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47-586: The Akhbare Islamia was founded in April 1884 by Hafez Mahmud Ali Khan Panni, the erstwhile zamindar (feudal lord) of Karatia . The magazine was edited by Mohammad Naimuddin , a Muslim theologian and poet. It was published until 1894 and restarted publication in April 1896 with a different format. However, it was permanently disbanded not long after. The magazine was part of an Islamic revival in Bengal that promoted orthodox Islam and discouraged religious syncretism that

94-617: A diplomat in the service of Shah Rukh , the Timurid ruler of Herat (reigned 1405–47), wrote that his master had intervened in the Bengal - Jaunpur crisis at the request of the sultan of Bengal, "directing the ruler of Jaunpur to abstain from attacking the King of Bengal, or to take the consequences upon himself. To which intimidation the ruler of Jaunpur was obedient, and resisted from his attacks upon Bengal". A contemporary Arakanese tradition recorded that

141-566: A former prime minister of the Bengal Sultanate. When the sultanate disintegrated due to Mughal invasions, these twelve families retained control of eastern Bengal. They resisted Mughal expansion until the early 17th century. Ralph Fitch , an English traveler to Bengal in 1580, wrote about the twelve zamindars. According to Fitch, "for here are so many Rivers and Lands, that they (Mughals) flee from one to another, whereby his ( Akbar ) horsemen cannot prevail against them. Great store of cotton cloth

188-545: A holder or occupier (dār) of land (zamīn). The root words are Persian, and the resulting name was widely used wherever Persian influence was spread by the Mughals or other Indian Muslim dynasties. The meanings attached to it were various. In Bengal the word denoted a hereditary tax collector who could retain 10 percent of the revenue he collected. In the late 18th century the British government made these zamindars landowners, thus creating

235-451: A landed aristocracy in Bengal and Bihar that lasted until Indian independence (1947). In parts of north India (e.g., Uttar Pradesh), a zamindar denoted a large landowner with full proprietary rights. More generally in north India, zamindar denoted the cultivator of the soil or joint proprietors holding village lands in common as joint heirs. In Maratha territories the name was generally applied to all local hereditary revenue officers". During

282-495: A number of them. Thereupon, a Muslim Shaikh Nur Qutb Alam wrote a letter to the Jaunpur Sultan , Ibrahim Shah Sharqi , with an appeal to invade Bengal and overthrow Raja Ganesha. Purport of this letter is found in a letter written by Ashraf Jahangir Simnani, a Sufi shaikh of Jaunpur . According to a tradition, recorded by Mulla Taqyya, a courtier of Akbar and Jahangir , Ibrahim Shah, while proceeding to overthrow Raja Ganesha,

329-524: A system of thanas which were the largest police units, and under these came the smaller posts known as chaukies or pharies. In the heyday of the Mughals, the faujdar retained supreme authority over the thanas, nominally placed under the zamindari control. In nawabi Bengal (under the Nawabs of Bengal ), the thanas gradually fell under the control of the monopolistic zamindari estates. Territorial zamindars had judicial powers. The encyclopedia further states that "Since

376-431: A system of zamindari management of their own through their privileged hereditary position and built up their courts and a style of private life vying with each other in pomp and grandeur. The landed aristocracy of the pre-British period included few absentee zamindars. Those who retained their official position as qanungos or chowdhuris were zamindars of the same locality. Consequently, the social life and public activities of

423-459: Is made here. Sinnergan (Sonargaon) is a towne sixe leagues from Serrepore, where there is the best and finest cloth made of cotton that is in all India. The chief king of all these countries is called Isacan (Isa Khan), and he is chief of all the other kings, and is a great friend to all Christians". In Bengal, for the year(s) 1880/1881, there were 150,420 Estates of which 140,007 were permanently settled, 7,670 were temporarily settled, 2,720 were under

