History of Dinajpur (Part-4) Maharaja Ramnath (1722 A.D.-1763 A.D.)

Having no son or daughter, Prannath adopted a young relative named Ramanath, who took over the responsibility of the estate after him and paid a succession fee of 4.21.450 take to the Subadar of Bengal. Ramanath was very powerful and honest. F.W. Strong (Dinajpur Gazetteer 1912.P.24) stated that he seems further to have been a persona grate with the Subahdar of Bengal who granted him three sanads, conferring on him additional estates in thanas Patiram, patnitala and Gangarampur. Ramanath conquered and dispossessed the Zamindar of Gobindanagar, near the present village of Thakurgaon, employing a Brahmin to steal his protecting deity or family idol Gobinda, and thus causing his own downfall, the conqueror subsequently constructed a canal connecting Gobindanagar on the Tangan with Prannagar near th Punarbhaba for the purpose of taking the idol backwards and forwards between the two places. This canal is still in existence and is called the Ramdara.

There is legend that Saiyid Muhammad Khan or Saiyed Ahmed, the Nazim of Rangpur, stormed and plundered the Rajbadi of Dianjpur in the reign of Ramanath. But whether Ramanath drove him out or came to terms with him is not known. Quoting from Stewart's History of Bengal (1813) F.W.Strong (1912:24) described the incident that-

"About this period Sayid Ahem, the second son of Haji Ahmed, who upon the succession of Shujaa Adeen Khan had been appointed Foujadar of Rangpur, and who is acccused of having ruled that district with great oppression, having procured from Moorshudabad (Musshidabad) a considerable army, invaded Dinagepore and Couch Beygar (Bihar), and after compelling the Rajas to take refuge in the woods and mountains, got possession of those countries, together with the immense treasures which the Rajas and their ancestors had amassed.

 Mr. Strong also expressed his reservations whether this catastrophe was as serious as stewart makes out, as the Dinajpur Raj is generally supposed to home attained its greatest splendor under Ramanath and he reigned over the estate for a long time after the incident. How eber, after the disaster, Ramanath had given attention to rebuilding the estate. He constructed the Rajbari immediately. Ramanath was a greate administrator, statesman and brave warrior, who commanded a large army. There is a story that nawab Murshid Kuli Khan presented him with numerous muskets and many pieces of cannon. His armorial bearings such as shirts, shields, mspears, etc. are still preserved with great care. Raja Ramanath dug the famous Ramsagar tank six kilometers south of Dinajpur town. The tank is still well preserved with high embankments. It is said that Sir Jogn Anderson, the Governor of Bengal, was pleased to visit this artificial lake during his tours in the beginning of 1936, and the lake charmed him with its exquisite scenery. It is now recognized as a tourist center of the district. He also built a temple at Rajarampur where Goddess Kali image was installed. How ever he gave more attention towards completing the unfinished work of Kantajee temple, which was neglected by Prannath. This immmense work in fact made him most memorable to the populace of the district. Raja Ramanath died in 1760 and eas succedded by his son Baidyanath.

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History of Dinajpur (Part-3) Maharaja Prannath (1682 A.D.-1722 A.D.)

Raja Sukhdev had two wives. Ramdev and Joydev were born by his first wife and the second wife delivered Prannath. Raja Sukhdev's eldest son Ramdev died very young, the second Joydev reigned for five years from 1677 A.D. to 1682 A.D. and was succeeded by the youngest, Prannath. During the reign of Mughal Emperor Alamgir, Azim-ud-din Mahmud had granted a Sanad, dated 1679, in which the succession of someone to Sukhdev's property is recorded. Unfortunately the name of the successor is wiped out. F.W. Strong (Dinajpur Gazetteer 1912. P.23) has given an account on Mughal policy towards Dinajpur Raj which is as follows. the ousting of the Afghans from Bengal appears to have brought that province little closer to the throne of Delhi than it was under its former Governers. the rule of the Mughals viceroys was a repetition of that of their predecessors, so far as their relations with the Emperor were concerned. The constant bickering that went on with the central power distracted their attention from their Hindu subjects, and the Raja of Dinajpur was permitted to rule undisturbed over some three quarters of a million of people, on condition of paying a certain portion of his revenues to the Subadar of Bengal.

