Baliati Palace

Raja Viratnagar (রাজা বিরাটনগর) palace is the most valuable historical place of Gaibandha. Raja Virat and Panchopandob (পঞ্চপাণ্ডব) whose name are seen in the play Mahabharat. In 1960, Major Sherwill mentioned this as a “Brad Rajar Ghar”. Once upon a time, there was a huge fort in this place.

Great historian Rakhaldas Bondopaddhay (রাখালদাস বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়) published a report in 1925-26 where he mentioned five bronze sculptures and 4-5 mound which were discovered in during the year 1910. Raja Virat had a huge barns (গোশালা) and about 60000 cows were about. The two younger brother of Panchapandob, namely Nakul (নকুল) and Shodeb (সহদেব), had the responsibility to take care of that barns. For that reason, the word Gaibandha came from the word barns.

Munshiganj, or Bikrampur as it was formerly known as home to a number of rich landlords and merchants, who lived in palatial houses, built on large estates. Most of these perished in course of time as the mighty Padma River devoured most of Bikrampur. Of all that remain in today’s Munshiganj, the largest is the house at Abdullahpur, known as Tokani Pal House (টোকানী পাল বাড়ি). There isn’t enough source to know about who built this house, but Tokani Pal, an elderly merchant from Barisal, bought this 7 acre estate and moved in here sometime in the early 1890s. His second wife Nabanga Sundary and all six sons from his two marriages accompanied him.

The estate now consists of 11 buildings and six ponds. The sprawling gardens have hundreds of trees – fruit bearing, medicinal, or for wood itself. And there were once several hundreds of flowering plants. But when Tokani arrived, the estate was in a mess. Kamini Pal, the eldest son of Tokani,took charge of cleaning up the estate. He chose a place to set up a temple, dedicated to Radha-Shyam, of whom they had been followers for generations. By this time, the masons of Abdullahpur had made a name in craftsmanship and expertise, and Arfan Ostagar was the most revered of all. He was hired, for a daily fee of five quarters and a pack of tobacco. His designer had to be paid an additional three quarters. A 15X6 feet room was planned to build, with a wide sprawling varanda, where followers could sing devotional songs every evening. The room would have a large platform, on which would rest a large metal statue of Radha-Shyam. The exterior wall would be decorated with fine ceramic designs. Once completed, the temple became a marvel, people from far and wide came over to see.

The Pal’s principal business was surrounded around the Kamala river port of Bikrampur, which was known as the Second Kolkata. Betelnuts, mustard, lentils etc would arrive from Barisal or Chandpur, and would be traded with Kolkata. Almost 20,000 laborers worked daily at this port, where the second largest wholesalers were the Pals. They set up warehouses at places as far as Barisal, Jhalokathhi or Shwarupkathhi, or Chandpur. Kamini Pal also became the most prominent money-lender. Dwarkanath became a prominent dealer in Kerosene oil. Other brothers also chipped in here and there. Business for the Pals was running well.

After the Partition of India, a large section of the family moved to Kolkata. Those who remained to protect the family businesses, soon found it difficult, as business with Kolkata became complicated. They had to explore new business avenues, but that wasn’t too easy.

In 1971, Hindus were being tortured or killed, their businesses were being shut down, their houses were being torched. The Pal estate being protected with a strong high boundary wall became a safe refuge, not only for members of this family, but for members of extended families, and also for friends and their families. About 500 people had found safe shelter here, until one dark night, when the Pakistani Army entered the compounds, killed several family members, and set the main houses of fire. The entire clan moved to India through Agartala.

Almost two years later, Shashadhar Pal, the second son of Dwarkanath Pal, who by then was head of the clan, returned with his family. But by this time major parts of the estate had been grabbed and taken over by others. He tried to revive some of the businesses, but did not quite succeed. His family members went back to Kolkata, but he decided to stay back, reminiscing his childhood memories, and gradually selling off part of their properties. He lived either in one of the houses within this estate, or in the other Pal House, which also was built by his uncle Kamini Pal several decades ago. He passed away in the late 1990s.

