Bhawal Estate
Encyclopedia
Bhawal Estate was a large zamindari estate in Bengal
in modern-day Bangladesh
. Bhawal Estate spread over 579 square miles (1,499.6 km²) and covered 2,274 villages with the combined population around 500,000, many of them tenant farmers. It gained particular notoriety during the famous Bhawal case
.
The area under the estate currently falls under the Gazipur District
and the Upazilas of Bangladesh Kaliganj
of Dhaka Division. The most famous capitol of the Bhawal Estate was Choira Meah Bari, where zamindar Fazal Gazi lived. He was one of the Baro-Bhuyans
(twelve zamindars of Bengal).
Before the Mughal
conquest, Bhawal Estate belonged to Gazis of Bhawal. The first known Gazi was Fazal Gazi, who lent a cannon
to Sher Shah Suri
with 'Az Fazal Gazi' (from Fazal Gazi) inscribed on it. Bahadur Gazi was in control during Akbar's invasion. Gazis accepted Mughal suzarinity during Subahdar
Islam Khan
's final conquest and rule of Bangla. Gazipur District
was named after the Gazis of Bhawal.
The Raja
s of Bhawal came from the village of Bajrayogini
under Munshiganj. Bala Ram, the ancestor of the Rajas of Bhawal, was Dewan
to Daulat Gazi at the time of Murshid Kuli Khan's reign in the late seventeenth century. As a policy to collect proper and due revenue, Murshid Kuli Khan replaced many Muslim zamindaris with Hindu ones. Dewan Bala Ram took the opportunity and convinced Murshid Kuli to install his son, Sri Krishna, as the zamindar of Bhawal in 1704 instead of Daulat Gazi. His family ruled Bhawal until the abolition of the zamindari system in 1951 at Choira Meah Bari, which was the capital of Bhawal.
During the post-permanent settlement period, the zamindari was expanded manifold through new acquisitions by purchases. In 1851, the Bhawal family bought the zamindari of J Wise, an indigo
planter. Through this purchase, the family became the owner of the entire Bhawal pargana
. According to revenue records, the Wise Estate was bought for Rs 446,000, an enviable sum for the time.
In 1878, Kalinarayan Roy Chowdhury got the hereditary 'raja' title from the British raj. His son, Raja Rajendra Narayan Roy Chowdhury, further extended the zamindari; the Bhawal raj had landed estates in Dhaka
, Mymensingh
, Faridpur
and Bakerganj, and thus became the second largest zamindari in Eastern Bengal. Curiously, the city of Dhaka itself and its environs were mostly owned by the Raja of Bhawal, though the Dhaka nawab
family possessed extensive zamindari estates spread out in many districts and their headquarters were in Dhaka. According to the survey and settlement records of 1917, the Bhawal family possessed 459,163 acres of land spread over 2,274 mouzas. The estate paid Rs 83,052 in government revenue and earned Rs 462,096 in rental income in 1904, after all deductions. Unlike most other zamindars who preferred to live in cities as absentee
proprietors, the Bhawal raja resided at Jaidevpur in the heart of his estate.
Raja Rajendranaryan Roy Chowdhury was the last great zamindar of the Bhawal estate. His diwan was Kaliprosanna Ghosh, a noted writer of the late nineteenth century. Rajendranarayan had three sons - Ranendra Narayan, Ramendra Narayan and Rabindra Narayan. He died in 1901 when his children were still minors and consequently the estate was brought under the Court of Wards, once in 1901 and again in 1904. All the children of the raja, as attested by a European house tutor, were utterly inattentive to education and moral training. All of them were growing sensuously and in ignorance. The second son, Ramendra Narayan, went to Darjeeling in 1909 for treatment. He was announced to be dead and cremated there. The other two sons also died soon after, and the family appeared to be extinct. Actually, though, the second son had disappeared and lived on as a sanyasi. Toward the end of 1920, he made a dramatic and sensational comeback after twelve years to claim his right.
Thus began the famous Bhawal case
(1935) that made news and gossip for a decade all over Bengal and beyond, becoming the subject of literature, theatre and cinema in many languages of India. Ever since the Bhawal Case, the zamindari succession became an extremely complex affair and consequently the management of the zamindari continued to remain under the Court of Wards until 1950 when the zamindari system was abolished.
