Why do Sylhetis find it difficult to mix with Bengalis?

[Hamza913]

Who are you to decide? Are you a Bengali? Or do you know our language?

They speak Sylheti, not Bengali. Their ethnicity is distinct to yours.

 

[VikingRaider]

They speak Sylheti, not Bengali. Their ethnicity is distinct to yours.

I guess you are a Wikipedia specialist.
However leave it.

 

[Mage]

Some people like OP has some BS agenda.

Which script Syleties use when they a letter? Heck Chatgaiya is harder to understand than Syleti.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengali_Language_Movement_(Barak_Valley)

Syletis in Assam protested to make Bengali an official language of Assam.

One of the best writer of Bengali literature, Mujtaba Ali, was a Syleti. Which language he used for his writings?

Can anyone deny Hason Raja's contribution in Bangla music? Even Tagore was a great fan of him. So in which language he wrote his songs? He was from Sylet too.

Sanjeeb Chowdhury was a modern day songwriter and singer from Sylet. Which language he used for his work?

One of my fav song, written by Sanjeeb Chowdhury

Which language Dr. Jafar Iqbal use to write his science fiction novels? Which language does Subir Nandi sing in?

Some Banglsdeshis like @Riyad has ulterior motives. And he manages to convince some foreign members who hardly have any idea.

@Nilgiri check the song. I posted it for you, since I read you listened to some Bangla songs.

@Joe Shearer, Sir have you read 'deshe bideshe' from Mujtaba Ali? If not then give it a try. It's an amazing book.

 

[Joe Shearer]

Some people like OP has some BS agenda.

Which script Syleties use when they a letter? Heck Chatgaiya is harder to understand than Syleti.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengali_Language_Movement_(Barak_Valley)

Syletis in Assam protested to make Bengali an official language of Assam.

One of the best writer of Bengali literature, Mujtaba Ali, was a Syleti. Which language he used for his writings?

Can anyone deny Hason Raja's contribution in Bangla music? Even Tagore was a great fan of him. So in which language he wrote his songs? He was from Sylet too.

Sanjeeb Chowdhury was a modern day songwriter and singer from Sylet. Which language he used for his work?

One of my fav song, written by Sanjeeb Chowdhury

Which language Dr. Jafar Iqbal use to write his science fiction novels? Which language does Subir Nandi sing in?

Some Banglsdeshis like @Riyad has ulterior motives. And he manages to convince some foreign members who hardly have any idea.

@Nilgiri check the song. I posted it for you, since I read you listened to some Bangla songs.

@Joe Shearer, Sir have you read 'deshe bideshe' from Mujtaba Ali? If not then give it a try. It's an amazing book.

I am saving it up, and want to read it at one stretch, along with the works of Parashuram; my father did that trip to Goalundo Ghat dozens of times. He was educated in Presidency, but the family lived in Ganderia, in Dhaka, next to, or rather, very near Sadhana Aushadhalay. His father, in turn, was a professor of history at Jagannath College.

It was good you mentioned Hason Raja; he and Eklim Roja were giants of music, which these other Bengalis don't know. They got to hear a little bit from Nirmalendu; after he and his family migrated, this zamindar's son earned his living singing. Most of Bengali - Bangal - folk music is familiar to the ghoti through his singing. His very first paid engagement was in the house of a close relative; my father was present and totally fell for the music. He sang at our house then, and even when he became very big, he would always turn up, his usual friendly, chatty amiable self whenever invited. I have very fond memories of him and his adoration of Hason Roja and Eklim Roja.

As a descendant of Hindu Bangals, and with my very poor knowledge of the land and the people, I knew that Sylhetis were 'different'. Their accents were different from our Dhaka accents (all my কাকাs and পিসিs spoke that accent when they were by themselves), they were fairer, taller and had high cheekbones. We Baidyas rarely married into Sylheti families; there was one, and it was considered a disaster. The story of the first encounter of the korta and the new bride was hilarious but not for the refined taste of members of this forum.

I know modern-day Sylhetis are very big in the restaurant trade in the UK, but the few times I've been there, the Mughlai they dished out was a mess - a major mess. They are very hard-working, also very cliquish, and tend to be by themselves.

PS: Sylheti is NOTHING compared to Chatgaiya.

 

[Al-zakir]

We Jalalabadi culturally different from other Bangladeshi. We do not get along with other Bdian, hence we keep our distance from them.

I find Non-sylheti are very secular and open minded whearas we are opposite.

It is observed that almost 95% Sylhetis maintain a distance from Bengalis despite being Muslims in faith. In this forum also you will find mindset of Sylhetis are distinctly separate from other Bangladeshis.

Even wikipedia says it.

Sylhetis today maintain a distinct identity separate from or in addition to having a Bengali identity, due to linguistic differences, geographical uniqueness and historical reasons.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylhetis

This is correct and should be preserved.

 

[DarkPrince]

Just read the thread and enjoy the show ....and understand this is why in the end its easy (for India) to control BD.

