We the patriots come to realize that the last independent Nawab of Bengal fills the place of eternal love in the minds of Bengalis. However, ignoring public opinion, no government of our achieved independent Bangladesh has really yet considered playing a role in building a reviewed true history on the basis of research. It’s sad. Those who are reluctant to ignore peoples’ sentiment cannot be called at least democratic. No special initiative of the secular historians and teachers of the local universities have been seen in this regard to date. The lack of affection and sense of responsibility of the society and the government is really regretful. One thing has become clear to me that the interest and curiosity in the Bengali mind to know the exact history of Nawab Sirajuddaullah is immense. I am happy to see this gathering of patriotic Bangladeshis, patriotic expatriate Bengalis, Siraj-loving Bengalis of West Bengal, student society, school-college and university teachers, and generally educated people.
The patriotic Nawab Sirajuddaullah was the last independent Nawab of Bengal. He was a brave and courageous Nawab, the first martyred heroic freedom fighter to defend our independence, the greatest child of all time. Every university in our country has a history department; there are experienced faculty members of history. Our expectation was that they would be endeavouring to fill the void of history. The initiatives of Dr. Mohammad Mohar Ali, Dr. KM Mohsin and others are commendable. But these are not enough. To present the real history before the nation, it becomes very important today through research, information, analysis, new interpretations and new presentations. The root cause of this pioneering by Syed Golam Abbas Areb alias Nawabzada Ali Abbasuddaullah, the descendant of Nawab Sirajuddaullah, the heroic son of Lal Sabuj, and me is that our historians and academics would take new initiatives to fill up such gap. What is my ascertained hypothesis is that Nawab Siraj was an independent-minded, brave, charismatic and the first martyred freedom fighter to defend the liberty of Bengal. Hopefully, in the future, our historians will be able to prove Nawabzada Abbasuddaullah and my hypothesis through their research.
A number of historians made a vicious move to write so many things in the name of history which was in fact aimed to establish the rationale of the Palashi-Conspiracy. Therefore, there has been a great deal of hindrance in publishing the true picture of the history of Nawab Siraj and Palashi. The main obstacle is the colonial rule of about two hundred years and the second obstacle is the publication of fake stories in the name of history by a number of Hindu historians. As a result, real history has been hampered by falsehoods. However, there is no power to stop the pace of history. Therefore, the motives of the rogue authors of the untruths have been revealed automatically. And, at the same time, the true picture of history is being revealed and evolving like a cloud-covered sun. A strong Nawab in the character; he was a warrior, a great patriot, a wise politician and a simple human. He was the child of this soil. He has never been unfaithful to this soil. He risked his life for the independence and sovereignty of this country. He jumped into the war and gave up his life. If he wished, he could increase the trade advantage of the British merchants a little. And tolerating their arrogance, he could run his own reign in peace for many ages. But he did not. He wanted to strengthen the independence of the country by identifying all the enemies as a sign of his genuine love for the people of the country. We respectfully remember his respect for the country and the people. However, in this case, Akshay Kumar Maitreya has presented a somewhat exceptional statement. He wrote, “Although Sirajuddaullah ruled for only 14 days, his qualifications as a ruler were by no means inferior. At the same time, he was a “pure patriot”, “infinitely brave warrior”, “absolutely patient in all dangers”, “strict ethicist”, “loyal”, “pious”, and “determined to keep his promise at the risk of consequences.” Robert Orm writes, “Alivardi was very friendly. His comfort had nothing to do with comfort and harem. He was happy with only one wife. Ghulam Hossain Tabatabai writes, “Alivardi Khan has lived a holy and well-controlled life since his youth. He never touched liquor in his life and was attached to one wife. He used to spend his time in worship, religious activities and reading the Holy Qur’an and history.”
