Barrackpore
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| Barrackpore | |
  Barrackpore
|
|
| State - District(s) |
West Bengal - North 24 Parganas |
| Coordinates | |
| Area - Elevation |
? km² - 11 m |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Population (2001) - Density |
35,95,970 - ?/km² |
| Municipality Chairman | Madhusudan Ghosh |
| Codes - Postal - Telephone - Vehicle |
- 743101 - +033 - |
Barrackpore sub-division, under District of North 24 Parganas in the state of West Bengal, is an old and famous administrative territory of India, populated by people from almost all provinces of India. The town was a military and administrative center under British rule, and was the scene of several acts of rebellion against Britain during the 19th century.
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[edit] Origin of name
The name Barrackpore originates from the word the English word barracks. Barrackpore acquired the name as the site of the first major military base of the British East India Company. Prior to that time, Barrackpore was known as Chanak, and is mentioned by that name in the Manasa Mangal.
[edit] History
The earliest references to the Barrackpore region are found in the writings of the Greek navigators, geographers, chronicles and historians of the 1st century BC to the 3rd century A.D. These authors generally referred to the country of a people variously called the Gangaridae, Gangaridai, Gandaritai etc.
By the 15th and 16th century, Chanak and the other towns in the region became populous river towns.[1] The Statistical Account of Bengal by W.W. Hunter in 1857 mentions 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 bazaars for sale of miscellaneous goods."
Under the Mughal Empire, Bengal was divided into Circars, or administrative subunits, each of which was ruled over by a Mahal. The name "Barbuckpur" is associated with a Mahal in ‘Ain-e-Akbari’, another name for Barrackpore. From the 1600s, the area was ruled over by a line of Zamindars from the Nona Chandanpukur, Barrackpore family. The earliest of these zamindars was Kalidas Sarkar, who was followed by his son and grandson, Bishwambhar Sarkar and Nilmoni Sarkar, respectively. The last ruling zamindar was Amulyaratan Sarkar, who died in the 1960s, several decades after the 'zamindari pratha' was abolished by the British. The old 'Sarkar Bari', a large brick red brick house with ramparts which was the home of the zamindars, is still standing in Barrackpore.[2]
The first British barrack or cantonment in India was built India, providing the town with its name. After the British crown assumed direct control of India, the sprawling Government House and the Government Estate were built in Barrackpore to provide the viceroy with a suburban residence 15 miles outside of Calcutta.
Two rebellions against British authority took place in Barrackpore in the 19th century; the first of these came in 1824, under Sepoy Binda Tiwary. In 1857, Barrackpore was the scene of an incident that some credit with starting the Indian rebellion of 1857; an Indian soldier, Mangal Pandey, attacked his British commander, and was subsequently court-martialled. His regiment was disbanded, an action which offended a number of sepoys and is considered to have contributed to the anger that fueled the rebellion
[edit] Geography
Barrackpore is located in the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta region in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal state. The city is about 25 km from Kolkata (previously Calcutta), and 115 km from the border with Bangladesh.
The city is on the eastern bank of the river Ganges.
[edit] Climate
The climate of Barrackpore is tropical, like the rest of the Gangetic West Bengal. Monsoon season runs from early June to mid September. The weather remains dry during the winter (mid November to mid February) and humid during the summer. During the months of April and May, thunderstorms, sometimes accompanied by hail, frequently occur at dusk. Winter prevails for a short period with chilling dry wind coming from the north east.
Average rainfall ranges from 150-200 cm per year and it generally fluctuates from year to year. Heavy rainfall caused floods in this subdivision in 1978 rendering many people homeless for several months.
[edit] Economy
The subdivision is served by road, rail and air transport. Moreover, it enjoys the benefit of the Hooghly river, which flows through the western part of this subdivision. The presence of the river paved the way for the establishment of a large number of industries on its banks early in India's industrial development, including jute, engineering, paper, and cotton mills. Barrackpore has also traditionally had a strong small scale cottage industry and handicraft sector.
Agriculture is the main base of the subdivision's economy, with a variety of crops being produced. Floriculture, pisciculture and horticulture have also flourished to a large extent. Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute has been established at Barrackpore to promote production of fishes mainly in ponds and rivers. A well developed irrigation system has been constructed in the subdivision to promote agriculture. Low interest loans have also been used to encourage the expansion of farming and the development of agricultural infrastructure.
The primary industry in Barrackpore is jute processing, centered in a number of jute mills on the side of the river. Ishapore Rifle Factory is one of the most important arms factories of India, supplying the requirements of the security forces. Mulazore Thermal Power Plant at Shyamnagar was one of the oldest power plants in India, but was shut down in 2004. Dry cells produced by Exide, and cables produced by Nicco are other noteworthy industrial products.
The subdivision also has a strong human resource connected with many colleges and technical institutions, universities. Barrackpore is one of the most developed regions in West Bengal. The literacy rate in the sub-division is above the average standard of the state and district.
[edit] Government and politics
Barrackpore sub-division is divided into 16 Municipalities and 2 Blocks. These are administered by a Cantonment board and municipal chairmen. Rural areas are administered by 'Gram Panchayats' (Village Committees), which are elected every five years. The sub-division contains eleven Assembly Constituencies and two parliamentary constituencies.
