Introduction

Barrackpore sub-division, under District of North 24 Parganas in the state of West Bengal, is an old and famous administrative territory, dotted with people from almost all provinces of India. It is a place of historical significance in many ways, and the revolt for independence of 1857 started here, by the legendary martyr, Mangal Pandey. West Bengal (পশ্চিম বঙ্গ, Pościm Bôngo) is a state in the eastern region of India. ... 1857 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Historically, a martyr is a person who dies for his or her religious faith. ... For the Hindi movie of the same name, see The Rising (Indian film) Mangal Pandey (d. ...

The present administrative set up of this sub-division consists of 16 Municipalities, 2 Blocks, One Cantonment Board, 13 Police Stations. It holds the prestige of having one international airport. A municipality or general-purpose district (compare with: special-purpose district) is an administrative local area generally composed of a clearly defined territory and commonly referring to a city, town, or village government. ... For blocks on Wikipedia, please see Wikipedia:Blocking policy. ...

The only Military Cantonment and Police Training Academy of the state are both located in this sub-division. Essentially, this is an urbanised sub-division. This sub-division consists of eleven Assembly Constituencies and two parliamentary constituencies. The literacy rate in this sub-division is above the average standard of the state and district. A constituency is any cohesive corporate unit or body bound by shared structures, goals or loyalty. ...

The subdivision is well connected with road, railways and air. Moreover it enjoys the benefit of important water ways of the Hooghly river which flows through the western part of this subdivision paving the way of setting up of large numbers of industries on its bank, such as jute, engineering, paper, cotton mills etc, at the very early days besides a strong small scale, cottage and handicraft sector. The subdivision also has a strong human resource connected with many colleges and technical institutions, universities. A road is a strip of land, smoothed or otherwise prepared to allow easier travel, connecting two or more destinations. ... This article refers to the tool of travel. ... The Hoogli River (alternatively spelled Hooghly) is a distributary of the Ganges River in India. ... Jute is a long, soft, shiny plant fibre that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. ... Piece of paper Paper is a thin, flat material produced by the compression of fibres. ... Cotton is a soft fibre that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant, a shrub native to the tropical and subtropical regions of both the Old World and the New World. ...

History

Barrackpore was previously known as Chanak. Chanak, along with other places, is mentioned in the Manasa Mangal (1495 AD) as cities on the bank of Bhagirathi: Saptagram, Kumarhatta, Bhatpara, Kankinara, Garulia, Ichapore, Chanak, Khardaha, Sukchar, Kamarhati, Ariadaha. Events February 22 - King Charles VIII of France enters Naples to claim the citys throne. ... Bhatpara is a mid-sized town on the bank of river Ganga in the state of West Bengal in India. ... Khardaha is a rail-station on the Sealdah-Ranaghat section, sandwiched between Sodepur (to the south) and Titagarh (to the north). ...

W.B. District Gazetteers, 24 Parganas ed. by the historian Barun De, 1994 refers to rich cultural and religious traditions of this subdivision. "After his initiation by Iswar Puri in 1510, Chaitatanya on his way to Puri stopped at several villages and town ships on the Bhagirathi. Kumarhatta or the present Halisahar was his first stop over, Khardah was his next stopover. Chaitanya then stopped at a very populous and prosperous village called Panihati. According to Chaitanyabhagabata no other village on the eastern bank of the Bhagirathi was as populous and prosperous as Panihati in those days. Chaitanya's next stop over was at Baranagar. Places like Bhatpara, Kankinara, Mulajore, Garulia, Ichapore, Chanak were populous villages and towns on the bank of Bhagirathi even in the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries." 1994 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ...

The Statistical Account of Bengal by W.W. Hunter in 1857 mentions of the towns and villages of this subdivision on the banks of the Hooghly river as chief trading and marketing centres. "On The Hugli- Calcutta , the chief seat of commerce in India. ..Baranagar, Dakhineswar, Agarpara, Panihati, Sukchar. Khardah, Barrackpur, Nawabganj, Ichapore, Samnagar, Naihati and Halisahar contain large bazars for sale of miscellaneous goods." 1857 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

Barrackpore has a chequered history. The earliest reference to this part of the country is found in the writings of the Greek navigators, geographers, chronicles and historians between the 1st century BC and the 3rd century A.D. All of them have referred to the country of a people variously called the Gangaridae, Gangaridai, Gandaritai etc. (2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century - other centuries) The 1st century BC starts on January 1, 100 BC and ends on December 31, 1 BC. An alternative name for this century is the last century BC. (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium) // Events The Roman Republic... // Events The Sassanid dynasty of Persia launches a war to reconquer lost lands in the Roman east. ...

