Bengali Christians () are adherents of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

among the

Bengali people Bengalis ( ), also rendered as endonym Bangalee, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of South Asia. The current population is divided between the sovereign country Bangl ...

. Christianity took root in Bengal after the arrival of Portuguese voyagers in the 16th century. It witnessed further conversions among the Bengali upper-caste elite during the 19th century

Bengali Renaissance Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

. Bengali Christians played significant role in

Bengali culture The culture of Bengal defines the cultural heritage of the Bengali people native to eastern regions of the Indian subcontinent, mainly what is today Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal and Tripura, where they form the dominant ...

, education, commerce and society. Some of the most influential thinkers and advocates during the Indian independence struggle from British Raj were Bengali Christians. The region is home to venerable missionary institutions, including the

Missionaries of Charity The Missionaries of Charity () is a Catholic centralised religious institute of consecrated life of Pontifical Right for women established in 1950 by Mother Teresa, now known in the Catholic Church as Saint Teresa of Calcutta. , it consisted o ...

founded by

Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu (born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, ; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa or Saint Mother Teresa, was an Albanian-Indian Catholic Church, Roman Catholic nun, founder of the Missionaries of ...

History

Christianity was established in Bengal by the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

missionaries in the 16th century. Basilica of the Holy Rosary, Bandel is the first church known to have been constructed in 1599 at

Hugli-Chuchura Hugli-Chuchura (), also known by its List of renamed places in India, former names Chinsurah or Hooghly-Chinsurah, is a city of Hooghly district and the district headquarters of Hooghly division in the Indian States and union territories of ...

in the

Hooghly district Hooghly district () is one of the districts of the Indian state of West Bengal. It can alternatively be spelt ''Hoogli'' or ''Hugli''. The district is named after the Hooghly River. The headquarters of the district are at Hooghly-Chinsurah (' ...

of West Bengal, India. Another is known to have been established from the historical records was in Ishwaripore,

Jessore Jessore (, ), officially Jashore, is a city of Jessore District in Khulna Division. It lies in southwestern Bangladesh. It is home to the first flight training school of the Bangladeshi Air Force, established in 1971. Jessore city consists of 9 wa ...

(erstwhile Chandecan) in 1600 under patronage of

Pratapaditya Pratapaditya Guha was a rebellious Kayashtha zamindar of Jessore of lower Bengal, before being defeated by the Mughal Empire. He was eulogized by 19th and 20th century Bengali historians as a resistor against Mughal in Jessore but the statements ...

which later was ransacked. Chittagong (erstwhile also referred to as Diang) with significant Portuguese and trading settlements had first hermitage and churches erected around this time. The

Portuguese settlement in Chittagong Chittagong, the second largest city and main port of Bangladesh, was home to a thriving trading post of the Portuguese Empire in the East in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Portuguese first arrived in Chittagong around 1528, and left in 1666 ...

hosted the first

Vicar Apostolic A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

in Bengal. The Portuguese from there moved to Arakan, where they would transport Hindu and Muslim slaves, about 42,000 in number from 1621 to 1624, and converted 28,000 of those enslaved peoples to Christianity.

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

missionaries also established churches in

Bandel Bandel is a city in the Hooghly district of the Indian state of West Bengal. It was founded by Portuguese Empire, Portuguese settlers and falls under the jurisdiction of Chandernagore Police Commissionerate. It is a part of the area covered by ...

and

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

. In 1682, there were 14,120 Roman Catholics in Bengal.

Denominations

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church in Bangladesh is based in the Archdiocese of Dhaka, with dioceses in

Dinajpur Dinajpur ( ) is a city and the district headquarters of Dinajpur district situated in Rangpur Division, Bangladesh. It was founded in 1786. It is located 413 km north-west of Dhaka. It is bounded on the north by Suihari, Katapara, Bangi ...

Mymensingh Mymensingh () is a metropolis, metropolitan city and capital of Mymensingh Division, Bangladesh. Located on the bank of the Old Brahmaputra River, Brahmaputra River, about north of the national capital Dhaka, it is a major financial center ...

