Pratapaditya prepared himself to fight a second time from a new base near the confluence of Kagarghat canal and the Jamuna. He made a big fort at a strategic point and gathered all his available forces there. The Mughals began the battle by an attack on the Jessore fleet (Jan 1612) and compelled it to seek shelter beneath the fort. But their further advance was checked by the heavy cannonade of the Jessore artillery. A sudden attack of the Mughals completely defeated the Jessore fleet and they fell upon the fort with the elephants in front, thereby compelling Pratapaditya to evacuate the fort and retreat.
After the defeat of the Afghan rulers of
Pratapnagar is a village in southwest part of Bangladesh near Sundarban in Assasuni Thana, Satkhira,
Legend
Jeshoreshwari is regarded as one of the 51 Peeth of Sati; according to the belief, it is where the various parts of Sati's body are said to have fallen, in the course of Shiva's Rudra Tandava. Jeshoreshwari represents the site where the palm of Sati fell. Legend says that the General of Raja Pratapaditya discovered a luminant ray of light coming from the bushes, and came upon a piece of stone carved in the form of a human palm. Later, Raja Pratapaditya started worshiping Kali, building the
It is believed to have created by a Brahman named Anari. He created a 100 door temple for the Jeshoreshwari Peeth. But the timeline is not to be known. Later it has been renovated by Laxman Sen and Raja Pratapaditya in their reigning periods.
The temple is visited by pilgrims from all over, irrespective of sectarian differences. Worship is done by the priest every Saturday and Tuesday at
Island at the estuary of the Hariabhanga is notable places.
During British Raj
The territory of Greater 24 Parganas were under the Satgaon (ancient Saptagram, now in Hoogly district) administration during the Mughal era and later it was included in Hoogly chakla (district under post-Mughal Nawabi rule) during the rule of Murshid Quli Khan. In 1757, after the Battle of Plassey, Nawab Mir Jafarconfer the Zamindari of 24 parganas and janglimahals (small administrative units) to the British East India Company. These were Amirpur, Akbarpur, Balia, Birati, Azimabad, Basandhari, Baridhati, Bagjola, Kalikata, Garh, Hatiagarh, Islampur ,Dakshin Sagar, Kharijuri, Khaspur, Ikhtiarpur, Madhyamgram, Magura, Medanmalla, Maida, Manpur, Muragachha, Pechakuli, Paikan, Rajarhat ,Shahpur, Shahnagar, Satal and Uttar Pargana. Since then, this entire territory is known as Twenty Four Parganas.
In 1751, the Company assigned John Zephaniah Holwell as Zamindar of the District. In 1759, after the Bengali War of 1756-57, the Company assigned it to Lord Clive as a personal Jaghir (zamindari) and after his death it again came under the direct authority of the Company. In 1793, during the rule of Lord Cornwallis, entireSunderbans were in Twentyfour Parganas. In 1802, some parganas on the western banks of river Hoogly were included into it. These parganas were in Nadiaearlier. In 1814, a separate collectorate was established in Twentyfour Parganas. In 1817, Falta and Baranagar and in 1820, some potions of Nadia’s Balanda and Anwarpur were encompassed to it. In 1824, portions of Barasat, Khulna and Bakhargunge (now in
Nadia
Krishnanagar is the most important town of this district, as this is district headquarters of Nadia. Krishnanagar is on the bank of river Jalangi. Krishnanagar is named after Raja Krishna Chandra Rai (1728 – 1782). The Rajbari (Palace) built here during the reign of Zamindar (under British) Krishna Chandra Rai is a prominent place of tourist attraction though the remnants of the past glory have been eroded and only a dilapidated structure of the exquisite places with carving on its inner walls exists today. This place is shared by people from Hindu, Muslim & Christian religion. Apart from hindu temples there are also Christian & Muslim shrines. The Christian Missionaries attached much importance to Krishnanagar. The
This is town is situated almost 100 KMs away from Kolkata and older than Kolkata. Famous for clay modelling, potteries, sweets. The origin of famous clay models of Krishnanagar is Ghurni. The clay model artists of Ghurni have won international repute and fame for their excellence in clay modelling.
Krishnanagar was the birth place of the noted Poet, Composer and Playwright Shri. Dwijendra Lal Roy (1863 – 1913) whose contribution to Bengali Literature needs no mention. The town is also known for famous poets/ authors like Bharatchandra, Dr. Sudhir Chakraborty, Dr. Khsudiram Das and actors like Saumitra Chattopadhyay.
