Princes of Natore
Encyclopedia
The Singranatore family is a family of Rajshahi landed aristocracy
in erstwhile East Bengal
(present day Bangladesh
) that were prominent from mid nineteenth century till the fall of the monarchy in 1947-1948 and abolishment of rights and rule by the newly formed democratic government of East Pakistan in 1950.
It is a common misconception that the family gets the name from their estates and land holdings in the upazila of Singra
of Natore district, while in reality, they are named after both upazilas of Singra
and Natore
of the district in Rajshahi division. They were had educational and philanthropic influence in the area and founded the first and only public college in Singra
(Gole Afroz College
, named after Begum
GoleAfroz, a prominent member of the family, the wife of MM Rahmatullah
).
as hereditary Mirzas
, they are a cadet brach of the Imperial family of India, descended from a perso-turkic dynasty
. They moved after the imperial family was abolished in 1858 following the first Indian war of independence
, to Bengal (where around 70 more descendants moved possibly because Calcutta in Bengal
was made the new capital (1858-1912) of the Empire
. They were one of the few muslim zamindars in Bengal
, at a time when the territories were mainly ruled by the Hindu
raj families (Royal families) such as the Maharajas of Dighapatia Raj
(who were very close to the Singranatore family as well, the Mullahbari palatial complex houses various artifacts from the hindu rajas). Structures have been deemed of historic significance by the government. The first ever trip of an elected Head of State
in the history of the region was when former military ruler and President
Lt General Hussain Muhammad Ershad in 1986 when he was invited by MM Rahmatullah
.
. The only public college of Singra
, it is one of the five government colleges in the Natore District, and the third oldest, established before the War of 1971
and the Independence of the country.
Although it was a private college of the aristocratic Singranatore family, in 1986, the then President
and former military ruler
, HM Ershad announced that it would be made into a public college. Since then it is under the Ministry of Education of the Government of Bangladesh.
It is named after Begum Gul-e-Afroze, a member of the Singranatore family of Rajshahi
, the daughter of Begum GulBadan and Shamezuddin Ahmed. She was a granddaughter of Mirza Jalaluddin
, the last zamindar of Natore and the wife of MM Rahmatullah
.
denoted nobility and direct male descent from the imperial lines, British and Scottish media sometimes accorded their zamindar
statuses as 'Princes'. After the War of 1971
, they held considerable alliances with ruling presidents, military dictators and prime ministers, all the while refraining from elected public offices. The family still owns most of the lands as private estates, and taxes the inhabitants on produce from the lands, which in turn pays for upkeep of the land holdings, buildings etc. Most of the residences used by the family lies mostly uninhabited, yet under the ownership of the family.
Notables include:
Notes
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...
in erstwhile East Bengal
East Bengal
East Bengal was the name used during two periods in the 20th century for a territory that roughly corresponded to the modern state of Bangladesh. Both instances involved a violent partition of Bengal....
(present day Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
) that were prominent from mid nineteenth century till the fall of the monarchy in 1947-1948 and abolishment of rights and rule by the newly formed democratic government of East Pakistan in 1950.
It is a common misconception that the family gets the name from their estates and land holdings in the upazila of Singra
Singra Upazila
Singra is an Upazila of Natore District in the Division of Rajshahi, Bangladesh.-Geography:Singra is located at . It has 52851 units of house hold and total area 528.46 km².-Demographics:...
of Natore district, while in reality, they are named after both upazilas of Singra
Singra Upazila
Singra is an Upazila of Natore District in the Division of Rajshahi, Bangladesh.-Geography:Singra is located at . It has 52851 units of house hold and total area 528.46 km².-Demographics:...
and Natore
Natore Sadar Upazila
Natore Sadar is an Upazila of Natore District in the Division of Rajshahi, Bangladesh.-Geography:Natore Sadar is located at . It has 67852 units of house hold and total area 401.29 km².-Demographics:...
of the district in Rajshahi division. They were had educational and philanthropic influence in the area and founded the first and only public college in Singra
Singra Upazila
Singra is an Upazila of Natore District in the Division of Rajshahi, Bangladesh.-Geography:Singra is located at . It has 52851 units of house hold and total area 528.46 km².-Demographics:...
