The Azim Choudhury Zamindar Bari () is a historic estate and

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

family based in the village of Dulai in Sujanagar,

Pabna District Pabna District ( bn, পাবনা জেলা) is a district in central Bangladesh. It is an economically important district in Bangladesh. Its administrative capital is the eponymous Pabna town. History Archeologist Cunningham conjectured ...

History

Sharfuddin Sarkar and Rahimuddin Chowdhury

The zamindar palace was established 250 years ago in the village of Dulai, Sujanagar,

Pabna Pabna ( bn, পাবনা) is a city of Pabna District, Bangladesh and the administrative capital of the eponymous Pabna District. It is on the north bank of the Padma River and has a population of about . Etymology * According to the histo ...

by a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

aristocrat known as Munshi Rahimuddin Sarkar (1722-1815). His father, Sharfuddin Sarkar, settled in Dulai (Ahladipur village), after migrating from

Samarkand fa, سمرقند , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...

Turkestan Turkestan, also spelled Turkistan ( fa, ترکستان, Torkestân, lit=Land of the Turks), is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and Xinjiang. Overview Known as Turan to the Persians, western Turke ...

. Rahimuddin was the ''serestadar'' and ''peshkar'' (deputy minister) at the Rajshahi Collectorate Office 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 ...

, and was a

munshi Munshi is a Persian word, originally used for a contractor, writer, or secretary, and later used in the Mughal Empire and India for native language teachers, teachers of various subjects, especially administrative principles, religious texts, ...

proficient in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

and

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

. He was later bestowed the title of

Chowdhury Chowdhury is a title of honour, usually hereditary, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is an adaption from Sanskrit. During the Mughal rule, it was a title awarded to eminent people, while during British rule, the term was associated ...

. In 1802, he built a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

in the estate which still exists today.

Azim Chowdhury

The zamindari gained repute under his son and successor, Fakhruddin Ahle Ahsan Azim Chowdhury (1790-1880), also known as Moulvi Azimuddin Chowdhury or simply Azim Chowdhury. He established three indigo factories in Dulai and was well-known for his charity work too. The Dulai

dispensary A dispensary is an office in a school, hospital, industrial plant, or other organization that dispenses medications, medical supplies, and in some cases even medical and dental treatment. In a traditional dispensary set-up, a pharmacist dispen ...

, according to

William Wilson Hunter Sir William Wilson Hunter (15 July 18406 February 1900) was a Scottish historian, statistician, a compiler and a member of the Indian Civil Service. He is most known for ''The Imperial Gazetteer of India'' on which he started working in 1869, ...

in ''A Statistical Account of Bengal'', was "entirely supported" by Azim Chowdhury. It was established in October 1867 and was one of the three dispensaries in

at the time.

Present day

At present, this zamindar house is in ruins, although it is currently being maintained by the descendants of this zamindar house. In fact, after the abolition of the zamindari system through the

East Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy Act of 1950 The East Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy Act of 1950 (also known as the East Pakistan Estate Acquisition Act 1950) was a law passed by the newly formed democratic Government of East Bengal in the Dominion of Pakistan (present day Bangladesh) ...

, it became subordinate to the government. Later, the descendants of this zamindar house, like Faruq Husayn Chowdhury and Ahsan Jan Chowdhury, got this estate back in 1994 through a long legal process. Since then they have been in charge of the maintenance of this palace.দৈনিক ইত্তেফাক
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References

{{Pabna District Muslim families Bengali families Zamindari estates Bangladeshi families Bangladeshi people of Turkic descent People from Sujanagar Upazila Sujanagar Upazila

History

Sharfuddin Sarkar and Rahimuddin Chowdhury

Azim Chowdhury

Present day

See also

References