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1. INTRODUCTION
Jasim Uddin in 1968 spent all his savings to establish Ansaruddin High School in 1969 in name of his father. Now most of people of Ambikapur and adjacent villages are educated. Ansaruddin High School at Ambikapur, Faridpur established by Poet Jasim Uddin. has opened e-mail account: anseruddin@gmail.com
Faridpur hosted several key meetings of the Indian independecne movement. It was regularly visited by Subhash Chandra Bose, Chittaranjan Das, Rabindranath Tagore, and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. The annual conference of the Bengal Congress held on the grounds of the Moyez Manzil Palace in Faridpur in 1921 was attended by Mahatma Gandhi.The beauty of low-lying areas like Faridpur, and for that matter in most of Bangladesh (not so much in West Bengal) is in full blossom only in monsoon because rain water connects the dots criss-crossing the distance with little canals, ponds, and open water bodies (beels). During monsoon, the country boats became ubiquitous, ferrying people and goods. In Faridpur town, of course, there was no country boat, most people walked on road, and lanes.
Dr. Nilratan Sarkar was the greatest Indian doctor at that time. He treated poets father (Jasimuddin Sangraha, Deys Publisher,Kolkata, India 2012).LEFT
This school has now achieved the best result among all non-goverment schools, Three years ago its result was the worst. Very high pass rates in PSC, SSC, HSC exams do not mean proper education Generally people here use the word ‘copy’ and its derivatives to mean the dishonest practice of adopting unfair means in academic examinations; the correct word is to cheat. The Dr. Kudrat-e-Khuda Education Commission Report of 1974 stated that “recently held examinations witnessed widespread cheating” and that “cheating has turned the examination into a farce.” The 1988 Report of the National Education Commission also commented that the continuing slide in the condition of examinations took a bad shape. A survey conducted by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) states that the main challenge for the secondary education is posed by “prevalent cheating in the Board-conducted examinations, leaking of question papers and such other rampant corruptions.”
History
In 1582 in the reign of Emperor Akbar, the province of Bengal was formed into 33 sarkars or financial sub-divisions, and Faridpur area appears to have been included with in the sarkar of Muhammad Abud. During the Emperor Shah Jahan, these divisions were carried onto such an extent as to cause in a falling of the imperial revenue. In 1721 a new partition of the country was made the province of Bengal being formed into 13 large divisions (chaklas) instead of sarkars. In 1765 the financial administration of Faridpur, together with the rest of Bangal was captured by the English, and in 1790 the criminal administration of the country at the correctors were invested with magisterial powers. In 1793 the collectors were relieved of their magisterial duties and separate officers were appointed united Judicial and Magisterial power together. The greater portion of Faridpur was then comprised within Dacca Jalalpur. In 1811 Faridpur was separated from Dacca collectorate.
The district was initially known as Fatehabad. In 1860 the district was named as Faridpur after 12th Century Sufi saint Shah Sheikh Fariduddin. Faridpur town was declared a municipality in 1862 and a District Prison was set up in 1865. In 1840 the Faridpur Zila School was established and is one of the oldest schools in modern day Bangladesh.
The original district stretched out across central Bengal, comprising what is, today, the Greater Faridpur region. A politically important district during the British Raj, Faridpur became a sub-division of Dhaka Division after the creation of Pakistan. In 1984, with the Decentralization Program of the Bangladesh government, Faridpur district was broken into five separate districts: Rajbari, Gopalgonj, Madaripur, Shariatpur and Faridpur.
Faridpur is notable for its rich zamindari history. Most of the zamindar families were Hindus. They included the Basu Roys of Gopalgonj, the Basu Roy Chowdhurys of Ulpur (Shahapur), the Sikdars of Kanaipur, The Bhawal Rajas of Pangsha, the Senguptas(dewanji)of dhamaron , the Lords of Choddo, and the Baish and Roshi estates of Bhanga. During the reign of the Nawabs of Bengal, several Muslim zamindaris were established. They included the Chanpur Estate and the Boalmari Estate in present day Faridpur, Golam Ali Chowdhury of Idilpur pargana and the Padamdi Nawab Estate in present day Rajbari. The most powerful Muslim landlords were Nawab Abdul Latif and Chowdhury Moyezuddin Biwshash.
However, some examiners and officials of the Directorate of Primary Education said examiners had been instructed to mark scripts generously. It has been reported that examiners/teachers were asked to give pass marks to even those who failed to secure pass marks. This bad practice is sure to cause great harm to the very backbone of education. (Mawdua Hasnin, Holiday 18.07. 14)
For contact, information or donation (for books for example) write to Headmaster Ansaruddin High School. Please send this message to your friends.
The rivers Padma, Kumar, Modhumoti, Aarial Kha, and Chandana have made the land of Faridpur fertile. The fertile land not only produces good crops, but also great personalities. When Bangladesh, in 1971, was going to be independent, it was internationally renowned as the country of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He was born in Tungipara in the then Faridpur district (now Faridpur has divided into five districts, i.e. Faridpur, Madaripur, Gopalgong, Shariatpur, and Rajbari ). Tungipara is now in the Gopalgong district. Mujib's graveyard is also in Tungipara.