470-623: The Riaz-us-Salatin (a chronicle written in 1788), Raja Ganesha was a landlord of Bhaturia and according to Francis Buchanan Hamilton he was the Hakim (governor) of Dinajpur in the northern Bengal. In a contemporary letter, he was described as a member of a landholder family of 400 years' standing. Later, he became an officer of the Ilyas Shahi dynasty rulers in Pandua . According to a very late authority,

517-680: The Cornwallis Code introduced the Permanent Settlement . Zamindars were made responsible for collecting taxes on behalf of the colonial government. The zamindari system became further entrenched under British rule. In 1950, the East Bengal Legislative Assembly enacted the East Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy Act of 1950 which abolished the zamindari system as part of land reforms . In West Bengal ,

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564-483: The Dinajpur Raj (the estate of Dinajpur). But according to another tradition, Raja Ganesha was the real founder of this estate. In the late 17th century Srimanta Dutta Chaudhury (s/o Harish Chandra) from Andul Dutta Chaudhury Family became the zamindar of Dinajpur. After him, his sister's son Sukhdev Ghosh inherited his property as Srimanta's son had a premature death. Sukhdev's son Prannath Ray began construction of

611-964: The Indian National Congress and All India Muslim League . Many zamindar families produced leading politicians and members of the Bengal Legislative Council and Bengal Legislative Assembly . Opposition to Bengali Hindu zamindars was a major factor in the rise of the Bengal Provincial Muslim League and the All Bengal Tenants Association . Debt relief for tenants was pursued by the government of Prime Minister A. K. Fazlul Huq . Huq's first cabinet in 1937 included several Bengali zamindars, including Maharaja Srish Chandra Nandy , Sir Khwaja Nazimuddin , Nawab Khwaja Habibullah and Nawab Musharraf Hussain . Banglapedia further states that "Zamindars developed

658-773: The Indo-Saracenic style. Under the British, the zamindars grew very wealthy. Some families such like the Hindu Rajshahi Raj estate covered territories covering 13,000 km , Burdwan Raj family (or Burdhaman ) ruled over territories in excess of 13,000 km , Bhawal Raj estate covered 1500 km . Muslim Chowdhury Moyezuddin Bishwash estate covered nearly 4000 km . In 1934, the Muslim Dhaka Nawab Family had an estate which covered almost 1200 km across different districts of Bengal and Assam, as well as

705-693: The Riaz-us-Salatin , he killed Sultan Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah (reigned 1390–1410), but the earlier authorities like Firishta and Nizam-ud-Din Ahmad do not refer to any such event and probably he died a natural death. Ghiyas-ud-Din Azam Shah was succeeded by his son Saifuddin Hamza Shah (reigned 1410–12) and the latter by Shihabuddin Bayazid Shah (reigned 1413–14). Firishta says that he became very powerful during

752-667: The 14th century, the Hindu zamindar Raja Ganesha overthrew the Ilyas Shahi dynasty and placed his son on the throne. In Richard Eaton's The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier , there is mention of Khan Jahan Ali as the zamindar of Bagerhat . According to records collected in 1870, Khan Jahan Ali settled in the area "to reclaim and cultivate the lands in the Sundarbans, which were at that time waste and covered with forest. He obtained from

799-612: The Boyones". The capital of the confederation was Sonargaon . Emperor Akbar 's Land Regulation System of 1582 could not be implemented in Bengal. Instead, the Mughals relied on zamindars to consolidate the expansion of farmland, religion and administration. Zamindars were responsible for collecting taxes. The zamindars also had policing, judicial and administrative functions. The zamindars were integral to Mughal government in Bengal. They were also known as jagirdars . Under Company rule in India ,

846-482: The British landed gentry , they were bestowed with titles; their plantation economy has been studied by many scholars and can be compared with historic plantation complexes in the Southern United States . The land was cultivated by tenant farmers who paid rent to the zamindars. A big portion of the rent was in turn paid to the imperial government as taxes. The zamindars were the principal revenue collectors for