So, Sirajuddaullah did not come in contact with the harem occupied by beautiful Aryan-Bengali girls built by the kings and maharajas, like the training of lewdness in his childhood and adolescence. But the question is, when did Nawab Siraj get the time to commit adultery? Sirajuddaullah, a lad, had to travel 1,100 miles from Purnia to Palashi via Calcutta in just 14 months and 14 days in a vicious cycle of conspiracies across the country. He had to fight five bloody battles, he had to travel faster than Alexander the Great. The days have been spent personally on the battlefield or on horseback, the nights have been spent dealing with conspiracies. Nana Alivardi Khan took care of her grandson under the personal care and get him married to the well-educated graceful Lutfunnisa. A huge festival was organized at this wedding at a cost of crores of rupees. How did the young man get the opportunity to do so in the lifetime of Nawab Alivardi? After the martyrdom of her husband, the young widow of Siraj rejected the marriage proposal of Mir Jafar and Miron. They did not even consider whether the unfaithful wife of a wicked husband would do such a thing. In fact, Begum Lutfa had a great influence on the character of Nawab Siraj. Possessing advanced character and qualities, Lutfa was devoted to Sirajuddaullah all his life and had considerable influence on him during his tenure as Nawab. From the time he ascended the throne, Sirajuddaullah was known for taking strong and forceful steps to deal with the crises he faced. Lutfunnisa built a hut near Siraj’s tomb in Khoshbagh and spent the rest of her life there. What a wise and majestic woman she was, she gave up all the greed and luxuries of life. And, she spent most of her life meditating on her dearest husband Siraj. She used to arrange a Kangali feast every day with the monthly Masohara. She served her husband in this way for a long period of 28 years. She died on 10 November 1890 and was buried at the feet of Siraj. Begum Lutfunnisa’s devoted love and sacrifice will always be shining in the history of Bangladesh. And won’t this history be established as a signature of the divine qualities of Siraj’s character?
Following the malpractice of defaming Nawab Siraj, the selfish quarters have been conspiring since then to discredit the Siraj descendants in public. From the time of Nawab Alivardi Khan, even after having one’s own child, the custom of having a foster child has been prevalent in the Siraj family for a long time. These foster children are scattered in different countries of the world and claim themselves as part of the Siraj family. The descendants of Siraj’s two sisters make similar claims. And, ashamed of their misdeeds of their predecessors, the descendants of Mirjafor and Miron felt comfortable moving away from their original lineage and identified themselves as the descendants of Sirajuddaullah.
Nawab Mansurul Mulk Mirza Mohammad Sirajuddaullah Badshah Quli Khan Haybat Jung Bahadur, Father: Hashem Zain Uddin, Mother: Amina Begum, Wife: Begum Lutfunnisa, Brother: Two (including Siraj), Sister: Two, Grandfather: Nawab Alivardi Khan , Born: 19 September 1826, Place of Birth: This Ruposhi in Bengal (then Murshidabad, then the capital of Bengal), Died: 2 July 1857. Begum Lutfunnisa, Siraj’s beloved wife, get her daughter Umme Johra alias Qudsia Begum married at the age of 14 to Muraduddaullah, son of Siraj’s brother Ikramuddaullah. With the marriage of the sons and daughters of the two brothers, the lamp of the Sirajuddaullah dynasty continued to torch, which is still present today.
The last independent Nawab of Bengal, the family tree of Sirajuddaullah: -* 1st-Umme Johra alias Qudsia Begum.
(Father-Sirajuddaullah, Mother-Begum Lutfunnisa)
Husband-Muraduddaullah (Father-Ikramuddaula, nephew of Sirajuddaullah)
* 2nd – Shamsher Ali Khan. (Wife-Syeda Aliyatunnisa Begum)
2nd Mumtaz Begum (died at a young age)
2nd – Funna Begum (died at a young age)
* 3rd – Syed Lutfe Ali
3rd – Zainal Abedin (Childless)
* 4th – Fatema Begum (Husband-Syed Mohammad Reza, 4th descendant of Begum Lutfunnisa family)
* 5th – Hasmat Ara Begum (Husband-Syed Ali Reza, bloodline descendant of the heroic Tipu Sultan family of India)
5th – Lutfunnesa Begum (childless)
* 6th – Syed Zaki Reza. Wife- Yakuti Begum.
