Bardhaman
Encyclopedia
Bardhaman or Burdwan (also Barddhaman; ), is a city of West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
state in eastern India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. It is the headquarters of Bardhaman District.
Bardhaman has been a district capital(D.C.) since the time of Mughal Empire
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
. 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
Mahavira
Mahāvīra is the name most commonly used to refer to the Indian sage Vardhamāna who established what are today considered to be the central tenets of Jainism. According to Jain tradition, he was the 24th and the last Tirthankara. In Tamil, he is referred to as Arukaṉ or Arukadevan...
(599-527 BCE), the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism
Jainism
Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...
, who spent some time in Astikagrama, according to the Jain scripture of Kalpasutra. This place was renamed as Vardhamana in his honour.
Geography
The region has an average elevation of 40 metres (131 ft). The city is situated 1100 km from New DelhiNew Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
and a little less than 100 km north-west of Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
on the Grand Trunk Road
Grand Trunk Road
The Grand Trunk Road also formerly known as Uttarapatha, Shah Rah-e-Azam or Sadak-e-Azam or Badshahi Sadak is one of South Asia's oldest and longest major roads...
(NH-2) and Eastern Railway. The chief rivers are the Damodar
Damodar River
Damodar River originates near Chandwa village, Palamau district, on the Chota Nagpur Plateau in the Jharkhand state in eastern India, and flows eastward for about 592 km through the states of Jharkhand and West Bengal to the estaury of the River Hooghly...
and the Banka.
The origin of this name dates back to 4000 BCE and is ascribed to Vardhamanswami or Mahavira
Mahavira
Mahāvīra is the name most commonly used to refer to the Indian sage Vardhamāna who established what are today considered to be the central tenets of Jainism. According to Jain tradition, he was the 24th and the last Tirthankara. In Tamil, he is referred to as Arukaṉ or Arukadevan...
, the 24th Tirthankara in Jainism
Jainism
Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...
, who spent some time in Astikagrama, according to the Jain scripture of Kalpasutra. This place was renamed as Vardhamana in his honour.
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.
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 RajBardhaman Raj
The Bardhaman Raj was a zamindari estate that flourished from about 1657 to 1955, first under the Mughals and then under the British in the province of Bengal in India...
was founded in 1657 by Sangam Rai, of the Kapoor Khatri family of Kotli in Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, Punjab
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
, 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 (died 1879), whose loyalty to the government especially during the "Hul" (Santhal rebellion
Santhal rebellion
The Santhal rebellion , commonly known as Santal Hul was a native rebellion in present day Jharkhand, in eastern India against both the British colonial authority and corrupt upper caste zamindari system by the Santal people...
) of 1855-56 and the Indian rebellion of 1857
Indian Rebellion of 1857
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...
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 (born 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 freedom fighters of Bengal 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
Sadhak Kamalakanta
Sadhaka Kamalakanta was a poet of India of the late 18th century. He is often considered to have followed the example of Ramprasad, both in his poetry and in his lifestyle.-Early life:...
as composer of devotional songs and Kashiram Das as a poet and translator of the great Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
were possibly the best products of such an endeavour. Pratap Chandra Roy was the publisher of the first translation in the world to translate Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
in English (1883–1896). The society at large also continued to gain the fruits. We find, among others, the great rebel poet Kazi Nazrul Islam
Kazi Nazrul Islam
Kazi Nazrul Islam , sobriquet Bidrohi Kobi, was a Bengali poet, musician and revolutionary who pioneered poetic works espousing intense spiritual rebellion against fascism and oppression. His poetry and nationalist activism earned him the popular title of Bidrohi Kobi...
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
Indian classical music
The origins of Indian classical music can be found in the Vedas, which are the oldest scriptures in the Hindu tradition. Indian classical music has also been significantly influenced by, or syncretised with, Indian folk music and Persian music. The Samaveda, one of the four Vedas, describes music...
as well.
