| Summary, etc. |
This book has developed out of my thesis for Ph.D and is<br/>concerned with the part played by the Bengalees in the political,<br/>social and cultural fields in Bihar between 1858, when the power<br/>to govern India was transferred from the East India Company<br/>to the British Crown, and 1912, when Bihar was separated from<br/>Bengal. The justification of choosing 1858 is that besides being<br/>a landmark in Indian history, by this time Bengal had completed<br/>the most brilliant phase of the Renaissance and the Bengalee<br/>migrant community now carried this torch to other parts of<br/>India.<br/>My interest in the topic 'Bengalees in Bihar' began a few<br/>years ago while I was studying the lives and achievements of<br/>Pandita Ramabai, Mrs. Aghore Kamini Devi, Sakharam Ganesh<br/>Deuskar and some leading Bengali writers based in Bihar. It<br/>was, however, Dr. Surendra Gopal, Professor of History, Patna<br/>University and author of a pioneering work on Patna in the<br/>19th century and Brahmo movement in Bihar, who greatly en-<br/>couraged me to explore and develop the subject further. I am<br/>deeply grateful to him for kindly agreeing to guide me in my<br/>research work. His advice on the source material, suggestions<br/>at each stage of my work and correction of draft have immen-<br/>sely helped in the formulation and sharpening of my ideas. No<br/>word of thanks is adequate for his invaluable guidance.<br/>I have collected new information through various sources<br/>and have tried to synthesise it with the available information.<br/>The information was gleaned from English, Bengali and Hindi<br/>language-sources. Additional data were collected through inter-<br/>views and questionnaires from individuals spread all over Bihar.<br/>I do not claim to propound any theme or present a new point<br/>of view in this study. It seems to me, however, that in no lin-<br/>guistic state the majority group alone can boast of achievements.<br/>In a multi-linguistic, multi-cultural and pluralistic society of<br/>ours, minority groups, based on race, language or religion, have<br/>very often played a crucial role in shaping the course of events.<br/>That also explains the uniqueness of the unity of India.<br/>The research work was done mainly in Patna and other dis-<br/>tricts of Bihar. Information was collected either through direct<br/>interviews or through questionnaires from knowledgeable per-<br/>sons. I also worked in libraries in Calcutta and Delhi. I am grate-<br/>ful to the members of the staff of Sinha Library, Patna University<br/>Library, Secretariat Library and Hemchandra Pathagar for<br/>providing all facilities. I had also a profitable time at the Na-<br/>tional Library, Calcutta. I am also thankful to the staff of the<br/>Indian Council of Historical Research and the English and In-<br/>dian Languages Sections of the Central Secretariat Library, New<br/>Delhi.<br/>To late Shri P.C. Roy Choudhury, a former Editor of Bihar<br/>Gazetteers, I owe special gratitude for his guidance, suggestions<br/>and ideas. Even at an old age his interest in works of scholarship<br/>remained undiminished. I should also thank Sri Nabi Nath Jha,<br/>retired Deputy Collector, Darbhanga, for providing valuable in-<br/>formation on my subject, especially on Bengal's relations with<br/>Mithila segment of Bihar in the medieval period.<br/>Thanks are also due to innumerable individuals who took<br/>considerable pains to answer my questionnaires and provide<br/>valuable information. I am also grateful to the distinguished<br/>representatives of some old Bengali families who, in the course<br/>of interviews, not only gave me facts and their socio-economic<br/>background, but added dimension to the local history.<br/>The responsibility for mistakes and errors is entirely mine. |