* 7th – Golam Mortaza (wife – Nikhat Ara, one of the descendants of Nawab Sarfaraz Khan)
8th – Syed Babu (Childless)
8th – Syeda Kanjo (died at a young age)
8th – Chand Begum (died at a young age)
* 8th – Engineer S.G. Mustafa (Wife – Syeda Hosne Ara Begum, 8th descendant of Begum Lutfunnisa family)
7th Golam Mujtaba (Childless)
7th Baby Hamida Banu Munni (Childless)
* 9th – Syed Golam Abbas Areb alias Nawabzada Ali Abbasuddaullah.
Begum Lutfunnisa, husband: Nawab Sirajuddaullah, daughter: Umme Johra, father: Iraj Khan, mother: Gulshan Ara, brother: Iran Khan, grandfather: Akbar Quli Khan. Born: 19 September 1834 (then in Murshidabad, then the capital of Bengal), Died: 10 November 1834. Begum Lutfunnisa, the wife of Nawab Sirajuddaullah, was the daughter of Iraj Khan. Iraj Khan was from a very noble lineage. Lutfunnisa also had a brother named Iran Khan. Akbar Kulikhan, the father of Iraj Khan, was the ruler of Bhagalpur. After the death of Prince Azam, he moved to Bengal. Alivardi Khan respected Iraj Khan for his Nobel status and appointed him to a high position in the court. He himself proposed to Iraj Khan for his daughter Lutfunnisa to be married to Sirajuddaullah.
The family tree of Nawab Sirajuddaullah, the heart of the red and green and his wife Lutfunnisa:-
* 1st – Badrunnisa Begum
(Father: – Iran Khan, Fupu: – Begum Lutfunnisa, wife of Nawab Sirajuddaullah)
Husband: – Muraduddaula (father Ikramuddaula, nephew of Sirajuddaullah).
* 2nd – Ulfatunnisa Begum.
* 3rd – Syed Hadi Reza.
3rd – Golam Haider (childless).
3rd – Nasima Begum (childless).
* 4th – Tilat Ara Begum (Husband: Tipu Abbas, one of the descendants of the heroic Tipu Sultan family of India). 4th – Syed Mohammad Reza (wife – Fatema Begum, 4th descendant of Nawab Sirajuddaullah).
* 5th – Shahjadi Begum. 5th – Syed Ali Reza
* 6th – Raushan Ara Begum (Husband: Golam Abbas).
* 7th – Gulshan Ara Begum (Husband: Syed Nasir Ali Mirza, one of the descendants of the Tipu Sultan family of India)
8th – Nurjahan Begum (childless).
8th – Lutfunnisam Begum (childless).
* 8th – Syeda Hosne Ara Begum (husband-engineer SG Mustafa, 7th descendant of Nawab Sirajuddaullah)
7th – Mubarak Hossain (childless).
* 9th – Syeda Nazneen Munmun (Children – 3)
9th – Syeda Sakina Emu (Children – 2)
9th – Syed Muhammad Ali Reza Masum (3 children)
9th – S. G. Abbas.
