A Brief Sketch of Maghs :

As Depicted in Old Records

Jay Datta Barua*

A systematic

study of human race, castes, tribes and people in

India was for the first time done after the arrival of East India
Company. The importance of the knowledge of hurnan society for
efficient administration was, perhaps, realized as early as 1807, when
the Court of Directors of the East India Company made a formal
decision that "such knowledge would be of great use in the future
administration of the country". Consequently Dr. Francis Buchanan
was appointed by the Governor-General-in-Council to undertake an
ethnographic survey "to enquire into the condition of the inhabitants
of Bengal and their religion". Since then anthropologically-oriented
administrative officers like Risley, Thurston, Dalton, Grigson,
Gurdon and many others had been deputed by the British
Government to prepare handbooks, gazetteers, monographs, etc., on
the tribes and castes of India. While H" H. Risley, Dalton and
O'Malley were deputed in East India, Russell was posted in middle
India. Thurston and Crooks were kept in southern and northern India
respectively. They wrote encyclopedic inventories about the tribes
and castes of India in the form of handbooks, gazetteers, and
monographs which, even today, provide the basic information about
the life and culture of the people in the respective regions. In
addition to these works general books on Indian ethnology were also
published by administrators like J.M.Campbell (1856), R. S. Latham
(1859) and H. H. Risley (1891). Owing to their pioneering efforts,
whatever might be of scientific value, a bulk of ethnographic
Iiterature was produced and perhaps, it proved helpful to the colonial
administrators and also helped in doing subsequent researches.
The work of writing District Gazetteers for the first time (in
1807) was undertaken by Dr. Francis Buchanan who could compile
the Gazetteers of Rangpur and Dinajpur only and left the country

* Mr. J.D. Barua, I.C"A"S of New Delhi is a civil

the Subject.
42

servant and specialist on

before taking up other districts. The accounts of the various districts

of Bengal and Bihar written by Dr. Francis Buchanan contained in
what are known as "Buchanan Manuscripts" deposited in the India
Office Library, have not been published. Buchanan carried out his
exhaustive Statistical Survey during 1807-14. In 1838, or some nine
years after his demise, Montgomery Martin compiled and published

abridgement of Buchanan's lengthy reports in "Fastern India"

consisting of three volumes. The abridgement was, however,
considered to be "ill-conceived" and "ill-executed". In l8l4-15,
Walter Hamilton wrote the East India Gazetter of British
possessions, provinces, cities, towns, districts, fortresses, harbours
and lakes in present Indo-Pakistan region and Eastern Archipelago'.
As far as systematic account of Chittagong was concerned it was
included in the Statistical Account of Bengal, Vol. VI written in 1876
by Sir W. W. Hunter. The Distrtct Gazetteer of Chittagong was first
written by L.S.S. O'Malley, I.C.S. in 1908. He reproduced in his
book much of the Chittagong Survey and Settlement Report (1900)
written by Charles Allen.
My note on Magh community, the Buddhist people of Bengal, is
basically from these and contemporary records. Efforts to study the
origin of present Chittagonian Buddhist Society, the Barua group,
cannot be taken as complete without undertaking the study of origin
of word Magh and the communities represented by it.

On the name Magh

Credit goes to Risley to give elaborate details on the Buddhist
communities of Bengal known by ethnologists and administrators by
the name of Maghs. He adopted this name as was applied to
Buddhists of Bengal by other communities among whom they lived.
According to his researches there are several sections of people who
are known by name Magh and is basically a popular designation of a
group of Indo-Chinese tribes, who describe themselves by the
various titles of Maramagri, Bhuiya Magh, Barua Magh, Rajbansi
Magh, Marma or Myam-ma, Roang Magh, Thongtha or Jumia Magh.
He divided all the above groups into three major branches. These
three major branches or groups within Magh have been accepted as
such by all the ethnographers even to this day. The three basic
classification or sections represented by Magh community are : (i)
43

The Thongtha, Thongcha, or Jumia Magh; (ii) The Marma,

Mayamma, Roang or Rakhaing Magh ; and (iii) The Maramagri,
otherwise known as Rajbansi, Barua or Bhuiya Magh. But it is
pvzzling despite the classification as such by the administrators and
ethnologists or anthropologists none of the groups of Maghs like to
be known by this name while introducing themselves to the larger

Bengali communities among whom they dwell. The only reason

seems to be that the term Magh became synonymous with pirates in
Bengal and is now a very insulting sobriquet for which reason they
disown this name.
How this name came to be applied to these people is shrouded in
mystery. Some ethnographers, anthropologists and administrators are

applied only to the people of

Arakan, a province in Burma (Myanmar), while still others suggested
that application of the name Magh to the people of Arakan is an
anthropological error and it should be restricted only to the people
who are 'Buddhists of Chittagong' and specifically called by name
Rajbansi or Barua, also known as Marmagri. A few early
correspondences from the Chiefs of Chittagong to Arakan Rajahs
indicate that entire populetion of Arakan was addressed as Muggs.
One of such letter from Warren Hastings to Francis Law, Chief of
Chittagong, dated 2lst May 1777 and reply from Mr. Law dated
23rd November 1777 is reproduced in REVENUE HISTORY OF
CHITTAGONG (18S0). For the general information of readers I may
record that the records of eighteenth and early nineteenth century
used term Mugg for these people. The spelling changed to Magh and
Mag in later half of nineteenth century. Some writers are seen using
term Mogh for these people now. Portuguese records used term
Mogen for them. In dealing with the etymology of names, it is
usually held that several tribes (communities) have two or more set
of names-one of which is given by their neighbours by which they
are commonly known, and another name is used by themselves, and
they like to be called by that name only. Again there are some

