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Suri (Birbhum)

Suri
Siuri
Town
Suri is located in West Bengal
Suri
Suri
Location in West Bengal, India
Coordinates: 23°55′00″N 87°32′00″E / 23.9167°N 87.5333°E / 23.9167; 87.5333Coordinates: 23°55′00″N 87°32′00″E / 23.9167°N 87.5333°E / 23.9167; 87.5333
Country  India
State West Bengal
District Birbhum
Area
 • Total 9.47 km2 (3.66 sq mi)
Elevation 71 m (233 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Total 67,864
Languages
 • Official Bengali, English, Hindi
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN 731101
Telephone/STD code 91 3462
Vehicle registration WB-54
Lok Sabha constituency Birbhum
Vidhan Sabha constituency Suri
Website birbhum.nic.in

Suri, (Pron:ˈsʊərɪ) (spelt as 'Siuri'), is the administrative headquarter of Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal, India.

Suri is located at 23°55′00″N 87°32′00″E / 23.9167°N 87.5333°E / 23.9167; 87.5333. It has an average elevation of 71 metres (233 feet). It is situated on the extended part of Chotanagpur Plateau. Tilpara barrage on Mayurakshi river is located 3 km north-west of Siuri.

Prior to the advent of the British in India and their acquisition of the territory of Bengal, Suri was but merely a small village. Yet, the British colonists preferred to choose Suri as the district headquarters of Birbhum, probably owing to convenience of transport and communication. Suri was well-connected to many places via road, however, it is not possible to tell about the conditions of those roads clearly. These roads can be traced in James Rennel's map of the 'Jungleterry District'(1779). After the defeat of Siraj ud-Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal, the British placed many puppet-kings in his place. When Mir Quasim was the Nawab, he ordered all the zamindars (landlords) to pay more revenue. At this, the ruler of Rajnagar, Asad Jama Khan disagreed. In December 1760, the army of the Nawab and the British marched together to attack Birbhum. Asad Jama Khan also got prepared with a cavalry of about 5,000 soldiers, and an infantry of nearly 20,000. In the battle, Asad Jama Khan was defeated and his zamindari was snatched. He took shelter amidst the very dense woods of Chotanagpur. There he had a clandestine meeting with a Maratha army general, Shivabhatta, and Shivabhatta joined him with a cavalry of two to three thousand soldiers as well as a large infantry. Another battle was fought near Kariddhya in 1763 in which he was defeated again. Thus, the British got the control of Suri. During the early years of the British rule, Bishnupur and Birbhum was administered from Murshidabad. Then, a new district was formed joining Birbhum and Bishnupur, and Suri was made the headquarters. During this time, British officials used the name '(Laat) Hydrabad', the name Suri was also used, but only later. G.R. Foley was the first District Collector of Birbhum. He was appointed in 1786. Then, J. Sherburne became the collector and after him, Christopher Keating became the collector. Suri Municipality started functioning from 1876. Then, the population of Suri was no more than 7,000. The first Chairman of the municipality was A.A. Owen. Rail transport arrived in Suri in 1859 when the first train started on the route Andal-Sainthia.


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