THREAD ON THE BANSBERIA RAJ.

1. The Bansberia House occupies a very high place in the peerage of Bengal. Indeed, it yields to none in the antiquity of its origin, and may well be traced back at least to the time of Adisur, the last of the founders of independent Hindu dynasties.

2. The family fared well during Hindu supremacy, but with the arrival of the Afghans in Bengal, it moved to a safer place
and having lurked there in dim obscurity for centuries together again emerged into light with the dawn of Mogul rule.

3. The family traces it's lineage from one Devaditya Dutt from Kannauj. He along with his family moved to the south-east. He first arrived at Mayapur in Murshidabad district, Bengal but didn't settle there. He moved to Duttabati, not far from the capital of the Bengal's king.

4. Devaditya possessed as he was of great sterling merit, highly distinguished himself, thereby casting the fame of his ancestors, whatever it was, in the shade. He had deep regard for his great sovereign who on his part held him in high esteem.

5. Though not actually in name, he was
virtually his Prime Minister, and his words of wisdom were always listened to with attention and respect. Thus, Devaditya became a power in the land and his influence for good or for evil was very great, indeed.

6. Under royal favour he rose high in rank and position thereby establishing his dynasty. He was succeeded by his son Binayak Dutt. The son, however, was not at all worthy of the sire, at any rate he could not gain distinction in any way. He lived & died like an ordinary mortal.

7. For five generations together the family did not produce any man of note until we come to Jadab Dutt. This remarkable character flourished in the time when Raja Ballal Sen was on the throne of Bengal.

8. Though not a servant of the king, he was one of his trusted friends and advisers, & his valuable counsel, was as a rule taken on all important affairs of state. When Ballal Sen proposed to make a classification of nobility, he asked Jadab as to the propriety of the measure.

9. The latter apprehending the abuse of Kulinism in the distant future gave a decidedly adverse opinion. Every means was employed to bring him over to the side of the king, but all to no purpose. The result was that the Jadab's family was not included in the classification.

10. After Jadab's death his estate was seized by the king & an order was passed to annihilate his lineage. However Jadab's daughter in law was able to escape the massacre & gave birth to his grandson, Ubaru Dutt. Ubaru lived & died in obscurity.

11. His son Kulapati shared the same fate. But he left a large progeny, consisting of nine children. Of these
sons, the eldest, Kabi Dutt, was the ablest and most important. Fortune again smiled upon the family, and this worthy descendant of Devaditya rose sufficiently high.

12. He longed to go back to the place founded by his famous ancestor and in this he was also favored by circumstances. By this time Raja Ballal Sen had gone to give his last account before a much higher tribunal, leaving his throne to his worthy son Lakshman Sen.

13. As the latter was a milder ruler than the ferocious Ballal, Kabi Dutt found no difficulty in gaining his favour, and, availing himself of it, managed to return to his ancestral abode. There he rose high in rank and influence and was honored with the title of Khan.

14. Thus, he came to be known as the Khan of Duttabati. Kabi had six sons, of whom Ishwar was the ablest and most influential. Like his grandfather he had a very large family consisting of 8 sons and 9 daughters.

15. Among the sons, only Kisu (Keshav) & Bisu (Bishen/Vishnu) rendered themselves famous. Kisu has been the prolific parent that has kept alive the old Patuli family in all its glory and magnificence.

16. As for the younger Bishu, he distinguished himself in another way. He got a high appointment under the Mahomedan Governor of Bengal & acquired considerable property in the district of Dinajpur. His social rank increased by being honoured with the title of 'Thacoor Mahashai.'

17. He was succeeded by his son Sreemanta who, like him, was a high official in the service of the Provincial Governor. Sreemanta flourished towards the end of the fifteenth century when the seat of Government was at Rajmahal.

18. He was a 'Canongoe' who unlike the officers bearing the
same name in the present day, was charged with the collection of the Imperial revenues and exercised both civil and military powers over the people in his jurisdiction.

