This is the ancestoral house of indian writer and left activist Arundhati Roy's in Barisal, Bangladesh
The grand Lakhutia Zamindar bari!
70% of the house has been destroyed, and much of its land has been illegally occupied
Founded by Zamindar Rupchandra Roy in the 17th century, the Lakhutia estate became one of East Bengal's most influential zamindari families.
The family later forged ties with the Tagore family through marriage, became leaders in the Brahmo Samaj reform movement, and produced WWI heroes, social reformers, and intellectuals.
Arundhati Roy's paternal lineage traces directly to this house:
Rupchandra Roy
โ Rajchandra Roy
โ Peary Lal Roy
โ Paresh Lal Roy
โ Rajib Roy
โ Arundhati Roy
So why did the family leave Barisal?
The decline began with Partition, then muslim attacks, pakistan govt order to destroy all influential hindu and their house in across the East Pakistan, and later the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War
Many members of the Roy family migrated to India, particularly Kolkata, as the zamindari system collapsed and political conditions changed.
Arundhati Roy's branch had already moved into British India generations earlier.
Her grandfather Paresh Lal Roy lived in London and Kolkata, while her father Rajib Roy worked in Assam's tea estates before settling in India.
Today, the Lakhutia palace still stands in Barisal as a reminder of a remarkable family whose descendants include:
๐ Arundhati Roy
๐บ Prannoy Roy
โ๏ธ Indra Lal Roy (India's only WWI Flying Ace)
๐ฅ Paresh Lal Roy (Father of Indian Boxing)
A forgotten Bengal story that connects zamindars, Tagores, reformers, soldiers, journalists, and one of the world's most famous authors