Bikrampur (lit. City of Courage) was a historic region and a sub-division of

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

within the

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 ...

during the period of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. Located along the banks of the

Padma River The Padma () is a major river in Bangladesh. It is the eastern and main distributary of the Ganges, flowing generally southeast for to its confluence with the Meghna River, near the Bay of Bengal. The city of Rajshahi is situated on the banks ...

(a major distributary of the

Ganges The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...

), it was a significant cultural and political centre in both ancient and medieval

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 ...

. Today, the region is part of the

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 ...

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 ...

History

Pala Era

The region was successively ruled by

Vigrahapala I Vigrahapala (r. c. 870–871) was a ruler of the Pala dynasty, in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. He was the sixth Pala emperor. He reigned for a brief period before becoming an ascetic. Vigrahapala was a grandson of Dharmapala's y ...

Narayanapala Narayanapala (871–925 CE) was the seventh emperor of the Pala Empire of the Eastern regions of the Indian subcontinent, mainly the Bengal and Bihar regions. Reign The Gaya temple inscription dated in his 7th regnal year, the Indian Museum ( ...

Rajyapala Rajyapala was the eighth emperor of the Pala dynasty. He succeeded his father Narayanapala. He reigned for 32 years. The Bharat Kala Bhaban inscription is dated in his 2nd regnal year, He was succeeded by his son Gopala III.Sinha, Bindeshwar ...

Gopala II Gopala II (r. c. 866–870 CE) was the successor to the Pala king Shurapala I in the Bengal-Bihar region of the Indian subcontinent, and the sixth ruler of the Pala line reigning for at least four years. The existence of this king came to light ...

Vigrahapala II Vigrahapala II (r. c. 973–978 CE) was the successor to the Pala king Gopala III in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, and tenth ruler of the Pala line reigning for at least 12 years. He was succeeded by the famed Mahipala. Reign ...

Mahipala Mahipala (or Mahipala I; ) was a notable king of the Pala dynasty, which ruled over much of the eastern regions of the Indian subcontinent between the 8th and 12th centuries. He was the son and successor of Vigrahapala II. Mahipala's reign mar ...

Naya Pala Nayapala (ruled 1026–1041) is the name of twelfth ruler of the Pala dynasty of eastern Indian Subcontinent, mainly the Bengal and Bihar regions. Nayapala, the son of Mahipala I, defeated the Kalachuri king Karna after a long struggle. The two ...

Vigrahapala III Vigrahapala III (1041–1067 CE) was the successor to the Pala king Nayapala in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, and twelfth ruler of the Pala line. He was succeeded by Mahipala II. During the reign of Vigrahapala III, the Kalac ...

Mahipala II Mahipala II was the successor to the Pala king Vigrahapala III in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, and thirteenth ruler of the Pala line reigning for six years. He was succeeded by Shurapala II. Mahipala II was locked in a bitter ...

Shurapala II Shurapala II (r. 1075–1077) was a ruler of the Pala Empire in the Eastern regions of the Indian subcontinent. He was the successor to the Pala king Mahipala II and fourteenth ruler of the Pala line, reigning for at least two years. He, along ...

Ramapala Ramapala (r. 1077–1130 CE) was the successor to the Pala king Shurapala II in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, and fifteenth ruler of the Pala line. Early life Ramapala was the youngest son of Vigrahapala III. His mother was an ...

, Kumarapala,

Gopala III Gopala III, previously known as Gopala II, was the successor to the Pala king Rajyapala in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, and ninth ruler of the Pala line. He was succeeded by Vigrahapala II. Life He was the son of Rajyapala by ...

and Madanapala.

Pala empire The Pāla Empire was the empire ruled by the Pala dynasty, ("protector" in Sanskrit) a medieval Indian dynasty which ruled the kingdom of Gauda Kingdom, Gauda. The empire was founded with the election of Gopala, Gopāla by the chiefs of Kingdo ...

disintegrated in 1174 weakened by attacks of the rising

Sena dynasty The Sena/Sen dynasty was a List of Hindu empires and dynasties, Hindu dynasty during the Classical India, early medieval period on the Indian subcontinent, that ruled from Bengal through the 11th and 12th centuries. The empire at its peak cover ...

