Pratapaditya

Who was Pratapaditya?

Maharaja Pratap-Aditya was the Hindu Kayastha King of Jessore and the most prominent of the Baro-Bhuyan of Bengal, who declared independence from the Mughals and established an independent Hindu state in Bengal. His kingdom at its zenith encompassed the districts of Nadia, North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas in West Bengal, as well as extending into modern-day Bangladesh from Kushtia district in north, Barisal in east and Sundarbans and Bay of Bengal to south.

Pratapaditya's love for the Motherland, fierce spirit of Hindu independence from Muslim yoke, and epic battles against the Mughal imperialists made him the most famous legendary hero for the Hindus in Bengal. His bravery and heroism became the subject of many ballads, none grander than Annadamangal, the magnum opus of Bharat Chandra the greatest medieval poet of Bengal. In the final of the three-part epic, Bharat Chandra introduces Pratapaditya as excerpted below:

Pratapaditya Roy has been recognized as a national hero in several narratives of Hindu Nationalism where he has been placed alongside Shivaji and Guru Govind Singh for his immortal deeds.