Middle Ages
In the middle of 16th century, Portuguese pirates began to invade and plunder many of the waterways and prosperous human settlements in the lower delta region. People started to run off these places in fear of being murdered, raped or captured to be sold as slaves. The Basirhat sub-division of North 24 Parganas suffered these torments.
Pratapaditya, a Bhuian king (one of the 12 feudal lords of Bengal who declared their sovereignty from theMughal Empire) of Jessore, Khulna, Barisal and Greater 24 Parganas, fought and resisted the Portuguese in the early years of 17th Century. When he was defeated by the Mughals, Lakshmikanta Majumdar (Ganguly) of Barisha, a sub-ordinate of the king, won the favor of fortune. While establishing the famous
Ancient
The district was not a part of Shashanka’s unified Bengali empire known as Gauda, but it is assumed that the district which was the south-west frontier territory of ancient
Chandraketugarh
Chandraketugarh is located in the dynamic alluvial delta of the mighty
Discovery
There are two formidable difficulties facing the scholars studying Chandraketugarh. First, the relatively small scale of excavation at Chandraketugarh (by
History
Due to the inconsistencies in the ASI Review reports and lack of crucial data it is extremely difficult to draw a comprehensive and reliable stratigraphical picture of the site. Enamul Haque has presented an occupational sequence by studying the ASI Review reports and allowing for marginal adjustments. Let me reproduce it:
Period I | Pre-Maurya, 600-300 B.C. |
Period II | Maurya, 300-200 B.C. |
Period III | Sunga, 200 B.C. - 50 A.D. |
Period IV | Kushan, 50-300 A.D. |
Period V | Gupta, 300-500 A.D. |
Period VI | Post-Gupta, 500-750 A.D. |
Period VII | Pala-Chandra-Sena, 750-1250 A.D. |
Chandraketugarh excels in the beauty of its terracotta art. Even a cursory glance at one of its hundreds of terracotta plaques will astonish the viewer with its elegance and unusual precision of craftsmanship. For their artistic values these plaques are easily comparable to, if not surpassing, those found from relatively better known sites such as Kaushambi and Ahichhatra. In fact, terracotta plaques from these sites often carry similar motifs executed in nearly identical fashion. This points to an established communication link and common cultural heritage among these sites.
A large number of silver punch-marked coins and a few gold coins have been unearthed from Chandraketugarh. A gold coin of Chandragupta-Kumardevi deserves special mention. A large number of semi-precious stone beads, materials of ivory and bone were also unearthed from here. Even a few wooden objects of remarkable sculpting have survived.
Chandraketugarh or Khana-Mihirer Dhipi?
There is a fascinating place near Kolkata (West Bengal, India) where a bustling town from the days of Emperor Asoka is buried under the present day ricefields and village cottages. If you go there, you won't see much at first. But look down on the ground you're walking on, and you'll see something unusual. The ground appears strewn with a variety of potsherds. In fact, whenever the ground of Chandraketugarh is dug to build a house or to dig a pond, a variety of elegant and sophisticated artifacts is routinely unearthed.
All available information points to a mature civilization centered around a busy port, which started flourishing in this area more than 2000 years ago. Indeed, it is thought to belong to the kingdom of a "mighty ruler" of whom Alexander the Great was familiar. Plutarch wrote about a powerful tribe called "Gangaridae" living near a prosperous port "Gange" in the Gangetic delta. From geographical description the Chandraketugarh area can be linked to this port.
The inhabitants of Chandraketugarh achieved spectacular artistic refinement and created artifacts of exquisite beauty. Influence of foreign art raises intriguing questions. The numerous materials collected from this site point to a rich cultural and social life. Why did it vanish without a trace? We embark upon a journey to learn more, especially through the terracotta art of Chandraketugarh.
Buried under these mounds are the fortified ramparts of an ancient community -- the fort of King Chandraketu. The cyclist is unknowingly passing through what used to be one of its main entrances. The mound on the right is now called the "burz", and probably used to be a sentry tower. Archeologists have excavated numerous items dating back to the 3rd Century BC (the Pre-Mauryan Era in
Unfortunately, we don't know a whole lot either. There is no written record of this civilization. More mysterious is the fact that it vanished leaving no social memory in the surrounding area other than some local mythologies. Yet, there is no doubt that the civilization reached a very high level of sophistication (not possible in a short span of time) evidenced by the enormous amount of artifacts it is still routinely generating.
