I must correct a mistake. I think, almost all of the Budhists had converted themselves in Bengal that includes west Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand. This is why it is almost impossible to find a single Budhist family among Bangalis. About Barua Budhists in Chittagong, they are racially different from other Bangalis. They are a mix between Bangali Hindu and Burmese Budhists when CTG was part of Arakan/Burma.
My opinion is even though there were conversions, there were also mass immigration to our land of plenty from the dry and parched land of north India and Bihar. This is the reason why there are fewer muslims in those areas and there are more muslims in the east. However, the main reason for their evacuating those places was time to time invasions of other groups of fortune-seeking hungry Muslims from the west.
The British were not aware until the 1st Census in 1870 that there were so many muslims in Bengal. So, they had started many thesis and hypothesis and imagination to this effect without going through the detail of the political history and then understanding the migration process from the north throughout the muslim era of about six Centuries.
Other than conversion and immigration, there are some other factors, too, that someday the muslim population of Bengal proportionately became larger than the Hindu population. Among these were widow marriage and polygamy. Moreover, muslims historically have a tendency to bear more children than the future conscious Hindus.
How more children results in more population can be seen from the population growths of Pakistan and BD. In 1947, the then east Pakistan had 35 million people whereas west had 25 million. Now, we have more than 140 million, but they have more than 160 million.
Similar thing happened also in Bengal between Muslims and Hindus. I think, a higher rate of growth was a strong reason for muslim population to someday overwhelm the Hindu population in Bengal. It means a lesser number of conversion than we generally assume.
Dear Eastwatch,
@ I fully agree with your points. Infact, I became interested in this topic that is
"In search of Bengali Muslim identity", when I was in Bosnia back in 1994 while I was serving in a NGO. At that time I was trying to understand how such a large people of Bosnia became a muslim(at the heart of Europe). I was reading a book named
"Islamization of Bosnia" by one British writer. Then it strike my mind, "How we became muslim in Bengal". Since than for the last 16 years I am studying and re-searching on this topic. Since than I visited all the places of muslim
Saints
like Sylhet, Bagerhat, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Bagha(Rajshahi) and Mastangarg(Bogra) and collected lot of choti books written by local people.
@
So after reading these books besides other historical books I have come to the conclusion that we the Bengalies are not a homogeneous nation rather hetogeneous nation. After serving so many years in various disputed areas of the world specially Europe and Africa, where I have seen many ethnic cleansing I now say that
Blood matters a lot on human behaviour and as a whole on a nation. Only for this reason we as a nation cannot be united. Now, from my side lets analysis the history of our country. As a Bengali nation we were never united.
* When Khiljee invaded Bengal the Hindu king at Nadia just flade away without fighting, so we came under Islamic rather Turkish dominion.
* When British came at the battle of Pallassay(1757), Seraj Dullah, Mir Modan and Mohal Lal fought and the bulk of the Seraj's fighting force betrayed with him.
* The struggle of Titu Mir against British and local zaminders remained localised at greater district of Barishal, other districts remained a silent spectators.
* The revolt of Fakir Maznu Shah against the East India Company was concentrated at greater district of Rangpur,Dinajpur and Bogra.
* Initially once the East India came to Bengal the Hindus collaborated and Muslims opposed. Once the Hindus revolted against the British we(Muslims) collaberated with British. Like Surjo Sen, Pretilota and Khudiram once these people started struggle against the British muslims wholeheardedly collaborated with British. During the Second World War once Shubash Chandra Bosh flade away and formed "Azad Hind Fouz", A K Fuzlul Huq was chosen as the war Chief Minister of Bengal. During that time most of muslims supported the British and joined in the British forces.
* Even in 1971, we always say that 7.5 crores of Bengali people fought with the Pakistani forces but was it really true? So far I know, around 1 crores of Bengalies flade to India but out of this around 90 lacs were Hindus and rest 10 lacs were muslims. Who all these 10 lacs were they? They were the Army, Police, EPR, Students , AL members and their families and the bulk people remained inside East Pakistan and collaboreded with the Pakistan Army. In my villages only 6 men and 1 female went to India. Out of this 7, one was doing AL politics, the female was his wife, one was serving in the EPR(died) and other 3 were college going student and doing leftist politics.
Finally I may conclude that we the Bengalies are the hetogenous nation, we had been divided, we are divided and we will remain divided in future and that's why there will hardly be any development in our country. All these is because of the blood. 
