One of the most important languages on the Indian subcontinent, Bengali is the second most widely spoken language in the India and is also the national language of Bangladesh.
It was in the mid-1800s that the Bengali Renaissance saw an intellectual movement lead by the Bengali poets, writers, philosophers and religious scientists that laid the foundation for the independence of India from the colonial rule in the mid 20th century.
The language traces its roots in the ancient language of Sanskrit but have also been found to be influenced by an even older language, Pali. In the present day, it is known to have many dialects and even European languages influenced it in the 18th and the 19th century.