of the view that the name Magh

appellations

that are

derogatory

and insulting (or

even
the

complententary) in character. All

communities around them to address these people.
Sir Arther Phayre was totally opposed to giving name Magh to
these names are used

by

Jumias and Marmas who are sometimes called Hill Maghs or

Khyongtha of Hill Tracts or Rakhaing Maghs of Cox's Bazaar. He
would restrict this name only for the people who are now using
'Barua' for title name. T. H. Lewin called Hill Maghs by name
Khyongtha only. Risley however had a different view. According to
him "there has been much discussion about the use of name Magh
and the question cannot be considered as having been finally
settled". The Tribes and Castes of Bengal, 1891, Vol. (ii), page 29
informs that Wilson, followed by Ritter, Fr. Muller, and Colonel
Yule, define it as "a narne commonly applied to the natives of
Arakan, particularly those bordering on Bengal or residing near the
sea-the people of Chittagong". A careful study of Arthur Phayre
shows he was largely influenced by the Magadha origin theory
propounded by the Buddhist people of Chittagong. His view was
quoted by Colonel Yule as Maghs derive the name from "'Maga, the
name of the ruling race for many centuries in Magadha (modern
Bihar). The kings of Arakan were no doubt originally of this race ;
for though this is not distinctly expressed in the histories of Arakan,
there are several legends of kings from Benares reigning in that
country, and one, regarding a Brahman, who marries a native
princess and whose descendants reign for a long period." Dalton
appears to take much the same view regarding the Arakanese as an
outlying branch of the Burmese, and adding that the name Magh is

exclusively

a foreign

"epithet, unknown

to the Arakanese

themselves". Montegazza follows Dalton on the whole, but seems to

look upon the term Magh as rather a tribal name than the general
designation of the people who inhabit a particular tract of country.

Arakanese are not Maghs

Arther Phayre, who was then serving as Commissioner in Arakan,
had a very valid reason in support of his views. After deep
investigations he came to a conclusion that the word 'Magh' was
never used by the Arakanese themselves. There was no community
in Arakan known by this term. Giving description of ,people in
Arakan in his article 'Account of Arakan' in Journal of the Asiatic
Society of Bengal, vol-X, l84l (page 680) he said they were known
by different names in Arakan. The inhabitants were, in the Plains : l.
Rakhoing-tha.Z. Ko-la. - 3. Donr. In the t{ills.-l . Khyourtg-tha.-2.
45

Kume or kwe-me.- 3. Kheyng. 4. Doing-nuk, Mroong, and other

tribes. No one was called by name Magh. Further, "the Ra-khoingtha and Khyoung-tha are of the same race. Like the Burmese their
national name is Myam-ma, the first appellations here given being
merely local, the former signifying inhabitant of Ra-khoing country ;

the latter, or Khyoung-tha, being the name given to those who

inhabit the banks of mountain streams within the same villages as
the hill tribes, and support themselves by hill cultivation. ...," (page
681). He never referred Khyonghtha or Rakhaing people as Maghs.
Phayre added a footnote on page 683 in this article on the people
who are now using surname Barua. He said, "there is a class of
people residing in the Chittagong district, who call themselves Rc7bunse, and in Burmese Myam-ma-gyee, or 'great Mayam-mas'. They
pretend to be descendants of the kings of Arakan, a flattering fiction
which they have invented to gloss their spurious descent. They are
doubtless the offspring of Bengalee women by Mayammas, when the
latter possessed Chittagong, and other districts of Bengal. Their dress
and language are Bengalee ; but they profess the religion of their
fathers, viz. Buddhism. These people are called Mugs in Bengal."
This commentary shows that phayre was influenced by the early
writers on the community that Rajbansis (Barua), the Buddhist
lreople of Chittagong, were basically Maghs and they originated as
'hybrid' group of people from the Arakanese fathers when they came
to possess Chittagong. His further researches on this subject forced
him to form a different opinion about the hybrid character of
Buddhists of Chittagong. on rhe application of name Magh ro all
Arakanese people, he said in "Note on the name Mog or Maga
applied to the Arakanese by the people of Bengal", HISTORY oF
BURMA, (Page 47, 48) that.
"The Rakhaing people of Mongoloid race do not know this
term. It is given to them by the people of Bengal, and arso to
a class of people now found mostly in the district of
chittagong, who call themselves Rajbansi. The latter claim to
be of the same race as one dynasty of the kings of Arakan, and
hence the name they have themselves assumed. They are
Buddhists in religion ; their language now is Bengali of the
chittagong dialect ; and they have a distinctive physiognomy,

but it is not Mongolian. Their number in the Chittagong

district, by the census of 1870-71, was 10,852 (Hunter's
"Bengal," vol.-vi, p. 250). A few are found in the district of
Akyab. I was formerly of opinion that these people were a
mixed race, the descendants of Arakanese, who, when their
kings held Chittagong during the seventeenth century, had
married Bengali wives. Further inquiry and consideration have
led me to a different conclusion. I now think it most probable
that the self-styled Rajbansi descend from immigrants into
Arakan from Magadha, and that the name given to them by the
people of Bengal correctly designates their race or the country
from which they came. It is very probable that one of the
foreign dynasties of Arakan came' from Southern Bihar,
though, from modern jealousy of foreigners, the fact has been
concealed by Arakanese chroniclers. The former existence in
Southern Bihar of princes having the race name of Maga is an
undoubted fact. The researches of Dr. Francis Buchanan, and