Jasim Uddin is called Pollikobi (poet of rural life). In his poems he has picked up the villagers' real life. His poems have been translated in many languages. His graveyard is in Ambikapur, which is adjacent to Faridpur town.Nawab Abdul Latif was a great social reformer, administrator, and educationist. He was born in the village Rajapur in Boalmari upazila. It is about 40km from Faridpur. The broken bricks of buildings announce his memory in Rajapur. Scientist Kazi Abul Monsur, poet and educationist Gazi Khorsheduzzaman, photographer Dr. Shahidul Alam, and footballer Salahuddin were also born in Rajapur.
Social reformer Haji Shariatullah was born in Bahadurpur, now in the Madaripur district. World-famous architect Fazlur Rahman Khan (F.R. Khan), who was the designer of the Empire State Building in Chicago and the King Abdul Aziz Airport in Zeddah, is the son of this soil. Politician Yusuf Ali Chowdury (also known as Mohan Miah and Alimuzzaman Chowdury); artists Rashid Chowdury and Kalidas Karmaker, and social worker Ambikacharon Majumder were also born in Faridpur.Faridpur is a historic district in central Bangladesh. It is a part of the Dhaka Division. The district was a focal point for political movements in the British Raj and the early days of the Pakistan era. It produced some of the most prominent politicians and cultural figures of Bengal. Once a subdivision, the original area of the district compromised of what is today the Greater Faridpur region which includes the present day districts of Rajbari, Gopalgonj, Madaripur, Shariatpur and Faridpur. Famous for its jute fields, which are considered to produce the finest raw jute, and aristocratic zamindar families, Faridpur is located on the banks of the Padma river (Lower Ganges). However, the district is also prone to heavy flooding.
History:The classless mystic philosophy of Islam, introduced in Benga1 by Muslim Sufis and saints, brought a new message of hope in terms of human dignity and honour for the Buddhists, monotheistic school of Hinduism, and the lower caste Hindu untouchables. The popular acceptance and universal veneration of Muslim saints and savants were a significant tribute by the local population, of all persuasions of faiths, about the non-military and non-political nature of introduction of Islam in Bengal.
In a historical context the evolution of the awareness of the Bengali Muslims of their distinct and different identity and aspirations went through identifiable phases. The first phase lasted from about the 8th century to 1204 i.e. Muslim conquest of Bengal. The second phase 1204-1757 ended with the loss of Muslim political power in Bengal to the East India Company in the battle of Plassey in 1757.
The loss of the political power in 1757 to the British signalled the loss of will and ability of the Muslims of Bengal to protect their separate identity and to shape their destiny.
A noteworthy feature during the nineteenth century was the lack of proper leadership in Muslim Bengal. Muslim leadership was socially fragmented, politically biased and without any meaningful communication between the leaders and the masses.
In the nineteenth century the illiterate and poor Muslims, the peasants and artisans, had no one to turn to for advice and guidance except towards reformers like Haji Shariatullah, Pir Dudu Mia or Titumir who were totally ignorant of the new ideas and forces that were going to shape the destiny of all communities.
The district was initially known as Fatehabad. In 1860 the district was named as Faridpur after 12th Century Sufi saint Shah Sheikh Fariduddin. Faridpur town was declared a municipality in 1862 and a District Prison was set up in 1865. In 1840 the Faridpur Zila School was established and is one of the oldest schoos in modern day Bangladesh. The original district stretched out across central Bengal and compromised of the what is today, the Greater Faridpur region. A politcally important district during the British Raj, Faridpur became a sub-division of Dhaka Division after the creation of Pakistan. In 1984, with the Decentralisation Programme of the Bangladesh government, Faridpur district was broken into five districts- Rajbari, Gopalgonj, Madaripur, Shariatpur and Faridpur.
Faridpur is notable for its rich zamindari history. Most of the zamindar families were Hindus. They included the Basu Roys of Gopalgonj, the Sikdars of Kanaipur, The Bhawal Rajas of Pangsha, the Lords of Choddo and the Baish and Roshi estates of Bhanga. During the reign of the Nawabs of Bengal, several Muslim zamindaris were established. They included the Padamdi Nawab Estate, the Boalmari Nawab Estate and the Chanpur Biwshash Estate. The most powerful Muslim landlords were the Nawab of Boalmari and Chowdhury Moyezuddin Biwshash.
During the 1800s, Haji Shariatullah, after returning from Mecca, began the famous Faraizi movement aimed at ending the persecution of Muslims by upper caste Hindu zamindars. The Indigo Resistance Movement which resisted Indigo plantations promoted by the British East India Company, also began in Faridpur. The movement was led by Pir Dudu Miah.
His reform movement was basically religious; but it touched upon various other aspects of the society. He may be characterised as an Islamic revivalist, a social reformer and a populist peasant leader. These traits were symptomatic of the devastating malaise which had taken hold of the people of Bengal who were then smarting under the unhampered misrule, loot and plunder of the English
The indigo resestance movement and santal rebellion of the late 1850s were organised and led by the affected people themselves. Many of the Calcutta newspapers and magazines had rendered support to the cause of the rebellious peasantry. The Faraizi peasant resistance was organised by the peasants themselves. dudu miah, the leader of the movement, was a religious leader but his leadership was not of the genre of Majnu Shah, Balaki Shah, Tipu Shah and others. Dudu Miah used religious fervour to strengthen his secular fight against the oppressive zamindars.
