Bengalis

# Bengalis

## Abstract

Bengalis (Bengali: বাঙ্গালী, বাঙালি), also rendered as endonym Bangalee, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of South Asia. The population is divided between the sovereign country Bangladesh and the Indian regions of West Bengal, Tripura, Barak Valley, Goalpara, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and parts of Meghalaya, Manipur and Jharkhand. Most speak Bengali, a language from the Indo-Aryan language family. Sub-section 2 of Article 6 of the Constitution of Bangladesh states, "The people of Bangladesh shall be known as Bengalis as a nation and as Bangladeshis as citizens."

Bengalis are the third-largest ethnic group in the world, after the Han Chinese and Arabs. They are the largest ethnic group within the Indo-Europeans and the largest ethnic group in South Asia. Apart from Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, Manipur, and Assam's Barak Valley, Bengali-majority populations also reside in India's union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, with significant populations in the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Delhi, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Nagaland and Uttarakhand as well as Nepal 's Province No. 1. The global Bengali diaspora have well-established communities in the Middle East, Pakistan, Myanmar, the United Kingdom, the United States, Malaysia, Italy, Singapore, Maldives, Canada, Australia, Japan and South Korea.

Bengalis are a diverse group in terms of religious affiliations and practices. Approximately 70% are adherents of Islam with a large Hindu minority and sizeable communities of Christians and Buddhists. Bengali Muslims, who live mainly in Bangladesh, primarily belong to the Sunni denomination. Bengali Hindus, who live primarily in West Bengal, Tripura, Assam's Barak Valley, Jharkhand and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, generally follow Shaktism or Vaishnavism, in addition to worshipping regional deities. There exist small numbers of Bengali Christians, a large number of whom are descendants of Portuguese voyagers, as well as Bengali Buddhists, the bulk of whom belong to the Bengali-speaking Barua group in Chittagong and Rakhine.

Bengalis have influenced and contributed to diverse fields, notably the arts and architecture, language, folklore, literature, politics, military, business, science and technology.

## Etymology

The term Bengali is generally used to refer to someone whose linguistic, cultural or ancestral origins are from Bengal. The Indo-Aryan Bengalis are ethnically differentiated from the non-Indo-Aryan tribes inhabiting Bengal. Their ethnonym, Bangali, along with the native name of the Bengali language and Bengal region, Bangla, are both derived from Bangālah, the Persian word for the region. Prior to Muslim expansion, there was no unitary territory by this name as the region was instead divided into numerous geopolitical divisions. The most prominent of these were Vaṅga (from which Bangālah is thought to ultimately derive from) in the south, Rāṛha in the west, Puṇḍravardhana and Varendra in the north, and Samataṭa and Harikela in the east.

The historic land of Vaṅga (bôngô in Bengali), situated in present-day Barisal, is considered by early historians of the Abrahamic and Dharmic traditions to have originated from a man who had settled in the area though it is often dismissed as legend. Early Abrahamic genealogists had suggested that this man was Bang, a son of Hind who was the son of Ham (son of Noah). In contrast, the Mahabharata, Puranas and the Harivamsha state that Vaṅga was the founder of the Vaṅga Kingdom and one of the adopted sons of King Vali. The land of Vaṅga later came to be known as Vaṅgāla (Bôngal) and its earliest reference is in the Nesari plates (805 CE) of Govinda III which speak of Dharmapāla as its king. The records of Rajendra Chola I of the Chola dynasty, who invaded Bengal in the 11th century, speak of Govindachandra as the ruler of Vaṅgāladeśa (a Sanskrit cognate to the word Bangladesh, which was historically a synonymous endonym of Bengal). 16th-century historian Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak mentions in his ʿAin-i-Akbarī that the addition of the suffix "al" came from the fact that the ancient rajahs of the land raised mounds of earth 10 feet high and 20 in breadth in lowlands at the foot of the hills which were called "al". This is also mentioned in Ghulam Husain Salim 's Riyāz us-Salāṭīn.

In 1352, Muslim nobleman Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah united the region into a single political entity known as the Bengal Sultanate. Proclaiming himself as Shāh -i-Bangālīyān, it was in this period that the Bengali language gained state patronage and corroborated literary development. Ilyas Shah had effectively unified the region into one country.

## History

### Ancient history

Archaeologists have discovered remnants of a 4,700-year-old Neolithic and Chalcolithic civilisation such as Dihar and Pandu Rajar Dhibi in the greater Bengal region, and believe the finds are one of the earliest signs of settlement in the region. However, evidence of much older Palaeolithic human habitations were found in the form of a stone implement and a hand axe in the upper Gandeshwari, Middle Dwarakeswar, Upper Kangsabati, Upper Tarafeni and Middle Subarnarekha valleys of the Indian state West Bengal, and Rangamati and Feni districts of Bangladesh. Evidence of 42,000 years old human habitation has been found at the foothills of the Ajodhya Hills in West Bengal. Hatpara on the west bank of Bhagirathi River has evidence of human settlements dating back to around 15,000-20,000 years.

Artefacts suggest that the Chandraketugarh, which flourished in present-day North 24 Parganas, date as far back as 600 BC to 300 BC, and Wari-Bateshwar civilisation, which flourished in present-day Narsingdi, date as far back as 400 BC to 100 BC. Not far from the rivers, the port city of Wari-Bateshwar, and the riverside port city of the Chandraketugarh, are believed to have been engaged in foreign trade with Ancient Rome, Southeast Asia and other regions. The people of this civilisation live in bricked homes, walked on wide roads, used silver coins and iron weaponry among many other things. The two cities are considered to be the oldest cities in Bengal.

It is thought that a man named Vanga settled in the area around 1000 BCE founding the Vanga Kingdom in southern Bengal. The Atharvaveda and the Hindu epic Mahabharata mentions this kingdom, along with the Pundra Kingdom in northern Bengal. The spread of Mauryan territory and promotion of Buddhism by its emperor Ashoka cultivated a growing Buddhist society among the people of present-day Bengal from the 2nd century BCE. Mauryan monuments as far as the Great Stupa of Sanchi in Madhya Pradesh mentioned the people of this region as adherents of Buddhism. The Buddhists of the Bengal region built and used dozens of monasteries, and were recognised for their religious commitments as far as Nagarjunakonda in South India.

One of the earliest foreign references to Bengal is the mention of a land ruled by the king Xandrammes named Gangaridai by the Greeks around 100 BCE. The word is speculated to have come from Gangahrd ('Land with the Ganges in its heart') in reference to an area in Bengal. Later from the 3rd to the 6th centuries CE, the kingdom of Magadha served as the seat of the Gupta Empire.

### Middle Ages

One of the first recorded independent kings of Bengal was Shashanka, reigning around the early 7th century, who is generally thought to have originated from Magadha, Bihar, just west of Bengal. After a period of anarchy, a native ruler called Gopala came into power in 750 CE. He originated from Varendra in northern Bengal, and founded the Buddhist Pala Empire. Atiśa, a renowned Buddhist teacher from eastern Bengal, was instrumental in the revival of Buddhism in Tibet and also held the position of Abbot at the Vikramashila monastery in Bihar.

The Pala Empire enjoyed relations with the Srivijaya Empire, the Tibetan Empire, and the Arab Abbasid Caliphate. Islam first appeared in Bengal during Pala rule, as a result of increased trade between Bengal and the Middle East. The people of Samatata, in southeastern Bengal, during the 10th century were of various religious backgrounds. Tilopa was a prominent Buddhist from modern-day Chittagong, though Samatata was ruled by the Buddhist Chandra dynasty. During this time, the Arab geographer Al-Masudi and author of The Meadows of Gold, travelled to the region where he noticed a Muslim community of inhabitants residing in the region. In addition to trade, Islam was also being introduced to the people of Bengal through the migration of Sufi missionaries prior to conquest. The earliest known Sufi missionaries were Syed Shah Surkhul Antia and his students, most notably Shah Sultan Rumi, in the 11th century. Rumi settled in present-day Netrokona, Mymensingh where he influenced the local ruler and population to embrace Islam.

The Pala dynasty was followed by a shorter reign of the Hindu Sena Empire. Subsequent Muslim conquests helped spread Islam throughout the region. Bakhtiyar Khalji, a Turkic general, defeated Lakshman Sen of the Sena dynasty and conquered large parts of Bengal. Consequently, the region was ruled by dynasties of sultans and feudal lords under the Bengal Sultanate for the next few hundred years. Many of the people of Bengal began accepting Islam through the influx of missionaries following the initial conquest. Sultan Balkhi and Shah Makhdum Rupos settled in the present-day Rajshahi Division in northern Bengal, preaching to the communities there. A community of 13 Muslim families headed by Burhanuddin also existed in the northeastern Hindu city of Srihatta (Sylhet), claiming their descendants to have arrived from Chittagong. By 1303, hundreds of Sufi preachers led by Shah Jalal, who some biographers claim was a Turkistan-born Bengali, aided the Muslim rulers in Bengal to conquer Sylhet, turning the town into Jalal's headquarters for religious activities. Following the conquest, Jalal disseminated his followers across different parts of Bengal to spread Islam, and became a household name among Bengali Muslims.

