What is Bengalis?
The '''Bengali people''' are the main [[ethnic]] group in the region of [[Bengal]] (now divided between [[Bangladesh]] and the [[Republic of India]]) in [[South Asia]]. They speak [[Bengali language|Bengali]] (বাংলা Bangla), a language of the eastern branch of the [[Indo-Aryan languages]]. They are natively concentrated in the nation of Bangladesh and in the Indian states of [[West Bengal]] and [[Tripura]]. Some of the most well established Bengali communities are in the [[Middle East]], [[Japan]], [[Malaysia]], [[United Kingdom]] and [[United States]]. Remnants of civilisation in the greater [[Bengal]] region date back 4,000 years,<ref name=bsahistory>{{cite web| url = http://www.orgs.ttu.edu/saofbangladesh/history.htm| title = History of Bangladesh| access-date = 2006-10-26| publisher = Bangladesh Student Association @ TTU|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051226045659/http://www.orgs.ttu.edu/saofbangladesh/history.htm |archive-date = 2005}}</ref><ref name=xinhua>{{cite news| agency=Xinhua| date = 2006| title = 4000-year old settlement unearthed in Bangladesh| url = http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-03/12/content_4293312.htm}}</ref> when the region was settled by [[Dravidian peoples|Dravidian]], [[Tibeto-Burman languages|Tibeto-Burman]] and [[Austroasiatic]] peoples. The origin of the word ''Bangla ~ Bengal'' is unknown, but it is believed to be derived from the [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian-speaking]] tribe ''Bang'' that settled in the area around the year 1000 [[BC]].<ref name=congress>{{cite book| publisher = Library of Congress| url = http://memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/bdtoc.html| chapter = Early History, 1000 B.C.-A.D. 1202| title = Bangladesh: A country study| editor = James Heitzman and Robert L. Worden| year = 1989}}</ref> After the arrival of [[Indo-Aryan]]s, the kingdoms around Bengal were first described in the ''[[Atharvaveda]]'' about 1000 BC. From the 6th century BC, Magadha expanded to include most of the [[Bihar]] and Bengal regions. It was one of the four main kingdoms of Ind