Chandra Era

During the rule of

Srichandra Srichandra (reigned 930–975) was the second and most influential ruler of the Chandra Dynasty in eastern Bengal. Life After Traillokyachandra, Srichandra ascended the throne, taking the titles "Paramsaugata", "Parameshwar", "Parambhattārak" ...

(reigned 930 – 975 AD), the administrative centre of the Chandra kingdom was established at Bikrampur. The Varman Dynasty (1035-1150 CE) replaced the Chandras and established their independent kingdom.

Varman Era

After the fall of the Chandras, The Varman Dynasty became powerful in East Bengal. The Varmans claimed that they are descended from a branch of

Yadava Dynasty The Seuna, Sevuna, or Yadavas of Devagiri (IAST: Seuṇa, –1317) was a medieval Indian dynasty, which at its peak ruled a realm stretching from the Narmada river in the north to the Tungabhadra river in the south, in the western part of th ...

of Simhapur. Jat Varman, Hari Varman Samala Varman were the most powerful rulers, who ruled in Bikrampur. Bhoja Varman was the last independent ruler of the Varman Dynasty who was defeated by Vijaysena of the

Sena Era

A copper-plate inscription from the time of the ruler

Vijay Sen Vijaya Sena (''Bangla: বিজয় সেন''), also known as Vijay Sen in vernacular literature, was the son of Hemanta Sena, and the second ruler of the Sena dynasty. He conquered Bengal, fighting the kings of Gauda, Kamarupa, and Kalin ...

(ruled 1097–1160), founder of the Sen Dynasty, was found in

Barrackpore Barrackpore (), also known as Barrackpore,is a city and municipality in North 24 Parganas district in the India, Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Barrackpore subdivision. The city is a part of the area covered by Ko ...

, in 1911. In this inscription, Bikrampur was mentioned as the capital of that region.Proof of Bikrampur as the ancient capital of Bengal
, Golam Ashraf Khan Uzzal It continued to be the capital throughout the,

Sena Dynasty The Sena/Sen dynasty was a List of Hindu empires and dynasties, Hindu dynasty during the Classical India, early medieval period on the Indian subcontinent, that ruled from Bengal through the 11th and 12th centuries. The empire at its peak cover ...

. In 1205, Turkic invader

Bakhtiyar Khalji Ikhtiyār al-Dīn Muḥammad Bin Bakhtiyār Khaljī, also known as Bakhtiyar Khalji, was a Turko-Afghan Military General of the Ghurid ruler Muhammad of Ghor, who led the Muslim conquests of the eastern Indian regions of Bengal and parts of Bi ...

defeated the then-ruler

Lakshman Sen Lokkhon Sen or Lakshmana Sena () was the ruler from the Sena dynasty of the Bengal region on the Indian subcontinent. His rule lasted for 28 years, in which his empire reached at its peak possessing the territories of Gauda, Kamrupa, Kalinga ...

Nadia Nadia is a female name. Variations include Nadja, Nadya, Nadine, Nadiya, and Nadiia. Most variations of the name are derived from Arabic, Slavic languages, or both. In many Slavic languages, names similar to ''Nadia'' mean "hope": Ukrainia ...

. Lakshman fled to Bikrampur. His two sons Vishwarup Sen and Keshab Sen kept ruling from here until 1230. However the copper-plate inscriptions during their reign do not mention Bikrampur as the capital. Another Hindu ruler, Danuj Rai, defeated a successor of Keshab Sen and started ruling from here. In early 1280, he moved the capital to Suvarnagrama (later named

Sonargaon Sonargaon (; ; Literary translation, lit. ''Golden Hamlet (place), Hamlet'') is a historic city in central Bangladesh. It corresponds to the Sonargaon Upazila of Narayanganj District in Dhaka Division. Sonargaon is one of the old capitals of ...

Mughal Era

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

Emperor

Akbar Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...

established Bikrampur as one of the 52

pargana Pargana or parganah, also spelt pergunnah, equivalent to Mohallah as a subunit of Subah (Suba), was a type of former administrative division in the Indian subcontinent during the time of the Delhi Sultanate, Mughal and British Colonial empire ...

s of Sonargaon sarkar in the Bengal

subah A ''Subah'' is a term for a province or state in several South Asian languages. It was introduced by the Mughal Empire to refer to its subdivisions or provinces; and was also adopted by other polities of the Indian subcontinent. The word is derive ...

during his administrative reforms implemented between 1572–1580. During his time, Chand Rai and Kedar Rai were the

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 ...

s of Bikramapur. In the expeditions against

Bara-Bhuiyans The ''Baro-Bhuyans'' (or ''Baro-Bhuyan Raj''; also ''Baro-Bhuians'' and ''Baro-Bhuiyans'') were confederacies of soldier-landowners in Assam and Bengal in the late Middle Ages and the early modern period. The confederacies consisted of loosel ...

