Chowdhuries of Natore

The Chowdhuries of Natore (নাটোরের চৌধুরী বংশ) are a notable Bengali Muslim family who have played important roles throughout the history of North Bengal.

History
The family is descended from Amanullah Khan, an Afghan Muslim nobleman who settled in Burdwan, Bengal Subah in the early 18th century with his son, Azam Khan. The family moved to Natore in northern Bengal after Muhammad Zaman Khan was appointed as the Nazir of the Natore court and given large tracts of land in that district.

After his death, he was succeeded by his son, Dost Muhammad Khan, who extended the zamindari across the Kholabaria, Piprul and Kalam areas of Natore. In 1787, the Company Raj conferred the title of Chowdhury to him, in addition to the family's original title of Khan. Dost Muhammad Khan Chowdhury married the daughter of the Mutawalli of Bagha, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Muhammad Ali Khan Chowdhury.

Khan Bahadur Chowdhury Muhammad Ali Khan had two sons; Rashid and Ershad. His daughter, Rabeya Khatun, married Shah Syed Janab Ali Chowdhury from the Dhanbari Nawab family and was gifted a quarter of the Dhanbari zamindari. Rashid Ali Khan Chowdhury inherited the zamindari from his father and most notably founded the Rashid Anglo-Persian School in 1862. He was succeeded by his younger brother, Ershad Ali Khan Chowdhury, who was a notable politician and member of the Bengal Legislative Council. He served as the chairman of Natore municipality from 1891, and is heavily credited for the development of Natore. In 1903, Ershad Ali Khan Chowdhury chaired the Muslim Education Associatian's first session in Rajshahi. After the establishment of the All-India Muslim League in 1906, he was appointed as the inaugural chairman of its Natore branch. He was also a member of the Bengal Management Conference and Rajshahi District Board, and a supporter of the Mohammedan Literary Society and Anjuman-e-Islamia organisations.

After Ershad Ali Khan Chowdhury's death in 1928, he was succeeded by his son, Ashraf Ali Khan Chowdhury. Ashraf's mother, Masirunnesa Khanum, was the only child of the Zamindar of Shahzadpur, and he eventually inherited the Shahzadpur zamindari too. He was a Muslim League politician like his father, and also served as the deputy speaker of the Bengal Legislative Assembly. He had a daughter named Syedani Razya Khatun who married Nawab Syed Hasan Ali Chowdhury of Dhanbari. After her death, his other daughter Syedani Lamya Asya married the Nawab of Dhanbari.

Although the East Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy Act of 1950 led to the abolishment of the zamindari system, the family continue to hold influential positions in north Bengal, for example, Abdus Sattar Khan Chowdhury, a former BNP parliamentarian.