Armenian community of Dhaka
Encyclopedia
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
community of Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
played a significant role in Bengali trade and commerce in the 17th and 18th centuries.
In the early part of 18th Century, Armenians settled in Dhaka, then one of the commercial centres in Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
. They initially built a chapel and cemetery at Tejgagon, five miles from Dhaka. The oldest tombstone is “Avetis” an Armenian merchant who died on 15 August 1714.
Apart from Dhaka there was a significant Armenian presence in Saidabad (a suburb of the capital Murshidabad
Murshidabad
Murshidabad is a city in Murshidabad district of West Bengal state in India. The city of Murshidabad is located on the southern bank of the Bhagirathi, a distributary of the Ganges River. It was the capital of undivided Bengal during the Mughal rule. Nawabs of Bengal used to rule Bengal from this...
), Hoogli, Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
, Chinsura, Patna
Patna
Paṭnā , is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India . Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world...
and Kasimbazar. A neighborhood in Dhaka - Armanitola
Armanitola
Armanitola is an area in Old Dhaka, Bangladesh. In the 18th and 19th century, Armenian diaspora, consisting mostly of merchants, lived in the area.The area has the Armenian Church, established circa 1781....
- bears their name; there the Church of the Holy Resurrection and the cemetery established by the community in 1781 stand as major landmarks. The records of Church of the Holy Resurrection list over 200 deaths between 1833-1918, over 250 baptisms and over 50 marriages. Their assertive presence, however, began to decline from the beginning of British rule. Michael Joseph Martin (Mikel Housep Martirossian) is reported to have been the last Armenian in Dhaka.
Armenians played a major role in the commercial life of Dhaka, led by the Pogoses, Agacy, Michael, Stephen, Joakim, Sarkies, Arathon (also spelled as Aratun), Coja (also spelled Khojah) and Manook (also spelled as Manuk) families. Khwaja Hafizullah
Dhaka Nawab family
Dhaka Nawab Family reigned in Dhaka from mid 19th century to mid 20th century, after the fall of the Naib Nazims. The hereditary title of Nawab, similar to the British peerage, was conferred upon the head of the Family by the British Raj as a recognition of their loyalty in the time of the Sepoy...
, a merchant prince, laid the foundations for the Dhaka Nawab Family
Dhaka Nawab family
Dhaka Nawab Family reigned in Dhaka from mid 19th century to mid 20th century, after the fall of the Naib Nazims. The hereditary title of Nawab, similar to the British peerage, was conferred upon the head of the Family by the British Raj as a recognition of their loyalty in the time of the Sepoy...
by accumulating wealth by doing business with Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
and Armenian merchants. This trend was followed by his nephew and the first Nawab of the family Khwaja Alimullah
Khwaja Alimullah
Khwaja Alimullah was the first Nawab of Dhaka. He was the founder of the Dhaka Nawab Family.He was the nephew and heir of the merchant prince Khawaja Hafizullah, son of Khwaja Ahsanullah, and father of Khwaja Abdul Ghani, the first Nawab of Dhaka to be recognized by the British Raj.- Legacy of...
. Parts of the gardens of Shahbag
Shahbag
Shahbag is a major neighbourhood and a police precinct or Thana in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. It is also a major public transport hub, and serves as a junction between two contrasting sections of the city—Old Dhaka and New Dhaka—which lie, respectively, to its north and south...
, Ruplal House (a major landmark in the old part of Dhaka) and the land where Bangabhaban
Bangabhaban
The Banga Bhaban is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of Bangladesh, the head of state of Bangladesh. Located in the capital Dhaka, the palace has been the official residence of the British Viceroy of India until 1912, when the capital was moved to New Delhi. From...
stands belonged to Armenian zamindar
Zamindar
A Zamindar or zemindar , was an aristocrat, typically hereditary, who held enormous tracts of land and ruled over and taxed the bhikaaris who lived on batavaslam. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja , Raja , Nawab , and Mirza , Chowdhury , among others...
s (landlords). There is still a Manuk House inside Bangabhaban, bearing the name of the original owner's family.
They also played a major role as patrons of education and urban development in Dhaka. The Pogose School
Pogose School
Pogose School was established in Dhaka in 12th June, 1848, as the first private school of the country by JG Nicholas Pogose, who was an ex-student of Dhaka Collegiate School, a leader of the Armenian community of Dhaka, a merchant and a Zamindar. At present it is located at Chittaranjan Avenue...
