During the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

, ''Munshi'' () came to be used as a respected title for persons who achieved mastery over language and politics in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

Use in Bengal

The surname "Munshi" ( Bengali: মুন্সি) is used by both

Bengali Hindu Bengali Hindus () are adherents of Hinduism who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. They make up the majority in the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Assam's Barak Valley ...

and

Bengali Muslim Bengali Muslims (; ) 'Mussalman'' also used in this work./ref> are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising over 70% of the global Bengali population, they are the second-largest ...

families in

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

, India and in

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. The surname is commonly associated with former

Zamindari A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous Indian feudalism, feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian language, Persian was the offi ...

families in Bengal from the time of the

Nawabs of Bengal The Nawab of Bengal (, ) was the hereditary ruler of Bengal Subah in Mughal India. In the early 18th-century, the Nawab of Bengal was the ''de facto'' independent ruler of the three regions of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa which constitute the mod ...

in the early 18th-century. Artist Annada Munshi at his residence

Use in Kashmir

Munshi is used as a last name by

Kashmiri Pandits The Kashmiri Pandits (also known as Kashmiri Brahmins) are a group of Kashmiri Hindus and a part of the larger Saraswat Brahmin community of India. They belong to the Pancha-Gauda, Pancha Gauda Brahmin group from the Kashmir Valley, located w ...

and

Kashmiri Muslims Kashmiri Muslims are ethnic Kashmiris who practice Islam and are native to the Kashmir Valley of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. Quote: "Jammu and Kashmir: Territory in northwestern India, subject to a dispute between India and Pakistan ...

, native to the

Kashmir Valley The Kashmir Valley, also known as the Vale of Kashmir, is an intermontane valley in northern Jammu and Kashmir, a region in Indian-administered Kashmir.(a) (subscription required) Quote: "Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcont ...

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory since 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (prin ...

, India. It was a title given to some groups of elite upper-caste Hindu Kashmiris for their mastery over the

Persian language Persian ( ), also known by its endonym and exonym, endonym Farsi (, Fārsī ), is a Western Iranian languages, Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian languages, Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian languages, Indo-Iranian subdivision ...

Notable people

Aditi Munshi Aditi Munshi (born 26 August 1988) is an Indian singer and politician from West Bengal. She is known for singing many Hindu devotional songs in Bengali. She was also a participant of Zee Bangla's Sa Re Ga Ma Pa 2015. She won the Rajarhat Gop ...

(born 1988), Indian singer and politician * A. F. M. Fakhrul Islam Munshi (1947-2023), Bangladeshi politician * Annada Munshi (1905–1985), Father of Commercial Art in India *

Ashfaq Munshi Ashfaq Munshi is an entrepreneur and technology executive. In 2012, Ashfaq served as the CTO of Yahoo! before Marissa Mayer took over as CEO. Before that he was the Interim Chief Executive Officer and President of MSC Software in 2009. Ashfaq was ...

, former CTO of

Yahoo Yahoo (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web portal that provides the search engine Yahoo Search and related services including My Yahoo, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo News, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports, y!entertainment, yahoo!life, an ...

* Aziz A. Munshi, four-term Attorney General of Pakistan *

Bhagat Munshi Ram Munshi Ram (19 December 1906 – 29 June 1998), Indian spiritual guru and follower of Faqir Chand. Early life He was born in Meghwal family at village Sundernagar at Sialkot, Punjab (now in Pakistan) in the year 1906. Spiritual Teachi ...

(1906–1998), Indian spiritual guru * Bubu Eklund ''née'' Munshi (born 1951), Bengali singer *

Harendranath Munshi Harendranath Munshi ( Bengali: হরেন্দ্রনাথ মুন্সী, 1914- 30 January, 1938) was an Indian revolutionary and freedom fighter involved in the Indian independence movement during 1930s. Background Munshi was born in ...

(1914–1938), Indian revolutionary *

Hounsh Munshi Hounsh Munshi (born 12 September 1993) is an Indian former figure skater. She is the 2007-2008 season Indian bronze medalist. Her family is from India, and Munshi has also lived in Sydney, Australia Sydney is the capital city of the state ...

(born 1993), Indian figure skater *

Ibrahim Munshi Mohammad Ibrahim Soomro by his pen name Ibrahim Munshi ) was a Sindhi-language poet and writer. He was born on January 15, 1934, in Janhan Soomro جنھاڻ سومرو, Tando Muhammad Khan, Hyderabad District, Sindh. He wrote seven books of ...

(1934–2003), Sindhi-language Poet *

Iskandar Beg Munshi Iskandar Beg Munshi (; 1561/62 – 1633/34) was an IranianPaulina Kewes, Ian W. Archer, Felicity Heal. The Oxford Handbook of Holinshed's Chronicles. — Oxford University Press, 2013. — P. 256. court scribe and chronicler, who is principally kn ...

