Bengali pride is well known. Bengalis like to share facts about their proud heritage whenever we can. Not so recently, my shemale friend Putki shared the below image with Bengali facts with a photo of an unattractive female, in a group chat. So, I decided to check some of these facts (and more) myself.
Bengali Claims
| Claim | True? | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Bengalis are the 2nd in numbers in India. | True | As per wikipedia, Bengali is the second most widely spoken language in India, after Hindi. Nothing to be proud of, though. |
| Bengalis are 5th in numbers in Asia | Bullshit | But not by much; Bengali has the 6th highest number of speakers in Asia as per wikipedia. |
| Bengalis are 11th in numbers in the World | True | In fact, as per wikipedia, it is the 5th most widely spoken language in the world, with 4% speakers. Nothing to be proud of, though. |
| Bengalis are the 4th most richest community in the world | Bullshit | I could find no evidence backing up this claim and Bengalis are not known to be rich anyways. |
| 35% of NRIs are Bengalis | Bullshit | I could find no evidence backing up this claim. Specifically, NRI means “Non Resident Indians”, which excludes Bangladeshi Bengalis. |
| In 2018 Bengalis will be world No 1 community. | Bullshit | This one is so hilarious. |
| Bangla has been declared as the second language of London | Bullshit | Already been debunked |
| UNESCO has declared Bengali as the sweetest language in the world | Bullshit | Already been debunked |
| Most Indian Nobel prize winners are Bengali/from Kolkata | Bullshit | As per Wikipedia, there have been total 6 Nobel Prize winners with Indian citizenship till date, but out of these only 2 were Bengali. There have been total 12 Nobel Prize winners with ties to India, but out of these only 4 have some ties to Kolkata. |
| Only a Bengali has ever won an Oscar from India. | Bullshit | This may have been true once, but as of 2021 there have been 5 Indians who have won Oscars and the Bengali Oscar was an honorary award. |
So what?
Bengalis have many things to be proud of, but most of the above are not it. I hope people would stop sharing such bullshit facts on Social Media without checking facts because it is embarrassing for Bengalis, including me.
Bengalis should also realise that the days of Bengali Renaissance are long gone and instead of dwelling on achievements long past, we should focus on the present and future.