Dudu Miyan (1819-1862) succeeded to the leadership of the faraizi movement at the death of his father, Haji shariatullah, in 1840. Born in 1819 in a village of Madaripur of greater Faridpur district, Dudu Mia's real name was Muhsinuddin Ahmad, 'Dudu Miyan' being his 'fond name'
To confront the opponents of the Faraizis effectively, he revived the traditional self-governing organisation of panchayet system for minimising discord in the countryside, to check and control local disputes by good-will compromises and arbitration.
In organising the Faraizi society, Dudu Miyan had two objectives in view, viz. (i) protecting the Faraizi peasantry from the oppression of the zamindars and European indigo planters, and (ii) securing social justice for the masses. In order to secure the first objective, he raised a volunteer corps of clubmen (lathial) and arranged for their regular training in the art of fighting with clubs. For securing the second objective, he revived the traditional system of local government (Panchayet) under Faraizi leadership. The former came to be known as the Siyasti or political branch and the latter Dini or religious branch, which were amalgamated later on into a hierarchical Khilafat system.
For systematic and successful operation of the panchayet, he took several measures. He organised a corps of Lathiyals (affray fighters), with whose help he broke the power of the mercenary and hired clubmen of the zamindars and Indigo Planters so completely that for the two decades from 1838 to 1857 peace and tranquility prevailed all over the Faraizi areas. Besides, he organised the Faraizi hamlets, enclaves and settlements (of say 50 to 500 persons) into core-associations by appointing a gram khalifah (village representative) from amongst them as a coordinator between him and the villagers. A good number of villages, again, were grouped into a gird (circle) over which was appointed a superintendent khalifah. The village khalifahs formed a council headed by the superintendent khalifah and decided various disputes through arbitration courts. He set up his headquarters at Bahadurpur and kept around him a number of uparistha (superior) khalifahs to advise him on important issues raised by circumstances or referred to by the superintended khalifahs for final settlement.
With these tentacles, he maintained his symbolic presence everywhere in the Faraizi societies and developed an effective system of private administration in the rural areas, which had still remained out of the reach of the company administration. So long the Indigo Planters were the autocratic lords and the zamindars, with their long ropes of permanent settlement, were the hands of the government.
Following the socio-economic policy of his father, Dudu Miyan declared equality and brotherhood of mankind and propounded the doctrine of the proprietorship of land as due to the labour. He declared that 'the land belongs to the tiller'. This attracted the attention of all denominations of down trodden peasantry and irrespective of religion and caste all peasantry flocked around him as the supporters of the Faraizi movement. With the help of his core-khilafat organisation, he minimised the quarrels of the people in the rural society, arbitrated their disputes, summoned and tried the culprits in khilafat courts and enforced the judgments effectively. He even conventionally enforced a verbal injunction against referring any case of the dispute to the government courts without the permission of the Faraizi Khalifahs on duress of ensuring non-availability of witness for or against the case.
Dudu Miyan was, however, prudent enough to recognise the political power of the east india company. He frequently associated himself with the English officers, hunted wild buffaloes with them and kept them in good humour. He recognised the legal revenues of land as due to the zamindars as displayed in the rent-roll list of the khas mahal. Following the wisdom of his father, he kept his activities strictly within the legal limits of the lawful subjects of the government, lest the Faraizis should have to meet the fate of the followers of titu mir, whom he met in 1830, one year before the latter was destroyed by a military expedition of the company government.
After the break up of the sepoy revolt in 1857, the government arrested him and kept him under detention at the Alipore Jail near Calcutta till he was set free in 1861. He died at Dhaka in 1862.
The Greater Faridpur region is also famous for producing some of the finest politicians and cultzral leaders of the Indian Subcontinent. They include Baba Ambika Charan Majumder (President of the Indian National Congress), Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (Father of the Nation), Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, Jasim Uddin, Geeta Dutta and many more.
Faridpur hosted several key meetings of the Indian independecne movement. It was regularly visited by Subhash Chandra Bose, Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das, Rabindranath Tagore, Nazrul Islam Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. The annual conference of the Bengal Congress held on the grounds of the Moyez Manzil Palace in Faridpur in 1921 was attended by Mahatma Gandhi. Faridpur also saw many ruthless atrocities during the Bangladesh Liberation War. On April 26th, the Pakistan army landed on Daulatdia river port (now in present day Rajbari) and began a massacre as soldiers went from village to village killing sleeping civilians during dawn.
Poet Jasim Uddin's ancestral home is at village Ambikapur,(two kilometer from Faidpur town). A museum has been opened since June 2003.
Many memorable personalities were born in the Faridpur district, like poet Jasim Uddin, social reformers Nawab Abdul Latif and Haji Shariatullah, national leaders Sheikh Mujib and Mohon Mia, singers Sanjida Khatun and Fakir Alamgir, cinematographers Mrinal Sen and Tareq Masud, artists Kalidas Karmaker and Rashid Chowdury, educationist Kazi Motahar Hossain, and many more.
