| This article needs to be
updated
. The reason given is: "bifurcation".
Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.
(
April 2017
)
|
District in West Bengal, India
Bardhaman
|
---|
|
![Location of Bardhaman in West Bengal](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9c/Bardhaman_district.svg/300px-Bardhaman_district.svg.png) Location of Bardhaman in West Bengal
|
Country
|
India
|
---|
State
| West Bengal
|
---|
Division
| Burdwan
|
---|
Headquarters
| Bardhaman
|
---|
|
?
Lok Sabha constituencies
| Asansol
,
Bardhaman-Durgapur
,
Bardhaman Purba
|
---|
?
Vidhan Sabha constituencies
| Pandabeswar
,
Raniganj
,
Jamuria
,
Asansol Uttar
,
Asansol Dakshin
,
Kulti
,
Barabani
,
Bardhaman Uttar (SC)
,
Bardhaman Dakshin
,
Monteswar
,
Bhatar
,
Galsi (SC)
,
Durgapur Purba
,
Durgapur Paschim
,
Raina (SC)
,
Jamalpur (SC)
,
Kalna (SC)
,
Memari
,
Purbasthali Uttar
,
Purbasthali Dakshin
,
Katwa
,
Ketugram
,
Mangalkot
,
Ausgram (SC)
,
Khandaghosh (SC)
|
---|
|
? Total
| 7,024 km
2
(2,712 sq mi)
|
---|
|
? Total
| 7,723,663
|
---|
? Density
| 1,100/km
2
(2,800/sq mi)
|
---|
?
Urban
| 36.94 per cent
|
---|
|
?
Literacy
| 77.15 per cent
[1]
|
---|
? Sex ratio
| 922
|
---|
Time zone
| UTC+05:30
(
IST
)
|
---|
Major highways
| NH 19
,
Grand Trunk Road
,
Panagarh–Morgram Highway
,
NH 14
|
---|
Average annual precipitation
| 1442 mm
|
---|
Website
| bardhaman
.nic
.in
|
---|
Bardhaman district
(
,
Bengali:
[?b?r?d?oman]
; also spelled
Burdwan
or
Barddhaman or Vardhaman
) was a district in
West Bengal
. On 7 April 2017, the district was bifurcated into two districts:
Purba Bardhaman
and
Paschim Bardhaman district
.
[2]
[3]
The headquarters of the district was
Bardhaman
, and it housed the cities of
Asansol
and
Durgapur
. Indian revolutionary
Rashbehari Bose
was born in Subaldaha village, Bardhaman district. Bengali poet
Kumud Ranjan Mullick
was born at
Kogram
and poet
Kazi Nazrul Islam
was born at
Churulia
in the same district. Notable persons like
Prabhat Kumar Mukhopadhyay
,
Akshay Kumar Datta
,
Jatindranath Sengupta
were also born in erstwhile Bardhaman district. It was the seventh most populous district in India (out of
640
) at the time of bifurcation.
[4]
Etymology
[
edit
]
Historians link the name of the district to the 24th and last
Jain
tirthankara
,
Mahavira Vardhamana
, who came to preach in the area. A Jain image is in the collection of Vidyasagar Mandir in the Midnapur town. A Jaina brass plaque has been found from a place very close to Katwa (Burdwan district). Jaina figures of rare artistic quality have been discovered in the place.
[5]
Quite a large number of the mutilated sculptures representing Jaina Tirthankara were noticed within the enclosure of the brick temple of Satdeulia in Burdwan district.