Bardhan Kuthi (বর্ধন কুঠি) is one of the historical places of Gaibandha district. It is situated near the Gobindaganj Upazila of Gaibandha. During the reign of British East-India company Raja Harinath (রাজা হরিনাথ) ruled the Bardhan Kuthi. During the separation of Indian subcontinent the last Ruler of Bardhan kuthi Raja Shoilesh Chandra (রাজা শৈলেশ চন্দ্র) Migrated to India from Bangladesh.

Due to the establishment of Gobindaganj college in this place, We can only observe the relics of Bardhan Kuthi. But it demands more research and discussion, By which we can discover the continuation of distinguish dynasty in Bardhan Kuthi. We may also reveal the valuable information of contemporary Zamindar’s and their lifestyle as well.

The Jainta Rajbari and Kingdom extended from the east of the Shillong Plateau of present-day Meghalaya in north-east India, into the plains to the south, and north to the Barak River valley in Assam, India. It was annexed by the British East India Company in 1835.

The capital, Jaintiapur, now ruined, was located on the plains at the foot of the Jaintia Hills; it appears there may have been a summer capital at Nartiang in the Jaintia Hills, but little remains of it now apart from a Durga temple and a nearby site with many megalithic structures. Much of what is today the Sylhet region of Bangladesh was at one time under the jurisdiction of the Jaintia king.

The origin of the Jaintia kingdom is unknown, but the Jaintia people share a megalithic culture with the related Khasi people on the Shillong plateau which is of uncertain age, but their common oral history claims that they settled the region in the distant past. After the 17th century invasion by the Kachari king Satrudaman, the Jaintia kingdom came under increasing Kachari and Ahom political influence.

The British came into contact with the Jaintia kingdom upon receiving the Diwani of Bengal in 1765 (Gurdon 1914:xiv). Jaintiapur, currently in Bangladesh, was the capital. The kingdom extended from the hills into the plains north of the Barak River (Gait 1906:253). The quarries in their possession was the chief supplier of lime to the delta region of Bengal, but with the British, the contact was not very smooth, and they were attacked in 1774. Subsequently, the Jaintias were increasingly isolated from the plains via a system of forts as well as via a regulation of 1799 (Gurdon 1914:xiv-xv).

After the conclusion of the First Anglo-Burmese War, the British allowed the Jaintia king his rule north of the Surma River (Gait 1906:284). The kingdom was finally annexed on March 15, 1835 (Gait 1906:302). The king was handed over his property in Sylhet along with a monthly salary of Rs 500. The British administered the plain areas directly and the hill region indirectly via a system of fifteen dolois and four sardars. The fifteen administrators were free to adjudicate on all but the most heinous crimes.

The capital of Jainta Kingdom was in Jaintapur. It was the palace of Kings of Jainta. It is close to Jainta Bazar. Though the palace is damaged but tourist visit there for witnessing the history of Kings of Jainta. Jaintiapur is only 5 km from Jaflong, a scenic spot amidst tea gardens.

জৈন্তা রাজ্য বিস্তৃত ছিল উত্তরপূর্ব ভারতের শিলং মালভূমির (বর্তমান মেঘালয়) পূর্বপ্রান্ত থেকে আসামের বারাক নদীর উপত্যকার দক্ষিন ও উত্তরপ্রান্ত পর্যন্ত। ইংরেজ ইস্ট ইন্ডিয়া কোম্পানি ১৮৩৫ সালে এই রাজ্যটি দখল করে নেয়। বর্তমানে ধ্বংসপ্রাপ্ত এই রাজ্যের রাজধানী জৈন্তিয়াপুরের অবস্থান ছিল জৈন্তা পাহাড়ের পাদদেশে। ধারনা করা হয়ে থাকে যে জৈন্তা পাহাড়ের নারটিয়াং এ ছিল এই রাজ্যের গ্রীষ্মকালীন রাজধানী। তবে এখানে একটি দুর্গা মন্দির এবং কিছু মধ্যযুগীয় স্থাপনা ছাড়া আর কিছুই অবশিষ্ট নেই। বর্তমান বাংলাদেশের সিলেট অঞ্চলের বেশীরভাগ এলাকাই একসময় জৈন্তা রাজার অধীনে ছিল।

