The Meetei Pangals of Bangladesh: Society, Religion, and Cultural Continuity in a Diasporic Context

The Meetei Pangals of Bangladesh constitute a small yet culturally distinct Muslim minority whose social life reflects a long historical process of migration, accommodation, and cultural synthesis. Their ancestry traces back to Muslims who largely settled in the independent kingdom of Manipur in the seventeenth century and were gradually assimilated into the Meetei socio-political order, the Meetei Pangals developed a unique identity grounded in Islamic faith and indigenous Meetei social institutions, particularly the Sagei (clan) system. Their subsequent migration to present-day Bangladesh mainly during the nineteenth century placed them in a diasporic context within a predominantly Bengali Muslim society. Despite sharing religious affiliation with the majority population, they have retained distinctive linguistic, cultural, and social practices. This article examines the historical background, social organization, religious life, marriage customs, and life-cycle rituals of the Meetei Pangals in Bangladesh. It argues that the community represents a resilient diasporic formation in which Islamic belief, Meetei cultural traditions, and local adaptations coexist, producing a hybrid yet coherent collective identity. At the same time, the study highlights contemporary challenges such as language shift, economic marginalization, and cultural erosion, emphasizing the importance of documentation and intergenerational transmission of cultural heritage.