Khana-Mihirer Dhipi (The Mound of Khana-Mihir)
There are the ruins of a massive temple structure. Locally called the Khana-Mihirer Dhipi or the mound of Khana-Mihir, it has survived for almost a millenium in the form of another deserted mound. An excavation in the 1950s uncovered the structure.
No one knows for sure how or when the names of Khana and Varahamihir came to be associated with it. Barahamihir was one of the nine jewels in the court the famous Indian emperor Vikramaditya (also known as Chandragupta-II). Khana was his daughter-in-law. The ruins are now conjectured to belong to a Vishnu temple from the Gupta period. Who built the temple? Did it simply decay because of neglect or was it destroyed? We don't know. However, the temple complex was likely inside the fortification that we see at Chandraketugarh. It is believed that Varahamihir was from this region and this astronomer may have his observatory at this mound.
Pushing Bengal's history back
In a fascinating discovery that may lead to a re-writing of the history of civilisation in West Bengal, a team of archaeologists stumbled upon traces of an ancient civilisation in the state dating back to the pre-historic period of nearly 10,000 years or so following discovery of stone tools, knives and needle-like “microliths” from a village in Murshidabad district.“Only a small part has so far been excavated, leading to the unearthing of about 200 small stone tools, knives and needle-like microliths. Preliminary investigations reveal that pre- historic tools are believed to be scattered over 4-5 sq km area, at least two to three metres under the top soil,” Amal Roy, Superintendent of West Bengal Archaelogy Department, said.
Roy, who personally led the excavation team at Haatpara village in Sagardighi block of the district, stressed that the department would like to dig up stretches in close vicinity to look for additional pre-historic finds.
Claiming that the discovery has thrown a new light on the existence of an ancient civilisation in this part of eastern India, Roy said carbon-dating tests carried out on the recovered stone tools, agate, quartz, chert and chalcedony suggest that they were probably used by a community which was engaged in producing hunting tools for their livelihood in the pre-historic period.
He believed the, “recovery of so many stone sharpeners by the excavators indicate presence of stone tool manufacturing community in the region.” Interestingly, some fossilised fish fins and seeds found during excavation, are believed to be spread over a 1,000 sq metre area on cultivable land along Santhalpara under the same block.
“We carried out a carbon-dating tests of some fossilised fish fins and concluded that roasted fish formed a part of the primitive people’s diet, Roy said. “A thorough examination of the finds reveal they date beyond Holocene period (more than 10,000 years).” According to Roy, the state archaeology department has been pursuing some “leads” for nearly a couple of years. “In fact, when we first encountered the mounds of earth in the region, we knew the area is rich and could yield startling finds. The discovery only confirmed our guesswork,” he said with a smile. The first two to three metres of digging through the “yellowish top soil” started yielding the results.
The initial excavation( for about a fortnight or so ) yielded fine quality ceramics and decorated bricks of the Sultanate period, besides terracotta and bangles of the medieval period. Further digging (to a depth of 2-3 metres) led to the deposit of older alluvium soil of the Pleistocene period (about 1.8 million years-old).
“We’re sure we’ve hit a treasure trove as the stone tools were found underneath that soil,” Roy said. In the top 70 cm lay the tools that have been identified as belonging to nearly 10,000 years before the present era. The deposit pattern in the area, Roy said, is also indicative of the hitherto unknown information of primitive life in this part of the country.
The state archeology directorate had earlier excavated a few such stone implements at Birhanpur in Murshidabad district in 1954 and 1957 which were found to be not more than 8,000 years old. Eminent archaeologist B B Lal of the Archaeological Survey of India helped the state archaeologists in the excavation at Birhanpur.
