There are various names of Bengal in use today, derived from ancient kingdoms and settlements. The modern English name Bengal is an exonym derived from the Bengal Sultanate period. and is used by both Bangladesh and West Bengal in international contexts. In the Bengali language, the two Bengals use two different terms to refer to the nominally unified nation: Bānglā (wiktionary: বাংলা) and Baṅga (wiktionary: বঙ্গ).
Geographical terms:
Bengal is a region in Asia which is located in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Geographically, it is made up by the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta system, the largest such formation in the world; along with mountains in its north (bordering the Himalayan states) and east (bordering Northeast India and Burma).
Bangla (Bengali: বাংলা) may be a transliteration of either Bengal (a geographical and ethno-linguistic region in South Asia) or Bengali (an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Bengal). It can also refer to the Bengali language, prefix indicating country Bangladesh and can have a variety of other shades of meaning.
Banga (Bengali: বঙ্গ) a transliteration of Bengali name of Bengal as a geographical and ethno-linguistic region in South Asia.
Linguistic terms:
Bangladesh (Bengali: বাংলাদেশ; lit: Bengali Country) - During Bengali renaissance the region were frequently referred to as country. It was during this time the "Bangladesh" was popular term in Bengali patriotic songs and poems and was mentioned in several of them, such as the song "Namo Namo Namo Bangladesh Momo (1932)" by Kazi Nazrul Islam, the national poet of Bangladesh. In his patriotic song, known as Aaji Bangladesher Hridoy (1905), the poet Rabindranath Tagore has used the word "Bangladesh" to refer to his motherland i.e. Bengal.
Bangadesh (Bengali: বঙ্গদেশ; lit: Bengali Country)- is often used as an alternative of banga referring to the Bengal.
Bangabhumi/ Banglabhumi (Bengali: বঙ্গভূমি/ বাংলাভূমি ; lit: Bengali Land)- is often used as an alternative of banga referring to the Bengal.
Bangarajya/ Banglarajya (Bengali: বঙ্গরাজ্য/ বাংলারাজ্য; lit: Bengali Realm)- is often used as an alternative of banga referring to the Bengal.
Bangarashtra/ Banglarashtra (Bengali: বঙ্গরাষ্ট্র/ বাংলারাষ্ট্র; lit: Bengali State)- is often used as an alternative of banga referring to the Bengal.
Political terms:
Eastern Bengal - The Partition of Bengal in 1947, part of the Partition of India, divided the British Indian province of Bengal and predominantly Muslim East Bengal (now Bangladesh) became a province of Pakistan. In 1955, East Bengal became the new province of East Pakistan and lasted until 1971 when East Pakistan declared independence during the Liberation War of Bangladesh and the new nation of Bangladesh was formed.
Western Bengal - The Partition of Bengal in 1947, part of the Partition of India, divided the British Indian province of Bengal and predominantly Hindu West Bengal became a province of India. In 2011, the Government of West Bengal proposed a change in the official name of the state to Poschimbongo (Bengali: পশ্চিমবঙ্গ Pôshchimbônggô). This is the native name of the state, literally meaning western Bengal in the native Bengali language.
Bangabhumi or Bir Bongo- is a separatist movement to create a Hindu country using southwestern Bangladesh, envisioned by Banga Sena.
Greater Bangladesh- is a political theory circulated by a number of politicians, intellectuals and writers that the People's Republic of Bangladesh has aspirations of uniting Bengali speaking regions into a greater historical Bengal, to include the current under control Indian states of West Bengal, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Assam, Andaman Islands and the Rakhine State (formerly Arakan/Rohang) in Myanmar (Burma) as part of its own territory with democratic governance.
United Bengal- proposal was the bid made by Bengali political leaders Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and Sarat Chandra Bose to found a united and independent nation-state of Bengal. The proposal was floated as an alternative to the partition of Bengal on communal lines.
East Bengal (Bengali: পূর্ববঙ্গ Purbô Bangla) was the name used during two periods in the 20th century for a territory that roughly corresponded to the modern state of Bangladesh. Both instances involved a violent partition of Bengal which made one half East Bengal or Bangladesh.
Historically, it referred to the fertile Bhati region of the Bengal delta, which corresponds to the modern-day Dhaka Division.
North Bengal (Bengali: উত্তরবঙ্গ) is a term used for the north-western part of Bangladesh and northern part of West Bengal. The Bangladesh part denotes the Rajshahi Division and Rangpur Division. Generally it is the area lying west of Jamuna River and north of Padma River, and includes the Barind Tract. The West Bengal part denotes Jalpaiguri Division (Alipurduar, Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur and Malda) together. The Bihar parts include Kishanganj district. It also includes parts of Darjeeling Hills. Traditionally, the Hooghly River divides West Bengal into South and North Bengal, divided again into Terai and Dooars regions.
South Bengal (Bengali: দক্ষিণবঙ্গ) is a term used for the southern parts of Bangladesh and Indian state of West Bengal. The Bangladesh part denotes the Khulna Division and Barisal Division. Bay of Bengal is located at the end of southern part of Bangladesh. The West Bengal part denotes 12 districts in southern part of West Bengal. Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, Burdwan, East Midnapur, West Midnapur, Purulia, Bankura, Birbhum, Nadia, South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, districts together.