, the first private school in the country, was founded by JG Nicholas Pogose, a merchant and a zamindar. P Arathon was the headmaster of the Normal School. According to the Dhaka Prakash, a newspaper of his time, students in his school scored better in examinations than students of other normal schools in Bengal, including the one in Hoogli. Margar David, Mackertich Abraham George, Michael Sarkies, Abraham Lucas, M Highcazony, A S Mackertich, Tigran Nahapiet, Thaddeus Nahapiet, M.J. Catchhatoor, Joseph Lazarus, and M David were other prominent Armenians of Dhaka.
History
After Safavid rulers conquered Eastern ArmeniaEastern Armenia
Eastern Armenia or Caucasian Armenia was the portion of Ottoman Armenia and Persian Armenia that was ceded to the Russian Empire following the Russo-Turkish War, 1828-1829...
in the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
, Shah Abbas deported about 300,000 Armenian traders specialized in inter-Euroasiatic trade to Isfahan and New Julfa
New Julfa
New Julfa is the Armenian quarter of Isfahan, Iran, located along the south bank of the river Zayandeh River....
. From there these traders first came to Bengal following the footsteps of Persian adventurers, and in the course established their own trading community there, recognized as such by the Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
government since late 17th century. They were mostly engaged in export trade paying a duty of 3.5% to the government. The Nawabs are known to have engaged them to transact their personal businesses openly or clandestinely as well as the European maritime companies, who used them as local representatives and their vakils (spokesperson) to the royal courts. It is not known when they came to Dhaka, but on the evidence of dates on tombstones the time is assumed to be before the late 18th century.
In an estimate of the textile export from Dhaka (which was a major textile production center in Bengal) was said to have been 27% in 1747. In the silk market, there are indications that the Armenians were dominant buyers, along with Gujarati
Gujarati people
Gujarati people , or Gujaratis are an ethnic group that is traditionally Gujarati-speaking and can trace their ancestry to the state of Gujarat in western India...
s and merchants from Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, Agra
Agra
Agra a.k.a. Akbarabad is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, west of state capital, Lucknow and south from national capital New Delhi. With a population of 1,686,976 , it is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh and the 19th most...
and Benares. They were prominent in the jute trade.
Initially not all of them lived in Armanitola, but lived in the neighborhoods of Moulavibazaar and Nolgola. Prior to building the church at Armanitola (popularly known as the Armani Church) they worshiped at a small chapel at in the same area, while deceased members of the community were interred at the Roman Catholic Church at Tejgaon, where some of the graves tombstones date back to 1741 to 1795. In 1837 they had built a Clock Tower on the west of the church that fell down in the earthquake of 1897. By 1868, five of the six European zamindars in Dhaka were Armenians - JG Nicholas Pogose, GC Paneati, J Stephan, JT Lucas and W Harney.
Notable Armenians of Bengal
Dhaka was not the only center of Armenian influence in the region, and there were Armenians who rose to prominence for all of Bengal. There is an Armanitola in Kolkata, and an Armanighat as well.- Khojah Phanoos Kalandar: The earliest noted Armenian who entered into an agreement with the East India CompanyBritish East India CompanyThe East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
for using English ships for trade by himself and other members of his community in 1688. - Khojah Israel Sarhand: A nephew of Khojah Phanoos, he helped the English to secure the Company's Kolkata zamindari from Subadar Azim ush ShanAzim ush ShanPrince Azim-ush-Shan was the third son of Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah I, by his second wife, Maharajkumari Amrita Bai Sahiba. He was also the grandson of emperor Aurangzeb.-Reign:...
in 1698, and was a vakil (spokesperson) of the Company's Surman Embassy to the Mughal Emperor Farrukh Siyar. He was instrumental in realizing the grand imperial farman (decree) of 1717 granting extraordinary privileges to the Company. - Khojah Petrus Nicholas: He was court advisor and financier to NawabNawabA Nawab or Nawaab is an honorific title given to Muslim rulers of princely states in South Asia. It is the Muslim equivalent of the term "maharaja" that was granted to Hindu rulers....
Alivardi KhanAlivardi KhanAli Vardi Khan was the Nawab of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa during 1740 - 1756. He toppled the Nasiri Dynasty of Bengal and took power as Nawab.-Early life:...
, and a leader of the Armenian community. - Khojah Wajid: The most notable Armenian in Bengal (see below)
- Khojah Gregory: Popularly known as Gurgin Khan, he was a brother of Khojah Petruse and a minister to Nawab Mir QasimMir QasimMir Qasim was Nawab of Bengal from 1760 to 1764. He was installed as Nawab by the British East India Company replacing Mir Jafar, his father-in-law, who had himself been installed by the British after his role in the Battle of Plassey...
as well as the Commander-in-Chief of his army. He is cited by Gholam Hossein in Siyar-ul-Mutakhkherin as the chief of the artillery and the Nwab's principal serviceman. An assassin killed him after the Battle of GiriaBattle of GiriaThe Battle of Giria were two battles that took place in Giria, an insignificant village in Bengal, although not well known, were very significant in the history of Bengal and like the Battle of Plassey, had far reaching consequences.-Location:...
