Sylhetis

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Sylhetis
ꠍꠤꠟꠐꠤ
Total population
c. ~10.3 million[1][2]
Regions with significant populations
Bangladesh (Sylhet Division)
India (Barak Valley, Hojai, North Tripura, Shillong)
Middle East (GCC countries)
Western world (United Kingdom, United States)
Languages
Sylheti (L1)
Standard Bengali (L2)
Religion
Majority:
Star and Crescent.svg Islam
Minorities:
Related ethnic groups

The Sylhetis (Sylheti: ꠍꠤꠟꠐꠤ; pronounced [silɔʈi]) are an Indo-Aryan ethnocultural group[3] that are associated with the Sylhet region in South Asia, specifically in northeast of Bengal presently divided between the Sylhet Division of Bangladesh, and the Karimganj district of Assam, India.[4] There are sizeable Sylheti populations in Barak Valley and Hojai district of Assam, the Indian areas of Meghalaya, North Tripura and Manipur. They speak Sylheti, an Eastern Indo-Aryan speech, which is ambiguously considered as an independent language, or as a dialect of Bengali.[5]

Sylheti identity is associated mainly with a cultural, linguistic and a strong regional identity, while accompanied with a national (of either Bangladeshi or Indian) and a Bengali identity.[6][7] During the rule of Srichandra in the 10th century, the natives of Sylhet were referred to as Bangāl while the Brahmin immigrants that the Buddhist king invited to the area were referred to as Deshāntariā.[8]

Culture[edit]

Main article: Bengalis § Culture
Kendriya Muslim Sahitya Sangsad, the leading body of Sylheti litterateurs, hosting the poet Qazi Nazrul Islam during his visit.

Sylheti folklore is influenced by Hindu, Sufi, Turco-Persian and native ideas. Chandra Kumar De of Mymensingh is known to be the first researcher of Sylheti folklore.[9] Archives of old works are kept in Kendriya Muslim Sahitya Sangsad in Sylhet (also known as the Sylhet Central Muslim Literary Society) – the oldest literary organisation in Bengal and one of the oldest in the subcontinent.

Literature[edit]

Front page of a Sylheti Nagari book titled Halat-un-Nabi, written in the mid-19th century by Sadeq Ali of Daulatpur, Longla, Moulvibazar

The 18th-century Hattanather Panchali (Hattanath chronicles) originally written by Ganesh Ram Shiromani are Bengali ballads which detail the early history of Sylhet though its authenticity is questionable.[10] When Sylhet was under the rule of the Twipra Kingdom, medieval Sylheti writers using the Bengali script included the likes of Dwija Pashupati, the author of Chandravali – considered one of the earliest Sylheti works.[11] Nasiruddin Haydar of Sylhet town wrote the Tawarikh-e-Jalali, the first Bengali biography of Shah Jalal. Gobind Gosai of Masulia wrote Nirbban Shongit, Gopinath Dutta wrote Dronporbbo, Dotto Bongshaboli and Nariporbbo and Nur Ali Khan of Syedpur wrote Marifoti Geet. Songwriters and poets such as Radharaman Dutta, Hason Raja and Shah Abdul Karim, significantly contributed to Bengali literature and their works remain popular across Bengal in present-times.[12] Numerous Bengali writers emerged in Ita, such as Kobi Muzaffar Khan, Gauri Shankar Bhatta and Golok Chand Ghosh. Muslim literature was based upon historical affairs and biographies of prominent Islamic figures. Like the rest of Muslim Bengal, Bengali Muslim poetry was written in a colloquial dialect of Bengali which came to be known as Dobhashi, and has had a major influence on Sylheti. Dobhashi featured the use of Perso-Arabic vocabulary in Bengali texts. A separate script was developed in Sylhet for this popular linguistic register. Known as the Sylheti Nagri script, its most renowned writer was Sadeq Ali whose Halatunnabi was famed as household item amongst rural Muslim communities.[10][13] Manuscripts have been found of works such as Rag Namah by Fazil Nasim Muhammad, Shonabhaner Puthi by Abdul Karim, and the earliest known work Talib Huson (1549) by Gholam Huson.[14] Late Nagri writers include Muhammad Haidar Chaudhuri who wrote Ahwal-i-Zamana in 1907 and Muhammad Abdul Latif who wrote Pohela Kitab o Doikhurar Rag in 1930.[15]