The establishment of a single united Bengal Sultanate in 1352 by Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah finally gave rise to the name Bangala for the region, and the development of Bengali language. The Ilyas Shahi dynasty acknowledged Muslim scholarship, and this transcended ethnic background. Usman Serajuddin, also known as Akhi Siraj Bengali, was a native of Gaur in western Bengal and became the Sultanate's court scholar during Ilyas Shah's reign. Alongside Persian and Arabic, the sovereign Sunni Muslim nation-state also enabled the language of the Bengali people to gain patronage and support, contrary to previous states which exclusively favoured Sanskrit, Pali and Persian. The born-Hindu Sultan Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah funded the construction of Islamic institutions as far as Mecca and Madina in the Middle East. The people of Arabia came to know these institutions as al-Madaris al-Bangaliyyah (Bengali madrasas).

### Mughal era

The Mughal Empire conquered Bengal in the 16th century, ending the independent Sultanate of Bengal and defeating Bengal's rebellion Baro-Bhuiyan chieftains. Mughal general Man Singh conquered parts of Bengal including Dhaka during the time of Emperor Akbar and a few Rajput tribes from his army permanently settled around Dhaka and surrounding lands, integrating into Bengali society. Akbar's preaching of the syncretic Din-i Ilahi, was described as a blasphemy by the Qadi of Bengal, which caused huge controversies in South Asia. In the 16th century, many Ulama of the Bengali Muslim intelligentsia migrated to other parts of the subcontinent as teachers and instructors of Islamic knowledge such as Ali Sher Bengali to Ahmedabad, Shah Manjhan to Sarangpur, Usman Bengali to Sambhal and Yusuf Bengali to Burhanpur.

By the early 17th century, Islam Khan I had conquered all of Bengal and was integrated into a province known as the Bengal Subah. It was the largest subdivision of the Mughal Empire, as it also encompassed parts of Bihar and Odisha, between the 16th and 18th centuries. Described by some as the "Paradise of Nations" and the "Golden Age of Bengal", Bengalis enjoyed some of the highest living standards and real wages in the world at the time. Singlehandedly accounting for 40% of Dutch imports from Asia, eastern Bengal was globally prominent in industries such as textile manufacturing and shipbuilding, and was a major exporter of silk and cotton textiles, steel, saltpetre, and agricultural and industrial produce in the world.

Mughal Bengal eventually became a quasi-independent monarchy state ruled by the Nawabs of Bengal in 1717. Already observing the proto-industrialization, it made direct significant contribution to the first Industrial Revolution (substantially textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution).

Bengal became the basis of the Anglo-Mughal War. After the weakening of the Mughal Empire with the death of Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707, Bengal was ruled independently by three dynasties of Nawabs until 1757, when the region was annexed by the East India Company after the Battle of Plassey.

### British colonisation

In Bengal, effective political and military power was transferred from the Afshar regime to the British East India Company around 1757–65. Company rule in India began under the Bengal Presidency. Calcutta was named the capital of British India in 1772. The presidency was run by a military-civil administration, including the Bengal Army, and had the world's sixth earliest railway network. Great Bengal famines struck several times during colonial rule, notably the Great Bengal famine of 1770 and Bengal famine of 1943, each killing millions of Bengalis.

Under British rule, Bengal experienced deindustrialisation. Discontent with the situation, numerous rebellions and revolts were attempted by the Bengali people. The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was initiated on the outskirts of Calcutta, and spread to Dhaka, Jalpaiguri and Agartala, in solidarity with revolts in North India. Havildar Rajab Ali commanded the rebels in Chittagong as far as Sylhet and Manipur. The failure of the rebellion led to the abolishment of the Mughal court completely and direct rule by the British Raj.

Many Bengali labourers were taken as coolies to the British colonies in the Caribbean during the 1830s. Workers from Bengal were chosen because they could easily assimilate to the climate of British Guyana, which was similar to that of Bengal.

Swami Vivekananda is considered a key figure in the introduction of Vedanta and Yoga in Europe and America, and is credited with raising interfaith awareness, and bringing Hinduism to the status of a world religion during the 1800s. On the other hand, Ram Mohan Roy led a socio-Hindu reformist movement known as Brahmoism which called for the abolishment of sati (widow sacrifice), child marriage, polytheism and idol worship. In 1804, he wrote the Persian book Tuḥfat al-Muwaḥḥidīn (A Gift to the Monotheists) and spent the next two decades attacking the Kulin Brahmin bastions of Bengal.

#### Independence movement

Bengal played a major role in the Indian independence movement, in which revolutionary groups such as Anushilan Samiti and Jugantar were dominant. Many of the early proponents of the independence struggle, and subsequent leaders in the movement were Bengalis such as Shamsher Gazi, Chowdhury Abu Torab Khan, Hada Miah and Mada Miah, the Pagal Panthis led by Karim Shah and Tipu Shah, Haji Shariatullah and Dudu Miyan of the Faraizi movement, Titumir, Ali Muhammad Shibli, Alimuddin Ahmad, Prafulla Chaki, Surendranath Banerjee, Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani, Bagha Jatin, Khudiram Bose, Sarojini Naidu, Aurobindo Ghosh, Rashbehari Bose, and Sachindranath Sanyal.

Leaders such as Subhas Chandra Bose did not subscribe to the view that non-violent civil disobedience was the best way to achieve independence, and were instrumental in armed resistance against the British. Bose was the co-founder and leader of the Japanese-aligned Indian National Army (distinct from the British Indian Army) which fought against Allied forces in the Burma campaign. He was also the head of state of a parallel regime, the Azad Hind. A number of Bengalis died during the independence movement and many were imprisoned in the notorious Cellular Jail in the Andaman Islands.

#### Partitions of Bengal

The first partition in 1905 divided the Bengal region in British India into two provinces for administrative and development purposes. However, the partition stoked Hindu nationalism. This in turn led to the formation of the All India Muslim League in Dhaka in 1906 to represent the growing aspirations of the Muslim population. The partition was annulled in 1912 after protests by the Indian National Congress and Hindu Mahasabha.

The breakdown of Hindu-Muslim unity in India drove the Muslim League to adopt the Lahore Resolution in 1943, calling the creation of "independent states" in eastern and northwestern British India. The resolution paved the way for the Partition of British India based on the Radcliffe Line in 1947, despite attempts to form a United Bengal state that was opposed by many people.

### Bangladesh Liberation War

The rise of self-determination and Bengali nationalism movements in East Bengal, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. This eventually culminated in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War against the Pakistani military junta. The war caused millions of East Bengali refugees to take shelter in neighbouring India, especially the Indian state of West Bengal, with Calcutta, the capital of West Bengal, becoming the capital-in-exile of the Provisional Government of Bangladesh. The Mukti Bahini guerrilla forces waged a nine-month war against the Pakistani military. The conflict ended after the Indian Armed Forces intervened on the side of Bangladeshi forces in the final two weeks of the war, which ended with the surrender of East Pakistan and the liberation of Dhaka on 16 December 1971. Thus, the newly independent People's Republic of Bangladesh was born from what was previously the East Pakistan province of Pakistan.

## Geographic distribution

Approximate distribution of native Bengali speakers (assuming a rounded total of 280 million) worldwide.

Bengalis constitute the largest ethnic group in Bangladesh, at approximately 98% of the nation's inhabitants. The Census of India does not recognise racial or ethnic groups within India, the CIA Factbook estimated that there are 100 million Bengalis in India constituting 7% of the country's total population. In addition to West Bengal, Bengalis form the demographic majority in Assam 's Barak Valley and Lower region as well as parts of Manipur. The state of Tripura as well as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands union territory, which lies in the Bay of Bengal, are also home to a Bengali-majority population, most of whom are descendants of Hindus from East Bengal (now Bangladesh) that migrated there following the 1947 Partition of India. Bengali migration to the latter archipelago was also boosted by subsequent state-funded Colonisation Schemes by the Government of India.

Bengali ethnic descent and emigrant communities are found primarily in other parts of the subcontinent, the Middle East and the Western World. Substantial populations descended from Bengali immigrants exist in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the United Kingdom where they form established communities of over 1 million people. The majority of the overseas Bengali diaspora are Muslims as the act of seafaring was traditionally prohibited in Hinduism; a taboo known as kala pani (black/dirty water).

The introduction of Islam to the Bengali people has generated a connection to the Arabian Peninsula, as Muslims are required to visit the land once in their lifetime to complete the Hajj pilgrimage. Several Bengali sultans funded Islamic institutions in the Hejaz, which popularly became known by the Arabs as Bengali madrasas. As a result of the British conquest of Bengal, some Bengalis decided to emigrate to Arabia. Notable examples include Mawlana Murad, an instructor of Islamic sciences based in Mecca in the early 1800s, and Najib Ali Choudhury, a participant of the Battle of Shamli. Notable people of Bengali-origin in the Middle East include the renowned author and journalist Ahmad Abd al-Ghafur Attar of Saudi Arabia and Qur'an translator Zohurul Hoque from Oman. The family of Princess Sarvath al-Hassan, wife of Jordanian prince Hassan bin Talal, are descended from the Suhrawardy family of Midnapore.