19. Having lost his only son during his life-time, gave away his estate to his son-in-law, Hariram Ghose a Kulin Kayastha. Hariram became a very influential man, and lived in a rich style. He had two sons, of whom Sukhdeb succeeded to his property.

20. The son became more famous than the father, and
obtained from the ruling power the proud title of 'Raja.' Thus, the Dinajpur Raj dates from him.

21. On Kishu's death his son, Dwarka Nath, succeeded to his estates and became the head of the family. By this time Muslim rule had spread far and wide. The persecution of Hindus in Murshidabad by it's Muslim Governor made administration difficult for Dwarka Nath.

22. He, accordingly moved to Patuli, some 10 or 12 miles to the south of the historic town of Katwa, in the district of Burdwan. Patuli, though a small village, is very beautifully situated. It stands on the right bank of the Bhagirathi.

23. Here Dwarka Nath, built a palatial residence worthy of the renowned family which he represented. The Patuli palace lasted for several generations after which it fell a prey to the ravages of the river.

24. Dwarka Nath's grandson, Sahasraksha, was a very pious and kindhearted landholder. He ingratiated himself into the favour of the Mughal Emperor, Akbar, who by a Firman/Sanad dated the year 980 Bengal era, corresponding to 1573 A. D., formally declared him "Zamindar".

25. The rise of Bansberia Raj begins from here. The Zamindar possessed considerable powers over his tenantry. Zamindari right of Pargana Faizullahpur in the district of Nadia was given to him. True to his name he did many good acts and was held in high esteem by the people.

26. On Sahasraksha's death, his son, Udaya, succeeded his rank & estate. The new Zamindar became more famous than his father. In his hand the family rose both in honor and opulence.

27. In consequence of his having done some important services to the Mughal Government, Akbar conferred upon him the
hereditary title of "Rai", after which the family renouncing the humbler designation of Dutt assumed the prouder one of "Rai".

28. Udaya not only raised the social status of his family, he also considerably added to its estate. This he managed to do through the favour of Raja Man Singh. When coming to Bengal, he on his way stopped at Beneras to pay regards
to his Guru Jiya who was residing at the city.

29. It so happened that Lakshmikanta, the only son of the
Guru, had been for some time passing his days incognito unknown to the father, and as it was very probable that he might be travelling somewhere in the East.

30. The wise old man, whose heart was still lit with the lambent love of kith and kin, earnestly directed Man Singh to find out, if he could, the whereabouts of his beloved child. As fortune would have it while passing by the banks of the Bhagirathi he met the Patuli Zamindar.

31. Deeming him a fit person to inquire about the missing
young man, communicated his wish to him. The latter anxious as he was to oblige the General, took up the matter in
right good earnest and after some inquiry found the missing boy in the vicinity of Kalighat.

32. He presented to the Amber Chief. Man Sing was highly pleased with Udaya and in joy, asked him how he might please him in his turn. He said that he was happy with what he had but as he every now and then had to move up and down the river, would like to get some land around it.

33. Man Sigh bestowed on Udaya the land around Bhagirathi. Udaya was succeeded by Jayananda. At that time Jehangir was on the throne of Delhi. Jayananda didn't get any recognition by him but was given a lot of recognition by Shah Jahan.

34. The Emperor graced him with the title of "Mazumdar" and granted him the Zamindari right of Pargana Kot Ectiarpur as jagir while the Governor of Bengal, Kasim Khan Juwaini, appointed him 'Canongoe' of fiscal division. He was a contemporary & friend of Bhabananda of Nadia Raj.

35. Jayananda was succeeded by his eldest son Raghab. Shah Jahan, who by a Sanad dated the 12th Rubi 1066 H. E. ( 1649 A.D. ) conferred upon him the title of "Chaudhuri" and in the year following that of "Mazumdar."

