 The Bengali people are its dominant ethnolinguistic tribe.The region has been a historical melting point, blending indigenous traditions with cosmopolitan influences from pan-Indian subcontinental empires.Bengal was considered to be the richest part of Islamic medieval India and during the era of the Bengal Sultanate it was described to be a world major trading nation, while during Mughal times, having triggered the proto-industrialization, its economy was worth 12% of global GDP.