Bipin Chandra Pal was one of the main architects of the Swadeshi movement and played a crucial role in the Indian independence movement.
Rawshan Ara Bachchu is a Sylheti activist best known for her role in the Bengali language movement of 1952.

Sylhet, in particular the Taraf, was also an esteemed centre for the study of Persian, an official language up until the British period, due to the high population of foreign missionaries from Central Asia and Persia following the Conquest of Sylhet. Ma'dan al-Fawaid was written in 1534 by Syed Shah Israil who is considered to be Sylhet's first author.[16] Other prominent writers include Muhammad Arshad, Syed Rayhan ad-Din and Syed Pir Badshah.[17][18] Reyazuddin of Taraf wrote a Persian book on "Dream Fruit".[19] Ala Bakhsh Mazumdar Hamed was known to have written Tuhfatul Muhsineen and Diwan-i-Hamed. Collectively, the works of these two people belonging to the Mazumdar family of Sylhet, are regarded amongst the most creative literary works in the Sylhet region. Majid Bakht Mazumdar wrote an English book on the family history.[20]

In the 19th century, Urdu had a somewhat aristocratic background in Sylhet and notable families that spoke it included the Nawabs of Longla and the Mazumdars of Sylhet. Moulvi Hamid Bakht Mazumdar, who was also fluent in Persian, wrote the Urdu prose Ain-i-Hind, a history of the Indian subcontinent.[10] Literature written in this period included Nazir Muhammad Abdullah Ashufta's Tanbeeh al-Ghafileen, written in 1894, and the poems of Moulvi Farzam Ali Bekhud of Baniachong. Hakim Ashraf Ali Mast and Fida Sylheti were prominent Urdu poets of Sylhet in the 19th century, the latter being a disciple of Agha Ahmad Ali.[21] In 1946, the Anjuman-i Taraqqi-i Urdu performed a mushaira in Sylhet attracting the likes of Hafeez Jalandhari, the lyricist of the National Anthem of Pakistan.[22]

Muslim primary school students in Srimangal, Sylhet division.

Distribution[edit]

Barak Valley[edit]

The Barak Valley consists of three districts in the Indian state of Assam, which are home to a Bengali-speaking majority population as opposed to Assamese.[23] Geographically the region is surrounded by hills from all three sides except its western plain boundary with Bangladesh.Though not a part of Sylhet in present times, the Barak Valley hosts the presence of the same Sylheti dialect. Niharranjan Ray, author of Bangalir Itihash, claims that "South Assam / Northeastern Bengal or Barak Valley is the extension of the Greater Surma/Meghna Valley of Bengal in every aspect from culture to geography".[24]

A movement emerged in the 1960s in this Sylheti-majority area of India. Referred to as the Bengali Language Movement of the Barak Valley, Sylhetis protested against the decision of the Government of Assam to make Assamese the only sole official language of the state knowing full well that 80% of the Barak Valley people are Bengalis. The main incident took place on 19 May 1961 at Silchar railway station in which 11 Sylheti-Bengalis were killed by the Assamese police. Sachindra Chandra Pal and Kamala Bhattacharya were two notable Sylheti students murdered by the Assam Rifles during the movement.