Sylhet Sylhet (; ) is a Metropolis, metropolitan city in the north eastern region of Bangladesh. It serves as the administrative center for both the Sylhet District and the Sylhet Division. The city is situated on the banks of the Surma River and, as o ...

and

Rajshahi Rajshahi (, ) is a metropolis, metropolitan city and a major Urban area, urban, administrative, commercial and educational centre of Bangladesh. It is also the administrative seat of the eponymous Rajshahi Division, division and Rajshahi Distr ...

and Archdiocese of Chittagong, with dioceses in Barisal and Khulna.World Christian Encyclopedia, Second edition, 2001 Volume 1, p. 368-371 *Province of Dhaka: Metropolitan Archdiocese of Dhaka ** Diocese of Dinajpur ** Diocese of Mymensingh ** Diocese of Rajshahi ** Diocese of Sylhet *Province of Chittagong: Metropolitan Archdiocese of Chittagong ** Diocese of Barisal ** Diocese of Khulna The

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

in West Bengal is based in the Archdiocese of Calcutta. *Province of Calcutta: Metropolitan Archdiocese of Calcutta ** Diocese of Asansol ** Diocese of Bagdogra ** Diocese of Baruipur ** Diocese of Darjeeling ** Diocese of Jalpaiguri ** Diocese of Krishnagar ** Diocese of Raiganj

United Protestantism

In the Indian subcontinent, various Protestant denominations merged to form United Protestant Churches, such as the

Church of North India The Church of North India (CNI) is the dominant united and uniting churches, united Protestant church in northern India. It was established on 29 November 1970 by bringing together most of the Protestant churches working in northern India. It i ...

and the

Church of Bangladesh The Church of Bangladesh () is a united Protestant church formed by the union of various Protestant churches in Bangladesh, principally the Anglican and Presbyterian denominations. The Church of Bangladesh is a member of the Anglican Communion ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

: St. Thomas Cathedral is the seat of the Metropolitan Diocese of Dhaka of Archbishop of Church of Bangladesh. There are three dioceses of the United Protestant

: * Church of Bangladesh Diocese of Dhaka * Church of Bangladesh Diocese of Kushtia * Church of Bangladesh Diocese of Barisal

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

(

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

): St. Paul's Cathedral, Kolkata is the seat of the Diocese of Calcutta (1813) of the United Protestant

(CNI). *Diocese of

Barrackpore Barrackpore (), also known as Barrackpore,is a city and municipality in North 24 Parganas district in the India, Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Barrackpore subdivision. The city is a part of the area covered by Ko ...

*Diocese of

Durgapur Durgapur (), is an industrial hub and a planned urban agglomeration in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is stands on the northern bank of the Damodar river and located in Paschim Bardhaman district. Durgapur is a major centre for producin ...

*Diocese of

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

Other denominations

Other denominations include: *

Assemblies of God in India The General Council of the Assemblies of God of India is a Pentecostal Christian denomination in India. It is affiliated with the World Assemblies of God Fellowship. The headquarters is in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. History The General Council of th ...

India Pentecostal Church of God The Indian Pentecostal Church of God (IPC) is one of the largest Pentecostal Christian Denomination in India. Its organisational headquarters located in Kumbanad, Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state ...

The Pentecostal Mission The Pentecostal Mission (TPM), also known as Ceylon Pentecostal Mission (CPM) in Sri Lanka, New Testament Church (NTC) in the United States, Grace New Covenant Pentecostal Church in Canada and Universal Pentecostal Church (UPC) in the United K ...

Armenian Apostolic Church The Armenian Apostolic Church () is the Autocephaly, autocephalous national church of Armenia. Part of Oriental Orthodoxy, it is one of the most ancient Christianity, Christian churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church, like the Armenian Catholic ...

* Bengal Orissa Bihar Baptist Convention *

Brethren in Christ Church The Brethren in Christ Church (BIC) is a River Brethren Christian denomination. Falling within the Anabaptist tradition of Christianity, the Brethren in Christ Church has roots in the Mennonite church, with influences from the revivals of Radic ...

Church of God (Anderson) Church of God is a name used by numerous denominational bodies. The largest denomination with this name is the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee). Adventist Churches of God * Church of God General Conference (Church of God of the ...

El Shaddai El Shaddai (; ) or just Shaddai is one of the names of God in Judaism. ''El Shaddai'' is conventionally translated into English as ''God Almighty'', as ''Deus Omnipotens'' in Latin, and in . '' El'' means "God" in the Ugaritic and the Canaanite ...