During the Mughal reign, Akbar the Great divided Sube-Bangla in some ‘Sarkar’ and ‘Mahal’ for collection of revenue. His minister Todar Mal was the initiator of this proposal. The name of Barbuckpur is mentioned as a ‘Mahal’ in ‘Ain-e-Akbari’ which denotes the original name of Barrackpore. The Mughal Empire (alternative spelling Mogul, which is the origin of the word Mogul) of India was founded by Babur in 1526, when he defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the last of the Delhi Sultans at the First Battle of Panipat. ... Jalauddin Akbar Jalaluddin Muhammad Akb r, (alternative spellings include Jellaladin) also known as Akbar the Great (Akbar-e-Azam) (October 15, 1542 – 1605) was the ruler of the Mughal Empire from the time of his accession in 1556 until 1605. ...

Mentioned in the early Bengali Literature, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu passed through it in the 15th century whilst proceeding to Puri. Nawab Sirajuddolla must have passed its streets to reach Kolkata to teach the British East India Company officials a lesson in the 18th century and Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore often traveled by train through Barrackpore Railway Station while going to Sealidaha, presently in Bangladesh. The oldest British Barrack or cantonment in the Country came up here. Some opinion mentions that the name Barrackpore came from the Barrack. After the Crown's take over the sprawling Government House and the Government Estate was built here, more-famous as Lat Bagan, where a zoo was also established 1 km north of the station, which was shifted to Alipore. The First War of Independence was triggered here by Sepoy Mangal Pandey in 1857. In 1824, an earlier Sepoy Mutiny also occurred here under Sepoy Binda Tiwary. This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... The British East India Company, sometimes referred to as John Company, was a joint-stock company of investors, which was granted a Royal Charter by Elizabeth I on December 31, 1600, with the intent to favour trade privileges in India. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... A zoo. ... KM, Km, or km may stand for: Khmer language (ISO 639 alpha-2, km) Kilometre Kinemantra Meditation Knowledge management KM programming language Comoros (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code) the Michaelis-Menten constant Km, see Michaelis-Menten kinetics Kamenz (district), Germany (license plate indication) Messenia, Greece (license plate indication... 1857 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

The town had also been the dwelling place of Rastraguru Surendranath Baneriee, the Father of Indian Nationalism (Monirampore). Rishi Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was also born at Naihati under this subdivision. Rani Rashmoni was also born at Halishar. This sub-division is proud of having footprints of Sri Chaitanya, Sri Ramkrishna, Vivekananda, Mahtama Gandhi, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and others. In fact, this subdivision has a very distinguished contribution in the Freedom Movement and Indian Renaissance.

Mahatma Gandhi used to stay at Sodepur Khadi Ashram, which he described as his second home, during his visits at Bengal. The history of Barrackpore was further enhanced by the immersion of Mahatma Gandhi's Ashes here on 12 February 1948, after his demise on 30 January 1948 (2 km east of the Station, Talpukur) and establishment of the Gandhi Memorial Museum (3 km west of the Station, Mistrighat More) commemorating the Father of the Nation (as declared by Netaii Subash Chandra Basu). Palta Water Works, which supply drinking water to Calcutta, the Central Fisheries Research Institute, inventor of many hybrid fishes and famous Annapurna Mandir near Gandhi Ghat are some of the other land marks of the City. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (October 2, 1869 – January 30, 1948) (Devanagari: मोहनदास करमचन्द गांधी, Gujarati મોહનદાસ કરમચંદ ગાંધી) was a national icon who led the struggle for Indias independence from British colonial rule, empowered by tens of millions of common Indians. ... Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (October 2, 1869 – January 30, 1948) (Devanagari: मोहनदास करमचन्द गांधी, Gujarati મોહનદાસ કરમચંદ ગાંધી) was a national icon who led the struggle for Indias independence from British colonial rule, empowered by tens of millions of common Indians. ... February 12 is the 43rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... January 30 is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... This article is on Calcutta/Kolkata, the city. ...

Heritage and Culture

The subdivision takes the pride as Rishi Bankim Chandra Chattopadhaya the famous creator of the "Bandematram" was born at Naihati, Kanthalpara, under this subdivision. Bandematarm became the source of inspiration for the freedom fighters all over India. Presently, a Library and Research Institute exists at his birth place. Modern-style library In its traditional sense, a library is a collection of books and periodicals. ...

The Sepoy mutiny or the first war of India's independence of 1857 by the legendary martyr Mangal Pande occurred at Barrcakpore. Mangal Pandey Udyan bears his reminiscences. An engraving titled Sepoy Indian troops dividing the spoils after their mutiny against British rule gives a contemporary view of events from the British perspective. ... 1857 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

During the Indian freedom struggle Barrackpore again became significant with presence of Rastraguru Surendra Nath Bandyopadhaya who was called the father of Indian Nationalist Movement.

The house of Surendranath at Barrackpore built on 10 Bigha land is now converted to Rastraguru Surendranath Institute and Netaji Open University.

