Monday, November 17, 2014

Our ancestral Home was in Purapara, Faridpur (at present Bangladesh)


At present Faridpur District (Dhaka division) with an area of  2072.72 sq km, is bounded by Rajbari and Manikganj districts on the north, Gopalganj district on the south, Dhaka, Munshiganj and Madaripur districts on the east, Narail, Magura and Rajbari districts on the west. Once a subdivision, the original area of the district (estb. 1815) comprised what is today the Greater Faridpur region which includes the present day districts of Rajbari, Gopalgonj, Madaripur, Shariatpur and Faridpur. Once upon a time the region consisted mainly of depression based marshland. But the alluvial soil of the padma made the soil fertile. Average highest temperature 35.8°C and lowest 12.6°C; annual rainfall is 1546 mm. Main rivers are Padma, Old Kumar, Arial khan, Gorai, Chandana, Bhubanshwar and Lohartek; main depressions are Dhol Samudra, Beel Ramkeli, Shakuner Beel, Ghoradar Beel.
Faridpur district consists of 8 upazilas, 4 municipalities, 79 union parishads, 36 wards, 92 mahallas and 1859 villages. The upazilas are Faridpur sadar, Boalmari, Alfadanga, Madhukhali, Bhanga, Nagarkanda, char Bhadrasan and Sadarpur.
Historical events: 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 within 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. British merchants cultivated Indigo on the banks of the rivers Garai, Madhumati, Barasia, Chandana, Kumar etc. The main kuthi (indigo headquarter) was located in Mirganj of Alfadangha upazila. The Indigo plantation met stiff local resistance like other parts of Bengal and in Faridpur it was led by Pir Dudu Miah


During the 1800s, Haji Shariatullah began the famous 'Faraizi' movement aimed at ending the persecution of Muslims by upper caste Hindu zamindars. Famous for its aristocratic zamindar families, the district was a focal point for political movements in Bengal during the rule of the British Empire. It produced some of the most prominent politicians and cultural figures of Bengal.

As of the 1991 Bangladesh census, Population 1714496; male 50.55%, female 49.45%; Muslim 88%, Hindu 11% Christian 0.7% and others 0.3%.

My father came to Calcutta in search of his fortune and thereby stayed there with occasional visit to his ancestral home. He got his education though he could not sit for any final examination but became strong in Mathematics, English, and Accountancy. He served in several position from Class IV and then became an Accountant of a English farm. 

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