Bardhaman

Bardhaman
Bardhaman
Location of Bardhaman
in West Bengal and India
Coordinates
Country  India
State West Bengal
District(s) Bardhaman District
Municipality Chairman Ainul Haque
Parliamentary constituency Bardhaman-Durgapur
Assembly constituency Bardhaman Dakshin,

Bardhaman Uttar
Population

• Density

 331,759 (2001)

• 5,924 /km2 (15,343 /sq mi)
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
Area

• Elevation

 56 km2 (22 sq mi)

• 30 metres (98 ft)
Website bardhaman.gov.in/

Bardhaman (also Barddhaman; Bengali: বর্ধমান Bôrdhoman), is a city of West Bengal state in eastern India. It is the headquarters of Bardhaman District.

Bardhaman has been a district capital since the time of Mughals. Later on it became a district headquarters of British India. Burdwan is an alternative name for the city, which remains in use since the British period.

The origin of this name dates back to the 6th century BCE and is ascribed to Vardhaman Swami or Mahavira (599-527 BCE), the twenty-fourth Jain Tirthankar, who spent some time in Astikagrama, according to the Jain scripture of Kalpasutra. This place was renamed as Vardhamana in his honour.

Contents

Geography

Barddhaman is located at [1]. It has an average elevation of 40 metres (131 ft). The city is situated 1100 km from New Delhi and a little less than 100 km north-west of Kolkata on the Grand Trunk Road (NH-2) and Eastern Railway. The chief rivers are the Damodar and the Banka.

Gram panchayats under Bardhaman I Panchayat Samiti are: Belkash, Bondul I, Baghar I, Baghar II, Rayan I, Rayan II, Kurmun I, Saritikar and Kshetia.[2]

Gram panchayats under Bardhaman II Panchayat Samiti are: Kurmun II, Bondul II, Gobindapur, Barsul I, Barsul II, Baikunthapur I, Baikunthapur II, Nabstha I and Nabastha II.[2]

Name

The first epigraphic reference to the name of this place occurs in a 6th century AD copper-plate found in Mallasarul village under Galsi Police Station.

Archeological evidences suggest that this region, forming a major part of Radh Bengal, could be traced even back to 4000 BCE.

Culture

Burdwan has a multi-cultural heritage. The deuls (temples of rekha type) found here are reminiscent of Bengali Hindu architecture. The old temples bear signs of Hinduism, mostly belonging to the Sakta and Vaishnava followers.

The Kankaleswari Kali is also located in the city of Burdwan. Burdwan witnessed, experienced and survived numerous violent conflicts, mainly due to Mughal, Pashtun and Maratha invaders. The town of Bardhaman was visited by notables of the Delhi Sultanate from Raja Todarmal to Daud Karnani, from Sher Afghan and Kutub-ud-din to Ajimuswan to the future Mughal emperor Shah Jahan while he was still a rebel.

History

During period of Jahangir this place was named Badh-e-dewan (district headquarters). The city owes its historical importance to being the headquarters of the Maharajas of Burdwan, the premier noblemen of lower Bengal, whose rent-roll was upwards of 300,000. Bardhaman Raj was founded in 1657 by Sangam Rai, of the Kapoor Khatri family of Kotli in Lahore, Punjab, whose descendants served in turn the Mughal Emperors and the British government. The East Indian Railway from Howrah was opened in 1855. The great prosperity of the raj was due to the excellent management of Maharaja Mahtab Chand (d. 1879), whose loyalty to the government especially during the “Hul” (Santhal rebellion) of 1855-56 and the Indian rebellion of 1857 was rewarded with the grant of a coat of arms in 1868 and the right to a personal salute of 13 guns in 1877. Maharaja Bijai Chand Mahtab (b. 1881), who succeeded his adoptive father in 1888, earned great distinction by the courage with which he risked his life to save that of Sir Andrew Fraser, the lieutenant-governor of Bengal, on the occasion of the attempt to assassinate him made by Bengali malcontents on 7 November 1908.

Mahtab Chand Bahadur and later Bijoy Chand Mahtab struggled their best to make this region culturally, economically and ecologically healthier. The chief educational institution was the Burdwan Raj college, which was entirely supported out of the maharaja's estate. Sadhak Kamalakanta as composer of devotional songs and Kashiram Das as a poet and translator of the great Mahabharata were possibly the best products of such an endeavour. The society at large also continued to gain the fruits. We find, among others, the great rebellious poet Kazi Nazrul Islam and Kala-azar-famed U. N. Brahmachari as the relatively recent illustrious sons of this soil. The town became an important center of North-Indian classical music as well. .

Places of interest

Sarbamangala Temple
108 Shiva Temple
Golapbag
Damodar River
Inside View of The Palace of Burdwan Maharaja
Curzon Gate

Food

The New Burdwan

Burdwan city, the heart of the district is also growing now. With an increasing number of people opting for better residential spaces and higher living standards. The Govt. of West Bengal is trying to bring in many new projects to facilitate the growth of Burdwan Township. Two large developments on a Public Private Partnership are coming up on the NH 2 connecting Kolkata and Delhi, on which Burdwan town lies. One of these is a Bus Terminus, with retail and other hospitality services. The other is a Mini Township at Goda, Burdwan. Also on the highway, this 250+ Acre mini township is being Developed by Bengal Shrachi Housing Dev. Ltd. It will revolutionise the way people see residential units in Burdwan. The Burdwan Development Authority is also playing a big role in these PPP projects.

Education

University

Schools

Colleges

Photography

References

  1. ↑ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Barddhaman
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "List of Pradhan of Gram Panchayats, District: Bardhaman". Government of West Bengal. http://www.bardhaman.gov.in/collect/dprd/prodhan.pdf. Retrieved 2009-08-29. 
  3. ↑ http://www.oocities.com/sandip2dey/panchkula.htm

External links