| Total population | |
|---|---|
| ~1,000 | |
| Languages | |
| Bengali Indian Languages | |
| Religion | |
| Jainism |
Jain population in Bangladesh is small, mainly located in urban areas like Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet, where they continue to preserve their cultural and religious practices despite challenges.
Jainism likely arrived in the Bengal region, including present-day Bangladesh, around the 5th century BCE. The religion flourished alongside Buddhism and Hinduism in ancient Bengal, especially during the Pala dynasties from 8th to 12th centuries and the Sena dynasty from 11th to 12th centuries. Jains received royal patronage, resulting in the establishment of temples and communities. [1]
They contributed to the region’s cultural and architectural development. In 1879, Alexander Cunningham discovered a Jain image at Mahasthangarh, which was later moved to the Varendra Research Museum in 1912. [2]
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Jains moved to urban centers during British colonial rule. Following the Partition of India in 1947, many Jains relocated to India due to communal tensions and demographic shifts, leading to a significant decline in their population in Bangladesh. [3]
Bengal is a historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Bengal proper is divided between the modern-day sovereign nation of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal.
Indian religions, sometimes also termed Dharmic religions or Indic religions, are the religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent. These religions, which include Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism, are also classified as Eastern religions. Although Indian religions are connected through the history of India, they constitute a wide range of religious communities, and are not confined to the Indian subcontinent.
The middle kingdoms of India were the political entities in the Indian subcontinent from 230 BCE to 1206 CE. The period begins after the decline of the Maurya Empire and the corresponding rise of the Satavahana dynasty, starting with Simuka, from 230 BCE. The "middle" period lasted for almost 1436 years and ended in 1206 CE, with the rise of the Delhi Sultanate, founded in 1206, and the end of the Later Cholas.
Magadha, also called the Kingdom of Magadha or the Magadha Empire, was a kingdom and empire, and one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas, 'Great Footholds of the People' during the Second Urbanization period, based in southern Bihar in the eastern Ganges Plain, in Ancient India. Magadha was ruled by the Brihadratha dynasty, the Haryanka dynasty, the Shaishunaga dynasty, the Nanda dynasty, the Maurya dynasty, the Shunga dynasty, the Kanva dynasty, the Gupta dynasty and the Later Gupta dynasty (490–700). Kanva dynasty lost much of its territory after being defeated by the Satavahanas of Deccan in 28 BCE and was reduced to a small principality around Pataliputra. However, with the rule of Gupta Empire, The Gupta Empire regained the Glory of Magadh. Under the Mauryas, Magadha became a pan-Indian empire, covering large swaths of the Indian subcontinent and Afghanistan. The Magadh under the Gupta Empire emerged as the most prosperous kingdom in the history of Ancient India.
Dhaka Division is an administrative division within Bangladesh. Dhaka serves as the capital city of the Dhaka Division, the Dhaka District and Bangladesh. The division remains a population magnet, covers an area of 20,508.8 km2 with a population in excess of 44 million, It is the most populous country second level division of the world, growing at 1.94% rate since prior count, compared with national average of 1.22%. However, national figures may include data skewing expatriation of male labor force as gender ratio is skewed towards females.
Islam is the largest and the state religion of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. According to the 2022 census, Bangladesh had a population of about 150 million Muslims, or 91.04% of its total population of 165 million. Muslims of Bangladesh are predominant native Bengali Muslims. The majority of Bangladeshis are Sunni, and follow the Hanafi school of fiqh. Bangladesh is a de facto secular country.
Buddhism, which originated in India, gradually dwindled starting in the 4th-6th century CE, and was replaced by Hinduism approximately the 12th century, in a centuries-long process. Lack of appeal among the rural masses, who instead embraced Brahmanical Hinduism formed in the Hindu synthesis, and dwindling financial support from trading communities and royal elites, were major factors in the decline of Buddhism.
Buddhism is the third-largest religious affiliation and formed about 0.63% of the population of Bangladesh. It is said that Buddha once in his life came to this region of East Bengal to spread his teachings and he was successful in converting the local people to Buddhism, specially in the Chittagong division and later on Pala empire propagate and patronized Buddhist religion throughout the Bengal territory. About 1 million people in Bangladesh adhere to the Theravada school of Buddhism. Over 65% of the Buddhist population is concentrated in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region, where it is the predominant faith of the Rakhine, Chakma, Marma, Tanchangya, other Jumma people and the Barua. The remaining 35% are Bengali Buddhists. Buddhist communities are present in the urban centers of Bangladesh, particularly Chittagong and Dhaka.
