Are Sinhalas related to Bengalis?

Genetic studies on the Sinhalese  suggest a predominantly Tamil origin followed by a significant Bengali contribution with a slight North Western Indian contribution. While modern studies using more sophisticated testing point towards a predominantly Bengali contribution and a minor South Indian Tamil and North Western Indian contribution respectively.

What are the basis for these studies?

An Alu polymorphism analysis of Sinhalese from Colombo by Dr Sarabjit Mastanain in 2007 using Tamil, Bengali, Gujarati (Patel), and Punjabi as parental populations found different proportions of genetic contribution. According to the maximum likelihood method, nearly 88.07% genetic contribution is from Bengalis. A genetic distance analysis by Dr Robet Kirk also concluded that the modern Sinhalese are most closely related to the Bengalis. This is further substantiated by a VNTR study, which found 70-82% of Sinhalese genes to originate from Bengali admixture.

When three years back, a Sri Lankan envoy sought Indian support on the basis of the claim that the Sinhalese people are descendents of Bengalis and Odias, there was an upsurge of perplexity and outrage among large sections of the Indian population. However, subsequent research has shown that the Sinhalese, who make up about 75 per cent of the Sri Lankan population might very well have descended from inhabitants of ancient East India. 

The “Mahavamsa”, arguably the greatest chronicle of Sri Lanka, narrates an interesting episode that marks the origin of the Sinhalese people. As per the mythological record, the foundation stone of the Sinhalese community was laid by King Vijaya who had travelled there from North-West India in 543 BC and founded the first Sinhalese town by the name of Tambapani. One of the murals at the Ajanta caves carry an elaborate depiction of King Vijaya’s travel to the Sinhalese town. According to the Mahavamsa, an ancient chronicle of Sri Lanka’s kings written in Pali, a king from Singhapur in Rarh (southwest Bengal) named Vijaya sailed on eight ships to Sri Lanka with 700 of his people in 543 BC and established the kingdom of Sinhala. Legend describes the Sinhalese as descendants of Vijaya and his people, who would have lived in parts of today’s East Midnapore, close to Odisha. Some scholars believe that today’s Singur — which changed Bengal’s political climate a few years ago — is where Singhapur was located and that Singur derives its name from that ancient town. The Mahavamsa mentions another town in Rarh called Banganagar.

In a recent book, “The ocean of churn: How the Indian ocean shaped human history”, writer Sanjiv Sanyal remarks that the symbol of the lion that is so important among the Sinhalese is equally revered among the Odiyas and Bengalis. While the Narasimha (God Vishnu as half man and half lion) is worshipped in Odisha, among Bengalis the image of Goddess Durga is incomplete without the lion upon which she rides. In the opinion of Sanyal, the image of the lion on the Sri Lankan flag and the religious symbolism of the lion in Odisha and Bengal have the same cultural origins. In his celebrated account on the development of the Bengali language, Suniti Kumar Chatterjee comments upon the Indo-Aryan content in the Sinhalese speech in the following words: “The first immigrants who carried the Indo-Aryan speech to Ceylon seem to have been from the Western Indian coast. Later from 3rd century BC onwards Ceylon seems to have come in touch with Magadha through Bengal and traditions of intimate connections between Bengal and Ceylon are preserved in Bengali literature.” 

Historically speaking, what further seems to corroborate the link between Odisha, Bengal and Sri Lanka is the thriving trade between the two regions. While Ceylon (old name of Sri Lanka) depended upon Kalinga for import of elephants, Kalinga imported pearl and silver from Ceylon. Records have shown that by the 5th century BC, a strong relationship had developed between the two regions as a result of the commercial ties that spread fast enough to have its impact upon the socio-cultural and political arena.

However, the genetic, cultural and linguistic relation that the Sinhalese population shares with the Bengalis and Odiyas, though of scholarly interest, has remained largely ignored by the popular masses.

Rani Padmini & Alauddin Khilji- What really happened between the two?

Princess Padmini or Padmavati, was the daughter of King Gandharva and Queen Champavati, of Singhal clan. Her father arranged a Swayamvara, a ceremony where all Hindu kings and Rajputs are invited to win the hand of the princess by showing their strength and eligibility. King Rawal Ratan Singh of Chittor, who was married to Queen Nagmati, won Princess Padmini’s hand by defeating a small state king, Malkhan. King Rawal Ratan Singh returned to Chittor along with his very beautiful second wife, Queen Padmini.

The beauty of Rani Padmini was legendary. Very fair and flawless skinned, she was so delicately beautiful that one could literally see water passing by her throat when she drank water, same when she ate betel leaves. Poems of her beauty are written in the epic poem PADMAVAT, by the poet Mallik Mohammed Jayasi in 1540 AD.

