Raja Shyama Sankar (1837 to 1893) was the Zamindar of Teota Estate ofEast Bengal.[1][2] He was a capable landed aristocrat who invested in the development of agriculture and research.
Sankar was born in 1837 in Teota Zamindar Family ofManikganj.[3] His father wasTarini Sankar Chaudhuri was the Zamindar of the Teota Estate.[3] He completed his education in Dhaka.[3]
Sankar invested significant resources in improving agriculture and planting new crops.[3] The investment came at significant financial cost to him and was contrary to the practices of his contemporary zamindars who were generally apathetic to the agricultural practices in their estates.[3] In Dinajpur District, he tried to growRamie plant for its fiber but that ended in failure.[3] His estate lost 20 thousand rupees in that experiment.[3] He tried to farm a variety of sugarcanes.[3] According to the District Magistrate and the Dacca gazetteer his experiments was usually met with indifference by the farmers.[3] He andParbati Sankar Roy Choudhury were known to be generous and considerate towards their tenants.[3]
Sankar was a contributor and the Vice-President of theTheosophical Society.[3] In the 1877Delhi Durbar he was awarded the title of raja orRoy Bahadur by the Viceroy of India,Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton.[3] He served as a member of the executive committee of theIndian Association from 1876 to 1877.[3]
Sankar died in 1893.[3]