Maharani Swarnamoyee (1838 – August 25, 1897) was the Maharani of

Cossimbazar Cossimbazar is a sub-urban area of Berhampore City in the Berhampore CD block in the Berhampore subdivision in Murshidabad district in the Indian state of West Bengal."Cossimbazar" in ''Imperial Gazetteer of India'', Oxford, Clarendon Press, ...

Raj from 1844 to 1897. She was a philanthropist during the period of

Bengal Renaissance 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 ...

Marriage

Swarnamoyee was married to Krishnath Rai of the

royal family. They had two daughters, Lakshmi and Saraswati. Her husband died in 1844. After his death, she became Maharani of Cossimbazar Raj estate. Krishnath was Maharaja of Cossimbazar from 1832 to 1844.Official website of Murshidabad Fire Dekha
''Biography of Maharani Swarnamayee

Charity

To supply pure water for the residents of the town of Berhampore, the Swarnamoyee Water-works were constructed at a cost of Rs. 270,000, of which Rs. 162,000 was donated by Maharani Swarnamoyee. The project was inaugurated by Sir John Woodburn, then Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, on 31 July 31, 1899. Swarnamoyee donated Rs. 1,000 to Calcutta Chandni Hospital in 1871, and Rs. 8,000 to Native Hospital in 1872. She also donated to famine and malaria relief funds. Swarnamoyee donated Rs. 150,000 for the construction of a hostel to provide accommodation for female medical students at

Calcutta Medical College Calcutta Medical College, officially Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, is a public medical school and hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It is the oldest existing hospital in Asia. The institute was established on 28 January 1835 ...

. The foundation stone of the hostel was laid by Lady Dufferin. The hostel still bears the name of Maharani Swarnamoyee. Swarnamoyee donated 30 bighas of land for the construction of Berhampore College in 1851. In 1886, Maharani Swarnamoyee was vested with the necessary powers for the management of the college when the government withdrew from its management. Swarnamoyee donated Rs. 1,000 to Medinipur High School in 1871, Rs. 4,000 to Rangpur High School, Rs. 3,000 to the Oriental Seminary and Rs. 10,000 to the Hindu Girls' School in 1876 and Rs. 5,000 to Khagra London Missionary School,

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. During ...

in 1883. Swarnamoyee donated Rs. 15,000 to Bethune College in 1872, Rs. 2,000 to

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka ) in Odia is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of ''Kataka'' which literall ...

College in 1875, Rs. 2,000 to Aligarh College in 1876 and Rs. 5,000 to London Imperial Jubilee Institution in 1887. She donated all of the land for Shibpur Bengal Engineering College. She donated Rs. 4,000 to the Hindu Hostel in 1879.

Awards and recognition

Swarnamoyee received the title of Maharani on August 11, 1871. The Maharani received the

Order of the Crown of India The Imperial Order of the Crown of India is an order in the British honours system. The Order was established by Queen Victoria when she became Empress of India in 1878. The Order was open only to women, and no appointments have been made since t ...

on August 14, 1878, in recognition of her charitable work.

Death

Maharani Swarnamoyee died on August 25, 1897. After her death,

Maharaja Manindra Chandra Nandy Maharaja Sir Manindra Chandra Nandy (29 May 1860 – 12 November 1929) was the Maharaja of Cossimbazar Raj from 1898 to 1929, a philanthropist and reformist during the period of Bengal Renaissance. Family Manindra Chandra Nandy was born on 29 ...

, her nephew became the heir of the estate.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swarnamoyee, Maharani 1897 deaths 1838 births Indian women philanthropists Founders of Indian schools and colleges Companions of the Order of the Crown of India 19th-century Indian people Bengali people Indian educators 19th-century Indian educators Educators from West Bengal People from Murshidabad district 19th-century Indian philanthropists 19th-century women philanthropists