[6]
History
[
edit
]
Historical population
Year
| Pop.
| ±%
|
---|
1901
| 1,528,283
| ?
|
---|
1911
| 1,533,868
| +0.4%
|
---|
1921
| 1,434,766
| ?6.5%
|
---|
1931
| 1,575,694
| +9.8%
|
---|
1941
| 1,890,726
| +20.0%
|
---|
1951
| 2,191,660
| +15.9%
|
---|
1961
| 3,082,617
| +40.7%
|
---|
1971
| 3,916,174
| +27.0%
|
---|
1981
| 4,835,388
| +23.5%
|
---|
1991
| 6,050,605
| +25.1%
|
---|
2001
| 6,895,514
| +14.0%
|
---|
2011
| 7,717,563
| +11.9%
|
---|
Source: Census of India
[7]
|
During the period of Jahangir this place was named Badh-e-dewan (district capital). 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.Archaeological excavations/ findings at
Pandu Rajar Dhibi
and Birbhanpur have indicated settlements in the
Ajay
and
Damodar
valleys in the
Mesolithic
age, around 5,000 BC. Not much is known about the early settlements and the period that followed till around 700 BC in ancient times when the area was referred to as
Bardhamanbhukti
, which was a part of the
Rarh region
. It was one of the sixteen
janapad (In ancient times, districts were called Janapadas )
of ancient India. Large and powerful empires such as the
Magadhas
,
Mauryas
,
Kushanas
and
Guptas
held sway over the area and beyond it. In the 7th century AD, the area was part of the
Gauda Kingdom
, then ruled by
Shashanka
. It was subsequently ruled by the
Palas
and
Senas
, till
Bakhtiyar Khilji
captured it in 1199 AD.
[8]
The early Muslim rulers ruled over major parts of Bengal from
Gauda
or Lakhnauti. In the
Mughal
period Bardhaman is mentioned as a
mahal
or
pargana
of
Sarcar Sharifabad
. Some western parts of Bardhaman was Gopbhum, ruled for many years by the Sadgope kings. The Gopbhum area later became part of the Shergarh and Senpahari
parganas
.
[8]
In 1606,
Sher Afghan
, the
jagirdar
of Bardhaman, was killed just outside
Bardhaman
. After Sher Afghan's death, his wife, Meher-un-Nissa, was taken by
Jahangir
as his consort, and named
Nur Jahan
. It was one of the most romantic chapters of Mughal history. In 1622, when Jahangir's son, Khurram, who later became
Shah Jahan
, rebelled against his father, he captured the fort of Bardhaman.
[8]
[9]
In 1689, Raja Krishnaram Roy, of the
Bardhaman Raj family
, obtained a
farman
(royal decree) from
Aurangzeb
by which he was made the
zamindar
(landlord) of Bardhaman, and since then the Raj family's history became identical with that of the district.
[8]
During the reign of Krishnaram Rai, Subha Singh,
zamindar
of Chitua and Barda, then part of Bardhaman, raised the standard of revolt in 1696. He was killed by Rajkumari Satyabati, when he tried to outrage her. Kirti Chandra Rai added the
parganas
of Chitua, Bhurshut, Barda and Manoharshahsi to his territories. He also seized the estates of the Raja of Belghara and attacked and defeated the powerful Raja of Bishnupur. Chitra Sen Ray was conferred the title of
Raja
by the Mughal emperor in 1740. He was succeeded by Tilakchand Ray, who was also conferred the title of
Raja
by the Mughal emperor. It was during his rule that East India Company acquired Bardhaman and other areas of Bengal.
[10]
[11]
After the death of Aurangzeb, the
Mughal Empire
became weak and
Murshid Quli Khan
became the
Nawab of Bengal
, owning only nominal allegiance to the Mughal emperor. At that time Bardhaman was referred to as
chakla
, a change from the earlier
pargana
. Subsequently, during the reign of
Alivardi Khan
, the
Bargis
attacked and plundered Bardhaman.
[8]
After the victory of the British in the
Battle of Plassey
in 1757, the fertile district of Bardhaman, along with Medinipur and Chittagong, was ceded to the
East India Company
. In 1857, the British Crown took over the administration of the country from the East India Company.
