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the Bengali calendar

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Bidushi Bhattacharya

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Apr 22, 1993, 6:05:00 AM4/22/93
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I was just wondering if anyone out there could tell me now the Bengali calendar
was derived. Why is the year 1400 (I think that's right) just starting. Considering
our history, I would have expected an older calendar.

Thanks in advance,

Bidushi Bhattacharya

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:-)

CHOUDHURY, IFTEKHARUDDIN MOHAMM

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Apr 23, 1993, 10:23:00 AM4/23/93
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In article <BHATTACH.93...@tazboy.jpl.nasa.gov>, bhat...@tazboy.jpl.nasa.gov (Bidushi Bhattacharya) writes...

>
>I was just wondering if anyone out there could tell me now the Bengali calendar
>was derived. Why is the year 1400 (I think that's right) just starting. Considering
>our history, I would have expected an older calendar.
>
>Thanks in advance,
>
>Bidushi Bhattacharya

Bangla calender was introduced by the Mughals during the reign of emperor
Akbar in order to have a fixed annual period for collection of revenue.
Since the Mughals apparently used Hijri or Arabic calender, the first
Bangla year was numbered the same as the Hijri year at that point in time.
But Bangla being a solar year as opposed to Hijri which is a lunar year,
there is a difference of about eleven days between these two calenders.
As a result, Hijri is now about 14 years ahead of Bangla. And that's how
we are now in 14th century.

Iftekhar Choudhury
Texas A & M University
>

sayan bhattacharyya

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Apr 23, 1993, 10:39:04 AM4/23/93
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But isn't the Bangla calendar called Sakabda (Saka era)? Where does
this name come from ?

Does it have anything to do with the defeat of the Saka tribesmen by
Kumaragupta ?

-Sayan.

CHOUDHURY, IFTEKHARUDDIN MOHAMM

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Apr 23, 1993, 10:39:00 PM4/23/93
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In article <23APR199...@zeus.tamu.edu>, imc...@zeus.tamu.edu (CHOUDHURY, IFTEKHARUDDIN MOHAMM) writes...

>And that's how
>we are now in 14th century.

This should have been 15th century. Sorry for the inadvertent mistake.

CHOUDHURY, IFTEKHARUDDIN MOHAMM

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Apr 23, 1993, 10:50:00 PM4/23/93
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In article <1993Apr23.1...@zip.eecs.umich.edu>, bhat...@quip.eecs.umich.edu (sayan bhattacharyya) writes...

>But isn't the Bangla calendar called Sakabda (Saka era)? Where does
>this name come from ?

Saka era or Sakabda is different from Bangla calendar. Sakabda was introduced
probably by King Kanishka in 78 A.D. It has been used in many Indian
inscriptions and also in places beyond India (Campuchea and Indonesia, for
example). The Indian government promulgated this calendar probably during
the late 1950's.

Iftekhar Choudhury
Texas A & M University

>
>-Sayan.

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