later inquiries instituted by Dr. W.W. Hunter, show that the

kings of Magadha reigned at Rajagriha in the modern district
of Patna. They were Buddhists, and that a dynasty of this race
reigned in Arakan may be considered to be true. The name
Rajbansi has no doubt been adopted by the remnant of the
tribe in later times, from a desire to assert their importance as
belonging to the same race as the kings of Arakan. This term
has been adopted in the district of Rangpur by the Chandalas
and other low castes, who had not the reasonable claim to it
possessed by the class now under consideration. The name
Maga having been extended to the whole of the Arakanese
people, who are Mongoloid in race, is an ethnological error
which has caused confusion among European writers upon this
subject. But this error does not extinguish the fact of people

from an Aryan race called Maga, who migrated

from Bihar, being still in existence in Arakan and the
adjoining district of Chittagaon."
Basically even if these references go to the extent of suggesting
that name Magh applies to the people of Arakan, a glance of still
earlier records restrict the use of word Magh for the community
descended

47

largely known as 'Buddhists of Chittagong'. The theory of origin of

the community from the country of Magadha was very much prevalent
in the Buddhist community of Chittagong for some decades before the
close of eighteenth century and in the beginning of nineteenth century.
But even during those days the Chittagonian Buddhists were hesitant
in using the name Magh applied to them by the general communities
around them. Countrary to this view these people would reserve this
name for the group of people who call themselves by name Marma,
Roangs or Jumia etc. On the other hand Marma, Roangs or Jumias
would not like to be called by this name at all as this name was not
applicable to them in the country of their origin.

Early Maghs were Brahmins

Francis Buchanan (later Montgomery Martin) referring to the
papers of Dr. Leyden said, "that gentleman supposes, if I am correct
in quoting from memory, that Magadha is the country of the people
whom we call Muggs, a supposition in which I believe he is
perfectly singular". Francis Buchanan (Montgomery Martin) further
revealed that "the term Mugg, these people assure me, is never used,

by either themselves or by the Hindus, except when speaking the

jargon commonly called Hindustani by Europeans, and it is totally
unknown to the people of Ava ; but whether it is of Moslem,
Portuguese, or English origin, I cannot take upon myself to sil),
many words among the natives being now in use as English, which it
is impossible to trace in our, or indeed in any other language. The
original country of the Muggs, which is the district of Chittagong,
although the name has been extended also to Arakan (Rakhain) is by
the Hindus called I blank in M S. ]" (page l8). HISTORX
ANTIQUITIES, TOPOGRAPHY AND STATISTICS OF EASTERN
INDIA ; VOL II, MONTGOMERY MARTIN (1814). The Buddhist
people of Chittagong even to this day univocally say that they were
having roots in Magadha before shifting to the country of Chittagong
or Arakan. They are not alone in this supposition. Some (Burmese)
people in Arakan maintain that they were the original people from
Magadha who brought the religion of Buddhism in Arakan. They
also address themselves as Marmagri.
Dispute does not seem to settle here. It is further disputable
whether it was the people from Magadha who migrated to Arakan

and Ava and got name Magh applied to them ; or, there existed some
branch of people known by name Maga, who gave their name to the

counrry they inhabited. While discussing elaborately on the Magadha

country of yore Montgomery Martin did not even hint any link with
the Muggs of Chittagong and Maga tribes that once inhabited the
country of Magadha. If the conclusion of Phayre is to be believed
that present Buddhists of Chittagong were descendents of Magas

then the theory now current among Buddhists of Bengal that

Magadha people on getting planted in Chittagong or Arakan got the
appellation Magh is certainly wrong. Some groups of people known
by name Magh already existed even before coming to the country
later called Magadha. These people were imported from somewhere
in Central Asia and were planted in place now called as Magadha.
Before conversion into Buddhism they were Brahmins and were
worshipper of Sun God
According to Martin the "colony from Sakadwip, first settled in
the country called Kikat or South Behar, to which they
communicated the name Magadha, from their ancestor Maga". Major
Wilford (Asiatic Researches, vol. 9, page 74) referring to a book
called Rudrajamal, supposed to be composed by Siva, and published

Parsuram, says "the Brahmans came from Sakadwip to

Jambudwip, and after some generations went to Kanyakubja. After
some generations they dispersed over different countries, as the

by

Dakshin, Angga, Bangga, Kalingga, Kammrup, Odra,

Bata,
Magadha, Barandra, Chila, Swarnagrama, China, Karnata, Saka, and

Barbara, according as they were favoured by different Rajas. This

book mentions no other Brahman". Wilford did not contradict the
report of the Rudrajamal ; as the descendants of those, who remained
behind in Kikat, might retain the original name of Magas or

Sakadwipis. Mentioning about the Sakadwipis narration goes on

saying "that in Sakadwipis there were four classes of men : First,
Magas, from whom the Brahmans are descended. Secondly,
Magadhas, who were the military tribe of the country. Thirdly,
Manasas, who were the merchants ; and fourthly, Mangadas, who
were the labourers : but none of the three lower tribes came with the
Magas from their original country. They still retain the name of
Magas". Which country was called Saka he did not elaborate.
49

