![BhawalRajbari](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/BhawalRajbari.jpg)
Bhawal Estate was the second largest
zamindari
A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as ...
in
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
(in modern-day Bangladesh) until it was abolished according to ''East Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy Act of 1950''.
History
In the late 17th century, Daulat Ghazi was the zamindar of the Ghazi estate of Bhawal. Bala Ram was Diwan of Daulat Ghazi. In 1704, as the consequence of change in the policy of revenue collectionm, Bala Ram's son Sri Krishna was installed as the zamindar of Bhawal by
Murshid Quli Khan
Murshid Quli Khan ( fa, , bn, মুর্শিদকুলি খান; 1660 – 30 June 1727), also known as Zamin Ali Quli and born as Surya Narayan Mishra, was the first Nawab of Bengal, serving from 1717 to 1727.
Born a Hindu in the De ...
. Since then, through acquisitions the zamindari expanded. The family turned into the proprietor of the whole Bhawal pargana after purchasing the zamindari of J. Wise, an indigo grower for Rs 4,46,000.
[
In 1878, ]British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was him ...
conferred ''Raja'' title to Zamindar Kalinarayan Roy Chowdhury.[ His son Raja Rajendra Narayan Roy Chowdhury extended the zamindari. Rajendra was married to Rani Bilasmani Devi. They had 3 daughters - Indumayi, Jyotirmayi and Tarinmayi, and 3 sons - Ranendra Narayan, Ramendra Narayan and Rabindra Narayan.][ Writer Kaliprosanna Ghosh was appointed the '']Dewan
''Dewan'' (also known as ''diwan'', sometimes spelled ''devan'' or ''divan'') designated a powerful government official, minister, or ruler. A ''dewan'' was the head of a state institution of the same name (see Divan). Diwans belonged to the e ...
'' of Bhawal Estate for Rajendra Narayan. Rajendra died in 1901.[
]
Area
The estate comprised over 1,500 kilometer including 2,274 villages and around 55,000 villagers. Its biggest establishment is the Bhawal Rajbari palace.[ Bhawal Temple and Shoshan Ghaat (cremating area) are situated to the south of the palace.][
]
References
Bengali zamindars
Zamindari estates
Bengali Hindus
Bangladeshi Hindus
Hindu families
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