Diaspora[edit]

Lord Cornwallis introduced the Permanent Settlement Act of Bengal in 1793 and it altered the social, political and economic landscape of the Sylhet region; socioeconomic ramification for former landlords was severe as the land changed hands. On juxtapose, colonial administration opened new windows of opportunities for young men, who sought employment merchant ship companies. Young men from Sylhet boarded ships primarily at Kolkata, Mumbai and Singapore. Many Sylheti people believed that seafaring was a historical and cultural inheritance due to a large proportion of Sylheti Muslims being descended from foreign traders, lascars and businessman from the Middle East and Central Asia who migrated to the Sylhet region before and after the Conquest of Sylhet.[25] Khala Miah, who was a Sylheti migrant, claimed this was a very encouraging factor for Sylhetis to travel to Calcutta aiming to eventually reach the United States and United Kingdom.[26] By virtue of Magna Carta Libertatum, Sylhetis could enter and settle Britain freely (while a declaration of intent was required to enter the US). Diaspora patterns indicate a strong connection between Sylheti diaspora and the movement of Sylheti seamen.[27]

Sylheti food stall at the Queens Night Market in New York City
Nurul Islam Nahid was the former Education Minister of Bangladesh, responsible for secondary, vocational and tertiary education in Bangladesh.

The Sylheti diaspora population grew in response to a need for an economic sustenance during the British Raj, when many Sylheti men left the region in search of employment. During this period, young men from Sylhet often worked as lascars in the British merchant marine. Some abandoned their ships in London in search of economic opportunity, while others found alternative routes to enter the country. Chain migration led to the eventual settlement of large numbers of Sylhetis in working-class neighbourhoods in London's East End and other industrial towns and cities such as Luton, Birmingham, Sheffield, Blackburn, Manchester, Leeds, Bradford, and Oldham.[28]

Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, an economist, diplomat, and Bengali Language Movement veteran who served as Bangladesh's 2nd Finance Minister.

Today, the Sylheti diaspora numbers around one million, mainly concentrated in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Germany, Italy, France, Australia, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Finland and the Middle East and other European countries. However, a 2008 study showed that 95% of Sylheti diaspora live in the UK.[29] In the United States, most Sylhetis live in New York City, though sizeable populations also live in Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, and Detroit.

Some argue that remittances sent from Sylheti diaspora around the world back to Bangladesh have negatively affected development in Bangladesh, where a lack of government initiatives has caused economic inertia.[30]

According to neo-classical theory, the poorest would move to the richest countries and those from densely populated areas would move to more sparsely populated regions. This has clearly not been the case. The brain drain was a movement from core to core, purely on economic maximisation, while it was young Sylheti pioneers with access to financial resources that migrated from a severely overpopulated Bangladesh to the overcrowded streets of Spitalfields, poorest from all parts of Bangladesh migrated to Sylhet for a better life, causing a severe overcrowding and scarcity of resources in Sylhet.[31]

Religion[edit]

The ancient Rabir Bazar Jame Mosque in Kulaura was established by a Sylheti Shia woman for the Sunni community.

Islam is the largest religion practised by Sylhetis. Sunni Islam is the largest denomination with majority following the Hanafi school of law although some also follow the Shafi'i and Hanbali madhhabs.[32] There are significant numbers of people who follow Sufi ideals, the most influential is the teachings of Abdul Latif of Fultoli, Zakiganj – a descendant of Shah Kamal Quhafa, the son of Burhanuddin Quhafa, one of the disciples of Shah Jalal.[33] The revivalist Deobandi movement is also popular amongst Sylhetis and many are part of the Tablighi Jamaat. Similarly, Haji Shariatullah's Faraizi movement was very popular in the Sylhet region during the British period and Wahhabism was adopted by some upper-class Sylheti families.[34]

There is a very small minority of Shia Muslims who gather every year during Ashura for the Mourning of Muharram processions. Places of procession include the Prithimpasha Nawab Bari in Kulaura, home to a Shia family, as well as Balaganj, Osmani Nagar and Rajtila.

Hinduism is the second largest religion amongst Sylhetis. Other minority religions include Christianity and there was a presence of Sikhism after Guru Nanak's visit to Sylhet in 1508 to spread the religion and build a gurdwara there. This Gurdwara was visited twice by Tegh Bahadur and many hukamnamas were issued to this temple in Sylhet by Guru Gobind Singh. In 1897, the gurdwara fell down after the earthquake.

