Gauḍānāṃ Nagarīṃ Śreṣṭhāṃ Viśvakarmā Khalaṃ Cakāra | Tatra Vīrāḥ Prasūtāḥ Śūrāḥ Kṣatriyāḥ Kīrtimārcitāḥ || Vishwakarma, the divine architect, created the finest city of Gauda, Where brave and valiant Kshatriyas were born, renowned for their glory. জয় বিশ্বকর্ম্মা

The original aim of Bengal's freedom fighters and revolutionaries, including the Anushilan Samiti, was to establish a Hindu Government. That plan was compromised only later.

আজ প্রাসঙ্গিক ..

It’s time Hindus of north India learnt that there are two streams of the collective faith: Vedic and Tantric. Not all Hindus are Vedic, although the value systems and rituals converge at times. Bengal largely follows the Tantric system, but the province is not the only part of India that adheres to Tantra. In 2018, the Sangh ecosystem was taken aback, for example, when the Sabarimala debate erupted. At that point, even Bengalis were surprised by what the fuss over letting women into the shrine of Ayyappa was all about. It was a different aspect of Tantra. Further, within the Vedic system, beliefs have evolved. Strictly speaking, neither Shiva nor Shakti should have issues with meat. The abstinence from non-vegetarian food was a Vaishnava thing. Vaishnavism started with Krishnaism, also known as Bhagavatism. Krishna’s companionship and protection of cattle — Gau-pala/Gopala — extended to the belief that He wouldn’t like to see the animals slaughtered. This faith was dominated by Brahmins, who determined the rules. The religion was, by and large, what Hinduism was in the BC era. Historians say it was a strict regime not only in the spiritual domain but also in the social realm. The masses were uneasy with the disciplinarian dos and don’ts. Those at the periphery of mainstream society started getting alienated; a part of the population was lost to Buddhism already. This was much before foreigners began invading this land. While Shiva and Shakti are as old and eternal as Vishnu, Shaivism and Shaktism, in that order, surfaced in the late BC and early AD eras, respectively. The pioneers of these breakaway factions were not Brahmins. As proof, one may study the Shiva temples of Tamil Nadu, which were not built by Brahmins or officiated over by the jati in the initial phases. Hindus, who had been Vaishnavas since the BC period, disowned Shaivas due to the consumption of narcotic substances, and Shaktas due to the consumption of meat — especially in places of worship. However, while castes that are now identified as SC and OBC — the descendants of the Cholas, for example — had separated from the Brahmin-dictated masses with a lot of zeal, the enthusiasm faded with passing generations. The temples of Shiva, the Father of Tantra, fell into disuse. In faraway Bengal, burglars and non-Kshatriya kings, who patronised Kali, were abolished or banned, and they became outdated in post-British modern India. Her temples were taken over by the elements, lying neglected in jungles or amid wilderness. Brahmins, unable to bear the sight of the neglect of Shiva and Shakti, took over and revitalised the Jyotirlingas, Shaktipeethas and other places of Shiva and Shakti worship. When Brahmins became the arbiters of Shaivism and Shaktism too, they brought back with them the vegetarian value system the Shaivas and Shaktas had abandoned centuries ago. Brahminism now governs all three major denominations of Hinduism. Meanwhile, Vaishnavism spread quietly as a Gaudiya sect across the region that is now Odisha, Bangladesh and the Northeast since the age of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu; they wouldn’t tolerate meat either. Bengali Brahmins, mostly brought in from kingdoms that are now in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar during the Sena dynasty’s rule, had earlier been refused re-entry into northern India by other Brahmins for whom migrating was a sin! Ostracised by their fellows, the Brahmins of Bengal adopted the way of living of other Bengalis. Further, Bengalis, the first Hindu community to be influenced by the British on a large scale, got over the caste system for all practical purposes. This is why one sees even Brahmins among Bengalis consume meat.