Dighapatia Raj (sometimes called ''Dighapatia Raj Paribar'' literally ''Dighapatia Royal Family'') was a

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 a ...

in present-day

Rajshahi Rajshahi ( bn, রাজশাহী, ) is a metropolis, metropolitan city and a major urban, commercial and educational centre of Bangladesh. It is also the administrative seat of the eponymous Rajshahi Division, division and Rajshahi District ...

, which was ruled by this

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

of 7 generations of

Raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...

s from early 18th century till the mid-20th century; when the

democratic government Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choose gover ...

took power after the end of the British Monarchy's rule in India, in 1950, the

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...

government abolished

aristocracies Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word' ...

and the zamindari system in present-day

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. The family was seated at the

Dighapatia Palace The Uttara Ganabhaban ( bn, উত্তরা গণভবন, Uttora Gonobhobon, Northern People's House) is an 18th-century (1734) royal palace also known as Dighapatia Palace ( bn, দিঘাপতিয়া রাজবাড়ী, Digh ...

. The family contributed largely to the development in education, infrastructure and culture of Rajshahi and North Bengal. They were especially famous for their generosity and public spirit. The Rajas built the

Varendra Research Museum Varendra Museum ( bn, বরেন্দ্র জাদুঘর) is a museum, research centre, and popular visitor attraction at the heart of Rajshahi and maintained by Rajshahi University in Bangladesh. It is considered the oldest museum i ...

among other institutions of culture and education. The Rajas of Dighapatia were seated at the Dighapatia Palace. They received Maharaja title and Rai titles of honour from the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

such as Raja, Maharaja and Raja Bahadur and other titles from the

British Crown The Crown is the state (polity), state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, British Overseas Territories, overseas territories, Provinces and territorie ...

, such as the Indian Orders of Knighthood.

Dighapatia Palace

Uttara Gonovaban Natore.jpg, Front gate of Uttara Gano Bhaban Natore Uttara GanoBhaban1 (Prime Minister's Residence).JPG, Uttara Gano Bhaban Uttara Gano Bhaban also known as The Maharaja's Palace or Dighapatia Palace (or Rajbari) is a historic, formerly royal palace in

Natore Natore district is a district of Rajshahi Division located in northern Bangladesh. It borders the metropolitan city of Rajshahi, and used to be part of Rajshahi district. History Natore was the District Headquarters of Rajshahi from 1769 to 182 ...

, Bangladesh. It was built by the Raja of Dighapatia but is used as the

official residence An official residence is the House, residence of a head of state, head of government, governor, Clergy, religious leader, leaders of international organizations, or other senior figure. It may be the same place where they conduct their work-relate ...

of the

heads of states A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

of Bangladesh in North Bengal. In the north, it serves as an official Presidential Palace. Originally used as the residence of the Rajas of Dighapatia, it is located about 2.40 km away from the Natore town. Raja Dayaram Roy constructed the main structure of the palace along with a few wings; but it was Raja Pramada Nath Roy rebuilt the whole palace complex after the catastrophic earthquake of 1897. The ''Dighapatia Palace'' was made 'Dighapatia Governor House' on 24 July 1967 by

Abdul Monem Khan Abdul Monem Khan (28 July 1899 – 13 October 1971) was a Pakistani politician who was the longest serving governor of East Pakistan during 1962–1969. Early life and education Khan was born in Humayunpur village of Bajitpur Upazila, Kishoreg ...

, the Governor of erstwhile East Pakistan. Later, after the country's independence, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, President of Bangladesh declared the Dighapatia Governor House as ''Uttara Gonobhaban'' on 9 February 1972. Before the split of Pakistan and Bangladesh, President

Ayub Khan Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced s ...

resided at the Palace. Various historic meetings took place at the palace, during the period of British rule in India, the era of

, and finally after the

independence of Bangladesh Independence of Bangladesh was declared on 26 March 1971, celebrated as Independence Day, from Pakistan. The Independence Day of Bangladesh is celebrated on 26 March when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared the Independence of Bangladesh. The Bangladesh ...

References

{{coord, 24.440, N, 89.010, E, region:BD_type:landmark, display=title Natore District Bengali zamindars Zamindari estates Quasi-princely estates of India 1950 disestablishments in Pakistan 1716 establishments in Asia Bengali Hindus Bangladeshi Hindus Hindu families

Dighapatia Palace

See also

References