The
Greater Sylhet
Sylhet Division ( bn, সিলেট বিভাগ) is the northeastern division of Bangladesh. It is bordered by the Indian states of Meghalaya, Assam and Tripura to the north, east and south respectively, and by the Bangladeshi divisions o ...
region predominantly includes the
Sylhet Division
Sylhet Division ( bn, সিলেট বিভাগ) is the northeastern division of Bangladesh. It is bordered by the Indian states of Meghalaya, Assam and Tripura to the north, east and south respectively, and by the Bangladeshi divisions ...
in
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 ...
, and
Karimganj district
Karimganj district is one of the 34 districts of the Indian state of Assam. Karimganj town is both the administrative headquarters district and the biggest town of this district. It is located in southern Assam and borders Tripura and the Sylhe ...
in
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. The history of the Sylhet region begins with the existence of expanded commercial centres in the area that is now
Sylhet City. Historically known as ''Srihatta'' and ''Shilhatta'', it was ruled by the
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
and
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
kingdoms of
Harikela
Harikela () was an ancient empire located in the eastern region of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, it was a neighboring independent and independent township of ancient East Bengal, which had a continuous existence of about 500 years. The st ...
and
Kamarupa before passing to the control of the
Sena and
Deva
Deva may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Deva'' (1989 film), a 1989 Kannada film
* ''Deva'' (1995 film), a 1995 Tamil film
* ''Deva'' (2002 film), a 2002 Bengali film
* Deva (2007 Telugu film)
* ''Deva'' (2017 film), a 2017 Marathi film
* Deva ...
dynasties in the
early medieval period. After the fall of these two Hindu
principalities
A principality (or sometimes princedom) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant-monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall under ...
, the region became home to many more independent
petty kingdoms
A petty kingdom is a kingdom described as minor or "petty" (from the French 'petit' meaning small) by contrast to an empire or unified kingdom that either preceded or succeeded it (e.g. the numerous kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England unified into t ...
such as
Jaintia,
Gour,
Laur
Laur, officially the Municipality of Laur ( tl, Bayan ng Laur), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Nueva Ecija in Central Luzon region of Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 38,263 people.. Laur is locat ...
, and later
Taraf
''Taraf'' ("Side" in Turkish) was a liberal newspaper in Turkey. It had distinguished itself by opposing interference by the Turkish military in the country's social and political affairs. It was distributed nationwide, and had been in circulati ...
,
Pratapgarh, Jagannathpur, Chandrapur and Ita. After the
Conquest of Sylhet
The Conquest of Sylhet ( bn, শ্রীহট্টের বিজয়, Srīhôtter Bijôy, Conquest of Srihatta) predominantly refers to an Islamic conquest of Srihatta (present-day Sylhet, Bangladesh) led by Sikandar Khan Ghazi, the mili ...
in the 14th century, the region was absorbed into
Shamsuddin Firoz Shah's independent principality based in
Lakhnauti,
Western Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
. It was then successively ruled by the
Muslim sultanate
This article includes a list of successive Islamic states and Muslim dynasties beginning with the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (570–632 CE) and the early Muslim conquests that spread Islam outside of the Arabian Peninsula, and continuin ...
s of
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...
and the
Bengal Sultanate before collapsing into Muslim petty kingdoms, mostly ruled by
Afghan
Afghan may refer to:
*Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia
*Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity
** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...
chieftains, after the fall of the
Karrani dynasty
The Karrani dynasty ( ps, کرلاڼي, Karlāṇī, bn, কররাণী, Korrāṇī) was founded in 1564 by Taj Khan Karrani, an ethnic Pashtun from the Karlani tribe, hailing from Bangash district. It was the last dynasty to rule the Sultan ...
in 1576. Described as Bengal's ''Wild East'', the
Mughals
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 ...
struggled in defeating the chieftains of Sylhet.
[ After the defeat of ]Khwaja Usman
Khawāja Uthmān Khān Lōhānī ( bn, খাজা উসমান খাঁন লোহানী), popularly known as Khwaja Usman, was a Pashtun chieftain and warrior based in northeastern Bengal. As one of the Baro-Bhuyans, he was a zamind ...
, their most formidable opponent, the area finally came under Mughal rule in 1612. Sylhet emerged as the Mughals' most significant imperial outpost in the east and its importance remained as such throughout the seventeenth century. After the Mughals, the British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
ruled the region for over 180 years until the independence of Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
and India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. There was a complete list of the different ''amil''s who governed Sylhet which was recorded in the office of the Qanungoh (revenue officers) of Sylhet. However, most complete copies have been lost or destroyed. Dates from letters and seal traces show evidence that the amils were constantly changed. In 1947, when a referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
was held, Sylhet decided to join the Pakistani province of East Bengal
ur,
, common_name = East Bengal
, status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan
, p1 = Bengal Presidency
, flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg
, s1 = East ...
. However, when the Radcliffe Line
The Radcliffe Line was the boundary demarcated between the Indian and Pakistani portions of the Punjab Province and Bengal Presidency of British India. It was named after Cyril Radcliffe, who, as the joint chairman of the two boundary commissi ...
was drawn up, Karimganj district of Barak Valley
The Barak Valley is located in the southern region of the Indian state of Assam. The region is named after the Barak river. The Barak valley consists of three administrative districts of Assam - namely Cachar, Karimganj, and Hailakandi. The ...
was given to India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
by the commission after being pleaded by Abdul Matlib Mazumdar
Abdul Matlib Mazumder ( bn, আব্দুল মতলিব মজুমদার; 1890–1980) was an Indian freedom fighter and political leader based in undivided Assam State. In 1946, when India was still under British rule, he became a ...
's delegation. Throughout the History of Sylhet, raids and invasions were also common from neighbouring kingdoms as well as tribes such as the Khasis
The Khasi people are an ethnic group of Meghalaya in north-eastern India with a significant population in the bordering state of Assam, and in certain parts of Bangladesh. Khasi people form the majority of the population of the eastern part of M ...
and Kukis
The Kuki people are an ethnic group native to the Mizo Hills (formerly Lushai), a mountainous region in the southeastern part of Mizoram and Manipur in India. The Kuki constitute one of several hill tribes within India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar ...
.
Ancient
According to historians, Sylhet was an expanded commercial centre inhabited by Brahmans
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru o ...
under the realm of the Harikela
Harikela () was an ancient empire located in the eastern region of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, it was a neighboring independent and independent township of ancient East Bengal, which had a continuous existence of about 500 years. The st ...
and Kamarupa kingdoms of ancient 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 ...
and Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
. Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
was prevalent in the first millennium
File:1st millennium montage.png, From top left, clockwise: Depiction of Jesus, the central figure in Christianity; The Colosseum, a landmark of the once-mighty Roman Empire; Kaaba, the Great Mosque of Mecca, the holiest site of Islam; Chess, ...
.
The Hindu epic Mahākāvya (lit. great kāvya, court epic), also known as ''sargabandha'', is a genre of Indian epic poetry in Classical Sanskrit. The genre is characterised by ornate and elaborate descriptions of scenery, love, battles and so on — in short, eve ...
known as the Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...
mentions the marriage of Duryodhana of the Kaurava
''Kaurava'' is a Sanskrit term which refers to descendants of Kuru, a legendary king of India who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the epic ''Mahabharata''. Usually, the term is used for the 100 sons of King Dhritarashtra and his wi ...
s into a family in Habiganj, Sylhet. The Purana
Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...
also mentions the hero Arjuna travelling to the Jaintia to regain his horse held captive by a princess. The region is also home to two of the fifty-one body parts of Sati
Sati or SATI may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Sati'' (film), a 1989 Bengali film by Aparna Sen and starring Shabana Azmi
* ''Sati'' (novel), a 1990 novel by Christopher Pike
*Sati (singer) (born 1976), Lithuanian singer
*Sati, a character in ''Th ...
, a form of Durga
Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars.
Durga's legend centres around c ...
, that fell on Earth according to accepted legends. Shri Shail and Jayanti are where the neck and left palm of Sati fell and are Shakti Peetha
The Shakti Pitha or the Shakti Peethas ( sa, शक्ति पीठ, , ''seat of Shakti'') are significant shrines and pilgrimage destinations in Shaktism, the goddess-centric denomination in Hinduism. The shrines are dedicated to various fo ...
s.
The Gour Kingdom
The Kingdom of Gour was one of the greater of the many petty kingdoms of the medieval Sylhet region. According to legend, it was founded by Gurak, off-shooting from Kamarupa's Jaintia Kingdom in 630. Much of its early history is considered leg ...
, established in the 7th century, took part in many battles with its neighbouring states. Eventually it would split into two - Gour ( Sylhet) and Brahmachal (South Sylhet
Moulvibazar ( bn, মৌলভীবাজার) also spelled Maulvibazar, Moulavibazar, and Maulavibazar, (former South Sylhet) is the southeastern district of Sylhet Division in northeastern Bangladesh, named after the town of Moulvibazar. It i ...
/modern-day Moulvibazar). The region was also home to many petty kingdom
A petty kingdom is a kingdom described as minor or "petty" (from the French 'petit' meaning small) by contrast to an empire or unified kingdom that either preceded or succeeded it (e.g. the numerous kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England unified into ...
s such as Laur
Laur, officially the Municipality of Laur ( tl, Bayan ng Laur), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Nueva Ecija in Central Luzon region of Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 38,263 people.. Laur is locat ...
and Jagannathpur and part of larger kingdoms such as the Jaintia and Twipra Kingdom
The Twipra Kingdom (Sanskrit: Tripura, Anglicized: Tippera) was one of the largest historical kingdoms of the Tripuri people in Northeast India.
Geography
The present political areas which were part of the Twipra Kingdom are:
* Barak Valley ...
s. In 640, the Raja of Tripura Dharma Fa planned a ceremony and invited five Brahmans from Etawah
Etawah also known as Ishtikapuri is a city on the banks of Yamuna River in the state of Western Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Etawah District. Etawah's population of 256,838 (as per 2011 population census) m ...
, Mithila Mithila may refer to:
Places
* Mithilā, a synonym for the ancient Videha state
** Mithilā (ancient city), the ancient capital city of Videha
* Mithila (region), a cultural region (historical and contemporary), now divided between India and Nepal
...
and Kannauj
Kannauj ( Hindustani pronunciation: ənːɔːd͡ʒ is a city, administrative headquarters and a municipal board or Nagar Palika Parishad in Kannauj district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city's name is a corrupted form of the class ...
. To compensate for their long journey, the Raja granted them land in a place which came to be known as Panchakhanda (meaning five parts) in Western Sylhet. Towards the end of the millennium, the Candra
The Chandra kingdom was a Buddhist kingdom, originating from the Indian subcontinent, which ruled the Samatata region of Bengal, as well as northern Arakan. Later it was a neighbor to the Pala Empire to the north. Rulers of Chandra kingdom were ...
s ruled over Bengal.
A 930 AD copper-plate of Srichandra
Srichandra (reigned c. 930–975) was the second and most influential ruler of the Chandra Dynasty in eastern Bengal.
Life
After Traillokyachandra, Srichandra ascended the throne, taking the titles "Paramsaugata", "Parameshwar", "Parambhattārak ...
, of the Chandra dynasty
The Chandra kingdom was a Buddhist kingdom, originating from the Indian subcontinent, which ruled the Samatata region of Bengal, as well as northern Arakan. Later it was a neighbor to the Pala Empire to the north. Rulers of Chandra kingdom were ...
of East Bengal, was found in Tengubazar Mandir, Paschimbhag, Rajnagar detailing his successful campaign against the Kingdom of Kamarupa. In the early medieval period, the area was dominated by Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
principalities
A principality (or sometimes princedom) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant-monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall under ...
, which were under the nominal suzerainty of the Senas and Devas
Devas may refer to:
* Devas Club, a club in south London
* Anthony Devas (1911–1958), British portrait painter
* Charles Stanton Devas (1848–1906), political economist
* Jocelyn Devas (died 1886), founder of the Devas Club
* Devas (band), ...
. The history of the dynasties in the region is documented by their copper-plate charters.
