Talk:Bengal

Too much detail?
Recently, this article has been greatly expanded by User:AzaanJC. As far as I can see, the text he or she has added is correct & well-written. Despite that, I'd like to delete nearly all of it.

This is a Extraregion, a region that does not fit into the hierarchy we use to arrange articles. Most information should be in the in-hierarchy articles like West Bengal and Bangladesh, and only a bare minimum here.

Other opinions? Pashley (talk) 21:56, 9 July 2015 (UTC)


 * there is no problem having detail in an extraregion as long as it is specific to the characteristics of that region. But if it is just repeating what are in other articles then that need not be on the page. --Traveler100 (talk) 22:02, 9 July 2015 (UTC)


 * I know the current version is not perfect. But reverting to what it was before isn't helpful either. There are many areas which are not covered in either Bangladesh/West Bengal. This page has the potential to fill that gap. I'm using my sandbox to bring in a totally different version of the page from what it is now. --AzaanJC (talk) 22:56, 9 July 2015 (UTC)


 * I agree it should be a bare minimum, but the version before the current one didn't do any justice.--AzaanJC (talk) 22:58, 9 July 2015 (UTC)


 * See also Wikivoyage_talk:Geographical_hierarchy which has some editors arguing that this type of article should not exist at all. I think they are completely wrong, but they do make some interesting points. Pashley (talk) 01:43, 10 July 2015 (UTC)
 * Give me one more day and I'll change it. In English Wikipedia, there is a dedicated WikiProject on Bengal, with Bangladesh and Indian WB as two halves. I doubt most of the other extraregions have such parrallels. Imho it should have been an outline page. Nevertheless, I still think it should be a good extraregion article. Will get rid of the lede to begin with.--AzaanJC (talk) 03:17, 10 July 2015 (UTC)

Other destinations
This means "Destinations other than cities". Please change entries in the list as appropriate. Ikan Kekek (talk) 08:18, 12 July 2015 (UTC)

Cities?
This article currently lists almost 20 cities and normal policy is to limit such lists to nine entries. Should it be trimmed? If so, which cities should stay? Kolkata, Dhaka and Chittagong seem obvious, but which others?

My view is that, since this is an extra-hierarchical region, we should just delete the entire section and leave listing cities to the in-hierarchy articles. What do others think? Pashley (talk) 14:36, 28 July 2015 (UTC)


 * What's the precedent in similar cases? Are there similar cases? Ikan Kekek (talk) 05:33, 29 July 2015 (UTC)


 * Extra regions like Lake Tai mention the major cities in the area. Others like Hudson Valley do not. I think it depends whether just linking to in-hierarchy regions can cover the cities well. Just linking to the two provinces does not work for Lake Tai because the reader could not tell which cities are near the lake. Pashley (talk) 13:54, 29 July 2015 (UT


 * I guess my feeling is that the biggest and most important cities should probably be mentioned, but perhaps in prose rather than in a list of cities. I wouldn't really object to not mentioning them, though. As for "Other destinations", are those all listed in the Bangladesh and West Bengal articles? If some aren't, let's make sure to insert them. Ikan Kekek (talk) 21:19, 29 July 2015 (UTC)

Chopping text
I am about to reduce the cities list radically, as discussed above. Preserving the old list here. In my opinion, none of these should be added back into this article, but some may need adding in West Bengal, Bangladesh, or regional articles below those. Pashley (talk) 04:06, 17 February 2016 (UTC)


 * Barisal — agricultural river port on the southern tip of the Bengal Delta
 * Bagerhat — the historic Mosque City of Bagerhat includes medieval Turkic-Bengali mosques
 * Baharampur — site of old Dutch, Portuguese and Mughal settlements
 * Bandarban — A Threvada Buddhist town in the southeast
 * Bogra — gateway to the ancient fort city of Mahasthangarh; famed for Bengali yogurt production
 * Chandernagore — former French colonial enclave
 * Chittagong — former Portuguese, Mughal and British port; known for its rolling hills and great harbour; nicknamed the Queen of the East
 * Cox's Bazaar — a popular vacation town on the Bay of Bengal, well known for its vast sandy beaches
 * Darjeeling — a hill station and the tea capital of West Bengal; home to the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway; nicknamed the Queen of the Hills
 * Dhaka — thriving modern Bangladeshi capital; known as the Rickshaw Capital of the World; historically a cosmopolitan commercial center during the Mughal Empire
 * Kalimpong — A Mahayana Buddhist town in the north near Bhutan
 * Kolkata — the third-largest city in India, the state capital of West Bengal and the historic seat of British India; nicknamed the City of Joy
 * Kuakata — a popular coastal beach town in southern Bangladesh
 * Mymensingh — a historic town with significant cultural history
 * Murshidabad — the former capital of the Nawabs of Bengal
 * Rajshahi — the largest city in North Bengal; produces fine silk; home to the Varendra Research Museum; gateway to ancient archaeological sites
 * Sonargaon — a former merchant city and capital of the Sultanate of Bengal
 * Sylhet — the largest urban area in the Surma River Valley; surrounded by tea estates; also a prominent Sufi spiritual center

I think Bengal also needs chopping, but I am not about to do that. The only thing I am sure should be kept is Sundarbans, since it is a UNESCO site & major tourist draw, and it spans the border. Pashley (talk) 04:23, 17 February 2016 (UTC)

Eat?
Bengali food can be wonderful. It can also be spicy enough to require a warning for some visitors.

Does this article need an Eat section? The answer is 'yes' only if both Bengali cooking is significantly different from other North Indian styles and there is much in common about the food in West Bengal and Bangladesh. I think both are the case, but am not completely certain. Pashley (talk) 04:36, 17 February 2016 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the. —Community Tech bot (talk) 09:22, 2 May 2019 (UTC)
 * Chattogram montage 42.jpg
 * ✅ at Wikidata ARR8 (User talk:ARR8 | Special:Contributions/ARR8) 17:04, 5 May 2019 (UTC)

Too much chopping?
I argued for shortening the article at and  above, but I think this edit went much too far & I want to restore most of what it deleted.

Other opinions? User:Soumya-8974, User:AzaanJC, User:Ravikiran r? Pashley (talk) 01:06, 9 April 2021 (UTC)


 * I have inserted text mentioning major cities & tourist attractions, but with no listings & without section headings.
 * I still want to restore most of the Understand & Talk sections, but am holding off pending discussion here. Pashley (talk) 11:21, 10 April 2021 (UTC)


 * ✅ I have now restored everything I thought worth saving, considerably less than was deleted. Pashley (talk) 23:48, 11 April 2021 (UTC)