* New Life Fellowship Association * Bangladesh Baptist Church Sangha (BBCS) * Isa-e Church (Bangladesh) * Bangladesh Evangelical Church (BEC)

Demographics

Bengali Christians are considered a

model minority The term model minority refers to a minority group, defined by factors such as ethnicity, race, or religion, whose members are perceived to be achieving a higher socioeconomic status in comparison to the overall population average. Consequently, ...

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

and usually enjoy a high literacy rate, low male-female sex ratio and a better socio-economic status. Christian missionaries operate many schools, hospitals and shelters for the poor. They receive support from the Indian and Bangladeshi governments.

Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...

Barisal Barisal ( or ; , ), officially known as Barishal, is a major city that lies on the banks of the Kirtankhola river in south-central Bangladesh. It is the largest city and the administrative headquarter of both Barisal District and Barisal Divi ...

Khulna Khulna (, ) is the third-largest city in Bangladesh, after Dhaka and Chittagong. It is the administrative centre of the Khulna District and the Khulna Division. It is the divisional centre of 10 districts of the division. Khulna is also the seco ...

and Northern District Side have significant Christian populations.

Culture

Lusophone heritage

Some Catholic Bengali Christians have Portuguese surnames. In a tradition similar to

Bengali Muslims Bengali Muslims (; ) 'Mussalman'' also used in this work.are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising over 70% of the global Bengali population, they are the second-largest et ...

(who have Arabic and Persian names), Bengali Christians adopted Portuguese surnames due to the early influence of Portuguese missionaries in spreading Christianity. Common Catholic Bengali Christian surnames include Gomes, Rozario, D'Costa, Gonsalvez, Cruze, Dias, D'Silva and D'Souza among others.

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

is known as "

Boro Din () is the traditional Bengali name for Christmas. It is the biggest festival of the Bengali Christians. History Christianity was brought to Bangladesh in the 16th century by Portuguese traders and missionaries. Christians in Bangladesh make u ...

" (Big Day) and is a

public holiday A public holiday, national holiday, federal holiday, statutory holiday, bank holiday or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year. Types Civic holiday A ''civic holiday'', also k ...

in both

and Indian

Notable Bengali Christians

* Aurobindo Nath Mukherjee *

Krishna Mohan Banerjee Krishna Mohan Banerjee (24 May 1813 – 11 May 1885) was a 19th-century Indian thinker who attempted to rethink Hindu philosophy, religion and ethics in response to the stimulus of Christian ideas. He himself became a Christians, Christia ...

, Educationist, linguist and Bengali Christian missionary, First President of the Bengal Christian Association. *

Lal Behari Dey Reverend Lal Behari Day (also Dey, 18 December 1824 – 28 October 1894) was an Indian writer and journalist, who converted to Christianity, and became a Christian missionary himself. Biography Lal Behari Dey was born on 18 December 1824 to a ...

, Bengali Christian Missionary, writer and journalist *

Ram Chandra Bose Ram Chandra Bose (sometimes spelled Ram Chunder Basu or Ramachandra Vasu; May 16, 1836 – May 30, 1892) was an educator, a lay evangelist, and a prominent writer in the region of North India known as the North-Western Provinces and Oudh in the ...

, Educator, evangelist, and writer. * Kali Charan Chatterjee, Bengali christian Missionary and first moderator of the Presbyterian Church in India. * Kali Charan Banerjee, Lawyer, Indian independence movement activist and founding member of the Indian National Congress. * *

Brahmabandhav Upadhyay Brahmabandhav Upadhyay (born ''Bhavani Charan Bandyopadhyay'') (11 February 1861 – 27 October 1907) was an Indian Bengali theologian, journalist and freedom fighter. He was closely attached with Keshub Chandra Sen, classmate of Swami V ...

, Bengali theologian, journalist and freedom fighter in the Indian independence movement *

Lolita Roy Lolita Roy (born in 1865), also known as Mrs. P. L. Roy, was an Indian social reformer and suffragist who played an active role in the social life of Indians in London, as well as in campaigns for women's suffrage in Britain and India. She was d ...

