Balihar Rajbari
Naogaon, Rajshahi, Bangladesh
Balihar is a village in Sadar upazila of Naogaon district. Balihar Rajbari is a notable Bangladesh tourism place. It is located about 18 km west of Naogaon town and 4 km south of Saraswatipur Bazar on the Naogaon-Mahadevpur highway. A Brahmin named Narsingh Chakraborty was the founder of this zamindari. He was originally a resident of Bikrampur in the Dhaka district. He moved to Balihar and took a job under Khan Zamindar of Balihar. Later, he held a high position, married the daughter of his patron, and received a taluk from his father-in-law's house as a marriage dowry. After these incidents, he settled in Balihar. After further expansion, the taluk eventually developed into a large estate. His grandson Ramkant Sanyal was a renowned zamindar. He was awarded the title of 'Ray' for his useful work. He had four sons, Krishnadas or Krishnadev, Ramram, Pranakrishna, and Vishnuram. His eldest son Krishnadas married the sister of Rani Satyavati of Rangpur. This marriage brought him as a dowry for the zamindari of Laxmanpur under Sharuppur Pargana. Due to the elder brother's marital relationship with Rani, Ram Ram, and Pranakrishna, Krishnadas' second and third brothers got important positions in Rani's zamindari. They later received a grant from him in 1733 or 1735 for the Vitarband Pargana. It actually laid the real foundation of Balihar Estate in Rangpur and Dinajpur.
Balihar Rajbari is located in Kurmail Mouza of Balihar Union, 18 km west of Naogaon district town. The zamindars of Balihar were among the ancient zamindars of Naogaon who got jagir during the Muslim period. It is said that a zamindar of Balihar got a jagir as a certificate from Emperor Aurangzeb. The nine-wheeled chariot of Balihar was famous. A lot of the zamindars of Balihar were extremely educated. Raja Krishnendranath Roy was a writer. Rajendra, the zamindar of Balihar, erected a magnificent bronze statue of Goddess Rajeshwari in the famous fort temple here before his conversion in 1823. Many rooms inside the temple building. It is also known that there was a temple in one of these rooms. In front of the Balihar Palace, the temple with ornate ornaments and part of the huge two-storied palace are still attractive to visitors.
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