Earliest records of Bengalis in the European continent date back to the reign of King George III of England during the 16th century. One such example is I'tisam-ud-Din, a Bengali Muslim cleric from Nadia in western Bengal, who arrived to Europe in 1765 with his servant Muhammad Muqim as a diplomat for the Mughal Empire. Another example during this period is of James Achilles Kirkpatrick 's hookah-bardar (hookah servant/preparer) who was said to have robbed and cheated Kirkpatrick, making his way to England and stylising himself as the Prince of Sylhet. The man, presumably from Sylhet in eastern Bengal, was waited upon by the Prime Minister of Great Britain William Pitt the Younger, and then dined with the Duke of York before presenting himself in front of the King. Today, the British Bangladeshis are a naturalised community in the United Kingdom, running 90% of all South Asian cuisine restaurants and having established numerous ethnic enclaves across the country – most prominent of which is Banglatown in East London.

## Language

An important and unifying characteristic of Bengalis is that most of them use Bengali as their native tongue, which belongs to the Indo-Aryan language family. With about 226 million native and about 300 million total speakers worldwide, Bengali is one of the most spoken languages, ranked sixth in the world, and is also used a lingua franca among other ethnic groups and tribes living within and around the Bengal region. Bengali is generally written using the Bengali script and evolved circa 1000–1200 CE from Magadhi Prakrit, thus bearing similarities to ancient languages such as Pali. Its closest modern relatives are other Eastern Indo-Aryan languages such as Assamese, Odia and the Bihari languages. Though Bengali may have a historic legacy of borrowing vocabulary from languages such as Persian and Sanskrit, modern borrowings primarily come from the English language.

Various forms of the language are in use today and provide an important force for Bengali cohesion. These distinct forms can be sorted into three categories. The first is Classical Bengali (সাধু ভাষা Śadhu Bhaśa), which was a historical form restricted to literary usage up until the late British period. The second is Standard Bengali (চলিত ভাষা Čôlitô Bhaśa or শুদ্ধ ভাষা Śuddho Bhaśa), which is the modern literary form, and is based upon the dialects of the divided Nadia region (partitioned between Nadia and Kushtia). It is used today in writing and in formal speaking, for example, prepared speeches, some radio broadcasts, and non-entertainment content. The third and largest category by speakers would be Colloquial Bengali (আঞ্চলিক ভাষা Añčôlik Bhaśa or কথ্য ভাষা Kôththô Bhaśa). These refer to informal spoken language that varies by dialect from region to region.

## Social stratification

Bengali people may be broadly classified into sub-groups predominantly based on dialect but also other aspects of culture:

- Bangals: This is a term used predominantly in Indian West Bengal to refer to East Bengalis – i.e. Bangladeshis as well as those whose ancestors originate from Eastern Bengal. The East Bengali dialects are known as Bangali. This group constitutes the majority of ethnic Bengalis. They originate from the mainland Bangladeshi regions of Dhaka, Mymensingh, Comilla, Sylhet, Barisal and Chittagong. Among Bangals, there are four subgroups that maintain distinct identities in addition to having a (Eastern) Bengali identity. Chittagonians are natives of the Chittagong region (Chittagong District and Cox's Bazar District) of Bangladesh and speak Chittagonian. The people of Cox's Bazar are closely related to the Rohingyas of the Rakhine State in Myanmar. Sylhetis originate from the Sylhet Division of Bangladesh and they speak Sylheti. Noakhailla speakers can be found in greater Noakhali region and southern Tripura. The Dhakaiya Kuttis are a small urban Bengali Muslim community residing in Old Dhaka city that noticeably differ from the rest of the people of Dhaka Division by culture.

- Among Bangals, there are four subgroups that maintain distinct identities in addition to having a (Eastern) Bengali identity. Chittagonians are natives of the Chittagong region (Chittagong District and Cox's Bazar District) of Bangladesh and speak Chittagonian. The people of Cox's Bazar are closely related to the Rohingyas of the Rakhine State in Myanmar. Sylhetis originate from the Sylhet Division of Bangladesh and they speak Sylheti. Noakhailla speakers can be found in greater Noakhali region and southern Tripura. The Dhakaiya Kuttis are a small urban Bengali Muslim community residing in Old Dhaka city that noticeably differ from the rest of the people of Dhaka Division by culture.

- Ghotis: This is the term favoured by the natives of West Bengal to distinguish themselves from other Bengalis. The people of Purulia, and greater Manbhum, reside in far-western Bengal and have some regional differences with the mainland Ghotis via dialect and culture. Other Ghoti communities include the Ghosis and Lodhas.

- The people of Purulia, and greater Manbhum, reside in far-western Bengal and have some regional differences with the mainland Ghotis via dialect and culture. Other Ghoti communities include the Ghosis and Lodhas.

- The region of North Bengal, which hosts Varendri and Rangpuri speakers, is divided between both West Bengal and Bangladesh, and they are normally categorised into the former two main groups depending on which side of the border they reside in even though they are culturally similar to each other regardless of international borders. The categorisation of North Bengalis into Ghoti or Bangal is contested. Rangpuri speakers can also be found in parts of Lower Assam, whilst the Shershahabadia community extend into Bihar. Other northern Bengali communities include the Khotta and Nashya Shaikh.

Bengalis Hindus are socially stratified into four castes, called chôturbôrṇô. The caste system derived from Hindu system of bôrṇô (type, order, colour or class) and jāti (clan, tribe, community or sub-community), which divides people into four colours: White, Red, Yellow and Black. White people are Brahmôṇ, who are destined to be priests, teachers and preachers; Red people are Kkhôtriyô, who are destined to be kings, governors, warriors and soldiers; Yellow people are Bôiśśô, who are born to be cattle herders, ploughmen, artisans and merchants; and Black people are Shūdrô, who are born to be labourers and servants to the people of twice-born caste. People from all caste denominations exist among Bengali Hindus. Ram Mohan Roy, who was born Hindu, founded the Brahmo Samaj which attempted to abolish the practices of casteism, sati and child marriage among Hindus.

## Religion

The largest religions practised in Bengal are Islam and Hinduism. Among all Bengalis, more than two-thirds are Muslims. The vast majority follow the Sunni denomination though there are also a small minority of Shias. The Bengali Muslims form a 90.4% majority in Bangladesh, and a 30% minority among the ethnic Bengalis in the entirety of India. In West Bengal, Bengali Muslims form a 66.88% majority in Murshidabad district, the former seat of the Shia Nawabs of Bengal, a 51.27% majority in Malda, which contains the erstwhile capitals of the Sunni Bengal Sultanate, and they also number over 5,487,759 in the 24 Parganas.

Just less than a third of all Bengalis are Hindus (predominantly, the Shaktas and Vaishnavists), and as per as 2011 census report, they form a 70.54% majority in West Bengal, 50% plurality in Southern Assam's Barak Valley region, 60% majority in the India's North Eastern state of Tripura, 30% plurality in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, 9% significance population in India's Eastern state of Jharkhand and 8.54% minority in Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, Hindus are mostly concentrated in Sylhet Division where they constitute 17.8% of the population, and are mostly populated in Dhaka Division where they number over 2.5 million. Hindus form a 56.41% majority in Dacope Upazila, a 51.69% majority in Kotalipara Upazila and a 51.22% majority in Sullah Upazila. In terms of population, Bangladesh is the third largest Hindu populated country of the world, just after India and Nepal. The total Hindu population in Bangladesh exceeds the population of many Muslim majority countries like Yemen, Jordan, Tajikistan, Syria, Tunisia, Oman, and others. Also the total Hindu population in Bangladesh is roughly equal to the total population of Greece and Belgium. Bengali Hindus also worship regional deities.

Other religious groups include Buddhists (comprising around 1% of the population in Bangladesh) and Bengali Christians. A large number of the Bengali Christians are descendants of Portuguese voyagers. The bulk of Bengali Buddhists belong to the Bengali-speaking Baruas who reside in Chittagong and Rakhine.

## Culture

### Festivals

Bengalis have a rich cultural diversity in celebrating festivals throughout the year, suggesting the phrase - ''Baro Mashe Tero Parbon''. Along with major festivals, every month in the Bengali calendar has rituals for the well-being and prosperity for the family members, often called as brotos (vow).

Durga Puja is the most significant festival of Bengali Hindus, celebrated annually, worshiping Hindu goddess Durga. In 2021, Durga Puja in Kolkata has been inscribed on the list of ' Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity ' by UNESCO. Kali Puja is another significant festival, celebrated with great fervour in the Hindu month of Kartit. Worshiping Lakkhmi Puja has a unique tradition in every Bengali households. Shakta Rash is the most celebrated festival and uniquely observed in Nabadwip. Bengali Muslims have Islamic holidays Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr. Relatives, friends, and neighbours visit and exchange food and sweets in those occasions.

