Interesting history and evolution of the Bengali Calendar
Today is Poila Boishakh-the first day of Bengali New Year 1431. But as per the Gregorian Calendar, this year is 2024. Most celebrate the 1st of January as New Year’s Day the same way we Bengalis celebrate Poila Boishakh as New Year’s Day. And most often Poila Boishakh coincides with the 14th of April every year.
But the question that often comes to mind is why the Bengali Calendar is distinct from the more common Gregorian Calendar and even the traditional Hindu calendar based on ancient Sanskrit astronomy.
Here are some interesting facts about the Bengali Calendar-its unique history and evolution.
The rich history of the Bengali Calendar starts as far back as the 7th century CE when King Shashanka of Gauḍa, Bengal initiated it. The calendar he started was solar, based on an old Sanskrit text Surya Siddhanta. It was based on the traditional Hindu system of timekeeping based on Jyotisha, an ancient system, that focused on observing and predicting the movement of the celestial bodies to indicate time. It was mostly based on the Vikrami calendar that King Vikramaditya started from 57 BCE onwards. King Shashanka, the first independent ruler of Bengal during his reign, enriched it with several modifications.
But, at present the Bengali Calendar has the elements of solar and lunar systems of the calendar. This amalgamation of two different systems, solar and lunar, is a unique characteristic of the Bengali Calendar. It is an interesting piece of history how this interesting evolution came about.
If we read history, we learn that various rulers made most decisions, irrespective of their identity, for territorial expansions and the ease of governance. We, at present, can interpret it depending on our ideology and biases. We can identify a monarch by religion, gender or nationality and analyse their actions to suit our narrow sectarian vested interests. But reading and interpreting history in such narrow vain can only distort our understanding of the past. The reality is, that ancient monarchs were busy expanding their territory to acquire more wealth. Another way to augment their wealth was to tax the subjects. Religion, as we commonly understand, has nothing to do with it.
The syncretic characteristics of the Bengali Calendar are due to the intervention of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. Akbar after consolidating his power, shifted his attention towards more intellectual pursuits like religion, philosophy, and arts. But his decision to change the Bengali calendar by infusing elements of the lunar Hijri calendar, to the present form is not theology. The change is for the ease of collecting tax from predominantly agriculturally rich Bengal.
Akbar’s court used to follow the Hijri calendar. Since the Hijri calendar is lunar, it was becoming difficult for Akbar’s administration to ascertain and keep track of the agricultural seasons of Bengal. This remained troublesome to collecting land revenue from Bengal.
To overcome this tax collection issue, Akbar asked his royal astronomer to form a new calendar that merged the elements of the Islamic Hijri lunar calendar and the traditional Bengali solar calendar based on the Sanskrit astronomical text Surya Siddhanta. The syncretic character of the Bengali calendar is due to the ease of acquiring taxes on agriculture.
The new calendar starts with the lunar Hijri calendar which considers Prophet Mohammed’s emigration from Mecca to Medina as the first year. Akbar’s coronation was in the year 1556 CE, 963 years after the emigration of Prophet Mohammed from Mecca to Medina. For the new calendar, the year of Akbar’s coronation was the first year, and from that year onward the new calendar changed into the traditional Bengali calendar.
The system may seem complicated, but there is a simple formula to determine the Bengali year as per this new system.
The Formula:
Islamic year at Akbar’s crowning (963) + current Gregorian solar year (2024) — Gregorian solar year at Akbar’s crowning (1556).
So to ascertain the present Bengali year do the math: 963+2024–1556 and voila, you get 1431 the Bengali year, that starts today. Akbar named this calendar the Tarikh-e-Ilahi, the Calendar of God. It was introduced in the year 1584 CE across the entire Mughal empire.
But now the question remains if this calendar was introduced across the Mughal territory, why the rest of India is different from the same calendar now? Like the religion created by Akbar, the Din-e-Ilahi, which did not last after Akbar’s death, Tarikh-e-Ilahi was also discontinued in most of India, after his death, except in Bengal. This calendar became an integral part of Bengali cultural identity, in agriculture and even in Hindu religious activities. Interestingly, for the greatest Bengali religious and cultural festival the Durga Puja, dates are calculated with two references, the year of Prophet Mohammed’s travel from Mecca to Medina and Akber’s year of coronation. Our orthodox upper caste Bengali Hindu Bhadraloks may get scandalised after reading this.
The history of the Bengali calendar can only be completed if the names of such greats as Dr Meghnad Saha and Dr Muhammad Shahidullah are mentioned. Dr Meghnad Saha in the 1950s and Dr Muhammad Shahidullah in 1963 worked extensively to develop and modernise the Bengali calendar. Their efforts have enhanced the calendar’s accuracy and functionality and laid the foundation for subsequent improvements with a commitment to scientific precision.
The Bengali calendar is the region’s cultural identity. Its history speaks of a captivating journey as the calendar continues to evolve to shape the rhythm of life for the people of this region.
Subho Nobo Borsho to you all.
Originally published at https://barun.substack.com.