(August 1763). - JG Nicholas Pogose: Popularly known as Nicky Pogose, he was a zamindar, a merchant, a partner of the first bank in Bangladesh - Dhaka Bank - and one of nine commissioners of Dhaka Municipality (1874–1875).
Khojah Wajid
A monpolist in the highly profitable saltpetrePotassium nitrate
Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the formula KNO3. It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and nitrate ions NO3−.It occurs as a mineral niter and is a natural solid source of nitrogen. Its common names include saltpetre , from medieval Latin sal petræ: "stone salt" or possibly "Salt...
trade (one of the most important commodities in the export list of the European companies) since 1753, this Armenian merchant conducted most of the negotiations between the Company and Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah
Siraj ud-Daulah
Mîrzâ Muhammad Sirâj-ud-Daulah , more commonly known as Siraj ud-Daulah , was the last independent Nawab of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. The end of his reign marks the start of British East India Company rule over Bengal and later almost all of South Asia...
. Conducting his trading from Hugli, he dominated the commercial scene of Bangal
Bangal
Bangal is a term used to refer to the people of East Bengal , now in Bangladesh . The term is used to describe Bengalis from the east, who are marked by a distinct accent....
as one of the merchant princes along with Mahtab Chand and Sawaroop Chand known as the two Jagat Sayts (bankers of the world), as well as Omichand. Son of Khojah Mahmet Fazel, an influential Armenian merchant in the mid 18th century, he obtained footholds in the durbar of the Nawab as a vakil for his community in 1740s and eventually rose to be a member of the Nawab's inner-circle.
He had extensive business transactions with the French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
, the Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
and the English. At one point, Jean Law de Lauriston
Jean Law de Lauriston
Baron Jean Law de Lauriston, was born on October 5, 1719 in Paris. He was twice Governor General of Pondicherry. Not much is known about his life, but his contributions to French Colonial Empire are notable.-In 1765:...
, the chief of the French factory at Kasim Bazar pointed out that Wajid wanted to be on good terms with everybody. He owned at least six ships - Salamat Ressan, Salamat Manzil, Mobarak, Gensamer, Medina Baksh and Mubarak Manzil - traveling from Hoogli to Jeddah
Jeddah
Jeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...
, Mocha
Mocha, Yemen
Mocha or Mokha is a port city on the Red Sea coast of Yemen. Until it was eclipsed in the 19th century by Aden and Hodeida, Mocha was the principal port for Yemen's capital Sana'a.-Overview:...
, Basra
Basra
Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...
, Surat
Surat
Surat , also known as Suryapur, is the commercial capital city of the Indian state of Gujarat. Surat is India's Eighth most populous city and Ninth-most populous urban agglomeration. It is also administrative capital of Surat district and one of the fastest growing cities in India. The city proper...
and Masulipatnam.
After the Battle of Plassey
Battle of Plassey
The Battle of Plassey , 23 June 1757, was a decisive British East India Company victory over the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies, establishing Company rule in South Asia which expanded over much of the Indies for the next hundred years...
, he obtained a parwana
Parwana
Parwana is a 2003 Bollywood drama film directed by Deepak Bahry. The film stars Ajay Devgan as an orphan and Amisha Patel.Summary='PARWANA' is a story of an orphan - who lives in a basti. He has one mission to help the poor people of basti - for that he does odd jobs without harming any body...
(decree) from Mir Jafar
Mir Jafar
-Notes:# "Riyazu-s-salatin", Ghulam Husain Salim - a reference to the appointment of Mohanlal can be found # "Seir Muaqherin", Ghulam Husain Tabatabai - a reference to the conspiracy can be found...
, the new Nawab, "for the entire possession of the saltpetre trade at Patna", which he promised to use in assistance to the Company in procuring salt at the cheapest rate, provided they "assisted him in return to make the Dutch purchase from him". The Company took over his salpetre empire in 1758, which grew to generate an annual revenue of Rs. 1 million in 1773. In 1759, he was captured and jailed by the Company, where he poisoned himself. After his death, Khoajah Petruse Aratoon took over as leader of the Armenian community in Bengal.
Source
- Mamoon, Muntasir, Smriti Bismritir Dhaka, Ananya, Dhaka, 1993, ISBN 984-412-104-3
- Banglapedia: The Armenians