[8]
In 1765, when East India Company acquired the
diwani
of Bardhaman, it was composed of Bardhaman, Bankura, Hooghly and a third of Birbhum. Hooghly was separated in 1820, Bankura and Birbhum in 1837. In 1765, Tilakchand Ray was the
zamindar
of Bardhaman. He controlled 75
parganas
and also looked after the law and order. At the time of the
Permanent Settlement
of
Lord Cornwallis
in 1793, the
chaklas
were reduced in size, in order to make them more manageable, and districts were created. Six subdivisions were created in Bardhaman district ? Bud Bud in 1846, Katwa, Raniganj, Jahanabad (later named Arambagh), and Bardhaman Sadar in 1847 and Kalna in 1850. The
parganas
were converted to
thanas
(police stations). At that time there were 22
thanas
in Bardhaman district. Later, Jahanabad was transferred out of Bardhaman. Some minor changes went on taking place.
[12]
The Permanent Settlement ultimately led to the dismemberment of the Bardhaman estate. As the rajas often failed to pay the rent demands, some parts of the estate were auctioned off. However, there were bright spots. Mahatabchand was appointed additional member of the
Viceroy’s Executive Council
and in 1877 was allowed to use the title of
His Highness
before his name.
Bijoy Chand Mahatab
was conferred the title of
Maharajadhiraj
by Lord Minto in 1908.
Uday Chand Mahtab
took over in 1941 and served till abolition of the zamindary system in 1954, after independence of the country.
[13]
[14]
Bardhaman district was bifurcated into two districts, Purba Bardhaman and
Paschim Bardhman
, on 7 April 2017.
[15]
Great revolutionary Rashbehari Bose was born in village Subaldaha, Dist-Purba Bardhaman.5
Geography
[
edit
]
Bardhaman District had an area of 7,024 km
2
and a population of 6,895,514 (2001 census). It was bounded on the north by
Birbhum
and
Murshidabad
districts, on the east by
Nadia District
, on the southeast by
Hooghly District
, on the southwest by
Bankura
and
Purulia
districts, and on the northwest by
Dhanbad district
of
Jharkhand
.
[16]
The district had six sub-divisions:
Asansol
,
Sadar (North)
,
Sadar (South)
,
Durgapur
,
Kalna
, and
Katwa
.
Topography
[
edit
]
Burdwan district with its varied tectonic elements and riverine features, is a transitional zone between the Jharkhand plateau which constitutes a portion of peninsular shield in the west and Ganga-Brahmaputra alluvial plain in the north and east. In general the Jharkhand plateau consists of the metasedimentary rocks of precambrian age, Gondwana sedimentary rocks, Rajmahal basalts and upper tertiary sediments. Laterite has developed on these older rocks as well as on early Quaternary sediments.
To the south, the alluvial plain merges with Damodar-kasain-Subarnarekha deltaic plains. The western half of the district resembles a promontory jutting out from the hill ranges of Chotonagpur plateau and consists of barren, rocky and rolling country with a laterite soil rising into rocky hillocks, the highest being 227 m. These diversify the otherwise monotonous landscape and lend a special charm to the skyline around Asansol subdivision. Ajoy-barakar divide is a convex plateau, the average altitude being 150 m. The gradient is westerly to the west and to the east it is northerly toward
Ajay and southerly toward Damodar below the latitude.
The Ajoy-Damodar inter-stream tract is made up of several stows consisting of vales and low convex spurs which run in almost all directions except northeast and thus lends a very complicated character to local relief.
Rivers
[
edit
]
The river system in Burdwan includes the Bhagirathi-Hooghly in the east, the Ajoy and its tributaries in the north, and the Dwarakeswar, the Damodar and its branches in the southwest. Besides, there are innumerable Khals and old riverbeds all over the area. The notable rivers and khals are Damodar, Bhagirathi, Barakar, Ajay, Dwarakeswar, Nonia, Singaram, Tamla, Kukua, Kunur, Tumuni, Khari, Banka, Chanda-kanki nala, Behula, Gangur, Brahmani, Khandesvari, Karulia nala,
Dwaraka
or Babla, Koiya nala, Kandarkahal, Kanadamodar, Kananadi, Ghea, Kakinadi etc.
