Roy Family
Roy Family (from Lakhutia, Barisal)
The Roy family is a Bengali family originally from the Barisal district in present-day Bangladesh. Prior to India’s partition, the Roy family was a prominent zamindar family of East Bengal. The Roy family estate is known as Lakhutia (note: there are several variations of the spelling of this word, including ‘Lakutia’ and ‘Lakhotia’). The Roy family’s highly accomplished achievements in various professions and fields of endeavour was even more remarkable given the explicit and implicit barriers Indians faced during the British Raj. For centuries members of the Roy family were also involved in various charitable, community development and social justice projects, including participation in India’s independence movement, and building a number of schools and colleges (particularly in the Barisal district). The Roy family are related to a number of prominent Indians and Indian families, including the Bollywood Ganguly family, the Mukherjee-Samarth family, the Tagore family, Nibaran Chandra Mukherjee, Prasanna Kumar Roy, Sarala Roy, Satish Chandra Mukherjee, Indra Lal Roy, Paresh Lal Roy, Dr Soorjo Coomar Goodeve Chuckerbutty, Subroto Mukerjee, Sharda Mukherjee, Renuka Ray, Arundhati Roy, Prannoy Roy, Chittaranjan Das, Basanti Devi, Durga Mohan Das, Siddharta Shankar Ray, Charulata Mukherjee and Satish Ranjan Das. [1] Descendants of the Roy family are now living in various countries across the globe, including India, Australia,[2] Bangladesh,[3] France, the US.
[1] Please refer to the Family Tree at the bottom of this webpage for further information on how the Roy family and the Das Family are related.
[2] See Lonely Traveler, Barisal: Lakhutia Jomidar Bari, 5 January 2015, available online:<https://www.alonelytraveler.com/barisal-lakhutia-jomidar-bari/> accessed on 4 March 2021; Dr Alpana Roy <https://www.dralpanaroy.com/> accessed on 4 March 2021; Dr Ankita Roy <https://drankitaroy.com.au/> accessed on 4 March 2021.
[3] Abida Rahman Chowdhury, ‘Through the submerged world of Barisal’, in The Daily Star, 17 March 2017, available online: <http://www.thedailystar.net/star-weekend/travelogue/through-the-submerged-world-barisal-1376989> accessed on 4 March 2021. See also YouTube:
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLwaS-Wj-rk&feature=youtu.be> accessed on 4 March 2021; https://youtu.be/ilu6xeWHXSI accessed on 12 July 2021.
The Lakhutia Family Estate in Barisal
The Roy family estate is known as ‘Lakhutia’ (note: there are several variations of the spelling of this word, including ‘Lakutia’ and ‘Lakhotia’), located approximately 8km from Barisal’s central business district.[4] The Lakhutia zamindar estate was founded by Roop Chandra Roy in the late 17th century.[5] Apart from the main mansion itself, the estate has several Shiva temples and large ponds on the vast property. The Lakhutia mansion – including the Roy family’s personal property, was effectively destroyed during the extraordinary violence of the 1950 East Pakistan Riots, and then again later during the 1971 Bangladesh genocide.[6] While most of Lakhutia was destroyed during the 1950 and 1971 riots and genocide, the historical site and sparse remains of the mansion remain one of Barisal’s main tourist attractions.[7]
[4] ‘Uronto at Lakhotia Zamindar House in Barisal’ in depart, January 2015, available online:
<http://www.departmag.com/index.php/en/detail/353/-URONTO-at-Lakhotia-Zamindar-House-in-Barisal> accessed on 4 March 2021.
[5] ‘Lakutia Zamindar Bari’ in TouristPlaces.com.bd: Find Tourist Attractions in Bangladesh, available online: <http://www.touristplaces.com.bd/barisal/lakutia-zamindar-bari/> accessed on 4 March 2021.
[6] ‘Uronto at Lakhotia Zamindar House in Barisal’ in depart, January 2015, available online:
<http://www.departmag.com/index.php/en/detail/353/-URONTO-at-Lakhotia-Zamindar-House-in-Barisal> accessed on 4 March 2021.
[7] See ‘Lakutia Zamindar Bari’ in TouristPlaces.com.bd: Find Tourist Attractions in Bangladesh, available online: <http://www.touristplaces.com.bd/barisal/lakutia-zamindar-bari/> accessed on 4 March 2021; 'Barisal' <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barisal> accessed on 4 March 2021.