West Bengal (Bengali: পশ্চিমবঙ্গ)- area compromises roughly one-thirds of the ethno-linguistic region of Bengal. When India gained independence in 1947, Bengal was partitioned along religious lines. The western part went to Dominion of India (and was named West Bengal). However, in 2016, West Bengal Legislative Assembly passed a resolution to change the name of West Bengal to "Bengal" in English and "Bangla" in Bengali and "Bangal" in Hindi. Despite the Trinamool Congress overnment’s strong efforts to forge a consensus on the name change resolution, the Congress, the Left Front and the Bharatiya Janata Party opposed the resolution and it awaits the consent of the Indian Parliament for approval.
Hilly Bengal (Bengali: পার্বত্যবঙ্গ) is a term used for the southeastern parts of Bangladesh. The Bangladesh part denotes the Rangamati, Khagrachari, Bandarban. The Myanmar part denotes 14 districts in Northren part of Rakhine (Arakan/Rohang). Maungdaw, Buthidaung, Kyaukpyu, Ponnagyan, Rathedaung, Sittwe, Pauktaw, Mrauk-U, Minbya, Myabon, Ann, Kyaukpyu, Rambree, Munaung, districts together.
Bonga- an Austric word for Sun god,
Bang- a Bronze Age proto-Dravidian tribe,
Vanga- was a seafaring state located in the eastern part of the Indian Subcontinent comprising today's politically divided Bengal region (West Bengal, India and Bangladesh).
Vangaladesa or Vangadesam - the term Vangaladesa is found in South Indian records in the 11th century.
Gauda or Gāuro Vanga - (Bengali: গৌড় রাজ্য Gāur Rājya ), was a Kingdom located in Bengal in ancient and medieval times. The Pala emperors were referred to as Vangapati (Lord of Vanga) and Gaudesvara (Lord of Gauda). Sena kings also called themselves Gaudesvara. From then Gauda and Vanga seem to be interchangeable names for whole of Bengal.
Bangala or Shah-i-Bangala - was a sovereign state that encompassed present-day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal and the Myanmarese state of Rakhine between the 14th and 16th centuries. It was a regional power and a melting pot of diverse Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists, located at the crossroads of modern South Asia and Southeast Asia. During the Sultanate of Bengal in the 14th century Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah proclaimed himself as the first Shah of Bangala in 1342. The word Bangla became the most common name for the region during the Islamic period.
Subah -i- Bangala or Mughal Bengal - was a state of the Mughal Empire encompassing modern Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was established following the dissolution of the Bengal Sultanate. The Mughals played an important role in developing modern Bengali culture and society. By the 18th century, Mughal Bengal emerged as a quasi-independent state.
Bengala - the Portuguese referred to the Bengal as Bengala in the 16th century.
Bengalen or Dutch Bengal- was a directorate of the Dutch East India Company in Bengal between 1610 until the company's liquidation in 1800.
Bengal Presidency- The Bengal Presidency was once the largest colonial subdivision (presidency) of British India, with its seat in Calcutta, the capital of British-held territories in South Asia until 1911. At its territorial peak in the 19th century, the presidency extended from the present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan in the west to Burma, Singapore and Penang in the east. The Governor of Bengal was concurrently the Viceroy of India for many years. Most of the presidency's territories were eventually incorporated into other British Indian provinces and crown colonies.
In 1905, the Presidency was partitioned, with:
Bengal (with present Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha)- headquartered in Calcutta
Eastern Bengal and Assam- headquartered in Dacca and Shillong (summer capital).
British India was reorganised in 1912 and the presidency was reunited into a single Bengali-speaking province. The Partition of British India resulted in Bengal's division on religious grounds, between
West Bengal
East Bengal or East Pakistan
Bangladesh - East Bengal, which became a province of Pakistan according to the provisions set forth in the Mountbatten Plan, later became the independent country of Bangladesh after the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.
Bengali- is used to describe the contents and attributes of Bengal.
Bangiya (Bengali: বঙ্গীয়)- is often used as an adjectival prefix referring to Bengal particularly in the field of Literature e.g. Bangiya Sahitya Parishad, Bangiya Gramin Vikash Bank and Bangiya Janata Dal.
Bengalese- may refer to something of, from, or related to Bengal.
Bangalee (Bengali: বাঙালি/বাঙ্গালী)- until 1978 the Constitution of Bangladesh referred all citizens of Bangladesh as Bangalees.
Bangladeshi (Bengali: বাংলাদেশি) - from 1978 widely used term to refer to the citizens of Bangladesh.
Bangal (Bengali: বাঙাল)- a term used informally in India to refer to Bangladeshis. Bangal is also the Hindustani term for Bengal. In West Bengal, the term is widely used among upper class subgroups to differentiate families from Bangladesh.
Bangabasi (Bengali: বঙ্গবাসী) - may referred peoples of Bengal.
