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 from the British period.
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 from the British period.
Geography
Barddhaman is located at 23.25° N 87.85° EIt has an average elevation of 40 metres (131 feet). The city is situated 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 Banka nala.
History
Burdwan
During period of Jahangir this place was named Badh-e-dewan (district headquarters). The town 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 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.
Burdwan
During period of Jahangir this place was named Badh-e-dewan (district headquarters). The town 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 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
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.
Burdwan is a town of tanks. Several tanks are scattered here and there across the town. These caught the attention of Victor Jacquemont, a young French natural scientist, who visited this town in November 1829.
At Nawab Hat, some 2 mile distant, is a group of 108 Siva lingam temples built in 1788.
One must also know about a small village of burdhaman called "Panchkula" where Gajan-Festival is celebrated with huge passion during the month of May-June. For more Information log to Panchkula
Shrine and Pir Bahram and Sher Afghan.
Barddhaman also have a planetarium named after India's emminent scietist Meghnad Saha. It is the second planetarium of the state after Kolkata's "Birla planetarium".
Education
University
Burdwan University started on 15 June 1960, with Sukumar Sen, an ICS, as its first Vice-chancellor. It was after the abolition of the Zamindari system in the fifties that Uday Chand Mahtab, the last representative of the Burdwan Raj, showed his magnanimity 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, 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
University
Burdwan University started on 15 June 1960, with Sukumar Sen, an ICS, as its first Vice-chancellor. It was after the abolition of the Zamindari system in the fifties that Uday Chand Mahtab, the last representative of the Burdwan Raj, showed his magnanimity 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, 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
Kendriya Vidyalaya Burdwan- CBSE
St. Xaviers School - ICSE and ISC
Burdwan Municipal High School - West Bengal Board
Burdwan Municipal Girls' High School - West Bengal Board
Burdwan CMS High School - West Bengal Board
Burdwan Town School - West Bengal Board
Raj Collegiate School - West Bengal Board
Ramkrishna Mission Saradapith - West Bengal Board
Holy Rock School - ICSE
East West Model School - ICSE
Bidyarthi Girls School
Bidyarthi Bhaban High School
Burdwan Rose Garten School
Kshetia High School
Colleges
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