Dighapatia Raj

Armorial of Dighapatia Raj
Country	East Bengal
Titles	Raja Rai-Raiyan Raja Bahadur
Founded	18th century
Founder	Raja Dayaram Roy
Current head	Legally Abolished (1950)
Ethnicity	Bengali

Dighapatia Raj (sometimes called Dighapatia Raj Paribar literally Dighapatia Royal Family) was a zamindari in present-day Rajshahi, which was ruled by this dynasty of 7 generations of Rajas from early 18th century till the mid-20th century; when the democratic government took power after the end of the British Monarchy's rule in India, in 1950, the East Pakistan government abolished and the zamindari system in present-day Bangladesh. The family was seated at the Dighapatia Palace.

The family contributed largely to the development in education, infrastructure and culture of Rajshahi and North Bengal. They were especially famous for their generosity and public spirit. The Rajas built the Varendra Research Museum among other institutions of culture and education. The Rajas of Dighapatia were seated at the Dighapatia Palace. They received Maharaja title and Rai titles of honour from the Mughal Empire such as Raja, Maharaja and Raja Bahadur and other titles from the British Crown, such as the Indian Orders of Knighthood.

The first Raja was Dayaram Roy who, at a very young age, received the help from Raja Ramjivan Roy, the first Raja of the Natore Raj family, and eventually became his dewan. Raja Dayaram led the army of Raja Ramjivan in aid of the Nawab of Bengal in 1716 and overthrew the rebellious Raja Sitaram Ray, who was a zamindar (and later king, or Raja) of neighbouring Bhusna state. The sack of Muhammadpur, Raja Sitaram's capital, later enabled him to ultimately lay the foundation of the Dighapatia dynasty. For his loyalty, he received large tracts of land in Rajshahi and Jessore as grants and later acquired zamindari in Bogra and Mymensingh.