An archaeological mission that had nearly ended in disappointment when the excavated remains turned out to be “a new construction with old bricks” has sprung back to life with the discovery of a second layer of ruins, possibly the largest in Bengal. “The first layer was a red herring. This is the real thing, maybe dating back to the sixth century and older than what we had hoped to find when we began the mission,” Gautam Sengupta, the state director of archaeology and museums, said of the find. If validated by historians, the Murshidabad ruins will be a valuable addition to other archaeological remnants in Bengal from the pre-Pala era. “We hadn’t found a mound of remains so large in Bengal before. So, we presume the pre-Pala settlement beneath will be really large and remarkable,” Sengupta said. The site of the excavation is a schoolteacher’s plot in Deka-Bichkandi village, under Kandi subdivision of the district. The archaeology department had last month announced the excavation of the remains of a pre-eighth century structure, thought to be a stupa, but soon revised their opinion. “We were stumped when the wall we were excavating ended and we couldn’t find any adjoining structures,” said Amal Roy, the superintendent of the archaeology team camping at Deka-Bichkandi. But as the team continued digging in the hope of finding the missing link, a second layer of bricks emerged along with stucco figures that suggested they were onto something more interesting than they had hoped for. “We realised that the real structure was below 2.5 metres and lower. That is from where bricks and stucco had been torn, levelled and reused for the later-day structure above,” Roy said. Based on the available evidence, archaeologists are convinced that what lies beneath the top layer is a pre-Pala settlement with a row of houses. Roy said he was “pretty sure” about the find this time. “The oversized tiled bricks (measuring 39x27x7 inches) suggest that this was a very special structure.” The list of excavated items include several terracotta lamps, fragments of copper and iron, terracotta beads, balls and bowls and decorative pieces on stucco. “Almost 90 per cent of the terracotta items are red ware. The main finds are a lump of terracotta bearing a seal impression and a face carving. The seal is unfortunately only partially visible and the writing is almost illegible, but the stucco head — half a face with one eye and a nose — is a revealing piece,” Sengupta said. According to the team in Deka, residents who had used a part of the field as a football and cricket ground before the excavations began might have unwittingly destroyed several artefacts. The nearest historical sites are Karna Suvarna in Chiruti village, where there are three mounds and the remains of a monastery, and Panchstupi. All these sites are under the Archaeological Survey of India. “There is no denying that we have chanced upon another important discovery. Although more conclusive evidence is required to establish the chronology, we do not rule out a pre-Pala date for the site. There is evidence of extensive structural activity and the size of the bricks, the use of stucco and plaster indicate an early date,” Sengupta said.
Two of the greatest finds recently from the site at Dhosa and Tilpi in Joynagar, around 50 km away, are a seal and a brick with Brahmi inscriptions. Gautam Sengupta, Bengal’s director of archaeology and museums, said it is “too early” to say anything specific “but that such items have survived the salinity of the Sunderbans region is amazing”. The finds throw open an array of speculation. “It is obvious that in the 1st and 2nd century BC a highly evolved culture existed here. We have found pieces of glazed pottery that indicate they had a firing technique even we find hard to emulate,” Sengupta said. Altogether 8 hearths measuring about 50cm by 80cm cross-section and 80cm high have been unearthed. Also small crucibles used for melting metals were found. A large clay jar, fixed to the ground, probably used for storing water was found near the hearths. Apart from the structure unearthed at Dhosa a number of interesting artifacts have been found from these sites. They range from parts of statues to copper coins and from decorated seals to pieces of glazed pottery. A shortlist is provided below:
Dhosa and Tilpi are the latest additions in the archeological map of West Bengal. Excavation started there in January 2006 and yielded treasures far beyond the expectations of archeologists and historians. Although excavation has temporarily stopped because of the monsoon, it is all set to start in December 2006 and historians are looking forward for more treasures to be unearthed.
The famous Chinese traveler Fa Hien reported of a highly evolved Buddhist civilization that flourished in the Gangetic Bengal. The concentric square structure unearthed at Dhosa seemed to be the remains of a Bhuddist Stupa, one of the 22 reported by Fa Hien. It probably belongs to the Gupta period, dating back to the 2nd and 1st century BC. The findings at Dhosa are probably the first concrete evidence of popularity of Buddhism in lower Bengal. Archeologists also opine that the visible structure unearthed at Dhosa was built on another pre-existing structure.
· Buddha head and a male torso, with typical features of early Gupta period.
· Two terracotta plaques dating back to the early Sunga & Kushan Period. One plaque is particularly beautiful and interesting. It shows a plate of grain on a raised platform. On one side of this platform is a seated figure playing a harp and on the other are dancing women and a few monkeys. The fact that the figure’s feet rest on a stool suggests he was a royalty. Probably the plaque narrates the image of early harvesting festival, but historians are still not quiet sure.
· A seal and a brick with Brahmi inscription. This shows that it was a literate society.