.,

Martin's view was that "the most rational derivation of the term
Magadha is that given by Major Wilford (As. Res. Vol. 9, p.32).
Samba, the son of Krishna, in order to cure himself of a disease,
introduced a colony of Magas or Brahmans from a country called
Saka. But Krishna being contemporary of Jarasandha, the
introduction of a colony of Magas by his son Samba must have been
after the death of Jarasandha". Martin opined that although
Jarasandha is usually called King of Magadha, that Madhyadesa was
the proper denomination of his empire, and the term Magadha was
not given to the territory of his family until its extent was reduced by
his overthrow ; but even atter that event the kingdom seems to have
been more extensive than that to which the term Magadha is ever
applied (page 22). "These Magas are supposed to have introduced
the worship of the sun, and there are many traces to show that the
worship of this luminary is here of great antiquity ; although I
suspect that it was rather introduced by the conquests of the Persians
under Darius than by the Magas or Brahmans, who probably came
from Egypt, the only country I know where the doctrine of caste
prevailed, and prevailed as prescribed in the books of the Brahmans,
and in a manner quite different from what they have been able to
establish in India". HISTORY, ANTIQUITIES, TOPOGRAPHY
AND STAIISTICS OF EASTERN INDIA ; VOL. I, BY
MONTGOMERY MARTTN (18 l4).
That Magas were not from Magadha roots get the support from a
passage in the Ashokan Rock Edict XIII which reads "...... where
reigns the Greek King named Amtiyoga and beyond the realm of that
Amtiyoga in the land of the four king Tulamaya, Antekina, Maka,
and Alikyashudula ....." (translated by Prof. R. Thapar : Ashoka and
the decline of Mauryas pp. 255). They have been identified by Prof.
Romila Thapar as Antiochus II Theos of Syria (260-246 BC) ; the
grandson of Selucus Niketor Gonatus of Meccadoinia (276-239 BC);
Maga of Cyrene ; and Alexander of Epirus. (A History of India, Voll, p.73). Since Ashoka had diplomatic relations with those countries
it can be easily supposed that their embassy accompanied by several
Maga people from 'Cyrene' might have settled in Magadha and
followed Buddhism in later times. The word 'Maga' might have
travelled with their descendants to Bengal and Arakan.

a good number of Hindu and Buddhist

for preaching religion but in course of
Arakan
missionaries went to
time, some of them settled there. In the struggle among different
religious groups that followed only Buddhism survived with the
support of the ruling class. The Indian immigrants, subsequently, got
absorbed into the local population. It is quite probable that the
descendants of the said immigrants alongwith local Buddhists began
to assert their descent from Magadha. They did so with a view to
establishing superiority before the people of Arakan. At that time,
most of the people of Arakan were animist by faith. The present
term, 'Magh' therefore, seems to be a derivation of Magadha and is
used to mean the Buddhists who claim Magadha Origin. At least this
is the general belief now.
Present Remains of Maghs
In

ancient time,

Though the present generation of Barua (Magh) consider that they

have descended from the Arian migrants of Magadha to Chittagong,

their main thrust is to trace the name Barua derived from the so
called 'elder' Arian (bara ariyo) race, a concept alien to the Arians
themselves. This they have manufactured for their own consumptions
and has nothing to do with Arians. This theory appears to be making
rounds for not more than seventy to a hundred years. The word
Magh being considered highly insulting, they appear to have found a
substitute name to identify them with. A reference to the records

authored by the people from this community indicate that even a

hundred to 150 years ago the name Magh was very much used by
the community itself even if there was widespread objection to the
use of this name- As narrated by Dr. Ramchandra Barua, "a few
Maghs of Chittagong have adopted the title name Barua",
Chattagramer Mager ltihash, ( i,905). Qradually efforts were made to
replace the name 'Magh' by word 'Bengali Buddhist Community'
for identification. Bangla Sahitye Boudho Dharmo O Santskriti
mentions that "Mrigalubdho Kahinir prachin kobi Ramraia
sambondlte bola hoi tirti jatite magh chilen. Chattagramer adhibashi
maghgan boudhodharmabolombi. Tanhara 'Rai' o 'Barua' upadhi
dharan koren". Its English rendition reads thus : about the writer of
Mrigalubdo story, Ramraj, it is said, was Magh by caste. The Magh

people of Chittagong are Buddhists by religion and they use Raj

(read Rajbansi) and Barua for surname (p 124-125).
51

The names, surnames and titles reflect the identity, status and
level of aspirations. Many communities have adopted names, titles
and surnames of other communities, particularly of those placed
higher in the regional hierarchy. This reflects both the process of
upward mobility and of sharing among communities of the regional
heritage in the cultural-linguistic context. The regional situation also
influences the pattern of distribution of names, surnames, titles and
nomenclature of exogamous units across communities. There are
several writers in this community who maintain that 'Barua' people
were one block in sixth century A.D. They shifted to Arakan via
Assam. One stream of people remained in Assam and in course of
time adopted Hinduism. Another stream migrated to Chittagong via
Arakan and remained Buddhist. To say that name Barua (corrupted
from boro-Ariyo) was prevalent in the community for several
centuries is nothing but an effort towards self-glossification.
Surname Barua and Other Names
Students of ethnology (in India) know that name 'Barua' is
in a wide spectrum of communities. Several communities in
India use name Barua. In Assam besides Brahmins name Barua is
used by other communities also. Several years ago while functioning
as Deputy Director in the University Grants Commission, Delhi I
met two professors from Assam who were husband and wife. One
was using surname 'Hathi-Barua' and other was using name 'GhoraBarua'. On the use of this name they informed me that their
ancestors were in-charge of elephant division and cavalry division
during the time of Ahom kings. Their ancestors retained this
designation for their name. The designation "Barua' was created by
Ahom kings to defend themselves from outside forces. The Tripura
royal dynasty also created designation Barua for use in their forces.
These do not indicate the name 'Barua' is corruption of word 'BoroAriyo'. In Sweden several people who originated in that country use
name Barua. They are in no way connected with the people holding
name Barua in Assam or Chittagong. They are Christians by faith. (I
got this information through one of my friends who had to be there
on official duty and had the occasion to interact with them. He was
present