Nineteenth century Bengal was a unique blend of religious and social reformers, scholars, literary giants, journalists, patriotic orators and scientists, all merging to form the image of a renaissance, and marked the transition from the 'medieval' to the 'modern'2. Ambikapur - Villages in Padma Chars (island)- hunger, unalphabet - endless distress
Distress of Bengal
The ghastly genocide, which used hunger and starvation as tools, lasted for about eighteen decades and was carried out in Bengal, India (at present Bengal is partly in India and partly in Bangladesh) by the British colonial masters claiming about thirty million victims.
It started in 1770 with a big bang, when approximately one third of the total population of Bengal died because of a drought. About 10 million people died! East India Company, which had occupied the country five years earlier, did not even once attempt to introduce any measures of aid worth mentioning. British officers in India were happily reporting to their bosses in London about having maximized their profit through trading and export of food. (Incidentally, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, the prophet of Indian nationalism, wrote his celebrated novel "Anandamath" with the battle cry 'Bandemataram' in the context of the agony evoked by the ravages of the famine of 1770.)
It must be mentioned here that Bengal is a land of rivers and most fertile land of Ganges delta. Bengal was a granary of India till British came in. Every village had, and still has, a pond, which has fishes that can feed the village even when there is no rice. It needed British intervention to convert the lush green land of Bengal into famine-starved land. A sketch by Zainul Abedin depicting Bengal Famine 1943 Bengal had 30 or 40 famines (depending on how one defines famine) during 182 years of British rule in Bengal. There are no reliable accounts of the number of people who died in these famines. We have only the figures put out by British colonialists. But even given the limited data availability, once can see the barbaric face of British colonialism in India.
The last big famine in Bengal occurred between 1942 and 1945. At least four million people died during these three years. Some scholars believe that the number of dead was much higher (remember that the figure of four million is based on British sources). Notwithstanding the controversy about the number of dead, it is widely accepted that the famine was man-made. Nobel laureate, Amartya Sen, has demonstrated quite convincingly that the famine deaths were caused by British policies and not by drastic slump in food production.
Amartya Sen has used the Bengal famine to justify democracy and run down dictatorships. The fact is that Churchill was democratically elected by British people. After independence, from 1947 till date, East Bengal (presently known as Bangladesh) has been ruled by dictators for many years. Yet, during the past five and a half decades, the number of starvation deaths in East Bengal (or West Bengal) is not even one per cent of the number of people that died of starvation during the half-century before independence. The issue, obviously, is not dictatorship versus democracy.
Bengal was a victim of a criminal act perpetrated for more than one and three quarters of a century. British establishment indulged in brutal genocide in Bengal, at times to further their own interests and at other times out of sheer negligence of their duties. In either case, the British Government stands guilty of the worst crime in recent human history.
The least that people of India and Bangladesh can do is to construct a memorial in the memory of millions who died at the hand of a cruel barbaric monster. Let us at least shed a tear for them! Let us at least rewrite the history! (Anil Chawla, 4 April 2005)
We are also told that the rulers of Bengal, before the British arrived, were self-centered despots, who did not care about their people's well being and were spoilt by luxury. British take pride in the fact that they brought 'good governance' and 'rule of law' to India, starting from Bengal and spreading to the rest of the country. In spite of all the alleged misrule that the Indian rulers of pre-British era indulged in, there is absolutely no historical account of any major famine in Bengal prior to the arrival of British in Bengal.Before the advent of East India Company rule, the peasantry of Bengal were said to have “wielded the plough in one land and spindle on the other,” which led Bengal to the height of prosperity due to rich agricultural output and huge production of hand-woven cloths of innumerable varieties.
Having occupied Subah (i.e. the province) Bangala, which included all of Bengal (pre–1906), Bihar and Orissa, following the Battles of Plassey and Buxar in 1757 and 1764, and having the grant of the Dewani of Subah Bangala with the legal status of Revenue Collector to the British East India Company by the Emperor of Delhi in 1765, the Company took five major steps, all leading to surreptitious subjugation of the people and “unlawful” exploitation of the land.The first step was disbandment of the Nawabi armed forces, making a large number of local people unemployed. The second step was the drainage of wealth from Bengal to England by loot and vandalism to balance the Company’s budget. The third step was aimed at wiping out the weaving industry of Bengal, including the world-famous Muslin, turning the whole country into a market for Manchester textiles. The fourth step was confiscation of the innumerable rent-free land by the Muslim rulers for running numerous religious, educational and social welfare institutions and establishments were also affected. The fifth step was the feudalisation of the agricultural land and confiscation of peasants’ rights on land by means of the Permanent Settlement, and by introducing exploitative forced cultivation of indigo to facilitate capital investment of English financiers.
The Neel (indigo)agitation of Bengal in 1859-60 is one of the largest farmer agitation of the modern times. European farmers had a monopoly over Neel farming. The foreigners used to force Indian farmers to harvest Neel and to achieve their means they used to brutally suppress the farmer. They were illegally beaten up, detained in order to force them to sell Neel at non-profitable rates. In 1866-68 Darbhanga and Champaran in Bihar witnessed agitation by Neel farmers.