Pohela Boishakh is a celebration of the new year and arrival of summer in the Bengali calendar and is celebrated in April. Most of households and business establishments worship Lakshmi - Ganesh in this particular day for their success and prosperity. It features a funfair, music and dance displays on stages, with people dressed in colourful traditional clothes, parading through the streets. Festivals like Pahela Falgun (spring) are also celebrated regardless of their faith. The Bengalis of Dhaka celebrate Shakrain, an annual kite festival. The Nabanna is a Bengali celebration akin to the harvest festivals in the Western world. Language Movement Day is observed in Bangladesh and India. In 1999, UNESCO declared 21 February as International Mother Language Day, in tribute to the Language Movement and the ethnolinguistic rights of people around the world. Kolkata Book Fair is the world's largest non-trade and the most attended book fair, where people from different countries gather together.

### Fashion and arts

#### Visual art and architecture

The recorded history of art in Bengal can be traced to the 3rd century BCE, when terracotta sculptures were made in the region. The architecture of the Bengal Sultanate saw a distinct style of domed mosques with complex niche pillars that had no minarets. Ivory, pottery and brass were also widely used in Bengali art.

#### Attire and clothing

Bengali attire is shares similarities with North Indian attire. In rural areas, older women wear the shari while the younger generation wear the selwar kamiz, both with simple designs. In urban areas, the selwar kamiz is more popular, and has distinct fashionable designs. Traditionally Bengali men wore the jama, though the costumes such as the panjabi with selwar or pyjama have become more popular within the past three centuries. The popularity of the fotua, a shorter upper garment, is undeniable among Bengalis in casual environments. The lungi and gamcha are a common combination for rural Bengali men. Islamic clothing is also very common in the region. During special occasions, Bengali women commonly wear either shari s, selwar kamizes or abayas, covering their hair with hijab or orna; and men wear a panjabi, also covering their hair with a tupi, toqi, pagri or rumal.

Mughal Bengal 's most celebrated artistic tradition was the weaving of Jamdani motifs on fine muslin, which is now classified by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage. Jamdani motifs were similar to Iranian textile art (buta motifs) and Western textile art (paisley). The Jamdani weavers in Dhaka received imperial patronage.

The traditional attire of Bengali Hindus is dhoti and kurta for men, and saree for women.

#### Performing arts

Bengal has an extremely rich heritage of performing arts dating back to antiquity. It includes narrative forms, songs and dances, performance with scroll paintings, puppet theatre and the processional forms like the Jatra and cinema. Performing of plays and Jatras were mentioned in Charyapada, written in between the 8th and 12th centuries. Chhau dance is a unique martial, tribal and folk art of Bengal. Wearing an earthy and theatrical Chhau mask, the dance is performed to highlight the folklore and episodes from Shaktism, Ramayana – Mahabharata and other abstract themes. In 2010 the Chhau dance was inscribed in the UNESCO 's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Bengali film is a glorious part of the history of world cinema. Hiralal Sen, who is considered a stalwart of Victorian era cinema, sowed the first seeds of Bengali cinema. In 1898, Sen founded the first film production company, named Royal Bioscope Company in Bengal, and possibly the first in India. Along with Nemai Ghosh, Tapan Sinha and others, the golden age of Bengali cinema begins with the hands of Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen and Rittwik Ghatak. Chinnamul was recognised as the first neo-realist film in India that deals with the partition of India. Ray's first cinema Pather Panchali (1955) achieved the highest-ranking Indian film on any Sight & Sound poll at number 6 in the 1992 Critics' Poll. It also topped the British Film Institute 's user poll of Top 10 Indian Films of all time in 2002. In the same year, Titash Ekti Nadir Naam, directed by Ritwik Ghatak with the joint production of India and Bangladesh, got the honour of best Bangladeshi films in the audience and critics' polls conducted by the British Film Institute.

### Gastronomy

Bengali cuisine is the culinary style of the Bengali people. It has the only traditionally developed multi-course tradition from South Asia that is analogous in structure to the modern service à la russe style of French cuisine, with food served course-wise rather than all at once. The dishes of Bengal are often centuries old and reflect the rich history of trade in Bengal through spices, herbs, and foods. With an emphasis on fish and vegetables served with rice as a staple diet, Bengali cuisine is known for its subtle flavours, and its huge spread of confectioneries and milk-based desserts. One will find the following items in most dishes; mustard oil, fish, panch phoron, lamb, onion, rice, cardamom, yogurt and spices. The food is often served in plates which have a distinct flowery pattern often in blue or pink. Common beverages include shorbot, borhani, ghol, matha, lachhi, falooda, Rooh Afza, natural juices like Akher rosh, Khejur rosh, Aamrosh, Dudh cha, Taler rosh, Masala cha, as well as basil seed or tukma -based drinks.

Bangladeshi and West Bengali cuisines have many similarities, but also many unique traditions at the same time. These kitchens have been influenced by the history of the respective regions. The kitchens can be further divided into the urban and rural kitchens. Urban kitchens in Bangladesh consist of native dishes with foreign Mughal influence, for example the Haji biryani and Chevron Biryani of Old Dhaka.

Traditional Bengali Dishes:

Shorshe ilish, Biryani, Mezban, Khichuri, Macher Patodi, Chingri Malai Curry, Mishti Doi, etc. are some of the traditional dishes of the Bengali's.

### Literature

Bengali literature denotes the body of writings in the Bengali language, which has developed over the course of roughly 13 centuries. The earliest extant work in Bengali literature can be found within the Charyapada, a collection of Buddhist mystic hymns dating back to the 10th and 11th centuries. They were discovered in the Royal Court Library of Nepal by Hara Prasad Shastri in 1907. The timeline of Bengali literature is divided into three periods − ancient (650–1200), medieval (1200–1800) and modern (after 1800). Medieval Bengali literature consists of various poetic genres, including Islamic epics by the likes of Abdul Hakim and Syed Sultan, secular texts by Muslim poets like Alaol and Vaishnava texts by the followers of Krishna Chaitanya. Bengali writers began exploring different themes through narratives and epics such as religion, culture, cosmology, love and history. Royal courts such as that of the Bengal Sultanate and the Kingdom of Mrauk U gave patronage to numerous Bengali writers such as Shah Muhammad Saghir, Daulat Qazi and Dawlat Wazir Bahram Khan.

The Bengali Renaissance refers to a socio-religious reform movement during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, centered around the city of Calcutta and predominantly led by upper-caste Bengali Hindus under the patronage of the British Raj who had created a reformed religion known as the Brahmo Samaj. Historian Nitish Sengupta describes the Bengal renaissance as having begun with Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1775–1833) and ended with Asia's first Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941).

Though the Bengal Renaissance was predominantly representative to the Hindu community due to their relationship with British colonisers, there were, nevertheless, examples of modern Muslim littérateurs in this period. Mir Mosharraf Hossain (1847–1911) was the first major writer in the modern era to emerge from the Bengali Muslim society, and one of the finest prose writers in the Bengali language. His magnum opus Bishad Shindhu is a popular classic among Bengali readership. Kazi Nazrul Islam (1899–1976), notable for his activism and anti-British literature, was described as the Rebel Poet and is now recognised as the National poet of Bangladesh. Begum Rokeya (1880–1932) was the leading female Bengali author of this period, best known for writing Sultana's Dream which was subsequently translated into numerous languages.

### Marriage

A marriage among Bengalis often consists of multiple events rather than just one wedding. Arranged marriages are arguably the most common form of marriage among Bengalis and are considered traditional in society. Marriage is seen as a union between two families rather than just two people, and they play a large part in developing and maintaining social ties between families and villages. The two families are facilitated by Ghotok s (mutual matchmakers), and the first event is known as the Paka Dekha / Dekhadekhi where all those involved are familiarised with each other over a meal at the bride's home. The first main event is the Paan-Chini / Chini-Paan, hosted by the bride's family. Gifts are received from the groom's family and the marriage date is fixed in this event. An adda takes place between the families as they consume a traditional Bengali banquet of food, paan, tea and mishti. The next event is the mehndi (henna) evening also known as the gaye holud (turmeric on the body). In Bengali Muslim weddings, this is normally followed by the main event, the walima, hosting thousands of guests. An aqd (vow) takes place, where a contract of marriage (Kabin nama) and is signed. A qazi or imam is usually present here and would also recite the Qur'an and make dua for the couple. The groom is required to pay mohor (dowry) to the bride. For Bengali Hindu weddings, a Hindu priest is present, and the groom and bride follow Hindu customs culminating in the groom putting sindoor (vermillion) on the head of the bride to indicate that she is now a married woman. The Phirajatra / Phirakhaowa consists of the return of the bride with her husband to her home, which then becomes referred to as Naiyor, and payesh and milk are served. Other post-marriage ceremonies include the Bou Bhat which takes place in the groom's home.