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
in modern-day Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
. Bhawal Estate spread over 579 square miles (1,499.6 km²) and covered 2,274 villages with the combined population around 500,000, many of them tenant farmers. It gained particular notoriety during the famous Bhawal case
Bhawal case
The Bhawal case was an extended Indian court case about a possible impostor who claimed to be the prince of Bhawal, who was presumed dead a decade earlier.- Apparent first death and cremation :...
.
The area under the estate currently falls under the Gazipur District
Gazipur District
Gazipur District is a district of Dhaka Division, it has an area of 1741.53 km2 and is bounded by Mymensingh and Kishoreganj districts on the north, Dhaka, Narayanganj and Narsingdi districts on the south, Narsingdi on the east, Dhaka and Tangail districts on the west. Annual average...
and the Upazilas of Bangladesh Kaliganj
Kaliganj
Kaliganj is an administrative division in Krishnanagar Sadar subdivision of Nadia district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Kaliganj police station serves this block...
of Dhaka Division. The most famous capitol of the Bhawal Estate was Choira Meah Bari, where zamindar Fazal Gazi lived. He was one of the Baro-Bhuyans
Baro-Bhuyan
The Baro-Bhuyans were warrior chiefs and landlords of medieval Assam and Bengal who maintained a loose independent confederacy. In times of aggression by external powers, they generally cooperated in defending and expelling the aggressor. In times of peace, they maintained their respective...
(twelve zamindars of Bengal).
Before the Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
conquest, Bhawal Estate belonged to Gazis of Bhawal. The first known Gazi was Fazal Gazi, who lent a cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
to Sher Shah Suri
Sher Shah Suri
Sher Shah Suri , birth name Farid Khan, also known as Sher Khan , was the founder of the short-lived Sur Empire in northern India, with its capital at Delhi, before its demise in the hands of the resurgent Mughal Empire...
with 'Az Fazal Gazi' (from Fazal Gazi) inscribed on it. Bahadur Gazi was in control during Akbar's invasion. Gazis accepted Mughal suzarinity during Subahdar
Subahdar
Subahdar was one of the designations of a governor of a Subah during the Mughal era of India who was alternately designated as Sahib-i-Subah or Nazim. The word, Subahdar is of Persian origin...
Islam Khan
Islam Khan I
Shaikh Alauddin Chisti was a Subahdar and general of the army of the Mughal empire in Bengal, and the first governor of the city of Dhaka, the capital of modern Bangladesh...
's final conquest and rule of Bangla. Gazipur District
Gazipur District
Gazipur District is a district of Dhaka Division, it has an area of 1741.53 km2 and is bounded by Mymensingh and Kishoreganj districts on the north, Dhaka, Narayanganj and Narsingdi districts on the south, Narsingdi on the east, Dhaka and Tangail districts on the west. Annual average...
was named after the Gazis of Bhawal.
The Raja
Raja
Raja is an Indian term for a monarch, or princely ruler of the Kshatriya varna...
s of Bhawal came from the village of Bajrayogini
Bajrayogini
Bajrayogini is a village development committee in Kathmandu District in the Bagmati Zone of central Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 3798 and had 632 houses in it....
under Munshiganj. Bala Ram, the ancestor of the Rajas of Bhawal, was Dewan
Dewan
The originally Persian title of dewan has, at various points in Islamic history, designated various differing though similar functions.-Etymology:...
to Daulat Gazi at the time of Murshid Kuli Khan's reign in the late seventeenth century. As a policy to collect proper and due revenue, Murshid Kuli Khan replaced many Muslim zamindaris with Hindu ones. Dewan Bala Ram took the opportunity and convinced Murshid Kuli to install his son, Sri Krishna, as the zamindar of Bhawal in 1704 instead of Daulat Gazi. His family ruled Bhawal until the abolition of the zamindari system in 1951 at Choira Meah Bari, which was the capital of Bhawal.
