Page:Ramtanu Lahiri, Brahman and Reformer - A History of the Renaissance in Bengal.djvu/38

 honoured by all for his learning, intelligence, and good character.

When, in the beginning of the last century, the Rajas were declining in power, and the British rule was being firmly established in this country, a few families in Krishnagar rose to eminence; and of these the Lahiris were the foremost. In a short time, their fame spread far and wide, and great was their influence on the society of the district.

We cannot definitely say when, and under what circumstances, they settled here. But this much is certain, that originally they dwelt in some part of Rajshahi; and that one of them married into the family of the Dewan Chakravarttis, or, as they were latterly called, Rajas of Krishnagar, and as was the custom then of Brahmans of his class, left his own home for that of his father-in-law. Dewan Kartik Chandra Rai, author of the “Memoir of Khitish Chandra and his Family,” writes thus of two of his ancestors: “It appears that my great grandfather, Shostidas Chakravartti, and after him, his son, Ramram, were Dewans in the Krishnagar Court from the time of Raja Rudra, the great grandson of Bhobanunda to that of Raghuram, the grandson of Rudra, and in our genealogical records, their names never occur but with the title of their office appended to them.” From this it is clear that the Chakravarttis or Rais have held the Diwani for several generations. It was their custom to marry their daughters to Kulins of high caste belonging to Varendrabhumi, or the land of the Varendras, a sect of Brahmans, and then to find homes for them in Krishnagar, or in its neighbourhood. And it is supposed, that this is the reason why there are so many families of Lahiris, Khans, Sandels, etc., to he found in this part of Bengal.

We cannot say who it was among the ancestors of