The East India Company, an important corporation at the time (starting in the 15th century), exported to England, its home base, more indigo than any other product from India.
Till the second half of the 18th century, Bengal did not play a major role in the indigo tale. It was only subsequently that the East India Company "promoted" the cultivation and processing of indigo in Bengal and Bihar. In the 19th century, Bengal was the world's biggest producer of indigo in the world! An Englishman in the Bengal Civil Service is said to have commented, "Not a chest of indigo reached England without being stained with human blood". Indigo was part of the national movement. Champaran in Bihar witnessed indigo riots in 1868. In 1917 Gandhiji himself launched an enquiry into the exploitation of indigo workers.
>British policy: Divide and Rule
British imperialism and its atrocious policies of Divide and Rule unleashed a vicious history of divergence, asymmetry and animosity in the Bengali society. The political ways of Hindus and Muslims parted forever. Economic and cultural antagonism and conflict continued to aggravate during two centuries of British colonialism. Muslims and Hindus increasingly found it difficult to perceive a common destiny. The Muslims of Bengal, of all economic and social classes, came closer and closer on a common platform of general consensus about their fear for survival as a political, religious, economic and cultural entity.
Bengal unlike the rest of India had experienced a half-century of British rule before it had spread over the other regions. As a result it came under significant British influence and produced a new English educated class that brought about radical changes in Indian society and customs. During the beginning of the nineteenth century the group that spearheaded this cultural movement to be known in history as the 'Bengal Renaissance' were the Hindus.
The Bengali Muslims did not find any reflection of their aspirations in this Renaissance. Western education was the principal force behind the Bengal Renaissance. As the Muslims did not accept Western education they lagged behind in all economic and political activities as a community.
The upper class Muslims could have taken advantage of Western education but did not. Having been the ruling class they hated the new order that had robbed them of their power and position; frustrated and hurt, therefore, they created a cocoon of exclusiveness around them. One way to maintain this exclusiveness was to cling to the traditional system of education. Moreover, Indian nationalism at this initial stage as Jawaharlal Nehru himself stated, was dominated by Hindus and had a Hinduised look, so a conflict arose in the Muslim mind. Many accepted that nationalism, trying to influence it in the direction of their choice, while many stayed away as they saw it as an articulation of Hindu aspiration.
The first Hindu-Muslim national uprising in 1857 against the British gave a deathblow to the Muslims of Bengal. The British blamed the Muslims for it and took a series of measures to cripple them. One immediate action was the deliberate elimination of Bengalis and central Indians from the defence forces and induction of the loyalist Punjabis in their place.
The Permanent Settlement Act - land revenueThe establishment of both private property rights in land by the Permanent Settlement Act and the forces commercialisation of agriculture benefitted rich peasents (Jotdars). Mukherjee (1971) argued that the 'self-sufficient village economy' of Pre-British Bengal, which was based on 'peasent production', 'disintregrated' and was improverished by colonial intervention.The British found land revenue as the primary source of income in India and they increased it at regular intervals. The question which had bothered them in the beginning was from whom to collect the revenue. This was to be settled with the persons who were to be regarded as the owners of land, for in England the owner paid the revenue. In India, however, the revenue was paid by zamindars and all sorts of middlemen who were well-established in the country-side, but were not owners of the land. The British recognized these revenue payers as the owners of land and left the cultivators to their tender mercies. The British felt it handy to collect revenue from a limited number of landlords rather than from innumerable cultivators, merely for the convenience of extorting the maximum amount with the minimum expenditure. Moreover, the creation of Zamindari system was to provide a social base for the colonial power in strengthening its hold over the country.The Permanent Settlement of 1793 converted the revenue collectors into landowners in Bengal. The zamindars had thus been selected as the persons to settle with “not as a matter of chance, but as one of deliberate policy.” ----Baden Powell, The Land System of British India. As the British dominions in India expanded, the British extended individual ownership of land as a means to retain their hold on the growing dominions. The imperial, political and economic considerations played their part in the determination of British policies in the annexed areas. The Permanent Settlement, with all its merits, contained one handicap in as much as it kept the company’s income static. So new experiments were taken up in the revenue policy such as Ryotwari system in Madras and Bombay, temporary zamindari settlements in the Punjab, and central provinces,etc. A s a resul of British land policy the land-holdings changed hands from cultivating owners to non-cultivating owners.Traders and mahajans invested money in lands and soon the abuses of absentee landlordism came into existence. The Pemanent Settlement imposed in Bengal in 1793 to collect revenue and to ensure the supply of raw materials or to facilate the flow of agricultural products for British industries. In 1770 a terrible famine resulted in bengal that took ten million Bengali lives, one third of the population (Dufferin, 1888) Pemanent Settlement fundamentally altered agrarian Bengal from traditional self-contained, motionless, egalitarian society to one with a dynamic peasantry - new class of landlords. |
O Bajan Chal Jai 0 father come let us go |
"We westerners will decide who is a good native or a bad, because all natives have sufficient existence by virtue of our recognition. We created them, we taught them to speak and think and when they rebel, they simply confirm our views of them as silly children, duped by some of their western masters.'