Arranged marriages are arguably the most common form of marriage among Bengalis and are considered traditional in society. Though polygamy is rarity among Bengalis today, it was historically prevalent among both Muslims and Hindus prior to British colonisation and was a sign of prosperity.

### Science and technology

The contribution of Bengalis to modern science is pathbreaking in the world's context. Qazi Azizul Haque was an inventor who is credited for devising the mathematical basis behind a fingerprint classification system that continued to be used up until the 1990s for criminal investigations. Abdus Suttar Khan invented more than forty different alloys for commercial application in space shuttles, jet engines, train engines and industrial gas turbines. In 2006, Abul Hussam invented the Sono arsenic filter and subsequently became the recipient of the 2007 Grainger challenge Prize for Sustainability. Another biomedical scientist, Parvez Haris, was listed among the top 1% of 100,000 scientists in the world by Stanford University.

Fazlur Rahman Khan was a structural engineer responsible for making many important advancements in high rise designs. He was the designer of Willis Tower, the tallest building in the world until 1998. Khan's seminal work of developing tall building structural systems are still used today as the starting point when considering design options for tall buildings. In 2023, the billion-dollar Stable Diffusion deep learning text-to-image model was developed by Stability AI founded by Emad Mostaque.

Jagadish Chandra Bose was a polymath: a physicist, biologist, botanist, archaeologist, and writer of science fiction who pioneered the investigation of radio and microwave optics, made significant contributions to plant science, and laid the foundations of experimental science in the subcontinent. He is considered one of the fathers of radio science, and is also considered the father of Bengali science fiction. He first practicalised the wireless radio transmission but Guglielmo Marconi got recognition for it due to European proximity. Bose also described for the first time that " plants can respond ", by demonstrating with his crescograph and recording the impulse caused by bromination of plant tissue.

Satyendra Nath Bose was a physicist, specialising in mathematical physics. He is best known for his work on quantum mechanics in the early 1920s, providing the foundation for Bose–Einstein statistics and the theory of the Bose–Einstein condensate. He is honoured as the namesake of the boson. He made first calculations to initiate Statistical Mechanics. He first hypothesised a physically tangible idea of photon. Bose's contemporary was Meghnad Saha, an astrophysicist and politician who contributed to the theorisation of thermal ionization. The Saha ionization equation, which was named after him, is used to describe chemical and physical conditions in stars. His work allowed astronomers to accurately relate the spectral classes of stars to their actual temperatures.

### Economics and poverty alleviation

Several Bengali economists and entrepreneurs have made pioneering contributions in economic theories and practices supporting poverty alleviation. Amartya Sen is an economist and philosopher, who has made contributions to welfare economics, social choice theory, economic and social justice, economic theories of famines, decision theory, development economics, public health, and measures of well-being of countries. He was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1998 and India's Bharat Ratna in 1999 for his work in welfare economics. Muhammad Yunus is a social entrepreneur, banker, economist and civil society leader who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for founding the Grameen Bank and pioneering the concepts of microcredit and microfinance. Abhijit Banerjee is an economist who shared the 2019 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences with Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer "for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty".

### Sport and games

Traditional Bengali sports consisted of various martial arts and various racing sports, though the British-introduced sports of cricket and football are now most popular amongst Bengalis.

Lathi khela (stick-fighting) was historically a method of duelling as a way to protect or take land and others' possessions. The Zamindars of Bengal would hire lathial s (trained stick-fighters) as a form of security and a means to forcefully collect tax from tenants. Nationwide lathi khela competitions used to take place annually in Kushtia up until 1989, though its practice is now diminishing and being restricted to certain festivals and celebrations. Chamdi is a variant of lathi khela popular in North Bengal. Kushti (wrestling) is also another popular fighting sport and it has developed regional forms such as boli khela, which was introduced in 1889 by Zamindar Qadir Bakhsh of Chittagong. A merchant known as Abdul Jabbar Saodagar adapted the sport in 1907 with the intention of cultivating a sport that would prepare Bengalis in fighting against British colonials. In 1972, a popular contact team sport called Kabadi was made the national sport of Bangladesh. It is a regulated version of the rural Hadudu sport which had no fixed rules. The Amateur Kabaddi Federation of Bangladesh was formed in 1973. Butthan, a 20th-century Bengali martial arts invented by Grandmaster Mak Yuree, is now practised in different parts of the world under the International Butthan Federation.

The Nouka Baich is a Bengali boat racing competition which takes place during and after the rainy season when much of the land goes under water. The long canoes were referred to as khel nao (meaning playing boats) and the use of cymbals to accompany the singing was common. Different types of boats are used in different parts of Bengal. Horse racing was patronised most notably by the Dighapatia Rajas in Natore, and their Chalanbeel Horse Races have continued to take place annually for centuries.

Football is the most popular sports among Bengalis. Bengal is the home to Asia's oldest football league, Calcutta Football League and the fourth oldest cup tournament in the world, Durand Cup. East Bengal and Mohun Bagan are the biggest clubs in the region and subsequently India, and amongst the biggest in Asia. East Bengal and Mohun Bagan participate in Kolkata Derby, which is the biggest sports derby in Asia. Mohun Bagan, founded in 1889, is the oldest native football club of Bengal. The club is primarily supported by the Ghotis, who are the native inhabitants of West Bengal. East Bengal, on the contrary, was founded on 1 August 1920 and is a club Primarily supported by the ethnic eastern Bengalis. Mohun Bagan's first major victory was in 1911, when the team defeated an English club known as the Yorkshire Regiment to win the IFA Shield. In 2003, East Bengal became the first Indian club to win a major international trophy in the form of ASEAN Club Championship. While Mohun Bagan currently holds the most amount of national titles (6 in total), East Bengal is the stronger side in the Kolkata derby, having won 138 out of a total of 391 matches in which these two teams participited. East Bengal also takes the crown for having won the most major trophies in India (109 compared to the 105 of Mohun Bagan). Mohammed Salim of Calcutta became the first South Asian to play for a European football club in 1936. In his two appearances for Celtic F.C., he played the entire matches barefoot and scored several goals. In 2015, Hamza Choudhury became the first Bengali to play in the Premier League and is predicted to be the first British Asian to play for the England national football team.

Bengalis are very competitive when it comes to board and home games such as Pachisi and its modern counterpart Ludo, as well as Latim, Carrom Board, Chor-Pulish, Kanamachi and Chess. 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.


Unpacking (video game)

# Unpacking (video game)

## Abstract

Unpacking is a puzzle video game developed by Witch Beam and published by Humble Bundle for Microsoft Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5. The game received positive reviews, and won several awards, including two BAFTA Games Awards, a D.I.C.E. Award for Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game, and Game of the Year by Eurogamer.

## Gameplay

The game is divided into stages named by the years in which they take place: 1997, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2018. In each stage, the player unpacks a female character's possessions from boxes into a new dwelling. Each unpacked item must be fit into the living space, learning the unseen and unnamed protagonist's life story through her possessions and the places she lives. Some items have designated places they must be put into in order to complete the stage. There are a total of 35 rooms across all dwellings.

## Development

Unpacking was developed by Witch Beam, an independent game studio based in Brisbane, Australia. The studio was founded in 2013 and had previously released Assault Android Cactus, a twin-stick shooter, in 2015. The game was first conceptualized by Wren Brier when she moved in with her partner, Witch Beam co-director Tim Dawson, in early 2018. She found that unpacking unlabelled boxes, not knowing what is stored inside, was an experience that could be translated into a video game. The two participated in the Stugan games accelerator program in Sweden, and the game entered full production in early 2019.

Unpacking is mostly a wordless experience, with the narrative mainly told through objects the player unpacks from boxes. The team put a lot of thought into making Unpacking ' s accessible: The nearly wordless nature of the game ensures that anyone who may have language or comprehension barriers can still enjoy playing the game, and many additional accessibility features were implemented.

The sound design includes over 14,000 foley effects, with multiple pick-up and placement sound effects unique to each item.

## Release

While Witch Beam managed most of the game's social media channels, the team recruited Victoria Tran, the community director of Among Us, to help operate Unpacking ' s Discord server and TikTok account. The team initially expected development of the game to take about a year and a half, though actual production of the game took twice as long. Unpacking was released for personal computers, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One on November 2, 2021. Versions for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 were released on May 10, 2022. Physical versions of the game, published and distributed by Limited Run Games, were available for preorder between March 29 and May 1, 2022.

## Reception

Unpacking received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. The game received positive reviews from Rock Paper Shotgun, GameSpot, Eurogamer, Nintendo Life, IGN, Kotaku, and TouchArcade. It sold over 100,000 copies across all platforms in its first ten days. GamesRadar+ praised it for its innovative narrative, and it was awarded a Can I Play That? award for its accessibility. The game was nominated for Game of the Year at the Gayming Awards 2022 and won Best LGBTQ Indie Game and Authentic Representation. Unpacking also won 2 IGDA Global Industry Game Awards in 2022. One for 2D Animation and another for 2D Environment Art.

