Sylhetis
The Sylheti or Sylhetis are an Indo-Aryan ethnocultural group, that are associated with the Sylhet region. There are strong diasporic communities in Barak Valley of Assam, India, North Tripura, Shillong, Meghalaya, and Hojai, Central Assam. Outside South Asia, there are significant numbers in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada.
They speak Sylheti, an eastern Indo-Aryan language that is considered "a distinct language by many and a dialect of Bengali by some others". Sylheti identity is associated primarily with its regional culture and language, alongside a broader cultural and
ethnic Bengali identity.
Etymology
The word Sylheti is derived from the ancient name Śrīhaṭṭiya, which takes its name from Śrīhaṭṭanātha, the tutelary deity of the Hindu Nātha dynasty who promoted the early settlement of Nāthas in the Surma and Barak valleys between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, founding the Śrīhaṭṭa janapada and establishing Śrīhaṭṭanātha idols across the region. The later Hindu monarchs of Sylhet continued to pay tribute to the deity as Hāṭkeśvara or Haṭṭanātha as evident from the Devipurana and copper-plate inscriptions.History
Culture
Sylheti culture, while considered a subculture of Bengali culture, is distinguished by unique linguistic, historical, and regional characteristics. The Sylheti language, which some consider as a dialect of Bengali, while many linguists consider it as a distinct language, is central to Sylheti identity. Its unique phonetic qualities and vocabulary often make it unintelligible to standard Bengali speakers, which contributes to a sense of separateness among Sylhetis. In addition, Sylhetis have a strong regional identity that was strengthened by the historical shifts of the Sylhet region between Assam and Bengal during British rule. These transitions were pivotal in developing a distinct Sylheti identity, due to the region’s geographical isolation and its historical and cultural ties with Bengal. Many Sylhetis today continue to identify with both the broader Bengali and their distinct Sylheti ethnocultural identities.Sylheti folklore is unique to the region, it is influenced by Hindu, Sufi, Turco-Persian and native ideas. Chandra Kumar De of Mymensingh is known to be the first researcher of Sylheti folklore. Archives of old works are kept in Kendriya Muslim Sahitya Sangsad in Sylhet – the oldest literary organisation in Bengal and one of the oldest in the subcontinent.
Literature
Sylheti Nagri
A distinct linguistic register emerged in the Sylhet region through the development of the Sylheti Nagri script. Though having similar features to the more prevalent Dobhashi literary register of Middle Bengali, the Sylheti Nagri script fostered a unique literary culture of the Sylhet region. Its distinction is marked with its simpler script which is related to the Kaithi script, and its phonology being deeply influenced by the Sylheti vernacular. Its most renowned writer was Sadeq Ali whose Halatunnabi was famed as household item among rural Muslim communities. Manuscripts have been found of works such as Rag Namah by Fazil Nasim Muhammad, Shonabhaner Puthi by Abdul Karim, and the earliest known work Talib Huson by Gholam Huson. Late Nagri writers include Muhammad Haidar Chaudhuri who wrote Ahwal-i-Zamana in 1907 and Muhammad Abdul Latif who wrote Pohela Kitab o Doikhurar Rag in 1930. From around the middle of 20th century, Sylheti Nagri had faced near-extinction as most Sylheti Nagri printing presses fell out of use or were destroyed during the Bangladeshi Liberation War in 1971. Recently there have been efforts in reviving the script, including from the British Bangladeshi diaspora, as the script is viewed as a unique cultural marker that distinguishes Sylhetis from Bengali identity.Bengali
It has been argued that the first Bengali translation of the Mahabharata was written by Sri Sanjay of Sylhet in the 17th century. The 18th-century Hattanather Panchali written by Ganesh Ram Shiromani was a Bengali ballad of 36,000 lines which detail the early history of Sylhet though its authenticity is questionable. When Sylhet was under the rule of the Twipra Kingdom, medieval Sylheti writers using the Bengali script included the likes of Dwija Pashupati, the author of Chandravali – considered one of the earliest Sylheti works. Nasiruddin Haydar of Sylhet town wrote the Tawarikh-e-Jalali, the first Bengali biography of Shah Jalal. Gobind Gosai of Masulia wrote Nirbban Shongit, Gopinath Dutta wrote Dronporbbo, Dotto Bongshaboli and Nariporbbo and Nur Ali Khan of Syedpur wrote Marifoti Geet. Songwriters and poets such as Radharaman Dutta, Hason Raja and Shah Abdul Karim, significantly contributed to Bengali literature and their works remain popular across Bengal in present-times. Numerous Bengali writers emerged in Ita, such as Kobi Muzaffar Khan, Gauri Shankar Bhatta and Golok Chand Ghosh. Muslim literature was based upon historical affairs and biographies of prominent Islamic figures.The first Sylheti to pursue journalism professionally was Nagendra Chandra Shyam, editor of Vabishat and Surma and a pioneer of Rabindra Sangeet in the Sylhet region. Other exponents of Rabindra Sangeet based in Shantiniketan of Sylheti origin include Chittaranjan Deb and Asoke Bijay Raha. In 2021, Shuvagoto Chowdhury was awarded the Bangla Academy Literary Award.
