The Last Hindu King of Bengal: Raja Rajaram and the Fall of Kharagpur Raj

When the Mughal Empire crushed the Kharagpur Raj in 1714, a kingdom that had ruled parts of present-day Jharkhand and West Bengal for 1,300 years came to an end. This episode tells the story of Raja Rajaram, the last Hindu king of Bengal, who defied Mughal authority and paid with his life. We explore his capital at Kharagpur, the Bara Machhua fort, and the 'Bilashini' temple that still stands as a testament to his defiance. We also look at the strange afterlife of his story — how the Raj's fall became a folk legend about a king who turned into a tiger. Along the way, we touch on the clash between Mughal centralisation and regional Rajput kingdoms, the decline of Hindu rule in Bengal after centuries of Buddhist and Muslim dominance, and the archaeological remains that survive today. This is a forgotten chapter of Bengal's medieval history, caught between the fading glory of the Sultanate and the rising tide of British power. #History #FexingoHistory #BengalHistory #MughalEmpire #KharagpurRaj #RajaRajaram #Jharkhand #Munger #BaraMachhua #BilashiniTemple #Rajput #HinduKing #1714 #MedievalIndia #Bengal #HiddenHistory #FolkLegend #ManikTagore Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo