal (Bengali: Bangla (helpinfo), Bengali: Bngo) is a historical and geographical region in the east region of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the country of Bangladesh and the state of West Bengal in India,

although some regions of the previous kingdoms of Bengal (during local monarchical regimes and British rule) are now part of the neighbouring Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, Tripura and Odisha. The majority of Bengal is inhabited by Bengali people ( Bangali) who speak the Bengali language ( Bangla). The region of Bengal is one of the most densely populated regions on Earth, with a population density exceeding 900/km. Most of the Bengal region lies in the low-lying Ganges Brahmaputra River Delta or Ganges Delta, the world's largest delta. In the southern part of the delta lies the Sundarbansthe world's largest mangrove forest and home of the Bengal tiger. In the coastal southeast lies Cox's Bazar, the world's longest beach with a length of 120 km (75 mi). Though the population of the region is mostly rural and agrarian, two megacities, Kolkata (previously Calcutta) and Dhaka (previously Dacca); are located in Bengal. The Bengal region is renowned for its rich literary and cultural heritage; as well as its immense political and intellectual contribution to South Asian history, through the Bengal Renaissance and revolutionary activities; and its central role in the Indian independence movement; the creation of Pakistan; Bengali language movement and the liberation of Bangladesh.