Maharani Swarnamoyee
The Uncrowned Queen of Cossimbazar Raj
This is the story of an extraordinary lady, the zamindar (landowner) of Cossimbazar Raj in Bengal in the middle to late 19th century.
She was the single largest individual contributor to efforts of helping people after famines in the 19th century with feeding at her estates, ensuring food stocks and medical supplies there and actively participating in government committees. All this apart from her efforts in education and health.
Swarnamoyee’s life (1827-1897) is testament to the strength of the human spirit that rises from the low of illiteracy, gender / race bias and abysmal attitudes towards widowhood, to the high of being acknowledged as a force for the good by her tenants, the people at large and the British colonial government.
Rani Swarnamoyee is a name that resounds in Bengal even 125 years later in the form of roads, colleges, water works and other infrastructure. They serve as a reminder of an woman whose exceptional management skills resulted in very profitable estates. What is more, she shared as generously as she earned.
Swarnamoyee’s estates numbered between 250-300 properties which comprised houses, paddy fields, tanks, gardens, shops, silk factories, orchards, mostly in present-day West Bengal, Odisha and Bangladesh.
India in the late 18th to the early 20th century
India was being ground under the colonizer Britain’s heel.
The constant and huge outflow of capital to Britain - with no corresponding inflow of resources to India - led to abject poverty, malnutrition and high mortality for decades and generations. Famines were regular.
India’s share of the world economy at the beginning of the 18th century was 23 per cent. In 1947 when the British finally left India it was 3 per cent. This theft from India to England funded the Industrial Revolution and the establishment of London as a world capital among other advantages to Europe.
Society in Bengal in the 19th century
Bengal was a province whose city Calcutta (now Kolkata) was the capital of British India.
As the premier province Bengal was a cauldron of Indians of every hue and across the spectrum of thought - ranging from those with progressive ideas, and revolutionaries, to those of traditional, outdated ideas yet with strong cultural and religious moorings that anchored them in times of distress.
Yet, in spite of this churn the plight of women, particularly of widows in Bengal, was pathetic. Women were married as children, were usually uneducated, lived in traditional and large joint families and were not allowed a life outside the narrow milieu of the home.
Picture then the strength of mind of the teenage Swarnamoyee, married at 11 years of age, an illiterate pregnant widow at 17 with a 3 year old toddler. Her wealthy landowner husband Krisnanath of Cossimbazar Raj in Murshidabad, Bengal committed suicide at the age of 22, leaving her to her own devices.
The Bengal Renaissance during Swarnamoyee’s lifetime
Swarnamoyee’s life spanned 70 years - from the heyday of British imperialism under the East India Company, the First War of Indian Independence in 1857 to the transfer of the government of India to the Crown in 1858 and its rule thereafter until her death in 1897.
She witnessed the impact of colonialism on Indian society and used her resources to lessen its devastating consequences on the common man.
Photo attribution
Rangan Datta Wiki,
CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>,
via Wikimedia Commons
In the few years that Krisnanath managed the zamindari before his death in 1844, his major contribution was to live off the estate, dreaming big but not executing much. He was a profligate and wayward character.
Swarnamoyee had to immediately take charge of this underperforming zamindari after Krisnanath's suicide, or risk losing all to the government and greedy relatives circling the estate like sharks.
She was unprepared for the onerous responsibility.
The evolution of Swarnamoyee
In this sink-or-swim situation after Krisnanath’s death, Swarnamoyee prioritized what she needed to do next.
She began by becoming literate.
She requested the old Dewan Mathuranath Banerji to help her read and write. She overcame his objections (due to her observing purdah) by stating that he was her father figure and her teacher, not just the dewan. It was incumbent upon the both of them to ensure the continuance of the Cossimbazar Raj.
Swarnamoyee learnt four languages in four years: this resulted in proficiency in Bangla and working knowledge of English, Persian and Sanskrit.
Literacy gave her the self confidence to personally read all the official papers of the various court cases she was fighting for the estate, and draft replies with the help of her lawyers and staff.