(Gole Afroz College
Gole Afroz College
Gol-e-Afroze Government College also called Gule Afroze Degree College is the only public residential, coeducational, institute of higher learning of Singra in Natore, Bangladesh. It is one of the five government colleges in the Natore District, and the third oldest, established before the War of...
, named after Begum
Begum
Begum, Begam or Baigum is a Turkic title given to female family members of a Baig or 'Beg', a higher official. The term Begum is derived from the word Beg, and means a female member of the Beg's family.Also used Begzadi, for Ex...
GoleAfroz, a prominent member of the family, the wife of MM Rahmatullah
MM Rahmatullah
Mian Muhammad Rahmatullah, was a former Chief Engineer of the Public Works Department and later Head of the Capital Development Authority of the Government of Bangladesh...
).
History
Descended from former mansabdarsMansabdar
Mansabdar was the generic term for the military -type grading of all imperial officials of the Mughal Empire. The mansabdars governed the empire and commanded its armies in the emperor's name...
as hereditary Mirzas
Mirza
Mirza , is of Persian origin, denoting the rank of a high nobleman or Prince. It is usually translated into English as a royal or imperial Prince of the Blood...
, they are a cadet brach of the Imperial family of India, descended from a perso-turkic dynasty
Timurid Dynasty
The Timurids , self-designated Gurkānī , were a Persianate, Central Asian Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turko-Mongol descent whose empire included the whole of Iran, modern Afghanistan, and modern Uzbekistan, as well as large parts of contemporary Pakistan, North India, Mesopotamia, Anatolia and the...
. They moved after the imperial family was abolished in 1858 following the first Indian war of independence
Indian Rebellion of 1857
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...
, to Bengal (where around 70 more descendants moved possibly because Calcutta 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...
was made the new capital (1858-1912) of the Empire
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
. They were one of the few muslim zamindars 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...
, at a time when the territories were mainly ruled by the Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
raj families (Royal families) such as the Maharajas of Dighapatia Raj
Dighapatia Raj
Dighapatia Raj was a zamindari in present day Rajshahi, which was ruled by this dynasty of 7 generations of Rajas from late seventeenth century till the mid-twentieth century; when the democratic government took power after the end of the British Monarchy’s rule in India, in 1950, the East Pakistan...
(who were very close to the Singranatore family as well, the Mullahbari palatial complex houses various artifacts from the hindu rajas). Structures have been deemed of historic significance by the government. The first ever trip of an elected Head of State
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
in the history of the region was when former military ruler and President
President of Bangladesh
Since 1991, the President of Bangladesh is the head of state, a largely ceremonial post elected by the parliament. Since 1996, the President's role becomes more important after the term of the government has finished, when his executive authority is enhanced as laid down in the constitution of the...
Lt General Hussain Muhammad Ershad in 1986 when he was invited by MM Rahmatullah
MM Rahmatullah
Mian Muhammad Rahmatullah, was a former Chief Engineer of the Public Works Department and later Head of the Capital Development Authority of the Government of Bangladesh...
.
Philanthropy
Gol-e-Afroze Government College also called Gule Afroze Degree College is a residential, coeducational, institute of higher learning of in Natore, BangladeshBangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
. The only public college of Singra
Singra Upazila
Singra is an Upazila of Natore District in the Division of Rajshahi, Bangladesh.-Geography:Singra is located at . It has 52851 units of house hold and total area 528.46 km².-Demographics:...
, it is one of the five government colleges in the Natore District, and the third oldest, established before the War of 1971
Bangladesh Liberation War
The Bangladesh Liberation War was an armed conflict pitting East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan. The war resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, which became the independent nation of Bangladesh....
and the Independence of the country.
Although it was a private college of the aristocratic Singranatore family, in 1986, the then President
President of Bangladesh
Since 1991, the President of Bangladesh is the head of state, a largely ceremonial post elected by the parliament. Since 1996, the President's role becomes more important after the term of the government has finished, when his executive authority is enhanced as laid down in the constitution of the...
and former military ruler
Military dictatorship
A military dictatorship is a form of government where in the political power resides with the military. It is similar but not identical to a stratocracy, a state ruled directly by the military....
, HM Ershad announced that it would be made into a public college. Since then it is under the Ministry of Education of the Government of Bangladesh.
