Bong is a neologism that originated in cosmopolitan India in the 1980s as a slightly pejorative exonym for the educated middle-class Bengalis from the Indian state of West Bengal.
[2] Writer Nabarun Bhattacharya believed that the term originated either in the IITs or some other pan-Indian educational institutes.
[3] According to blogger Arnab Ray, the Bengalis were traditionally reluctant to leave West Bengal for livelihood.
However, in the 1980s, the political scenario changed in West Bengal and the Bengalis were forced to leave the state in search of better career options.
This led to the development of Bong identity, which is characterized by their emotional attachment towards West Bengal and at the same time well integrated with the cosmopolitan environment of India and abroad.
[2] According to sociologist Prasanta Roy, the term conveys hostility, prejudice, political and intellectual dislike.
[2] According to New Delhi–based writer Samit Basu, the people who identify themselves as Bong should fight against the age-old stereotypes of the Bengalis.
[2] The prohibition on eating the seasonal Indian plum before the Saraswati Puja has been referred to as Bong cultural heritage.