### Awards

Unpacking was named one of the best video games of 2021 by The New Yorker, Los Angeles Times, Forbes, the Financial Times, CNET, and NME. Eurogamer selected Unpacking as their Game of the Year.

With Gayming Magazine, it won Best LGBTQ Indie Game and Authentic Representation Award, and was nominated for Game of the Year.


Have Sword, Will Travel

# Have Sword, Will Travel

## Abstract

Have Sword, Will Travel is a 1969 Hong Kong wuxia film directed by Chang Cheh and starring Ti Lung, David Chiang and Lee Ching.

## Plot

The upright and invincible leader of the Wulin clan, Lord Yin (Cheng Miu), helps the Luoyang government to escort two hundred million worth of gold annually and has never made a mistake. However, he is ill and loses his martial arts skills and the gold is in danger of being stolen by Chao Hong (Ku Feng), leader of the Flying Tigers thieves. Lone swordsman Lu Yi (David Chiang) meets Yun Piao Piao (Lee Ching) and her fiance Siang Ding (Ti Lung), who are bodyguards for the gold. First they fight each other before joining forces to help Yin defeat Chao - originally down and out, Lu is taken in by the gentle Yun and volunteers to be a bodyguard.

## Cast

- Ti Lung as Siang Ding

- David Chiang as Lu Yi

- Lee Ching as Yun Piao Piao

- Wong Chung as The Mute

- Ku Feng as Chao Hong

- Chan Sing as Mao Biao

- Cheng Miu as Lord Yin Ke Feng

- Cheng Lui as Wong Chuen

- Wang Kuang Yu as one of Lord Yin's men

- Hung Lau as Chu Tin Hou, a Flying Tiger

- Lau Gong as a Flying Tiger

- Cliff Lok as a Flying Tiger

- Cheng Kang Yeh as Yang Hang Chiu

- Wong Ching Ho as Government official

- Yuen Cheung-yan

- Tsang Cho Lam as Waiter

- Jason Pai as carries silver to the cart

- Chu Gam as clerk

- Goo Chim Hung as Horse buyer

## Box office

The film grossed HK$1,031,768.90 at the Hong Kong box office during its theatrical from 25 December 1969 to 8 January 1970 in Hong Kong.


1986 in Germany

# 1986 in Germany

## Abstract

Events in the year 1986 in Germany.

## Incumbents

- President - Richard von Weizsäcker

- Chancellor – Helmut Kohl

## Events

- 14–25 February - 36th Berlin International Film Festival

- 27 March - Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 1986

- 8 June - East German general election, 1986

- July - Launch of the second generation BMW 7 Series.

- September - Launch of the third generation Audi 80.

- 17 October - Launch of the all-new Opel Omega, which succeeds the Opel Rekord.

- December - The Opel Omega is voted European Car of the Year, with the Audi 80 coming second in the contest and the BMW 7 Series coming third.

- German company Volkswagen Group acquired a controlling stake in Spanish company SEAT.

## Births

### January

- 2 January – Nicole Reinhardt, Olympic canoeist

- 6 January – Benjamin Simm, rugby player

- 13 January – Laura Ludwig, Olympic beach volleyball player

### February

- 16 February – Jessica von Bredow-Werndl, Olympic dressage rider

### March

- 5 March – Constantin von Jascheroff, actor

- 27 March – Manuel Neuer, footballer

### April

- 11 April – Lena Schöneborn, Olympic pentathlete

### June

- 4 June – Fahriye Evcen, German-born Turkish actress

- 5 June – Christian Baracat, rugby player

- 11 June – Sebastian Bayer, Olympic long jumper

### July

- 20 July – Andreas Kümmert, singer

- 25 July – Robert Dietrich, ice hockey player (d. 2011)

- 30 July – Arthur Abele, Olympic decathlete

### August

- 7 August – Paul Biedermann, Olympic swimmer

- 17 August – Tobias Schönenberg, actor and model

- 26 August – Kerstin Thiele, Olympic judoka

### September

- 23 September – Gina-Lisa Lohfink, actress and model

### October

- 9 October – Dave Grunewald, singer, podcaster, fitness expert, and co-frontman for Annisokay (2011–2019)

- 26 October – René Rast, racing driver

- 28 October – Kristina Bröring-Sprehe, Olympic equestrian

### November

- 5 November – Axel Tischer, wrestler

- 12 November – Robert Müller, footballer

### December

- 9 December – Miriam Welte, Olympic cyclist

- 13 December – Christian Engelhart, racing driver

## Deaths

- January 23 - Joseph Beuys, artist (born 1921)

- January 25 - Josef Kammhuber, general (born 1896)

- January 25 - Ernst Schnabel, German writer (born 1913)

- January 27 – Lilli Palmer, actress (born 1914)

- February 3 — Alfred Vohrer, German film director and actor (born 1914)

- March 11 - Herbert Runge, German boxer (born 1913)

- March 13 - Eugen Gerstenmaier, German politician (born 1906)

- March 17 - Heinz Nixdorf, German computing pioneer, businessman and founder of Nixdorf Computer AG (born 1925)

- June 9 - Elisabeth Selbert, politician and lawyer (born 1896)

- July 14 - Joseph Vogt, classical historian (born 1895)

- July 24 - Willy Kaiser, German boxer (born 1912)

- August 3 - Otmar Emminger, German economist (born 1911)

- September 30 - Franz Burda I, German publisher (born 1903)

- October 4 — Arno von Lenski, German officer (born 1893)

- October 30 - Fritz Tillmann, German actor (born 1910)

- October 30 - Elisabeth Schwarzhaupt, German politician (born 1901)

- November 12 - Ria Baran, German pair skater (born 1922)

- December 2 - Heinrich Amersdorffer, German painter and printmaker (born 1905)

- December 12 - Paul Verner, politician (born 1911)

- December 19 - Werner Dankwort, German diplomat (born 1895)


Robert F. Titus

# Robert F. Titus

## Abstract

Robert F. Titus (December 6, 1926 – September 8, 2024) was a brigadier general and a career fighter pilot in the United States Air Force. Titus flew a combined total of 500 combat missions in Korean War and Vietnam War, and was credited in destroying 3 enemy aircraft in aerial combat during the Vietnam War.

Titus retired in 1977, after 32 years of distinguished service.

## Early life

Titus was born in 1926 in Orange, New Jersey. He attended secondary schools in Maryland and Virginia, and studied mining engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

## Military career

Enlisting in the U.S. Army on January 25, 1945, Titus served with the 82nd Airborne Division in Berlin, Germany, and in the U.S. until he left active duty on August 2, 1946.

After serving two years in the U.S. Army Reserve, Titus enlisted in the Aviation Cadet Program of the U.S. Air Force on September 29, 1948, and was commissioned a second lieutenant. He trained to fly the F-51 Mustang and F-86 Sabre, and later served as a flight instructor for the F-51 and F-86 from September 1950 to August 1951.

### Korean War

Titus served as an F-51 and F-86 pilot with the 40th Fighter Interceptor Squadron and 39th Fighter Interceptor Squadron in Korea from September 1951 to September 1952.

On March 3, 1952, he received his first Distinguished Flying Cross when he led a flight of F-51s through dense clouds to the target near Sohui-ri, Korea, where they commenced a series of destructive attacks on enemy mortar positions and bunkers, with Titus personally destroying two heavy mortar positions, two bunkers and an ammunition dump.

Titus flew 101 missions during the war.

### Post-war

After his return from Korea, Titus served as a ferry pilot at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, from 1952 to 1954. He then spent six years as test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base, California, flying the North American F-100 Super Sabre, McDonnell F-101 Voodoo, Convair F-102 Delta Dagger, F-106 Delta Dart, Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, and Republic F-105 Thunderchief. Titus took part in the zero-length-launch tests, in which an F-100 was launched from a truck by a 300,000-pound thrust booster attached to the aircraft. In 1959, he participated in an historic trans-polar flight from United Kingdom to the United States in the F-100 Super Sabre, for which he received a second Distinguished Flying Cross.

Titus completed his master's degree at the University of Chicago on 1961, after receiving an Air Force Institute of Technology assignment to do so. He did a three-year tour flying F-105s in Europe and served in the Headquarters Tactical Air Command at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, from 1964 to 1966.

### Vietnam War

Titus served as commander of the 10th Fighter Commando Squadron at Bien Hoa Air Base, South Vietnam, from May 1966 to January 1967. It was the only F-5 Tiger squadron that the U.S. Air Force ever employed in combat during the war, as part of the combat evaluation for the F-5.

Titus later took command of the 389th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Da Nang Air Force Base flying the F-4 Phantom II. On May 20, 1967, while leading a mission over Yen Bay, North Vietnam, Titus' flight encountered numerous North Vietnamese Air Force MiG-21s. Engaging them in three encounters, Titus shot down 1 MiG-21, while his flight destroyed another MiG-21. For his heroism in the mission, Titus received the Silver Star.

