| Singrahnator সিংড়ানাটোর |
|
|---|---|
| Ethnicity | Indo-Iranians (Indo-Aryans) |
| Current region | North Bengal (বরেন্দ্র) |
| Information | |
| Place of origin | British Empire |
| Notable members | Jalaluddin Mirza Mirza Zafar |
| Connected families | Mirzas of Hulhulia, Singra Zamindari Sardars of Natore Chowdhurys of Atrai |
| Distinctions | Aristocracy |
| Heirlooms | Mullah Bari Palace, Hulhulia Palace (Mirza Mahal), Gole Afroz College, Rahmat Iqbal College |
The Singranatore family (Bangla: সিংড়ানাটোর পরিবার) is a family of Rajshahi landed aristocracy in erstwhile East Bengal (present day Bangladesh) that were prominent from mid nineteenth century till the fall of the monarchy in 1947-1948 and abolition of rights and rule by the newly formed democratic government of East Pakistan in 1950.
It is a common misconception that the family gets the name from their estates and land holdings in the upazila of Singra of Natore district, while in reality, they are named after both upazilas of Singra and Natore of the district in Rajshahi division. They were had educational and philanthropic influence in the area and founded the first and only public college in Singra (Gole Afroz College, named after Begum GoleAfroz, a prominent member of the family, the wife of MM Rahmatullah)[1].
Contents |
|
|
|
|
|---|
|
|
|
|
|
Gangaridai Kingdom, Vanga Kingdom, Pundra Kingdom, Suhma Kingdom, Anga Kingdom, Harikela Kingdom |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pala Empire, Sena Empire |
|
|
|
Sultanate of Bengal, Deva Kingdom Bakhtiyar Khilji, Raja Ganesha |
|
Pratap Aditya, Raja Sitaram Ray Nawab of Bengal, Baro-Bhuyans |
|
|
|
Zamindari system, Bengal famine of 1770 |
|
Bengal Renaissance Brahmo Samaj Swami Vivekananda, Jagadish Chandra Bose, Rabindranath Tagore, Subhash Chandra Bose |
|
1947 Partition of Bengal, Bangladesh Liberation War Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Jyoti Basu |
|
|
|
|
Descended from former mansabdars as hereditary Mirzas, they are a cadet brach of the Imperial family of India, descended from a perso-turkic dynasty. They moved after the imperial family was abolished in 1858 following the first Indian war of independence, to Bengal (where around 70 more descendants moved [2] possibly because Calcutta in Bengal was made the new capital (1858-1912) of the Empire. They were one of the few muslim zamindars in Bengal, at a time when the territories were mainly ruled by the Hindu raj families (Royal families) such as the Maharajas of Dighapatia Raj (who were very close to the Singranatore family as well, the Mullahbari palatial complex houses various artifacts from the hindu rajas). Structures have been deemed of historic significance by the government. The first ever trip of an elected Head of State in the history of the region was when former military ruler and President Lt General Hussain Muhammad Ershad in 1986 when he was invited by MM Rahmatullah.
Gol-e-Afroze Government College also called Gule Afroze Degree College is a residential, coeducational, institute of higher learning of in Natore, Bangladesh. The only public college of Singra, it is one of the five government colleges in the Natore District, and the third oldest, established before the War of 1971 and the Independence of the country[3].
Although it was a private college of the aristocratic Singranatore family, in 1986, the then President and former military ruler, HM Ershad announced that it would be made into a public college. Since then it is under the Ministry of Education of the Government of Bangladesh[4].
It is named after Begum Gul-e-Afroze, a member of the Singranatore family of Rajshahi, the daughter of Begum GulBadan and Shamezuddin Ahmed. She was a granddaughter of Mirza Jalaluddin, the last zamindar of Natore and the wife of MM Rahmatullah[5].
Formerly accorded as Princes of Rajshahi since the title of Mirza denoted nobility and direct male descent from the imperial lines, British and Scottish media sometimes accorded their zamindar statuses as 'Princes'. After the War of 1971, they held considerable alliances with ruling presidents, military dictators and prime ministers, all the while refraining from elected public offices. The family still owns most of the lands as private estates, and taxes the inhabitants on produce from the lands, which in turn pays for upkeep of the land holdings, buildings etc. Most of the residences used by the family lies mostly uninhabited, yet under the ownership of the family.
Notables include:
Notes