The Hidden History of Bengal: Kingdoms, Empires, and Revolution — Fexingo History

In this episode, we uncover the story of Titumir, a peasant leader who led a millenarian uprising in the early 19th century Bengal. Born in 1782 in the 24 Parganas, Titumir was deeply influenced by the Wahabi movement and returned from Mecca to challenge the oppressive zamindars and the British East India Company. He mobilized a band of followers, built a bamboo fort in Narikelbaria, and defied bo...

In this episode of The Hidden History of Bengal, Lucas and Luna explore the Bengal Famine of 1770—also known as the Great Famine or Chhiattorer Manvantar. Lucas traces the famine's origins to the disastrous policies of the British East India Company after they acquired the diwani of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa in 1765. He explains how the Company's revenue demands, enforced by officials like Harry V...

This episode dives into the little-known world of Bengal's pirates during the 16th and 17th centuries—the fierce Arakanese raiders and the Portuguese mercenaries who terrorized the Sundarbans. Lucas and Luna explore how the Mughal and Nawabi authorities struggled to control the waterways, the rise of the 'Firingi' pirates, and the eventual brutal crackdown by Shaista Khan that liberated the region...

Most know the Battle of Plassey in 1757 as the event that delivered Bengal to the British East India Company. But the real story began months earlier—in the sweltering heat of June 1756, when Siraj ud-Daulah's forces overran Fort William in Calcutta. This episode dives into the neglected prelude to Plassey: the siege of Calcutta, the Black Hole incident (and its disputed death toll), and the secre...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the remarkable story of Khwaja Alimullah, the Nawab of Dhaka, who built a formidable naval force in the 18th century to challenge British dominance in the rivers of Bengal. They discuss the strategic importance of the Meghna and Padma rivers, the construction of warships at Narayanganj, and the climactic Battle of Pirojpur in 1763. Lucas explains how Alimull...

This episode of The Hidden History of Bengal explores the Bengal Sultanate, a powerful but often overlooked medieval kingdom that ruled the region for over two centuries. We trace its origins from the breakaway governor Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah, who united Bengal and defeated the Delhi Sultanate, to the golden age under Sultan Alauddin Husain Shah, who expanded trade with China and Southeast Asia, pa...

Before the Nawabs of Bengal became famous for Plassey and decline, there was Murshid Quli Khan — the man who built the financial and administrative foundation of an independent Bengal. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the life of a Deccani slave who rose to become the first independent Nawab of Bengal under the Mughals. We trace his origins as a poor boy from the Deccan sold into slavery, h...

In 1943, a catastrophic famine struck Bengal, killing an estimated 2–3 million people. Unlike earlier famines caused primarily by drought, this one was man-made, a product of wartime policies, colonial neglect, and Churchill's controversial decisions. Lucas and Luna explore the famine's origins: the Japanese occupation of Burma cutting off rice imports, the British 'denial policy' destroying boats...

In 1756, the British settlement of Calcutta was a modest trading post with a small fort. When Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah attacked and took Fort William, the East India Company was humiliated. But within a year, the British were back, rebuilding Calcutta as a military stronghold and commercial hub. This episode explores the transformation of Calcutta from a vulnerable outpost to the imperial capital of...

In 1905, the British Raj partitioned Bengal, splitting a 180-million-strong region along religious lines. This episode explores the scheme drafted by Lord Curzon, the bitter opposition from the Bengali Hindu elite, and the explosive response—the Swadeshi movement, economic boycotts, and the birth of revolutionary nationalism. We meet figures like Surendranath Banerjee, Rabindranath Tagore, and Aur...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the lesser-known story of the Bengal Army's rebellion during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. They focus on the 19th Native Infantry at Berhampore and the 34th at Barrackpore, where Mangal Pandey's attack on British officers sparked a wider uprising. The conversation covers the immediate causes—the greased cartridge controversy and the religious fears of Hindu...