Order No. 595 of the then government dated 16 June 183 states that Nawab Muraduddaula and his family were given a monthly allowance of 400 takas and Siraj’s wife Begum Lutfunnisa was given a monthly allowance of 1000 taka. After Lutfunnisa’s death in 1786, the company discontinued the allowance. It may be concluded by reviewing the correspondence regarding the distribution of Muraduddaula’s allowance among his heirs on 7 May 1895. In addition to Siraj’s daughter Umme Johra, Nawab Muraduddaula had another wife, Badrunnisa Begum, whose identity was as follows: She was the daughter of Lutfar’s own brother Iran Khan, Siraj’s wife. Umm Johra’s cousin was Badrunnisa Begum. Umm Johra Begum gave birth to a son and two daughters in Muradsaudla’s Ursa, four foster daughters. During the life of Muraduddaula, his wife Umme Johra died. After their death, a son Shamser Ali Khan and a daughter named Ulfatunnisa were alive. second wife of Muradrundaula, Badrunnisa Begum was alive. As part of Muraduddaula’s allowance of 400 takas, allocations made as 162 takas to Shamser Ali Khan, second wife’s daughter Ulfatunnisa, 91 takas to second wife Badrunnisa Begum. After the death of Shamser Ali Khan, a total of 162 taka allowances were distributed among his heirs at a lower rate. All locations were made as 60 takas to son Lutfe Ali, 50 takas to second son Joynal Abedin, 36 takas to foster son and his wife and 16 takas to close relatives. After the death of Muraduddaula’s second wife Lutfar’s own nephew Badrunnisa Begum and daughter Ulfatunnisa Begum, their due allowance was distributed among their heirs. No part of it was given to Shamser Ali Khan. It is clear that Shamser Ali Khan was not the unborn son of Badrunnisa Begum. He was the son of Siraj’s daughter Umme Johra. (Letter dated 25th January, 181, written by W. B. Buckley, Agent of the Governor-General at Murshidabad to Ashley Eden, Secretary to the Government of Bengal). When Shamser Ali Khan’s foster son died, the government did not give his due allowance to Shamser Ali Khan’s son but to his distant relative Mirza Ali Khan. This means that the government did not borrow from the Shariah law regarding the allocation of pensions. The decision would have been effective according to the wishes of the resident. Syed Lutfe Ali died in 1833 leaving his only daughter Fatima Begum. He received a pension of 80 takas from his father, 36 takas from his grandmother and 25 takas from his relatives, for a total of 141 takas (Government Orders dated 25th January 1833 and 26th April 1848).
Fatema Begum died in 180 leaving behind a foster daughter, including daughters Hasmat Ara Begum and Lutfunnesa Begum, and they were given a low allowance. Hasmat Ara Begum was allotted 30 takas, Lutfunnesa Begum (childless) 61 takas and foster daughter 30 takas. (Order No. 3 of January 4, 181). Fatima Begum’s daughter Hasmat Ara Begum was married to Syed Ali Raza. Syed Ali Reza died in 1896 and Hasmat Ara Begum on 2 August 1931. Hasmat Ara Begum had a son Syed Zaki Reza and a foster daughter. Syed Zaki Reza received a monthly allowance of 15 (fifteen) takas (Govt. Order No. 4160 dated 30/1/1932 and 152 N dated 10/3/1932) Although taken away, an agent-general had been stationed in Murshidabad for a long time on behalf of the Governor-General of India. He was in charge of the pensions of the Nawab’s family. The benevolent English government very kindly appointed Syed Zaki Reza, the 6th descendant of Nawab Sirajuddaullah, as the Sub-Registrar of Murshidabad and later promoted him to the post of District Sub-Registrar. He died in Murshidabad in 1934. When the Nawab of Dhaka, Sir Salimullah, came to know about the plight of this family, he recommended to the then Governor of Bengal to give Syed Zaki Reza a respectable job. Syed Zaki Raza’s son was Golam Mortaza, Syed Babu, the daughter was Syeda Kanjo, Chand Begum. There were 4 foster sons and 2 foster daughters. All of them lived in Murshidabad and East Bengal with small jobs and businesses.
After the partition of the country in 1947, some of them moved to East Bengal and Pakistan. Golam Mortaza, son of Syed Zaki Raza, used to work in the Collectorate in Murshidabad. After partition, he came to this country with options and was employed in the office of Rajshahi Divisional Commissioner. He retired from there and lived in Khulna. Golam Mortaza’s son is S.G. Mustafa and Golam Mujtaba and his daughters are Baby Hamida Banu Munni, foster daughter-2, foster son-1. 7th descendant of Nawab Sirajuddaullah S.G. Mustafa was an executive engineer of the Power Development Board of Bangladesh. He is currently serving civil societies. Wife: Syeda Hosne Ara Begum (Siraj’s wife Lutfa 7th Raktadhara and granddaughter of Lutfa and Siraj) was an honest, truthful, compassionate, lover of plants and animals, a devotee of ALLAH and His Amal, saddened by the sorrows of others, a good housewife. In the life of a man, the beautiful thoughts of a beautiful mind play a beautiful role in composing success. Syeda Hosne Ara Begum’s mother Gulshan Ara Begum was also the 8th bloodline of Siraj’s wife Lutfa. She was a unique white woman with many qualities. Syed Golam Mustafa and Syed Hosne Ara Begum’s son, Syed Golam Abbas Areb alias Nawabzada Ali Abbasuddaullah, a young 9th descendant of the traditional Nawab Sirajuddaullah family.