Evidence from inscriptions also suggest there was an ancient university in Panchgaon, Rajnagar. A copper-plate inscription of Raja Marundanath in Kalapur, Srimangal
Sreemangal ( bn, শ্রীমঙ্গল, Srimongol) is an upazila of Moulvibazar District in the Sylhet Division of Bangladesh. It is located at the southwest of the district, and borders the Habiganj District to the west and the Indian state ...
was discovered dating back to the 11th century. In 1195, Nidhipati Shastri, a Brahman from Panchakhanda who was descended from Ananda Shastri of Mithila Mithila may refer to:
Places
* Mithilā, a synonym for the ancient Videha state
** Mithilā (ancient city), the ancient capital city of Videha
* Mithila (region), a cultural region (historical and contemporary), now divided between India and Nepal
...
, was given land in ''Ita'' (Rajnagar) by the Raja of Tripura. Ita was feudal to the Kingdom of Tripura and part of its Manukul Pradesh. Nidhipati became the founder of the ''Ita'' dynasty which would later gain a 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 ...
status and based himself in Bhumiura-Ettolatoli. He established many ''dighi''s (ponds) and ''khamar'' (fields) which still exist today such as ''Shoptopar Dighi'' and ''Nidhipatir Khamar''. He was succeeded over the feudal rule of Ita by his son, Bhudhar and then his grandson, Kandarpadi.
Keshab Misra, a Brahman from Kannauj
Kannauj ( Hindustani pronunciation: ənːɔːd͡ʒ is a city, administrative headquarters and a municipal board or Nagar Palika Parishad in Kannauj district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city's name is a corrupted form of the class ...
, migrated to Laur
Laur, officially the Municipality of Laur ( tl, Bayan ng Laur), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Nueva Ecija in Central Luzon region of Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 38,263 people.. Laur is locat ...
where he established a Hindu kingdom.[ After the death of Raja Upananda of Brahmachal (modern-day Baramchal, Kulaura), ]Govardhan of Gour
Gangadhwaj Govardhan was the 20th king of medieval Sylhet's Gour Kingdom.
Reign
Govardhan rose to power following the death of his father, Gouradhwaj Bhabananda. During this period, Raja Upananda was the King of Brahmachal ( Southern Sylhet). T ...
allowed Amar Singh to rule over southern Sylhet. Singh was unable to cope and died shortly after. The Kuki chiefs then annexed Brahmachal (Southern Sylhet) to the Twipra Kingdom
The Twipra Kingdom (Sanskrit: Tripura, Anglicized: Tippera) was one of the largest historical kingdoms of the Tripuri people in Northeast India.
Geography
The present political areas which were part of the Twipra Kingdom are:
* Barak Valley ...
ruled by Ratan Manikya. Jaidev Rai
Jaidev Rai ( bn, জয়দেব রায়, Joydeb Ray) was the Governor of Brahmachal under the Twipra Kingdom.
Life
Jaidev Rai was a son of the minister of Brahmachal - a kingdom in southern Sylhet ruled by Raja Upananda. The long-lasted ...
was appointed to govern Brahmachal under the Tripura king. The penultimate Raja Govardhan
Gangadhwaj Govardhan was the 20th king of medieval Sylhet region, Sylhet's Gour Kingdom.
Reign
Govardhan rose to power following the death of his father, Gouradhwaj Bhabananda. During this period, Raja Upananda was the King of Brahmachal (South ...
of Gour was killed in a battle against Kuki rebels and the Jaintia Kingdom
The Jaintia Kingdom was a matrilineal kingdom in present-day Bangladesh's Sylhet Division and India's Meghalaya state. It was partitioned into three in 630 AD by Raja Guhak for his three sons, into the Jaintia Kingdom, Gour Kingdom and Laur ...
in 1260. He would be succeeded by his nephew, Gour Govinda
Govinda Fenchu ( bn, গোবিন্দ ফেঞ্চু), better known by his regnal title Gour Gobind ( bn, গৌড় গোবিন্দ) and also known by the sobriquet Shomudro Tonoy ( bn, সমুদ্র তনয়), was the ...
, who would reunite Northern Sylhet (Gour) and Southern Sylhet (Brahmachal). Govinda dismissed Govardhan's chief minister Madan Rai and appointed Mona Rai
Manoranjan Rai, or more commonly known as Mona Rai was the final chief minister of medieval Sylhet's Gour Kingdom. He is most known for being named after the highest hill in Sylhet city.
Office
His office began in 1260 with ascension of Raja Gou ...
as his minister instead.
Medieval
Delhi Sultanate period
During the time of the Delhi Sultanate's conquest of Bengal, Sylhet continued to be made up of petty kingdom
A petty kingdom is a kingdom described as minor or "petty" (from the French 'petit' meaning small) by contrast to an empire or unified kingdom that either preceded or succeeded it (e.g. the numerous kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England unified into ...
s. Ghiyasuddin Iwaz Shah, the governor of Bengal who later claimed independence from Delhi, carried out invasions into neighbouring regions such as Assam, Tripura, Bihar and Sylhet and making them his tributary states.[KingListsFarEast Bengal]
/ref> In 1254, Governor of Bengal Malik Ikhtiyaruddin Iuzbak
Malik Ikhtiyār ad-Dīn Yūzbak ( fa, ملک اختیار الدین یوزبک), and later Mughith ad-Din Abu al-Muzaffar ( fa, مغیث الدین ابو المظفر) was the appointed as the Delhi Sultanate's Governor of Bengal from 1251 CE ...
invaded the Azmardan Raj (present-day Ajmiriganj). He defeated the local Raja, and plundered his wealth.
The 14th century marked the beginning of an emerging Islamic influence in Sylhet. In 1303, the Sultan of Lakhnauti Shamsuddin Firoz Shah's army defeated the Hindu Raja Gour Govinda
Govinda Fenchu ( bn, গোবিন্দ ফেঞ্চু), better known by his regnal title Gour Gobind ( bn, গৌড় গোবিন্দ) and also known by the sobriquet Shomudro Tonoy ( bn, সমুদ্র তনয়), was the ...
. This war began when Ghazi Burhanuddin
Syed Ghāzī Burhān ad-Dīn ( ar, , bn, সৈয়দ গাজী বুরহানউদ্দীন) was a 14th-century Sufi Muslim figure living in Sylhet. He is celebrated in folklore as the first Muslim to live in the Sylhet region.
...
, a Muslim living in Tultikar sacrificed a cow for his newborn son's ''aqiqah
ʾAqīqah (), aqeeqa, or aqeeqah is the Islamic tradition of the sacrifice of an animal on the occasion of a child's birth. Aqiqah is a type of '' sadaqah'' and it is also '' sunnah'', though not obligatory.
Description
According to hadith and th ...
'' or celebration of birth. Govinda, in a fury for what he saw as sacrilege, had the newborn killed as well as having Burhanuddin's right hand cut off. The general's army was aided by a Sufi missionary, Shah Jalal
Jalāl Mujarrad Kunyāʾī (), popularly known as Shah Jalal, was a celebrated Sufi figure of Bengal. His name is often associated with the Conquest of Sylhet and the spread of Islam into the region, part of a long history of interactions betw ...
, and his companions. Chief minister Mona Rai
Manoranjan Rai, or more commonly known as Mona Rai was the final chief minister of medieval Sylhet's Gour Kingdom. He is most known for being named after the highest hill in Sylhet city.
Office
His office began in 1260 with ascension of Raja Gou ...
was killed in the battle and Govinda fled with his family. The city of Srihatta was given the epithet ''Jalalabad'' (settlement of Jalal Jalal (Arabic: جلال) is a masculine given or family name. The name or word Jalal means majesty and is used to honor and venerate.
When the Arabic language spread across non-Arabic regions, Jalal has also become a name for some Arabic-speaking ...
) under the Lakhnauti Sultanate. Sikandar Khan Ghazi
Sikandar Khān Ghāzī ( fa, , bn, সিকান্দার খান গাজী) was the first wazir of Srihat under the Lakhnauti Kingdom ruled by Shamsuddin Firuz Shah. Prior to this, Khan was one of the commanders of the Battles of ...
, one of the commanders of the battle and Firoz's nephew, was then made the first Muslim and wazir to rule over Sylhet. Sikander ruled for a number of years under Shamsuddin Firoz Shah until his death, when he drowned while riding a boat.[Sreehatter Itibritta – Purbangsho (A History of Sylhet), Part 2, Volume 1, Chapter 1, ]Achyut Charan Choudhury
Achyut Charan Choudhury ( bn, অচ্যুৎচরণ চৌধুরী; 5 February 1866 – 25 September 1953) was a Bengali writer and historian. Though he wrote several books regarding Vaishnav Hinduism, Choudhury is most well known for h ...
; Publisher: Mustafa Selim; Source publication, 2004 He was succeeded by Haydar Ghazi
Nūr al-Hudā Abū'l-Karāmāt as-Saʿīdī al-Ḥusaynī ( ar, نور الهدىٰ أبو الكرمات السعيدي الحسيني), better known as Ḥaydar Ghāzī ( ar, , bn, হায়দর গাজী), was the second wazir of Sr ...
, appointed by Shah Jalal
Jalāl Mujarrad Kunyāʾī (), popularly known as Shah Jalal, was a celebrated Sufi figure of Bengal. His name is often associated with the Conquest of Sylhet and the spread of Islam into the region, part of a long history of interactions betw ...
himself.[Syed Murtaza Ali's History of Sylhet; Moinul Islam]
The Raja of Laur, Ramnath (descendant of Keshab Misra), had three sons with only one remaining in central Laur. Ramnath's second son, Durbar Khan, migrated to Jagannathpur to build his own palace. He later seized his youngest brother, Gobind Singh's, territory in Baniachong Baniachong ( bn, বানিয়াচং) is an upazila of Habiganj District in the Division of Sylhet, Bangladesh. Village Baniyachong is the biggest and the most populous village in Asia.
History
Baniachong constituted the grand estate (zami ...
.[
]
Sonargaon rule
The Delhi Sultanate's control of Bengal gradually weakened as rebel governors declared independence. During the early 14th-century, Bengal was divided between three small sultanates- Sonargaon
Sonargaon ( bn, সোনারগাঁও; pronounced as ''Show-naar-gaa''; lit. ''Golden Hamlet'') is a historic city in central Bangladesh. It corresponds to the Sonargaon Upazila of Narayanganj District in Dhaka Division.
Sonargaon is on ...
in the east, Lakhnauti in the west, and Satgaon
Saptagram ( Bengali: সপ্তগ্রাম; colloquially called ''Satgaon'') was a major port, the chief city and sometimes capital of southern Bengal, in ancient and medieval times, the location presently being in the Hooghly district in ...
in the south. Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah
Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah ( bn, ফখরুদ্দীন মুবারক শাহ, fa, ; reigned: 1338–1349), also known simply as Fakhra, was the founder of an independent sultanate comprising modern-day eastern and southeastern Banglad ...
became the independent Sultan of eastern Bengal with a realm covering Sonargaon, Sylhet, and Chittagong. His kingdom was powerful enough to withstand the kingdoms of Arakan
Arakan ( or ) is a historic coastal region in Southeast Asia. Its borders faced the Bay of Bengal to its west, the Indian subcontinent to its north and Burma proper to its east. The Arakan Mountains isolated the region and made it accessi ...
and Tripura. The Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta visited Sylhet during this period and met with Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah and Shah Jalal. Fakhruddin was succeeded by his son Ikhtiyaruddin Ghazi Shah
Ikhtiyaruddin Ghazi Shah ( bn, ইখতিয়ারউদ্দিন গাজী শাহ, fa, ; reigned 1349–1352) was an independent sultan of Sonargaon.
History
Ikhtiyaruddin was the son and successor of Fakhruddin Mubarak Sha ...
.
Bengal Sultanate period
After the defeat of the last Sultans of Lakhnauti and Sonargaon between 1342 and 1352, Sylhet passed to the control of Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah who unified a wider region into the Bengal Sultanate. Bengali Muslim
Bengali Muslims ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমান; ) are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the sec ...
s were exploiting the fertile land of Sylhet for agricultural production and enjoyed relative prosperity innovating a contemporary agrarian society. The Taraf Kingdom
Taraf ( bn, তরফ/তরপ, Torof/Torop), previously known as Tungachal ( bn, তুঙ্গাচল, Tungachol), was a feudal territory of the Sylhet region in Bengal and was under many petty kingdoms in different periods of time. It was pa ...
, founded by Syed Nasiruddin
Syed Shah Nasiruddin ( bn, শাহ সৈয়দ নাসিরুদ্দীন, ar, شاه سيد ناصر الدين) was a Sufi saint and military leader associated with the spread of Islam in Bengal in the 14th century. As the commande ...