Notables[edit]

Main article: List of people from Sylhet

Popular modern writers and poets from the region include Abdur Rouf Choudhury, Dilwar Khan and Chowdhury Gulam Akbar. Muhammad Mojlum Khan is a non-fiction writer best known for writing the English biographical dictionary, The Muslim 100. Prominent Bengali language non-fiction writers include Syed Murtaza Ali, Syed Mujtaba Ali, Dewan Mohammad Azraf, Abed Chaudhury, Achyut Charan Choudhury, Arun Kumar Chanda, Asaddor Ali, Ashraf Hussain and Dwijen Sharma.

Cricket and football are the most popular sports amongst Sylhetis. Many Sylheti cricketers have played for the Bangladesh national cricket team such as Alok Kapali, Enamul Haque Jr, Nazmul Hossain, Rajin Saleh and Tapash Baisya. Beanibazar SC is the only Sylheti club which as qualified for the Bangladesh League and Alfaz Ahmed was a Sylheti who played for the Bangladesh national football team. Hamza Choudhury is the first Bangladeshi to play in the Premier League and is predicted to be the first British Asian to play for the England national football team.[35] Bulbul Hussain was the first breakthrough Sylheti professional wheelchair rugby player. Rani Hamid is one of the most successful chess players in the world, winning championships in Asia and Europe multiple times. Ramnath Biswas was a revolutionary soldier who embarked on three world tours on a bicycle in the 19th century.

See also[edit]