Abbasuddaullah is a nature lover and is the executive head of the organization Nawab Siraj’s memorable “Shab” (fb id – Shab Plus). He is the co-editor of the weekly “Palashi” magazine. And Nawabzada Abbasuddaullah is in my heart. Thanks to ALLAH TA’ALA, Syed Golam Abbas Areb alias Nawabzada Ali Abbasuddaullah, the 9th bloodline descendant of Nawab Sirajuddaullah, is alive to realize all the beautiful dreams of Nawab Sirajuddaullah about Sonar Bangla. If Japan can sustain their dynasty for two and a half thousand years if Britain can sustain their royal family for eight hundred years, if Malaysia, Thailand, Bhutan, India and other countries can and are honouring their royal family, then why can not establish our pride the Nawab family and the 9th generation of the family Syed Golam Abbas Areb alias Nawabzada Ali Abbasuddaullah in the seat of dignity? The lack of compassion and irresponsibility of the civil society and government of Bangladesh in this regard is really sad. Through long-term research of my life and verification of neutral public opinion, it has become clear to me that in the minds of Bangladeshis, Nawab Sirajuddaullah his family are still at the crest of Bengalis’ minds. That is why I am happy and proud to see this gathering of interest among all patriots. Siraj is the son of Bengal, the pride of Bengal. That is why today, after many ages, the patriotic masses of Bengal consider the Nawab Sirajuddaullah family as the pride of Bengal from the bottom of their hearts.
Former army officers including the previous Army Chief Lt Gen (Retd) Md Nuruddin Khan, Colonel (Retd) Sheikh Akram Ali, Educationist Dr. Ramit Azad, historian KM Mohsin, honoured the 9th generation of Sirajuddaullah bloodline Syed Golam Abbas Areb with the title of “Nawabzada Ali Abbasuddaullah”. Nawabzada has successfully completed Honors and Masters courses respectively from Darul Ihsan University, Dhaka and Ahsan Ullah University of Science and Technology. a cosmic lover, Golam Abbas Areb is a freelance journalist, writer and researcher for Bangladesh’s first-class national dailies and magazines. My favourite subjects of long-term research are Nawab Sirajuddaullah and his family. In the last years of my life, in 2011, I have found a precious gem with great efforts – the bloodline of Nawab Sirajuddaullah, the 9th generation Syed Golam Abbas Areb alias Nawabzada Ali Abbasuddaullah. From the bottom of my heart, prayers, love, blessings and best wishes were extended to Nawabzada Syed Golam Abbas.
Some bonds are forever. Our heart bonds with the last independent Nawab of Bengal and the new generation of his family. Nawabzada Abbasuddaullah was born in the traditional Nawab Sirajuddaullah family (Father: Engineer SG Mustafa, Mother: Syeda Hosne Ara Begum). He is the son of a proud heroic patriotic family of Bengal and a citizen of Bangladesh by birth. He is the 9th direct descendant of the Nawab Sirajuddaullah lineage. Ali Abbasuddaullah is a relative of Bengal and also a relative of mine. He is highly honest and has superb character. I wish him all the best and prosperity in his life. I support all his beautiful initiatives built on the touch of tradition. September 19 is the happy birth anniversary of Nawab Sirajuddaullah. We salute Nawab Sirajuddaullah, Nawabzada Ali Abbasuddaullah and this traditional family of Bengal with respect.