During the post-permanent settlement period, the zamindari was expanded manifold through new acquisitions by purchases. In 1851, the Bhawal family bought the zamindari of J Wise, an indigo
Indigo
Indigo is a color named after the purple dye derived from the plant Indigofera tinctoria and related species. The color is placed on the electromagnetic spectrum between about 420 and 450 nm in wavelength, placing it between blue and violet...
planter. Through this purchase, the family became the owner of the entire Bhawal pargana
Pargana
A pargana is a former administrative unit of the Indian subcontinent, used primarily, but not exclusively, by the Muslim kingdoms.Parganas were introduced by the Delhi Sultanate, and the word is of Persian origin. As a revenue unit, a pargana consists of several mouzas, which are the smallest...
. According to revenue records, the Wise Estate was bought for Rs 446,000, an enviable sum for the time.
In 1878, Kalinarayan Roy Chowdhury got the hereditary 'raja' title from the British raj. His son, Raja Rajendra Narayan Roy Chowdhury, further extended the zamindari; the Bhawal raj had landed estates in Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
, Mymensingh
Mymensingh
Mymensingh , pronounced moy-mon-shing-haw, is a city of Bangladesh situated on the river Brahmaputra. It is the headquarters of the administrative unit Mymensingh District. Mymensingh is the anglicized pronunciation of the original name Momenshahi, referring to a ruler called Momen Shah. The cadet...
, Faridpur
Faridpur District
Faridpur is a district in central Bangladesh. It is a part of the Dhaka Division. Faridpur District has a population of over 1.7 million people and is situated on the banks of the Padma river . It is bordered by Madaripur, Narail, Rajbari, Magura, Shariatpur, Gopalgonj, Dhaka and Manikganj...
and Bakerganj, and thus became the second largest zamindari in Eastern Bengal. Curiously, the city of Dhaka itself and its environs were mostly owned by the Raja of Bhawal, though the Dhaka nawab
Nawab
A Nawab or Nawaab is an honorific title given to Muslim rulers of princely states in South Asia. It is the Muslim equivalent of the term "maharaja" that was granted to Hindu rulers....
family possessed extensive zamindari estates spread out in many districts and their headquarters were in Dhaka. According to the survey and settlement records of 1917, the Bhawal family possessed 459,163 acres of land spread over 2,274 mouzas. The estate paid Rs 83,052 in government revenue and earned Rs 462,096 in rental income in 1904, after all deductions. Unlike most other zamindars who preferred to live in cities as absentee
Absentee landlord
Absentee landlord is an economic term for a person who owns and rents out a profit-earning property, but does not live within the property's local economic region. This practice is problematic for that region because absentee landlords drain local wealth into their home country, particularly that...
proprietors, the Bhawal raja resided at Jaidevpur in the heart of his estate.
Raja Rajendranaryan Roy Chowdhury was the last great zamindar of the Bhawal estate. His diwan was Kaliprosanna Ghosh, a noted writer of the late nineteenth century. Rajendranarayan had three sons - Ranendra Narayan, Ramendra Narayan and Rabindra Narayan. He died in 1901 when his children were still minors and consequently the estate was brought under the Court of Wards, once in 1901 and again in 1904. All the children of the raja, as attested by a European house tutor, were utterly inattentive to education and moral training. All of them were growing sensuously and in ignorance. The second son, Ramendra Narayan, went to Darjeeling in 1909 for treatment. He was announced to be dead and cremated there. The other two sons also died soon after, and the family appeared to be extinct. Actually, though, the second son had disappeared and lived on as a sanyasi. Toward the end of 1920, he made a dramatic and sensational comeback after twelve years to claim his right.
Thus began the famous Bhawal case
Bhawal case
The Bhawal case was an extended Indian court case about a possible impostor who claimed to be the prince of Bhawal, who was presumed dead a decade earlier.- Apparent first death and cremation :...
(1935) that made news and gossip for a decade all over Bengal and beyond, becoming the subject of literature, theatre and cinema in many languages of India. Ever since the Bhawal Case, the zamindari succession became an extremely complex affair and consequently the management of the zamindari continued to remain under the Court of Wards until 1950 when the zamindari system was abolished.