, was transformed into a hub of Islamic and linguistic education. Prominent writers and poets hailing from medieval Taraf and its surrounding areas included Syed Shah Israil (Sylhet's first author), Muhammad Arshad, Syed Pir Badshah and Syed Rayhan ad-Din. The region began to experience an influx of Muslim settlers, including Turks
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...
, Pashtuns
Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically r ...
, Arabs
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
, and Persians
The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian.
...
. After the death of Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah, Bengal was then ruled by Sikandar Shah
Abul Mujāhid Sikandar Shāh ( bn, আবুল মুজাহিদ সিকান্দর শাহ, fa, ), commonly known as Sikandar Shah; was the second Sultan of Bengal and the Ilyas Shahi dynasty. He was the son of Shamsuddin Ilyas S ...
.
In 1384, a young Persian man by the name of Mirza Malik Muhammad Turan
Turan ( ae, Tūiriiānəm, pal, Tūrān; fa, توران, Turân, , "The Land of Tur") is a historical region in Central Asia. The term is of Iranian origin and may refer to a particular prehistoric human settlement, a historic geographical re ...
i migrated to Sylhet with a large force and established the Pratapgarh Kingdom
The Pratapgarh Kingdom ( bn, প্রতাপগড় রাজ্য) was a Medieval India, medieval state in the north-east of the Indian subcontinent. Composed of the present-day Indian district of Karimganj district, Karimganj, as well ...
(also including Deorali and Bhanugach) after marrying the daughter of the local ruler who had no children to take the throne. The Kingdom was subordinate to the Maharaja Maha Manikya
Maha Manikya (died 1431), also known as Chhengthung Fa, was the Maharaja of Tripura from about 1400 to 1431. Contrary to narratives provided by early histories, evidence indicates that Maha Manikya was the founder of the kingdom, having establis ...
of the Manikya dynasty
The Manikya dynasty was the ruling house of the Twipra Kingdom and later the princely Tripura State, what is now the Indian state of Tripura. Ruling since the early 15th century, the dynasty at its height controlled a large swathe of the north- ...
of Tripura.[
In 1437, Adwaitacharya was born in Nabagram, ]Laur Kingdom
The Kingdom of Laur was one of the many petty kingdoms of the Sylhet region. Others included the Gour Kingdom, Ita Kingdom, Taraf Kingdom, Pratapgarh Kingdom and Jaintia Kingdom.
Location
The kingdom was bounded by the Brahmaputra river in the ...
. Muqabil Khan
Muqabil Khan ( bn, মুকাবিল খান, fa, ), also known as Maqbul Khan ( bn, মকবুল খান, fa, ), was a wazir and sar-e-lashkar of Greater Sylhet, Srihat (Sylhet) in 1440. He was the vizier, wazir of Sylhet region, S ...
was the Wazir of Sylhet in 1440. In 1463, Sylhet was governed by Khurshid Khan
Khurshid Khan ( bn, খুরশিদ খান, fa, ), was an officer of the Bengal Sultanate, stationed across various locations such as Bihar, Sylhet, Dhaka, North Bengal and Chittagong.
Background
According to the Muzaffar Shah's Nawa ...
who built a mosque near Anair Haor in Hatkhola. Many 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, ...
s were built during this period such as an Adina Mosque
The Adina Mosque is a former mosque in Malda District, West Bengal, India. It was the largest such structure in the Indian subcontinent and was built during the Bengal Sultanate as a royal mosque by Sikandar Shah, who is also buried inside. T ...
replica in Dargah Mahalla built by Majlis Alam
Majlis Alam ( bn, মজলিস/মজলিশ আলম, Mojlis/Mojlish Alom, fa, ), was a minister (Dastur) of Srihat (Sylhet) from 1472 to 1476, during the reign of Shamsuddin Yusuf Shah, the Sultan of Bengal of the Ilyas Shahi dynasty.
...
, the Dastur of Sylhet, in 1472. Alam also built the Goyghor Mosque
Goyghor Masjid, ( bn, গয়ঘর খোজার মসজিদ, ar, مسجد الخواجه), also known as the Goyghor Historical Khwaja's Mosque, is an ancient mosque located in the village of Goyghor in Mostafapur Union, Moulvibazar Dis ...
in South Sylhet
Moulvibazar ( bn, মৌলভীবাজার) also spelled Maulvibazar, Moulavibazar, and Maulavibazar, (former South Sylhet) is the southeastern district of Sylhet Division in northeastern Bangladesh, named after the town of Moulvibazar. It i ...
with his father, Musa ibn Haji Amir. Shankarpasha Shahi Masjid
Shankarpasha Shahi Jame Masjid, ( bn, উচাইল শংকরপাশা শাহী মসজিদ, fa, شاهي مسجد شنكرپاشا) is an ancient mosque in the Habiganj Sadar Upazila of Bangladesh. It was built during the 15th ce ...
in Taraf
''Taraf'' ("Side" in Turkish) was a liberal newspaper in Turkey. It had distinguished itself by opposing interference by the Turkish military in the country's social and political affairs. It was distributed nationwide, and had been in circulati ...
as well as numerous dargah
A dargah ( fa, درگاه ''dargâh'' or ''dargah'', Turkish: ''dergâh'', Hindustani: ''dargah'' दरगाह درگاہ, bn, দরগাহ ''dorgah'') is a shrine or tomb built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often ...
complexes commemorating Shah Jalal
Jalāl Mujarrad Kunyāʾī (), popularly known as Shah Jalal, was a celebrated Sufi figure of Bengal. His name is often associated with the Conquest of Sylhet and the spread of Islam into the region, part of a long history of interactions betw ...
and his disciples were also built in this period. Alam was succeeded by Muqarrab ud-Daulah and Muazzam Khalis Khan respectively. In 1479, a mosque inscription in Tilapara, Muktarpur mentions another minister by the name of Malik Sikandar.
In addition, 1486 marked the birth of Chaitanya whose ancestral homes are in Golapganj
Golapganj Upazila ( bn, গোলাপগঞ্জ), previously known as Gulabganj, is an upazila of Sylhet District in the Division of Sylhet, Bangladesh.
Geography
Golapganj Upazila (Sylhet District) area 278.34 km2, located in bet ...
and Baniachong Baniachong ( bn, বানিয়াচং) is an upazila of Habiganj District in the Division of Sylhet, Bangladesh. Village Baniyachong is the biggest and the most populous village in Asia.
History
Baniachong constituted the grand estate (zami ...
. Hindus believe Chaitanya was a reincarnation of Krishna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
and will return during the Kholi Zug. In 1499, a Persian nobleman from Isfahan known as Prince Sakhi Salamat settled in a rural village in South Sylhet
Moulvibazar ( bn, মৌলভীবাজার) also spelled Maulvibazar, Moulavibazar, and Maulavibazar, (former South Sylhet) is the southeastern district of Sylhet Division in northeastern Bangladesh, named after the town of Moulvibazar. It i ...
known as Prithimpassa
The Prithimpassa family, also known as the Nawabs of Longla, are an royal family from the Prithimpassa Union, Kulaura Upazila, Moulvibazar, Sylhet, Bangladesh. The family was of the erstwhile feudal nobility of East Bengal. They played importan ...
(now located in Kulaura
Kulaura ( bn, কুলাউড়া) is the biggest upazila (subdistrict) of the Moulvibazar District in north-eastern Bangladesh. The total area of this upazila is 545 km2. Hakaluki Haor, the largest marsh wetland in Sylhet and one of the ...
). Being a wealthy nobleman; his son, Ismail Khan Lodhi, was granted a jagir by the Mughals and given the status of Nawab
Nawab ( Balochi: نواب; ar, نواب;
bn, নবাব/নওয়াব;
hi, नवाब;
Punjabi : ਨਵਾਬ;
Persian,
Punjabi ,
Sindhi,
Urdu: ), also spelled Nawaab, Navaab, Navab, Nowab, Nabob, Nawaabshah, Nawabshah or Nobab, ...
in addition to other prestigious titles. In 1511, Alauddin Husain Shah
Ala-ud-din Husain Shah ( bn, আলাউদ্দিন হোসেন শাহ (1494–1519)Majumdar, R.C. (ed.) (2006). ''The Delhi Sultanate'', Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, pp.215-20 was an independent late medieval Sultan of Bengal, who ...
's general Rukun Khan was made the governor of Sylhet. In 1512, Khan enlarged the dargah of Shah Jalal
Jalāl Mujarrad Kunyāʾī (), popularly known as Shah Jalal, was a celebrated Sufi figure of Bengal. His name is often associated with the Conquest of Sylhet and the spread of Islam into the region, part of a long history of interactions betw ...
, according to an ancient Persian inscription. Khan was succeeded by Gawhar Khan Aswari.
Bhanu Narayan of the ''Ita'' dynasty defeated a rebel of the Tripura Kingdom
The Twipra Kingdom (Sanskrit: Tripura, Anglicized: Tippera) was one of the largest historical kingdoms of the Tripuri people in Northeast India.
Geography
The present political areas which were part of the Twipra Kingdom are:
* Barak Valley ...
. The Tripura Raja then awarded him as the first 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 ...
of the ''Ita'' kingdom ( Rajnagar), subordinate to the Kingdom.
In 1489, Pratapgarh ruler Turani's great-great-grandson Malik Pratap declared independence from the Tripura Kingdom whilst the Tripura Raja Pratap Manikya II
Pratap Manikya (d. 1487) was a Maharaja of Tripura during the late 15th century.
Reign
Though Pratap Manikya is stated in the ''Rajmala'' to be a son of Dharma Manikya I, later scholarship proved this to be chronologically improbable. It is inst ...
was busy fighting a war against his elder brother, Dhanya. Malik then allied with the Tripura Raja in the war, and so Manikya formally recognised the independence of the Pratapgarh Kingdom and gave him the title 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 ...
.[R. M. Nath, ''The Back-ground of Assamese Culture'' (1978), p. 81]
Raja Bazid of Pratapgarh, the grandson of Raja Malik Pratap, repulsed an invasion by the powerful neighbouring kingdom of Kachar. He then expanded the power and influence of his own kingdom, stretching its frontiers as far west as the borders of Jangalbari in Kishoreganj
Kishoreganj is a city and the headquarters of Kishoreganj District
Kishoreganj ( bn, কিশোরগঞ্জ) is a district in Dhaka Division, Bangladesh. Earlier it was a Mohkuma (মহকুমা) under the Mymensingh district. It ...
. In light of these achievements, Bazid gave himself the new title of Sultan, placing himself on the same level as the Sultan of Bengal
The Sultanate of Bengal ( Middle Bengali: শাহী বাঙ্গালা ''Shahī Baṅgala'', Classical Persian: ''Saltanat-e-Bangālah'') was an empire based in Bengal for much of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. It was the domina ...
Alauddin Husain Shah
Ala-ud-din Husain Shah ( bn, আলাউদ্দিন হোসেন শাহ (1494–1519)Majumdar, R.C. (ed.) (2006). ''The Delhi Sultanate'', Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, pp.215-20 was an independent late medieval Sultan of Bengal, who ...
.
The governor of Sylhet under the Bengal Sultanate, Gawhar Khan Aswari later passed away. His deputies, Subid Ram and Ramdas, took advantage of his death and embezzled a large amount of money from the state government before fleeing to Pratapgarh. Sultan Bazid gave his protection to the two deputies and took advantage of Gawhar's death to seize Sylhet town
Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট) is a metropolitan city in northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative seat of the Sylhet Division. Located on the north bank of the Surma River at the eastern tip of Bengal, Sylhet has a subtropical climate a ...
into his kingdom. Husain Shah then sent his minister, Sarwar Khan of Barsala, to negotiate with Pratapgarh and see if he can return Sylhet to Bengal. After the rejection of Bazid, Surwar defeated him and his allies, the Zamindar
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 ...
s of Ita and Kanihati, in battle.[Bangladesh Itihas Samiti, ''Sylhet: History and Heritage'', (1999), p. 715] Bazid was allowed to continue as ruler of Pratapgarh with relative independence, but he was required to surrender his control of Sylhet and give up the title of Sultan. A tribute of money and elephants was given to show Bazid's loyalty and Subid Ram and Ramdas, were sent to Hussain Shah to face punishment. Surwar Khan then became the Nawab of Sylhet, with Bazid's daughter Lavanyavati being given in marriage to Surwar's son and eventual successor, Mir Khan.[
Towards the end of the Sultanate era, Western Sylhet and Eastern Mymensingh became the ''Iqlim''-e-Muazzamabad governed by Khawas Khan. Muazzamabad was originally founded by Shah Muazzam ad-Din Quraishi, the son of Shah Kamal Quhafa. Its capital was at Kamalshahi (]Shaharpara
Shaharpara ( bn, শাহারপাড়া) is a village of historical importance in the south-eastern part of Sunamganj District, Bangladesh. It was founded in 1315 CE by Shah Kamal Quhafah and his disciples. It is approximately one hour dri ...