, Mughal Subahdar

Man Singh Mirza Raja Man Singh I (21 December 1550 – 6 July 1614) was the 24th Kachawaha Rajput ruler of the Kingdom of Amber from 1589 to 1614. He also served as the foremost imperial Subahdar of Bihar Subah from 1587 to 1594, then for Bengal ...

killed Kedar Rai in the early 1600s. In post-

Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...

era, during the time of Nawab Murshid Quli Khan, Bikrampur was divided into eight

taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative ...

s – ''Bhagyakul'', '' Sreenagar'', ''Maijpara'', ''Sinhapara'', ''Taltala'', '' Sirajdikhan'', ''Louhajong'' and ''Baligaon''. Each taluk was represented by one zamindar. Muhammad Azim Khan became the Zamindar of Louhajong who held the title of "Khan Bahadur". Gobinda Prasad Roy became the Zamindar of Maijpara.

Notable people

Fakhruddin Ahmed Fakhruddin Ahmed (; born 1 May 1940) is a Bangladeshi economist, civil servant, and a former governor of the Bangladesh Bank, the country's central bank. He also served as the 4th Chief Adviser of Caretaker government of Bangladesh. On 12 Janu ...

(born 1940) *

Iajuddin Ahmed Iajuddin Ahmed (1 February 193110 December 2012) was the President of Bangladesh, serving from 6 September 2002 until 12 February 2009. With a doctorate in soil science, Ahmed became a full professor at the University of Dhaka and chairman of ...

(1931–2012) *

Atiśa Atish Dipankar Shrijnan (Sanskrit transliteration: Atiśa Dipankara Shrijnana) (c. 982–1054 CE) was a Bengalis, Bengali Buddhist religious teacher and leader. He is generally associated with his body of work authored at Vikramashila, Vikram ...

( CE) *

Humayun Azad Humayun Azad (28 April 1947 – 12 August 2004) was a Bangladeshi poet, novelist, short-story writer, critic, linguist, columnist and professor of Dhaka University. He wrote more than 70 titles. He was awarded the Bangla Academy Literary Aw ...

(1947–2004) *

Bhanu Bandopadhyay Bhanu Banerjee, also known as Bhanu Bandyopadhyay (born as Samyamoy Banerjee; 26 August 1920 – 4 March 1983), was an Indian actor, known for his work in Bengali cinema. He acted in over 300 movies, in numerous plays and performed frequently ...

(1920–1983) *

Manik Bandopadhyay Manik Bandyopadhyay lias Banerjee(; 19 May 1908 – 3 December 1956) is an Indian author regarded as one of the major figures of 20th century Bengali literature. During a lifespan of 48 years and 28 years of literary career, battling with epil ...

(19 May 1908 – 3 December 1956) *

Pratima Bandopadhyay Pratima Bandopadhyay (; 21 December 1934 – 29 July 2004; born as Pratima Chatterjee aka Pratima Chattopadhyay) was a Bengali language, Bengali playback singer from Kolkata, who sang numerous songs in popular Bengali language movies and non-fil ...

(1934–2004) *

Atin Bandyopadhyay Atin Bandyopadhyay or Atin Banerjee (1934–2019) was an Indian writer of Bengali literature. Early life Atin Bandyopadhyay was born in 1934 in a Rarhi Kulin Brahmin family from Sammandi, Bikrampur, Dhaka. He spent his childhood in a joint fam ...

(1934–2019) * Kedareswar Banerjee (1900–1975) * Rameshwar Banerjee (8 February 1925 – 21 November 1945) *

Benoy Basu Benoy Krishna Basu ( ''Binôe Boshu''), Benoy Basu, or Benoy Bose (11 September 1908 – 13 December 1930) was an Indian revolutionary against British rule in India, who launched an attack on the Secretariat Building; the Writers' Building at ...