Please also mention the following prominent Sylhetis who belonged to post partition India: (i)Sri Guru saday Dutta, ICS Adminstrator & founder of Brata chari movement,Kolkata(ii)Dr.Sundari Mohon Das,Eminent physician &founder of National Medical college,Kolkata,India.(iii)Sri Nirmalendu Choudhury,famous folk singer(iii)Sri Khitish chandra Choudhury,IA & AS,Former AG West Bengal,Ex.Dy. CAG,Govt of India,Ex. VC of Radindra University,Kolkata (iv)Dr.Triguna Sen,Founder of JU, Kolkata & Former Minister of Petrolium & Education,Govt. of India(v) Sri Anil Chanda,Ex. Private secretary to the Nobel laureate Sri Rabindra nath Tagore & Former Minister,Govt. of India(vi) Syed Mujtaba Ali, eminent scholar & writer (vii) Dr. B.B.Bhattacharya, Ex.VC,JNU Delhi.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Sylheti at Ethnologue (22nd ed., 2019)
  2. ^ "Ranked: The 100 Most Spoken Languages Around the World". Visual Capitalist. 15 February 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  3. ^ Shahela Hamid (2011). Language Use and Identity: The Sylheti Bangladeshis in Leeds. pp.Preface. Verlag Peter Lang. Retrieved on 4 December 2020.
  4. ^ Glanville Price (2000). Encyclopedia of the Languages of Europe. pp. 91–92.
  5. ^ "Along the linguistic continuum of eastern Indic languages, Sylheti occupies an ambiguous position, where it is considered a distinct language by many and also as a dialect of Bengali or Bangla by some others." (Mahanta & Gope 2018:81)
  6. ^ Simard, Candide; Dopierala, Sarah M; Thaut, E Marie (2020). "Introducing the Sylheti language and its speakers, and the SOAS Sylheti project" (PDF). Language Documentation and Description. 18: 5. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  7. ^ Tanweer Fazal (2012). Minority Nationalisms in South Asia: 'We are with culture but without geography': locating Sylheti identity in contemporary India, Nabanipa Bhattacharjee. pp.59–67.
  8. ^ Chowdhury, Indrajit (4 August 2016). পুণ্ড্র, গৌড় পেরিয়ে সেই বঙ্গেই ফিরলাম? (Editorial) (in Bengali). Anandabazar Patrika. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  9. ^ Ahmed, Sofe (August 2014). "Research on Folklore in Sylhet Region of Bangladesh: A Study of Chowdhury Harun Akbor". International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature. 2 (8): 131–134.
  10. ^ a b c Choudhury, Achyut Charan (2000) [1916]. Srihatter Itibritta: Uttorangsho (in Bengali). Kolkata: Kotha.
  11. ^ Bhowmik, Kalpana (2012). "Dwija Pashupati". In Islam, Sirajul; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  12. ^ Tasiqul Islam (2012). "Hasan Raja". In Islam, Sirajul; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  13. ^ Sadiq, Mohammad (2008). Sileṭi nāgarī : phakiri dhārāra phasala সিলেটি নাগরী: ফকিরি ধারার ফসল. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. OCLC 495614347.
  14. ^ Muhammad Ashraful Islam. "Sylheti Nagri". Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  15. ^ Roy, Asim (1983). The Islamic Syncretistic Tradition in Bengal. ISBN 9780691053875.
  16. ^ Maulana Abdullah ibn Saeed Jalalabadi (May 2010). জীবন-গাঙের বাঁকে বাঁকে-(২) [Curling through the River of Life (2)] (in Bengali). Al Kawsar. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  17. ^ A K M Jamal Uddin. Cultural similarities between Iran and the Indian Subcontinent.
  18. ^ Abu Musa Mohammad Arif Billah. "Persian". Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  19. ^ স্বপ্ন ফল বিষয়ক গ্রন্থ
  20. ^ Islam, Sirajul (1992). History of Bangladesh, 1704–1971. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  21. ^ Dr Kaniz-e-Butool. "Urdu". Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  22. ^ Atful Hye Shibly (2011). Abdul Matin Chaudhury (1895–1948): Trusted Lieutenant of Mohammad Ali Jinnah. p. 125.
  23. ^ "Govt withdraws Assamese as official language from Barak valley". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 9 September 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  24. ^ Ray, Niharranjan (1 January 1980). Bangalir itihas (in Bengali). Paschimbanga Samiti.
  25. ^ Fidler, Ceri-Anne (2011). Lascars, c.1850 – 1950: The Lives and Identities of Indian Seafarers in Imperial Britain and India (Thesis). Cardiff University. p. 123.
  26. ^ Choudhury, Yousuf (1995). Sons of the Empire: Oral History from the Bangladeshi Seamen who Served on British Ships During the 1939–45 War.
  27. ^ Across Seven Seas and Thirteen Rivers: Life Stories of Pioneer Sylheti Settlers in Britain, Caroline Adams, Tassaduq Ahmed and Dan Jones, THAP (1987), London, ISBN 978-0-906698-14-3
  28. ^ Claire Alexander, Joya Chaterji and Annu Jalais, The Bengal Diaspora: Rethinking Muslim Migration, p.2, Routledge (2015) London.
  29. ^ Benjamin Zeitlyn (September 2008). "Challenging Language in the Diaspora" (PDF). Bangla Journal. 6 (14): 126–140. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  30. ^ Yong, T.T.; Rahman, M.M. (2013). Diaspora Engagement and Development in South Asia. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 108. ISBN 978-1-137-33445-9. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  31. ^ Anne J. Kershen (2005). Strangers, Aliens and Asians: Huguenots, Jews and Bangladeshis in Spitalfields, 1660–2000. Routledge. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-7146-5525-3.
  32. ^ "Islam in Bangladesh". OurBangla. Archived from the original on 19 February 2007. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  33. ^ Dr David Garbin (17 June 2005). "Bangladeshi Diaspora in the UK : Some observations on socio-culturaldynamics, religious trends and transnational politics" (PDF). University of Surrey. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2008.
  34. ^ Hunter, William Wilson (1875). "District of Sylhet: Administrative History". A Statistical Account of Assam. Vol. 2.
  35. ^ Trehan, Dev (2 September 2019). "Hamza Choudhury can be first British South Asian to play for England, says Michael Chopra". Sky Sports.

Bibliography[edit]

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