Puthis were also composed on islamic personalities such as Haji shariatullah and historic events like the Wahabi-Faraezi movement (Wakil Ahmed).
The condition of the Muslim community of rural Bengal- five years of British rule (1765-1840) by W. W. Hunter
W. W. Hunter contended that seventy-five years before, it was almost impossible to find any poor family amongst the Muslims of Bengal, and now it was difficult to find any well-to-do family amongst them. He said the Muslims accused the English on several grounds for their abject misfortune, among which the confiscation of rent-free land grants and the abolition of the network of the posts of Qadis were reckoned to be the two most devastating causes.
3. Mutiny : Farmer agitationsThe main jolt of the imperialistic operation was faced by the farmers, as a result they fought against the British rule in each and every step. Sadly though, references to such struggles are not easily available.
Sayyid Nisar Ali (1781-1831) nick named Titu Mir is considered to be Shahid and Ghazi among the Muslims. During Titu Mir's life when the British were gradually getting control of the Indian subcontinent the Muslims could not adjust to the foreign rule and a Jihad was declared against the British.
Thus ordinary peasants were forced to buy salt from the agents at exorbitant rates. In Chittagong the British started the method of revenue collection from cotton and gave over the collection rights to speculators through the establishment of karpas mahals. This affected the Chakmas (who were essentially shifting cultivators) adversely as they cultivated cotton on their sterile lands and exchanged it for rice, salt and other necessities. They reacted under the leadership of Janbox Khan in 1782 and gathered the people to stop payment of cotton. They also destroyed the storehouses of the lease holders who protected their stocks with the help of the British. A similar pattern was also seen in the case of the Kurda revolts where peasants made salt in violation of the Company’s orders and attacked and looted the stores of the salt agents. This clearly showed that it was not only the land tenure and tax policies but also the trading practices in commodities of daily use that had impacted the peasantry and spurred it into rebellion. For example sannyasis and fakirs rebellions of the late eighteenth century were led by settler sanyasis from the Giri and fakirs from the Madari sects who had settled in Mymensigh as peasants.
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Dudu Miah gave it the shape of an agitational movement of the peasantry in a mortal confrontation with the zaminders and indigo planters
Indigo planters were put into public trial and executed. The indigo depots were burned down. Many planters fled to avoid being caught. The zamindars were also targets of the revolting peasants. However the revolt was brought down by iron hand. Large forces of police and military backed by the British Government and the zamindars mercilessly slaughtered a number of peasants. In spite of this the revolt was fairly popular, involving almost the whole of Bengal
The Government was forced to appoint a committee which was to dwell into the corrupt practices related with this system and suggest means to reduce it. Yet the oppression of landowners and agitation of the farmers against them continued. In 1866-68 Darbhanga and Champaran in Bihar witnessed agitation by Neel farmers.
The farmers revolt had a second aspect, which was religious in colour. It started as a religious purification movement but soon changed its character, and without taking into consideration to which religion the Jamindar, landlord and moneylender belonged to, they started attacking on them. Finally their general outburst came out in the form of series of revolts against the British imperialism throughout the country.
Would like to cite another anecdote. A couple of months before the August tragedy, poet Jasimuddin asked me: "Bhai, could you accompany me to Dhanmondi? I've an urgent talk with Bangabandhu." I gladly agreed. So far as I can recollect, the rickshawalla demanded taka two. It was exorbitant. The poet got angry. He haggled with the rickshaw-puller over the fair and hired the rickshaw from Bangladesh Bank to Bangabandhu Bhavan for taka one and a-half.
On reaching Bangabandhu Bhavan, the poet paid and patted the rickshawalla and walked straight to the drawing room. I followed him. Bangabandhu came down from the first floor. The two great Bengalis exchanged warm greetings and sat down on a sofa.
The poet said: "You're from Faridpur, I'm also from Faridpur (district). I've come to you for a tadbir (a favour). My son-in-law is your son-in-law. Isn't it?" "Of course," Bangabandhu laughed and quipped: "Your son-in-law (meyejamai) is my son-in-law. I do understand what you want to say. You and Bhabi should not worry for Maudud. He is alright in jail. He will be released as soon as possible. I'm giving the order."
Then they chatted for some time. The poet was highly gratified by the gesture of the president and supreme leader of the nation. Bangabandhu knew very well that the palli-kavi shouldn't be entertained with tea or coffee. So, he asked his servant to serve him with muri, gur (molasses) and coconut -- favourites of the poet.
This was Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. As a politician and statesman, he was not above mistakes or follies. As a mortal human being, he had his weaknesses and limitations. History will absolve all his mistakes and weaknesses. As the independence hero and nationalist leader, he is second to none
(Syed Abul Maksud is a noted writer, researcher and columnist,Daily Star,Aug 15, 2009).
