History of Bangladesh Preface

For the history of Bengal in middle age our source is DYNASTIC HISTORY OF BENGAL (c. 750 - 1200 A. D.) of Dr. Abdul Momin Chowdhury. The book was first published from "The Asiatic Society of Bengal, Dhaka" in 1967. The book is one of the best researces about the history of Bengal in middle age.

Dr. Abdul Momin Chowdhury
M. A. (Dhaka), Ph. D. (London)
Senior Lecturer, Department of History,
University of Dhaka



PREFACE

"That the world history has to be rewritten from time to time, about that there remains no doubt in our day. This necessity exists, not because what has passed has been discovered since, but because new points of view arise, because the contemporary of an advanced age is led into a position from which the past can be surveyed and assessed anew."

This wrote Goethe one and a half centuries ago. The wisdom of his words of shown by the changes during the last decade or two in the assessment and fresh appraisal of Indo-Bengal history. I have undertaken this work as a revised study of the dynastic history of Bengal from the of the Palas down to the coming of Muslims. The necessity arises for two reasons.

Firstly, the discovery of new materials has rendered necessary changes in accepted conclusions and also has added new data which need to be incorporated in the history of Bengal in the pre-Muslim period. Thus the history of South-Eastern Bengal under its Deva and Candra rulers was hitherto little known and was generally confused with the history of the Pals rulers if north-western Bengal and Magadha.
Secondly, most of the historical writings on Pre-Muslim Bengal were inspired by patriotism. It is true that it is difficult for historian to keep himself aloof from contemporary feelings and sentiments. But with the passage of time and changes in circumstances the necessity of revising previously written history becomes apparent. Prominent scholars like R. C. Majumdar, R. D. Banerji, H. C. Ray, B. C. Sen, D. C. Sircar, D. C. Ganguly, N. K. Bhattasali and writing the ancient history of Bengal,, but contemporary developments may demand a fresh interpretation of the data.

The inspiration to write their own history was possibly aroused among the learned Bengalis by the call of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya, who in his ‘Banga Darsan’ (1287 B.S. / 1881 A.D.) urged Bengalis to find out their past. The feeling of Bengali nationalism is well known in the writings of this great novelist and litterateur. “His historical novels in Bengali to achieve an equally glorious future, and demonstrated the power of the pen as an instrument for stirring up patriotic emotions in times when overt political action was impossible” (Wm. Theodore De Barry : Source of Indian tradition, P. 707 ). Inspired by his appeal, if not indoctrinated by his nationalistic feelings, learned men in Bengal set about the task of discovering and writing Bengal’s history. The labour og these writers provided a rough framework which is still being filled in and corrected.

Historians writing against this background of nationalistic feelings found it difficult, naturally perhaps, to alienate themselves from the current atmosphere and hence er find signs if its impact on their writings. A critical re-examination if the sources, added to the new-found facts, shows that many of the established ideas are rather fanciful and unfounded. Imagination is no doubt the magic wand of the historian which transforms faded parchments into a living panorama if the past. But this imagination should always be controlled by the evidence in his possession, and it should play its part within the framework is the information which he gleans from his sources. Once imagination outsteps the jurisdiction of reason it is sure to destroy the historian’s judgement. And imagination backed up by local patriotism deem to have played rather too large a part in the writing of Bengal’s history.

My present work, which earns me the Ph. D. Degree from the University of London, os a details study of the dynastic history of Bengal. In the course of my research I have re-examined the sources and found that many if the conclusions reached by previous writers are rather fanciful and unfounded. In an appendix I have discussed the chronology if the Pala kings. The chronology of the other dynasties has been included in their respective chapters.

In the preparation of this thesis I owe a deep debt of gratitude to my supervisor, Professor A.L. Basham, formerly Head of the Department of South Asian History, Dchool of Oriental and African Studies, University if London, and now Professor of South Asian History, Australian National University, Canberra, for his unfailing assistance, guidance and encouragement.

A. M. Chowdhury
Dhaka
May, 1965