Rajnagar

Rajnagar (Bengali) (also called Nagar) is a town, a community development block and an assembly constituency in Suri subdivision of Birbhum District in the Indian state of West Bengal. It was formerly the capital of kingdoms in the area. With the fading away of the kingdoms, the town lost much of its importance.

History

As per legend, Rajnagar was founded by Bir Singh in ancient times. In 1206, Rajnagar was occupied by Muhammad Shiran, a general of Muhammad Bakhtiyar, and annexed by Ali Mardan, probably in 1211. However, Pathans do not seem to have enjoyed undisputed control over the entire district or area. At least the western part of the district, with Rajnagar as its capital, seems to have been ruled by either the descendants of Bir Singh or a new line of Hindu kings, the Bir Rajas. The rent roll of Todar Mall leads to the conclusion that by the middle of the 16th century the entire district was brought under the administration of the Mughals. The later Muslim zamindars of Rajnagar, known as Nagar Raj, were feudatories of the Mughals.

Nagar Raj

Jonad Khan, an adventurous Pathan, is said to have established the house at Nagar in 1600, having killed the Bir Raja under whom he served. He was succeeded by his son, Bahadur Khan, alias Ranmast Khan. Asadullah Khan (1697-1718), grandson of Bahadur Khan, was a pious man who was on good terms with Murshid QUIL Khan, the Nawab of Bengal. A devout person, he enjoyed full autonomy.

His son, Badi-uz-zaman Khan (1718-52) made an abortive attempt at shaking off the nominal allegiance to Murshidabad. He was invested with the title of Raja by Murshid Quli Khan. During his reign Birbhum was ravaged by the Marathas. They also overran Rajnagar. It was during the reign of his son, Asad-uz-Zaman Khan (1752-1777) that the Nagar Raj witnessed the zenith of its power and then started declining. The Raja was faithful to the Nawab and after the Battle of Plassey, was on bad terms with the British. He was defeated by the combined forces of the British and Mir Qasim in 1761. He fled, regrouped and fought back again. He was completely routed at the Battle of Hetampur in 1765. By a treaty, he was restored to his estate but much of his autonomy was lost.In the course of time, they lost their supremacy to the Hetampur Raj. The British set up their district headquarters at Suri, and by the early 19th century, Rajnagar had been reduced to a deserted town with dilapidated palaces and ruins of habitation, and the forest slowly encroaching.

Nostalgia

The last Pathan ruler held sway over the area in the mid-19th century, but Rafiqul Alam Khan, a successor of the Nagar Raj family, is still honoured as the Raja by the town's residents, the descendants of the one-time tenants of his predecessors. On the occasion of the Muslim festivals of Muharram and Eid, he regains his position as the Raja of Rajnagar. The present Raja did not get a realm from his ancestors but is the proud owner of a royal attire with a royal diadem made of silk. The attire is tattered, but Raja Saheb still wears it when he becomes the “ruler” — twice a year.

Geography

Rajnagar is located at 23.95, 87.32. It has an average elevation of 101 m (331 ft). It is located on the western edge of the district, bordering on Jharkhand. The area sits on ancient Archean rocks. Rajnagar receives an average annual rainfall of 1405 mm, most of it in the months of June to October. The area has latterite soil, which is infertile and unsuitable for agriculture.

Suri, 25 km away, is connected by a road.

Demographics

In the 2001 census, Rajnagar community development block had a population of 69,698, out of which 35,545 were males and 34,153 were females.

Administration

Rajnagar is an intermediate panchayat (local self-government) under Birbhum Zilla Parishad. Village panchayats under Rajnagar intermediate panchayat are Rajnagar, Bhabanipur, Chadrapara, Gangmuri-Joypur, and Tantipara.

Economy

Proximity to the supply centres of raw material, as well as the royal court and an aristocratic community, gave rise to certain centres of cottage industries for cotton and tasar silk in the Tantipara-Bhabanipur-Karidhya zone. The famine of 1770 left both agriculture and industry in a bad shape. Trade also suffered. People had sunk to a depth of poverty which the magistrate of Birbhum emphatically said he had not seen anywhere in India. The Maratha raids of 1742-45 had earlier laid waste not only the countryside but also Rajnagar itself.