By the age of eighteen she proved before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, the highest court of the British Empire, that her hard-fought legal battles were for a cause which was just - and won.
This was one of a select handful of criminal appeals heard by the committee in the nineteenth century. The East India Company (EIC) then reposed full trust in her expertise in managing her estates and left them in her sole charge.
Since Krishnanath had died by suicide with no male heir Swarnamoyee’s place in Cossimbazar was in doubt. He had ostensibly left behind a series of hastily drafted wills made a few days leading to his death, leaving all his property to his servant Keshab Sarkar.
This again led to a spate of court cases. Swarnamoyee wrote to Queen Victoria that her husband had not been in his right mind at the time the wills were drawn up.
On 28 Feb 1847 the wills were declared illegal and Swarnamoyee was the legal heir of Raja Krisnanand.
This ruling was now contested by relatives and the government. Since suicide was illegal in India, all the person’s personal property was sought to be forfeited to the crown. All of Krisnanath’s property would have been lost. Swarnamoyee fought this precedent in court, and won.
Swarnamoyee emerged not just a survivor but a victor, and transformed her estates over the next 53 years into one of the acknowledged highest performing and much beloved zamindaris of Bengal.
Keeping purdah
Keeping purdah, the veil, was followed in some parts of India by women from the upper classes and of good financial means. These women segregated themselves from men outside their families.
Swarnamoyee observed strict purdah all through her life, under all circumstances.
In spite of a worldview that absorbed the societal changes all around her, Swarnamoyee fought in court for her right to maintain purdah even against the mighty East India Company - and won.
Her affidavit in court says that all her life she had only appeared without purdah before these men - her husband Raja Krisnanath, her father, Mathuranath Banerji her old Dewan who made her literate, and Nabinchandra Nancy the husband of her sister-in-law.
Swarnamoyee’s story
Swarnamoyee lived in Murshidabad after marriage.
Her clear-headed focus on the issues at hand, and taking action without delay were the reasons for her success.
Her zamindari consisted of far-flung estates mostly in present-day West Bengal, Odisha and Bangladesh. Swarnamoyee would personally oversee their management.
She travelled ‘in a palanquin, announced by drums with elephants, swordsmen and carts full of provisions and money’, and stayed in bungalows that were constructed for her use in all her estates.
Her tenants only interacted directly with her during her travels. They heard her voice as she spoke from behind a screen. She was known for her ready, fair and effective response to their troubles.
Swarnamoyee was particular that her officers be humane in their interactions with her tenants. She was a benevolent zamindar, a species so rare that her fame spread.
Swarnamoyee’s estates
The family had managed the Cossimbazar estates for nearly 150 years before Krsnanath inherited it.
Since then, over the decades Swarnamoyee also regularly bought other estates.
Cossimnbazar Raj regularly worked closely with the courts and the colonial government on various official matters. Swarnamoyee expected regular reports from them through her officers and thus kept abreast with all work and court proceedings.
As a very good administrator, she paid her revenue to the government on time, every time. Sometimes even before time.
A sample of the wide range of causes to which Swarnamoyee donated funds and land over the years
Swarnamoyee put her wealth to good use, never hoarded it. Her generosity extended to educational institutions, needy students, extensive water works, desilting of ponds and rivers, zoological gardens, dispensaries and hospitals, seminaries, hostels, relief funds abroad to Ireland during the Great Famine, food and clothing to USA during the Depression in 1880, leper homes, printing presses, nursing students fees, widows, destitutes and many more causes. She donated land for the construction of colleges and hostels for women in particular.
She was in favour of hospitals for women. She felt Indian women doctors would empathise with their patients and help reduce mother and infant mortality.
Swarnamoyee viewed herself as the custodian of the wealth of her estate, not the owner. She made generous contributions to causes that society needed sometimes as part of a Government effort, sometimes on her own. Her help was immediate when any natural calamity struck, sometimes even before official word of the disaster was out.