893-613: The Early Independent Sultans of Bengal , that, Danujamardanadeva, who issued silver coins in Saka era 1339-40 (1416–18) from Suvarnagrama, Pandunagara and Chatigrama with the Sanskrit legend, Shri Chandi Charana Parayana (devoted to the feet of Goddess Chandi ) in Bengali script on the reverse, is actually a title of Raja Ganesha. He also assumed that Mahendradeva was the title assumed by

940-524: The European system of serfdom . Bengali zamindars were often recognised with titles like Maharaja , Nawab and Khan Bahadur but they never ruled over princely states . With Bengal being the most populous and politically influential province in British India, Bengali zamindars were the most politically influential landed gentry in British India. According to Encyclopedia Britannica , "zamindar, in India,

987-413: The Mughals did not maintain a large standing army, they had to depend heavily on the indirect recruits of soldiers drafted from the territorial chiefs, clan or caste leaders. Some zamindars were even enrolled personally into the imperial service as mansabdars (nobles, holding military titles or ranks) and were remunerated in grants of jagirs, proportionate to their status. Moreover, torrential monsoon rain in

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1034-759: The Nawab's hold on the landed gentry, who changed their loyalties as the tide of conflicts between the awab and the Marathas or the nawab and the English East India Company flowed and ebbed". Under British rule, members of zamindar families often served in the Bengal Civil Service, the Bengal Judicial Service and the Bengal Army . The Zamindars of Bengal were involved in the creation and leadership of

1081-483: The army of Raja Ganesha, then firmly in control of Pandua , had defeated Ibrahim in battle. According to this tradition, one of the rulers of Arakan, Suleiman Shah who had been given refuge in Pandua after having been defeated by a Burman monarch in 1406, gave Raja Ganesha the military advice that enabled his army to defeat Ibrahim. In 1922, a modern scholar, Nalini Kanta Bhattasali assumed in his Coins and Chronology of

1128-596: The article's talk page . Zamindars of Bengal The Zamindars of Bengal were zamindars (hereditary landlords) of the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent (now divided between Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal ). They governed an ancient system of land ownership. The Bengali zamindars managed a plantation economy in the Bengal Presidency which produced cotton , jute , indigo , rice , wheat , tea , spices and other commodities. Like

1175-605: The bounds of their territories. However, a full-fledged police system did not develop in rural Bengal during the period and hence some revenue staff were simultaneously entrusted with police duties. For instance, the gram-saranjami paiks who were employed primarily to assist zamindars in the collection of rents and guard the crops on the fields, were also made responsible for apprehension of thieves and robbers and preservation of peace, law and order in public places such as haats (fairs) and bazaars, and fairgrounds. The regular police forces of big zamindars were organised and controlled within

1222-512: The cities of Calcutta and Shillong . They earned £120,000 in rent annually (US$ 16.5 million in 2022). With its wealth, social status and close relationship with the British Raj, the family of the Nawab of Dacca was the single most powerful Muslim family in Bengal. The Dhaka Nawab Family also owned a major diamond which is now preserved in a vault of Sonali Bank . The largest 100 estates out of 1200 tier 1 estate covered 75% of land in Bengal and

1269-716: The coins of his son, sultan Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah as Kans Jha or Kans Shah . The Indo-Persian historians mentioned his name as Raja Kans or Kansi . A number of modern scholars identified him with Danujamardanadeva, but this identification is not universally accepted. In the Arakanese accounts and also in Bengal and Mithila history, it is noticed that Raja Ganesha along with his Mithila Brahman friend, Raja Shiva Singh had combined their forces and defeated Ibrahim Sharqi of Jaunpur Sultanate who invaded Northern-Eastern India which created Bengal-Jaunpur conflict . According to

1316-508: The descendants of the Deva dynasty kings of Chandradvipa (the present-day Barisal district ). Another modern scholar, Richard Eaton supported his view and identified the mint town Pandunagara with Chhota Pandua in the present-day Hooghly district . However, Vaishnava tradition of Bengal too hold Raja Ganesh as taking the title upon accession to throne. According to a tradition, Dinajpur derived its name from Raja Dinaj or Dinaraj who founded