(1561-1633), Iranian historian *

Kanhaiyalal Maneklal Munshi Kanhaiyalal Maneklal Munshi (; 30 December 1887 – 8 February 1971), popularly known by his pen name Ghanshyam Vyas, was an Indian independence movement activist, politician, writer from Gujarat state. A lawyer by profession, he later turned t ...

(1887–1971), Indian independence movement activist and politician Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi 1988 stamp of India

Kaumudi Munshi Kaumudi Munshi was an Indian classical music musician. She was born in Banaras in 1929, and died in 2020 in Mumbai. Munshi studied Thumri with Siddheshwari Devi and ghazal ''Ghazal'' is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic ...

(1929–2020), Indian classical music musician *

Lilavati Munshi Lilavati Munshi was an Indian politician and Gujarati essayist. She was a member of the Bombay Legislative Assembly from 1937 to 1946 and the Rajya Sabha from 1952 to 1958 as a member of the Indian National Congress. She wrote essays and sketch ...

(1899–1978), Indian politician *

Mahmudul Haque Munshi Mahmudul Haque Munshi born 1987) is a Bangladeshi blogger in exile, atheist humanist, and human rights activist. After getting asylum, he moved to Germany. He is a board member of the Atheist Refugee Relief. He writes on his own blog, Swapnokothok. ...

(born 1987), Bangladeshi human rights activist *

Manjurul Ahsan Munshi Manjurul Ahsan Munshi is Bangladesh Nationalist Party politician who served as the Jatiya Sangsad member from Comilla-4 constituency in the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th parliament. Career In April 2006, Comilla district court stayed the six-month impr ...

, Bangladeshi politician *

Manu Munsi Manu Munsi, also spelt as Manu Munshi or Monu Munshi (Bengali language, Bengali: মনু মুন্সী), born as Manomohan Munshi (2 August 1924 – 20 February 2009),"প্রতিবিম্ব: Manu Munshi (in Bengali)"> was an Ind ...

, (1924–2009) Indian Mother-of-Pearl artist * Muhammad Sadeq Ali (1798-1862), Bengali district judge and most well-known writer to have used the

Sylheti Nagri Sylheti Nagri or Sylheti Nāgarī (, , ), known in classical manuscripts as Sylhet Nagri () as well as by #Etymology and names, many other names, is an Indic script. The script was historically used in the regions of Bengal and Assam, that were ...

script *

Munsi Kabir Uddin Ahmed Munsi Kabir Uddin Ahmed was the superintendent of police of Comilla District who was killed in the Bangladesh Liberation War. He was killed for refusing to give the Pakistan Army based in Comilla Cantonment the police armory. He was posthumously awa ...

, Bangladeshi Superintendent of Police *

Munshi Abdullah Abdullah bin Abdul al Kadir (1796–1854) ( '), also known as Munshi Abdullah, was a Malayan writer. He was a famous Malacca-born munshi of Singapore and died in Jeddah, then part of the Ottoman Empire. Munshi Abdullah followed his father's ca ...

(1796–1854), Malayan writer * Munshi Abdul Latif, Bangladeshi politician *

Munshi Abdul Majid Munshi Abdul Majid (; born 1952) is an Afghan politician. He is an ethnic Tajik from Baghlan Province.http://www.cmi.no/pdf/?file=/afghanistan/doc/Baharak%20Conflict%20Analysis%20Feb%2009%20%282%29.pdf In the 1990s he served as an official in ...

, Afghan politician Munshi Abdul Majid in June 2011-cropped

* Munshi Abdul Karim, the Indian attendant of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

Munshi Abdur Rouf Munshi Abdur Rouf BS (; 8 May 1943 – 8 April 1971) was a Lance Nayek in the 11th Wing (At present 11 BGB situated in Naikhongchari, Bandarban) of East Pakistan Rifles during the Bangladesh Liberation War. He enlisted in the East Pakistan Ri ...

(1943–1971), Bangladeshi freedom fighter *

Munshibari family of Comilla The Munshibari () Estate (land), estate was established in the 18th century in Bengal (present day Chandpur District, Chittagong Division in Bangladesh). It was held by a family of ''Munshis''. The family was of Turkish people, Turkish descent a ...

, a British Raj era Zamindar family from Bengal Presidency *

Munshibari family of Ulipur The Munshibari was a feudal estate in Kurigram District in the Division of Rangpur, Bengal (present day Bangladesh). It was founded in the mid-18th century by an official of the Rulers of Bengal. History During the period of Brojendra Lal Munshi ...

, a British Raj era Zamindar family from Bengal Presidency * Munshi family of Chaugachha, a British Raj era Zamindar family from Bengal Presidency * Munshi Hakimuddin (1839–1894), Chief Secretary at Bhopal state * Munshi Mohammad Fazle Kader (1928–2019), Indian citizen who was awarded

Friends of Liberation War Honour Awards and decorations of the Bangladesh Liberation War were decorations bestowed by the major warring parties for actions during the Bangladesh Liberation War. Bangladesh, India and Pakistan all issued awards and decorations related to the confli ...