52

I found these names while surfing in

for some records from that country). A group of people of

a Barua of Assam origin. Later

internet

African origin in Zanzibar are also found using name Baduwa. Even
in India, there are several communities who use this name. For
example some people of Rajsthan origin use name 'Barwa' and
'Berwah' as their community name. A different group of people in
Uttar Pradesh are also found using name 'Barwa'. In Santhals and
Munda communities use of the term Barua as sept name is seen.
'Barwa' is also a sept name in Chakma community. I have found the
use of name 'Barua' even in Arabic language. In one article I came
across use of name Barua by an Arabic society on education. The
article said "the drive to 'purify'education is spearheaded by Barua
Rahamani Education Society (BRES), an organization of Islamic
leaders with strong Saudi Arabian ties. BRES was registered in 1993.
It has already opened 109 madrasas in the State, including 35 in
Murshidabad,22 in Malda, l0 each in Birbhum, North Dinajpur and
Nadia. Over 40,000 students attend BRES classes and number is
gaining".-India Today 25.6.2001, page-26. It said in another place
that "at Beldanga in South Murshidabad, the Barua Ahle-Hadis
Education Society begins Arabic lessons at the prep level". Page
27-India Today, 25.6.2001. These references would certainly not
approve that term Barua is in restricted use by some communities in
Assam and Chittagong. In some references authored by the Bengali
Buddhist people of Chittagong it has been said that daughters-in-law
in this community use term 'ariyo-ma' corrupted in actual use as
'hajo-aan'to address to their mothers-in-law. But while asserting this
it is not kept in view that before adopting Bengali language they
were all using Arakanese language and corrupted Chittagonian
Bengali became their language much later. The term 'Ariyo' meaning
excellent is derived from Pali language and cannot be linked to Arian
race. Reason being several years after settling in Chittagong country
they adopted Bengali language and dress. According to Walter
Hamilton (1828), East India Gazetteer, Vol-I, "These Mughs seem to
be the remains of the first colony from Arracan that occupied
Tripura, on the re-conquest of that territory from Mahomedans. The
men have adopted the Bengalese dress, but the females retain that of
Arracan and Ava."
53

In my conclusion the present Buddhists of Chittagong ui" f.orn

Arakan roots. They migrated to Chittagong some four or five
hundred years ago. Before getting planted in that country they were
from different groups and not from one composite group. And name
Magh has been derived as corrupted form of appellation Mang or
Meng. In my researches I discovered that use of name Mang or
Meng was widely prevalent in Chittagong among the ancestors of
Buddhist communities now using the name Barua. Appellation Mang
was generally used to signify royal or aristocratic descent. They were
mostly Arakanese in origin. By the end of seventeenth century these
people dropped name Mang or Meng and did not prefer to use any
appellation. They started asserting themselves as 'Rajbansi' and it
was favoured by many of them for name though most of them were
without any general name. During my searches I found in one case
following names in the genealogy :
Place of Origin : Loungra- (Bengali : "Logora").
( I ) Narabodhi-(2) Meng kheyee-(3) Mangkha Meng-(4)
Meng Palang-(5) Meng Kheyuo-(6) Meng Kethocheyee-(7)
Hyog- (8) Chadaingye-(9) Anga- (10)Kheyaphru (gomasta)
(ll) Kalachand (gomasta) (12) Nanda muhuri (13) Harish
(14) Narendra
(15) Dibakar.
Chandra
Had the last man shown in the list not breathed his last some
seven or eight years ago, he would have been seventy-five years of
age by now. In my own estimates the first person in the list can be
linked to 1500-1520 A.D. The place of origin as shown in the list
was Loungra. One of the persons in the lineage (name not shown due
to paucity of space) claimed the place Loungra (Bengali : lngora) is
in Magadha. He could not say anything more then making a mere
statement. It appears to me that it was again an effort to ignore
Arakan connection. But it is history that Loungra (correct spellingLoungrett or Laoungkret) was in Arakan and was its capital city
from 1237 A.D. to 1404 A.D., before arrival of Marak U period. A
total of seventeen kings ruled in this era, starting with Hlama-Phru
and ending with Thin-Kha-Thu. Most likely these people had
aristocratic origin. I say this on hearsay only. Whether it is true or
not I cannot say. They shifted to Chittagong during the period of
turmoil in Arakan and made Chittagong their permanent abode.
54

People from these families are found in several villages in northern

part of Chittagong, popularly called as Uttarcool. (According to old
revenue parlance, the district of Chittagong was divided into two girds
or division-Uttarcool, or that part to the north of the Kurnaphoolee
river; and Dakhincool, to the south of that river. MEMORANDUM

ON THE REVENUE HISTORY OF CHITTAGONG BY H.J.S.

