A Talk with Nihar Guha on Barishal

In May, 2013, I had a long talk with Nihar Guha, one of the oldest living members of Barishal Seva Samiti. Now in his late 80’s, Guha could still remember the days of his youth, spent in Barishal till 1940’s when he moved to Kolkata. He had seen many things that changed the history of Barishal, from Swadeshi to Riots and the Bengali Diaspora. Below is the interview taken at that time, in which he discusses many things and also his love for now forgotten heritage of Barishal.

Sujay: When did you come to Kolkata and why ?

Guha: In 1940’s, I moved to Kolkata in search of job and better life. I had few contacts in Kolkata who helped me at that time to settle here.

Sujay: How long are you associated with Barishal Seva Samiti ? From your student life or later ?

Guha: I got involved actively with the Samiti when I retired. Before that I knew about it but was not an active member. Seva Samiti was founded during the Swadeshi Era with an aim of serving the people of Barishal in Kolkata. It was founded in Kolkata to help the students from Barishal. Later its activities spread to other fields.

Sujay: What was the role of Samiti during and after the partition ( 1947 ) ?

Guha : During the Partition, the Samiti helped the refugees from Barishal to settle in kolkata. It also financially helped them and gave jobs to a few who needed it. After 1950’s , its activities were mainly cultural or the preservation of Barishal Heritage. Its members founded Pragyanananda Bhavan near Moulali and Aswini Dutta Memorial Committee near Park Circus. The now defunct body of Mukunda Das Memorial Committee was also founded by them.

Sujay: Who is the head of Pragyanananda Bhavan at present ? What are its activities ?

Guha: Debjani Kar, daughter of Biplobi Adhir Banerjee, is the Director of Pragyanananda Bhavan at present. It has an old library and a computer centre. It published some old books on Barishal also, including the biography of Mahabiplobi Swami Pragyanananda Saraswati, after whom the Saraswati Press was named.

Sujay: What about the Mukunda Das Memorial and Aswini Dutta Memorial ?

Guha: Mukunda Das Memorial is a defunct body. It has no activity at present. But Aswini Dutta Memorial still continues to work and its main man is Biplobi Adhir Banerjee. Due to his illness, he can’t work much at present.

Sujay: Have you heard about Satin Sen who died in Barishal ? I saw a statue of him near kakurgachi.

Guha: Yes, there was a Satin Sen Memorial Committee also but I am not sure about its present activities. I knew a man named Dhrubojyoti Dutta from Narkeldanga who was once involved with it.

Sujay: Do you know any descendants from Mukunda Das and Aswini Dutta’s families? Are they interested in these committees?

Guha: I knew Badal Chandra Das from Bosepukur, South 24 Parganas. He was the grandson of Mukunda Das but he was not interested in our activities. Aswini Dutta didn’t marry, but his brother’s daughter Nanda Ghosh Dastidar now lives in Ballygunge.

Sujay: You were long associated with Barishal Seva Samiti. Tell me about it.

Guha: Barishal Seva Samiti does not exist any more, but its members founded Pragyanananda Bhavan, Aswini Dutta Memorial and so on. Kavi Sankha Ghosh had some connections with it and once many distinguished people were its members. It published many books and had a library with rare documents.

Sujay: What happened to the library and the documents ?

Guha: It was a tragic end. We had rented a room for this library and docs, but the owner of the house was not very pleased with us. One day he ordered to close it. Before we could move to a new place, the library closed and the books disappeared one by one. Some members of Samiti were also involved in it. They sold many books and the samiti got divided over this issue. That was how it all ended.

Sujay: Was there any political pressure behind it?

Guha: Yes, the CPIM Govt didn’t like our activities. We could not find a new place for our library. The CPIM also attacked Pragyanananda Bhavan because of its nationalist connection and they also put pressure on us.

Sujay: Very Sad. Do you have any documents as your personal collection ?

Guha: No. All the docs disappeared. We don’t have any.

Sujay: The Seva Samiti had many members. Why they didn’t try to continue it?

Guha: Most of the members were very old. They didn’t have much energy to continue.

Sujay: You were born in Barishal? Have you heard about Chandradwip Royal Family or have you ever been to the place named Chandradwip?

Guha: Yes, I had seen the ruins of Chandradwip Palace when I was a student. There was a member of royal family who used to play with us. The region was not very populated, but had a distinct culture. Our elders talked about its glorious history, but we were too young then to understand its importance. The only thing I could remember that they used to say- Kayastha kings of Chandradwip were once the head of all kayasthas.

Sujay: Barishal was once known for Swadeshi Revolutionary Movement? Have you seen or known any revolutionary personally ?

Guha: Yes, I knew many of them and some of them also settled in Kolkata .

Sujay: Do you have any connections with Barishal at present?

Guha: No. But I like to.

Sujay: Do you still remember the Pre-Partition Barishal?

Guha: Yes, It was a magical time. As far as I can remember, in 1930’s, nobody knew that one day they had to leave their ancestral land, but it happened due to that Jogen Mondal. We will not forgive him.

Sujay: Have you seen the Barishal Riots?

Guha: No, I didn’t. I was in Kolkata at that time but I heard stories from people who fled Barishal.

Sujay: What is your message to the future generation?

