How the Maghs came to Moghbazar — and the legacy of their descendants
Though their influence and history have faded over centuries, descendants of the Maghs continue to preserve their legacy through stories, family traditions and landmarks
Do the descendants of the Maghs still live in Moghbazar today?
In 2010, journalist and history researcher Apel Mahmud began seeking an answer to that question. To his surprise, he found that several families living in Moghbazar, Madhubagh, Nayatola, Dilu Road, and Eskaton Road claim to have descended from the Magh royal lineage, and they do so with pride.
The Maghs are generally known to the public as pirates, looters who spread chaos and disorder. The Bangla proverb "Magher mulluk" (meaning a lawless land) originates from their notoriety.
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The area, one of Dhaka's busiest localities today, is believed to have been named Moghbazar because it was once inhabited by the Magh community.
Resettlement on the banks of the Pandu
Let us now turn the pages of history. Why did the Mughals choose Dhaka as the capital of Bengal, leaving behind the prosperous Sonargaon? One major reason was to suppress the rampage of the Maghs and the Portuguese.
At the time, the Maghs roamed freely through the Buriganga, Dhaleshwari, Shitalakhya, and Meghna rivers. In 1620, they were defeated for the first time in battle with the Mughals and fled, abandoning a fleet of 4,000 boats.
The next record appears around 1630–35 CE, when Mukut Ray, the Magh king's nephew and governor of Chittagong, surrendered to the Mughals and converted to Islam with his followers.
The then Subahdar (provincial governor) of Bengal resettled them along the banks of the Pandu River, north of Dhaka. Some more Maghs are said to have settled there during the time of Subahdar Shaista Khan as well.
The Pandu River once flowed through what are now Basabo, Khilgaon, and Madartek, with Karwan Bazar being one of its branches. Hundreds of acres of land along its banks lay fallow, surrounded by dense jungle.
The Maghs were industrious people; they cleared the forests, began cultivating the land, and built their homes.
Yet it took a long time for the area to fully transform. Historian Muntasir Mamun wrote in his 1993 book 'Smriti-Bismritir Nagari' that even 120 years ago, Moghbazar was still covered in thick forest, where wild animals roamed.
A Dhaka-based newspaper in 1856 reported, "In the suburb of Moghbazar, a few young men have captured three tiger cubs. We hear their eyes have not yet opened; they live by drinking cow's milk."
The garden house in Siddheshwari
Author Jatindra Mohan Roy, who wrote on the history of Dhaka, presented a somewhat different account of the Maghs of Moghbazar. According to him, during the rule of Subahdar Islam Khan, the King of Arakan died, and one of his officials' sons usurped the throne through conspiracy.
The king's brother, Dharmasa, sought refuge with the Faujdar (military commander) of Bhulua, bringing with him over 500 attendants. The Faujdar sent them to Dhaka, where Islam Khan received them warmly and granted them a taluk (estate) on the banks of the Pandu River in north-eastern Dhaka.
They were also given financial assistance from the state treasury to build houses and a mosque. It is said that when Prince Khurram (later Emperor Shah Jahan) visited Dhaka in 1624, the Magh leaders met him with lavish gifts.
Historian and Professor Sharifuddin Ahmed offers yet another perspective: he explains that the Maghs had strong connections with the Arakanese royal dynasty. They once attacked Dhaka and plundered it, but Subahdar Islam Khan eventually subdued them. A portion of the Magh royal family converted to Islam and sought refuge in Dhaka, where they were granted land — the area that eventually came to be known as Moghbazar.
Apel Mahmud shared that the Sardar family of Siddheshwari had a large garden house, and between Siddheshwari and Moghbazar — near where Ramna Police Station now stands — the Magh community built an ancient mosque. After Mukut Ray, the Magh king's nephew, converted to Islam, all his followers embraced the same faith. The mosque was built for their prayers.
The garden house no longer exists, but the mosque has been rebuilt. During East India Company rule, Charles D'Oyly, who served as Dhaka's collector between 1808 and 1811, sketched several Mughal relics — among them was the mosque of Moghbazar. It was a small, single-domed brick mosque with an inscription carved in stone above its door.
Journalist Apel Mahmud's research revealed that several families, including the Sardars of Moghbazar intersection, the Sheikh Dilu family of Dilu Road, Sheikh Jumman Baksh's family of Nayatola, Ali Bakhsh's family of Madhubagh, Abbas Sheikh's family of Nayatola, Mohammad Ali's family of Mirbagh, and Yusuf and Julfu Bepari's descendants of Eskaton, all proudly claim to be descendants of the original Maghs.
Historian Hashem Sufi later wrote that the inscription, made of black stone, was in Persian and recorded the history of the mosque's construction. It survived even after the Liberation War of 1971.
Moghbazar once encompassed Nayatola, Madhubagh, Mirbagh, Mirertake, Eskaton, Bailey Road, Siddheshwari, and Wireless Gate areas.
Apel Mahmud's research revealed that several families, including the Sardars of Moghbazar intersection, the Sheikh Dilu family of Dilu Road, Sheikh Jumman Baksh's family of Nayatola, Ali Bakhsh's family of Madhubagh, Abbas Sheikh's family of Nayatola, Mohammad Ali's family of Mirbagh, and Yusuf and Julfu Bepari's descendants of Eskaton, all proudly claim to be descendants of the original Maghs.