Demographics
In the 2011 census, Bardhaman Urban Agglomeration had a population of 347,016, out of which 177,055 were males and 169,961 were females. The 0-6 years population was 25,069. Effective literacy rate for the 7+ population was 88.62.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 HinduismHinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
, mostly belonging to the Sakta
Shakti
Shakti from Sanskrit shak - "to be able," meaning sacred force or empowerment, is the primordial cosmic energy and represents the dynamic forces that are thought to move through the entire universe in Hinduism. Shakti is the concept, or personification, of divine feminine creative power, sometimes...
and Vaishnava followers.
The Kankaleswari Kali
Kali
' , also known as ' , is the Hindu goddess associated with power, shakti. The name Kali comes from kāla, which means black, time, death, lord of death, Shiva. Kali means "the black one". Since Shiva is called Kāla - the eternal time, Kālī, his consort, also means "Time" or "Death" . Hence, Kāli is...
is also located in the city of Burdwan. Burdwan witnessed, experienced and survived numerous violent conflicts, mainly due to Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
, Pashtun
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
and Maratha
Maratha
The Maratha are an Indian caste, predominantly in the state of Maharashtra. The term Marāthā has three related usages: within the Marathi speaking region it describes the dominant Maratha caste; outside Maharashtra it can refer to the entire regional population of Marathi-speaking people;...
invaders. The town of Bardhaman was visited by notables of the Delhi Sultanate
Delhi Sultanate
The Delhi Sultanate is a term used to cover five short-lived, Delhi based kingdoms or sultanates, of Turkic origin in medieval India. The sultanates ruled from Delhi between 1206 and 1526, when the last was replaced by the Mughal dynasty...
from Raja Todarmal to Daud Karnani, from Sher Afghan and Kutub-ud-din to Ajimuswan to the future Mughal emperor Shah Jahan
Shah Jahan
Shah Jahan Shah Jahan (also spelled Shah Jehan, Shahjehan, , Persian: شاه جهان) (January 5, 1592 – January 22, 1666) Shah Jahan (also spelled Shah Jehan, Shahjehan, , Persian: شاه جهان) (January 5, 1592 – January 22, 1666) (Full title: His Imperial Majesty Al-Sultan al-'Azam wal Khaqan...
while he was still a rebel.
Places of interest
- The famous Shrine of Sarvamangala, said to contain the remnant of Sati's body, the umbilicus, is situated here. Aside this, there are quite a number of temples and Sivalingams.
- The Curzon Gate built in honour of the visit of Lord Curzon.
- The palaces and gardens of the maharaja Golapbag. Golap Bag, or the Garden of Rose, of Bardhaman, is a favourite tourist haunt. It is the Botanical and Zoological garden eastablished by the King Bijoy Chand Mahatab in 1884. Famous botanist Dalton Hooker came here and listed 128 types of trees. At present there are numerous mango, casuarina, eucalyptus and other trees in the garden. The University of Bardhaman also takes classes in the complex. Distance from railway station is about two and half km.
- Konkaleswari Kali Mandir ashram situated in Kanchan-Nagar is an icon of skeleton with a famous Kali temple. The goddess is made of stone and the temple is of 2000 years old.
- Burdwan is a town of tanks. Several tanks are scattered here and there across the town. These caught the attention of Victor JacquemontVictor JacquemontVictor Jacquemont was a French botanist and geologist.Born in Paris on August 8, 1801, Victor Jacquemont was the youngest of four sons of Venceslas Jacquemont and Rose Laisné....
, a young French natural scientist, who visited this town in November 1829. - At Nawab Hat, On the Burdwan-Siuri NH, some 4 kilometers from rail station, is a group of 108 Siva lingam temples built in 1788 popularly known as 108 Shiva Temple. Rani Bishnukumari (queen of Burdwan) ordered to build this temple. Here each year a week long festival is celebrated on the occasion of "Maha-Shivratri".
- Shrine and Pir Bahram and Sher Afghan.
- Barddhaman have a planetarium named after India's eminent scientist Meghnad SahaMeghnad SahaMeghnad Saha FRS was an Indian astrophysicist best known for his development of the Saha equation, used to describe chemical and physical conditions in stars.-Early life:...
