Zamindars of Bengal

 

Zamindars of Bengal

 

The term Zamindar meant owners of land. It is originated from the Persian word    Zamin meaning land. They were landowners in India and controlled vast amounts of land. They took tax from the inhabitants of these villages and submitted it to the Mughal Administration of India. Zamindars were the feudal lords in Mughal and British India. During Mughal times, there was a part of the nobility.  Zamindari was granted by the Mughals or inherited.

Their origin was supposed to be from pre-Mauryan times, though the word was something different.

In some ways, they were independent and ruled areas where permission was needed to enter by established administration.

 

They were the celebrities with the power of the time. The Zamindars were part of the power elite to control and tax the peasants.

 

Structure during Mughal times.

 

    Itachuna Rajbari-Previously discussed in our blog.

 

 

 

 

The Zamindars wore classy attire including silks, velvets and lived like kings in their areas. This the closest view the common people had of royalty. Their personal royalty that is who were cruel administrators as well as benevolent. The modern police might be the replacement of the zamindari system, except they do not take taxes nor they live grand life style of the Zamindars.

 

One of the most famous Zamindar of Bengal was Rabindranath Tagore, the well-known poet from Bengal who won the Nobel Prize from Literature in British Times.

His counter part was Kazi Nazrul islam was is less known since he was not rich and could not get so much publicity. He was called the Rebel Poet or “Bidrohi Kobi”. He was critical of the British empire in the form a magazine: Dhumketu.

 

Bidrohi (The Rebel)

I am the unutterable grief,

I am the trembling first touch of the virgin,

I am the throbbing tenderness of her first stolen kiss.

I am the fleeting glance of the veiled beloved,

I am her constant surreptitious gaze...

 

I am the burning volcano in the bosom of the earth,

I am the wildfire of the woods,

I am Hell's mad terrific sea of wrath!

I ride on the wings of lightning with joy and profundity,

I scatter misery and fear all around,

I bring earthquakes on this world! "(8th stanza)"

 

I am the rebel eternal,

I raise my head beyond this world,

High, ever erect and alone!

-Translated by Kabir Choudhary.

 

We talk about a famous Zamindari in West Bengal, that is:

Rajbari Bawali

The origin of the name is from ‘Bone Eli Gayleei” which means coming and going from the forest in the countryside village language. This land was part of the Sunderbans and land was supposed to be marshy and connected with rivers.

The family or Zamindar in charge was the Mondol family.  The name Mondol was bestowed upon them and were part of the Hijli Kingdom.    The family’s original surname was Roy.

Hijli Kingdom

This kingdom was founded by Mansingh and it lasted from 1687 to 1886. That is until the British defeated them.

Kharagpur, where the famous IIT Kharagpur is situated is part of this empire.

Some of the famous alumni from IIT Kharagpur:

·         Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google

·         Chetan Bhagat, Novelist

·         Arvind Kejriwal , politician

·         Narayan Murthy, CEO of Infosys. The father-in-law of the British Prime Minister.

Back to our post. The earliest member of this family was Basudeb Roy who belonged in the army of the King. (or Mah

The Rajbari or mansion is located in a large pond near the temples.

Currently, these mansions are converted into tourism lodges. This is not just a visit a great building but an experience you won’t forget. It might be expensive for locals but it is worth it.  The Zamindars were not just land revenue collectors but rather part of the nobility or elite.

Difference between Zamindary under Mughals and British.

Under the Mughals, land belonged to villagers but with the British, the land belonged to the Zamindars or land revenue collectors. Most of the time these guys were cruel and unjust. I heard stories like under British Zamindar, a mango could be eaten by sitting on the ground from the tree. Nobody dared to climb the trees of the Zamindar. Well in the modern sense, it is called trespassing, but this culture was not so accepted among villagers.

  

Address of Rajbari Bawali:

The, Bowali Rajbari, North, Bawali, Kolkata, Raypur, West Bengal 743384

 Itachuna Rajbari(Hooghly)

Read Earlier post.

Zamindars in Bangladesh

Tajhat Palace 

The Tajhat Palace was constructed by Maharaja Gopal Lal Roy (1906) who came from Punjab to Rangpur.

This place was constructed at a cost of 1.5 Million US$. Actually, Zamindars were mini kings and had a lot of power under the British. The police dared not come to Zamindar’s area without informing him beforehand.

The palace was designed by the British architect Robert Fellowes Chisholm, who also designed:

·         Victoria Memorial Hall

·         Napier Museum in Trivandrum

·         University of Madras

·         The Indian, Museum, London

·         City Of Baroda, school

He made unique architectural designs in British Bengal.

 

A man from Middlesex, England who was not much known in his own country.

The Roy family left after the partition in 1950 and later on Bangladesh government took over. Currently, this palace hosts the Rangpur Museum.

The fee for visiting this place is 200 BDT (for foreigners, non SAARC) and the timing is from 10 AM to 6 PM (Tue –Thursday)

    Closed-Sunday

Friday- Same timing as above (closed at prayer time).

Saturday –same as regular timings.

 

Moyez Manzil

 

History of Bishwash Bari

The founder of this family was Chowdhury Moezuddin Bishwash. He was the son of Chowdhury Muquimuddin Bishwash and heir to the Chanpur Estate

He was from Faridpur which is known as The Royal District.

. This part of his 8^th ancestor Arafat Ali who was given this jagiradri by the Mughals.  Arafat Ali is supposed to have originated in Turkey. The reader might be interested to know what is Jagiradri and Jagirdars. In modern times Land IRS guys. They took revenue from the people.

The thing is they were more powerful than the IRS since they controlled lives and were mini kings. Interestingly this family had zamindari(land, territory ) in Uttar Pradesh, India.

Moyezuddin Bishwash was able to acquire 952,000 acres out of the biggest one was Burdwan.

Many of his zamindaries in West Bengal:

·         24 Paragnas

·         Kolkata

·         Hooghly

·         Assam

·         Darjeeling

This palace hosted many meetings:

·         Congress and the Peoples Association

·         Confidential meetings of Congress organized by Ambika Charan Majumder

Chowdhury Moyezuddin Bishwash had 3 sons:

§  Lal Mia

§  Tara Mia

§  Mohan Mia ( Chowdhury Yusuf Ali).

His son Kamal bin Yusuf was a well-known government minister (BNP).   This family is related to Bhawal Mia Bari (AL supporters).

The House was constructed at a cost of 11 Lakh rupees in 1885.

The architecture of the house consists of Victorian and Mughal architecture over 22 bighas of land.

 Source :Chowdhury Abd-Allah Quaseed

Facebook post  and Wikipedia.

 References :

https://indianvagabond.com/2021/03/27/rajbari-bawali-heritage-luxury/

https://www.facebook.com/MoyezManzil/posts/pfbid0dHYWW6eZwcu2M5GHtrFkSFWi6N6nzfEs2hQHiqEiWkj2jYtmVN9GonuwFcykoLLl

https://www.exoticheritagegroup.com/blog/zamindars-of-kolkata-1.html

https://en.banglatribune.com/Journey/news/88559/The-Legends-of-Mymensingh-Zamindars

https://garimakaushikk.medium.com/list-of-famous-iit-alumni-who-made-it-big-in-other-sectors-a1391c5d9f87

https://www.dhakatribune.com/opinion/longform/60119/if-the-house-could-speak

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About Indica Collection

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