COITON, (1880). Present generations do not seem to know this fact).
Even much before use of name Barua and Rajbansi some people
of this community were using different names. For example, among
the forefathers of renowned Dr. Arabindo Barua (1907-1982) was
one Phule Tangya. It is said the name Thngya was given to him by
the Arakanese kings. This does not appear to be correct. Sir Arthur
Phayre mentioned 'Thng-ya' meant hill cultivation only. Thus this
word was retained by some settlers on hills who did hill cultivation.
It may be that some people with name Tangya migrated to plains and
in later times they settled in the area called Pahartoli. This is the
reason why several Thngya groups of people in Magh (Barua)
community is now found in Pahartoli. In this family following names
are found in the genealogy for last 250 years or so: (l) Phul Tangya
(3) Nayan Chand Talukdar
(2) Pushka Chand
(4) Kirti
-(5) Joylal Munshi (Barua) - (6) Gagan
-Chand (Jamadar)
- Dr. Arabindo Barua (born : 1907, died : 1982).
(7)
Chandra Barua
This family adopted surname 'Barua' sometimes in the first half of
nineteenth century. (Conclusion based on several articles published
in 'Dr. Arabindo Barua, 75th Bitth Anniversary' 1982).
Some persons in the first half of nineteenth century adopted name
Barua. It was widely used in later half of nineteenth century. This is
at least apparent from the records of Risley when he says Marmagri
Maghs are "otherwise called as" Rajbansi and Barua. Any surname
will not become widely prevalent overnight. It takes at least four or
five decades to become acceptable. There are other surnames which
came into use among the Buddhists of Chittagong. Some people
started using appellation Thlukdars and Mutsuddis in their name.
Name Mutsuddi appears to be in existence even prior to the advent
of East India Company. Islam Khan Mutsuddi ( 1638) was a famc,'ns
general in Mughul times. Titan, a person of this Buddhist community
was appointed as Mutsuddi by the Nawabs of Bengal during
s5

Alawardi Khan's time (1740-1756). He retained this appellation for

name,.and his subsequent generations are using this name till today,
though some have preferred using name Barua or Barua Mutsuddi
now. One female progeny from this family tree is now a daughter-inlaw in our present family. Many persons of the Buddhist community
of Chittagong who were later appointed as Mutsuddies after East
India Company took control of Chattagong administration stated
reraining name Mutsuddi. Regarding actual job of these Mutsuddies
some records speak thus :
Mutasiddy was basically 'A clerk of the cheque, or any
writer employed about the revenue". Glossary to the
Appendix "The History of Hindostan-Vol-Ill, Alexnader
Dow, 1803.
Mutsaddy is "a writer or clerk" Affairs of the East lndia
Company Fifth Report from Select Committee of House of

Commons28.7.l8l2(WalterKellyFirminger)Vol-I.
verelst : View etc. Appendix, page 217-18. Verelst
explains "Muttaseddee" as a general name for all officers
employed in taking the accounts of Government, or any
person of consequence".
There were other designations which were connected with
collection of revenue. After East India Company took control of the
territory of Chittagong Mr. Verelst was appointed its Chief on
November 8, 1760 (Took charge on 1.12.1760). Revenue
administration was reorganized a few years later. Assignment for
revenue collection was given to some people who had conflicting
interests in the yield. W. W. Hunter, A Statistical Account of Bengal,
Chittagong, 1876, (page l16) records that "there were four distinct
classes, each with a separate and conflicting interest in the land.
There was first the landholder-in-chief (hmindar), who collected
revenue from the number of intermediate holders, and paid into the
treasury. Next in order were the intermediate holders (talukdars),
each of whom gathered in the land-tax for a certain number of
villages, but from the villages in their corporate capacity' The
village-heads formed the third set of persons interested in the land,
under the name of chor.rclharis. They collected revenue from the
cultivators, each man in his own village, and paid it in a lump-sum
56

to the intermediate holder or talukclan The actual tillers of the soil

held the fourth and lowest rank". There was no principal landholder
from this community in Chittagong. Some were intermediate
landholders and a few were chouclharies of the villages. But large
portion was of actual tillers with small land holdings or mostly
employed on wages. It was from this period only that land records
show the holdings in the name of people of the Buddhist community
of Chittagong. Name Choudhari and Thlukdars have since been
retained by some of them.
Position after 1638 A.D.

O'MALLEY furnished graphical details on the community of

Barua group of Maghs (also known as Marmagris or Rajbansis) in
hiS WOTKS EASTERN BENGAL DISTRICT GAZETTEER,
CHITTAGONG (1908). The narration inch.rdes their origin and other
cultural aspect of the community which suggests that the community
came into existence in Bengal in the seventeenth century, and made
Chittagong its permanent home. A fraction of the community
migrated to other parts of Bengal and nearby district, including
Chittagong Hill Tract.
According to his view Chittagong long possessed a large colony
of Maghs especially Barua Maghs. Some among them are Hill
Maghs whom Arther Phayre and Lewin referred to as Khyonghtha or
Jumia or Hill Burmese, others are later immigrants called by name
Marma or Rakhaing, and yet another are of mixed birth whom Arther
Phayre called as scions of the royal race and called them as Maghs.
According to Phayre Magh was a forgotten name that should
properly belonging to people of mixed birth. They are known by title
name Barua or Rajbansi.
The District Gazetteer records that "CHITTAGONG is the only
district in Eastern Bengal in which Buddhism still survives as the
religion of a large propoltion of the population-a survival due partly
to its proximity to the Buddhists country of Burma and partly to its
isolation. This isolation has only been broken into in recent years, and
in earlier days Chittagong afforded a shelter to Buddhist refugees frcrn
other parts of India. In course of time, the Buddhism of its people
became comrpted, but there is now a revival, and the Buddhist leaders
57

are striving to shake off the influence of Hinduism and to put a stop to
the Hindu superstitions and observances which have crept in".