(1908–1930) *

Samaresh Basu Samaresh Basu (; 11 December 1924 – 12 March 1988) was an Indian writer in modern Bengali literature, known for his versatility and vast range of themes. He wrote under the pen name Kalkut. Basu was awarded the 1980 Sahitya Akademi Award in B ...

(1924–1988) *

Nripen Chakraborty Nripen Chakraborty (4 April 1905 – 25 December 2004) was an Indian Communist politician who served as the Chief minister of Tripura state from 1978 to 1988. Nripen Chakraborty was involved in the Communist movement in India for six decades. ...

(1905–2004) *

Moushumi Chatterjee Moushumi Chatterjee is an Indian actress known for her work in Hindi and Bengali cinema. She was one of the highest-paid actresses in Hindi films during the 1970s. She joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2019; she was previously a member of ...

(born 26 April 1948) *

Sabitri Chatterjee Sabitri Chatterjee (born 21 February 1937) is an Indian actress who is known for her work in Bengali theatre and cinema. Her career spans more than seventy years. She twice won the BFJA Awards. In 1999, she was conferred with Sangeet Natak Ak ...

(born 22 February 1937) *

Aghorenath Chattopadhyay Aghorenath (also spelt Aghornath) Chattopadhyay (1851–1915) was an Indian educationist and social reformer. First Indian to secure a D.Sc. (Doctor of Science) degree, he later became the first principal of Nizam College, Hyderabad. The poet ...

* Nishikanta Chattopadhyay * Soorjo Coomar Goodeve Chuckerbutty (1826–1874) *

Brojen Das Brojen Das (; 9 December 1927 – 1 June 1998) was a Bangladeshi (East Pakistan) swimmer, who was the first Asian to swim across the English Channel, and the first person to cross it six times. Early life and education Brojen was born in th ...

(1927–1998) *

Chittaranjan Das Chittaranjan Das (5 November 1870 – 16 June 1925), popularly called ''Deshbandhu'' (friend of the country), was a Bengali freedom fighter, political activist and lawyer during the Indian Independence Movement and the political guru of Indi ...

(1870–1925) *

Durga Mohan Das Durga Mohan Das ( ''Durga Mohon Das''; 1841–1897) was a Brahmo Samaj leader and a social reformer. Early life Durga Mohan was born in a well-known Baidya family at Telirbagh, Bikrampur, Dhaka in Bengal, now part of Munshiganj District of Ba ...

(1841–1897) *

Narayan Debnath Narayan Debnath (25 November 1925 – 18 January 2022) was an Indian comics artist, writer and illustrator. He created the Bengali comic strips '' Handa Bhonda'' (1962), '' Bantul the Great'' (1965) and '' Nonte Phonte'' (1969). He holds the re ...

(1925-2022) *

Dwarkanath Ganguly Dwarkanath Gangopadhyay (also known as Dwarkanath Ganguly, 20 April 1844–27 June 1898) was a Bengali Brahmo reformer. He made substantial contributions towards societal enlightenment and the emancipation of women. Ganguly dedicated his life ...

(1844–1898) *

Suhasini Ganguly Suhasini Ganguly (3 February 1909 – 23 March 1965) was an Indian woman freedom fighter who participated in the Indian independence movement. Early life Ganguly was born on 3 February 1909 in Khulna, Bengal, British India to Abinashchandra Gan ...

(1909–1965) *

Kaliprosanna Ghosh Rai Bahadur Dewan Kaliprosanna Ghosh, CIE Vidyasagar was a Bengali journalist, writer and scholar. Early life Ghosh was born on 23 July 1843 in the village of Bharakar in Bikrampur, Bengal Presidency, British India to a Bengali Hindu Kayastha f ...

(1843–1910) *

Prafulla Chandra Ghosh Prafulla Chandra Ghosh (24 December 1891 – 18 December 1983) was the first Premier of West Bengal, India from 15 August 1947 to 14 August 1948. He also served as the Chief Minister of West Bengal in the "Progressive Democratic Alliance Fron ...

(1891–1983) *

Badal Gupta Badal Gupta (; born Sudhir Gupta; 1912 – 8 December 1930) was an Indian revolutionary and anti-colonial figure. He is best known for his participation in the attack on the Secretariat Building - the Writers' Building in the Dalhousie square ...