Prannath ruled in Dinajpur for 40 years, from 1682-1722. He was a very powerful zamindar in his time. He not only maintained his ancestral property but also added some more areas to his estate by using force. Local traditions acknowledge that he acquired Maligoan Pargana by force of arms, which comprise the eastern half of the present Banshihari Thana, a considerable parts of present Maldah district of west Bengal, India. Beside these, he absorbed some 12 more small estates, which were surrounded by the Raj property. Prannath had commemorated his name in different parts of his estate. He dug a tank named Pransagar or the Sea of life or the Sea of Prannath 18 kilometers south of Dinajpur town. The tank is still in a perfect state of preservation. He also initiated the erection of  a magnificent religious edifice named Kantanagar temple, situated on the bank of Dhepa, 18 kilometers north of Dinajpur town. The temple is a fine specimen of the art of the time, decorated as it is all ober with terracotta relief. His favorie place is said to be have been at Prannagar, on the road between Birganj and Thakurgaon, but the original buildings have almost been wholly destroyed.

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History of Dinajpur Rajbari (Part-2) Raja Sukhdhev Roy(1642 A.D.-1677 A.D)

District Magistrate E. V Wesmacott (1872) has given as account of Sukhdev's estate, which suggests that during his period, he inchuded and extended his estate upto present Dinajpur and Thakurgoan district as, a considerable area consisting of greater West Dinajpur, Ranjpur, Bogura and Maldah districts. In addition to that, at the time of Sukhdev or of his father, the zamindar family of Khetal came to an end and the property was divided up. Seven out of sixteen parts went to Sukhdev Roy, whose father and grand father may have inherited the office of Dewan from their acestor and the ramaining nine parts out of sixteen went to another officer, who founded the zamindar at Bardhan kuti or Idrakpur. In this way, Sukhdev expanded his assests to Ghoraghat and Nawabganj thanas of Dinajpur districts, Adamdighi and Shibganj thanas of Bogura District, Khetlal and Panchbibi thanas of Jaypurhat districts and Badalgachi thana of Naogaon districts. Regarding the distribution of Khetlal zamindari there is adifferent opinion that Khatta area of Badalgachi that was conquered and divided by the Rajas of Nator and Dianjpur in Ramnath's time and Khangor area of Panchbibi thana was a joint accquistion with the Jahangirpur family during the period of Ramnath (Hamilton 1833). However, the zamindars of Dinajpur and Idrakpur divided their estate is wuch a way that each retained a share in every village, which eas inconvenient and generated conflict between the two families in later times. Sukhdev Roy obtained the title 'Raja' from the Mughal emperor because he possessed a large territory in the north Bengal region. He died in 1677 and very little is known regarding his personal character and achievements to write his history. The "Sukh Sagar" or the sea of Pleasure is the only mere remnant, which he had excavated for the benefit of his subjects and is a testament of his benebolent policy. Sukhdev had three sons i e. Ramdev, Joydev and Prannath.

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History of Dinajpur Rajbari (Part-1)

The great zamindar family of Dinajpur, who ruled the district for two centuries, could be traced back to the reign of Akbar. In 1600 AD, for administrative reasons, Akbar divided his empire into 15 subas and appointed his son prince as Subadar of  Bengal. The Suba was further subdivided into 19 sarkars and parts of four of those sarkars namely sarkar Ghoraghat, sarkar Tejpur, sarkar Panjara, and sarkar Barbakabad fell within the limits of Dinajpur District. According to Calcutta Review vol.55. 1872," About the time of Akbar's settlement there was at Dinagepoor, at the place from which Gonesh, less than two centuries before, derived his title, a man, possibly of the blood of Gonesh, in possession of a considerable part of what are now the districts of Dinagepoor and Maldah. Buchanan calls him Kasi, but whether he is correct or not, the name is now utterly forgotten. His grave is shown at the door of the mondeer in the Rajbari."and clothes, curd, curd, rice, etc. are still given as offerings on his grave. He is identified by the local people as a holy man and he is spoken of as a Shannavashi, Brahmachariand  Mohanta or Gosain. There is a local tale which denotes that he built a temple on his estate where he installed Kali or Kalika image and later,in addition to this image, he also installed another image called Kaliyamardana, which is one of the forms of Krishna avatarea(incarnation). He endowed the whole Sarkar or Havele of Panjara for the maintenance of the temple. The Dinajpur estate was repeatedly mentioned in the old records as Havele of Panjara. He (Kashi) then left his estate to one of his disciple named Sremanta Datta Chowdhury(1608-1642). who belonged to Kayastha caste and migrated in this area from the east. He had two children, a son and a daughter. The son died without having any issue but the daughter had a son named Sukdhev Roy.