) and also had a second administration at Nizgaon (Shologhar, Sunamganj Sadar
Sunamganj Sadar ( bn, সুনামগঞ্জ সদর) is an upazila of Sunamganj District in the Division of Sylhet, Bangladesh.
Geography
Sunamganj Sadar is located at . Geographically, it is situated on the northeastern part of Banglad ...
). The Assamese claim that Chilarai
Shukladhwaja (Pron:ʃʊkləˈdwɑːdʒ) (1510-1577AD), or more popularly known as Bir Chilarai(Pron:/ʧɪləˌraɪ/), was the 3rd son of Biswa Singha, founder of the Koch Dynasty in Kamata Kingdom and younger brother of Nara Narayan, the 2nd kin ...
of Kamata Kamata can refer to:
Places
*Kamata, Tokyo, a neighborhood in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan
**Kamata High School, a school located in the Kamata neighborhood, Ōta, Tokyo, Japan
* Kamata Kingdom, a 13th-century kingdom in Assam, India
* Kamata, New Zealand ...
, the brother of King Nara Narayan
Naranarayan (reign 1554–1587) was the last ruler of the undivided Koch dynasty of Kamata Kingdom. He succeeded his father, Biswa Singha. Under him the Koch kingdom reached its cultural and political zenith. Under his rule, and under the ...
, took over parts of the Sylhet region, including Jaintia Kingdom, in 1553. In this same time period, Taraf
''Taraf'' ("Side" in Turkish) was a liberal newspaper in Turkey. It had distinguished itself by opposing interference by the Turkish military in the country's social and political affairs. It was distributed nationwide, and had been in circulati ...
was subordinate to the Twipra Kingdom
The Twipra Kingdom (Sanskrit: Tripura, Anglicized: Tippera) was one of the largest historical kingdoms of the Tripuri people in Northeast India.
Geography
The present political areas which were part of the Twipra Kingdom are:
* Barak Valley ...
during the reign of Maharaja Amar Manikya. When Syed Musa, the ruler of Taraf, refused to provide labour for Manikya, a war took place in Jilkua, Chunarughat
Chunarughat ( bn, চুনারুঘাট) is an Upazila of Habiganj District in the Division of Sylhet, Bangladesh.
Geography
Chunarughat is located at . It has 43660 households and total area 495.52 km2.
History
Rajapur (Tekarghat) i ...
. Musa was backed by Fateh Khan, the Afghan zamindar of Sylhet. Taraf and Sylhet were briefly conquered by the Tripuris
The Tripuri (also known as Tripura, Tipra, Tiprasa, Twipra) are an ethnic group originating in the Indian state of Tripura. They are the inhabitants of the Twipra/Tripura Kingdom in North-East India and Bangladesh. The Tripuri people through t ...
. Khwaja Usman
Khawāja Uthmān Khān Lōhānī ( bn, খাজা উসমান খাঁন লোহানী), popularly known as Khwaja Usman, was a Pashtun chieftain and warrior based in northeastern Bengal. As one of the Baro-Bhuyans, he was a zamind ...
would later capture Taraf and Uhar.
During the rule of the Kangleipak
Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a States and territories of India, state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It ...
King Khagemba, the King's brother, Prince Shalungba, was disappointed with Khagemba's treatment so he fled to Taraf where he allied with the local Bengali Muslim
Bengali Muslims ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমান; ) are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the sec ...
leaders. With a contingent of Bengali Muslim soldiers under Muhammad Sani
Muhammad Sani (also called Parsena Lanjingland Muhamadani or Mangal Ningthou Sayi in Meitei) was a 17th-century nobleman who led the first settlement of Manipuri Muslims (regionally known as Meitei Pangals) into the Manipur Kingdom, what is now ...
, Shalungba then attempted to invade Manipur but the soldiers were captured and made to work as labourers in Manipur. These soldiers married local Manipuri women and adapted to the Meitei language
Meitei (), also known as Manipuri (, ), is a Tibeto-Burman language of north-eastern India. It is spoken by around 1.8 million people, predominantly in the state of Manipur, but also by smaller communities in the rest of the country and in p ...
. They introduced hookah to Manipur and founded the Pangal
The Meitei Pangals ( mni, Meitei Pangan), also known as the Pangals ( mni, Pangan) or the Meitei Muslims ( mni, Meitei Pangal) or the Manipuri Muslims ( mni, Manipuri Pangal), are a group of Muslims who speak Meitei language as their nativ ...
or Manipuri Muslim community.
Mughal period
The Mughal invasions and conquests 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 ...
started during the reigns of Emperors Humayun
Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad ( fa, ) (; 6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), better known by his regnal name, Humāyūn; (), was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northe ...
and Akbar. The Battle of Rajmahal
The Battle of Rajmahal ( bn, রাজমহলের জঙ্গ) was a battle that took place between the Mughal Empire and the Karrani Dynasty that ruled the Sultanate of Bengal in the 16th century. The battle resulted in a decisive victory f ...
in 1576 led to the execution of Daud Khan Karrani
Daud Khan Karrani (died on 12 July 1576) was the last ruler of Bengal's Karrani dynasty as well as the final Sultan of Bengal, reigning from 1572 to 1576. During the reign of his father Sulaiman Khan Karrani, Daud commanded a massive army of 40 ...
, ending the Karrani sultanate. However, the Pashtuns
Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically r ...
and the local zamindar
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 ...
s known as Baro Bhuyans
The Baro-Bhuyans (or ''Baro-Bhuyan Raj''; also ''Baro-Bhuians'' and Baro-Bhuiyans) refers to the confederacies of soldier-landowners in Assam and Bengal in the late Middle Ages and the early modern period. The confederacies consisted of loose ...
led by Isa Khan
Isa Khan (c. 1529 – September 1599) was a Muslim Rajput zamindar who was one of the Baro Bhuiyans (twelve landlords) and a Zamindar of Khizirpur in 16th-century Bengal. Throughout his reign he resisted the Mughal empire invasion. It was o ...
, the ruler of Bhati, continued to resist the Mughal invasion. After the death of Isa in 1599, the Baro-Bhuyan
The Baro-Bhuyans (or ''Baro-Bhuyan Raj''; also ''Baro-Bhuians'' and Baro-Bhuiyans) refers to the confederacies of soldier-landowners in Assam and Bengal in the late Middle Ages and the early modern period. The confederacies consisted of loose ...
confederacy started to weaken. The Ain-i-Akbari notes the prevalence of slaves, oranges, timber and singing birds in the region.[ Bengal was integrated as a Mughal province known as the ]Bengal Subah
The Bengal Subah ( bn, সুবাহ বাংলা; fa, ), also referred to as Mughal Bengal ( bn, মোগল বাংলা), was the largest subdivision of the Mughal Empire (and later an independent state under the Nawabs of Be ...
by 1612 during the reign of Jahangir. The Finance Minister
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...
of the latter emperor, Raja Todar Mal
Raja Todar Mal (1 January 1500 – 8 November 1589) was the Finance Minister (Mushriff-i-Diwan) of the Mughal empire during Emperor Akbar's reign. He was also the Vakil-us-Sultanat (Counsellor of the Empire) and Joint Wazir. He was one of the ...
, estimated Sylhet to be worth £16,704 in 1582. The Qanungoh (revenue collector) of Sylhet was assisted by pargana patowaris. Each pargana's revenue was collected by a choudhury.
However, even during the reigns of Jahangir and Shah Jahan, Mughal authority in Sylhet was still referred to as Bengal's ''Wild East'' due to the region becoming a refuge for the Afghan chieftains and other Baro-Bhuiyan
The Baro-Bhuyans (or ''Baro-Bhuyan Raj''; also ''Baro-Bhuians'' and Baro-Bhuiyans) refers to the confederacies of soldier-landowners in Assam and Bengal in the late Middle Ages and the early modern period. The confederacies consisted of loose ...
insurgents. Khwaja Usman
Khawāja Uthmān Khān Lōhānī ( bn, খাজা উসমান খাঁন লোহানী), popularly known as Khwaja Usman, was a Pashtun chieftain and warrior based in northeastern Bengal. As one of the Baro-Bhuyans, he was a zamind ...
of Bokainagar, Mymensingh fled to Sylhet where he allied with the likes of Bayazid Karrani II of Sylhet, Anwar Khan of Baniachong Baniachong ( bn, বানিয়াচং) is an upazila of Habiganj District in the Division of Sylhet, Bangladesh. Village Baniyachong is the biggest and the most populous village in Asia.
History
Baniachong constituted the grand estate (zami ...
, Pahlawan of Matang and Mahmud Khan.
The final 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 ...
of the ''Ita Kingdom'', Raja Subid Narayan, built his fort in the Barua Hills, which remains today as ruins. He is also known to have built more large ponds such as the Balda Sagar and Sagar Dighi initially for his daughter, Kamla Rani, and to make space for a palace. Subid lost a battle in 1610 in which South Sylhet
Moulvibazar ( bn, মৌলভীবাজার) also spelled Maulvibazar, Moulavibazar, and Maulavibazar, (former South Sylhet) is the southeastern district of Sylhet Division in northeastern Bangladesh, named after the town of Moulvibazar. It i ...
became under the rule of Afghan chieftain Khwaja Usman. Usman's rule was interrupted after Mughal General Islam Khan I
Shaikh Alauddin Chisti (1570–1613; known as Islam Khan Chisti) was a Mughal general and the Subahdar of Bengal. He transferred the capital of Bengal from Rajmahal to Dhaka and renamed it Jahangirnagar. He was awarded the titular name of Isla ...
's attack in 1612 leading to complete Mughal control of Sylhet.[ Ludi Khan was appointed the Amil of Sylhet. He was succeeded by his son, Jahan Khan who was a minor assisted by the ]Tehsildar
In India and Pakistan, a Tehsildar or Mamlatdar is a tax officer accompanied by revenue inspectors. They are in charge of obtaining taxes from a tehsil with regard to land revenue. A tehsildar is also known as an executive magistrate of the relev ...
s of Taraf
''Taraf'' ("Side" in Turkish) was a liberal newspaper in Turkey. It had distinguished itself by opposing interference by the Turkish military in the country's social and political affairs. It was distributed nationwide, and had been in circulati ...
; Basu Das and Rajendra.
In 1618, the Jaintia Raja Dhan Manik conquered Dimarua leading to a war with Maibong Raja Yasho Narayan Satrudaman of the Kachari Kingdom
The Dimasa Kingdom (also Kachari kingdom) was a late medieval/early modern kingdom in Assam, Northeast India ruled by Dimasa kings. The Dimasa kingdom and others (Kamata, Chutiya) that developed in the wake of the Kamarupa kingdom were exam ...
. Dhan Manik, realising that he would need assistance, gave his daughter in hand to Raja Susenghphaa of the Ahom kingdom. The Ahoms then fought the Kacharis allowing an easy escape for Dhan Manik and the Jaintians.
Sylhet became a sarkar of the Bengal Subah. Its eight ''mahals/mahallah
is an Arabic word variously translated as district, quarter, ward, or "neighborhood" in many parts of the Arab world, the Balkans, Western Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and nearby nations.
History
Historically, mahallas were autonomous social i ...
s'' included Pratapgarh-Panchakhanda, Bahua-Bajua, Jaintia (parts of Jaintia Kingdom
The Jaintia Kingdom was a matrilineal kingdom in present-day Bangladesh's Sylhet Division and India's Meghalaya state. It was partitioned into three in 630 AD by Raja Guhak for his three sons, into the Jaintia Kingdom, Gour Kingdom and Laur ...
), Habili (Sylhet), Sarail
Sarail ( bn, সরাইল, Shorail) is an upazila of Brahmanbaria District located in the Chittagong Division and near the Dhaka Division, Bangladesh.
History
The leader of the Baro-Bhuiyan zamindars, Isa Khan, had his first and temporary ...
-Satra Khandal (North Tripura
North Tripura is an administrative district in the state of Tripura in India. The district headquarters are located at Dharmanagar. The district occupies an area of 1422.19 km² and has a population of 693,947 (as of 2011).