(1912–1930) *

Dinesh Gupta Dinesh Chandra Gupta ( ''Dinesh Chôndro Gupto'') or Dinesh Gupta (6 December 1911 – 7 July 1931) was an Indian revolutionary against British rule in India, who is noted for launching an attack on the Secretariat Building - the Writers' Buil ...

(1911–1931) * Jogendranath Gupta (1883–1965) *

Chashi Nazrul Islam Chashi Nazrul Islam (11 October 1941 – 11 January 2015) was a Bangladeshi film director and producer. He won Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Director twice for the films '' Shuvoda'' in 1986 and '' Hangor Nodi Grenade'' in 1997. He wa ...

(1941–2015) *

Radhu Karmakar Radhu Karmakar (1919 - 5 October 1993) was an Indian cinematographer and director in Hindi cinema from the 1940s to 1990s. He worked extensively with director-actor Raj Kapoor on his films and for his R. K. Studio. Starting with '' Awaara'' (195 ...

(1919–1993) *

Adilur Rahman Khan Adilur Rahman Khan (born 2 July 1961 in Munshiganj or Bikrampur) is a human rights activist and the founder of Odhikar, a human rights organisation. He is a lawyer and former Deputy Attorney General for Bangladesh. Since October 2022, Adilur Rah ...

, adviser for Housing and Public Works of Bangladesh *

Muhammad Hamidullah Khan Muhammad Hamidullah Khan, TJ, BP (; 11 September 1938 – 30 December 2011) was a military leader and a war hero in two wars fought in South Asia: the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 and the Bangladesh War of Independence in 1971. M. Hamidullah K ...

(1938–2011) *

Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis OBE, FNA, FASc, FRS (29 June 1893 – 28 June 1972) was an Indian scientist and statistician. He is best remembered for the Mahalanobis distance, a statistical measure, and for being one of the members of the fi ...

(1893–1972) *

Imdadul Haq Milan Imdadul Haq Milan (born 8 September 1955) is a Bangladeshi novelist and journalist. He was editor of the daily newspaper ''Kaler Kantho''. He is the recipient of Bangla Academy Literary Award in 1992 and Ekushey Padak in 2019. In 2018 He received ...

(born 1955) *

Ashutosh Mukhopadhyay Ashutosh Mukhopadhyay (anglicised spelling of surname: Mukherjee) (7 September 1920 – 4 May 1989) was a prominent Indian writer of modern Bengali literature. Life and works Mukhopadhyay was born in 1920, in Bajrajogini, Bikrampur, Dacca (no ...

(1920–1989) *

Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay (; born 2 November 1935) is a Bengali author from India. He has written stories for both adults and children. He is known for creating the relatively new fictional sleuths Barodacharan and Shabor Dasgupta. Life Shi ...

(born 1935) *

Sarojini Naidu Sarojini Naidu (Birth name, née Chattopadhyay) (; 13 February 1879 – 2 March 1949) was an Indian political activist and poet who served as the first Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Governor of United Provinces, after Independence Day (India), Indi ...

(1879–1949) *

Kedar Ray Kedarnath Dev Ray (1561–1616 CE) was the Maharaja of Bikrampur, and among the most prominent of the Baro-Bhuyan in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, he resisted Mughal Empire, Mughals till he was in power (before being defeated by Mu ...

Siddhartha Shankar Ray Siddhartha Shankar Ray (20 October 1920 – 6 November 2010) was an Indian lawyer, diplomat and Indian National Congress politician from West Bengal. In his political career he held a number of offices, including Chief Minister of West Bengal ( ...

(1920–2010) * Mokshadacharan Samadhyayi *

Laboni Sarkar Laboni Sarkar is an Indian actress who is known for her work in Bengali cinema. She is the recipient of three BFJA Awards. She began her acting career in a Bengali TV series by Jochon Dastidar. She made her Big screen debut in Aparna Sen's '' ...

* Asit Sen (1922–2001) *

Soham Swami Soham Swami was a Hindu guru and yogi from India. The Indian nationalist Jatindra Nath Banerjee became his disciple in Nainital Nainital (Kumaoni language, Kumaoni: ''Naintāl''; ) is a town and headquarters of Nainital district of Kum ...

(1858–1918) * Sarada Ukil (1888–1940)

References

External links

Historical Bikrampur
{{coord, 23, 33, N, 90, 33, E, region:BD_source:kolossus-cawiki, display=title Munshiganj District Buddhist sites in Bangladesh Historical regions in Bangladesh