It is named after Begum Gul-e-Afroze, a member of the Singranatore family of Rajshahi
Rajshahi
The city of Rajshahi is the divisional headquarters of Rajshahi division as well as the administrative district that bears its name and is one of the six metropolitan cities of Bangladesh. Often referred to as Silk City and Education City, Rajshahi is located in the north-west of the country and...
, the daughter of Begum GulBadan and Shamezuddin Ahmed. She was a granddaughter of Mirza Jalaluddin
Jalaluddin Mirza
Jalaluddin Mirza was a prince of the Mughal Royal Family, Gurkhan-e-Mirza.Most of his life was spent hiding from the British. He took refuge under the Zamindari Dighapatia family in Natore, Rajshahi. He had four sons and two daughters. His son Mirza Zafar eventually came to be an official in the...
, the last zamindar of Natore and the wife of MM Rahmatullah
MM Rahmatullah
Mian Muhammad Rahmatullah, was a former Chief Engineer of the Public Works Department and later Head of the Capital Development Authority of the Government of Bangladesh...
.
Abolition
Formerly accorded as Princes of Rajshahi since the title of MirzaMirza
Mirza , is of Persian origin, denoting the rank of a high nobleman or Prince. It is usually translated into English as a royal or imperial Prince of the Blood...
denoted nobility and direct male descent from the imperial lines, British and Scottish media sometimes accorded their 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...
statuses as 'Princes'. After the War of 1971
Bangladesh Liberation War
The Bangladesh Liberation War was an armed conflict pitting East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan. The war resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, which became the independent nation of Bangladesh....
, they held considerable alliances with ruling presidents, military dictators and prime ministers, all the while refraining from elected public offices. The family still owns most of the lands as private estates, and taxes the inhabitants on produce from the lands, which in turn pays for upkeep of the land holdings, buildings etc. Most of the residences used by the family lies mostly uninhabited, yet under the ownership of the family.
Notables include:
- Mirza NaliMirza NaliMirza Nali , was the Crown Prince before Bahadur Shah II. He was the son of Akbar Shah II who became an outlaw after the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. He took refuge in parts of Hindustan....
- Jalaluddin MirzaJalaluddin MirzaJalaluddin Mirza was a prince of the Mughal Royal Family, Gurkhan-e-Mirza.Most of his life was spent hiding from the British. He took refuge under the Zamindari Dighapatia family in Natore, Rajshahi. He had four sons and two daughters. His son Mirza Zafar eventually came to be an official in the...
- Mirza ZafarMirza ZafarMirza Zafar was a prince of the Mughal royal family. He was an officer in King Dighapatia's court, and in 1876 upon the death of his father became the prince of the Timurid Dynasty In Bengal...
Further Study
- John Kautsky The politics of aristocratic empires pp 287-288
- Henry Benjamin Wheatley (2010) The Historical and the Posthumous Memoirs of Sir Nathaniel William Wraxall, 1772-1784 : Waldie's Select Circulatory Library Vol 8, pg 298 ISBN 1142227448
- Scots Magazine Vol 45 pg 626 (Parliament: East Indian Affairs; Mr Fox's Bill)
- Nathanial William Wraxall (1836): Posthumous memoirs of his own time (Volume 2) pg 135
- George Aberigh-Mackay (2010) Native Chiefs and their States in 1877 (pg 87-88) ISBN 114148000X
- Roper Lethbridge (2010) The golden book of India; a genealogical and biograhical dictionary of the ruling princes, chiefs, nobles, and other personages, titled or decorated, of the Indian empire ISBN 1178010961
- The Ruling Chiefs, nobles and Zamindars of India (1915) ASIN B00087R7DS
- Barbara N. Ramusack (2007) Indian Princes and their states The New Cambridge History of India ISBN 0521039894
- Lokanatha Ghosha (2010, first published in 1879) Modern History of Indian Chiefs, Rajas and Zamindars: The Native Aristocracy and Gentry ISBN 1147619166
- J.L. Mehta (1987) Advanced Study in the History of Medieval India: ISBN 8120705734 Vol 2 (pg 18,326,389)
- Richard Stevenson (2005) Calcutta: Society and Change 1690-1990 ISBN 0595342302 (pg 52)
- Annemarie Schimmel (2004) Life of a Mirza Chapter 7 (pg 225-227) The Empire of the Great Mughals: History, Art and Culture ISBN 1861891857
Notes