Natore Rajbari (also known as Pagla Raja's Palace, Natore Palace) was a prominent royal palace in

Natore Natore district is a district of Rajshahi Division located in northern Bangladesh. It borders the metropolitan city of Rajshahi, and used to be part of Rajshahi district. History Natore was the District Headquarters of Rajshahi from 1769 to 182 ...

, Bangladesh. It was the residence and seat of the Rajshahi Raj family of

zamindars 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 a ...

. The famous queen

Rani Bhabani Rani Bhabani ( bn, রাণী ভবাণী) (1716–1803), also known as ''Ardhabangeshwari''(অর্ধবঙ্গেশ্বরী) and ''Natorer Rani'' or the Queen of Natore, was a Hindu zamindar during the British colonial era in ...

lived here and after the death of her husband, expanded both the estate and the palace.

History

In the mid seventeenth century one Kamadev Moitra served as

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 ...

to the Puthia Raj family. Kamadev's second son Raghunandan Moitra was selected by the Raja to be his agent at the court 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, ...

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 ...

, the overlord of all Bengal.''A Short History of Natore Raj'', Akshoy Kumar Moitra, Natore, 1912 When the Nawab moved his court from

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest ...

to what became known as

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 ...

he took Raghunandan with him and appointed him his

Dewan ''Dewan'' (also known as ''diwan'', sometimes spelled ''devan'' or ''divan'') designated a powerful government official, minister, or ruler. A ''dewan'' was the head of a state institution of the same name (see Divan). Diwans belonged to the e ...

or minister. The Nawab proceeded to confiscate the estates of

zamindar A zamindar (Hindustani language, Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian language, Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous Raja, ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughal Em ...

s who failed to conform to his new regulations, and a number of such estates were acquired by Ramjivan Moitra, the elder brother of his Dewan Raghunandan.''Rajshahi Zamindars in Historical Profile in the Colonial Period 1763-1947'', S.M. Rabiul Karim, Doctoral Degree Thesis (University of North Bengal, Darjeeling), 2006 (Chapter 3). In due course Ramjivan was given the title of Raja and set up his headquarters in Natore. His estate was generally referred to as the "Rajshahi Zamindari". The estate had an area of nearly 13,000 square miles and included not only much of North Bengal but also large parts of the areas later comprising the administrative districts of Murshidabad, Nadia, Jessore, Birbhum and Burdwan.''Rajshahi District Gazeteer'', Calcutta, 1916 (p. 38) To rule this extensive Zamindari and collect revenue properly, he divided all Zamindaris into three centers. These were Sherpur in Bogra district, Baranagar in

district and

. Baranagar was located half a mile north of Azimnagar railway station by the administrative advantages. Rarely Raghunandan had to go to Nawab Darbar, so he stayed at Baranagar most of the time. Staying at Baranagar helped him to maintain the royal duty of

. The first palace or Rajbari at Natore was built by Raja Ramjivan Moitra. The palace was surrounded by two sets of moats which are still extant. After the division of the estate a separate palace was built for the junior branch of the dynasty. Many of the original buildings were destroyed by the earthquake of 1897 and subsequently rebuilt or replaced. Ramjivan's Dewan Doyaram was granted landed estates and the title of Ray Raiyan by Nawab Murshid Quli Khan in recognition of his service in apprehending a recalcitrant zamindar named Sitaram Roy. In due course Doyaram established his own dynasty the

Dighapatia Raj Dighapatia Raj (sometimes called ''Dighapatia Raj Paribar'' literally ''Dighapatia Royal Family'') was a zamindari in present-day Rajshahi, which was ruled by this dynasty of 7 generations of Rajas from early 18th century till the mid-20th centur ...

with its own palace Dighapatia Palace. Raja Ramjivan was succeeded by his adopted son Ramkanta. After Raja Ramkanta's early death the Natore estate was ably managed by his widow, known as

, who became famous for her good works. In 1797, following the death of Rani Bhabani's adopted son Raja Ramkrishna, the Natore estate was divided between his two sons Bishwanath and Sibnath, and thenceforth both a Senior and a Junior royal house remained in existence until the abolition of all zamindar estates in 1950. Natore Royal Bloodline

Historical references

''The zamindari of Rajshahi, the second in rank in Bengal and yielding an annual revenue of about twenty-five lakhs of rupees, has risen to its present magnitude during the course of the last eighty years by accumulating the property of a great number of dispossessed zamindars, although the ancestors of the present possessor had not, by inheritance, a right to the property of a single village within the whole zamindari.'' - Warren Hastings

he Rajshahi Zamindari''is the most unwieldy extensive zamindari of Bengal or perhaps in India.'' t''produces at least four-fifths of all the silk, raw or manufactured, used in or exported from the ... Empire of Hindustan.'' - James GrantJames Grant, ''Analysis of the Finances of Bengal'', Appendix to the ''Fifth Report of the House of Commons Select Committee on the Affairs of East India Company'', 1812

Timeline

(Some dates approximate) Sources: ''A Short History of Natore Raj'', District Gazetteer, Doctoral Thesis by S.M. Rabiul Karim

Photographs: current

Natore Rajbari1 (Palace).JPG, Rajbari (Senior Branch palace) Natore Rajbari2 (Palace).JPG, Rajbari (side view) হানি_কুইন.jpg, Honey Queen Building ছোট_তরফের_কাচারি_বাড়ি_(2).jpg, Rajbari Junior Branch Office Building মন্দির_রাজবাড়ি.jpg, Ruins of palace yard মূর্তি_ঘর.jpg, Ruined temple building তারোকেশ্বর_শিব_মন্দির.jpg, Tarokeshwar Shiva Mandir শিব_মন্দিরের_পাশে_অবস্থিত_মূর্তি.jpg, Figures outside Shiva Mandir লালন_মূর্তি.jpg, Figure of Baul Poet Lalon Shah রানীভবানী_উন্মক্ত_স্টেজ.jpg, Rani Bhabani Open Air Stage

Photographs: archival

Natore avenue.jpg, Rajbari approach avenue (1975) Natore senior.jpg, Rajbari senior palace (1975) Natore Rajbari Senior.jpg, Rajbari junior palace (1967) Natore Rajbari Lake.jpg, Lake in rajbari compound (1967) Natore devalaya arch.jpg, Archway of temple compound (1975) Natore Rajbari Pond.jpg, Lake and Shiva temple (1975) Tarokeshwar Mandir.jpg, Tarokeshwar Shiva Mandir (1975)

References