, social reformer and suffragist in the British suffragist movement

Religious Leaders

*Rev. Nirod Biswas, first Indian Anglican Bishop of Assam *Cardinal Patrick D'Rozario *Poulinous Costa,

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

*Michael Rosario,

*Moses Montu Costa, the late

* *Rt. Rev Shourabh Pholia, Bishop of Barishal Diocese *

Theotonius Amal Ganguly Theotonious Amal Ganguly, CSC, (18 January 1920, in Hashnabad, Bangladesh – 2 September 1977) was Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Dhaka from 1967 until his death on 2 September 1977. Archbishop Ganguly was a religious of the Congregation ...

, former Bishop of Dhaka *Rt. Rev Hemen Halder, Bishop of Kushtia Diocese * *Alvin P Bhakta,

Reverend The Reverend (abbreviated as The Revd, The Rev'd or The Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian clergy and Christian minister, ministers. There are sometimes differen ...

*Nathaniel Shetu Munshi

*Nibaron Das

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Rt. Rev. Paritosh Canning 21st Bishop, Diocese of Calcutta, Kolkata

Freedom Fighters

Kali Charan Banerjee Kali Charan Banerjee (1847–1907), spelt also as Kalicharan Banerji or K.C. Banerjea or K.C. Banurji, was a Bengali convert to Christianity through the Free Church of Scotland, the founder of ''Calcutta Christo Samaj'', a Calcutta lawyer, and ...

Arts

Michael Madhusudan Dutt Michael Madhusudan Dutt (born Sri Madhusudan Dutta; ; 25 January 1824 – 29 June 1873) was a Bengali poet and playwright. He is considered one of the pioneers of Bengali literature. Early life Madhusudan was born in Sagardari, a villag ...

, 19th century poet and playwright *

Toru Dutt Tarulatta Datta, popularly known as Toru Dutt (; 4 March 1856 – 30 August 1877) was an Indian Bengali poet and translator from British India, who wrote in English and French. She is among the founding figures of Indo-Anglian literature, alongs ...

, poet *

Badal Sircar Sudhindra Sircar (15 July 1925 – 13 May 2011), also known as Badal Sarkar, was an influential Indian dramatist and theatre director, most known for his anti-establishment plays during the Naxalite movement in the 1970s and taking theatre out o ...

, noted Bengali playwright and dramatist. *

Samar Das Samar Das (; 10 December 1929 – 25 September 2001) was a Bangladeshi musician and composer. He became one of the most important music directors in Pakistan and subsequently Bangladesh and was the composer of over 2,000 songs. Early life Samar ...

, musician * Debabrata Biswas, musician *

Andrew Kishore Andrew Kishore Kumar Baroi (widely known as Andrew Kishore, 4 November 1955 – 6 July 2020) was a Bangladeshi playback singer. He is considered the "Playback King" of Bangladesh for his contributions to the golden era of dhaliwood. He worked ...

, Bangladeshi playback singer *

Robin Ghosh Robin Ghosh (, ; 13 September 1939 – 13 February 2016) was a Pakistani-Bangladeshi playback singer and film music composer, best known for singing and composing music for Lollywood films from 1961 to 1986. Robin Ghosh had a notable contributi ...

, Bangladeshi playback singer and film music composer * Tony Dias, Bangladeshi television actor and director * George Lincoln D'Costa, Bangladeshi Metal Singer

Industry

* Samson Chowdhury, founder of

Square Pharmaceuticals Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd. is a Bangladeshi Multinational corporation, multinational pharmaceutical company. It was founded in 1958 by Samson H. Chowdhury along with three of his friends PK Saha, Kazi Harunur Roshid and Radhabinod Rai as a priva ...

Tapan Chowdhury (businessman) Tapan Chowdhury () is a Bangladeshi businessman. On January 14, 2007, he was appointed as one of the advisers for the Caretaker government of Bangladesh under Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed.

* Anjan Chowdhury,

Scholars

Chandramukhi Basu Chandramukhi Basu (1860 – 3 February 1944), a Bengali from Dehradun, which was located in the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh), was one of the first two female graduates of the British India. In 1882, along with Kadambini Ganguly, she pass ...

