Twelve Men of Bengal in the Nineteenth Century/Mahtab Chand
Maharajadhiraj Mahtab Chand Rai Bahadur of Burdwan
MAHARAJADHIRAJ MAHTAB CHAND
RAI BAHADUR OF BURDWAN.
1820-1879
Mahtab Chand Rai, Maharajadhiraj of Burdwan, was one of the great figures of the nineteenth century. Inheriting a high position among the nobles of Bengal, he won further distinctions by his own loyalty, energy and ability. Not only did he succeed in obtaining confirmation of all the distinctions conferred upon his predecessors by the Moghul government, but by the judicious management of his vast estates he enormously increased their value, handing on a yet more splendid inheritance to his successor even than that which he had himself received. Of a retiring disposition, and quiet and dignified in manner, he never thrust himself into the political arena. He was content to exercise wisely and with restraint the great influence that his position gave him, never forgetful of the heavy responsibilities that that position entailed.
Born on the 17th of November 1820, Mahtab Chand was the fourth son of Lala Paran Chand Kapur. The latter's sister Kamal Kumari had married the Maharaja Tej Chand Rai of Burdwan and on the death of their only son, the Maharaja adopted his nephew Mahtab Chand as his heir. The Kapur family was one of considerable antiquity and great distinction. The founder of the Burdwan branch was Abu Rai of Kotli in Lahore, by caste a Kapur Kshatriya, who settled in Bengal in the middle of the 17th century, being appointed 'Choudhuri and Kotowal of Rekabi Bazaar' under the Fauzdar of Chakla Burdwan. To the estate that he founded his descendants gradually added further possessions, generation after generation playing its part in building up the immense property which Mahtab Rai was finally to complete and consolidate in the nineteenth century. Chitra Sen Rai, eighth in descent from Abu Rai was the first to obtain the title of Raja, a distinction he received from the Emperor Mahomed Shah in 1740. His successor Tilak Chand attained the higher rank of Maharajadhiraj Bahadur, a title which each successive head of the Burdwan family has since held. This son, Tez Chand succeeded at the age of six in 1771 and obtained from the Emperor Shah Alum a sanad dated the same year confirming him in the rank of Maharajadhiraj Bahadur and appointing him commander of 5,000 cavalry and 30,000 infantry with various other military distinctions. For sixty-one years he lived to enjoy these honours, his long life extending from the momentous period of the dawn of British rule in Bengal down to the comparatively peaceful days of its firm establishment in the fourth decade of the nineteenth century. Among the many changes that he saw pass over the face of Bengal by no means the least important to him as a great landholder was the Permanent Settlement, which became law as Regulation I of 1793.
Mahtab Chand succeeded his adopted father on the 16th of August 1823 and a year later, when only thirteen years of age, he received a farman from the Governor-General, Lord William Bentick, confirming him in the title of Maharajadhiraj Bahadur. Brought thus into prominence at a very early age, the possessor of a vast estate and great wealth, and the holder of one of the highest titles in Bengal, Mahtab Rai fully realised alike the possibilities and the responsibilities of his high position. Although a young man exposed to all the temptations to which his great wealth and independence rendered him particularly liable, he set himself from the first to administer it wisely and well. Naturally of a quite and retiring disposition, he made no bid for popularity or political eminence. Content with his position as one of the greatest landholders in Bengal and as the representative of one of its most important families, he concentrated all his energies on improving the condition of his tenants and estate, erecting his splendid palaces and laying out his gardens at Burdwan, and worthily maintaining the honourable traditions of his house.
Loyalty, whole hearted and unswerving, was one of the strongest traits in the character of Mahtab Chand. Recognising on every side the benefits that British rule had conferred on his distracted country, he gave to it his firm allegiance. His own estates from their geographical position had been especially liable to plunder and devastation during the unsettled years of the eighteenth century, and the remarkable prosperity they had attained in his own day under the peaceful reign of British law and order formed a striking contrast. Twice the Maharaja had the satisfaction of materially assisting Government in maintaining that same law and order. The Santal Rebellion of 1855 afforded him an opportunity of showing his loyalty in a practical way which he showed himself eager to adopt. His estates lay between Calcutta and the scene of the disturbances and the railway running in those days no further than Ranigunj, the Maharaja was able to give Government valuable assistance in the matter of transport and in improving the means of communication. All the vast resources of his great estates were freely placed at the disposal of the authorities. His workmen rapidly opened up new roads, and his elephants and bullock carts speedily transported troops and baggage through the wild country in which the turbulent Santals had hitherto held their own unchallenged. Services of a similar nature the Maharaja rendered again a few years later during the Sepoy Mutiny, again undertaking transport duties on an extensive scale and setting an example of loyalty to the other Zemindars of Bengal. The first recognition on the part of government for these and other services came in 1864 in his appointment as an additional member of the Legislative Council of the Governor-General. He was one of the first Indians to attain to the dignity of a seat in the Council, and his practical experience as a great landowner and his intimate knowledge of the conditions of life generally in Bengal proved of great service. He made no attempt at oratorical display but his speeches were invariably characterised by simplicity and strong common sense, and they were listened to with attention and respect as the words of a man whose impartiality and honesty were unimpeachable and whose opportunities of acquiring information were unrivalled. In 1868 the further distinction was conferred upon him of a grant of armorial bearings with supporters, and nine years later at the Imperial assemblage at Delhi, he was granted as a personal distinction the right to a salute of thirteen guns.