Each municipality has a government headed by its municipal chairman. The chairman is elected by the municipal councillors, who are in turn elected by the constituents of the districts within the municipalities that they represent. The Gram Panchayats in the rural areas follow a similar structure. Both rural and municipal governments are responsible for providing services to the inhabitants by supplying drinking water, maintaining of the roads and streetlights, overseeing prevention of tropical diseases like malaria and cholera, and supplying food and clothing in case of emergency.
The municipalities on the bank of the river are also under the GAP (Ganga Action Plan) to control water pollution and release of pollutants to the river for protecting its plant and animal habitats.
The dominant political parties in the subdivision are the CPIM and other leftist parties such as the BJP.
The only Military Cantonment and Police Training Academy in West Bengal are both located in Barrackpore.
[edit] 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, and several major State Highways passing through the area, most towns are well connected with Kolkata, its airport and port, and other important urban and commercial centres of the state. The only International Airport in West Bengal, Netaji Subhas International Airport at Dum Dum, is located in the sub-division. Transport up and down the Hooghly river is available by ferry.
The Barrackpore Trunk Road (B. T. Road), one of the oldest metal roads in India, connects Barrackpore to Kolkata. The Ghoshpara Road connects the city of Barrackpore with Kanchrapara, a town on the boundary of the subivision, and goes on to link Barrackpore with the adjacent district of Nadia.
Barrackpore has been serviced by rail since 1862. Located as they are 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. The Circular and Metro Railways of Kolkata also offer an accessible means of transit to and from the sub-division.
Plans are currently in place to lay double Railway line to Hasnabad to improve connectivity. In January, 2002 the rail connection to Bangladesh was reopened for goods movement to Benapole.
Accessibility by road is currently being improved by the development of the Barrackpore-Dum Dum Expressway, a project to widen the Jessore Road and widen and strengthen the B. T. Road, and the widening of NH-34 under the North-South Corridor Project.In terms of rail transport, meanwhile, the Metro Rail has proposed to extend its operations to the Airport from Dum Dum.
[edit] Heritage and Culture
Barrackpore was home to a number of significant members of the Indian independence movement, many of whom have memorials in the subdivision. He has a memorial in the subdivision. Another significant leader of the movement who lived in Barrackpore is Rastraguru Surendra Nath Bandyopadhaya, who was called the father of Indian Nationalist Movement. The house of Surendranath at Barrackpore has now been converted to Rastraguru Surendranath Institute and Netaji Open University. Ghandi also spent time in the area, and the famous Gandhi Ghat is located on the west bank of the Hooghly. A Gandhi museum nearby has rare collection of books, articles used by Gandhi.
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya, the author of India's national song Vande Mataram, was born at Naihati, in Barrackpore subdivision. Vande Mataram is credited to him. Another noted literary figure of the post independence era, Samaresh Basu, also hailed from Naihati. His noted work 'Ganga' vividly depicts the life of the fishermen of the Hooghly (Ganges) rivers.
Earlier in the area's history, noted Bengali author Bharat Chandra Ray Gunakar lived at Mulajore . He is famous for his 'Annadamangal Kavya' written in the medieval period.
The subdivision is inhabited by people from a broad range of cultures, with people of various religions, customs, castes and states living together. Mandirs, Masjids, Gurdwara, ashrams and churches coexist there.
The Durga puja a festival held annually in the autumn, is the major festival in the area. There is a monthlong fair in the month of Bengali month of Pousha at the temple of goddess Kali at Shyamnagar on the bank of Ganges.
A famousKali Sadhak (Saint devoted to Kali), Ramprasad Sen, who authored many religious songs, was born at Halisahar in this subdivision. The towns of Panihati and Khardaha are also famous for having been visited by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu some 500 years ago. Annual festivals and melas are held at these places and draw large numbers of devotees. Later on these places were further enriched with presence of Sri Ram Krishna Paramahansa, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, and Mahatma Gandhi.
Barrackpore has many movie theatres for entertainment, a theatre hall named 'Sukanta Sadan' (after the poet Sukanta Bhattacharya), many libraries like the district library at Rahara (Khardaha), and various social and cultural organizations.
[edit] Education
Barrackpore is home to numerous schools, colleges and madrashas. The world famous schools of Ramakrishna Mission, Rahara and Ramakrishna Mission Baranagar, Barrackpore Govt. High School are situated here. A number of high schools in the district have a history of performing well in national standardized testing. Among the colleges located in Barrackpore are Barrackpore Surendranath College, BKC College Bonhooghly, Bhairab ganguly College, and Panihati College. The district also has 2 engineering colleges, several polytechnic institutes and an international boarding school, Adamas international School.
[edit] External links
There are numerous educational institutions in Barrackpore imparting higher education, notable being National Institute of Management & Technology (NIMT). NIMT is affiliated to Sikkim Manipal University and offers graduate and Master degree programs. This state of the art institute located next to Barrackpore Municipality offers 3 years and 2 years degree programs in IT, Computers, Management, Journalism & Fashion. Students are offered campus placements at the end of the degree program.
The most popular school in Barrackpore town is "Ramakrishna Vivekananda Mission Vidyabhawan". It is situated on the bank of Ganges. The first building of the school was at 7, Riverside road but now the school has expanded and operates from 4 buildings in the locality. The school is known for imparting a quality education as well as good values and culture to its students. Many alumni of the scool are today working in many prestigious organisations of India and abroad.
