Barrackpore

The name Barrackpore may have originated from the English word barracks, as it was the site of the first cantonment of the British East India Company. Alternatively, the Ain-i-Akbari suggests that the name comes from "Barbakpur". Manasa Vijay, written by Bipradas Pipilai, refers to Barrackpore as "Chanak".

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 AD. These authors generally referred to the country of a people variously called the Gangaridae, Gangaridai, Gandaritai etc. By the 15th and 16th centuries, Chanak and the other towns in the region had become populous river towns.[5] The Statistical Account of Bengal by W.W.Hunter 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, Shyam Nagar, Naihati and Halisahar contain large bazaars for sale of miscellaneous goods."[6]

Under the Mughal Empire, Bengal was divided into Circars, or administrative subunits, each of which was ruled over by a Mahal. The name "Barbuckpur", another name for Barrackpore, is associated with a Mahal in the Ain-e-Akbari. From the 17th century, the area was ruled over by a line of Zamindars based in Nona Chandanpukur, Barrackpore.

The first British barrack or cantonment in India was built in the town in 1772. 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 (24 km) outside of Calcutta.

Two rebellions against British authority took place in Barrackpore in the 19th century. The first of these was Barrackpore Mutiny of 1824, led by Sepoy Bindee Tiwary.[7] In this rebellion, 47th Bengal Native Infantry refused to board boats to cross the sea for various reasons including social taboo "Kala pani (taboo)" to Burma in the First Anglo-Burmese War. Consequently, British-manned artillery fired upon and "erased" them.[8] 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-martialed. His regiment was disbanded, an action which offended a number of sepoys and is considered to have contributed to the anger that fuelled the rebellion. In order to commemorate his sacrifice, a park named 'Sahid Mangal Pandey Udyan' was opened in the serenity of river Hoogly. The Army cantonment of Barrackpore also houses another significant historical landscape called the RCTC area, now populated by the defence quarters.[9]

As per the District Census Handbook 2011, Barrackpore Municipal city covered an area of 10.61 km² (4.10 sq mi). Amongst the civic amenities it had 172.63 km of roads and open drains. Amongst the medical facilities It had 40 medicine shops. Amongst the educational facilities It had 62 primary schools, 12 middle schools, 1 secondary school, 11 senior secondary schools and 3 non-formal education centres. Amongst the social, recreational and cultural facilities it had 1 old age home, 6 auditorium/ community halls, 2 public libraries and 6 reading rooms. Amongst the commodities manufactured were cottage industry and confectionery items. It had 11 bank branches.[23]

See also Cities and towns in Barrackpore subdivision

The Army/Airforce cantonment is the biggest landscape of the town of Barrackpore, while agriculture is the main base of the subdivision's economy. Floriculture, pisciculture and horticulture have also flourished in the town. 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. Rifle Factory Ishapore is one of the most important arms factories of India, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, one of the premier Aerospace Industry in Asia, one of the Division situated in Barrackpore for Cheetah Chetak Helicopter. 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 industrial products.

Annapurna Mandir, Talpukur, Barrackpore

Barrackpore was home to a number of significant members of the Indian independence movement, many of whom have memorials in the subdivision. Surendranath Banerjee, who was called the father of Indian Nationalist Movement, lived in Barrackpore. The house of Surendranath at Monirampur of Barrackpore has been converted into the Mahadevananda Mahavidyalaya and Netaji Subhas Open University. Bengali author Bharat Chandra Ray Gunakar, known for writing Annada Mangal in the medieval period, lived at Mulajore. Ramprasad Sen, who authored many religious songs, was born at Halisahar in this subdivision. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya, the author of India's national song "Vande Mataram", was born at Naihati, in Barrackpore subdivision. Shaurya Chakra (posthumous) awardee Captain Sekhar Ghosh was from Barrackpore.

The towns of Panihati and Khardaha are known 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 visitors included Sri Ram Krishna Paramahansa, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, and Mahatma Gandhi. The Gandhi Ghat is located on the east bank of the Hooghly; a Gandhi museum nearby has a rare collection of books and articles used by Gandhi.

Shambhunath Mandir, Barrackpore

The Sukanta Sadan theatre hall (named after the revolutionary poet Sukanta Bhattacharya) is located in the main town. There are many cinema halls in Barrackpore and its adjacent localities. The Sahid Mangal Pandey Udyan (Nishan Ghat) park facing the Ganges at Barrackpore is a crowdpuller.

Bengali festivals such as Durga Puja, and Kali puja are celebrated every year. There is a month-long fair each December–January (Bengali month of Poush) at the temple of the goddess Kali at Shyamnagar on the bank of the Ganges.

Kendriya Vidyalaya Barrackpore Army HQ

Barrackpore is home to numerous schools, colleges and Madrasahs. Barrakpore can be called the school hub for the surrounding towns having dozens of high-schools in a small area. Barrackpore Government High School, Ramakrishna Vivekananda Mission School, Barrackpore Girls' High School are among the high schools from Barrackpore. Among the colleges located in Barrackpore are Barrackpore Rastraguru Surendranath College and Mahadevananda Mahavidyalaya. The area also has two engineering colleges, St. Mary's Technical Campus Kolkata being affiliated to AICTE, several polytechnic institutes and an international boarding school, Adamas International School.

Barrackpore is the home to many primary and play schools like Swami Vivekananda Centre for Learning Barrackpore (earlier Naba Nalanda School estd. 1979), Kidzee, Path Bhaban, Little laureates as well as secondary schools such as- Assembly of Christ School, St. Augustine's Day School Barrackpore (established in 1985),Modern School (established in 1957),Assembly of Angels Secondary School, Douglas Memorial Higher Secondary School, Army Public School Barrackpore, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Titagarh Krishnanath Municipal High School E. T. C. Barrackpore Government High School is one of the oldest schools in West Bengal and the oldest school of Barrackpore. See also – List of West Bengal districts ranked by literacy rate

B.N. Bose Subdivisional Hospital, B.T. Road

Medical facilities available in Barrackpore are B.N. Bose Subdivisional Hospital (with 200 beds), Barrackpore Cantonment Hospital (with 48 beds), Barrackpore Police Case Hospital (with 6 beds) and Police Brigade Hospital (with 120 beds).[26] Amongst the private medical facilities are Sarada Seva Sadan, Panacea Nursing Home, Nehru Memorial Techno Global Hospital, Barrackpore City Hospital, Barrackpore Medical Research Center, Disha Eye Hospital and Disha Cataract and Refractive Surgi Centre, Prova Eye Foundation.[27]

Disha Eye Hospitals, Ghosh Para Road

• Barrackpore I CD Block
• Barrackpore II CD Block
• Barrackpore, Trinidad and Tobago
• Barrackpore Mutiny of 1824
• Mangal Pandey#Indian Rebellion of 1857

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Barrackpur.

Media related to Barrackpore at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website
• Kolkata/Northern fringes travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Barrackpore travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Barrackpore at the Encyclopædia Britannica