O'Malley's account on the Buddhists of Chittagong was basically

prepared from the records available in Bengal at that time, and was
helped by Babu Nabin Chandra Das, M.A., 8.L., Deputy Magistrate
and Deputy Collector, a well-known poet, scholar and antiquarian of
Chittagong. That view says thus :
"Buddhism is a living religion in Chittagong proper, in
the Hill Tracts, and in Tippera. It was introduced in these
districts about the ninth century A.D. direct from Magadha,
when the eastern provinces of Bengal, extending from
Rangpur down to Ramu (Ramya Bhumi) in Chittagong,
were under the sway of a Rajput prince named Gopipala.
The Mahayana Buddhism, which about that time prevailed
in Magadha and Tibet, was preached in Chittagong by
Bengali Buddhists. In the lOth century A.D. Chittagong, in
a manner, became the centre of the Buddhism of Bengal.
The chief feature of Mahayana Buddhism is that it has
taken in the entire Hindu pantheon and added innumerable
fancied deities to it. In this enlarged pantheon the ruling
deity is Arya Tara (a personification of Nirvana), who is
identified with Sakti or the female principle. In Tibet she is
called Yum-chenmo, the great mother ; in Nepal she is
personified as Prajna Paratnita or transcendental wisdom ;
in the dialect of the Ramu Magh of Chittagong she is
called Phra Tara, Phra being the Burmese equivalent of
Arya. The Chittagong people called her Phora Tara, the
Magh goddess. From the l0th to the 13th century A.D.
Chittagong possessed a mixed population of Buddhists and
Hindus, the former being distinguished from the latter by
the name Magha, meaning the excellent or blessed a term
which is still preserved in Bihar in its original signification.
Then came Islam to convert the whole district of
Chittagong. About this time, the more earnest Buddhists
took shelter in the Hill Tracts, and then converted the hill
tribes to Buddhism. In the lTth century, when the Mughals
extended their conquest to Chittagong, Hindu settlers from
58

Bengal poured in large numbers and founded Chaksala

(Chakralashala) which is now called Patiya Pargana. The
Hindu settlers mostly occupied the places which had been
left vacant by the flight of the Maghs. In the beginning of
the lgth century, the remnant of the Chittagong Maghs,
who had almost forgotten the tenets of their religion,
largely took to the worship of Hidnu deities, offering them
sacrifices of fowls and pigs in the place of goats and
buffaloes. This they continued to do for upwards of fifty
years, until at last a Buddhist priest coming from Burma
led them back to Buddhism. The degenerate half-Hinduized
Maghs had, in the meantime, adopted Hindu and
Muhammadan names and titles. They had entirely forgotten
the Mahayana doctrines of Buddhism, which their ancestors
followed. The modern Maghs have no idea of the goddess
Phra Tara and do not worship her, though she has been
given by the Chittagong Hindus a place a little outside their
pantheon, is propitiated by them with animal sacrifices, and
is worshipped under the name of Magheswari, the goddess
of the Maghs. The Brahmans of Chittagong now identify
her with the goddess Kali, in the form in which, according
to them, she was known in Magadha, and call her
Magadheswari. The earlier headquarters of the Chittagong
Buddhists were at Mahamuni in Pahartali and the later ones
at Ramu".
O'Malley also supported the Magadha origin theory that was
widely prevalent among the Buddhist community of Chittagong. But it
was not a straight connection directly from Magadha to Chittagong.
Before migrating to Chittagong they got neutralized in Arakan and
became locals there. Subsequently a section of Arakanese were forced
to shift to Chittagong due to unstable political condition in Arakan. It
is from these people that roots of present Buddhists of Chittagong are
traced. They informed O'Malley that they were the descendants from
royal race of Arakan. He observed :
"Buddhism is still a living religion in the south and east
of Chittagong among the Barua Maghs, though they have
adopted some Hindu customs and ceremonies. These Barua
59

Maghs also call themselves Rajbansis or scions of the royal

race, because they claim to be descended from the kings of
Arakan who migrated from Magadha, the modern South
Bihar. The name Maghs is said to be derived from that of

the country of their origin, and even the most illiterate

Maghs call themselves Magadha Kshattriya on the ground
that their ancestors were Kshattriya princes of Magadha.
They date back their residence in Chittagong to the time of
confusion and anarchy following the death of Sri
Sudhamma, King of Arakan, in 1638, when one of his
ministers Narapati (Nga Ra Padi) usurped the throne and
put to death several nobles and members of the royal
family. According to the Maharaja-wang, "during these
troubled times, the son of Sri Sudhamma, Naga Tun Khin,
made his escape from the town and lived in the wilderness;
and certain members of the royal family and other nobles
left for Kantha, a place in Chittagong, and settled down
there. Of the 100,000 guards who were stationed in
Myohammy, 50,000 deserted the king and left the capital,
taking with them Naga Lut Roon, who was then a priest,
and settled down in Kantha under Naga Tun Khin. Then the
Kalas called the governor of Kantha the king of
Marmagri". The Barua (i.e., great) Maghs claim descent
from these immigrants and are still called by the Arakanese
Mramagri or great Maghs, a word which is a corruption of
Brahmagri (Mranta or Brahma, i.e., the first inhabitants of
the world, a term applied to the inhabitants of Burma by
the Aryan settler, and gri, i.e., great)".
It looks doubtful that people who came in large numbers in the
middle of seventeenth century got completely detached from their
roots after Mughal forces annexed Chittagong in 1666. At this point
of time the Marmagri Maghs branched off in several groups. Some
shifted to Arakan and some are now found in Mizoram settlement in
India. They are called by name Marmagri only and still maintain
their Burmese character. Then why the Marmagri branch which
remained in Bengal got a different characteristic that looks more
close to Bengali culture. Can a period of five to eight decades after
60

