Growth of Muslim Population in Medieval India, A.D. 1000–1800 c21.30

c21.30

The social structure of Bengal too was not coalesced. It was a amalgamation of Hindus, non-Hindus, non-Aryan Hindus, and foreigners. The invaders and immigrants from the side of Assam, Tibet and Burma were not Hindus. Abdul Majid Khan even goes on to say : "In fact India or the land of the Hindus ended in Bengal west of the Bhagirathi."²⁰ The statement is not quite true, but in the Bengal Census Report of 1872 Beverley has explained in great detail the difficulty of settling who are and who are not Hindus, and says that the people put under 'Hindoos', "when classified by religion comprise many who are not Hindoos by race, and scarcely so in any other sense".²¹ Dr. Dani on an analysis of the Hindu population structure concludes that while about 38 per cent people are Aryans or of mixed origin, the rest 62 per cent originated from non-Aryans elements. These include Pundras in North and Pods in South Bengal. They have been admitted on all hands to be non-Aryans in origin. "Anthropologists like Thurston and J. Richards have talked of 'pre-Dravidians' also in Bengal. Peter Schmidt has even assumed that there is a common physical relationship among the Munda, the Khasi and the Mon and Khmer speakers of South-East Asia (but this is inconclusive). However, the dark, short and broadnoided people of Bengal are called pre-Dravidian by anthropologists. Tibeto-Chinese or Mongoloids also came into Bengal and have become part and parcel of its people. It is not known when the Bodo section of the Tibeto-Burman branch of these people (Bodo, Mech, Koch, Kachari, Rabha, Garo, Tipra) came to Assam and East Bengal, but are found spread all over North and East Bengal. "This overbearance of the non-Aryan elements has resulted in the great difference in the socio-religious life of Bengalis from the rest of India", in the worship of the female Shakti (power) form resulting in the development of Tantric cult and other related forms.²²