Manoranjan Rai, or more commonly known as Mona Rai was the final chief minister of medieval

Sylhet 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 an ...

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 ...

. He is most known for being named after the highest hill in Sylhet city.

Office

His office began in 1260 with ascension of 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 ...

to the throne. Govinda appointed Rai as his chief minister, replacing the previous King

Govardhan Govardhan also called Giriraj, is a key pilgrimage centre in India and a municipal town; a nagar panchayat; seat of a MLA Member of the Legislative Assembly (India), Member of Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, Uttar Pr ...

's former chief minister

Madan Rai Madan Rai was the penultimate chief minister of medieval Sylhet's Gour Kingdom. He was described to have been very sharp and "shrewd". Office Appointed as Chief Minister of Gour, Madan Rai was stationed on a hillock (now known as Mona Rai's Til ...

. The palace which was used by the past ministers of Gour was gifted by Govinda to Mona Rai, and renamed Mona Rai Palace. It was situated in a hillock near the port for ease in tax collection and civil duties. Govinda built a brick tower in Penchagor named Gorduar, which would serve as his palace and central administration. Gorduar, which remains as ruins today, had seven floors; the second floor was also given to Mona Rai.

Death

With the arrival 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 bet ...

and 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 milit ...

in 1303, Mona Rai was appointed by Govinda as one of the commanders. As Rai was based near the port, he decided to stop river transport and ferries making it difficult for the opponents as the only other option was through the hills. Rai was subsequently killed in the final battle of Gour. Govinda was shocked after hearing of this news and fled with his family and the area came under the rule of Wazir

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 ...

Legacy

The hillock which housed Mona Rai's palace is known even today as the hill of Mona Rai ( bn, মনারায়ের টিলা, Monarayer Tila) in Chowhatta. It is located next to the dargah of Shah Jalal.

Bipin Chandra Pal Bipin Chandra Pal ( bn, বিপিন চন্দ্র পাল ; 7 November 1858 – 20 May 1932) was an Indian nationalist, writer, orator, social reformer and Indian independence movement freedom fighter. He was one third of the “L ...

mentions in his book, "''Memories Of My Life And Times''", mentions that during his childhood he studied in a government school which was a large brick building standing on top of Mona Rai's Tila. This is backed up by

Pandita Ramabai Pandita Ramabai Sarasvati (23 April 1858 – 5 April 1922) was an Indian Social Reformer. She was the first woman to be awarded the titles of '' Pandita'' as a Sanskrit scholar and ''Sarasvati'' after being examined by the faculty of the Unive ...

's biography which mentions that she was invited to Sylhet District School, on top of Mona Ray Hill, by a reception committee. During 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 ...

, a 0.9 mile by-road was used connecting

with the hill. This road was named Monarai Tillah Approach Road and housed the Executive Officer's Bungalow in 1948. In 1975, it also housed the buildings for the Roads and Highways Division, Buildings Division and District Judges. The ruins of Rai's fort in Tilagarh is also present.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rai, Mona Rulers of Sylhet 14th-century Indian people 14th-century rulers in Asia Indian Hindus