1363-408: The emperor, or from the king of Gaur, a jaghir [revenue assignment] of these lands, and in accordance with it established himself on them. The tradition of his cutcherry site [court] in both places corresponds with this view of his position, and the fact of his undertaking such large works—works which involve the necessity of supporting quite an army of laborers—also points to his position as receiver of

1410-412: The enemies of the government. The great territorial zamindars were empowered to keep armed establishments and construct forts with a view to defending their territories, protecting agriculture, trade and commerce, ensuring the safe despatch of the revenues and keeping the raiyats under control. But the erosion of the imperial authority and the subsequent unsettled condition of the subah considerably weakened

1457-509: The flat and riverine Bengal rendered the cavalry and artillery almost useless except in the dry season. In such a situation, to fight against the rebellious chiefs, the Magh and Feringi pirates who had been intermittently raiding the southern and eastern frontiers of Bengal, the Mughals had to depend greatly on the military assistance of the zamindars who were obliged to provide the troops with victuals and other daily necessaries and to cut off supplies to

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1504-483: The government, and 23 were ryotwari tracts. The land-tax on all these was 37,541,188 Rupees, with arrears being nearly 4 million Pounds Sterling. Of the above 150,420 estates, some 500 had an area of 20,000 Acres (31.25 Sq. Miles or 80.93 km2), and upwards of 15,000 with from 500 to 20,000 Acres. The rest or about 89 per cent were under 500 Acres each. In the words of a Jesuit mission in 1600, "Twelve princes, however, called Boyones [bhūyān] who governed twelve provinces in

1551-533: The imperial administration under Mughal and British rule . The system was abolished by 1951. The Zamindars of Bengal were generally less powerful and had less autonomy than the Zamindars of Bihar who were able to maintain standing armies of their own. The British entrenched the precolonial zamindari system through the Permanent Settlement . The zamindars dominated most of the villages in Bengal by collecting rent from tenant cultivators. The zamindari system mirrored

1598-439: The landed class were usually confined within the bound of their 'little kingdoms'. Their luxurious lifestyle boosted local crafts and small-scale industries like fine quality cotton textiles, exquisite silks, jewellery, decorative swords and weapons. Again, the extravagance of the prime zamindars in socio-religious festivities helped in no less degree the circulation of wealth in the society. Their darbars (courts) were modelled after

1645-599: The late King’s name, escaped from this massacre. These united against the Mongols [sic], and hitherto, thanks to their alliance, each maintains himself in his dominions. Very rich and disposing of strong forces, they bear themselves as Kings, chiefly he of Siripur [Sripur], also called Cadaray [Kedar Rai], and he of Chandecan [Raja Pratapaditya of Jessore], but most of all the Mansondolin [“Masnad-i ‘ālī,” title of Isa Khan ]. The Patanes [Afghans], being scattered above, are subject to

1692-592: The nawabs', and the Mughal dress, food, art and architecture were emulated which paved the way for a synthesis between the Turko-Persian and the indigenous cultures". The chieftains of the Chittagong Hill Tracts also engaged in elaborate ritual ceremonies. The Zamindars of Bengal were great patrons of the arts . Many libraries were established by zamindars under British rule. The Great Bengal Library Association

1739-534: The remaining 25% was divide between the remainder i.e. approximately 1100 estates. Raja Ganesha Raja Ganesha was a zamindar ruler and the first Hindu Sultan of the Bengal Sultanate , who took advantage of the weakness of the first Ilyas Shahi dynasty and seized power in Bengal . Contemporary historians of the medieval period considered him as an usurper. The Ganesha dynasty founded by him ruled over Bengal from 1415−1435. His name mentioned in

1786-446: The rents, or chief of the cultivation of the soil.…After he had lived a long time as a great zamindar, he withdrew himself from worldly affairs and dwelt as a faqir". Between the late 16th and early 17th centuries, a confederation of twelve zamindar families existed in the Bhati region of eastern Bengal. They included twelve Muslim and Hindu zamindar families. They were led by Isa Khan ,