History
The t ...
), Laur
Laur, officially the Municipality of Laur ( tl, Bayan ng Laur), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Nueva Ecija in Central Luzon region of Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 38,263 people.. Laur is locat ...
, Baniachong Baniachong ( bn, বানিয়াচং) is an upazila of Habiganj District in the Division of Sylhet, Bangladesh. Village Baniyachong is the biggest and the most populous village in Asia.
History
Baniachong constituted the grand estate (zami ...
and Harinagar. Sylhet emerged as the Mughals' most significant imperial outpost in the east and its importance remained as such throughout the seventeenth century.[
The ''sardar''s of Sylhet during Jahangir's reign included ]Mubariz Khan
Mubariz Khan was the Mughal governor of Gujarat and Hyderabad state. He was the governor of Golconda from 1713 to 1724 until he was killed during the Battle of Shakar Kheda where he fought against Nizam-ul-Mulk, Asaf Jah I. His is known to have ...
, Mukarram Khan, Mirak Bahadur Jalair
Mirak Bahadur Jalair ( bn, মীরক বাহাদুর জলাইর, Mirok Bahadur Jolair, fa, , Mīrak Bahādur Jalāyir) was a Mughal officer during the reign of Emperor Jahangir. He served as the chief sardar of Sylhet Sarkar from ...
, Sulayman Banarsi
Shaykh Sulaymān Banārsī ( bn, শেখ সুলেমান বানারসী, fa, ) was a Mughal Empire official during the reign of emperor Jahangir. He served as the co-sardar of Sarkar Sylhet from 1617 until his death in 1620.
B ...
and his son, and Mirza Ahmad Beg. During the rebellion of Prince Khurram
Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugha ...
, Mirza Saleh Arghun - a relative of Khwaja Usman - was made the faujdar
Faujdar is a term of pre-Mughal origins. Under the Mughals it was an office that combined the functions of a military commander along with judicial and land revenue functions.
In pre-Mughal times, the term referred to a military officer but d ...
of Sylhet.
Muhammad Zaman Karori of Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
was made the Amil of Sylhet by emperor Jahangir after the Emperor arrived to Bengal and punished the rebels. Zaman took part in Islam Khan I's Assam expedition and was instrumental to the capture of Koch Hajo
Koch Hajo (1581-1616) was the kingdom under Raghudev and his son Parikshit Narayan of the Koch dynasty that stretched from Sankosh river in the west to the Bhareli river in the east on the north bank of the Brahmaputra river. It was created by ...
. He later on became faujdar of Sylhet in 1636 by Shah Jahan and was made a mansabdar
The Mansabdar was a military unit within the administrative system of the Mughal Empire introduced by Akbar. The word ''mansab'' is of Arabic origin meaning rank or position. The system determined the rank and status of a government official an ...
of 2,000 sowar
Sowar ( ur, سوار, also ''siwar'' meaning "the one who rides" or "rider", from Persian ) was originally a rank during the Mughal Empire and Maratha Empire. Later during the British Raj it was the name in Anglo-Indian usage for a horse-sol ...
. In 1657, Shah Shuja, the Subahdar of Bengal, granted 50 bighas of land to zamindar Alam Tarib.
During the reign of Shah Jahan from 1628 to 1658, the faujdars were Muizz ad-Din Rizvi, Sohrab Khan and Sultan Nazar.
During the reign of Aurangzeb in the 17th century, the sarkar generated annual revenues of 167,000 takas. Lutfullah Shirazi
Mīr Lutfullāh Khān Bahādur Shirāzī ( fa, , bn, মীর লুৎফুল্লাহ খান বাহাদুর শিরাজী), was a Mughal official who held a number of positions during his life such as the Faujdar of Shuj ...
, the faujdar of Sylhet, established a strong enclosure in Shah Jalal's dargah in Sylhet town in 1660. Isfandiyar Khan Beg succeeded Shirazi in 1663 and was known to have destroyed Majlis Alam
Majlis Alam ( bn, মজলিস/মজলিশ আলম, Mojlis/Mojlish Alom, fa, ), was a minister (Dastur) of Srihat (Sylhet) from 1472 to 1476, during the reign of Shamsuddin Yusuf Shah, the Sultan of Bengal of the Ilyas Shahi dynasty.
...
's Adina Mosque
The Adina Mosque is a former mosque in Malda District, West Bengal, India. It was the largest such structure in the Indian subcontinent and was built during the Bengal Sultanate as a royal mosque by Sikandar Shah, who is also buried inside. T ...
replica in Dargah Mahalla because the imam started Eid prayers
Eid prayers, also referred to as Salat al-Eid ( ar, صلاة العيد), are holy holiday prayers in the Islamic tradition. The literal translation of the word "Eid" in Arabic is "festival" or "feast" and is a time when Muslims congregate with ...
without waiting for him. Following its destruction, Isfandiyar attempted to rebuild it. The mosque, located near the Dargah Gate, remains uncompleted today, hidden behind trees. The next faujdars were Syed Ibrahim Khan
Syed Ibrāhīm Khān ( bn, সৈয়দ ইব্রাহীম খান, Soiyod Ibrahim Khan, fa, ), was a Faujdar of the Mughal Bengal's Sylhet Sarkar. He succeeded Isfandiyar Beg as faujdar in 1665. In the same year, Khan granted 11.25 ...
, Jan Muhammad Khan
Jān Muhammad Khān Bahādur ( bn, জান মোহাম্মদ খান বাহাদুর, fa, ) was a Faujdar of the Mughal Bengal's Sylhet Sarkar. He was the successor of the previous faujdar, Syed Ibrahim Khan. In 1667, Khan gr ...
and Mahafata Khan
Mahāfatā Khān Bahādur ( bn, মহাফতা খান বাহাদুর, Mohafota Khan Bahadur, fa, مهافتیٰ خان بهادر), was a Faujdar of the Mughal Bengal's Sylhet Sarkar. He governed Sylhet under the Subahdar of Bengal ...
.[
]Farhad Khan
Farhād Khān ( fa, , bn, ফরহাদ খাঁ), also known as Nizam-e-Zamanah ( bn, নিজাম-ই-জমানা) or Nizam-e-Zaman ( fa, ), was a Mughal military strategist who had many positions throughout his life. He was the m ...
was the most well-known of Sylhet's faujdars. He built Sylhet Shahi Eidgah, which still remains as the largest eidgah
Eidgah or Idgah, also Eid Gah or Id Gah ( fa, "site of Eid bservances; bn, ঈদগাহ; pnb, ; ur, ; hi, ईदगाह) is a term used in South Asian Islamic culture for the open-air enclosure usually outside the city (or at th ...
in the region today as well as numerous bridges across the Sarkar. He was succeeded by Sadeq Khan
Sadaq Khān ( bn, সাদক খান), also known as Mohammad Sadeq Khan ( bn, মোহাম্মদ সাদেক খান, fa, ), was a Faujdar of the Mughal Bengal's Sylhet Sarkar. He succeeded Farhad Khan as faujdar in 1688.
Life ...
and then Inayetullah Khan
Inayetullah Khān ( bn, ইনায়েতউল্লাহ খান, fa, , Inayat Ullah Khan), also known as Enayetullah ( bn, এনায়েতউল্লাহ), was a Faujdar of the Mughal Bengal's Sylhet Sarkar. He was the success ...
.
After the death of Laur Raja Durbar Khan, his younger brother Gobind Singh took over his land. Durbar Khan's sons then informed the Nawab of Murshidabad
The Nawab Bahadur of Murshidabad ( bn, মুর্শিদাবাদের নবাব বাহাদুর), or simply known as the Nawab of Murshidabad, was a hereditary title of Bengal akin to Western peerage. They were direct descenda ...
of this incident. Gobind was summoned to Delhi for a short time where he accepted Islam. As a reward, he was granted the title of Khan and regained Laur but as a feudal ruler.
Prince Azim-ush-Shan
Azim-ush-Shan ( fa, ; 15 December 1664 – 18 March 1712) was the second son of Mughal emperor Shah Alam I, by his second wife, Amrita Bai, Princess of Kishangarh. He was the grandson of Emperor Aurangzeb, during whose reign, he was the ''suba ...
, the subahdar of Bengal, is said to have granted Hamid Khan faujdarship to Sylhet & Bundasil.[ Rafiullah Khan, Ahmad Majid and Abdullah Shirazi were the faujdars of this period. Faujdar Karguzar Khan was known to have gifted land to Kamalakanta Bhattacharya of Ita in 1706. A year later, Karguzar was succeeded by Mutiullah Khan and then in Rahmat Khan in 1709. Emperor ]Farrukhsiyar
Farrukhsiyar or Farrukh Siyar () (20 August 16839 April 1719) was the tenth emperor of the Mughal Empire from 1713 to 1719. He rose to the throne after assassinating his uncle, Emperor Jahandar Shah. Reportedly a handsome man who was easily ...
appointed Talib Ali Khan as the next faujdar. After Farrukhsiyar's death, Talib was replaced by Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan
Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan ( bn, সুজাউদ্দীন মুহম্মদ খাঁন, fa, ) was the Nawab of Bengal. He married Zainab un-nisa Begum and Azmat un-nisa Begum, the daughters of Murshid Quli Khan by Nasiri Banu Beg ...
in 1719.
In the early 1700s, the Jaintia Raja Ram Singh kidnapped the Kachari Raja. The Raja of Cachar then informed Ahom Raja Rudra Singh Sukhrungphaa which led to the Ahoms attack through North Cachar and Jaintia Hills. Jaintia was annexed to the Ahoms and its capital city, Jaintiapur, was then raided by the Ahoms and thousands of innocent civilians were put to death or ears and noses were cut off. Sukhrungphaa then informed the Faujdar of Sylhet that Jaintia was under his rule and that it is him that they will trade to. However, the Ahom rule in Jaintia was weak and short-lived. The Jaintias rebelled in their own land defeating the Ahom soldiers. Ram Singh, however, died as a captive to the Ahoms and his son, Jayo Narayan took over the Jaintia Kingdom.[
In the middle of the seventeenth century, Babu Kabi Ballabh, a descendant of Sarbananda of Barsala, mastered the ]Persian language
Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken a ...
. After impressing Emperor Muhammad Shah
Mirza Nasir-ud-Din Muḥammad Shah (born Roshan Akhtar; 7 August 1702 – 26 April 1748) was the 13th Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1719 to 1748. He was son of Khujista Akhtar, the fourth son of Bahadur Shah I. After being chosen by the ...
, Ballabh was given the title of Rai
RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...
. Ballabh was then made the Qanungoh and Dastidar of Sylhet by the Nawabs of Murshidabad
The Nawab Bahadur of Murshidabad ( bn, মুর্শিদাবাদের নবাব বাহাদুর), or simply known as the Nawab of Murshidabad, was a hereditary title of Bengal akin to Western peerage. They were direct descenda ...
. The role of the Dastidars were to approve and seal the . He was succeeded as Qanungoh and Dastidar by his son, Subid Rai who established a Dastidar family home which he named Subid Rai Gridha. Harkrishna Das was from his progeny. Das' mother sent him off to a fakir in Murshidabad
Murshidabad fa, مرشد آباد (, or ) is a historical city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located on the eastern bank of the Bhagirathi River, a distributary of the Ganges. It forms part of the Murshidabad district.
Durin ...
who would educate him in the Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
and Persian languages. He then assisted Rajballabh, the deputy of Nawazish Muhammad Khan
Nawazish Muhammad Khan ( fa, ; died 1755), also known as Mirza Muhammad Raza, was a Mughal aristocrat and the deputy governor of Dhaka in the 18th century.
Biography
Mirza Muhammad Raza was the son of Haji Ahmad, the elder brother of Alivardi ...
, in writing an account on Bengal's revenue. After this service, the Nawab of Murshidabad granted Das Rs. 10,000 as a reward and carried on working in the Murshidabad court.
Emperor Muhammad Shah appointed Shukurullah Khan as the next Faujdar after Shuja. Although Shukurullah had good relations with the Naib Nazim of Dhaka
The Naib Nazim of Dhaka, officially the Naib Nazim of Jahangir Nagar, was the chief Mughal political officer in the city of Dhaka, the present-day capital of Bangladesh, between the mid-18th and mid-19th centuries. It was the second highest office ...