জৈন্তা রাজ্যের উৎপত্তি সম্পর্কে জানা না গেলেও এখানকার মানুষেরা শিলং মালভূমির খাসিয়া সম্প্রদায়ের মানুষদের সাথে মধ্যযুগীয় সংস্কৃতি পালন করত। তবে, ইতিহাস ঘেঁটে জানা যায় যে এসব মানুষেরা এই অঞ্চলে অনেক আগেই বসত গড়েছিল। ১৭শ শতাব্দীর পর কাচারির রাজা শত্রু দমনের অভিযানের পর জৈন্তা রাজ্যে কাচারি এবং আহম দের রাজনৈতিক প্রভাব স্পষ্ট হয়।

১৭৬৫ সালে (গুরদন ১৯১৪:xiv) বাংলার শাসনভার গ্রহনের পর ইংরেজরা জৈন্তা রাজ্যের প্রতি মনোনিবেশ করে এবং বর্তমান বাংলাদেশের জৈন্তাপুরকে এ রাজ্যের রাজধানী হিসেবে প্রতিষ্ঠা করে। এই রাজ্যটি পাহাড় থেকে বারাক নদীর উত্তরে সমভূমি পর্যন্ত বিস্তৃত ছিল। (গাইট ১৯০৬:২৫৩)। এখানকার খনিগুলো থেকে বাংলায় চুনাপাথর সরবরাহ করা হলেও ১৭৭৪ সালে ইংরেজরা আক্রমনের শিকার হলে এই সরবরাহ ব্যবস্থা কঠিন হয়ে পড়ে। পরবর্তীতে দুর্গের মাধ্যমে এবং ১৭৯৯ সালে প্রণীত একটি রেগুলেশনের মাধ্যমে মূল ভূমি থেকে জৈন্তাদের পৃথক করে রাখা হয় (গুরদন ১৯১৪: xiv-xv)।

প্রথম অ্যাংলো-বার্মিজ যুদ্ধের সমাপ্তির পর ইংরেজরা জৈন্তা রাজাকে সুরমা নদীর উত্তর প্রান্ত শাসন করার অনুমতি প্রদান করে(গাইট ১৯০৬:২৮৪)। ১৮৩৫ সালের ১৫ই মার্চ ইংরেজরা এই রাজ্যটি পুরোপুরি দখল করে নেয় (গাইট ১৯০৬:৩০২)। জৈন্তা রাজাকে সিলেটে তাঁর সম্পত্তি বুঝিয়ে দেওয়া হয় এবং মাসিক ৫০০ রুপি বেতনের ব্যবস্থা করা হয়। পনেরোজন দলই এবং চারজন সর্দারের মাধ্যমে ইংরেজরা এখানকার সমভূমি সরাসরি শাসন করলেও পাহাড়ি এলাকায় ইংরেজ শাসন ছিল পরোক্ষ। এই পনেরো জন প্রশাসক বড় ধরনের অপরাধ ব্যাতিত সব অপরাধের বিচার করত।

জৈন্তা বাজারের কাছে অবস্থিত জৈন্তা রাজবাড়িতে জৈন্তা রাজারা বাস করতেন। ক্ষতিগ্রস্ত হলেও এই রাজবাড়িতে অনেক পর্যটক আসেন জৈন্তা রাজাদের ইতিহাস সম্পর্কে জানতে। চা বাগানে ঘেরা চমৎকার প্রাকৃতিক সৌন্দর্যে ভরপুর জৈন্তাপুর জাফলং থেকে মাত্র ৫ কিলোমিটার দূরে অবস্থিত।