Rani ''Rani'' in Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, sometimes spelled ''Ranee'', is a Hindu/Sanskrit feminine given name. The term is the female form of the term for princely rulers in South and Southeast Asia and applies equally to the wife of a ...

Kalindi (died 1873 CE) was the 46th and last independent ruler of the

Chakma Circle The Chakma Circle ( Chakma: 𑄌𑄇𑄴𑄟𑄳𑄦 𑄥𑄢𑄴𑄇𑄬𑄣𑄴), also known as the Chakma Raj, is one of three hereditary chiefdoms (or "circles") in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of modern-day Bangladesh. The Chakma Circle encompa ...

. She was only female ruler of the

Chakma people The Chakma people ( ccp, 𑄌𑄋𑄴𑄟𑄳𑄦; ) are a Tribe, tribal group from the eastern-most regions of the Indian subcontinent. They are the largest ethnic group in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region of southeastern Bangladesh, and t ...

. She was born in the village of Kudukchari near the Rangamati-Khagrachari highway in present-day

Chittagong Hill Tracts The Chittagong Hill Tracts ( bn, পার্বত্য চট্টগ্রাম, Parbotto Chottogram), often shortened to simply the Hill Tracts and abbreviated to CHT, are group of districts within the Chittagong Division in southeast ...

region 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 was the daughter of a commoner called "Guzong Bujjye" which literally means "bent old man" translated from the

Chakma language Chakma language (; autonym: , ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Chakma and Daingnet people. The language has common features with other languages in the region like the Chittagonian, Tanchangya, Arakanese and others. It is spoken by ...

. She sided with the East India Company during the

Indian 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 fo ...

. She supported 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 himsel ...

in its war against Lushais people during

Lushai Expedition The British Indian Army Lushai Expedition of 1871 to 1872 was a punitive incursion under the command of Generals Brownlow and Bourchier. The objectives of the expedition were to rescue British subjects who had been captured by the Lushais in ...

. Raja Dharam Bux Khan married her. After his death she became the reigning Rani after a brief power struggle with rival queens and the estate manager called Shuklal Dewan backed by Captain Thomas Herbert Lewin the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Superintendent of Chittagong Hill Tracts district.

Achievements

She institutionalized and patronized

Theravada Buddhism ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...

in the kingdom by inviting monks from

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

. During her time the Rajbari was at Rajanagar,

Rangunia Rangunia is a town in Chittagong District in the division of Chittagong. It is the administrative headquarter and urban centre of Rangunia Upazila Rangunia ( bn, রাঙ্গুনিয়া) is an upazila of Chattogram District in Chatt ...

now in

Chittagong District Chittagong District, renamed the Chattogram District, is a district located in the south-eastern region of Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chattogram Division. The port city of Chattogram, which is the second largest city in Bangladesh, is ...

Death

She died in 1873 leaving her step-grandson Harish Chandra to be the next Chakma Raja in her place.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalindi Chakma people Buddhist monarchs Chakma Royal Family 1873 deaths