My family,2002

I had the pleasure of making life of my beautiful parents miserable while I was in Bangladesh. This section of the website will introduce you to my family members.

My ancestors from my father's side came from Murshidabad of West Bengal (now part of India) to Sandwip, East Bengal (now Bangladesh) about 300 years ago. They assumed 'zamindari' of Sandwip in the 19th century under the British rule which was ended in 1959.

Ancestors from my mum's side hail from two adjacent provinces of British India Assam(Greater Sylhet and Karimganj) & Tripura of India who decided to settle in Maulvibazar of then East Pakistan after the partition in 1947.

Chowdhury Coat of Arms

Chowdhury is one of the many new names that came to England following the Norman conquest of 1066. The Chowdhury family lived in Berkshire. The name however, refers to the area Cordray, in Eure, Normandy, where the family lived prior to the Norman conquest of England.

Spelling variation include: Cowdrey, Cowdray, Cowderey, Cowderoy, Cordroy, Cowdry, Cowdery and many more..

First found in Berkshire where they were seated from very early time and were granted lands by Duke William of Normandy, their liege Lord, for their distinguished assistance at the battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D.

It is unclear how the name came about in the Indian subcontinent although it is highly probable that the name was introduced by the British traders in the early 16th century.


In the Indian subcontinent the name Chowdhury (variously spelt in different regions: Chaudhri, Chaudhury, Choudrey) a Sanskrit, Hindi and Bangla term literally meaning 'a holder of four', the explanation of which is obscure. In some traditions the term is said to derive from a title for a military commander controlling four different fighting forces, namely navy, cavalry, infantry, and elephant corps. From Sanskrit catus- 'four-way', 'all-round' + dhuriya 'undertaking a burden (of responsibility)' (Sanskrit dhura 'burden'). The earliest references are from the 16th century.

In some parts of India, a Chowdhury was a headman of a village or headman of a profession or trade in town. In Cuttack, Chowdhury was a revenue officer of a district. Chowdhurys of Punjab and Haryana are mostly Jatts. Under Alauddin Khalji, a Chowdhury was a revenue officer next to muqaddam.

During Mughal times there were three superior classes of landholders: Chowdhury, zamindar and taluqdar. Chowdhury in late Mughal times was taken as next to zamindar in rank though socially a Chowdhury was considered superior to a zamindar. "Roy Chowdhury" was used by hindu zamindars of bengal.

Useful Resources