, first female graduate of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

Radhanath Sikdar Radhanath Sikdar (; 5 October 1813 – 17 May 1870), was an Indian mathematician and social reformer. He is best known for being the first person to calculate the height of Mount Everest, in 1852. He was a member of Henry Derozio's Young Benga ...

, Indian mathematician *

Ashis Nandy Ashis Nandy (born 13 May 1937) is an Indian political psychologist, social theorist, futurist and critic. A trained clinical psychologist, Nandy has provided theoretical critiques of European colonialism, development, modernity, secularism, ...

, Indian sociologist * Sukumari Bhattacharji, Indologist

Educators

Mona Hensman Mona Hensman MBE (25 August 1899 – 5 December 1991), born Mona Mitter, was an Indian educator, feminist, and politician. She was a Member of Parliament, representing Madras State in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India's Parliament, as ...

, née Mitter, former Principal,

Ethiraj College for Women Ethiraj College for Women is an arts and science college for women in Chennai, India, managed by the Ethiraj College Trust. It was founded in 1948 by the barrister V. L. Ethiraj of Vellore. History Chairmen Source: * V. L. Ethiraj (1948–60 ...

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

Surendra Kumar Datta Surendra Kumar Datta (1878–1942), also spelt as Surendra Kumar Dutta or S. K. Dutta, was the president of the All India Conference of Indian Christians and thus the Indian Christian delegate to the Second Round Table Conference in London, as ...

, former Principal,

Forman Christian College Forman Christian College is a private nonprofit Liberal arts college, liberal arts Universities in Pakistan, university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was founded in 1864 and is administered by the Presbyterian Church (USA), Presbyterian Church ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. * S. K. Rudra, first

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

Principal of St. Stephen's College,

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

Politicians

Harendra Coomar Mookerjee Harendra Coomar Mookherjee (3 October 1887 – 7 August 1956), also spelt as H.C. Mukherjee, was the Vice-President of the Constituent Assembly of India for drafting the Constitution of India before Partition of India, and the third Governor of ...

, First Governor of West Bengal and member of constituent assembly. * Hubert Costa, Bangladeshi-Polish Member of Parliament * Promode Mankin, First Catholic and first member of the country's among Christian community to become a government minister in Bangladesh (as a member of the

Bangladesh Awami League The Awami League, officially known as Bangladesh Awami League, is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. The oldest existing political party in the country, the party played the leading role in achievin ...

) and formerly representing

Mymensingh-1 Mymensingh-1 is a constituency represented in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) of Bangladesh since 2024 by Mahmudul Haque Saeam. Boundaries The constituency encompasses Haluaghat Upazila and Dhobaura Upazila. History The constitue ...

(constituency) (whom his son became his successor). *

Jewel Areng Jewel N. Arengh is a Bangladeshi Garo Awami League politician and a former member of parliament from Mymensingh-1. He is the youngest member of parliament and the only Catholic. His father, Promode Mankin, was the state minister for social wel ...

, son of Promode Mankin. He is the youngest member of parliament (as a member of the

) and the only Catholic, currently representing

(constituency) (whom his father was also his predecessor). * Gloria Jharna Sarker, Bangladesh's first Christian Woman MP (201

Bangladesh Army

Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

John Gomes John Gomes is an American luxury real estate broker, entrepreneur, and businessman based in New York City. Alongside his business partner, Fredrik Eklund, he operates brokerages in Manhattan and Sweden. They have continually appeared on the Br ...

Indian Defence Services

* Lionel Protip Sen,

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

in the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

Sports

* Sudhir Kumar Chatterjee, Indian footballer *

Paresh Lal Roy Paresh Lal Roy () (20 December 1893 – 30 December 1979) was an Indian amateur boxer, credited with popularising the sport among Indians. He is known as the Father of Indian Boxing. His grandson is the Indian journalist and founder of the ND ...

, Indian boxer *

Hemanta Vincent Biswas Hemanta Vincent Biswas (; born 13 December 1995) is a Bangladeshi professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Bangladesh Premier League club Bangladesh Police FC and the Bangladesh national team. In 2013, he trialed for the Dutch clu ...

, Bangladesh national team footballer

References

{{Christianity footer Bengali Christians Christian communities of India Christianity in Bangladesh Ethnoreligious groups in India Social groups of West Bengal Social groups of Bangladesh Christian ethnoreligious groups