, he did not get on well with the local authorities and was dismissed quickly. He was replaced by Harkrishna Das who became the 11th Nawab of Sylhet in late 1721. Nicknamed ''Mansur al-Mulk'', Das was murdered in 1723 by his own men who are presumed to have been loyal to Shukurullah. Sylhet was then divided between three individuals; Naib Sadatullah Khan, Hargovinda Rai and Manik Chand. Shukurullah returned to his post as faujdar in 1723.[ The last ruler of Muazzamabad, Hamid Khan Qureshi accepted the post of faujdar after Shukurullah. In August 1698, he earned the title of ''Shamsher Khan'' after assisting the Nawab of Bengal, ]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 ...
, in defeating Rahim Khan Afghan in Chandrakona. Shamsher Khan had 6 naibs; Shuja ad-Din (previous faujdar), Basharat Khan, Syed Rafiullah Hasni of Rafinagar, Muhammad Hasan and Mir Ilyas Khan. Shamsher was killed in 1740 in the Battle of Giria
The Battle of Giria were two battles that took place in Giria, India, Giria, an insignificant census town in Bengal, although not well known, were very significant in the history of Bengal and like the Battle of Plassey, had far reaching consequen ...
alongside the Nawab of Bengal, Sarfaraz Khan
Sarfarāz Khān ( bn, সরফরাজ খান, fa, ; c. 1700 – 29 April 1740), born ''Mīrza Asadullāh'', was a Nawab of Bengal. Sarfaraz Khan's maternal grandfather, Nawab Murshid Quli Khan of Bengal (Bengal, Bihar and Orissa) nomin ...
.
The zamindar of Laur, Abid Reza, son of Gobind Khan, left Laur to establish Baniachong Baniachong ( bn, বানিয়াচং) is an upazila of Habiganj District in the Division of Sylhet, Bangladesh. Village Baniyachong is the biggest and the most populous village in Asia.
History
Baniachong constituted the grand estate (zami ...
in the early eighteenth century, which would become the largest village in the world. Many followed Reza to Baniachong after Laur was burnt by the Khasi in 1744. The Nawab of Bengal Alivardi Khan
Alivardi Khan (1671 – 9 April 1756) was the Nawab of Bengal from 1740 to 1756. He toppled the Nasiri dynasty of Nawabs by defeating Sarfaraz Khan in 1740 and assumed power himself.
During much of his reign Alivardi encountered frequent Mar ...
is said to have granted 48 large boats to the Baniachong zamindars. A short while after, Reza built a fort in Laur which remains as ruins today. His son, Umed Reza, excavated much of Baniachong during his zamindari. Both Rezas were feudal under the Amils or Faujdars of Sylhet.[
Alivardi Khan granted the deputy governor of ]Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...
, Nawazish Muhammad Khan
Nawazish Muhammad Khan ( fa, ; died 1755), also known as Mirza Muhammad Raza, was a Mughal aristocrat and the deputy governor of Dhaka in the 18th century.
Biography
Mirza Muhammad Raza was the son of Haji Ahmad, the elder brother of Alivardi ...
, to also govern Sylhet, Tripura and Chittagong.[ The next faujdar was Bahram Khan. He gifted land to Bhattacharya of Shamshernagar in 1742. Bahram built the mosque located next to Shah Jalal's dargah in 1744. He appointed Muhammad Jan as his Naib. Bahram was succeeded by Ali Quli Baig of Alikulipur (near Badarpur). Baig's leadership was short and Naib Ali Khan became the next faujdar. Ali Khan granted land in 1748 to Kamala Kanta Bhattacharya of ]Lauta
Lauta ( Sorbian: ''Łuty'') is a town in the district of Bautzen, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated 10 km west of Hoyerswerda, and 10 km southeast of Senftenberg.
History
From 1815 to 1945, within the Prussian Province of Brandenbur ...
and Ram Chandra Vidyabagish of Dinajpur. He also granted land to Gangaram Siromani of Burunga in 1750.
Company rule
In 1757, the Shyllong King Khasi Raja closed the Sonapur Duar, stopping trade between the Jaintia and Ahom kingdoms. An envoy of Jaintias assembled at Hajo
Hajo is a historic town set in the hills northwest of Guwahati, Assam, India. It is a meeting point of Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims due to the various pilgrimage sites on the different hills of Hajo. To the Hindus, the Manikut Parbat of Hajo ...
where they informed the incident to Ahom Raja Suremphaa Swargadeo Rajeswar Singh who re-opened it for them.[
Sylhet came under British administration in 1765 and made a part of the ]Bengal Presidency
The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...
. William Makepeace Thackeray was made the first Collector of Sylhet and he was followed by Mr Sumner. Sylhet was strategically important for the British in their pursuit of conquering Northeast India
, native_name_lang = mni
, settlement_type =
, image_skyline =
, image_alt =
, image_caption =
, motto =
, image_map = Northeast india.png
, ...
and Upper Burma
Upper Myanmar ( my, အထက်မြန်မာပြည်, also called Upper Burma) is a geographic region of Myanmar, traditionally encompassing Mandalay and its periphery (modern Mandalay, Sagaing, Magway Regions), or more broadly speak ...
. The British divided the region into four subdivisions further divided into collectory zilas and then parganas. The Qanungohs were abolished for a time during British rule and Wahdadars replaced Choudhuries as local revenue collectors. North Srihatta consisted of Parkul, Jaintiapur and Tajpur zilas. South Srihatta was made up of Rajnagar, Hingazia and Noyakhali. Habiganj
Habiganj ( bn, হবিগঞ্জ) is a major town and district headquarters of Habiganj District in the division of Sylhet, Bangladesh.
Population: Total population of Habiganj is about 95,000
Railroad
* Habiganj Bazar–Shaistaganj–B ...
was split into Nabiganj, Laskarpur and Shankarpasha. Sunamganj
Sunamganj ( bn, সুনামগঞ্জ) is a town in the Sylhet Division of northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative headquarters and largest town of Sunamganj District. It is located on the banks of the Surma River, approximately ...
had one collectory zila at Ramulganj and Karimganj
Karimganj is a city in the Karimganj District of the Indian state of Assam. It is the administrative headquarters of the district.
Karimganj city is located at . The area of Karimganj city is 16.09 km2. It has an average elevation of 13 ...
at Latu. During this time, many Western European and Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
traders migrated to Sylhet and are buried in Sylhet Sadar.[
Major Henniker led the first expedition to Jaintia in 1774. In 1778, after a short term by Mr Holland, the next collector was Robert Lindsay. A year into his office, the Khasi attacked the merchants of Pandua, Bholaganj (]Companiganj
Companiganj ( bn, কোম্পানীগঞ্জ) is an upazila of Noakhali District. The area is famed for ''water buffalo doi (curd)''.
History
The Port of Jugdia (presently in Sirajpur Union) gained relevance as an important commercial s ...
) who were going towards Calcutta after experiencing abuse from other 'Europeans'. Many merchants pleaded Lindsay to build a small brick fort to protect them from further attacks from the Khasi.[ During the same year, an auction took place in which a purchaser won estates in Balishira (]South Sylhet
Moulvibazar ( bn, মৌলভীবাজার) also spelled Maulvibazar, Moulavibazar, and Maulavibazar, (former South Sylhet) is the southeastern district of Sylhet Division in northeastern Bangladesh, named after the town of Moulvibazar. It i ...
). With the former owner refusing to give the land, a havildar and ten sepoys were sent to the estate to allow the purchaser his land. The former owner killed two officers and injured many. He then plundered two government boats worth over 2,000 rupees. Reinforcements were sent from Sylhet to Balishira, eventually forcing the former owner to flee. The former owner later returned with a large group of men and attacked the resistance, keeping some as hostage. The former officer and some of his men were later arrested by the authorities in Dacca.[
In 1782, the first ever uprising in the ]Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
which was against the British rule, the Muharram Rebellion
The Muharram Rebellion ( bn, মুহররমের হাঙ্গামা, Muhôrrômer Haṅgama) was a Bengali uprising which took place in early December 1782 against the East India Company in colonial Sylhet, eastern Bengal (now Bangla ...
, took place in Sylhet Shahi Eidgah in which Lindsay killed two of the leaders of the rally, the Pirzada and Syed Muhammad Hadi, with his own pistol. The other leader, Syed Muhammad Mahdi was also killed in the conflict alongside other rebels.[
In 1783, the headquarters of a ]thana
Thana means "police station" in South Asian countries, and can also mean the district controlled by a police station.
* Thanas of Bangladesh, former subdistricts in the administrative geography of Bangladesh; later renamed ''upazila''
* in (Briti ...
was attacked by Khasis
The Khasi people are an ethnic group of Meghalaya in north-eastern India with a significant population in the bordering state of Assam, and in certain parts of Bangladesh. Khasi people form the majority of the population of the eastern part of M ...
who were provoked by a certain havildar
Havildar or havaldar ( Hindustani: or (Devanagari), (Perso-Arabic)) is a rank in the Indian, Pakistani and Nepalese armies, equivalent to sergeant. It is not used in cavalry units, where the equivalent is daffadar.
Like a British sergeant, ...
. The Khasi chiefs demanded the havildar's head which Lindsay refused to give. Many casualties and deaths occurred on both sides, Lindsay's chunam works were plundered and his men were said to have been "cut into pieces".[
In 1786, the Revolt of Radharam took place in the Greater Pratapgarh. ]Zamindar
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 ...
Radha Ram plundered Chargola thana
Thana means "police station" in South Asian countries, and can also mean the district controlled by a police station.
* Thanas of Bangladesh, former subdistricts in the administrative geography of Bangladesh; later renamed ''upazila''
* in (Briti ...
in Karimganj with the help of Kukis
The Kuki people are an ethnic group native to the Mizo Hills (formerly Lushai), a mountainous region in the southeastern part of Mizoram and Manipur in India. The Kuki constitute one of several hill tribes within India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar ...
before escaping. Lindsay reacted by ordering for the burning of Radha Ram's village and the seizing of his cattle. It is said in another incident that the hill tribes attacked the Laur thana
Thana means "police station" in South Asian countries, and can also mean the district controlled by a police station.
* Thanas of Bangladesh, former subdistricts in the administrative geography of Bangladesh; later renamed ''upazila''
* in (Briti ...
, killing 20 people including the thana
Thana means "police station" in South Asian countries, and can also mean the district controlled by a police station.
* Thanas of Bangladesh, former subdistricts in the administrative geography of Bangladesh; later renamed ''upazila''
* in (Briti ...
dar. In 1787, the Khasis of Laur also rebelled, plundering many parganas, such as Atgram, Bangsikunda, Ramdigha, Betal and Selbaras, and killing up to 800 people. Before Lindsay's troops could arrive, the Khasis retreated back to their mountains.
Hyndman succeeded Lindsay in late 1787 as the Collector of Sylhet but his term was extremely short and John Willes replaced him.[ During Willes' office, the Khasi led by Ganga Singh plundered Ishamati thana and bazaar and killed a Bara-Chaudhri family. In 1789, Willes stationed many sepoys in Pandua (Companiganj). The Khasi however, continued their attacks, killing the thanadar and many sepoys. Two European merchants managed to escape and inform Willes of the incident, who passed it on to the Government at Calcutta. A force was then sent from there, to the village of Pandua although it led to a bloodless end. Willes also told the government that he really had little control over northern Sylhet as the Khasi chiefs refused every order, would behead the messenger and then continue raiding Sylheti villages as they had done even during the Mughal period. Another Khasi raid took place in 1795 and many years went after that with the Khasis remaining in their hills and not troubling the plains.][ Willes also changed the administration of Sylhet into ten zillahs, further divided into 164 parganas as well as Kusbah Sylhet. Revenue was then collected by ten zillahdars assisted by the pargana patowaris. The currency of the Sylhet region was changed from ]cowries
Cowrie or cowry () is the common name for a group of small to large sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.
The term '' porcelain'' derives from the old Italian term for the cowrie shell (''porcellana' ...
to silver coins. During his term, Laskarpur Pargana was also moved from Dacca to Sylhet. Courts were also being established in every zillah.[
In 1799, Agha Muhammad Reza invaded Cachar. With help of Nagas and ]Kukis
The Kuki people are an ethnic group native to the Mizo Hills (formerly Lushai), a mountainous region in the southeastern part of Mizoram and Manipur in India. The Kuki constitute one of several hill tribes within India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar ...