They are same just more conservative. They don't believe in half Hindu half Muslim culture I guess

 

[bluesky]

One of the best writer of Bengali literature, Mujtaba Ali, was a Syleti. Which language he used for his writings?

I wonder if many of the literate people of Bangladesh know his name. His full name is Syed Mujtaba Ali. His famous books are Chacha Kahini and Deshe Bideshe. Both the books acclaimed literary praise.

There may be other books that I am not aware of but I remember now one story where the illiterate house servant threw away the Bengali translation of Quran but kept the books of songs written in Arabic/Urdu script with full respect in the shelf. He was a disciple of Rabindranath Thakur and visited Shanti Niketon many times to meet his Guru.

 

[Nilgiri]

They are same just more conservative. They don't believe in half Hindu half Muslim culture I guess

They like their coffee black (maybe with little sugar at most) rather than adding half n half to it

 

[Al-zakir]

They are indeed Bengalis , but not origin of East Bengal , but Assam . During partition in 1947 Muslim majority Sylhet was voted to join Pakistan instead of India , hence they became part of East Bengal ( later east Pakistan ). And There were few more neighbouring areas too were Muslim predominant like karim ganj who also voted for joining Pakistan , but deprived by British.
However I fully disagree with the thread . I know some of them , but they are good peoples . Just they feel superiority complex a bit , and consider that they are better and more civilized than rest of Bangladeshis .
But they are definitely Bengali peoples .
PS: This poster has a reputation of creating flame , so relying on his source is a faulty thing to do @ All


You are kidding right ?

We didn’t consider ourself as Bengali, rather we are more comportable identify ourself as musalaman.

They like their coffee black (maybe with little sugar at most) rather than adding half n half to it

We call non-sylheti Bdian Bengalir fua/fula (son of a Bengali).

 

[Nilgiri]

We didn’t consider ourself as Bengali, rather we are more comportable identify ourself as musalaman.



We call non-sylheti Bdian Bengalir fua/fula (son of a Bengali).

I think it was Anubis that said...you aren't Bangladeshi because you prefer urdu or something like that.

Anyways you guys certainly are distinct and different. There will be exceptions to all rules...but overall the BD people I talk and acquainted with agree Sylhetis are pretty distinct....pure sylheti language is very hard for them to understand.

 

[VikingRaider]

I think it was Anubis that said...you aren't Bangladeshi because you prefer urdu or something like that.

Anyways you guys certainly are distinct and different. There will be exceptions to all rules...but overall the BD people I talk and acquainted with agree Sylhetis are pretty distinct....pure sylheti language is very hard for them to understand.

He said , "We didn’t consider ourself as Bengali, rather we are more comportable identify ourself as musalaman" . I am Just surprised with his reaction . He is speaking for whole sylhetis , but it's not that we do not meet or know any sylhetis . I am not clear that what he means by they are not Bengali but they are Musalman .

We are also Musalman , so what's his point I am not clear yet . Well there were some jamati ideology was predominant in Bangladesh and that is are you Bengali or Muslim first ? AL cult members ( not all but pseudo secular) used to reply that we are Bengali first , on the contrary Jamati Ideology was we are muslim first ! The case was same for all over Bangladesh and jamatis did not exclude Sylheti Muslims too . But Al zakir's new claim is totally different !

But general point of view is we are Bengali Muslims ( for hindus simply bengali Hindus ) , so I am unable to understand the real difference between Bengali and Muslim .

Just one question to them , there are 16/17 crore Muslim in India ( that is a Hindu predominant country ) and , not necessarily all of them speak in Urdu right ?

So are Hindi speaking Muslims or Bengali speaking Muslims of India are lesser Muslim than Urdu speaking Muslims of India?

 

[Nilgiri]

He said , "We didn’t consider ourself as Bengali, rather we are more comportable identify ourself as musalaman" . I am Just surprised with his reaction . He is speaking for whole sylhetis , but it's not that we do not meet or know any sylhetis . I am not clear that what he means by they are not Bengali but they are Musalman .

We are also Musalman , so what's his point I am not clear yet . Well there were some jamati ideology was predominant in Bangladesh and that is are you Bengali or Muslim first ? AL cult members ( not all but pseudo secular) used to reply that we are Bengali first , on the contrary Jamati Ideology was we are muslim first ! The case was same for all over Bangladesh and jamatis did not exclude Sylheti Muslims too . But Al zakir's new claim is totally different !

But general point of view is we are Bengali Muslims ( for hindus simply bengali Hindus ) , so I am unable to understand the real difference between Bengali and Muslim .

Just one question to them , there are 16/17 crore Muslim in India ( that is a Hindu predominant country ) and , not necessarily all of them speak in Urdu right ?

So are Hindi speaking Muslims or Bengali speaking Muslims of India are lesser Muslim than Urdu speaking Muslims of India?

They are different and distinct enough I would say (yes I agree no one person can speak for all of course - there are many sylhetis that identify as Bengali and have created all the syncretism/synthesis etc in their respective fields etc).

I agree he should not judge on who is more or less of muslim though (esp by language or any other mortal difference) if you feel he implied that (which I do not)....as you say, only almighty knows in the end.

I think its case in the end of simply what is Bengali compared to what is Bangladeshi. Bengali is a larger culture/ethnicity, Bangladesh is political nation...they are not congruent...and thus lot of scope for debate and reality on it.

For example @Gibbs and I have had lot of discussion on Sri Lankan Moors....who largely speak Tamil but consider themselves quite distinct from rest of Tamils...its not only religion based way either (and their language is much closer to standard Tamil than say Sylheti is to Bengali).

 

[Mage]

I am saving it up, and want to read it at one stretch, along with the works of Parashuram;

"Deshe bideshe" is very good. I highly recommend it.

He was educated in Presidency, but the family lived in Ganderia, in Dhaka, next to, or rather, very near Sadhana Aushadhalay. His father, in turn, was a professor of history at Jagannath College.

I have been to Gendaria. It's in the old town. Sadhana Aushadhalay is still there.

It was good you mentioned Hason Raja; he and Eklim Roja were giants of music, which these other Bengalis don't know. They got to hear a little bit from Nirmalendu; after he and his family migrated, this zamindar's son earned his living singing. Most of Bengali - Bangal - folk music is familiar to the ghoti through his singing. His very first paid engagement was in the house of a close relative; my father was present and totally fell for the music. He sang at our house then, and even when he became very big, he would always turn up, his usual friendly, chatty amiable self whenever invited. I have very fond memories of him and his adoration of Hason Roja and Eklim Roja.

I have not heard of Eklim Roja though. Google doesn't seem to have any information either

As a descendant of Hindu Bangals, and with my very poor knowledge of the land and the people, I knew that Sylhetis were 'different'. Their accents were different from our Dhaka accents (all my কাকাs and পিসিs spoke that accent when they were by themselves), they were fairer, taller and had high cheekbones. We Baidyas rarely married into Sylheti families; there was one, and it was considered a disaster. The story of the first encounter of the korta and the new bride was hilarious but not for the refined taste of members of this forum.

I am 1/4th Sylheti. My maternal Grandmother was from Sylhet. My maternal Grandfather was an Agriculture officer. Was posted in Sylhet for 4-5 years.

I know modern-day Sylhetis are very big in the restaurant trade in the UK, but the few times I've been there, the Mughlai they dished out was a mess - a major mess. They are very hard-working, also very cliquish, and tend to be by themselves.

I think Sylhetis not mixing with others have a lot to do with Londoni Sylhetis. I have met many Sylhetis in Dhaka. Never had any problem to mix with them. I studied in one of the best colleges in Bangladesh that had students from all over the country and one of my best friend there was a Sylheti.

I wonder if many of the literate people of Bangladesh know his name. His full name is Syed Mujtaba Ali. His famous books are Chacha Kahini and Deshe Bideshe. Both the books acclaimed literary praise.

He is very well known actually. I read his "Deshe Bideshe". His short story "Rosogolla" is part of Bangla literature of class 9.

I think it was Anubis that said...you aren't Bangladeshi because you prefer urdu or something like that.

He is not a Bangladeshi because he is opposed to Bangla, because he is opposed to the liberation of Bangladesh and he even changed his flag here from BD flag to US flag.

Sylhetis contributed greatly to Language movement of Bangladesh. Liberation effort of Bangldaesh. Commander in Chief and Chief of staff of Mukti Bahini were both from Sylhet. Countless ministers of Bangladesh govt hailed from Sylhet. Which includes all the finance ministers from 1991-2018.

 

[Saiful Islam]

Hason Raza, Ataul Ghani Osmani, Baul Abdul Korim, Amir Uddin

Then the erstwhile finance minister who hailed from Moulvibazar, etc

 

[Pan-Islamic-Pakistan]

Meeting them in the US, UK, and Canada, every single Sylheti always tries to convince me that they are different to Bangalis and closer to Pakistanis.

They are most of the ones who attend masajid, go on tableegh, and keep long beards. There are some Bangladeshis also who do that, but mostly they have a secular outlook.

I noticed that all Sylhetis prefer the company of Muslims, like Pakistanis and Arabs, and don’t feel shy about it while there is a significant group (not all) of Bangalis who prefer the company of Indian Hindus (even having no problem dating Hindu males/females) and become timid and self-conscious around other Muslims.

The Sylhetis also generally tend to support Pakistan/Kashmir and other Muslim countries and see their origin in Turkic, Persian, Pukhtoon groups.

Most Bangladeshis in the West of the recent new immigrant generation have a lot of anger and resentment towards Pakistanis, but the earlier immigrants from Bangladesh (80s/90s) and Sylhetis don’t have those negative feelings generally.