It is estimated that Swarnamoyee gifted Rs. 30-50 lakh (Rs. 3-5 million) to charities in her lifetime. The figure is far from complete - many of her gifts were never recorded. (According to some sources, in 1919 the Indian Rupee was worth 2700 times its worth in 2023. By that metric, just those gifts that were recorded amount to between Rs. 8.1 billion / 810 crores to Rs.13.5 billion / 1,350 crores today. There is no way of estimating the unrecorded amount.)
Famine and drought relief
In her tenure alone, Bengal experienced famine in 1843, 1854, 1860, 1865, 1871, 1878, 1882, 1888 and 1893. This is apart from several more before and after these years.
At her family residence at Murshidabad Swarnamoyee had donated rice for several years to about 2500 people every day.
That apart, every Dwadashi (a holy day - the 12th day of the bright or dark fortnight of the Moon) she distributed rice to about 4000 persons.
Grain was stored at different parts of her zamindari to easily feed the distressed during calamities, offering shelter and medical aid, and much more.
In 1878 the government formed Famine Committees jointly with individuals to help with relief for the famine-afflicted. The Cossimbazar Raj was a participant, contributing more than Rs.1,50,000.
Although the government had a scheme for remission of famine aid to donors, and several zamindars also availed it, Swarnamoyee never did. She neither applied for nor received any concession.
To put the quantum of aid in perspective. while the other zamindars as mentioned in the Famine Report published 19 years later, donated enough to feed between 400 to 1800 persons, their efforts paled in comparison to the 5000 persons Swarnamoyee fed every single day during the period.
In his book Anandamath published in 1882 of which the anthem Vande Mataram is a part, Bankim Chandra as Deputy Magistrate describes the famine he saw in 1878. The only places to go to for relief, he said, were Murshidabad, Cossimbazar and Calcutta - a clear reference to Swarnamoyee’s work.
“Her services during the several famines astonished even the Imperial British Government who referred to her in their private dispatches with reverence and respect.”
Water works to combat drought
She took up drinking water and irrigation works on a large scale. A number of tanks and wells were dug all over her zamindari, old ones repaired and desilted.
She financed planting trees for shade and the repair of public buildings.
For many of these projects she contributed half the amount, the remainder being paid by the villagers collectively.
Some of Swarnamoyee’s donations
It is one thing to be exceedingly rich and quite another to generously give away the wealth for the greater good.
Some of the causes Swarnamoyee donated for are below.
She donated Rs.1,62,000, nearly 60% of the cost, to the Swarnamoyee Waterworks to supply drinking water to the town of Berhampore.
Then was a donation of Rs.1,50,000 towards the construction of a ladies’ hostel for students of the Calcutta Medical College which still bears her name. It was inaugurated by Lady Dufferin, the Viceroy’s wife, who was known to be keenly interested in women’s health. (Lady Dufferin set up a fund that awarded scholarships to Indian women who studied medicine in England and promised to practice in India. Some early beneficiaries were Anandi Joshi and Rukhmabai.)
As a child Swarnamoyee had never been encouraged to study, and had only become literate due to circumstance and her own efforts. She was keenly aware of the importance of education.
Not only did she establish schools in several parts of Bengal, she also gave grants for education, set up educational institutions, separate free schools for boys and girls, and paid for the tuition of deserving students.
Several missionary schools also received her aid. But she would absolutely not abide by evangelists harassing students in these institutions.
She donated land to set up several colleges and funds to innumerable schools and colleges.
Swarnamoyee contributed for the travel, stay and study expenses of lawyers who went to study abroad or worked towards the political situation in India. They were usually recommended to her by Bankim Chandra Chatterji, novelist and Deputy Magistrate, Collector of Murshidabad district in 1872.
Swarnamoyee’s personal life
Swarnamoyee lived as a strict Hindu widow in purdah on a wholly vegetarian diet. She restored the grand Durga Puja in the Cossimbazar Raj after her victory in court against EIC in 1847, from when it became an unbroken tradition.
Individuals who influenced Swarnamoyee
The various men she interacted with, while in purdah, included Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar and other eminent social reformers, the European lawyers who were her attorneys at various times (and some of whom spoke and read Bangla) among others.
