Khondakar ( bn, খন্দকার, Khondokar) is 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 ...

surname found in

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 neighbouring

East India East India is a region of India consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The region roughly corresponds to the historical region of Magadh ...

n regions.

Etymology and history

The Bengali surname comes from the

Old Persian Old Persian is one of the two directly attested Old Iranian languages (the other being Avestan language, Avestan) and is the ancestor of Middle Persian (the language of Sasanian Empire). Like other Old Iranian languages, it was known to its native ...

Khandan ( fa, خواندن, Xwândan, To read) and the suffix kar ( fa, گار, Gâr) which joins the root of the verb to mean the one who reads. The Bengali definition of the word is an instructor or teacher. The usage of Persian as an official language in

Bengal 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 ...

was common during the rule of the

Bengal Sultanate The Sultanate of Bengal ( Middle Bengali: শাহী বাঙ্গালা ''Shahī Baṅgala'', Classical Persian: ''Saltanat-e-Bangālah'') was an empire based in Bengal for much of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. It was the dominan ...

and the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

. The

Persians The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian. ...

as well as members of the

Turco-Persian tradition The composite Turko-Persian, Turco-Persian
''Turko-Persia in historical perspective'', Cambridge University Press, ...

were a large immigrant community during both periods in which they integrated with the local Bengali community. Many Persians in Bengal became teachers, lawyers, scholars and clerics. These Persians merged with Bengalis to become Bengali Muslims.

Variations

Variations of the surname Khondakar also remain very common. These include different English transliterations and regional pronunciations of the term. Different English spellings include: Khondker, Khandaker, Khondoker, Khondokar, Khondaker, Khondkar, Khandakar..Khandker, and Khandoker. The variant Khandekar (

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental syste ...

: खांडेकर) is a surname typically found in

Maharashtrian Brahmin Marathi Brahmins (also known as Maharashtrian Brahmins), are communities native to the Indian state of Maharashtra. They are classified into mainly three sub-divisions based on their places of origin, " Desh", "Karad" and "Konkan". The Brahmin ...

families, where the "kar" suffix denotes the native place of their ancestors.

Notables with the surname

Khondakar

* Khondakar Abdul Hamid, journalist *

Khondakar Abu Taleb Khondakar Abu Taleb (1921-1971) was a Bangladeshi journalist who was killed by Pakistani Army in the Bangladesh Liberation and is considered a "martyr" in Bangladesh. Early life Taleb was born on 23 March 1921 in Satani, Satkhira, East Bengal, ...

, chief reporter of

The Daily Ittefaq ''The Daily Ittefaq'' ( bn, দৈনিক ইত্তেফাক, translit. ''Doinik Ittefak'') is a Bengali-language daily newspaper. Founded in 1953, it is the oldest newspaper, and one of the most circulated newspapers in Bangladesh. Thi ...

* Khondakar Abul Kashem, lecturer of History at the Pabna Edward College *

Khondakar Ashraf Hossain Khondakar Ashraf Hossain ( bn, খোন্দকার আশরাফ হোসেন; 4 January 1950 – 16 June 2013) was a leading postmodernist poet, essayist, translator, and editor from Bangladesh. He wrote more than eighteen titles. Ea ...

, writer * Arifur Khandoker, researcher

Khondaker

Khondaker Hasibul Kabir Khondaker Hasibul Kabir is a Bangladeshi landscape architect and sustainability advocate who works with Bangladeshi development agencies such as BRAC and Grameen in rural and sustainable architecture. He first proposed "The Platform of Hope" ('' ...

, Bangladeshi landscape architect and sustainability advocate *

Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad (also spelled Khandakar Mushtaq Ahmed; – 5 March 1996) was a Bangladeshi politician. He was the President of Bangladesh from 15 August to 6 November 1975, after the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He was part ...

, President of Bangladesh

Khandaker

Khandaker Abdul Baten Khandaker Abdul Baten (17 May 1946 – 21 January 2019) was a Bangladesh Awami League politician and a member of Parliament from Tangail-6. Early life Baten completed his education to the undergraduate level earning a B.A. with honours. Career ...

, MP for

Tangail-6 Tangail-6 is a constituency represented in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) of Bangladesh since 2019 by Ahasanul Islam Titu of the Awami League. Boundaries The constituency encompasses Delduar and Nagarpur upazilas. History The co ...

Khandaker Abdul Malik Khandaker Abdul Malik (1920-2007) was a Bangladeshi politician. He was a three-time elected member of parliament from the prestigious Sylhet-1 and Sylhet-8 seat from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party's in the second national parliament elections ...

, MP for

Sylhet-1 Sylhet-1 is a constituency represented in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) of Bangladesh since 2019 by AK Abdul Momen of the Awami League. Boundaries The constituency encompasses Sylhet City Corporation and Sylhet Sadar Upazila. Histo ...

Khandaker Abdur Rashid Khandaker Abdur Rashid is a Bangladesh Army officer and a fugitive assassin of the first president of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujib. Biography Khandaker Abdur Rashid was born on 1946 in the district of Comilla, in British India. He served in the Pak ...