Chittor was ruled by the brave and noble Rajput warrior, King Ratan Rawal Singh, who, apart from being a loving husband and a just ruler, was also a patron of the arts. All the artists, dancers, craftsmen, musicians, poets, singers, etc were welcomed and honoured by the king. And among his most talented courtiers, was the musician called Raghav Chetak. But unknown to anybody, Raghav Chetan was also a sorcerer and an ardent black magician. He used his evil talents to run down his rivals and, unfortunately for him, was caught red-handed in his dirty act of arousing evil spirits. On hearing this, King Rawal Ratan Singh was furious and he banished Raghav Chetan from his kingdom after blackening his face and making him ride a donkey. This harsh punishment earned Ratan Singh an uncompromising enemy. Sulking after his humiliation, Raghav Chetan made his way towards Delhi with the aim of trying to incite the Sultan of Delhi, Alauddin Khilji, to attack Chittor.

Raghav chetak was aware of the fact that the Sultan of Delhi, Alauddin, used to come to a forest on the outskirts of Delhi for deer hunting. He settled there in that forest and played flute daily. One day, as luck favoured Raghav Chetak,  the Sultan’s hunt party entering the forest, and he started playing a melodious tone on his flute. When the alluring notes of Raghav Chetan’s flute reached the Sultan’s ears and amongst his soldiers, they were amazed as to who could be playing a flute like a professional with such mastery and excellence in a forest. The Sultan dispatched his soldiers to fetch the person and, when Raghav Chetan was brought before him, Sultan Alauddin Khilji invited him to come to his court at Delhi. The cunning Raghav Chetan grabbed his opportunity to incite the Sultan, and asked the king as to why he wants to have an ordinary musician like himself when there were many other beautiful objects to be had.  Trying to read between the lines and pondering on what exactly the musician meant, Alauddin asked him to clarify.  Raghav Chetak proved himself as a traitor by detailing Rani Padmini’s beauty, the queen of his own motherland.  Alauddin’s lust aroused on hearing this and he was provoked to attack Chittor and win Rani Padmini by force, as he thought that lady of such beauty deserved to be in his harem. He had been planning to conquer Mewar for a long time but his desire to take Padmavati as his mistress proved to be the deciding factor that shifted his immediate focus towards Mewar and the fort of Chittor.

During that time, Mewar was the strongest Rajput kingdom and a bitter opponent of the Delhi Sultanate. The seat of Mewar was the formidable fort of Chittor, the largest fort in the sub continent. The fort had been constructed in the 7th century AD by the Mauryans and had never been sacked in its history. Spread across 700 acres the fort was situated on a hill top and was extremely well fortified. It was January 1303 when Ala-ud-Din marshaled his army, marched south, and laid siege to Chittor. But seeing the fort and realizing that the breaching its defenses would be a near impossible task Ala-ud-Din came up with a devious plan. He sent an emissary to Ratan Singh that he would return to Delhi with his army if allowed a glimpse of the famous beauty of Rani Padmavati. Trying to avoid a war, Ratan Singh agreed, however consented only to allow Ala-ud-Din to look at Padmavati’s reflection in a mirror.

The sultan came with his most trusted and experienced generals who, while they waited keenly examined the fort’s defenses in order to prepare for their attack on Chittor. Meanwhile on seeing Rani Padmavati’s reflection Ala-ud-Din was awed by her beauty and his desire for her increased. On the way back to his camp, he was escorted by Ratan Singh to the gate of the fort. There, Ala-ud-Din’s soldiers ambushed and captured the king. He was taken as a prisoner to the sultan’s camp. The sultan then sent message to Rani Padmavati and the nobles of Mewar demanding Padmavati in exchange of Ratan Singh. Rani Padmavati discussed the proposal with her uncle and his son, Gora and Badal, who were also the leading generals in Ratan Singh’s army. Together they came up with an ingenious plan. A message was sent to Ala-ud-Din that Padmavati, along with her serving maids and her retinue would come to his camp in the morning. When dawn arrived, 200 palanquins left the gates of Chittor. Each palanquin was carried by four men from the Rajput army disguised as palanquin bearers. Inside each palanquin sat four more men carrying swords and other weapons for themselves and their disguised friends. Gora and Badal had handpicked the fiercest warriors and were leading the assault themselves. When the procession reached Ala-ud-Din’s camp the Rajputs jumped out from the palanquins and attacked the sultan’s unsuspecting soldiers. Though the Rajputs suffered heavy losses and both Gora and Badal perished, Rana Ratan Singh was rescued and returned safely to the fort. Ala-ud-Din then lay seize to the fort.


By August, after a long drawn seize, the resources within the fort decreased and Ratan Singh planned an all out suicide attack on the would-be invaders as they could hold out no longer. The womenfolk then resident within that fort decided to collectively committ suicide rather than risk personal dishonor at the hands of the victorious invading army. On 26th August, 1303, a huge pier was lit within the fort and Rani Padmavati, along with other noblewomen belonging to the court committed Jauhar. The Rajput men then wore saffron turbans as a mark of performing saka, rode out to meet Ala-ud-Din’s army in battle and perished to the last man. The first written version of the legend appeared nearly 250 years after the event in a long narrative poem written by Malik Muhammad Jayasi. The epic poem was written in Awadhi around 1540 AD during the rule of Sher Shah Suri.