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Barapukuria Coal Mine,Dinajpur

One of the spectacular modoern infrastructure has been built in Dinajpur, is the coal mine base Barapukuria Coal Mining Company Ltd along with the Thermal power plant,located at chowhati under Parbatipur Police station, also very near to Phulbari proper. Unearthed in 1985 by the Geological servey of Bangladesh, the coal is deposited to be 300 million metric ton for extraction from under 118-500 metre depth. This coal is largely fueling the adjacent 250  megawatt power plant, which produces the electricity and supplies to the National power Gird of Bangladesh.

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Ramsagar Tank,Dinajpur

There are several large man made tanks available in Dinajpur region. The largest one is Mahipal Dighi, which is at Khusumandi police station under North Dinajpur district, india. Pransagar in Gangarampur is also very large, made by Magaraja Prannath of Dinajpur. Ramsagar tank is not far from Pransagar or Mahipal dighi, located 8 km south of Finajpur town towards in india border, which we also call "Ramsagar National Park". This lake is very popular among picnickers, nature lovers among dinajpur people and outsiders/travelers. This This spot has a Rest house, having in a good condition for staying. The background of its excavation was to supply save drinking water to locals and was initiated by Maharaja Ramanath in and around 1750-1755.

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Shapnapuri Theme Park,Dinajpur

With hundreds of artificially decorated themes describe our culture,lifestyles,animals,etc will bring you an enormous amus ement, fan and peace of mind while you walk across the lakes inside Shapnapuri Theme Park.located at Aftabganj in Nababganj in Nababganj Police station under Dinajpur District Since 1990.this is the most visited artificial toutist spot in north bengal, Bangladesh, shapnapuri is consisted of several parks inside iits 925 acres of lands.There is a very good quality Cottage for staying with your family though you need an advance booking (0531-63711,01712134095). You can get there using Bus, Rail, etc. Where you have to get off in Phulbari, which is also famous for Barapukuria Coal Mine project etc.

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Kantaji Temple, Dinajpur

Dinajpur in Bangladesh has several picturesque tourist attractions, one is the Kantaji Temple ,at Kantanagar in kaharole police station, 12 miles north of Dinajpur town.This late medieval navaratna Krishna Temple, had been constructed by Maharaja Prannath of Dinajpur. Historical records reveals that Prannath stated it consruction in 1722 AD and it took almost 30 years to be completed under the rule of Maharaja Ramnath, the adopted son of the late Maharaja. This Navaratna(although its nin espires were grounded atop its cornres during the mighty 1897 earthquake) Krishna temple is prominent for displaying its thousands of beautifully decorated terracotta, a masterpiece of medieval architechture of Bengle.

I swear, you will have a sudden blow, when you see its architectural presentation on your own eyes at the first moment,it is magnificent.... Awesome, these types of satisfying words will come out from your inner instinct. same types of feeling also had happened to me, when i first saw this temple several years back.Its thousands of beautifully decorated terracotta, color of the clay, long courtyard and more over the greenery of its peaceful surrounding will make you calm for a bit like the location itself.

The temple is about a 1 mile west of Dinajpur-Thakurgaon Highway across the Dhepa River.Various types commuters like Bus,Motor buke and Rickshaw Van can get you there within hours from the Town.You have to get off the bus at the Place called "Kantanagar", if you choose to walk and enjoy the country atmosphere,However the distance will be a bit more lengthy, if you are to get there via Auto/vehicle up to the temple, may be your family is with you, in that case, you need to travel a bit more further to the south from the Kantanagar point, and need aU-turn after just crossing the Vhatgaon Bridge.

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