Munshi Nawal Kishore Munshi Nawal Kishore (3 January 1836 – 19 February 1895) was a book publisher from India. He has been called Caxton of India. In 1858, at the age of 22, he founded the Nawal Kishore Press at Lucknow. This institution today is the oldest print ...

(1836–1895), Indian book publisher *

Munshi Premchand Dhanpat Rai Srivastava (31 July 1880 – 8 October 1936), better known as Munshi Premchand based on his pen name Premchand (), was an Indian writer famous for his modern Hindustani literature. Premchand was a pioneer of Hindi and Urdu s ...

(1880–1936), pioneer of Hindi and Urdu social fiction * Munshi Raisuddin (1901–1973), Bangladeshi musician,

Ekushey Padak Ekushey Padak () is the second highest civilian award in Bangladesh, introduced in memory of martyrs of the Bengali language movement of 1952. The award is given to recognize contributions in a number of fields, including culture, education, and e ...

awardee *

Munshi Raziuddin Munshi Raziuddin Ahmed Khan (1912 – 2003) was a Pakistani Qawwali singer, a classical musician and a researcher and scholar of music. He belongs to the well-known Qawwal Bachchon Ka Gharana of Delhi. Career Initially, he performed in ...

(1912–2003), Pakistani Qawwali singer * Munshi Siddique Ahmad (1924–2011), Bangladeshi rice scientist * Munshi Wadud, Bangladeshi lyricist *

Mohan Lal Kashmiri Mohan Lal Zutshi KLS (popularly known as Mohan Lal Kashmiri; 1812 – 1877) was an Indian traveler, diplomat, and author. He is credited as being an important player in the so-called Great Game—possibly the first notable Indian one. He ...

(1812–1877), Indian diplomat involved in the

Great Game The Great Game was a rivalry between the 19th-century British Empire, British and Russian Empire, Russian empires over influence in Central Asia, primarily in Emirate of Afghanistan, Afghanistan, Qajar Iran, Persia, and Tibet. The two colonia ...

Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi (''Prio Rônjon Dashmunshi''; 13 November 1945 – 20 November 2017) was an Indian National Congress politician, former Union Minister and a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India. He represented the Raiganj constituency o ...

(1945–2017), former Indian Union Minister * Ritabrata Munshi (born 1976), Indian mathematician *

S. C. Munshi Susil Chandra Munshi is an Indian interventional cardiologist and the Director of the department of Cardiac Research and Education at Jaslok Hospital, Mumbai. He is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, Indian College of Cardiology, R ...

, Indian cardiologist *

Shayan Munshi Shayan Munshi is an Indian actor and model. He made his debut in the 2003 Bollywood film Jhankaar Beats and has performed in award-winning films such as '' The Bong Connection'' and ''Carnival''. Shayan has hosted Television series like ''Cook ...

(born 1980), Indian actor *

Shahzad Munshi Shahzad Munshi is a Pakistani politician who was a Member of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab, from May 2013 to May 2018. Early life and education He was born on 27 November 1969 in Lahore. He graduated from Government Dayal Singh College, ...

(born 1969), Pakistani politician * Shweta Munshi (born 2008), Indian actress * Tipu Munshi (born 1950), Bangladeshi politician * Vidya Munshi (1919–2014), leader of

Communist Party of India The Communist Party of India (CPI) is a political party in India. The CPI considers the Foundation of the Communist Party of India, December 26, 1925 Cawnpore (Kanpur) conference as its foundation date. Between 1946 and 1951, the CPI led m ...

and arguably the first woman journalist of India * Zainon Munshi Sulaiman (1903–1989), Malaysian politician

Other

* ''

Munshigiri ''Munshigiri'' (Bengali: মুন্সিগিরি ''Munsigiriḥ'') is a Bangladeshi Mystery film, mystery drama film directed by Amitabh Reza Chowdhury from a script by Naseef Amin for Chorki (OTT streaming service), Chorki. Based on the n ...

,'' Bangladeshi film * Munshi Aziz Bhat Museum of Central Asian and Kargil Trade Artefacts, Public Museum in Kargil *

Munshi Pulia metro station Munshi Pulia is the northern terminal metro station on the North-South Corridor of the Red Line of Lucknow Metro station in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is th ...

, metro station *

Munshi Premchand Mahavidyalaya Munshi Premchand Mahavidyalaya, established in 2008, is general degree college in Sevok Road, Siliguri. It is in Darjeeling district. It offers undergraduate courses in arts. It is affiliated to University of North Bengal The University ...

, college *

Munshiganj District Munshiganj District () is a district of Dhaka Division. It is located in central Bangladesh. This region is also historically known as Bikrampur. Geography It is a part of Dhaka Division and borders Dhaka District and Narayanganj District in the ...

, a district of Bangladesh

References

External links

{{Kashmiri families Bengali words and phrases Government of British India Government of the Mughal Empire Historians from the Mughal Empire Surnames of Indian origin Surnames of Hindu origin Kashmiri tribes Kashmiri-language surnames Scribes Urdu-language words and phrases Titles in Bangladesh Titles in Pakistan