Guha: I don’t know how many of us still remember Barishal. But one thing is sure that they will not easily forget their past. Today’s youth have least interest in Barishal History and all are more interested in making money and their careers. I hope that future generation will remember our heritage.

( Interview taken by  Sujay Chatterjee )

Jean Garie

Among the Portuguese adventurers who served the king of Chandradwip for a long time and helped to expand the kingdom, the name of Jean Garie comes first. He served both king Ramchandra and his son kirtinarayan. At that time, many Portuguese settled in Bengal and entered the service of local kings as mercenaries. They were responsible for slave trade and often act as pirates. The Magh and Portuguese pirates started to disturb the local population so much that even Maharaja Pratapaditya had to take action against them. It was a time when the Portuguese enjoyed the monopoly in slave trade, spice trade, and other trades and their only rival was the Spaniards. The Dutch, the Danes, the French,  and the English, were yet to enter the Bay of Bengal as competitors and the Spaniards were least interested here. So the Portuguese were the only European power who truly dominated the Bay of Bengal, before the coming of other powers like Dutch, French and English. Later the Mughals had to fight these Portuguese adventurers but the Mughal was not so powerful. Chattagram, Howrah-Hoogly, Sundarbans, and other important regions with ports were once dominated by the Portuguese. Only the Maghs from Arakan successfully resisted the Portuguese in Chattagram, as well as the Hindu kings of East Bengal. Most of the islands of Sundarbans became deserted due to Portuguese pirates. Later the Dutch settled at Chinsurah, the French at Chandernagor, the Danes at Sreerampore and the English at Calcutta. The Portuguese power waned during 18th Century.


During the time of Mughal Emperor Akbar, King Paramananda Basu of Chandradwip gave Portuguese the permission to trade within his kingdom and allowed some of them to settle. His grandson Kandarpanarayan Basu didn't give them much advantage, but it was kandarpanarayan's son and successor Ramchandra who recruited Portuguese as Generals. Ramchandra increased his army and navy by recruiting the Buxaris from Bihar, Rajputs from West, hilly tribes and the Portuguese. His total force was nearly 1 lakh army. Two of the most trusted generals of King Ramchandra were Nana Fernandes and Jean Garie. The latter joined him with a force of 10,000 men and served him till death. When Ramchandra attacked Bhulua, Garie helped him. He also trained his army in the use of cannons and guns, which the Bengalees learnt long before ( King Kandarpanarayan was famous for his cannons and loved to use guns ).

 "A large no of Portuguese dwell in freedom at the ports on this coast
of Bengal. They are also very free in their lives...They do only
traffic, without any fort, order or police and live like natives of
the country. They dare not return to India, for certain misdeeds they
have committed and they have no clergy among them. There is one of
them named Jean Garie, who is greatly obeyed by the rest. He commands
more than ten thousand men for the king of Bengal."--THE VOYAGE OF
PYRARD DE LEVAL ( PAGE 334, VOL I )

But problem started with King Kirtinarayan, son of Ramchandra, who dismissed Garie for some reasons. Garie revolted and started to disturb the common people. King had to march against him, with his generals Rammohan Mal, Rameshwar Dutta and Madan Singha. On the banks of River Meghna, near Mehendiganj station, king's army fought with the Portuguese for three days on the riverbanks of Sultani, Larua and Ballavpur. The Portuguese were completely defeated and compelled to sign a treaty on the condition that they would leave Chandradwip and would not disturb king's subject anymore. The battlefield came to be known as Sangrampur and a fort built by Chandradwip king was still there during the early 20th Century. Henceforth, the Portuguese ceased to convert people into Christianity in Chandradwip and their slave trade came to an end in that region. 

Project Chandradweep by Sujay Chatterjee

Chandra-dweep was a Hindu Kingdom that existed in Barishal till the 18th Century A.D. and beacame a small zamindari as a result of Permanent Settlement. The kingdom of Chandradweep was ruled by Bengali kayasthas for centuries and at the zenith of its glory, it covered the areas of Barishal, Chattagram, and parts of Sundarbans. It gave birth to valiant Hindu kings who were successful in maintaining their independence during the Turko-Afghan and Mughal rule. Many European travellers wrote about it as well as the contemporary Mughal accounts.

This blog is about the political, socio-cultural and spiritual history of Chandradweep. It will also tell the story of its military might, its trade and commerce, its customs and habits, its demography, and its impact on history. However, the lack of contemporary Bengali Hindu historical accounts about Chandradweep, compel us to rely on foreign accounts. Bankim Chandra was right- the Hindus had many achievements, but few Hindu sources wrote about these achievements, compared to the foreign accounts. As we have no Kalhana whose Rajatarangini is the best indigenous source about the history of kashmir till the coming of Islam, we have to rely on indigenous Bengali folktales, and Kayastha Bangshavali. The Rajas of Chandradweep had matrimonial alliances with other Bengali kingdoms and they were instrumental in the formation of Hindu society in Medieval Barishal.

This blog is dedicated to the kings and Generals of Chandradweep who fought against the foreign invasion. It is also dedicated to the revolutionaries of Barishal who fought for that soil and died. The countless people who left Barishal during the last 60 years due to Islamic pressure should know their root and past achievements.