State: West Bengal

District: West Bengal

Main languages: Bengali

 

History:

 

The city of Murshidabad is located on the southern bank of the Bhagirathi, a tributary of the Ganges River, and was also known as Mushidabad or Moorsheedabad. The city was earlier a district of British India, in the Presidency division of Bengal and its administrative headquarters of the district are at Berhampur. Murshidabad is on the left bank of the Bhagirathi and was the latest capital of Bengal before British era. In 1704 the Nawab Murshid Quli Khan had made changes in the seat of government from Dacca to Maksudabad and the city had also been named after him. Jagat Seth and their successors maintained their position as state bankers at Murshidabad from generation to generation. The conquests of Bengal, by the British, also lead to Murshidabad continuing to be the seat of administration for sometime. However Warren Hastings shifted the supreme civil and criminal courts to Calcutta in 1772, but in 1775 the latter court was brought back to Murshidabad. In 1790 Lord Cornwallis shifted the entire revenue and judicial staffs were fixed at Calcutta. The town remains to be the residence of the Nawab and he still ranks as the first nobleman of the province as Nawab Bahadur of Murshidabad, instead of Nawab Nazim of Bengal. The city has excavations from various eras, like the Gupta, Maurya, Pala, Gouda and Mughal eras also.

 

Geography:

 

The district of Murshidabad is divided into two nearly equal portions by the Bhagirathi, the ancient channel of the Ganges. Towards the west the tract is known as the Rarh and it mainly consists of hard clay and nodular limestone and the general level is high. But this area is interspersed with marshes and seamed by hill torrents. The eastern half or Bagri region is dominated by alluvial plains of eastern Bengal and there are few permanent swamps. This area is basically low-lying, and liable to annual inundation. There are some small detached hillocks in the North West which are said to be of basaltic formation. The town is known for its production of exotic mango and litchi.

 

Climate:

 

The climate of the city is mainly tropical with warm summers and cool winters. The temperatures during the winter months dip to almost 6 degrees and there is also light rainfall at times. The monsoons arrive during June and July and are the major water provider to the crops here.

 

Demography:

 

As per the 2001 India census, Murshidabad had a population of 36,894 and had an average literacy rate of 66%.

 

Economy:

 

The city has been of vital industrial importance and some of the major industries here are those of silk, which had been formerly of much importance, and has been revived with government assistance. Production of exotic mango and litchi are famous in the city and there are various other kinds of trade and commerce developing in the area also like carving in ivory, gold and silver embroidery and silk-weaving.

 

Tourism:

 

The Murshidabad palace made in 1837 is a magnificent building in Italian style and remains to be a popular tourist destination. The influence of the Islamic culture can still be seen here with many other palaces, mosques, tombs, and gardens. The Hazarduari Palace is also known as the palace with a thousand doors and is the chief tourist attraction of Murshidabad. There is also a library here along with various other attractive carvings and monuments. 

 

Transportation: 

 

The nearest airport from the city is the Kolkata airport, which is an international airport. Most of the major trains stop at this junction and the well connected roads make the city accessible to other parts of the country.

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