Kurigram District is a district of Bangladesh in the Rangpur Division. The district is located in northern Bangladesh along the country's border with India. Under Indian rule, the area was organized as a mahakuma and was not established as a district until 1984.
Medieval India refers to a long period of post-classical history of the Indian subcontinent between the "ancient period" and "modern period". It is usually regarded as running approximately from the break-up of the Gupta Empire in the 6th century CE to the start of the early modern period in 1526 with the start of the Mughal Empire, although some historians regard it as both starting and finishing later than these points. The medieval period is itself subdivided into the early medieval and late medieval eras.
Cooch Behar district is a district of the Indian state of West Bengal. Formerly part of the Kamarupa kingdom, the area became the heart of the Kamata Kingdom in the 12th century. During the British Raj, the district was known as Cooch Behar state ruled by the Koch dynasty until 1949, when it became part of India. The district consists of the flat plains of North Bengal and has several rivers: the most notable being the Teesta, Jaldhaka and Torsa. The district has the highest proportion of Scheduled Castes in the country, where they form a majority.
Birbhum district is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the northernmost district of Burdwan division—one of the five administrative divisions of West Bengal. The district headquarters is in Suri. Other important cities are Bolpur, Rampurhat and Sainthia. Jamtara, Dumka and Pakur districts of the state of Jharkhand lie at the western border of this district; the border in other directions is covered by the districts of Bardhaman of Purba Bardhaman, Paschim Bardhaman and Murshidabad of West Bengal.
Bogra District, officially Bogura District since April 2018, is a district in the northern part of Bangladesh, in the Rajshahi Division. Bogra is an industrial city where many small and mid-sized companies are sited. Bogra was a part of the Pundravardhana territory of ancient Bengal and the ruins of its capital can be found in northern Bogra.
Bengalis, also rendered as endonym Bangalee, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of South Asia. The population is divided between the sovereign country Bangladesh and the Indian regions of West Bengal, Tripura, Barak Valley, Goalpara, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and parts of Meghalaya, Manipur and Jharkhand. Most speak Bengali, a language from the Indo-Aryan language family. Sub-section 2 of Article 6 of the Constitution of Bangladesh states, "The people of Bangladesh shall be known as Bengalis as a nation and as Bangladeshis as citizens."
Religion in Karnataka has played a very important role in shaping modern Indian religions and philosophy.
The United Nations categorizes Bangladesh as a moderate democratic Muslim country. Sunni Islam is the largest religion in the country and in all of its districts, except Rangamati. The Constitution of Bangladesh refers to Islam twice: the document begins with the Islamic phrase Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem and article (2A), added later, declares that: "Islam is the state religion of the republic".
Archaeological evidence shows Jainism was a significant religion in Bengal region during the early historic period.
Jagaddala Mahavihara was a Buddhist monastery and seat of learning in Varendra, a geographical unit in present north Bengal in Bangladesh. It was founded by the later kings of the Pāla dynasty, probably Ramapala, most likely at a site near the present village of Jagdal in Dhamoirhat Upazila in the north-west Bangladesh on the border with India, near Paharapur. Some texts also spell the name Jaggadala.
Bengali Buddhists are a religious subgroup of the Bengalis who adhere to or practice the religion of Buddhism. Bengali Buddhist people mainly live in Bangladesh and Indian states West Bengal and Tripura.
Religion in West Bengal is composed of diversified beliefs and practices. As per the 2011 census, Hinduism is the largest and biggest religion practiced by Indian Bengalis in the state, followed by Islam which is the second largest and biggest minority religion in the state. Smaller percentage of people adheres to Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Animism, Zoroastrianism & Judaism or are Irreligious
| Gods | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philosophy | |||||
| Branches |
| ||||
| Practices | |||||
| Literature | |||||
| Symbols | |||||
| Ascetics | |||||
| Scholars | |||||
| Community | |||||
| Jainism in |
| ||||
| Jainism and | |||||
| Dynasties and empires | |||||
| Related | |||||
| Lists | |||||
| Navboxes | |||||