Soil
[
edit
]
Different types of soil are encountered in topographical biological, hydrological, and geological conditions in the Burdwan district. In the west, coarse gritty soil blended with rock fragments is formed from the weathering of pegmatite, quartz veins and conglomeratic sandstones, where as sandy soil
characteristic of granite rocks and sandstones. This soil is reddish, medium to coarse in texture, acidic in reaction, low in nitrogen, calcium,
phosphate and other plant nutrients. Water holding capacity of this soil increases with depth as well as with the increase of clay portions. Towards the east alluvial soil attains an enormous thickness in the low level plains to the east. These soils are sandy, well drained and slightly acidic.
[17]
Minerals
[
edit
]
Burdwan was one of the premier districts in India in value of minerals. The
Raniganj coalfield was the birthplace of the Indian coal industry. Besides coal, important minerals found in the district are iron ores, calcium carbonate, abrasives, silica bricks and moulding sands, glass sands, building materials, manganese, bauxite, laterite etc.
Water resources
[
edit
]
There are many ponds, wells, canals, marshes and burrows all over the district. In the Damodar Valley region, there are around 17000 tanks. The
Durgapur barrage and Mithon dam have formed two large reservoirs at the
southwestern and western periphery of the district.
Forest
[
edit
]
The forest areas of the district are chiefly in the lateritic and red soil highlands in the Aushgram PS of Sadar subdivision and in the Asansol subdivision.
National protected area
[
edit
]
Climate
[
edit
]
The district experiences a climate which is transitional between CWg and AW types, where 'C' stands for 'warm temperate rainy climates with mild winter', 'W' for 'dry winter not compensated for by total rain in the rest of the year', 'g ' for 'eastern Ganges type of temperature trend' and 'AW' for 'tropical savanna climates'.
Average temperature in hot season is 30 C while at the cold season is 20 C. Average rainfall is 1496 mm. The cold season starts from about the middle of November and continues till the end of February. March to May is dry summerintervened by tropical cyclones and storms. June to September is wet summer while October and November is autumn.
Assembly constituencies
[
edit
]
The district is divided into 26
assembly constituencies
:
[18]
- Kulti
(assembly constituency no. 257),
- Barabani
(assembly constituency no. 258),
- Hirapur
(assembly constituency no. 259),
- Asansol
(assembly constituency no. 260),
- Raniganj
(assembly constituency no. 261),
- Jamuria
(assembly constituency no. 262),
- Ukhra (SC)
(assembly constituency no. 263),
- Durgapur ? I
(assembly constituency no. 264),
- Durgapur ? II
(assembly constituency no. 265),
- Kanksa (SC)
(assembly constituency no. 266),
- Ausgram (SC)
(assembly constituency no. 267),
- Bhatar
(assembly constituency no. 268),
- Galsi
(assembly constituency no. 269),
- Bardhaman North
(assembly constituency no. 270),
- Bardhaman South
(assembly constituency no. 271),
- Khandaghosh (SC)
(assembly constituency no. 272),
- Raina
(assembly constituency no. 273),
- Jamalpur (SC)
(assembly constituency no. 274),
- Memari
(assembly constituency no. 275),
- Kalna
(assembly constituency no. 276),
- Nadanghat
(assembly constituency no. 277),
- Manteswar
(assembly constituency no. 278),
- Purbasthali
(assembly constituency no. 279),
- Katwa
(assembly constituency no. 280),
- Mangalkot
(assembly constituency no. 281) and
- Ketugram (SC)
(assembly constituency no. 282).
Ukhra, Kanksa, Ausgram, Khandaghosh, Jamalpur and Ketugram constituencies are reserved for
Scheduled Castes (SC)
candidates.
Kulti, Barabani, Hirapur, Asansol, Raniganj, Jamuria and Ukhra constituencies are part of
Asansol (Lok Sabha constituency)
.
Durgapur–I, Durgapur–II, Kanska and Galsi are assembly segments of
Durgapur (Lok Sabha constituency)
, which also contains three assembly segments from
Bankura district
.
Bhatar, Bardhaman North, Bardhaman South, Khandaghosh, Raina, Jamalpur and Memari are assembly segments of
Burdwan (Lok Sabha constituency)
.