The irony is that she never met these men personally in all the years they collaborated, but corresponded only through Dewan Rajiblochan.
The woman who influenced Swarnamoyee beyond her family circle was likely Monomohini Wheeler who was Inspectress of Schools. She visited Cossimbazar Palace to examine the students being taught there privately. It is possible she opened avenues for Swarnamoyee, especially girls’ access to education.
Swarnamoyee’s awareness of events around her
Swarnamoyee’s wide-ranging interests were addressed by her reading habit. She had begun reading newspapers soon after she became literate.
Every day she read about 20 daily and weekly Bangla newspapers, many government publications on law and court judgements, books on history, geography, science, philosophy and religion.
Her library had the entire works of Raja Rammohan Roy in Bangla, and her carefully preserved newspaper clippings offer insights into the issues that interested her, often marked with an ink doodle.
Social developments
She read arguments for and against widow remarriage and female education.
She was a strong supporter of Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar in his fight against polygamy, for young destitute widows and the other social causes he espoused. He also recommended her donations to worthy scholars who needed monetary help due to old age.
The Santhal Rebellion which impacted her zamindari in Birbhum and Ranigunj was important news. The rebellion of Santhal tribals lasted from June 1855 to January 1856.
Political news
Swarnamoyee noted political news such as the deposition of the Nawab of Oudh in early 1856.
She also read the news from Lahore of the young ruler Duleep Singh, successor of the great Maharaja Ranjit Singh, being duped by the British into losing his jewelry including the Kohinoor diamond, his property and his religion by converting to Christianity from Sikhism.
She followed up on news from Jhansi. Rani Lakshmibai was informed by the British that her adopted son would not be recognised as the successor of her husband Gadadhar Rao.
Swarnamoyee was aware of international news such as the defeat of the Russians in the Crimean War and the capture of Sebastopol in 1856.
Even later in life, Swarnamoyee’s interest in the news remained unabated. In 1897 she read about the Sedition Act and the trial of Gangadhar Tilak and Kelkar for their article in the newspaper Kesari.
She cared for justice because she was aware of the law
Swarnamoyee must have easily been among the most socially and politically aware zamindars of her time. She put this awareness to good use when in 1860 Lord Macaulay amended the Penal Code and brought Europeans under the jurisdiction of local courts in India.
Swarnamoyee immediately issued an order to all her law agents that if any European was found molesting her people, especially the women, a suit was to be filed against him and a report sent to her.
Accolades galore
Also notable is that although many tenants complained about the oppression of their zamindars, not one representation came against Swarnamoyee.
She was invested with the title of ‘Maharani’ in 1871 at Cossimbazar, a public appreciation by the government for her work of a lifetime. She was, as usual, seated behind purdah. The Lieutenant Governor and his entourage was received by Diwan Rajiblochan who interpreted.
That was not all.
On 14 August, 1878 she was given the highest honour possible to an Indian lady in the British Raj. She was made a Member of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India, usually bestowed upon female royalty selected by the Queen.
The title was due to the peace and prosperity, superb administration of her estates.
Swarnamoyee’s monetary transactions were prompt and legal, and she had a beneficial influence over her tenants making her a very powerful and much-loved ruler.
She initiated the large-hearted practice of leaving 2.5 years of the rent in arrear with her tenants, so that they had some access to finance without having to pay her till their last paisa.
She had earned all her success on her own, and not due to any hereditary privilege.
The later years
The aged Rani was entertained at home by travelling drama companies whose printed programmes were to be found in the estate even decades later.
Rasaraj Amritlal Bose who was a popular playwright often staged his plays at Cossimbazar at the palace, exclusively for Swarnamoyee. Her patronage helped him and his company tide over the difficult times and he did not forget it. His praise for her echoed what the Lt Governor of Bengal also said about her.
Several principals of colleges and inspectors of schools thanked her for ensuring that students did not drop out for lack of finance.