. It is the second planetarium of the state after Kolkata's "Birla planetarium". - Ramana Bagan: It is the forest office of Bardhaman sub-division. It is placed at east side of Golapbag. This forest is pointed as sanctuary. This is also called deer park. Deers, tigers, crocodiles, and different kinds of birds make this place beautiful.
- There is a science museum in Burdwan called the "Science Center" situated at Golapbag Road near Burdwan University. It offers insight into the animal kingdom, the environment, application of laws of physics etc.
- Tomb of Sher Afghan: The Tomb of Sher Afghan, the last of the Afghan jagirdars in Bardhaman, is located at Pir Beharam near Rajbati (Burdwan Royal Palace). Sher Afghan married Nurjahan. He revolt against Mughal Samrat and to control this, Mughal Samrat Jahangir had sent Kutubuddin. Both were died at war in 1610 AD and both were buried at the burial ground of Pir Baharam. Distance from railway station is about two and half km.
Food
- Sitabhog and Mihidana are two famous sweets of Burdwan, introduced first in honor of the Raj family. Shaktigarh's LangchaLangchaLangcha is an Indian sweetmeat that originates from Saktigarh in the Bardhaman of West Bengal, India. Langcha is made of sweetened cottage cheese , khoa , and flours of different cereals....
is another local specialty. - RiceRiceRice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
is the staple food of BengalBengalBengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
and is main agricultural produce of Burdwan district. Bardhaman is called the rice bowl of West BengalWest BengalWest Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
. - FishFishFish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
is also the favorite curry item of Bardhaman as well as West Bengal.
The new Burdwan
Burdwan city, the heart of the district is also growing. With an increasing number of people opting for better residential spaces and higher living standards. The Government 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 city 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 acres mini township is being Developed by Bengal Shrachi Housing Dev. Ltd. The Burdwan Development Authority is also playing a role in these projects. Sanskriti lokamancha in a court compound, new administrative building, and Spandan sports complex are some of the new initiatives of the BDA.University
The University of Burdwan was formally inaugurated on 15 June 1960, by Sukumar SenSukumar Sen
Prof. Sukumar Sen was a Bengali linguist. He had also vast knowledge in Pāli, Prakrit and Sanskrit. He wrote the book History of Bengali literature.-Work:...
, an ICS, as its first Vice-chancellor. It was after the abolition of the Zamindar
Zamindar
A Zamindar or zemindar , was an aristocrat, typically hereditary, who held enormous tracts of land and ruled over and taxed the bhikaaris who lived on batavaslam. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja , Raja , Nawab , and Mirza , Chowdhury , among others...
i system in the fifties that Uday Chand Mahtab, the last representative of the Burdwan Raj, showed his magnanimity
Magnanimity
Magnanimity is the virtue of being great of mind and heart. It encompasses, usually, a refusal to be petty, a willingness to face danger, and actions for noble purposes. Its antithesis is pusillanimity...
in leaving almost his entire property of Burdwan at the disposal of the state government. This, coupled with the initiative of the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy
Bidhan Chandra Roy
Bidhan Chandra Roy, M.R.C.P., F.R.C.S. was the second Chief Minister of West Bengal in India. He remained in his post for 14 years as a Indian National Congress candidate, from 1948 until his death in 1962. He was a highly respected physician and a renowned freedom fighter...
, facilitated the establishment of this university. Presently, the administrative works are mostly done at Rajbati (the palace of Barddhamana Maharaja) campus; on the other hand, academic activities center around the Golapbag campus mainly. With social responsibilities in mind, the university actively patronised the construction of a Science Centre and a Planetarium, named as Meghnad Saha Planetarium.
