The mystery of Pahela Baishakh and the Bengali calendar

Today, we celebrate the beginning of the Bengali year 1431. Every new year, discussions about the origins of the Bengali calendar are revisited. According to popular belief, the Bengali calendar was introduced during the rule of Mughal Emperor Akbar around 438 years ago. This claim raises a puzzle: if the calendar really started only four centuries ago, how did it get to the year 1431? This difference prompts us to explore the past, wondering if the Mughal emperor was indeed the originator, or if the credit should be given to Shashanka, the renowned king of Gauda.

Added to the mystery is the celebration of Pahela Baishakh, the first day of Bengali New Year, which is energetically celebrated on April 14 in Bangladesh and on the following day in West Bengal. These different dates add to the calendar's complex history, hinting at a combination of regional impact and astronomical accuracy that has influenced its development.

Tracing the calendar's roots leads us back to ancient astrologers who meticulously observed the sky, charting the sun's movements relative to planets and stars. Their vigilance was not merely for the sake of knowledge but served practical purposes: understanding seasonal transitions to inform agricultural practices and tax collection timings after the harvest.

By observing the sun's path, they divided the sky into 12 segments, correlating with the 12 zodiac signs. The sun's progression from one segment to another—each event known as a sankranti—marks the transition to a new month, hence the 12-month structure of the Bengali calendar. The division of a week into seven days also has celestial origins, named after the moon, the sun, and the five planets visible to the naked eye. Thus, the deep connection between celestial movements and the temporal frameworks that structure the lives of Bangalees have been undeniable.

The Bengali calendar's origins can be traced back approximately 1,500 years to the reign of King Shashanka of Gauda, an era that saw the institutionalisation of timekeeping in the Bengal region. The calendar, known as the "Shaka" era, became a cornerstone for organising agricultural activities and tax collection, simultaneously weaving itself into the cultural fabric of Bengal through the documentation of festivals and religious ceremonies. This period established a symbiotic relationship between the calendar, the agrarian cycle, and the socio-religious life of Bengal's populace, cementing its significance beyond mere timekeeping.

Fast forward to nearly a millennium later, during the era of the Mughal empire, which held sway over Bengal and the vast expanse of the Indian subcontinent. The imperial administration, adhering to Islamic traditions, conducted its official affairs according to the Hijri calendar, which is a lunar calendar. This presented a formidable challenge in dealing with agriculture and taxation. Given that the Hijri year is roughly 11 days shorter than the solar year due to its reliance on the lunar cycle, its application in agricultural Bengal led to a misalignment with the seasonal cycles crucial for farming. This discrepancy meant that, over a span of five or six years, there would be a complete seasonal drift, complicating the timing of tax collections which were traditionally aligned with the harvests.

To address this discord, Emperor Akbar entrusted his royal astronomer, Fatehullah Shirazi, with the development of a new calendar. Shirazi, hailing from Persia, ingeniously amalgamated the indigenous Shaka era, prevalent in India and Bengal, with Islamic principles to devise the "Tarikh-e-Elahi" or "Fasli San" (the agricultural year), as it came to be known among the populace. This calendar commenced from the year of Emperor Akbar's ascent to the throne, aligning with the year 963 in the Hijri calendar. Consequently, the computation of years in the Bengali calendar involved an initial period counted according to the lunar cycle, followed by years calculated by the solar cycle.

In the year Akbar ascended the throne, the Hijri month of Muharram corresponded with the month Baishakh of the Shaka era, thereby establishing Baishakh as the inaugural month of the Bengali calendar year. This adaptation not only reconciled the lunar and solar year discrepancies, but also aligned the calendar with the agricultural and seasonal rhythms of Bengal. In contrast, the Shaka era, which is now adopted as the national calendar in India, commences its year in the month of Chaitra.

In the Tarikh-e-Elahi, the months bore Persian names: Farwardin, Ardibehisht, Khordad, Tir, Mordad, Shahrivar, Mehr, Aban, Azar, Dey, Bahman, and Esfand. These names, while reflective of the Persian influence on the Mughal court, diverged significantly from the traditional nomenclature familiar to the people of Bengal, who were accustomed to months named Baishakh, Jaishtha, Ashar, Shraban. Each day within these months also received unique names, perhaps further estranging the local populace from this imposed calendar system.

Eventually, the lack of acceptance of the calendar system among the common people prompted Emperor Akbar's grandson, Emperor Shah Jahan, to revert to the more familiar system of naming days and months as per the Shaka and Vikram Samvat calendars, which were deeply ingrained in the regional consciousness. The traditional Bengali months, aligning once more with the sky and named after 12 constellations, were reinstated, heralding the re-emergence of the Bengali calendar, now known as "Bangabda."

Now, let's look at the date discrepancy: what is the reason for observing Pahela Baishakh on April 14 in Bangladesh and on April 15 in West Bengal?

The reason for this discrepancy is due to the variation in time zones and the different calculation methods for the calendar in each region. Bangladesh adheres to an updated version of the calendar, one that corrected the leap year discrepancy, thereby aligning more closely with the Gregorian calendar. This adjustment ensures that April 14 marks the commencement of the Bengali New Year in Bangladesh. Conversely, West Bengal often relies on traditional calculation methods, which, contingent upon astronomical considerations, may position the start of the new year on April 15.

The path to understanding this divergence requires a journey through the epochs of Mughal and British reigns, leading to post-Partition India in 1952. During this period, the Indian government constituted a committee headed by the distinguished physicist Dr Meghnad Saha, tasked with reforming the Shaka calendar. Following exhaustive deliberations, the committee, in 1954, proposed a calendar reform that would place Pahela Baishakh on April 14. Despite this recommendation, the proposal was not adopted by the Indian government. Meanwhile, in East Bengal (present-day Bangladesh), a separate committee led by Dr Muhammad Shahidullah in 1963, known as the Shahidullah Committee, embraced Dr Saha's proposal with certain modifications, formulating an alternate version of the calendar. This modified calendar was later officially embraced by the Bangladesh government in the 1988-89 fiscal year, thereby instituting April 14 as the inaugural day of the Bengali New Year in Bangladesh. West Bengal, remaining under Indian jurisdiction, continues to observe Pahela Baishakh on April 15.

Even though subsequent modifications have been made to the Bengali calendar, the essence of it—its complexity and intertwined relationship with the identity and historical trajectory of the Bengali people–remains steadfast. The origins of this calendar transcend the legacies of individual rulers like Emperor Akbar or King Shashanka, being rooted instead in the agricultural rhythms, celestial observations, and the lives of the people of Bengal.

Nazifa Raidah is a member of the editorial team at The Daily Star.

The author thanks Naimul Alam Alvi for his contribution to this article.

Views expressed in this article are the author's own. 

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