1666 and the political conditions prevailing then in Chittagong

compelling enough that a section which branched off from the main
body of Arakanese people should take a different identity totally
alien to the parent body? Answer to this is not easily available. That
is the reason why Risley said the matter couldn't be easily resolved.
Some present day writers from this community go to suggest that
this group of Buddhists in Bengal are the offspring of 'Viriiis'the
Licchavis of Vaisali, Bihar and name 'Barua' is derived from Virjis.
This is not true simply for the reason name Barua was thought of
and adopted in early nineteenth century as a substitute for name
Mang or Meng which was dropped by several of them and a
political compulsion was there to abandon Arakanese connection.
References to the texts authored by Ven. Dharmmadhar Mahasthavir
and Umesh Mutsuddy, two illustrious persons of this community,
about the socalled ancestor of this community, Mukut Rai, the
governor of Chittagong ( 1638) is also not supporting a conclusion
that they were not Arakanese people. Arthur Phayre's view about
Mukut Rai was that the word was actually a corruption of 'Meng Re'
which was official title of the governor of Chittagong. Jadunath
Sarkar lined him with the royal family of Arakan and as a paternal
uncle of Thiri Thudamma Raja (1622-1638) the murdered king of
Arakan. S.N.H. Rizvi has different story to tell. According to him
Mukut Rai was son of Gaureswar Rai who settled at Kulgaon,
Chittagong. His ancestors hailed from Tippera. The descendants of
Mukut Rai now live in village Kadurkhil, Chittagong. Further, a
comparison of the trend of population figs available since 1872
onwards in respect of this community gives a brief hint that this
community came into being in Chaittagong somewhere in 1600 to
1638 A.D. only. Population trend was I 1233 (1872, excluding a few
hundred in Akyab), 39620 ( l89l ), 5 I 860 ( l9l I ). Thus the views of
the authorities who say that this Buddhist community is the remains
of earlier Arakanese people, who in later times adopted Bengali
culture and language appears to be true.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Walter Hamilton : East India, Vol-I, 1828.
H. H. Risley : Tribes and Castes of Bengal, Calcutta, 1891.
J.A.S.B., Vol-X, l84l .

6l

I.S. S.O'Malley : Eastern Bengal District Gazetteer, Chittagong, 1908.

W. W. Hunter : A Statistical Account of Bengal., Vol-VI, Chittagong, 1876.
Arthur Phyare : The History of Burma, 1883.
Jadunath Sarkar : The Conquest of Chittagong 1666, An I.A.S.H., Vol-III, 1967.

of India, 1872, 1901, l9l l, 1921, 1931.

Abdus Sattar : In the Sylvan Shadows, East Pakistanr !971.
Romila Thapar : Ashoka and Decline of Mouryas.
Romila Thapar : A History of India, Vol-I.
Arthur Phyare : J.A.S.B., Vol-X, 1841 (Account of Arakan)
C.G.H. Allen : Final Report of the Survey and Settlement
Census

of District of

Chittagong, 1888 ro 1898.

H.J.S. Cotton : Memorandum on the Revenue History of Chittagong, 1880.
Montgomery Martin : History, Antiquities, Topography and Statistics of
Eastern India, Vo.I, and Vol-II, l8l0
Wilford : Asiatic, Researches, Vol-9.
India Tcrday, 25.6.2001.
Walter Kelly Firminger : Allexander Dow, Glossary to the Appendix "The
History of Hindostan-Vol-Ill, 1803.
Affairs of the East India Company : Fifth report from Select Committee of
House of Commons, (28.7.1812), Vol-I, II, III.
J.P. Mills : Notes on a tour in the Chittagong Hills Tracts, 1928.
R. H. Sneyd Hutchinson : An Account of Chittagong Hills Tracts, 1909.
Allexander MaCkenjie : History of the Relations of the Govt. with Hills
Tribes of North Eastern Frontier of Bengal, 1884.
Dr. G. A. Grierson : Linguistic Survey of India, Vol-V Part III.
B. C. Allen : Gazetteer of Bengal and North East India, 1909.
Mc. Crindle : Ancient India as Described by Magasthenese and Arians, 1877.
C.G.H. Allen : Chittagong Survey and Settlement Report, 1900.
T.H. Lewin : The Hill I. Tracts of Chittagong and Dwellers therein, 1869.
K. S. Singh : People of India, Scheduled Tribes, 1992.
S. N. H. Rizvi, Bengladesh District Gazeteer, Chittagong, 1975. (Bengali)
Dr. Ram Chandra Barua : Chattagramer Moger ltihas, 1905.
Umesh Muchhuddi : Matry Pujae Manaob Dharma, 1926.
Umeswh Mucchuddi': Barua Jaati, 1959.
Ven. Dharmmadhar : Sadharmer Punurthan, 1964.
Bangla Sahitye Boudho Dharmo o Samskriti

Articles published

in "Dr.

Arabindo Barua, 75 Thm Janmo Jayanti

Smaranika 1982".
Abdul Haq Chowdhur : Prachin Arakan, Bangla Academy, Dhacca.
Abdul Haq Chowdhury : Chattagramer Samaj O Sanskriteer Rooprekha.,
Bangla Acad-'r.ry, Dhacca.

62