Apart from his position on the Legislative Council, Maharaja Mahtab Chand refrained on principle from taking any active part in the great political movements of the day. On almost every question he held decided views but he considered that it was more incumbent upon him to exercise his influence quietly through legitimate channels as the adviser of Government rather than openly to take part in political controversies. His opinion was constantly asked by the authorities and carried all the weight of his great name and position. Popularity he altogether disregarded. Having the full courage of his convictions, he cared nothing for the approval or disapproval of others, once he was convinced of the justice of the course he had advocated.
In all matters that related to the spread of education the Maharaja was keenly interested. At Burdwan he established an Anglo-Vernacular School which he threw open to boys of all creeds and classes. This Institution which has since been raised to the status of a college provides a free education in English, Bengali, Sanskrit and Persian for poor and deserving students, and a separate department for girls has since been added. Himself of a studious disposition and well educated, he did much to encourage literature and scholarships. He was particularly desirous that the Mahabharat, the Ramayana, and the other religious books of his faith should be more widely disseminated and made accessible to all, not only in cheap Sanskrit editions but in Bengali translations, which alone could popularise them in modern Bengal. With this object he engaged the services of some of the most famous Pandits of the day. For over thirty years their labours continued, resulting in the republication of the original Sanskrit books with Bengali translations, which have done so much to make them better known among the people of Bengal.
In the cause of medical and charitable relief the Maharaja was no less generous. He established charitable dispensaries at Burdwan and Kalna and gave temporary aid freely in all cases of need throught his estates. To his tenants and numerous dependents he was especially open-handed and in all cases of epidemics and famine he was ever ready to help, to the utmost of his power. In the severe famines in Orissa and Behar he rendered Government invaluable aid, placing all the resources of his great wealth at its disposal. To the Madras Famine Fund he made the magnificent donation of Rs. 1,50,000. The religious endowments made by his ancestors at Kalna and elsewhere he maintained in their entirety.
Among his other varied interests, the Maharaja spent much time and money in establishing a Zoological garden at Burdwan, which is still maintained by the present head of the family. He was also one of the earliest and most liberal supporters of the Zoological gardens at Calcutta, which are to-day so great a feature of the Capital. Again in the development of Darjeeling as a hill station he played a leading part. He was quick to see the great future that lay before it, once popular attention had been drawn to it and once the idea of a summer head-quarters for the Bengal Government among the hills had been definitely adopted. He purchased large tracts of land in the vicinity of Darjeeling and Kurseong and greatly assisted in the development of those stations. The establishment of Government for a certain period of the year in Darjeeling soon led to a great influx of visitors official and non-official and the Maharaja's wise foresight in purchasing land before the rush began proved a splendid investment. On the beautification of his own house in Burdwan he lavished much care and thought, practically all the chief buildings there owing their origin to him. The beautiful Dilkhusha gardens were designed and laid out under his personal supervision, and like the palace intself remain to-day as evidence of his excellent taste. In the management of his affairs he was assisted by a Council of responsible advisers appointed by him on the lines of the viceroy's executive councils, each member being placed in charge of a special department of the estate. The Maharaja proved himself an excellent judge of character and the members of the Council were selected with great care, some of the ablest men in Bengal, who afterwards still further distinguished themselves, doing good services upon it. He himself took a personal interest in the smallest details of the management of his property and throughout his long career he administered it wisely and well.
Maharaja Mahtab Chand died on the 26th October 1879 at Bhagalpur. For forty seven years he had been one of the most prominent figures in Bengal and though he had never courted publicity and had been fearless in the expression on several occasions of anti-popular opinions, when his advice had been asked, he had won universal respect among all classes. Straightforward and honest, with a detestation of hypocrisy and falsehood, he was trusted and consulted by rich and poor, by officials and non-officials alike. Quiet and retiring, yet with a true sense of his own dignity and of the responsibilities of his position, he worthily upheld the great traditions of his house and has left behind him a name that takes high place in the roll call of the nobles of Bengal in the nineteenth century.