The story of Alauddin Khilji requesting to see Queen Padmini and Rajputs allowing him to see her through mirror is a shameless myth that originated from Padmavat – a poem by Malik Muhammad Jayasi written 250 years after the event had actually occurred. In the 19th century, during the Swadeshi movement, Padmini became a symbol of Indian patriotism. Indian nationalist writers portrayed her story as an example of a heroic sacrifice, and a number of plays featuring her were staged after 1905. Ireland-born Sister Nivedita (1867-1911), who was a disciple of Swami Vivekananda also visited Chittor and historicized Padmini. Rajkahini by Abanindranath Tagore (1871-1951) popularized her as a historical figure among schoolchildren. Later, some history textbooks began to refer to Khilji invading Chittor to obtain Padmini. By the 20th century, some elite Rajput women of Rajasthan characterized Padmini as a historical figure who exemplifies Rajput womanhood. Although there is no historical evidence that Padmini existed, she has become a symbol of valour and sacrifice in Rajput history. Hindu activists have characterised her as a chaste Hindu woman, and her suicide as a heroic act of resistance against the invader Alauddin Khilji.

Mao's The Great Sparrow Campaign

1958 in China. That was the year that Mao Zedong, the founding father of the People's Republic of China, decided that his country could do without pests like sparrows. It was called “The four pests” campaign. The goal was to eradicate 4 pests in China that Mao Zedong considered to be an enemy of the people. These four pests were : The mosquito which spread malaria, the rat which spread plague, the fly which spread other diseases and the sparrow which ate the grain of the peasants.

Out of these four, only one campaign was totally effective in its goal of eradicating its pest : The Eurasian Tree  Sparrow. The Chinese government, at the request of Mao spent a significant sum of money encouraging and advertising to the peasants that killing the pests would make the country better. The masses of China were mobilized to eradicate the birds, and citizens took to banging pots and pans or beating drums to scare the birds from landing, forcing them to fly until they fell from the sky in exhaustion. Sparrow nests were torn down, eggs were broken, and nestlings were killed. Sparrows and other birds were shot down from the sky, resulting in the near-extinction of the birds in China.

The problem with the Great Sparrow Campaign became evident in 1960. The sparrows, it seemed, didn't only eat grain seeds. They also ate insects. With no birds to control them, insect populations boomed. Locusts, in particular,swarmed over the country eating everything they could find — including crops intended for human food. People, on the other hand, quickly ran out of things to eat, and millions starved. Numbers vary, of course, with the official number from the Chinese government placed at 15 million. The deaths of the sparrows were not the only contributing factor to the famine, murders and deaths. For one thing, there was a massive drought in 1960. For another, the central government instituted new agricultural practices that proved to be complete failures. At the heart of it, the real cause was the Communist government, which — either as policy or by the selfish act of various officials — kept the grain from being delivered to those in need and covered up the problem. They also ruthlessly, sadistically and brutally detained, beat and hunted down anyone who appeared to question the situation. China has continuously played down the causes and effects of the Great Famine, which is still officially known as the "Three Years of Difficult Period" or "Three Years of Natural Disasters." Ecological imbalance is credited with exacerbating the Great Chinese Famine, in which between 20–45 million people died of starvation. This is what happens when despots start tinkering with the environment.

Japanese bombing of Kolkata in World War II

During the Second World War, in the years 1942-44 during World War II, Japanese fighter planes bombed Calcutta trying to destroy the crucial Howrah Bridge as well as operations at the sea port. India was a major aerial supply route, for an American military mission that came to be known as ‘flying over the Hump’, a term of reference for flying over the Indian Himalayas. Though extremely dangerous (several U.S. planes had crashed on the mission), it was the only way for the allies to send supplies to China in support of its war against Japan, while avoiding Japanese occupied Burma.

The eastern Indian state of Calcutta (now Kolkata), because of its proximity to China and Burma, was as an important hub in execution of the military operations. In fact, the Red Road in Calcutta had even been used an emergency runway for operation Hump. However, by May 1942, after the Japanese had overrun Burma, having defeated the British and Chinese ground troops, they had Calcutta well within their reach. The city was “blacked out” from sunset to sunrise to make it harder for the bombers to accurately hit their targets. Calcutta boasted of a good air defense system which was respected by the Japanese fighter pilots who raided only at night and ensured they flew high. 

On 20 December 1942, bombers of the Japanese Imperial Japanese Air Force bombed the city, damaging its infrastructure. The city was bombed several times over the next few days, the most notably on the night of 24 December. The bombs, all had fallen over a very large area- Chowringhee, Bentinck Street, Mango Lane, Old Court House Street, Dalhousie Square etc. The Central Telegraph Office suffered the maximum damage. The bombing of Calcutta led to an exodus of residents — Howrah and Sealdah Stations being packed with people trying to get out.

In 1943, the Japanese raid on Calcutta’s Kidderpore docks took a heavy toll of property and lives. Hundreds of people were killed and many ships and warehouses were destroyed in this attack.  Japanese bombing of Calcutta continued sporadically until 1944 when Japan deployed its fighter planes elsewhere. World War II ended the next year. In 2013 the Japanese chief of army staff General Eiji Kimizuka and his wife Junko Kimizuka visited Kolkata, travelling down the same Red Road on their way to visit the Victoria Memorial, a landmark structure in the city built at the peak of the British Empire in India.