Changes at Cossimbazar as time rolled by
Swarnamoyee missed some lucrative avenues of revenue in the estate as she aged.
Unknown to her the estates had huge coal deposits, mining which would have been profitable.
Fundamental change was underway in the area which would impact Cossimbazar and Murshidabad. The port was dying and the river traffic was fast declining. The railways were replacing the traditional means of transport by boat, carriage and palanquin.
In a natural turn of events, September 1881 saw the death of Dewan Rajiblochan, a misfortune of gigantic proportions for the estate of Cossimbazar and for Swarnamoyee personally. She appointed his nephew Shyamadas Roy as acting Dewan but he was soon replaced by Tariniprasad Roy who was an old and experienced officer.
Cossimbazar’s fortunes wane
The downturn for the estate began with the death of Dewan Tariniprasad Roy. A managing council was formed with Manager Srinath Pal, Swarnamoyee’s nephew.
The new system was not as efficient as under Rajiblochan and the Rani, and saw more dissent than efficient working.
The last years of Swarnamoyee was lonely and unhappy. She had lost both her daughters and her grand-daughters.
Her son-in-law Brajnath De went to court for the property of his deceased wife and daughter. A bitter legal battle for several years ensued.
De lost the lawsuit and filed another case for some other property in his daughter’s name. He died before the case concluded.
This ugly episode did not dampen Swarnamoyee’s enthusiasm for donating to worthy causes. She donated to establish a technical school in Murshidabad district on the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887 and towards the restoration of the Church of Our Blessed Lady of Dolours in Bytakkhannah.
A medal was struck by the corporation of the City of London and presented to her in 1889.
She donated to the administration at Odisha for relief of the distressed. She contributed towards a screen to be sent from Bengal for the London Exhibition, 1886.
She gifted a full set of gem studded gold jewellery valued at Rs.15,000 to the Indian Museum, Calcutta for display.
She made a free gift of land in Calcutta to construct the Howrah Foreshore Road. Another road that she helped construct is named Swarnamoyee Road. Calcutta received a lot of her patronage with the Town Hall, colleges and roads.
She continued with liberal contributions towards famine relief in 1897.
She took an active role in administering a college for which she had donated.
Swarnamoyee’s personality
Swarnamoyee did not permit any painting nor photographing her, so there is no record of how she looked. But first-hand accounts of people who met her as children are that she was very strong-willed. Children were afraid of her since she could be quite stern, but was generally kindly.
She was known to be a strikingly good-looking woman with a perfect figure, taller than most and fair, always clad in white muslin. She was long remembered for her sparkling personality.
Befitting recognition of her tenure as zamindar
Her response to all the honours she received was that people were Narayana (God) to her. Improving general welfare was the same as worshiping at her puja at home.
She administered the zamindari with a passion and quiet strength although it was not being inherited by her children and grand-children who had all passed. She was succeeded by her sister-in-law’s son.
The founder of the Cossimbazar Raj Kantababu left it with an annual income of Rs. 6 lakhs at his death in 1794. Swarnamoyee left it at Rs. 25 lakh per year, nearly a hundred years later in 1897 while behind purdah all the while.
The last years of the Rani of Cossimbazar Raj
Publicly Swarnamoyee was feted and praised by the government, her tenants and everybody who had reason to deal with her.
Privately, she was lonely and afraid, cut off by the manager and others from communicating with the larger family circle, to isolate her and play on her weaknesses.
When she died on 25 August, 1897 she was four months short of her 80th birthday. Her obsequies and ceremonies were befitting a lady who began with so little materially and so disadvantaged socially but achieved so much more than imaginable.
An era came to an end.
Reference:
History of the Cossimbazar Raj, Volume 1 - Somendra Chandra Nandy
Woman in India - Mary Frances Billington
http://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-cossimbazar-raj.htm
An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India - Sashi Tharoor
Unsound Empire: Civilization and Madness in Late-Victorian Law by Catherine L Evans
History of Indian Women in Medicine - http://www.ensembledrms.in/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/ensemble-2021-0301-a007_20-Aug-2021.pdf