Our Liberation War: Down the Path of HistoryJasim Uddin - Poems of Independence The paintings depict defining moments in the history of Bengal, including The Battle of Plassey, Indigo Revolt, Farayezi Movement, Nuruldin's Rebellion, Uprising of the Fakirs, Surja Sen's Armed Rebellion, Nankar Movement, Tonk Movement, Tebhaga Movement, Language Movement (1952), Mass Upsurge (1969) and Liberation War (1971). The themes are very close to the hearts of Bengalis and the nation draws courage and inspiration from these historical events.
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(Left) “Language Movement” by Hashem Khan, (top right)“Tebhaga Movement” by Samarjit Roy Chowdhury and (bottom right)“Nuraldin’s Rebellion” by Iftikhar Uddin Ahmed.
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The Birth of Bangla LanguageIndo-Iranian Indo-Aryan Magadhi Family Assamese Bengali & Bengali Official status: Official language of Bangladesh, India, and Indian states of West Bengal and Tripura Regulated by: Bangla Academy (Bangladesh) Paschimbanga Bangla Akademi (West Bengal) Bengali or Bangla is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from Prakrit, Pâli and Sanskrit. Bengali is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal. With nearly 230 million native speakers, Bengali is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world (it is ranked 5th in the world). Bengali is the main language spoken in Bangladesh; in India, Bengali is ranked as the second most spoken language. Along with Assamese, it is geographically the most eastern of the Indo-European languages. History Like many other Eastern Indo-Aryan languages, Bengali arose from the Magadhi Apabhramsha melting pot of Middle Indic languages, around the turn of the first millennium CE. Some argue for much earlier points of divergence - going back to even 500 CE, but the language wasn't static; different varieties coexisted and authors often wrote in multiple dialects. For example, Magadhi Apabhramsha is believed to have evolved into Magadhi Abahatta around the 6th century which competed with Bengali for a period of time. Usually 3 periods are identified in the history of Bengali: Old Bengali (900/1000 CE1400 CE) texts include Charyapada, devotional songs; emergence of pronouns Ami, tumi, etc; verb inflections -ila, -iba, etc. Oriya and Assamese branch out in this period. Middle Bengali (14001800 CE) - major texts of the period include Chandidas's Srikrishnakirtan; elision of word-final ô sound; spread of compound verbs; Persian influence. Some scholars further divide this period into early and late middle periods. New Bengali (since 1800 CE) - shortening of verbs and pronouns, among other changes (e.g. tahar tar 'his'/'her'; koriyachhilô korechhilo he/she had done). Historically closer to Pali, Bengali saw an increase in Sanskrit influence during the Middle Bengali (Chaitanya era), and also during the Bengal Renaissance. Of the modern Indo-European languages in South Asia, Bengali and Marathi retain a largely Sanskrit vocabulary base while Hindi and others are more influenced by Arabic and Persian. Until the 18th century, there was no attempt to document the grammar for Bengali. The first written Bengali dictionary 'Vocabolario em idioma Bengalla, e Portuguez dividido em duas partes' was written by the Portuguese missionary Manoel da Assumpcam between 1734 and 1742. Nathaniel Brassey Halhed, a British grammarian, wrote a modern Bengali grammar 'A Grammar of the Bengal Language' (1778) that used Bengali types in print for the first time. Raja Ram Mohan Roy, the great Bengali Reformer, also wrote a "Grammar of the Bengali Language" (1832).
Muktijuddha chroniclesMarch 25, 1971Despite a landslide victory, winning 167 seats out of the169 allotted for East Pakistan, when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was still refused the control of the state, Bangladeshis could not fail to acknowledge the conspiracy bred by the Pakistani military junta the whole time. Numerous incidents in the past showed neglect, callousness and a growing indifference toward the Bangladeshis. Even while Sheikh Mujib held talks with Yahya Khan, regarding a growing conflict prior to this day, Pakistani army platoons were sailing in through the ports of East Pakistan in plain clothes.
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Although their support was initially passive, the Indian army began operations
inside Bangladesh with the Mukti Bahini. Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora became the commander of this joint forces and the move was aggravated when the Pakistan Air Force bombing Srinagar, Amritsar and other parts of India prior to this day.
The Indo-Pakistan war broke out as a result.
The joint forces of the Mukti Bahini and Indian army continued to rampage into Bangladesh with the surrender of Pakistan army becoming more viable with every passing second.
History of Independence
Jasimuddin- The Poems of Independence
History of Bangladesh Independence
The Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971
25th March 1971 [The Liberation war Bangladesh]
1971 Surrender
Bangladesh" an Introduction to the world..
7 March, 1971- Speech of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Father of The Nation of Bangladesh Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Bangabandhu The father of Bengali Nation
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
what mujib said
Bangladesh Genocide: Rape Victims
George Harrison - Bangladesh
O Amar Bangladesh....
Jasim Uddin writes his father use to write poetry. Ansaruddin's best friend was Suresh Chandra Bose (Jibonkatha, 1964). He was also Chairman of Ambikapur Union.
Jasim Uddin writes Poet Nazrul Islam visited two times Ambikapur, Faridpur. Poet Nazrul Islam was just came out of jail. He was visiting Ansaruddin's house and at that time the river Padma
was flowing with all its beauty and destruction. Ansaruddin's daughters were married and their husbands were working for the British Government. They complained to poet's father, if Nazrul stays at Ambikapur house, they will never visit father in law.
