Author:

Sumana Das
Guest Lecturer
Department of History
Cooch Behar Panchanan Barma University
Cooch Behar,West Bengal,India

Email: dasbarmansumana94@gmail.com

Abstract:: Akshay Kumar Maitreya was the pioneer of North Bengal studies. The present land, which is called North Bengal, was formerly called Varendra or Varendrabhumi. This land was part of the former kingdoms of Prag-Jyotispura, Kamrupa, Kamata, and Koch-Kamtaa. Akshay Kumar Maitreya, a son of Rajshahi, was a pleader by profession. Akshay Kumar Maitreya presided over the first session of the North Bengal Literary Conference organized by the Rangpur Sahitya Parishad. According to his interpretation, the boundaries of Greater North Bengal included Rangpur, Rajshahi, Pabna, Bogra, Malda, Dinajpur, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, Cooch Behar, and lower Assam. Akshay Kumar Maitreya’s life was devoted to uncovering the historical truth of all countries. He removed the stigma that foreign historians had placed on the heroic heroes of Bengal through tireless research. He highlighted the heroic heroes of Bengal in his books ‘Sirajuddaula’ and ‘Mirkashim’, and his ‘Goura Lekhmala’ was a revelation of the glorious history of Bengalese. Akshay Kumar Maitreya’s unique work was to establish the ‘Varendra Research Society’ for the study of the history of Varendrabhoomi. It was the first private research institution in the Indian subcontinent. In 1919, he established the ‘Varendra Research Museum’. The main area of his study of history was North Bengal. His life was devoted to highlighting the history of North Bengal, a region far away from the metropolis of Calcutta.

Key Words:: Akshay, Association, History, North Bengal, Rajshahi, Varendra etc.