Nawabs of Dhanbari
ধনবাড়ীর নবাব
Current regionDhanbari, Tangail District, Dhaka Division, Bangladesh
Earlier spellingsChowdhuries of Dhanbari
Place of originBaghdad, Iraq
FounderShah Atiqullah
MembersSyed Nawab Ali Chowdhury
Mohammad Ali Bogra
Syed Hasan Ali Chowdhury
Syeda Ashiqua Akbar
Afeefuddin Ahmed
Connected familiesNawabs of Bogra
Chowdhuries of Natore
Pannis of Karatia
Estate(s)Dhanbari Nawab Estate

The Nawabs of Dhanbari (Bengali: ধনবাড়ীর নবাব), also known as the Chowdhury family of Dhanbari (Bengali: ধনবাড়ীর চৌধুরী বংশ), were a Bengali aristocratic family of feudal landowners. The zamindari estate encompassed parts of the Tangali, Jamalpur, Mymensingh and Pabna District, particularly around Dhanbari. Although their aristocratic status was lost with the East Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy Act of 1950, the Dhanbari estate remains an important part of the history of Tangail and tourist attraction.

Location

The family is based in the town of Dhanbari, which is presently in Dhanbari Upazila of northern Bangladesh's Tangail District.

History

The early history of the later Nawab dynasty of Dhanbari was documented in a waqfnama (deed of endowment) written by Nawab Ali Chowdhury. This family claim descent from Shah Atiqullah, a Muslim preacher from Baghdad, who had migrated to Delhi in the Mughal period. The document claims that Atiqullah was descended from both Abdul Qadir Gilani (a direct descendant of Ali, the fourth Caliph of Islam) as well as the Persian scholar Abu Hanifa.[1] It is argued by the British-Bangladeshi historian Muhammad Mojlum Khan that "there is no conclusive evidence" of the family's descent from Shah Atiqullah.[2] Nevertheless, from among Atiqullah's descendants was Shah Sultan who was awarded jagirs from the Mughal emperor, settling down in the village of Nakalia in Pabna. As a result of the Jamuna river erosion, Sultan's offspring moved to the village of Hasmelan in Harirampur, Manikganj.[3]

Shah Khoda Bakhsh of this family married a woman belonging to the Syed family of Muqimpur village in Baniara, Tangail. The Shah family of Hasmelan were not accustomed to exogamous marriage and as a result, Bakhsh was expelled from his village and lived with his wife in Baniara. He had a son and a daughter.[1] His daughter, Sayyidah Talibunnesa Khatun, was married to Raza Ali Khan Chowdhury, the Zamindar of Dhanbari.[3] Chowdhury died leaving no heirs, and so the zamindari was inherited by Khatun. After Khatun's death, her husband inherited the zamindari and migrated from Baniara to Dhanbari, where he was granted the title of Nawab.

Bakhsh was a pir who was said to have been unattached to wealth and property.[4] The waqfnama claims that because of this spiritual nature, the family did not bother to preserve the sanads (land grants) received from the emperor. As hereditary pirs, the maintenance and preservation of the zamindari was entrusted to their murids (disciples). The extent of the zamindari was very large when Bakhsh became its zamindar. However, as a result of his lack of knowledge in worldly affairs, a lot of land was lost during his tenure.[1]

After Bakhsh's death, his son and successor Syed Muhammad Shah became the Gaddi nasheen of Dhanbari Estate. His zamindari was spread out across Tangail, Jamalpur, Sherpur, Pabna and Mymensingh. He married Karimunnesa Bibi, the eldest daughter of Ghulam Yahya Siddiqi of Rajkhara in Harirampur, Manikganj. Like his father, Muhammad Shah was described as a high-level ascetic who was not fond of worldly activities. He was a senior student of Shah Laqitullah Fazl-e-Haq (1790–1836), the pir of Azimpur Dayera Sharif. Syed Muhammad Shah was attached to his teacher to such an extent that he gifted the Dhanbari zamindari to him. However, his teacher did not accept this, and requested that he take it back. However, Muhammad Shah was not willing to take it back, and so Lakitullah gifted the zamindari to Muhammad Shah's wife, Karimunnesa Bibi.

Karimunnesa managed the zamindari for some time and was succeeded by her son, Shah Syed Janab Ali Chowdhury.[5] Chowdhury married Rabeya Khatun, the daughter of Khan Bahadur Muhammad Ali Khan Chowdhury of Natore. His mother Karimunnesa gifted a quarter of the zamindari to Rabeya Khatun. He died aged 28 years, leaving a son named Nawab Ali Chowdhury and a daughter named Sayera Khatun Chowdhurani. His children spent their childhood being raised by their grandmother, Karimunnesa. Sayera Khatun married in Natore, where Karimunnesa died. The two siblings inherited the quarter of the estate from their mother, and the remaining three quarters from their grandmothers, thus making the entire zamindari go to them. Their maternal uncle Khan Bahadur Moulvi Muhammad Rashid Khan Chowdhury was appointed their guardian as they were minors, and from then they were raised in Natore. Later, he married off his own son Nur Muhammad Khan Chowdhury with Sayera Khatun.[1]

Syed Nawab Ali Chowdhury became the next zamindar. He married Altafunnesa Chowdhurani, daughter of Nawab Abdus Sobhan Chowdhury, the Zamindar of Bogra.[6] After the death of Altafunnesa, Nawab Ali married Syedani Shahida Akter Khatun, a descendant of Baro-Bhuiyan chief Isa Khan and daughter of Diwan Azimdad Khan, Zamindar of Jangalbari of Kishoreganj. Thirdly, he married Syedani Sakina Khatun Chowdhurani, second daughter of Nawab Abdus Sobhan Chowdhury, Nawab of Bogra. He is celebrated as the first Muslim Minister of Bengal, Privy Council Member of the Viceroy of India, co-founder of All India Muslim League, proprietor of the first Bengali newspaper - Mihir O Sudhakar and the founder of University of Dhaka.Syed Nawab Ali Chowdhury had two sons and two daughters:[7]

  • Syed Mohammad Faizul Bari Altaf Ali Chowdhury : He had 4 sons & 2 daughters:
  • Syedani Umme Fatima Zahera Khatun : She married Lt. Muhammad Hossain of Delduar Zamindar House.[10]
  • Syed Hasan Ali Chowdhury : Syed Abul Kasem Mohammad Hasan Ali Chowdhury was the last Nawab and Zamindar of Tangail, Jamalpur and parts of Mymensingh districts. He was a seasoned politician, member of several parliaments (starting from British India, Pakistan and culminating with Bangladesh) and co-founder of Krishak Praja Party and Bangladesh National Party. He founded the newspaper Ittehad which later became Ittefaq. He married Syedani Razya Khatun of Natore, daughter of Ashraf Ali Khan Chowdhury. After the death of his first wife, he remarried her sister - Syedani Lamya Asya.
    • Syeda Ashiqua Akbar also known as Sahibzadi Syeda Umme Rushaida Ashiqua Hasan Ali Chowdhrani is the only child of Nawabzada Syed Hasan Ali and Syedani Lamya Asya Ashraf Ali. Syeda Ashiqua Akbar is the first directly elected women parliamentarian of Bangladesh Jatiyo Sangshad. She succeeded Nawabzada Syed Hasan Ali as the third Mutawalli of the Nawab Estate of Dhanbari in Tangail and of Jangalbari in Kishoreganj until her death on April 25, 2022. She was married to Dr. Akbaruddin Ahmad (banker and educationist) and the son of A. M. Jalaluddin Ahmad the former Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan. Her children are Almas Akbar, Abraruddin Ahmad, Asfia Akbar, Atqia Akbar and Afeefuddin Ahmed.
      • Afeefuddin Ahmed is the son of Syeda Ashiqua Akbar, grandson of Nawabzada Syed Hasan Ali Chowdhury and great grandson of Nawab Bahadur Syed Nawab Ali Chowdhury, C.I.E. He is a social worker and has been working in the development sector for the last 15 years. He has two daughters - Shiza Afeef Ahmad and Shanzay Afeef Ahmad. Before Syeda Ashiqua Akbar's death, she appointed her younger son Afeefuddin Ahmed as the fourth and current Mutawalli of the Nawab Estates of Dhanbari and Jangalbari.
  • Nawabzadi Syedani Syeda Umme Fatima Humera Khatun Chowdhrani:[11] She married Syed Muzaffar Al Musawi the Zamindar of Bohar and Baish Hajari Estate of Malda in West Bengal in India. Who is the son of Barrister Syed Sadruddin Al Musawi Zamindar of Bohar and Malda districts of West Bengal in India. He is also the nephew of Wajed Ali Khan Panni, Zamindar of Karatia).[12]