· Copper ore, iron slag, punched-marked and cast copper coin, etc. have been found; this suggests that the society knew the use of currency. Also evidences show that Dhosa and Tilpi, like Chandraketugarh, were advanced urban centers of lower
Bangabhumi in light of 1947 A.D, Partition & Independence of Bengal (as part of India & Islamic Bangladesh)
In the above scenario this core region of Bengal from Gaur/Pandua (Pundravardhan) i.e, Maldah/Murshidabad and River Padma in north to Sundarbans & Bay of Bengal in south and Bhagirathi (River Ganga) with Kolkata on its bank in west to River Meghna in east, this ancient land got divided and Hindus were majority till 1947 (when Bangladeshi Jessore-Khulna Division or the eastern part was also 52% Hindu majority but wrongly given to Muslims). After 1971 freedom of Islamic Bangladesh from Colonial Pakistan with Indian help instead of friendship, traitor Bangladeshis started sending millions of Muslims from their lands to occupy West Bengal and entire east India in view of gaining land and Islamizing this region. Besides through systematic torture and genocides the Hindus in the eastern Bangladeshi part got reduced to only 16% (total only 9% in entire Bangladesh) of this area!
Hindu Republic
Hindu Republic of Bangabhumi was proclaimed in 2003 in Kolkata with the formation of the provisional government and the Supreme Council and the threat of armed struggle inside
Bangabhumi also known as Bir Bango (Brave Bengal) is a proposed Hindu republic in southwestern Bangladeshenvisioned by many separatist groups, such as the Swadhin Bangabhumi Andolan and the Banga Sena. The movement was founded in 1973 in
Hindus made up 30% of the total population of East Bengal in 1947. However, after the partition, the Hindu population went down to 19% in 1961. On 1998, it was down to 16% and on 2002 it was 9%.Therefore, starting from 1998, within four years, the Hindu population decreased 6%. On the other hand, the minority population in the neighbouring West Bengal has increased from 9% in 1947 (after some Muslims left) to thriving 35% in 2001. In addition, a new amendment in the citizenship law of India India Pakistan India
Ziaur Rahman amended the Enemy (Vested) Property Act giving the government the sole power to control the disputed lands of the minorities. As a result of the amendments, the government started to capture the lands of the minorities by the name of hunting down the enemy properties.
People like Dr. Humayun Azad and Taslima Nasrin talked about the rights of Hindus in Bangladesh
Conflicts
Even though no violence has so far been reported committed by these groups, Bangladeshi government is concerned by this movement and accuses India of funding separatist groups. Bangladesh also wants to halt the activities of at least five groups, Banga Sena led by Kalidas Baidya, Bir Banga Hindu Prajatantra (Hindu Republic of Strong Bengal) led by Shakti Sen, Bangladesh Udbastu Unnayan Parishad led by Bimal Majumder, Bangladesh Udbastu Mancha led by Upen Biswas and Bir Banga Sena founded by Chitaranjan Sutar.Bangladesh Bangladesh
Police up against new "Hindu Army" in Assam
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1171979,000900030004.htm
According to sources, the outfit was recently floated to protect the rights of the Bengali Hindus in the North-east. The organisation, however, is based in Manipur, say police sources.
According to Karimganj superintendent of police Sanjib Shekhar Roy, the police recently nabbed one KrishnaDey, an HA cadre, from Ambari in the district. A firearm was also recovered from the insurgent, he said. Police sources further said that Dey had come to Karimganj, his native place, from Manipur to carry out subversive activities.
Dey's interrogation has revealed that the HA had a cadre strength of about 140 people who had undergone training in jungle warfare in Manipur with the help of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN). He, however, refused to divulge the name of the faction of the NSCN that was supporting the Hindu Army.
An armed unit of the HA under the leadership of a self-styled commanding officer had set up a camp at Jirighatin Cachar bordering Manipur and also established a network in several lower Assam districts, Dey is reported to have said.
The flag of the proposed Bangabhumi state comprises of one third green color and two third of saffron color. In the middle of the saffron part is a white disc symbolizing the sun. I guess the similarity to the Bangladeshi flag is intentional. Although the meaning is not explained, one can assume the green part would represent the Muslim minority in otherwise Hindu state, something like the Pakistani flag does with
their minorities. The National Emblem is depicted by the green circle in another, saffron colored circle with word "Shri" (symbol of beauty and prosperity) written in the saffron circle. The National Anthem is a song of poet Dijendra Lal Roy: "Dhana Dhanye Pushpe Bhara, Arnader Ei Basundhara" ("This land of ours filled with crops and flowers").
Reference
* Jeshore Khulnar Itihash by Satish Chandra Mitra.
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