Chandradwip was a historic principality and later a zamindari located in southern

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

, largely corresponding to the present-day Barisal Division 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 principality first rose to prominence under the rule of Raja Danujamardana Deva in the

15th century The 15th century was the century which spans the Julian calendar dates from 1 January 1401 (represented by the Roman numerals MCDI) to 31 December 1500 (MD). In Europe, the 15th century includes parts of the Late Middle Ages, the Early Re ...

. Chandradwip was known for maintaining a degree of

autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be ...

whilst navigating relationships with larger entities such as the

Sultanate of Bengal The Bengal Sultanate ( Middle Bengali: , Classical Persian: ) was a late medieval sultanate based in the Bengal region in the eastern South Asia between the 14th and 16th century. It was the dominant power of the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta, ...

and the

Bengal Subah The Bengal Subah (Bengali language, Bengali: সুবাহ বাংলা, ), also referred to as Mughal Bengal and Bengal State (after 1717), was one of the puppet states and the largest subah, subdivision of The Mughal India, Mughal Emp ...

. Following the conquest of Bakla in 1611, the rulers of Chandradwip were slowly reduced to

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

, losing privileges over time especially with the coming of the Brits. Shortly after the

independence of Pakistan The Pakistan Movement was a religiopolitical and social movement that emerged in the early 20th century as part of a campaign that advocated the creation of an Islamic state in parts of what was then British Raj. It was rooted in the two-nation th ...

, the final zamindar of Chandradwip Satindra Narayan moved to

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

and sold off his estate. Following the conquest of Bakla in 1611, the authority of Chandradwip’s rulers gradually diminished, and they were progressively reduced to the status of

. Their privileges and territorial control further declined with the establishment of British colonial rule in

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal until 1937, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule in India, Company rule and later a Provinces o ...

. A few years after the

, the final zamindar of Chandradwip, Satindra Narayan, relocated to

and subsequently sold off the estate, marking the end of the Chandradwip estate.

History

The history of Chandradwip goes back to the era of Chandra Period. Chandradwip was successively ruled by the

Mauryas The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in South Asia with its power base in Magadha. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya around c. 320 BCE, it existed in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE. The primary source ...

Guptas The Gupta Empire was an Indian empire during the classical period of the Indian subcontinent which existed from the mid 3rd century to mid 6th century CE. At its zenith, the dynasty ruled over an empire that spanned much of the northern Indian ...

and the

Palas A ''palas'' () is a German term for the imposing or prestigious building of a medieval '' Pfalz'' or castle that contained the great hall. Such buildings appeared during the Romanesque period (11th to 13th century) and, according to Thompson ...

. Towards the end of the 10th century A.D., the

Chandra Dynasty The Chandra dynasty was a Buddhist dynasty, originating from the South East Bengal region of Indian subcontinent, which ruled the Samatata area of Bengal, as well as Arakan. Later it was a neighbor to the Pala Empire to the north. Rulers of Ch ...

gave this region a "distinct political identity". The prosperity of this principality reached its zenith during the time of Kandarpanarayan Ray. Many Chinese and European travelers left accounts about this principality. The earliest Chinese accounts describe this region as "a famous place for the worship of the Hindu-Buddha-Tantric deity Tara". The Temple of Tara was situated near the seashore. It was visible from the sea. According to ''

Banglapedia ''Banglapedia:'' ''the'' ''National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh'' is the first Bangladeshi encyclopedia. It is available in print, CD-ROM format and online, in both Bengali and English. The print version comprises fourteen 500-page volumes. The ...

'',

Chandragomin Chandragomin (Skt. Candragomin) was an Indian Buddhist lay scholar and poet. The Tibetan tradition believes he challenged Chandrakirti. Chandragomin was a teacher at Nalanda Monastic University during the 5th century. Life It is unclear whe ...

, the sixth-century grammarian, is assumed to have written his hymns on Tara here. In a manuscript of 1015 A.D., the Tara-Temple was mentioned. The Chandras were succeeded by the

Deva Dynasty Deva Dynasty (c. 12th – 15th centuries) was a Bengali Hindu dynasty which originated in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent; the dynasty ruled over eastern Bengal after the Sena dynasty. The capital of the dynasty was Bikrampur in ...

Bikrampur Bikrampur (lit. City of Courage) was a historic region and a sub-division of Dhaka within the Bengal Presidency during the period of British India. Located along the banks of the Padma River (a major distributary of the Ganges), it was a sign ...

. After a brief period of confusion, the Deva Dynasty occupied this region and established their capital at Kachua. They were followed by the Basu and Mitra Mazumdar families. Until the 18th century A.D., the

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

rulers of Chandradwip were independent. After that this principality became a

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

i, while the greater part of Chandradwip was named Bakerganj. The Chandradwip zamindari was auctioned off after the

Permanent Settlement The Permanent Settlement, also known as the Permanent Settlement of Bengal, was an agreement between the East India Company and landlords of Bengal to fix revenues to be raised from land that had far-reaching consequences for both agricultural m ...

came into force in 1793. Raja Ramchandra Basu's successor,

Kirtinarayan Basu Kirtinarayan Basu (; r. 1668), also spelt Kirti Narayan Basu, was the eleventh ''raja'' of medieval Chandradwip, a ''zamindari'' which covered much of the Barisal Division of present-day Bangladesh. Background Kirtinarayan Basu was born in the 17 ...

, notably converted to

Sunni Islam Sunni Islam is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any Succession to Muhammad, successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr ...

and founded the Baklai dynasty of Keora. During the

Mughal Period The Mughal Empire was an 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 the highlands of pre ...

, this region came to be known as Bakla-Chandradwip.

In popular culture

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...

wrote ''Bou Thakuranir Haath,'' a book about the Basu Maharani of Chandradwip which was later filmed as '' Bou Thakuranir Haat''.

References

{{Coord, 22.818, N, 90.122, E, region:BD_type:adm3rd, display=title Ancient divisions in Bengal Barishal District Geography of Barisal Division Vassal and tributary states of the Mughal Empire

History

In popular culture

See also

References