Purba Bardhaman district
| Purba Bardhaman district | |
|---|---|
| District of West Bengal | |
| Country | India |
| State | West Bengal |
| Administrative division | Burdwan |
| Headquarters | Bardhaman |
| Government | |
| • Lok Sabha constituencies | Bardhaman-Durgapur, Bardhaman Purba, Bishnupur, Bolpur |
| • Assembly seats | Bardhaman Dakshin, Bardhaman Uttar, Bhatar, Galsi, Raina, Jamalpur, Memari, Khandaghosh, Katwa, Mangalkot, Ketugram, Ausgram, Kalna, Purbasthali Dakshin, Purbasthali Uttar, Manteswar. |
| Area | |
| • Total | 5,432.69 km2 (2,097.57 sq mi) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 4,835,532 |
| • Density | 890/km2 (2,300/sq mi) |
| Demographics | |
| • Literacy | 74.73 per cent |
| • Sex ratio | 922 |
| Average annual precipitation | 1442 mm |
Purba Bardhaman district is in West Bengal. It was formed on 7 April 2017 after bifurcation of the erstwhile Bardhaman district and its headquarters is Bardhaman.
Some historians link the name of the district to the 24th and last Jain tirthankara, Mahavira Vardhamana, who came to preach in the area. Alternatively, Bardhamana means a prosperous and growing area. It was a forward frontier zone in the progress of Aryanisation by the people in the Upper Gangetic valley.Purba means east.
The district is recorded in the early 20th century British chronicles as ‘the richest tract in Bengal and the area of its oldest and most settled cultivation’. Archaeological excavations at Pandu Rajar Dhibi have indicated settlements in the Ajay valley in the Mesolithic age, around 5,000 BC. In early historical times Bardhamanbhukti, a part of the Rarh region, was ruled successively by the Magadhas, Mauryas, Kushanas and Guptas. In the 7th century AD, when Shashanka was king, the area was part of the Gauda Kingdom. It was subsequently ruled by the Palas and Senas.
Bakhtiyar Khilji captured it in 1199 AD. The early Muslim rulers ruled over major parts of Bengal from Gauda or Lakhnauti. In Ain-i-Akbari, Bardhaman is mentioned as a mahal or pargana of Sarcar Sharifabad. Some western parts of Bardhaman was Gopbhum, ruled for many centuries by the Sadgope kings. There are remains of a fort at Amrargar.
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Wikipedia