Nawabs

NameBirthChildrenDeathClaim
Nawāb Shāh Sayyid Khudā Bakhsh
نواب شاه سيد خدا بخش
নবাব শাহ সৈয়দ খোদা বখশ		?Sayyid Muhammad Shah?Inherited from his wife
Nawāb Sayyid Muḥammad Shāh
نواب سيد محمد شاه
নবাব সৈয়দ মহম্মদ শাহ		?Janab Ali Chowdhury?First son
Nawāb Sayyid Janāb ʿAlī Chowdhurī
نواب سيد جناب علي چودھری
নবাব সৈয়দ জনাব আলী চৌধুরী		?Nawab Ali Chowdhury?First son
Nawāb Sayyid Nawāb ʿAlī Chowdhurī
نواب سيد نواب علي چودھری
নবাব সৈয়দ নওয়াব আলী চৌধুরী		29 December 1863517 April 1929First son
Nawāb Sayyid Muḥammad Fayḍ al-Bāriʾ Alṭāf ʿAlī Chowdhurī
نواب سيد محمد فيض البارئ الطاف علي چودھری
নবাব সৈয়দ মহম্মদ ফয়জুল বারী আলতাফ আলী চৌধুরী		?6?First son
Nawāb Sayyid Abū al-Qāsim Muḥammad Ḥasan ʿAlī Chowdhurī
نواب سيد ابو القاسم محمد حسن علي چودھری
নবাব সৈয়দ আবুল কাসেম মহম্মদ হাসন আলী চৌধুরী		c. 1910130 May 1981Brother
East Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy Act of 1950
Sayyidah Umm Rushaydah ʿĀshiqah Chowdhurānī
سيدة ام رشيدة عاشقة چودھرانی
সৈয়দা উম্মে রুশায়দা আশিকা চৌধুরানী		?525 April 2022Only child
al-Mutawallī ʿAfīf ad-Dīn bin Akbar ad-Dīn bin Jalāl ad-Dīn Aḥmad
المتولي عفيف الدين بن اكبر الدين بن جلال الدين احمد
মোতাওয়াল্লী আফীফ উদ্দীন বিন আকবর উদ্দীন বিন জলাল উদ্দীন আহমদ		??Son


    See also

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 Abdullah, Muhammad (1987). নওয়াব আলী চৌধুরী: জীবন ও কর্ম (in Bengali). Islamic Foundation Bangladesh. pp. 1–6.
    2. ↑ Muhammad Mojlum Khan. The Muslim Heritage of Bengal. Kube. p. 256. ISBN 978-1-84774-059-5.
    3. 1 2 ব্যানার (বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়,নবাব প্যালেস,করটিয়ার ঐতিহ্য) [Banner (University, nawab palace, karatiya tradition)]. www.tangail.gov.bd (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 2019-12-29. Retrieved 2017-09-07.
    4. ↑ Aurangzeb, R. M. (9 February 2013). "রাজনীতি ও সমাজসেবায় ধনবাড়ীর নবাব পরিবারের অবদান" (in Bengali).
    5. ↑ রাজনীতি ও সমাজসেবায় ধনবাড়ীর নবাব পরিবারের অবদান. The Daily Sangram (in Bengali). Retrieved 2017-09-07.
    6. ↑ কালের সাক্ষী ধনবাড়ী জমিদারবাড়ি. NTV (in Bengali). Retrieved 2017-09-07.
    7. ↑ হারিয়ে যাচ্ছে পাকিস্তানের সেই প্রধানমন্ত্রী মোহাম্মাদ আলীর বাড়ি. Bangladesh Pratidin (in Bengali). Retrieved 2017-09-07.
    8. ↑ আত্মীয়তার বন্ধনে রাজনীতি-৮. 1 News BD. 2015-05-24. Retrieved 2017-09-07.
    9. ↑ স্মরণ : নবাব সৈয়দ নওয়াব আলী চৌধুরী. Daily Naya Diganta (in Bengali). Retrieved 2017-09-07.
    10. ↑ ব্যতিক্রমি আট : পুণ্যের ঘরে শূন্য দিয়ে - জয়নাল হোসেন. www.rokomari.com. Retrieved 2017-09-07.
    11. ↑ কালের সাক্ষী ধনবাড়ী জমিদারবাড়ি. karunews24.com. Retrieved 2017-09-07.
    12. ↑ স্ম র ণ : ওয়াজেদ আলী খান পন্নী. Daily Naya Diganta (in Bengali). Retrieved 2017-09-07.
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