, he was able to defeat the barqandaz sent by the Raja of the Kachari Kingdom, and expelled the Raja to the nearby hills. Reza also sent 1,200 men to attack the nearby thana
Thana means "police station" in South Asian countries, and can also mean the district controlled by a police station.
* Thanas of Bangladesh, former subdistricts in the administrative geography of Bangladesh; later renamed ''upazila''
* in (Briti ...
of the East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...
, administered by one havildar and eight sepoys. The Kachari army then arrived with 300 men and two grasshopper cannon
Grasshopper was the nickname for a cannon used by the British in the late 18th century as a light battalion gun to support infantry. It was designed for service in rough terrain such as the frontiers of British North America.
Its barrel was made ...
s but were defeated. During this time, the British were able to gain a reinforcement of 70 sepoys. The army ended up in a brawl between the Kacharis, and the British sepoys eventually drove both groups back leading to 90 deaths in the Kachari side. Reza was later arrested.
A border dispute started in 1807 between the Khaspur Raja of Cachar, Krishnachandra Narayan, and the Amin Muluk Chand in Badarpur. The Amin would lay down a line, only to find that the Kacharis would fill the ditch up and take all the crops. The Kacharis would also raid Chapghat pargana. The British ordered Badarpur's officer to prevent the intruders from this but they found out that the land in fact belonged to the Raja and not the Amin.
In 1821, a group of Jaintias kidnapped British subjects attempting to sacrifice them to Kali
Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In this tra ...
. A culprit was then found by the British who admitted that it was an annual tradition which the Jaintias have been doing for 10 years. The priest would cut off the victim's throat and then the Jaintia princess would bathe in his blood. The Jaintia believed that this would bless the princess with offspring. Upon hearing this, the British threatened the Jaintia Raja that they would invade his territories if this does not stop. The Raja made an agreement in 1824 with David Scott that they will only negotiate with the British. A year later, the Jaintias attempted to continue their annual sacrifice which they had previously agreed with the British that they would stop. During the First Anglo-Burmese War
The First Anglo-Burmese War ( my, ပထမ အင်္ဂလိပ်-မြန်မာ စစ်; ; 5 March 1824 – 24 February 1826), also known as the First Burma War, was the first of three wars fought between the British and Burmes ...
in the same year, British troops based themselves at Badarpur. They then advanced to Bikrampur in Cachar where they were defeated. In 1826, the Kukis
The Kuki people are an ethnic group native to the Mizo Hills (formerly Lushai), a mountainous region in the southeastern part of Mizoram and Manipur in India. The Kuki constitute one of several hill tribes within India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar ...
of Pratapgarh King murdered a group of woodcutters and held three hostages after not receiving an annual gift from the Pratapgarh zamindars. The Kukis then sent one hostage to the British to tell them that they must pay a ransom to free the other two, in which the British agreed.
With the last Khasi raid taking place in 1795, the British experienced another attack in 1827 in Panduah leading to the death of a sepoy, postman and dhobi
Dhobi known in some places as Dhoba or Rajaka, Madivala is a group of community in India and the greater Indian subcontinent whose traditional occupations are washing and ironing, Cultivator, agricultural workers.
They are a large community, ...
. The Agent to the Governor-General of India
The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 1 ...
, William Amherst, was absent and so the Collector of Sylhet ordered his officer to retaliate with the Sylhet Light Infantry. After the Nongkhlao massacre in Kanta Kal village two years later, Captain Lister and the Infantry defeated the Nongkhlao Khasis, causing them to retreat and never attack the British or raid villages again.
Ganar Khan
Nawab Ganar Khan ( bn, গনর খান, Gonor Khan, fa, ), also spelt Ganer Khan, was the final dependent Faujdar of Mughal Bengal's Sylhet Sarkar. He was the last Muslim to govern Sylhet although his rule was titular and did not hold much t ...
was the last Faujdar of Sylhet. During his office, two processions were being prepared by Sylhet's Muslim and Hindu communities respectively. The Islamic month
The Hijri calendar ( ar, ٱلتَّقْوِيم ٱلْهِجْرِيّ, translit=al-taqwīm al-hijrī), also known in English as the Muslim calendar and Islamic calendar, is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or ...
of Muharram
Muḥarram ( ar, ٱلْمُحَرَّم) (fully known as Muharram ul Haram) is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is forbidden. It is held to be the second holiest month after ...
in the Sylhet's history was a lively time during which tazia
Ta'zieh ( ar, تعزية; fa, تعزیه; ur, ) means comfort, condolence, or expression of grief. It comes from roots ''aza'' (عزو and عزى) which means mourning.
Depending on the region, time, occasion, religion, etc. the word can sig ...
processions were common. This happened to fall on the same day as the Hindu festival
Across the globe, Hindus celebrate a diverse number of festivals and celebrations, typically marking events from ancient India and often coinciding with seasonal changes. These celebrations take place either on a fixed annual date on the solar c ...
of Rothjatra (chariot procession). Sensing possible communal violence, Ganar Khan requested the Hindu community to delay their festival by one day. Contrary to the Khan's statement, a riot emerged between the two communities. During one of the riots, the King of Manipur
The Manipur Kingdom
was an ancient independent kingdom at the India–Burma frontier that was in subsidiary alliance with British India from 1824, and became a princely state in 1891. It bordered Assam Province in the west and Britis ...
Gambhir Singh
Chinglen Nongdrenkhomba (1788–1834), also known as Raja Gambhir Singh, was a ruler of the Manipur Kingdom.
Biography
He was a son of Chingthang Khomba. He succeeded his nephew Yumjaotaba in April 1821 during the seven years devastation. He ...
was passing through the city of Sylhet whilst on a British expedition against the Khasis
The Khasi people are an ethnic group of Meghalaya in north-eastern India with a significant population in the bordering state of Assam, and in certain parts of Bangladesh. Khasi people form the majority of the population of the eastern part of M ...
. As a Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
himself, Singh managed to defend the Hindus and disperse the Muslim rioters with his Manipuri troops. The Rothjatra was not delayed, and the Manipuri king stayed to take part in it and was revered by the Hindu community as a defender of their faith.
The Jaintias kidnapped four British men in 1832. Three were sacrificed in Great Hindu temple
A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hin ...
in Faljur, with one escaping and informing the British authorities of the atrocities.[ After the Jaintia Raja declined to find the culprits, the British finally conquered the Jaintia Kingdom and incorporated it into the Sylhet District in 1835.][ Also in 1835, pargana patowaris were replaced by zillah patowaris and muhuris.][
The ]East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...
first initiated their trading of tea in the hills of Sylhet. The first commercial tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...
plantation in British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
was opened in the Mulnicherra Estate in Sylhet in 1857. The region started to emerge as the centre of tea cultivation in Bengal and major export. Many local entrepreneurs also started founding their own companies such as Syed Abdul Majid
The Hon'ble Moulvi Khan Bahadur Syed Abdul Majid, CIE ( bn, সৈয়দ আব্দুল মজিদ; 1872–1922), also known by his daak naam Kaptan Miah ( bn, কাপ্তান মিঞা), was a Bengali politician, lawyer and ...
, Nawab Ali Amjad Khan, Muhammad Bakht Mazumdar, Ghulam Rabbani, Syed Ali Akbar Khandakar, Abdur Rasheed Choudhury and Karim Bakhsh.
In the anti-British Sepoy Mutiny
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the for ...
of 1857, 300 sepoys who revolted against the British, looted the Chittagong Treasury and took shelter with Nawab Gaus Ali Khan of Prithimpassa
The Prithimpassa family, also known as the Nawabs of Longla, are an royal family from the Prithimpassa Union, Kulaura Upazila, Moulvibazar, Sylhet, Bangladesh. The family was of the erstwhile feudal nobility of East Bengal. They played importan ...
. The treasury remained under rebel control for several days. A rebellion also took place in Latu, Barlekha.
British Raj
Sylhet was constituted as a municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
in 1867. Walton was made the Collector and Magistrate and he was assisted by William Kemble. Moulvi Dilwar Ali was the Deputy Collector.[
]
Assam Province (1874–1905)
Despite protests to the Viceroy from its 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 ...
-majority population, Sylhet was made part of the non-regulation Chief Commissioner's Province of Assam (Northeast Frontier Province) in September 1874 in order to facilitate Assam's commercial development. A memorandum of protest against the transfer of Sylhet was submitted to the viceroy on 10 August 1874 by leaders of both the Hindu and Muslim communities. The protests subsided when the Viceroy, Lord Northbrook
Baron Northbrook, of Stratton in the County of Southampton, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1866 for the Liberal politician and former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir Francis Baring, 3rd Baronet. The holde ...
, visited Sylhet to reassure the people that education and justice would be administered from Bengal, and when the Sylheti people
The Sylheti () are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnocultural group that are associated with the Sylhet region in South Asia, specifically in northeast of Bengal presently divided between the Sylhet Division of Bangladesh, and the Barak Va ...
saw the opportunity of employment in tea estates in Assam and a market for their produce.
The Assam Bengal Railway
The Assam Bengal Railway (ABR) was one of the pioneering railway companies in British India. Headquartered in Chittagong, it functioned from 1892 to 1942.
History
Assam Bengal Railway was incorporated in 1892 to serve British-owned tea planta ...
was established in 1892 to connect Assam and Sylhet with the port city of Chittagong and also served as a lifeline for the tea industry, transporting tea to exporters in the Port of Chittagong
The Chittagong Port ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম বন্দর) is the main seaport of Bangladesh. Located in Bangladesh's port city of Chittagong and on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, the port handles over 90 percent of Bangladesh's ...
. The first college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...
in the region, Murari Chand College
Murari Chand College ( bn, মুরারিচাঁদ কলেজ) (usually referred to as MC College) was the first college in the Sylhet Division. It was established in 1892, making it the seventh oldest college in Bangladesh. Since then i ...
, was opened in 1892.
The region was heavily affected during the 1897 Assam earthquake
The Assam earthquake of 1897 occurred on 12 June 1897, in Assam, British India at 11:06 UTC, and had an estimated moment magnitude of 8.2–8.3. It resulted in approximate 1,542 human casualties and caused catastrophic damage to infrastructur ...
resulting in many deaths and the damage of many buildings as well as the Assam-Bengal Railway. In 1903, snakes killed 75 people, wild pigs killed 2 people and a tiger killed one person.[ Due to the size of Sylhet's Bengali Muslim majority, the All India Muslim League formed the first elected government in British Assam.
]
Eastern Bengal and Assam (1905–1912)
In 1905, Sylhet was added to the Chief Commissioner's Province of Eastern Bengal and Assam
Eastern Bengal and Assam was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India between 1905 and 1912. Headquartered in the city of Dacca, it covered territories in what are now Bangladesh, Northeast India and Northern West Bengal.
Hist ...
as a result of the Partition of Bengal. The new province, now ruled by a Lt. Governor, had its capital at Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...
. Sylhet was incorporated into the province's Surma Valley Division. The province had a 15-member legislative council in which Assam had two seats. The members for these seats were recommended (not elected) by rotating groups of public bodies.
The partition was strongly protested in Bengal, and some people in Assam were not happy either. Opposition to partition was co-ordinated by Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...
, whose President was then Sir Henry John Stedman Cotton
Sir Henry John Stedman Cotton, (13 September 1845 – 22 October 1915) had a long career in the Indian Civil Service, during which he was sympathetic to Indian nationalism. After returning to England, he served as a Liberal Party Member of P ...
who had been Chief Commissioner of Assam until he retired in 1902. The partition was finally annulled by an imperial decree in 1911, announced by the King-Emperor at the Delhi Durbar.
Assam Province (1912–1947)
By the 1920s, organizations such as the Sylhet Peoples' Association and Sylhet-Bengal Reunion League (1920) mobilized public opinion demanding the division's incorporation into Bengal. However, the leaders of the Reunion League, including Muhammad Bakht Mauzumdar and Syed Abdul Majid
The Hon'ble Moulvi Khan Bahadur Syed Abdul Majid, CIE ( bn, সৈয়দ আব্দুল মজিদ; 1872–1922), also known by his daak naam Kaptan Miah ( bn, কাপ্তান মিঞা), was a Bengali politician, lawyer and ...
, later opposed the transfer of Sylhet and Cachar to Bengal during the Surma Valley Muslim Conference of September 1928. This was supported by the ''Anjuman-e-Islamia'' and ''Muslim Students Association''.
