Shamsher Gazi ( bn, শমসের গাজী; 1712-1760), also known as the Tiger of Bhati ( bn, ভাটির বাঘ, Bhatir Bagh), was a ruler of

Roshnabad Meghna Division (Bengali: মেঘনা বিভাগ) is a proposed administrative division within Bangladesh for the north-western parts of the existing Chittagong Division, comprising Brahmanbaria, Comilla, Chandpur, Noakhali, Feni, an ...

and

Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the ea ...

, which covers parts of modern-day

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 ...

. Gazi's reign (1748-1760) has been cited as the "most interesting episode" in Medieval

's history.

Early life

Gazi was born into a

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 ...

family of farmers in the village of Kungura, in 1712. His father was Peyar (other sources say '' Pir'') Muhammad Khan and mother's name was Kaiyara Bibi. From an early age, he began to serve under and be brought up by Nasir Mahmud, a

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 ...

(landowner) of the Chakla of Raushanabad. Mahmud had become the ruler of Chakla Raushanabad by undertaking to give a monetary recompense to the erstwhile Nawab of Bengal.Roychoudhury, p. 35

Rule

The advent of the

British 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 ...

with its "exploitation and oppression" alongside zamindari subjugation, made life of the peasants and farmers difficult and despondent. Shamsher Gazi's efficient rule freed them of this control. With the granting of rent exemption to the peasants, he managed to govern the economy in an appropriate manner, leading to the reduction of the prices of essential commodities. He was generous to both the Hindus and Muslims. He had ponds dug, naming them after himself, and built many schools in and outside his capital Jagannath Sonapur. 'Kaiyar Sagar' was one of the larger ponds in the area. Krishna Manikya, brother of Indra Manikya II, twice tried recapturing

Udaipur Udaipur () ( ISO 15919: ''Udayapura''), historically named as Udayapura, is a city and municipal corporation in Udaipur district of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is the administrative headquarter of Udaipur district. It is the historic cap ...

(old Rangamati), the old capital of Tripura, but was defeated by Gazi in 1748.Roychoudhury, p. 35 Consolidating his hold on Pargana Dakshinsik and Pargana Meherkul, Shamsher now became the ruler of Tripura. According to Mesbahul Huq's book ''Purbo Desh'', Gazi repelled assaults by the "plundering Moghs and Bargees". Facing opposition from the kingdom's citizens, Gazi placed Udai Manikya's elder brother Banamali Thakur on the throne under the name Lakshman Manikya, though actual power remained with him. This continued for three years, though Lakshman failed to gain the support of the population. Krishna Manikya, who had fled to Agartala, sought help from

Mir Qasim Mir Qasim ( bn, মীর কাশিম; died 8 May 1777) was the Nawab of Bengal from 1760 to 1763. He was installed as Nawab with the support of the British East India Company, replacing Mir Jafar, his father-in-law, who had himself been su ...

, the Nawab of Bengal. Heeding the outcry, Gazi was arrested by Qasim by subterfuge for his excesses and put to death by a cannon. Referred to as a "notorious plunderer" in the

Tippera District Comilla District, officially known as Cumilla District, is a district of Bangladesh located about 100 kilometres south east of Dhaka. Comilla is bordered by Brahmanbaria and Narayanganj districts to the north, Noakhali and Feni districts to t ...

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 ...

and Chittagong areas, the Manikya dynasty regained their kingdom.

In books

*''Gazinama'', also called the ''Shamsher Gazi Nama'', composed in the first part of the 19th century, was the story of Shamser Gazni written by Manohar Saikh.Roychoudhury, p. 112 *''Purbo Desh'' in Bengali, by Mesbahul Huq about the life and exploits of Shamsher Gazni. *''The Ballad of Shamsher- Gazi'' published by Maulavi Lutfur Khabir of Tipperah.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gazi, Shamsher 1712 births 1760 deaths Cumilla District People from Feni District 18th-century Bengalis Rulers of Noakhali