Bengal studies (Bengali: বঙ্গবিদ্যা; Bangabidya) is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to the study of the Bengali people, culture, language, literature, and history. The focus of this field, which qualifies as area studies and cultural studies, is on Indic Bengalis who follow an indigenous system of faith and refer to themselves as Bengalis. It is a subset of South Asian studies or Indology.[1][2]

A study of the history and culture of the Bengali people have been undertaken by the Bengalis themselves and others like Muhammadal-Biruni travelling to Bengal since medieval times. The work of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay is often considered[by whom?] to be a forerunner of Bengali studies after the Mughal period, while Ishwar Chandra Gupta pioneered the study of Bengali poets through a critically annotated collection of the diverse oral poetic traditions of Bengal. Twentieth-century Bengali historians like Ramesh Chandra Majumdar and Niharranjan Ray were among the prominent researchers of the history and culture of the Bengali people.

International Congress of Bengal Studies

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References

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  1. ^ "About International Society of Bengal Studies". Archived from the original on 2017-07-05. Retrieved 2015-11-16.
  2. ^ "Home". Journal of Bengali Studies. Archived from the original on 5 November 2014.
  3. ^ "About International Congress of Bengal Studies". Archived from the original on 2017-07-05. Retrieved 2015-11-16.
  4. ^ "Call for Papers, 4th International Congress of Bengal Studies" (PDF). Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.