In this episode of The Hidden History of Bengal, Lucas and Luna explore the transformation of Durga Puja from a private aristocratic ritual into a powerful symbol of Bengali nationalism under British colonial rule. They trace the evolution from the zamindari barowari pujas of the 18th century to the first public sarbajanin puja organized in 1790 by Raja Nabakrishna Deb of Shobhabazar Rajbari, who...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Bengal Renaissance of the 19th and early 20th centuries, a period of profound social, religious, and intellectual transformation. They focus on key figures like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, who founded the Brahmo Samaj and fought against sati and caste discrimination; Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, who championed widow remarriage and women's education; and the poet R...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the shadowy role of the Portuguese in 16th and 17th century Bengal. They arrive as traders, but soon become pirates, mercenaries, and kingmakers. Lucas recounts how the Portuguese — known locally as 'Firingis' — allied with the Arakanese to raid the Sundarbans and the coast of Bengal, capturing thousands as slaves. He tells the story of the Battle of Hooghly...

Long before the Mughals and the British, Bengal was the heart of a vast Buddhist empire that shaped the destiny of South Asia. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Pala dynasty (8th–12th centuries CE), whose kings ruled from the Ganges to the Himalayas and transformed Bengal into a center of learning, art, and diplomacy. They delve into the founding by Gopala, the military campaigns of Dhar...

While the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 is often seen as a northern Indian affair, Bengal played a crucial role that is frequently overlooked. This episode dives into the uprising in Bengal, led by figures like Mangal Pandey, a soldier from Barrackpore whose actions sparked the rebellion. We explore the role of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal emperor, and the complex loyalties of Bengali intellectuals...

In 1658, as the Mughal Empire tore itself apart in a war of succession between Shah Jahan's sons, one prince made a desperate gamble that would reshape the history of Bengal. Shah Shuja, governor of Bengal and the eldest surviving son, declared himself emperor from his capital at Rajmahal. This episode follows his brief reign, his defeat by Aurangzeb, his flight through Arakan, and his mysterious...

While the Dandi March is remembered as India’s iconic salt protest, Bengal’s own salt satyagraha of 1930 was a massive, decentralized uprising that drew on centuries of resentment over British salt taxes. This episode dives into the geography and politics of Bengal’s salt-making regions—the coastal tracts of the Sundarbans, the salt lagoons of Hijli and Contai—and the colonial policies that crushe...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore a forgotten chapter of Bengal's resistance: the naval campaign led by Khwaja Alimullah, the Nawab of Dhaka, in 1763. After the British capture of Calcutta and the fall of Mir Qasim, Alimullah built a fleet of war boats armed with cannons and rallied riverine chieftains along the Meghna and Padma rivers. The climactic Battle of Pirojpur saw Bengali war boats,...

Before the battles and famines, Bengal was the world's leading exporter of fine cotton — especially the legendary Dhaka muslin, a fabric so delicate it was said to be 'woven air.' This episode follows the rise and fall of Bengal's textile industry, from its Mughal-era heyday to its systematic destruction under British rule. We explore the weavers of Sonargaon and Dhaka, whose hands produced cloth...

The Battle of Buxar in 1764 was a decisive conflict that completed the British East India Company's conquest of Bengal, yet it remains overshadowed by Plassey. This episode explores the key figures—Mir Qasim, the defiant nawab who tried to reclaim Bengal's independence; Shuja-ud-Daula of Awadh and the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II, who allied against the Company; and the British commander Hector Mun...

This episode of The Hidden History of Bengal explores the life and legacy of Nawab Alivardi Khan, the independent Mughal governor who ruled Bengal from 1740 to 1756. We delve into his rise to power, his military campaigns against the Maratha invasions (the Bargi raids), and his administrative reforms that maintained Bengal's prosperity. Learn about the Maratha depredations that devastated parts of...

In April 1930, a band of young revolutionaries in Chittagong, led by Surya Sen (Masterda), launched a daring raid on the police and auxiliary forces' armouries, aiming to spark a nationwide uprising against British rule. This episode dives into the planning, execution, and aftermath of the Chittagong Armoury Raid, exploring how the revolutionaries cut telegraph lines, seized weapons, and raised th...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Faraizi movement, a religious and peasant uprising in 19th-century Bengal led by Haji Shariatullah and his son Dudu Miyan. They discuss how the movement combined Islamic reform with resistance against British colonial oppression and Hindu zamindars. The conversation covers the movement's origins in the Wahhabi tradition, its spread among rural Muslims in...

In 1831, a lone charismatic leader named Syed Mir Nisar Ali, better known as Titumir, led a brief but fierce peasant uprising against the British East India Company and Hindu zamindars in what is now West Bengal. This episode explores the roots of the rebellion in the exploitative Permanent Settlement of 1793, which turned peasants into virtual serfs. Titumir, a disciple of the Wahabi movement, co...