36. Raghab got vast lakhraj or rent-free lands as absolute gifts & the Zamindari right of the following 21 Parganas: Arsba, Haldaha, Mamdanipur, Panjnaur, Boro, Shahapur, Jehanabad, Shaistanagore, Shahanagore, Raipur Kotwali, Paonan, Khosalpore, Moiat, Buxbunder, Havilishahar,

37. Paikan, Mozzaferpore, Hathikanda, Selimpur,
Amirabad & Janglipur. As the greater part of these estates lay in Sarkar Satgaon, Raghab for the better management of these large additions to his ancestral property, was obliged to put up near Satgaon or rather Buxbunder Hooghly.

38. It was the then capital of lower Bengal,
and he, accordingly built a large house at a village two miles to the east on the right bank of the river Hooghly, to which he gave the name of 'Bangshabati', today commonly known as Bansberia.

39. At this time Bansberia was a small insignificant village with a sparse population, consisting mostly, of the dregs and scum of society.

40. Raghab reclaimed the jungles, and, in the place of the savages of the wood whom he had killed or cast out, settled human beings of different orders by making them grants of rent-free lands and helping them in various other ways. Thus the wild land turned into a busy town.

41. Raghab was a remarkable man. Not only did he raise the
Patuli family in honor, he also added much to its affluence. The Zamindari left by his father was considerably augmented by the addition of one and 21 Parganas. Some of these Parganas were very large and rich.

42. Collections of the biggest and richest of them all namely, Arsha in Sarkar Satgaon amounted to upwards of 2 lakhs. Indeed, the net profits after paying the Government revenue in respect of that single Pargana were sufficient to entitle a man to be called a big Zamindar.

43. Thus, Raghab had become one of the greatest men and was deservedly held in high esteem by the neighboring Zamindars. Ragbab Rai Chaudhuri left 2 sons, Rameswar and Basudeb. These 2 brothers were in the best of terms and, as a matter of fact, lived very happily for sometime.

44. But at last, a change came over their minds and they thought of dividing their property. They did not, however, go to law, but came to an arrangement in which the right of the elder, as has been the custom in this family, was duly recognized.

45. He in consideration of priority of birth getting two-thirds and the younger one-third only. Rameswar removed with
his family to Bansberia which he made his permanent dwelling
house, paying only random visits to the old palace at Patuli.

46. Rameswar also directed his attention to the very important
subject of education. He founded several tols or Sanskrit schools & placed them under charge of learned Pundits who were brought in mostly from Benares. In these schools were taught Darsan of Hindu learning.

47. In 1673, Aurangzeb conferred upon him the rare title of "Rajah Mahasai" along with Punj-Percha Khelat or dress of honor made up of five pieces, which title was not a mere personal distinction, but was made hereditary in the family to the eldest branch thereof.

48. He was also granted 401 bighas of rent-free lands for his residence and the Zamindari right of the following 12 Parganas, namely Kalikata, Dharsa, Amirpur, Balanda, Khalore, Manpur, Sultanpore, Hathiagarh, Medamulla, Kujpore, Kaunia and Magura.

49. This was also the time when Bargis were raiding Bengal. Rameswar in order to secure himself and his property against the ravages of the marauders caused a deep and wide ditch or moat to be dug around his extensive dwelling house, with the grounds adjoining it.

50. The royal residence being thus moated, it has since been known as the Gurbati. The fort was garrisoned by a good number of soldiers, who were armed with swords, shields, pikes, muskets, bows and arrows, and was mounted with several pieces of artillery.

51. Rajah Rameswar was an orthodox Hindu. He had deep reverence for all the gods and goddesses but the Deity that held special place in his heart was Vishnu or Basudeb. To Vishnu he dedicated a splendid temple "Ananta Basudeb Temple" in 1601 Shak era (1679 A. D. ).

52. Rameswar died early in the beginning of the eighteenth century leaving him three sons: Roghudeb, Mukunda and
Ramkrishna. These brothers did not live as a joint undivided
family. On a partition taking place among them, Roghudeb, being the eldest, 1/2 of the property.

The thread shall be continued.