On 23 March 1922, an anti-British mob took place at a madrasa
Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...
in Kanaighat
Kanaighat ( bn, কানাইঘাট) is an upazila of Sylhet Division of Bangladesh. It is the second-largest upazila (sub-district) of Sylhet District after Gowainghat Upazila. It is named after the town of Kanaighat, which is also the only ...
. The madrasa was set to host their annual jalsa
''Jalsa'' () is a 2008 Indian Telugu-language action comedy film written and directed by Trivikram Srinivas and produced by Allu Aravind, under the Geetha Arts banner starring Pawan Kalyan, Ileana, Parvati Melton, Kamalinee Mukerji, Mukesh R ...
on the day but the 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 ...
had outlawed it and declared Section 144 Unlawful assembly is a legal term to describe a group of people with the mutual intent of deliberate disturbance of the peace. If the group is about to start an act of disturbance, it is termed a rout; if the disturbance is commenced, it is then ter ...
throughout Kanaighat. The organisers were angered by the ban and subsequently violated Section 144 by leading a mob to attack the British commissioners. The armed British were able to conduct a swift victory, by shooting down six people and injuring 38 people.
The numbers of lascar
A lascar was a sailor or militiaman from the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Arab world, British Somaliland, or other land east of the Cape of Good Hope, who was employed on European ships from the 16th century until the middle of the ...
s grew between the two world war
A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...
s, with some ending up in the docks of London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
. During World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, many fought on the Allied front before settling down in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, where they opened cafes and restaurants which became important hubs for the British Asian
British Asians (also referred to as Asian Britons) are British citizens of Asian descent. They constitute a significant and growing minority of the people living in the United Kingdom, with 6.9% of the population identifying as Asian/Asian Bri ...
community.
In 1946, Gopinath Bordoloi
Gopinath Bordoloi (6 June 1890 – 5 August 1950) was a politician and Indian independence activist who served as the first Chief Minister of Assam. He was a follower of the Gandhian principle of non-violence as a political tool. Due to his un ...
, the Prime Minister of British Assam brought forward his wish to hand over Sylhet back to East Bengal
ur,
, common_name = East Bengal
, status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan
, p1 = Bengal Presidency
, flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg
, s1 = East ...
. Following a referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
, almost all of erstwhile district of Sylhet became a part of East Bengal
ur,
, common_name = East Bengal
, status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan
, p1 = Bengal Presidency
, flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg
, s1 = East ...
in the Dominion of Pakistan
Between 14 August 1947 and 23 March 1956, Pakistan was an independent federal dominion in the Commonwealth of Nations, created by the passing of the Indian Independence Act 1947 by the British parliament, which also created the Dominion of ...
. After being pleaded by a delegation led by Abdul Matlib Mazumdar
Abdul Matlib Mazumder ( bn, আব্দুল মতলিব মজুমদার; 1890–1980) was an Indian freedom fighter and political leader based in undivided Assam State. In 1946, when India was still under British rule, he became a ...
, a large part of Karimganj subdivision was barred and incorporated into the Dominion of India
The Dominion of India, officially the Union of India,* Quote: “The first collective use (of the word "dominion") occurred at the Colonial Conference (April to May 1907) when the title was conferred upon Canada and Australia. New Zealand and N ...
. The referendum was held on 6 July 1947. 239,619 people voted to join East Bengal (i.e. part of Pakistan) and 184,041 voted to remain in Assam (i.e. part of India). The referendum was acknowledged by Article 3 of the Indian Independence Act 1947
The Indian Independence Act 1947 947 CHAPTER 30 10 and 11 Geo 6is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that partitioned British India into the two new independent dominions of India and Pakistan. The Act received Royal Assent on 18 Ju ...
.
Post-Partition of India
In the early 20th century, during the British period, a labour exploitation system known as the "Nankar custom" was introduced and practiced by zamindar
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 ...
s. This barbarous system was confronted by the local peasants of the region during the Nankar Rebellion, leading to six deaths. In Beanibazar
Beanibazar ( bn, বিয়ানীবাজার, Biyanībazar, Morning Market) is an upazila (sub-district) of Sylhet District in northeastern Bangladesh, part of the Sylhet Division. The area is the successor of the territory of Panchakhanda ...
, the rebellion was born and spread across East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the 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 and Myanmar, wi ...
leading the Pakistani government
The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territories, ...
to abolish the zamindari system and repeal the non-governmental rule to recognize the ownership of the land of peasants.
In 1952, the Pakistan Tea Board - a tea research station in Srimangal
Sreemangal ( bn, শ্রীমঙ্গল, Srimongol) is an upazila of Moulvibazar District in the Sylhet Division of Bangladesh. It is located at the southwest of the district, and borders the Habiganj District to the west and the Indian state ...
, Moulvibazar
Moulvibazar ( bn, মৌলভীবাজার) is a town in north-eastern Bangladesh just south of Sylhet. It is the capital of Moulvibazar Sadar Upazila and Moulvibazar District, and is located on the banks of the Manu River. The town has ...
- was founded to support the production, certification and exportation of the tea trade.
Post Indian aggression
During the Bangladesh Liberation War, when Pakistan Army created the 39th ''ad hoc'' Division in mid-November, from the 14th Division units deployed in those areas, to hold on to the Comilla and Noakhali
Noakhali ( bn, নোয়াখালী, , New canal), historically known as Bhulua ( bn, ভুলুয়া), is a district in southeastern Bangladesh, located in the Chittagong Division. It was established as district in 1821, and officia ...
districts, and the 14th Division was tasked to defend the Sylhet and Brahmanbaria areas only. Sylhet was part of Sector 3, Sector 4 and Sector 5.
Sector 3 was headed by K. M. Shafiullah
Kazi Mohammed Shafiullah Bir Uttam (born 2 September 1934), also known as K. M. Shafiullah, is a retired Bangladeshi general, former Chief of Army Staff of the Bangladesh Army, and former Member of Parliament.
As the Second in Command of Seco ...
and later A. N. M. Nuruzzaman
A.N.M Nuruzzaman (December 1938 – 16 March 1993) was a Bangladeshi army officer, who was also a sector commander in the Bangladesh Liberation War, Bangladeshi War of Liberation. After the war he served as the first and only director general of ...
at Hejamara. It was formed by 2 East Bengal and EPR troops of Sylhet and Mymensingh. The ten sub-sectors of this sector (and their commanders) were: Asrambari (Captain Aziz, later replaced by Captain Ejaz); Baghaibari (Captain Aziz, later replaced by Captain Ejaz); Hatkata (Captain Matiur Rahman); Simla (Captain Matin); Panchabati (Captain Nasim); Mantala (Captain MSA Bhuyan); Vijoynagar (Captain MSA Bhuyan); Kalachhara (Lieutenant Majumdar); Kalkalia (Lieutenant Golam Helal Morshed
Golam Helal Morshed Khan is a retired Major General of the Bangladesh Army and veteran of the Bangladesh Liberation War. He was awarded Bir Bikrom, third highest gallantry award, for his actions in the war. He participated in the 1996 Bangladeshi ...
); and Bamutia (Lieutenant Sayeed).
Sector 4 comprised from Habiganj
Habiganj ( bn, হবিগঞ্জ) is a major town and district headquarters of Habiganj District in the division of Sylhet, Bangladesh.
Population: Total population of Habiganj is about 95,000
Railroad
* Habiganj Bazar–Shaistaganj–B ...
to Kanaighat
Kanaighat ( bn, কানাইঘাট) is an upazila of Sylhet Division of Bangladesh. It is the second-largest upazila (sub-district) of Sylhet District after Gowainghat Upazila. It is named after the town of Kanaighat, which is also the only ...
and had 4,000 EPR troops, and aided by 9,000 regular freedom fighters. They were commanded by Chitta Ranjan Dutta
Chitta Ranjan Dutta Bir Uttom (1 January 1927 – 26 August 2020), also known as C R Dutta, was a Bangladeshi war hero who served as major-general of the Bangladesh Army. He was a key sector commander of the Mukti Bahini during the Bangladesh ...
, and later Mohammad Abdur Rab. The headquarters of Sector 4 was initially at Karimganj and later at Masimpur in Assam. The six sub-sectors of this sector (and their commanders) were: Jalalpur (Masudur Rab Sadi); Barapunji ( Mohammad Abdur Rab); Amlasid (Lieutenant Zahir); Kukital (Flight Lieutenant Kader, later replaced by Captain Shariful Haq); Kailas Shahar (Lieutenant Wakiuzzaman); and Kamalpur (Captain Enam).
Sector 5 comprised from Durgapur to Tamabil
Tamabil ( bn, তামাবিল) is a hilly area in Sylhet on the border between Bangladesh and the Indian state of Meghalaya about 5 km from Jaflong.
It stands on the Sylhet-Shillong Road some 55 km from Sylhet town in Banglade ...
and was commanded by Major Mir Shawkat Ali
Mir Shawkat Ali, Bir Uttom (11 January 1938 - 20 November 2010) was a general in Bangladesh Army and also a politician of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. He was a freedom fighter during Bangladesh liberation war and a Sector Commander of the ...
at Banshtala. The sector was composed of 800 regulars and 5000 guerillas. The six sub-sectors of this sector (and their commanders) were: Muktapur (Subedar Nazir Hossain, freedom fighter Faruq was second in command); Dauki (Subedar Major BR Chowdhury); Shela (Captain Helal, who had two assistant commanders, Lieutenant Mahbubar Rahman and Lieutenant Abdur Rauf); Bholaganj (Lieutenant Taheruddin Akhunji who had Lieutenant SM Khaled as assistant commander); Balat (Subedar Ghani, later replaced by Captain Salauddin Mumtaz and Enamul Haq Chowdhury); and Barachhara (Captain Muslim Uddin).
Amidst the war, many printing presses were damaged and this included the Sylheti Nagri script printed at the Islamia Press.[Banglapedia](_blank)
/ref>[Archive](_blank)
/ref> The region was a focal point of East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the 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 and Myanmar, wi ...
's Liberation War
Wars of national liberation or national liberation revolutions are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) to establish separat ...
, which created Bangladesh. It was the hometown of General M. A. G. Osmani
Muhammad Ataul Goni Osmani ( bn, মুহাম্মদ আতাউল গণি ওসমানী; 1 September 1918 – 16 February 1984), also known as ''Bangabir'' (the Hero of Bengal), was a Bengali military leader. Osmani's career ...
, the commander-in-chief of Bangladesh Forces
The Mukti Bahini ( bn, মুক্তিবাহিনী, translates as 'freedom fighters', or liberation army), also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was the guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military, paramilitary ...
and the Panchgaon Factory in Rajnagar Upazila
Rajnagar ( bn, রাজনগর) is an upazila of the Moulvibazar District in the Division of Sylhet, Bangladesh. The district has roughly 29,300 houses and an area of approximately 340 km2. There are three well-known rivers which flow acro ...
produced cannons under his command. A famous historical cannon built by Janardan Karmakar remains in display in Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...
. The Battle of Gazipur
The Battle of Gazipur ( bn, গাজীপুরের যুদ্ধ) was a military engagement on 4 and 5 December 1971, during the Bangladesh liberation war. It took place at the Gazipur Tea Estate near Kulaura, in the Sylhet District of ...
, in Kulaura, raged between the Pakistani military and the allied forces of 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 ...
and India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
from 4 to 5 December 1971. The battle ended with a Bangladeshi victory. The Battle of Sylhet
The Battle of Sylhet ( bn, সিলেটের যুদ্ধ ''Silet-er Juddho'') was a major battle fought between the advancing Mitro Bahini and the Pakistani defences at Sylhet during the Bangladesh Liberation War. The battle took pla ...
took place from 7 to 15 December, eventually leading to a Pakistani surrender and the liberation of Sylhet. Pakistan Army's 93,000 troops unconditionally surrendered to the Bangladeshi Liberatiion Forces i.e, Mukti Bahini
The Mukti Bahini ( bn, মুক্তিবাহিনী, translates as 'freedom fighters', or liberation army), also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was the guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military, paramilitary ...
on 16 December 1971. This day and event is commemorated as the Bijoy Dibos in Bangladesh.
See also
*History of Chittagong
The region of Chittagong is traditionally centred around its seaport which has existed since ancient times. The region was home to the ancient independent Buddhist kingdoms of Samatata and Harikela. It later fell under of the rule of the Gupta ...
References
Further reading
* Eaton, Richard ''The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204–1760'' (University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...
Press, 1993)
{{DEFAULTSORT:History Of Bengal
History of India by region
Sylhet
*
History of Assam