1833-482: The rule of Shihabuddin Bayazid Shah. While the earlier authorities like Firishta and Nizam-ud-Din say that Ganesha ascended to the throne after the death of Shihabuddin but again the Riaz-us-Salatin says that he killed Shihabuddin and seized the throne. Shihabuddin was succeeded by his son Ala-ud-din Firuz Shah (reigned 1414–15) but he was soon deposed by Raja Ganesha. According to Firishta, The reign of Raja Ganesha

1880-455: The son of Raja Ganesha after his reconversion to Hinduism and before his second conversion to Islam. Historian Jadunath Sarkar dismisses this view, saying the Muslim accounts were biased; he favours the identification of Raja Ganesha with Danujamardanadeva believe that after the death of Raja Ganesha, the Hindu party in the court raised his second son to the throne under the title Mahendradeva, who

1927-459: The zamindari system was abolished under federal laws enacted by the Indian government in 1951. According to Banglapedia , "All categories of zamindars under the Mughals were required to perform certain police, judicial and military duties. With elements of both fiscal and political power at their disposal, zamindars exercised enormous local influence that made them the most undisputed potentates within

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1974-471: Was common among Bengali Muslims. The movement was fundamentalist in nature that discouraged secular books and music. It had legal disputes with its contemporary The Ahmadi , a secular Muslim magazine, regarding the killing of cows and Hanafi - Lamazhabi dialogue. This religious magazine or journal–related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . See tips for writing articles about magazines . Further suggestions might be found on

2021-824: Was formed in 1925. Zamindars established museums like the Varendra Research Museum and the Dacca Museum (which later became the Bangladesh National Museum ). They set up numerous educational institutions like the Ahansullah School of Engineering . The Tagore family became pioneers of the Bengali Renaissance among the Hindu population. Writers like Mir Mosharraf Hossain , Begum Rokeya and Michael Madhusudan Dutt were born and brought up on zamindar estates. The zamindars built their mansions in

2068-594: Was marked by his conciliatory policies toward the Muslims in Pandua. He mentioned that, "although Raja Ganesha was not a Muslim, he mixed freely with them and had so much love for them that some Muslims, witnessing to his faith in Islam, wanted to bury him in the Islamic manner." But according to the Riaz , soon after he took over the power in Pandua, he oppressed the Muslims of Bengal and slew

2115-457: Was opposed by Sivasimha, the ruler of Oiniwar Dynasty Mithila . Mulla Taqyya gives the date of this event as 805 AH (1402-3), which is obviously wrong but there may be some truth in his statement about the alliance of Sivasimha with Raja Ganesha. According to the narrative given in the unreliable Riaz , when Ibrahim Shah reached Bengal with his army, Ganesha defeated Shaikh Nur Qutb Alam . But many independent sources confirm that Ibrahim Shah

2162-461: Was soon ousted by his elder brother Jalal-ud-Din. But Ahmad Hasan Dani regarded Danujamardanadeva and Mahendradeva as the local chiefs in East and South Bengal who asserted independence during troubles caused by the capture of power by Raja Ganesha and the invasions of Ibrahim Shah Sharqi. He, on the basis of the testimony of later oral and literary sources, identified Danujamardanadeva and Mahendradeva as

2209-514: Was thoroughly defeated by Raja Ganesh, such as Chinese memoirs of that time, Arakan and Burmese histories as well as the ambassador of the Timurid ruler of Afghanistan. The earlier accounts of the invasion of Ibrahim Shah Sharqi are different from the account given in the Riaz . A Chinese source mentioned that a kingdom to the west of Bengal had indeed invaded, but desisted when placated with gold and money. Abd-ur Razzaq Samarqandi , in his Maṭla'-us-Sadain wa Majma'-ul-Bahrain mentioned that in 1442,

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