| In 200-300 AD the merchants of Chaand Saudagar
built a city in the Baghmara forest area, the ruins of which
still stand today. The Sunderban offered safe sanctuary to Raja
Basand Rai and his nephew who faced a threat from the Mughal
Emperor Akbar's army. Netidhopani still contains evidence of
the protective structures built by them.
Pirates and salt smugglers flourished here in the 17th century
AD and used the swamps and ancient ruins to their advantage.
The Sunderban are an integral part of the Bengali ethos and
culture and has been featured prominently in Bengali literature
and art. The novel Kapal Kundla by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
and the 60s film Ganga are only an indication of the inspiration
they have provided to writers, poets and film-makers over
several years. The hilsa fish that spawns in the Sunderban
is the pride of Bengali cuisine.
The Sunderban is believed to have once been a part of the
sea for it is the heavy silt deposits that have created the
delta. The rich, isolated 10,000 sq km swamp of the Bengal
Sunderbans were first in the public eye when 4,262 sq km of
delta came under the protection of Project Tiger. The rest
of the delta lies in Bangladesh. Of this area, 2525 sq km
was demarcated as the Sunderban Tiger Reserve under the Wildlife
(Protection) Act in 1973, and it was declared a wildlife sanctuary
in 1977. A core area of 1,330 sq km was accorded the status
of a National Park on May 4, 1984. The park was eventually
recognised as a World Heritage Site in 1985.
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Many people have lost their lives to the tigers
in Sunderban. Locals wear bright coloured facemasks behind
their heads (to fend of rear attacks) when they venture into
the jungle, in the hope that such ploys may keep them safe
from the tiger. They worship Banbibi (the forest goddess)
and Dakshin Ray (a demon that is said to assume the avataar
of a tiger) for protection from the tigers. Narayani, Maklukhan,
Sa Jungli and Gazi Saheb are the other deities propitiated
in return for safety.
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