Schools
- Burdwan Railway Vidyapith
- Burdwan Municipal High SchoolBurdwan Municipal High SchoolBurdwan Municipal High School , located at the heart of Burdwan, a town 95 km north-west of Kolkata, is one of the oldest boys schools in India. The school was established in 1883 by the Bardhaman Municipal Authority....
www.bmhschool.com Visit Alumni Website ( www.chirantani.org) - West Bengal Board - Holy Rock School - ICSE
- Burdwan Nehru Vidya Mandir Hindi Hidh School(H.S.)- West Bengal Board of Secendary Education
- Burdwan Ramashis Hindi High School- West Bengal Board of Secondary Education
- Burdwan Maharani Adhirani Girls School-West Bengal Board of Secondary Education
- Kendriya Vidyalaya Burdwan - CBSE
- St. Xaviers School - ICSE and ISC
- Burdwan Municipal Girls' High SchoolBurdwan Municipal Girls' High SchoolBurdwan Municipal Girls' High School is one of the oldest schools in India, having been established on 26 August 1936 by the efforts of Bardhaman Municipal Authority...
- West Bengal Board - Bardhaman Harisava Hindu Girls High School
- Burdwan CMS High School (Main), B. C. Road - West Bengal BoardBurdwan C.M.S High SchoolBurdwan C.M.S High School is a school in Burdwan, West Bengal, India, standing by the side of B.C. Road. The school is divided into four categories: KG Section, Primary, Secondary, Higher Secondary offers school education from KG1 to Higher secondary to more than 2000 students in the town.- History...
- Burdwan CMS High School (Morning), Golapbag - West Bengal Board
- Burdwan Town School - West Bengal Board
- Raj Collegiate School - West Bengal Board
- Burdwan Sri Ramkrishna Saradapith Uchha Vidyala - West Bengal Board
- East West Model School - ICSE and ISC
- Bidyarthi Girls School
- Bidyarthi Bhaban High School
- Burdwan Rose Garten School
- Kshetia High School
- Burdwan High Madrasa
- Harijan School
- Sadhumati Balika Bidyalaya
- Bardhaman Banipith School
- Burdwan Rose Garten School - English Medium
- Burdwan South Point School - English Medium Kindergarten
- Ichlabad High School - Bengali Medium(West Bengal Board)
- Acharya Durga Prasanna Bidya Mandir(NL- Boronilpur Bazar)
- Rathtala Manohardas Vidyaniketan (Boys) - Bengali Medium
- Rathtala Manohardas Vidyaniketan (Girls) - Bengali Medium
- Dinanathdas High School - Bengali Medium
- Modern Public School (Co-Ed) English Medium
Colleges
- College of Art & Design http://www.collegeofartanddesign.co.in/
- Burdwan Medical CollegeBurdwan Medical CollegeBurdwan Medical College is a medical college located in Burdwan Town, District Burdwan, West Bengal.It was established in 1969 by the University of Burdwan as Burdwan University Medical College. Later it was taken over by the Government of West Bengal on 4th August, 1976, and rechristened Burdwan...
- Burdwan Raj College www.burdwanrajcollege.net
- Maharaj Bijoy Chand Institute of Engineering & Technology - Polytechnic College
- University Institute of Technology - Engineering Degree College,Burdwan University (Estd: 2000)University Institute of Technology, Burdwan UniversityUniversity Institute of Technology is the engineering department of Burdwan University. The Executive Council of Burdwan University resolved on September 15, 1998 to set up an Engineering Institute at the University Campus under the direct control of the University of Burdwan - named University...
http://www.buruniv.ac.in/uit/uit.html
- AMEX -AN INSTITUTE OF PROFESSIONAL STUDIESwww.amex.net.in
- Burdwan Institute Management and Computer Science (BIMS)http://www.bims.co.in/
- Burdwan Institute of medical and life sciences(BIMLS)
- Oriental Institute Of Science & Technology(OIST)http://oist.edu.in/
- Cyber Research & Training Institute (Burdwan)
- University Law College
- Maharajadhiraj Uday Chand Women's College
- Vivekananda Mahavidyalaya
- Burdwan Homoeopathic Medical College
- Bishnu Goswami Arts College
External links
- Burdwan Town, The Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1909, v. 9, p. 102.
- Official website of Bardhaman District
- Bardhaman Utsav (Annual cultural programme of Bardhaman)
- Others Best Archeological Heritage spot Of Bardhaman By Bardhaman Raj
- Bardhaman Municipality
- Bardhaman darshan (Official tourism website)
- Information portal of Bardhaman District