Tofazzal Hossain Khan, grandson of Ali Baksh Khan (1850–1910) and former professor of Soil Science at Dhaka University, told Apel Mahmud, "Some of the old families are still here. Once they owned a hundred or more bighas of land, but many have since become destitute. These simple folk could not adapt to modern urbanisation."
He added, "When I was a child, I saw them bathing in the Nayatola pond. They lived by growing rice and catching fish. Before Partition, the population of Moghbazar, Begunbari, Nayatola, and Madhubagh was sparse, and the people were mostly farmers. The aubergines and bottle gourds grown in Moghbazar were highly sought after by the aristocrats of old Dhaka."
When Nawab Gani placed a turban on Rahim Baksh's head
The Sardars of Moghbazar intersection are famous throughout Dhaka. The first Sardar of this family was Hanif Baksh, son of Rahim Baksh, upon whom Nawab Abdul Gani ceremonially placed a turban of honour.
Later, one of his descendants, Osman Gani (1906–1976), became the Sardar of the Baish Panchayat (Council of Twenty-Two). The road bending towards FDC from the Moghbazar intersection on the way to Tejgaon is named after him.
According to a plaque installed by the Dhaka North City Corporation, Osman Gani was a renowned social worker, philanthropist, and a man of a generous spirit during the British era. He donated land and money for the establishment of mosques, madrasas and schools. His contributions to the Language Movement and the Liberation War were also significant.
Apel Mahmud added, "Most of the Sardars of the Baish Panchayat supported the Muslim League, though a small faction led by Sardar Kader was more progressive. Osman Gani Sardar belonged to that small group and earned his place in history."
Osman Gani's son, Akhtar Sardar, was known as the last living Sardar of Dhaka. He died at the age of 85. Apel Mahmud quoted him as saying, "We have lived here for nearly four centuries. During the Mughal, British and Pakistani periods, we continued to serve as Sardars. But Dhaka is no longer what it once was. Land in Eskaton once sold for Tk75 a bigha. When two maunds of rice were cooked, it was enough to feed all of Moghbazar, Eskaton, and Siddheshwari."
Historian Nazir Hossain noted in his book 'Kimbadantir Dhaka' that the panchayat system in Dhaka dates back to the Mughal era. Despite political, social, and economic changes over time, and despite the introduction of new laws, the panchayat structure itself changed very little.
Shankar Company's white lungi
Akhtar Sardar's son, Gani Sardar, runs a partex board shop on the ground floor of their family home at the Moghbazar intersection. He is a tall, broad-shouldered man of about 46.
He said, "My grandfather [Osman Gani Sardar] was also very tall — 6 ft 3 inch. He was generous and my father also inherited his nature. He loved entertaining guests. He always wore a white lungi with a red border from Shankar Company and a Bepari-style panjabi. He spoke fluent Hindi and Urdu.
"Before holding court over disputes, my father and grandfather would feed both sides well so that issues could be settled peacefully. My father loved to wear my grandfather's red Turkish fez. Near the railway gate, after Zafran Hotel, there was a mango tree — he would sit there in the afternoons with friends, eating roasted chickpeas and chira (flattened rice) while chatting," he added.
The original Sardar house was a single-storey lime-and-brick building surrounded by mango and jackfruit trees, with a cowshed at the back. In the adjoining open space, they cultivated rice.
Mohammad Khokon, aged 54 and cousin of Gani Sardar, grew up in that very house. He remembered the pond that once belonged to the Sardar family's garden house — he bathed in it as a boy. The pond was located where the Century Arcade Shopping Mall now stands, once known as the Ispahani Pond.
When the Rampura Canal was navigable, Moghbazar had better waterway connections with Beribadh, Satarkul, and other areas than with the rest of Dhaka. Boats brought jackfruit and earthenware into the city. In the evenings, members of the Sardar family would sail to Beribadh for leisure, while the women visited relatives in enclosed horse-drawn carriages.
The violinist of Beribadh
Akhtar Sardar's brother, Shahabuddin Sardar, had a daughter named Asma Jerin Jhumu, who proudly calls herself a "Magh princess" and has also served as a Member of Parliament.
She told Apel Mahmud, "The ancient mosque mentioned in historical accounts of Moghbazar was our family mosque. We also established the first school here in a tin-roofed house; today, it is the Moghbazar Government Primary School.
"Our ancestors were both courageous and kind-hearted. Their generous lifestyle, however, cost them hundreds of acres of land. They spent their days fishing in the garden pond, watching courtesans dance, and settling local disputes. In those days, there were no decorators in Dhaka; for social events, people borrowed utensils, carpets and canopies from our home. Even the Nawabs of Dhaka and the Rajas of Bhawal would come to spend leisure time at our garden house," Apel quoted Jhumu as saying.
Sayedul Islam Badol, son of Sadeq Baksh (a descendant of Sheikh Jumman Baksh of Nayatola), said that their ancestors migrated from Chittagong and became disciples of Pir Shah Nuri of Moghbazar.
Their family once held great authority in the area and owned much of the land, but their indulgent lifestyle led to the loss of their property. His father was an accomplished violinist known throughout Satarkul and Beribadh for his music.
According to Professor Sharif Uddin Ahmed, "The claims of those who identify themselves as descendants of the original Arakanese Maghs of Moghbazar are not entirely unfounded. However, the matter deserves further scholarly research."