On May 22, Titus and his flight were leading a cover for a strike group of F-105s in operations near Hanoi. During the mission, they encountered two MiG-21s which fired missiles and continued straight past the formation. Titus and his flight chased the MiG-21s, with Titusshooting down one of the MiG-21s with an AIM-9 Sidewinder. Titus continued to chase the second MiG-21 and engaged in series of rapid maneuvers from 25,000 feet to about 2,000 until they reached the vicinity of Hòa Lạc Air Base, where they encountered enemy flak and surface-to-air missiles. As the MiG-21 rolled wings level and started a high-G pullout at about 1,500 feet, Titus managed to shoot it down with an externally mounted M61 Vulcan in his F-4, thus crediting him with one of the few aerial gun victories during the war. For shooting down two MiG-21s in a single mission, Titus was awarded the Air Force Cross, the second only to the Medal of Honor.

During the war, Titus flew 400 combat missions, and was credited in the destruction of three MiG-21s in aerial combat.

### Post-war

In September 1967, Titus was assigned to Headquarters U.S. Air Force, where he was project officer for the F-15 Eagle and chief of Advanced Tactical Systems in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Research and Development. He entered the National War College in August 1969. In June 1970 he went to MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, as vice commander, 15th Tactical Fighter Wing (redesignated as 1st Tactical Fighter Wing) and later became commander.

In May 1971, Titus was transferred to Okinawa and assumed command of the 18th Tactical Fighter Wing of the Pacific Air Forces at Kadena Air Base and later became commander of the 313th Air Division. He was appointed deputy chief of staff, operations, Air Force Systems Command, with headquarters at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, in August 1973.

He then assumed duty as the U.S. deputy chief of staff, LIVE OAK, with headquarters collocated with Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe at Belgium, in September 1974.

Titus' final assignment was as Inspector General for North American Air Defense Command from February 1977 until his retirement from the Air Force on August 1, 1977.

## Later life

After his retirement from Air Force, Titus moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he resided.

Titus married Marjorie Winkler, on December 19, 1953. She died on July 11, 2006. They had four children and eight grandchildren.

In 2007, Titus appeared on an episode of the History Channel series Dogfights. In the episode titled 'Gun Kills of Vietnam' features May 22, 1967 mission, where he shot down two MiG-21s. The episode also featured an appearance by Col. Milan Zimmer (USAF, ret.), who served as Titus' Weapons Systems Officer (WSO) during the mission. The episode was the fifth episode of the second season of the series, which recreated historical air combat campaigns using modern computer graphics.

During the Commemorative Flight of The Last USAF Mustang on April 18, 2015, Titus flew in the rear seat of Darryl Bond's P-51D Mustang “Lady Jo” at Petaluma Municipal Airport.

Titus died on September 8, 2024, at the age of 97.

## Awards and decorations

During his lengthy career, Titus earned many decorations, including:

### Air Force Cross citation

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Title 10, Section 8742, United States Code, takes pleasure in presenting the Air Force Cross to Lieutenant Colonel Robert F. Titus, United States Air Force, for extraordinary heroism in military operations against an opposing armed force as an F-4C Mission Commander in the 389th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 366th Tactical Fighter Wing, Da Nang Air Base, Vietnam, in action near Hanoi, North Vietnam, on 22 May 1967. On that date, Colonel Titus led his flight into one of the most heavily defended areas of North Vietnam in direct support of F-105 strike aircraft operations. Undaunted by accurate flak and five surface-to-air missiles that were launched at his aircraft, he repeatedly and unhesitatingly engaged numerous MiG-21s in defense of the friendly aircraft. During these aggressive and courageous aerial encounters, Colonel Titus destroyed two MiG-21 aircraft. As a direct result of his tenacity and extreme bravery in the face of great danger, the F-105 force was able to accomplish its assigned mission. Through his extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship, and aggressiveness in the face of hostile forces, Lieutenant Colonel Titus reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.


# List of Austin FC records and statistics

## Abstract

Austin FC is an American professional soccer team based in Austin, Texas, that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS).

This is a list of club records for Austin FC, which dates from their inaugural season in 2021 to present.

## Club Records

### Matches

- Largest League Victory: 5–0 v FC Cincinnati, (February 26, 2022)

- Largest League Defeat: 0–4 @ San Jose Earthquakes, (October 20, 2021) & 1–5 @ Real Salt Lake, (June 1, 2024)

- Largest MLS Cup Playoffs Victory: 2–1 @ FC Dallas, (October 23, 2022)

- Largest MLS Cup Playoffs Defeat: 0–3 @ LAFC, (October 30, 2022)

- Largest CONCACAF Champions League Victory: 2–0 v Violette AC, (March 14, 2023)

- Largest CONCACAF Champions League Defeat: 0–3 @ Violette AC, (March 8, 2023)

- Largest Leagues Cup Victory: 2-0 v Monterrey, (July 30, 2024)

- Largest Leagues Cup Defeat: 1–3 v Mazatlán F.C., (July 21, 2023) & 1–3 v FC Juárez, (July 29, 2023) 2–0 v Los Angeles FC, (August 7, 2024)

- Largest U.S. Open Cup Victory: 2–0 v New Mexico United, (May 10, 2023)

- Largest U.S. Open Cup Defeat: 0–2 v Chicago Fire FC, (May 24, 2023)

### Streaks

#### Winning runs

- Longest winning run in all competitions: 4, (April 10, 2022 – April 30, 2022) & (June 30, 2022 – July 12, 2022)

- Longest league winning run : 4, (April 10, 2022 – April 30, 2022) & (June 30, 2022 – July 12, 2022)

- Most home wins in a row (all competitions): 5, (March 30, 2024 – May 18, 2024)

- Most away wins in a row (all competitions): 4, (June 18, 2022 – July 9, 2022)

- Most league home wins in a row: 5, (March 30, 2024 – May 18, 2024)

- Most league away wins in a row: 4, (June 18, 2022 – July 9, 2022)

#### Unbeaten runs

- Longest unbeaten run (all competitions): 7, (June 18, 2022 – July 16, 2022)

- Longest league unbeaten run: 7, (June 18, 2022 – July 16, 2022)

- Longest home unbeaten run: 7, (March 9, 2024 - May 18, 2024)

- Longest away unbeaten run: 5, (June 18, 2022 - July 16, 2022)

#### Winless runs

- Longest winless run (all competitions): 10, (July 10, 2023 – September 30, 2023)

- Longest league winless run: 8, (May 9, 2021 — June 27, 2021) & (March 18, 2023 – May 13, 2023) & (August 20, 2023 – September 30, 2023)

- Longest home winless run: 5, (July 21, 2023 – September 24, 2023)

- Longest away winless run: 16, (May 9, 2021 – April 2 2022)

#### Draws

- Most draws in a row: 3, (May 30, 2021 - June 19, 2021) & (March 2, 2024 - March 15, 2024)

#### Losses

- Most defeats in a row: 5, (August 29, 2021 — September 18, 2021) & (July 21, 2023 – August 30, 2023)

- Most league defeats in a row: 5, (August 29, 2021 — September 18, 2021)

- Most home defeats in a row: 4, (July 21, 2023 – September 17, 2023)

- Most away defeats in a row: 10, (June 23, 2021 – March 12, 2022)

### Seasonal

#### Most

- Most goals scored in a season (all competitions): 70, (2022)

- Most league goals scored in a season: 65, (2022)

- Most goals conceded in a season: 66, (2023)

- Most league goals conceded in a season: 56, (2021)

- Most play-off goals scored in a season: 4, (2022)

- Most play-off goals conceded in a season: 6, (2022)

- Most points in a league season: 56, (2022)

- Most league wins in a season: 16, (2022)

- Most home league wins in a season: 8, (2022)

- Most away league wins in a season: 8, (2022)

- Most league draws in a season: 9, (2023)

- Most home league draws in a season: 6, (2022)

- Most away league draws in a season: 5, (2023)

- Most league defeats in a season: 21, (2021)

- Most home league losses in a season: 8, (2021)

- Most away league losses in a season: 13, (2021)

#### Fewest

- Fewest goals scored in a season: 35, (2021)

- Fewest league goals scored in a season: 35, (2021)

- Fewest goals conceded in a season: 56, (2021)

- Fewest league goals conceded in a season: 49, (2022)

- Fewest play-off goals scored in a season: 4, (2022)

- Fewest play-off goals conceded in a season: 6, (2022)

- Fewest points in a league season: 31, (2021)

- Fewest league wins in a season: 9, (2021)

- Fewest home wins in a season: 7, (2021 & 2023)

- Fewest away wins in a season: 2, (2021)

- Fewest league draws in a season: 4, (2021)

- Fewest home league draws in a season: 2, (2021)

- Fewest away league draws in a season: 2, (2021 & 2022)

- Fewest league defeats in a season: 10, (2022)

- Fewest home league defeats in a season: 3, (2022)

- Fewest away league defeats in a season: 7, (2022)

## Player Awards

## Player records

- Youngest player: Owen Wolff, 16 years, 308 days (against Sporting Kansas City, November 3, 2021)

- Oldest player: Hector Jiménez, 35 years, 259 days (against Charlotte FC, July 20, 2024)

- Youngest goal scorer: Owen Wolff, 18 years, 72 days (against Real Salt Lake, March 11, 2023)

- Oldest goal scorer: Will Bruin, 33 years, 345 days (against DC United, October 4, 2023)

- First goal: Diego Fagúndez, April 21, 2021 against Colorado Rapids

- First clean sheet: Brad Stuver, May 1, 2021 against Minnesota United FC

- First home goal: Jon Gallagher, July 1, 2021 against Portland Timbers

- First Hat Trick: Moussa Djitté, September 14, 2022 against Real Salt Lake

## Coaching records

## List of seasons

1. Avg. attendance include statistics from league matches only. 2. Top goalscorer(s) includes all goals scored in League, MLS Cup Playoffs, U.S. Open Cup, Leagues Cup, CONCACAF Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup, and other competitive matches.

