Shah Turkan Shahid (R)

Shah Turkan Shahid (R) was the first Sufi saint to come to Rajshahi. He is not to be confused with Shah Turkan (R) of Sherpur. He settled in Rampur which was, according to tradition, renamed Bualia with the combination of the words Bu (meaning scent) and Auli'a' (meaning saints). Shah Turkan came to Rampur Bualia from Baghdad and, accompanied by some other saints, settled there to preach Islam during the second half of the13th century. At that time Angsu Deo Chandvandi Barmabhoj, the t'a'ntrik king of the place, and his brother Angsu Deo Kherjurchand Kharag Barmagujjabhoj used to immolate men and children to satisfy their god Mahakal Dev. The saint had conflict with the Raja and in the battle that ensued the saints caused heavy onslaught on the Hindus. But, ultimately, in the uneven fight, the saints were all killed. It is said that the king';s men tried to immolate the dead body of Shah Turkan but failed to remove it in spite of various attempts. They, then, buried it there and the burial place became famous as the A'st'a'n'a of Shah Turkan Shahid. Shah Turkan was killed approximately in 677 AH (1288 AD). His m'a'z'a'r is an ordinary modern building and lies to the west of Rajshahi College Hostel. [Mosharraf Hussain Bhuiyan] [Bhuiyan, Mosharraf Hussain Professor of Islamic History and Culture, Dhaka University]