Twentieth International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations

Abstract

Since the inception of Buddhism, the people of Bengal have maintained a very close relation with the Buddhist philosophy, ideologies and culture. Bengal appeared as an abode of Buddhism in ancient period both for its acceptability and royal patronage. However, with the fall of royal patronage and conversions of the Buddhists into other religious faith in the medial period, Buddhism gradually lost its prominence in Bengal. But with the beginning of the twentieth century, Buddhism again started reviving in Bengal with new aspirations and institutions. However, the partition of Bengal in 1947 [between India and Pakistan] had appeared as a serious setback for the fate of Buddhism in Bengal. Along with other religious minorities, the Buddhists had migrated in large scale from East Bengal (East Pakistan/Bangladesh) to West Bengal (India). The ‘East Bengali Buddhists’ had started a new episode of struggle for survival in West Bengal as ‘refugees’ or as ‘asylum seekers’. They built up several monasteries and Buddhist institutions in different places of West Bengal. At the same time, the Scheduled Castes (lower Caste Hindus) of West Bengal have showed their utmost interest on the Buddhist culture and philosophy. Thus Buddhism is being disseminated in West Bengal in two ways: (a) growth of Buddhist institutions by the Buddhists, and (b) dissemination of Buddhist culture by the ‘Scheduled Castes.’ In this paper I highlight all these features of the Buddhists and Buddhism in urban areas of contemporary West Bengal (of India) with a perspective of migrations studies.