Ansaruddin became very annoyed and said to his son in laws - "Nazrul is the most famous bengali poet and he is my guest, if you do not visit me I do not care. I shall never ask my loveing guest to leave!"
Firoza Begum born in an aristocratic Muslim family in Faridpur district in the 1930s, Feroza Begum became drawn to music in her childhood. She had no formal education in music, but she used to render songs on the megaphone listening to contemporary music on records of the then popular singers such as Aashchorjomoyee Devi, Sati Devi, Angur Bala, Indu Bala and Swarnokumari Devi in the pantry of her parent's house.
By her unique presentation style Feroza Begum has emerged as the most prominent Nazrul Sangeet singer in the subcontinent. Though she is popular as a Nazrul singer, she renders other music genres such as geet, ghazal, thumri, dhadra and adhunik "I always dreamt of recording my songs and hoped everybody would listen to my music," says Feroza Begum, "Which is why I always wanted to go to Kolkata since songs were recorded there." Her dream came true in the summer of 1940. While a student of only class four she went to Kolkata to visit her maternal uncle's house. That trip turned out to be her first break. Her maternal uncle and a cousin took her to the rehearsal room of popular music production company HMV where National Poet of Bangladesh Kazi Nazrul Islam and his colleagues used to mingle. Few can forget the distinct, seasoned voice that gave Nazrul's songs the passion and vigour that it deserved. Feroza Begum, a legendary singer, not only popularised Nazrul Sangeet in the subcontinent but also exposed the depth, versatility and sophistication of this genre of music. |
Nazrul had another identity; he was closely related to the movies. He was a film director, dialogue writer, music composer and music director. He worked both in Bangla and Hindi films. He worked in more than a dozen films. On the first day of 1934 Dhruba was released in Kolkatta. In this cinema Nazrul was the director, songwriter, music composer, singer, and actor. In this movie there were two directors; Nazrul and Saityendranath Dev. It was produced and released by Pioneer Films.In 1931 Nazrul was offered a prestigious position of music director at Pioneer Films Company. Before Nazrul, no Bangalee Muslim glorified such a respectable post in the world of cinema of Indian subcontinent. Nazrul was related to cinema from 1930 to 1941. During this time he worked in more than 12 movies, such as, Dhruba (1934), Patalpuri (1935), Bidyapati (Bangla version, 1938), Bidyapati (Hindi version, 1938), Nandini (1941) etc.
1933 was a remarkable year for the Bangla cinema. Nazrul's first movie Dhruba began to be prepared. On the first day of 1934 Dhruba was released in Kolkatta. In this cinema Nazrul was the director, songwriter, music composer, singer, and actor.
In May 1925 at the Congress session at Faridpur, in the presence of Mahatma Gandhi and Deshbandhuchittaranjan Das, Nazrul sang 'Ghor re ghor re amar sadher charka ghor' (Whirl, O my dear spinning wheel, whirl).
Nazrul Islam was Poet Jasim Uddin's best friend- Nazrul visited twice AmbikapurOn 7 January 1923, Nazrul, as an under-trial prisoner, gave a deposition in self-defence in the court of chief presidency magistrate Swinho. That deposition, 'Rajbandir Jabanbandi', has been acknowledged as a piece of literature.
The Dawn of New Creation(Aaj Srishti Shukher Ullashey)Today at the Nativity of New Creation, A thrill of joy runs riot in me, My face is aglow, my eyes are radiant, My blood boils and bubbles and dances in ecstasy Today at the Baptism of New Life! Today in the imprisoned well of my heart – A deluge arises and the flood-tide violently breaks through the barriers. There comes smile, there are tears, Liberty appears, fetters follow, I learn to speak, today, my bosom is split up, there comes the joy of my bitter sorrow, Lo! There comes the sorrow of a forlorn heart – Today at the Baptism of a New world! There appear the deserted, there wail the dejected, And heart-rending lamentations beggar description, The ocean is swelling, the sky trembling, the wind blowing, Vishnu's discus piercing the firmament, the trident of Shiva being hurled. Behold! The comet and the meteor Out to subvert the Creation: At this, in my breast are blossoming now the flowers of million gardens, Ay, at the prospect of a Millennium! Translated by Abdul Hakim Srishti Shukher Ullashey - RAP Old Nazrul Geeti- 78 rpm recorder in 30's |
Jasim Uddin (1964) writes, |
Haji Shariatullah was born in Banderlakola, Faridpur district, in 1781. He was the son of an ordinary farmer. After getting his early education from his village, he went to Arabia to perform Hajj at an early age of 18 years. He got education from the Madrsa al Rahimia (founded by Shah Waliullah's father).
He stayed there from 1799 to 1818 and got his religious education. He learnt Arabic and Persian from his teacher, Maulana Basharat. During his stay in Arabia he came into close contact with Wahabism started by Muhammad bin Abdul Wahab. He was really influenced by the point of views of the Wahabi Movement. While he was in Arabia, he kept on thinking to be of help to his muslim brothers in East Bengal.
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