Kalna, Nadanghat, Manteswar, Purbasthali and Katwa are assembly segments of
Katwa (Lok Sabha constituency)
, which also contains two assembly constituencies from
Hooghly district
.
Ausgram and Mangalkot are part of
Bolpur (Lok Sabha constituency)
, which has five other assembly segments from
Birbhum district
.
Ketugram constituency is part of
Berhampore (Lok Sabha constituency)
, which contains six other assembly segments from
Murshidabad district
.
As per order of the
Delimitation Commission
in respect of the
delimitation of constituencies
in the West Bengal, the district will be divided into 25 assembly constituencies:
[19]
- Khandaghosh (SC)
(assembly constituency no. 259),
- Bardhaman Dakshin
(assembly constituency no. 260),
- Raina (SC)
(assembly constituency no. 261),
- Jamalpur (SC)
(assembly constituency no. 262),
- Manteswar
(assembly constituency no. 263),
- Kalna (SC)
(assembly constituency no. 264),
- Memari (Vidhan Sabha constituency)
(assembly constituency no. 265),
- Bardhaman Uttar (SC)
(assembly constituency no. 266),
- Bhatar
(assembly constituency no. 267),
- Purbasthali Dakshin
(assembly constituency no. 268),
- Purbasthali Uttar
(assembly constituency no. 269),
- Katwa
(assembly constituency no. 270),
- Ketugram
(assembly constituency no. 271),
- Mangalkot
(assembly constituency no. 272),
- Ausgram (SC)
(assembly constituency no. 273),
- Galsi (SC)
(assembly constituency no. 274),
- Pandaveswar (Vidhan Sabha constituency)
(assembly constituency no. 275),
- Durgapur Purba
(assembly constituency no. 276),
- Durgapur Paschim
(assembly constituency no. 277),
- Raniganj (Vidhan Sabha constituency)
(assembly constituency no. 278),
- Jamuria
(assembly constituency no. 279),
- Asansol Dakshin (Vidhan Sabha constituency)
(assembly constituency no. 280),
- Asansol Uttar (Vidhan Sabha constituency)
(assembly constituency no. 281),
- Kulti
(assembly constituency no. 282) and
- Barabani
(assembly constituency no. 283).
Khandaghosh, Raina, Jamalpur, Kalna, Bardhaman Uttar, Ausgram and Galsi constituencies will be reserved for
Scheduled Castes (SC)
candidates.
Khandaghosh constituency will be part of
Bishnupur (Lok Sabha constituency)
, which will contain six other assembly segments from
Bankura district
.
Raina, Jamalpur, Kalna, Memari, Purbasthali Dakshin, Purbasthali Uttar and Katwa assembly constituencies will form the
Bardhaman Purba (Lok Sabha constituency)
, which will be reserved for
Scheduled Castes (SC)
candidates.
Bardhaman Dakshin, Manteswar, Bardhaman Uttar, Bhatar, Galsi, Durgapur Purba and Durgapur Paschim will form the
Bardhaman-Durgapur (Lok Sabha constituency)
.
Pandabeswar, Raniganj, Jamuria, Asansol Dakshin, Asansol Uttar, Kulti and Barabani constituencies will form the
Asansol (Lok Sabha constituency)
.
Ketugram, Mangalkot and Ausgram will be part of
Bolpur (Lok Sabha constituency)
, which will contain four other assembly segments from
Birbhum district
.
Demographics
[
edit
]
According to the
2011 census
Bardhaman district has a
population
of 7,723,663,
[4]
roughly equal to the nation of
Switzerland
[20]
or the US state of
Virginia
.
[21]
This gives it a ranking of 7th in India (out of a total of
640
).
[4]
The district has a population density of 1,100 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,800/sq mi).
[4]
Its
population growth rate
over the decade 2001-2011 was 12.01%.
[4]
Barddhaman has a
sex ratio
of 943
females
for every 1000 males,
[4]
and a
literacy rate
of 77.15%.
