Chhuti Khan Explained

Honorific Prefix:Lashkar
Chhuti Khan
Native Name:ছুটি খান
Occupation:Military commander
Father:Paragal Khan
Relatives:Rasti Khan (grandfather)
Birth Place:Chittagong District, Bengal Sultanate

Nusrat Khan, (Persian: {{Nastaliq|نصرت خان, Bengali: নুসরত খাঁন)[1] better known as Chhuti Khan (Bengali: ছুটি খাঁ), was a military commander of the Bengal Sultanate and Governor of Chittagong in the early 16th century.

Early life

Khan was born into a Muslim family of nobles that served as military commanders under the Sultan of Bengal and were living in the Chittagong region for generations. His father, Paragal Khan, and grandfather, Rasti Khan, were the previous military commanders of the Bengal Sultanate and governors of the Northern Chittagong region.

Career

Khan held an inherited position. He was tasked with guarding the borders of the Sultanate. He successfully defended the sultanate from the Twipra Kingdom, which, led by Dhanya Manikya, invaded the sultanate in 1513 and 1515. In the process he occupied large parts of the Twipra Kingdom. He had good relations with Nasiruddin Nasrat Shah, the Sultan of Bengal.[2] [3]

Khan was a supporter of literature. He ordered his court poet, Shrikar Nandi, to translate the Ashvamedha chapter of the Mahabharat from Sanskrit to Bengali. The poem was written in a couplet and tripathi matra format and was called the Chhutikhani Mahabharata. He build a canal in Chittagong the still exists today.[4] He built the Chhuti Khan's Mosque which, heavily rebuilt, still stands.[5] Chhutikhani Mahabharata is one earlier Bengali versions of the Mahabharata.[6] [7]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Datta . Amaresh . Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: A-Devo . 1987 . Sahitya Akademi . 978-81-260-1803-1 . 23 . en.
  2. Web site: Momtaz . Ahmed . Chhuti Khan . Banglapedia . 17 May 2020.
  3. Book: Massignon . Louis . The Passion of Al-Hallaj, Mystic and Martyr of Islam, Volume 2: The Survival of Al-Hallaj . 2019 . Princeton University Press . 978-0-691-65721-9 . 288 . en.
  4. Book: Lal . Mohan . Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: Sasay to Zorgot . 1992 . Sahitya Akademi . 978-81-260-1221-3 . 4080 . en.
  5. Web site: Hossain . Shamsul . Chhuti Khan's Mosque . Banglapedia . 17 May 2020.
  6. Book: Ghosh . Pika . Temple to Love: Architecture and Devotion in Seventeenth-century Bengal . 2005 . Indiana University Press . 978-0-253-34487-8 . 217 . en.
  7. Book: Sarkar . Benoy Kumar . The Positive Background of Hindu Sociology: Introduction to Hindu Positivism . 1985 . Motilal Banarsidass Publishers . 978-81-208-2664-9 . 457 . en.