The term is used to describe Bengalis from the east, as opposed to the Ghotis of Rarh region in Western Bengal and Jharkhand of modern India.
[1] It is usually assumed that the Bramhaputra-Padma river system is the demarcation line between the Western and Eastern wings of the Bengal region.
The areas to the East of the Bramhaputra-Padma river system are traditionally held to be the homeland of the Bangal people.
Going by the more strict definition, the Bangals are those people whose ancestry is connected to the Eastern Bengal plains of Mymensingh, Dhaka, Barisal and Comilla.
They also cherish a rivalry through a claim of the supremacy of their respective cuisines and especially river-food delicacies, i. e., Chingri (prawn) for Ghotis and Ilish (hilsa) for Bangals.