[4]
Gallery
[
edit
]
-
108 shiv temple
-
Banga Sanskriti Utsab at Bharati Bhaban
-
Burdwan Municipal High School
-
Burdwan Palace
-
Bardhaman Church
-
Burdwan University administrative complex gate, Rajbati
-
Burdwan University academic complex, South Gate
-
Burnpur Nehru Park
-
Durgapur
-
Golapbag
-
Burdwan Meghnad Saha Planetarium
-
CoA Burdwan
-
Curzon Gate
-
Damodar River
-
Durgapur Steel Plant
-
Sarbamangala Temple
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"District-specific Literates and Literacy Rates, 2001"
. Registrar General, India, Ministry of Home Affairs
. Retrieved
10 October
2010
.
- ^
"Paschim & Purba Bardhaman district divided"
(PDF)
.
www.google.com
.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 13 October 2017
. Retrieved
30 December
2021
.
- ^
"Bengal gets 23rd district: West Burdwan"
.
The Indian Express
. 8 April 2017
. Retrieved
30 December
2021
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
"District Census 2011"
. Census2011.co.in. 2011
. Retrieved
30 September
2011
.
- ^
Rangarajan, Haripriya; Kamalakar, G.; Reddy, A. K. V. S. (2001).
Jainism: Art, Architecture, Literature & Philosophy
. Sharada Publishing House.
ISBN
978-81-85616-77-3
.
- ^
Lalav?n?, Ga?e?a (1997).
Jainism in India
. Prakrit Bharati Academy.
- ^
Decadal Variation In Population Since 1901
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
"Census of India 2011: District Census Handbook, Bardhaman, Part XII B"
(PDF)
.
Brief History of the district, pages 9 - 11
. Directorate of Census Operations, West Bengal
. Retrieved
12 April
2017
.
- ^
"Bengal District Gazetteers, Burdwan by JCK Peterson"
(PDF)
.
History, pages 28-29
. First published in 1910, reprinted in 1997 by the Government of West Bengal
. Retrieved
13 April
2017
.
- ^
Chattopadhyay, Akkori, Vol I, pp 261-296
- ^
"Bengal District Gazetteers, Burdwan by JCK Peterson"
(PDF)
.
History, pages 34-39
. First published in 1910, reprinted in 1997 by the Government of West Bengal
. Retrieved
13 April
2017
.
- ^
Chattopadhyay, Akkori,
Bardhaman Jelar Itihas O Lok Sanskriti
(History and Folk lore of Bardhaman District.),
(in Bengali)
, Vol I, pp 367-370, Radical Impression.
ISBN
81-85459-36-3
- ^
Chattopadhyay, Akkori, Vol I, pp 345-365
- ^
"Bardhaman District"
.
History and Background
. Bardhaman district administration
. Retrieved
13 April
2017
.
- ^
"????? ? ??????, ?? ??????? ???? ????? ?????????? ????? ?????????????"
(in Bengali). ABP Ananda, 7 April 2017
. Retrieved
9 April
2017
.
- ^
"Geography"
.
- ^
"Geography : Burdwan District"
.
bardhaman.gov.in
. Retrieved
16 September
2019
.
- ^
"General election to the Legislative Assembly, 2001 ? List of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies"
(PDF)
.
West Bengal
. Election Commission of India. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 4 May 2006
. Retrieved
15 November
2008
.
- ^
"Press Note, Delimitation Commission"
(PDF)
.
Assembly Constituencies in West Bengal
. Delimitation Commission
. Retrieved
15 November
2008
.
- ^
US Directorate of Intelligence.
"Country Comparison:Population"
. Archived from
the original
on 13 June 2007
. Retrieved
1 October
2011
.
Switzerland 7,639,961 July 2011 est.
- ^
"2010 Resident Population Data"
. U. S. Census Bureau. Archived from
the original
on 19 October 2013
. Retrieved
30 September
2011
.
Virginia 8,001,024
External links
[
edit
]
- http://bardhaman.gov.in/geography.html
Places adjacent to Bardhaman district
|
---|
|