History in Barrackpore

Barrackpore is in the state of West Bengal. The town was a military and administrative center under British rule, and was the scene of several acts of rebellion against Britain during the 19th century. **Barrackpur - Heritage and culture** Barrackpore was home to a number of significant members of the Indian independence movement, many of whom have memorials. A Gandhi museum nearby has rare collection of books, articles used by Gandhi. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya, the author of India's national song Vande Mataram, was born at Naihati, in Barrackpore subdivision. Vande Mataram is credited to him. The subdivision is inhabited by people from a broad range of cultures, with people of various religions, customs, castes and states living together. Mandirs, Masjids, Gurdwara, ashrams and churches coexist there. The Durga puja a festival held annually in the autumn, is the major festival in the area. There is a monthlong fair in December-January(Bengali month of Pousha) at the temple of goddess Kali at Shyamnagar on the bank of Ganges. The towns of Panihati and Khardaha are famous 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 on these places were further enriched with presence of Sri Ram Krishna Paramahansa, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, and Mahatma Gandhi.

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 A.D. By the 15th and 16th century, Chanak and the other towns in the region became populous river towns. From the 1600s, the area was ruled over by a line of Zamindars from the Nona Chandanpukur, Barrackpore family. The old 'Sarkar Bari', a large brick red brick house with ramparts which was the home of the zamindars, is still standing in Barrackpore.

Barrackpore is located in the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta region in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal state. The city is about 23 kms from Kolkata (previously Calcutta), and 115 kms from the border with Bangladesh. The city is on the eastern bank of the river Ganges. Barrackpore has also traditionally had a strong small scale cottage industry and handicraft sector. Agriculture is the main base of the subdivision's economy, with a variety of crops being produced. Floriculture, pisciculture and horticulture have also flourished to a large extent. Barrackpore is well connected by road rail and air.