History in Bardhaman

Bardhaman (Burdwan) is a city of West Bengal state in eastern India. Bardhaman has been a district capital since the time of Mughals. Later on it became a district headquarters of British India. Bardhaman is located at 23.25° N 87.85° E and has an average elevation of 40 metres (131 feet). The city is well connected by road and rail. The chief rivers are the Damodar and Banka nala. Burdwan is an anglicised version of the Sanskrit Vardhamana and the corresponding Bôrdhoman in Bengali. The origin of this name dates back to sixth century and is ascribed to Vardhamanswami or Mahavira, the twenty-fourth Jain Tirthankar, who spent some time in Astikagrama, according to the Jain scripture of Kalpasutra. This place was renamed as Vardhamana in his honour. A second view holds the literal meaning of the name, a prosperous and growing centre, to argue that this place represented a frontier colony of the progress of aryanisation through the upper Ganges River Valley. However, the Aryans failed to proceed further east. So, the name was retained. The first epigraphic reference to the name of this place occurs in a 6th century AD copper-plate found in Mallasarul village.

Bardhaman has a multi-cultural heritage. The deuls are reminiscent of Buddhist architecture. The various mosques and tombs are of the Muslim culture. The old temples bear signs of Hinduism, mostly belonging to the Sakta and Vaishnava community. The famous Sufi Pir Baharam's tomb is here. Burdwan witnessed, experienced and survived numerous violent conflicts, mainly due to Mughal, Pashtun and Maratha invaders. The tombs of Sher Afghan and Kutub-ud-din lying side by side in this township relate to the celebrated love-story of Mihr-ul-Nissa and the Mughal emperor Jahangir. 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.