Other languages
Throughout the course of recorded history, Sylhetis have made significant, meaningful, and lasting contributions to the vast and complex corpus of Sanskrit literature, a classical language that had served Sylhetis as a critical medium for religious, philosophical, and scholarly discourse for millennia. These contributions span various periods and demonstrate the enduring intellectual and literary engagement of Sylheti scholars with Sanskritic traditions. During the 15th century, the Naiyayika philosopher Jagadish Tarkalankar emerged as a prominent literary figure in Sylhet, dedicating much of his scholarly life to the composition and compilation of several Sanskrit works. He authored numerous books that were comprehensive in nature and often divided into multiple volumes, indicating the depth and breadth of his scholarly pursuits. Among these works, perhaps the most renowned and influential was the Sanskrit textbook Shabdashaktiprakashika. A contemporary of Tarkalankar was Advaita Acharya of Laur, a spiritual leader still revered today as a saint. He is best known as a formative figure in the Krishnaite Gaudiya Vaishnavism movement. Acharya contributed two notable works to the corpus of medieval Sanskrit literature: Yogavasishtha-Bhaishta, which explored profound spiritual and philosophical themes, and Geeta Bhaishya, an exegetical commentary on the revered Bhagavad Gita.In the 16th century, the Sylheti physician Murari Gupta wrote the first Sanskrit biography of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, thereby contributing to both hagiographical literature and the devotional Bhakti movement that was sweeping across Bengal and beyond during this time. Another highly prolific scholar, Raghunath Shiromani, composed 40 distinct works in the Sanskrit language.
Some works written by Sylhetis have also been translated into other languages. For example, Ashraf Hussain's Manipurer Ladai was translated into English by Dinesh Chandra Sen and included in the Eastern Bengal Ballads.
Distribution
Diaspora
introduced the Permanent Settlement Act of Bengal in 1793 and it altered the social, political and economic landscape of the Sylhet region; socioeconomic ramification for former landlords was severe as the land changed hands. On juxtapose, colonial administration opened new windows of opportunities for young men, who sought employment merchant ship companies. Young men from Sylhet boarded ships primarily at Kolkata, Mumbai and Singapore. Many Sylheti people believed that seafaring was a historical and cultural inheritance due to a large proportion of Sylheti Muslims being descended from foreign traders, lascars and businessman from the Middle East and Central Asia who migrated to the Sylhet region before and after the Conquest of Sylhet. Kasa Miah, who was a Sylheti migrant, claimed this was a very encouraging factor for Sylhetis to travel to Calcutta aiming to eventually reach the United States and United Kingdom.Barak Valley
The Sylheti community in the Barak Valley, contiguous to Sylhet, is the eminent community of this region where they have been able to retain the Sylhet environ in a smaller part of the larger Sylheti state. The Barak Valley consists of three districts in the Indian state of Assam, which are home to a Bengali-speaking majority population as opposed to Assamese. Geographically the region is surrounded by hills from all three sides except its western plain boundary with Bangladesh. Always a part of Sylhet,the Barak Valley hosts the presence of the same Sylheti dialect. Niharranjan Ray, author of Bangalir Itihash, claims that "South Assam / Northeastern Bengal or Barak Valley is the extension of the Greater Surma/Meghna Valley of Bengal in every aspect from culture to geography".A movement emerged in the 1960s in this Sylheti-majority area of India. Referred to as the Bengali Language Movement of the Barak Valley, Sylhetis protested against the decision of the Government of Assam to make Assamese the only sole official language of the state knowing full well that 80% of the Barak Valley people are Sylhetis. The main incident took place on 19 May 1961 at Silchar railway station in which 11 Sylhetis were killed by the Assamese police. Sachindra Chandra Pal and Kamala Bhattacharya were two notable Sylheti students murdered by the Assam Rifles during the movement.