## Transfers

As per MLS rules and regulations; some transfer fees have been undisclosed and are not included in the tables below.


Kalan Masjid

# Kalan Masjid

## Abstract

Kalan Masjid, or Kalan Mosque is a 14th-century mosque in Delhi, India.

## Etymology

The mosque is titled Kalan Masjid, meaning chief mosque. It is also known as Kali Masjid, or black mosque, although this may also be a corruption of the word Kalan.

## History

The mosque was commissioned by Khan-i-Jahan during the reign of Firuz Shah Tughlaq.

## Description

The mosque is built out of sandstone. It is an oblong structure, measuring 140 feet (43 m) in length and 120 feet (37 m) in breadth. It has two stories, with a total height of 66 feet (20 m).

A flight of steps leads to the doorway on the first story through which the mosque is to be entered. The doorway is surmounted by a low dome, which is flanked by two conical columns. Over the doorway is a marble slab on which there is an inscription in the Naskh script. The inscription describes the date of completion of the mosque, and that it was constructed by Khan Jahan during the reign of Firuz Shah.

The mosque has a square plan, and is divided into four quadrants.


2017 VFL Women's season

# 2017 VFL Women's season

## Abstract

The 2017 VFL Women's season was the second season of the VFL Women's (VFLW). The season commenced on 6 May and concluded with the Grand Final on 24 September 2017.

The competition was contested by ten clubs with two changes from the inaugural season – Knox were replaced by the Box Hill Hawks (operated by the Hawthorn Football Club); and Geelong Magpies were replaced by the Geelong Cats.

## Clubs

- Darebin, Diamond Creek, Eastern Devils, Geelong Cats, Box Hill

- Melbourne University, Seaford, St Kilda Sharks, Western Spurs, Cranbourne

## Ladder

## Finals series

### Semi-finals

## Awards

- Lambert-Pearce Medal (Best and Fairest): Katie Brennan (Darebin)

- Rohenna Young Medal (Leading Goal kicker): Katie Brennan (Darebin) & Chloe Molloy (Diamond Creek) – 32 goals

- Debbie Lee Medal (Rising Star): Chloe Molloy (Diamond Creek)

- Coach of the Year: Paul Hood (Geelong)

- Lisa Hardeman Medal (Best on ground VFL Women's Grand Final): Karen Paxman (Darebin)

- Swisse VFLW Play of the Year: Aliesha Newman (VU Western Spurs) - Rd 3 Vs Melbourne Uni (Best play of the year in Women's VFLW Home and Away Season)


Beowulf: Prince of the Geats

# Beowulf: Prince of the Geats

## Abstract

Beowulf: Prince of the Geats is a 2007 film based on the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf. The film was made by Scott Wegener on a shoestring budget with proceeds benefiting the American and Norwegian Cancer Societies. The film was shown only briefly in theaters, but that its central character was played by a Black actor generated much racist online commentary.

The film addresses issues of "colonialism and exploitation", according to Kathleen Forni. Unlike earlier film versions, the main character is played by a Black actor. Director Scott Wegener had cast the African-American actor Jayshan Jackson for the main part, and then reworked the script accordingly: in Wegener's version, Beowulf's father was a fisherman from an African people, who ended up in Northern Europe where he fathered a child with a local woman. This led to protests from neo-Nazis and other white supremacists, via email and on websites. Neo-Odinists, who consider Beowulf as equivalent to a sacred text, were offended by Wegener's choice.


1972 in Germany

# 1972 in Germany

## Abstract

Events in the year 1972 in Germany.

## Incumbents

- President – Gustav Heinemann

- Chancellor – Willy Brandt

## Events

- 19 February – Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 1972

- 1 April – German company SAP SE is founded.

- 19 May – Three out of six bombs explode in the Axel Springer AG media company offices in Hamburg, injuring 17; the Red Army Faction claims responsibility.

- 24 May – A Red Army Faction bomb explodes in the Campbell Barracks of the U.S. Army Supreme European Command in Heidelberg, West Germany; three U.S. soldiers (Clyde Bonner, Ronald Woodard and Charles Peck) are killed.

- 2 June – Andreas Baader, Jan-Carl Raspe, Holger Meins and some other members of the Red Army Faction are arrested in Frankfurt am Main,after a shootout.

- 15 June – Ulrike Meinhof and Gerhard Müller of the Red Army Faction are arrested in a teacher's apartment in Langenhagen, West Germany.

- 23 June - 4 July – 22nd Berlin International Film Festival

- 30 June - 8 October – documenta 5

- 14 August – 1972 Königs Wusterhausen air disaster

- 26 August – 10 September – 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.

- 5 September – Munich massacre: Members of the Palestinian terrorist group Black September kill two members of the Israeli Olympic team and take another nine hostage.

- 29 October – Lufthansa Flight 615 is hijacked and threats are made to be blown up if the three surviving perpetrators of the Munich massacre are not released from prison in West Germany. The demands are accepted, leading to fierce condemnation by Israel.

- 19 November – West German federal election, 1972

- 15 December – The Second Brandt cabinet led by Willy Brandt was sworn in.

- 21 December – The Basic Treaty is signed by Federal Republic of Germany and German Democratic Republic.

- Transit Agreement

- Date unknown German company Fielmann is founded. German company SAP AG is founded. Kadir Nurman introduces a sandwich made with döner kebab meat as a fast-food item in Berlin.

- German company Fielmann is founded.

- German company SAP AG is founded.

- Kadir Nurman introduces a sandwich made with döner kebab meat as a fast-food item in Berlin.

## Births

- 2 January – Britt Hagedorn, German television presenter

- 15 February – Michelle, German singer

- 22 February – Claudia Pechstein, German speedskater

- 10 March – Mark Waschke, German actor

- 4 April – Bastian Pastewka, German actor and comedian

- 9 April – Bernard Ackah, German-Ivorian mixed martial artist and comedian

- 16 April – Andreas Dittmer, German canoeist

- 10 May – Katja Seizinger, German alpine ski racer

- 23 May – Nadja Uhl, German actress

- 14 June – Matthias Ettrich, German computer scientist

- 20 June – Simon Verhoeven, German actor and film director

- 22 June – Michael Wendler, German singer

- 1 July – Steffi Nerius, German athlete

- 10 July – Christoph Hochhäusler, German film director

- 3 September – Tim Lobinger, German pole vaulter

- 18 October – Helge Braun, German politician

- 1 November – Mario Barth, German comedian

- 3 November – Hubertus Heil, German politician

- 4 December – Marc Bator, German journalist

- 16 December – Julia Klöckner, German politician

- 28 December – Florian Pronold, German politician

## Deaths

- 6 January - Walther von Axthelm, German general (born 1893)

- 25 January - Erhard Milch, German field marshal of Luftwaffe (born 1892)

- 20 February — Maria Goeppert-Mayer, Germann theoretical physicist, and Nobel laureate in Physics (born 1906)

- 27 March — Raimund Schelcher, German actor (born 1910)

- 6 April — Heinrich Lübke, German politician, former President of Germany (born 1894)

- 26 April — Johann Reichhart, German executioner (born 1893)

- 14 May - Theodor Blank, German politician (born 1905)

- 23 June — Werner Klingler, German film director and actor (born 1903)

- 25 June - Günther Simon, German actor (born 1925)

- 2 July — Eduard Zuckmayer, German writer and playwright (born 1890)

- 20 July — Friedrich Flick, German entrepreneur and industrialist (born 1883)

- 1 August - Erwin Madelung, German physicist (born 1881)

- 21 August – Heinz Ziegler, German general (born 1894)

- 29 August — Lale Andersen, German singer (born 1905)

- 29 September - Max Nosseck, German film director (born 1902)

- 4 October — Karl Theodor Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg, German politician (born 1921)

- 25 November - Hans Scharoun, German architect (born 1893)

- 9 December - William Dieterle, German actor and film director (born 1893)

- 20 December - Günter Eich, German author (born 1907)

- 24 December - Ernst Kreuder, German writer (born 1903)