January 18, 2026 — A privately funded and professionally coordinated heritage initiative has begun documentation and restoration of endangered Rajbaris, Rajbatis, Nawabi-era residences and historically significant private homes across eastern and north-eastern India, regions long seen as peripheral in national conservation efforts.
The effort is being coordinated by the Eastern Heritage Foundation (EHF), an independent platform bringing together conservation professionals, historians, and individuals associated with erstwhile zamindari and royal families, along with public figures who hold no ownership claims over the properties.
The initiative was launched in November 2025 by Soumyabrata Sengupta following a visit to the Jhargram Rajbari in West Bengal, where his maternal great-grandmother once lived. Sengupta has stated that he was deeply and utterly displeased by the condition of the historic property at the time of his visit, which became a key catalyst for the initiative.
Sengupta and his family do not own the property, which is partially managed by the state government. His mother’s family includes senior bureaucrats and business leaders, while his father’s side comprises military leaders and freedom fighters. However, neither side of the family has been involved in heritage conservation, and Sengupta emphasises that the initiative is a personal endeavour, undertaken independently and without family support.
“What became clear was that this was not about one building or one family,” Sengupta said. “Across eastern and north-eastern India, historically important homes are collapsing quietly.”
Preliminary surveys conducted in December 2025 and January 2026 have identified around 450 to 500 Rajbaris and Rajbati-type structures across West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya and Manipur. More than half are structurally vulnerable, while fewer than 12 percent fall under active conservation programmes. Over 150 homes linked to writers, freedom fighters, artists, scientists, musicians and sportspersons have also been identified as lacking institutional support.
Experts cite land reforms, estate fragmentation, prolonged neglect and, in some regions, damage during decades of Naxal activity as key reasons for the decline. Many families associated with these properties are no longer financially secure, despite the region’s relatively high literacy levels.
Unlike commercial heritage projects elsewhere, EHF’s restorations have been kept deliberately simple, focusing on stabilisation rather than luxury, in keeping with the modest and functional character of the region’s historical living patterns. Where sites are opened to visitors, entry fees are kept nominal.
The Foundation’s Phase I programme, running from 2026 to 2029, targets 60 priority sites. Phase II, scheduled from 2030 to 2033, aims to extend work to another 80 to 100 properties.
Sengupta has also held discussions with chief ministers across eastern and north-eastern states, who have extended administrative support. The stated objective is to integrate these sites into regional heritage tourism circuits, generate local employment and preserve history in a form that reflects how it was actually lived.