Sodepur in the Barrackpore sub division, is historically famous for the Khadi Prathistan where historic decisions with regard to freedom struggle were taken by Gandhiji and other great leaders like Subhas Chandra Bose. In 1921, Satish Chandra Dasgupta, eminent chemist, resigned from Bengal Chemicals influenced by the Gandhian thought of Swadeshi and set up the Ashram for spinning, weaving and making Cottage Industrial Commodities in an area of 17 Bigha. This ashram near the Sodepur Railway Station has a special place in the history of Freedom movement. Gandhi termed this ashram as his second home and stayed at this Ashram at various times 1939, 1945, 1946, 1947 and lived here for five to seven weeks. Sodepur Sodepur is a suburb of the Indian city of Kolkata. ... 1921 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Ashrams in ancient India, were Hindu hermitages where sages used to live in peace and tranquility amidst nature. ... Spinning refers to several activities: For the fabrication of thread, see Spinning (textiles). ... Weaving is an ancient textile art and craft that involves placing two sets of threads or yarn made of fiber called the warp and weft of the loom and turning them into cloth. ... Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (October 2, 1869 – January 30, 1948) (Devanagari: मोहनदास करमचन्द गांधी, Gujarati મોહનદાસ કરમચંદ ગાંધી), called Mahatma Gandhi, was the charismatic leader who brought the cause of Indias independence from British colonial rule to world attention. ... 1939 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1945 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1946 was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... 1947 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The subdivision is enriched in culture with people of various religions, customs, castes and states. Mandirs, Masjids, Gurudawara and churches coexist here. Moreover there are many ashrams. A caste system is a rigid system of social stratification, which divides members of a society into different castes. ... A Mandir is a Hindu temple. ... A mosque is a place of worship for followers of the Islamic faith. ... A church building is a building used in Christian worship. ...

The Durga puja is the major festival which is held in the month of Autumn. Panihati and Khardaha are also famous having the footsteps of Sri Chaitanya and Nityananda about 500 years back. Annual festival and melas are held at these places which draw large nos. of devotees. Later on these places were further enriched with presence of Sri Ram Krishna Paramahansa, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, and Mahatma Gandhi.

It is on the western river bank of the Hooghly river that the famous Gandhi Ghat exits. A Gandhi museum nearby has rare collection of books, articles used by Gandhi. A museum is typically a non-profit, permanent institution in the service of society and of its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits, for purposes of study, education enjoyment, the tangible and intangible evidence of people and their environment. ...

The district took a lead in the industrialisation of India in the British and pre independence days when range of industries came up like Jute mills, Engineering, Rubber, Textile, Paper, Chemical and Ordnance factories etc. Many big jute companies were started by the British.

Roads and Transport

The Barrackpore sub-division is well connected both by road and railways. With the two National Highways, NH-34 and NH-35 passing through it along with other important State Highways, most towns are well connected with Kolkata, Airport, Port and other important urban and commercial centres of the state.

Barrackpore Trunk Road (B. T. Road) is one of the oldest metal roads in India connecting Barrackpore to Kolkata. The railway line was opened in 1862. Located in a suburban region of Kolkata, most municipalities of Barrackpore are connected by local train with Kolkata. The railway line in Sealdah Section extends through this sub-division to Ranaghat, Bongaon, Dankuni, Howrah, Burdwan, Bandel. Circular and Metro Railway also extends easy communication facility of the sub-division. Kolkata (Bangla: কলকাতা, Hindi: कोलकता), is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal and was capital of British India until 1912. ... 1862 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Howrah (also spelled Haora) is an industrial city in West Bengal, India, and is also the name of the administrative district including the city and its surroundings. ... Bardhaman is a district town in West Bengal. ...

There are plans for laying double Railway line to Hasnabad to improve connectivity. In January, 2002 the rail connection to Bangladesh was reopened for goods movement to Benapole. Railroad or railway tracks are used on railways, which, together with railroad switches (points), guide trains without the need for steering. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In the road sector, connectivity is being improved further with the KMDA developing Barrackpore-Dum Dum Expressway and the PWD having undertaken projects for widening of Jessore Road, widening and strengthening of B. T. Road and A.D.B assisted widening of NH-34 under North-South Corridor Project.

Another project at Belghoria Expressway has been started apart from ROB Projects undertaken at Madhyamgram, Birati and Kaikhali and Underpass at Dum Dum. The main roads number around 45 and other 55 links roads connect various towns and villages of the district.

Apart from the surface rails connectivity, the Metro Rail Proposes to extend its operations to the Airport from Dum Dum.

The only International Airport in West Bengal located within the sub-division, Netaji Subhas International Airport at Dum Dum. West Bengal (পশ্চিম বঙ্গ, Pościm Bôngo) is a state in the eastern region of India. ...

There are Ferry services in this sub-division using the water ways of the Hooghly River.

By Abhishek Dey Das