, Bangladesh Army officer *

Khandaker Anwarul Haque Khandaker Anwarul Haque is a Bangladeshi politician and former member of parliament. Early life Anwarul Haque was born in Jatbari village of Madhupur Upazila of Tangail district. His father's name Khandaker Azizur Rahman and mother's name Khadi ...

, MP for

Tangail-1 Tangail-1 is a constituency represented in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) of Bangladesh since 2001 by Abdur Razzak of the Awami League. Boundaries The constituency encompasses Dhanbari Dhanbari ( bn, ধনবাড়ী) is a ...

Khandaker Asaduzzaman Khandaker Asaduzzaman (22 October 1935 – 25 April 2020) ( bn, খন্দকার আসাদুজ্জামান) was a Bangladeshi Civil Servant and is known as the First Finance Secretary of Independent Bangladesh in the Mujibnagar Gov ...

, MP for

Tangail-2 Tangail-2 is a constituency represented in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) of Bangladesh since 2019 by Soto Monir Soto Monir ( bn, ছোট মনির) is a Bangladesh Awami League politician and the incumbent Member of Parliament of ...

Khandaker Delwar Hossain Khondkar Delwar Hossain (1 February 1933 – 16 March 2011) was a Bangladesh Nationalist Party politician. He served as the secretary general of the party. He was elected five times as a Member of Parliament from constituency Manikganj-1 (Ghior-D ...

, MP for Manikganj-1 *

Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain (born 25 September 1942) is a Bangladeshi politician. He is the incumbent Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Faridpur-3 constituency since 2009. He served as a minister of the Minister of Labour and Employment, ...

, MP for

Comilla-2 Comilla-2 is a constituency represented in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) of Bangladesh since 2019 by Selima Ahmad of the Awami League. Boundaries The constituency encompasses Homna and Titas upazilas. History The constituency wa ...

* Khandaker Muhammad Asad, Bangladeshi documentary photographer and photojournalist * Khandaker Rashiduzzaman Dudu, MP for Kushtia-3 * Fuad Khandaker, IT Professional in USA *

M. H. Khandaker M. H. Khandaker was the first Attorney General of Bangladesh Attorney may refer to: * Lawyer ** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions * Attorney, one who has power of attorney * ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film See also * Attorney ...

, first Attorney General of Bangladesh

Khandakar

* Golam Faruk Khandakar Prince, MP for Pabna-5

Others

* Abdul Karim Khandker, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Bangladesh Armed Forces *

Akbar Ali Khondkar Late Shri Akbar Ali Khondkar (Bengali: আকবর আলী খন্দকার) was a Member of Parliament (MP) in the Twelfth Lok Sabha & Thirteenth Lok Sabha of India. He was elected from his Lok Sabha Constituency in Serampore, West B ...

, Indian politician *

Hassan Mahmood Khandker Hassan Mahmood Khandker is a former Bangladeshi police officer who served as the 26th Inspector General of Bangladesh Police from 31 August 2010 to 30 December 2014. He was the longest serving Inspector General in Bangladesh Police's history. It w ...

, longest serving

Inspector General of Police (Bangladesh) The Inspector General of Police (IGP) is the senior-most and highest ranked police officer of Bangladesh and the head of the Bangladesh Police, who oversees all police activities throughout the country. He reports directly to the Ministry of Home A ...

Khandkar Manwar Hossain Khandkar Manwar Hossain (30 April 193027 June 1999) was a Bangladeshi statistician. In 1950, he was among the students graduating from the first statistics course at the University of Dhaka. He was the founder of the Department of Statistics of ...

, founder of the Department of Statistics in Rajshahi University *

Khandker Anwarul Islam Khandker Anwarul Islam is a retired Bangladeshi civil servant. He had served as the country's 22nd Cabinet Secretary. Prior to that, he was the Senior Secretary of the Bridges Division under Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges and the ex-offic ...

, Secretary of the Bridges Division under Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges *

Khandokar Mahbub Uddin Ahmad Khandokar Mahbub Uddin Ahmad (1925-2014) was a Bangladeshi politician and the former Member of Parliament from Dhaka-9. Birth and early life Khandokar Mahbub Uddin Ahmad was born in the house of late Khandokar Shams Uddin Ahmed in Gopalganj ...

, MP for

Dhaka-9 Dhaka-9 is a constituency represented in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) of Bangladesh since 2008 by Saber Hossain Chowdhury of the Awami League. Boundaries The constituency encompasses Dhaka South City Corporation wards 1 through 7, ...

* Khondkar Siddique-e-Rabbani , biomedical physicist *

Khondokar Mahmud Hasan Khondokar Mahmud Hasan (known as KM Hasan; born 27 January 1939) is a Bangladeshi diplomat and jurist who served as the 13th Chief Justice of Bangladesh The chief justice of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের প্রধান � ...

, 13th Chief Justice of Bangladesh

References

{{surname Bangladeshi Muslim names Bengali Muslim surnames