Brief History of Dakshin Dinajpur & Tourist Accomodations

HISTORY OF DAKSHIN DINAJPUR
                                                                                                                                                
 (Suman Ghosh)

It was August 1947. We got freedom at the cost of partition. Bengal was divided and so was the district, Dinajpur. Two third of the district was included in Pakistan (modern Bangladesh) and one third was attached with India and was named West Dinajpur. On first April 1992, it was further subdivided into Uttar (North) Dinajpur and Dakshin (South) Dinajpur. Though it is relatively a new district by name but its history dates back some 2000 years ago. Dakshin Dinajpur has several reasons to boast of its rich mythological , historical, archaeological, religious, cultural and natural heritages. The glory of Buddhism and Jainism, the gleaming history of the rule of Mauryas, Guptas, Palas, Senas, the eventful reign of the muslim invaders, the active participation in the national movement and the struggle for freedom made the history of the district very prosperous.

In ancient times the major portion of the undivided Dinajpur was a part of Pundra Kingdom. The natives of the Pundra Kingdom were identified as Pundras. There were two types of beliefs about the origin of the state of Pundras. One was derived from Aitareya Brahmana and the other from the first chapter of Mahabharata and Haribangsha. Pundrabardhan (present Mahasthangar), the capital of the Pundra kingdom is still present as archaeological ruins in the western bank of Korotoa river in Bagura district in present Bangladesh. There were also two other towns of Pundra – Gourpur and Kotibarsha. Presently Bangarh situated beside Punarbhaba river in Gangarampur was once known as Kotibarsha. From time to time the name Kotibarsha transformed into Kotikpur, Devigarh, Devikot and Devakot during the reign of Mauryas, Guptas, Palas and Muslims respectively. But in the course of time the name of Bangarh after the name of king Bana has outshined all the names and is still prevalent. According to the mythological tales Kotibarsha came under the rule of the king Birat after the defeat and assassination of king Bana by Lord Krishna. The capital of Birat is presently known as Bairhatta in Harirampur.

In 4^th century B.C. with the establishment of Mauryan empire Jainism spread in a large scale in Dinajpur district. According to Brihat Katha-Kosh of Harisena , Chandra Gupta Maurya the founder of the Mauryan empire adopted Jainism and his Jain guru, Bhadrabahu was born in Kotikpur, i.e., in Gangarampur. The archaeological excavations at Bangarh and the inscriptions found from different parts of Dinajpur proves the fact that the district along with the whole Pundrabardhana was a part of the Mauryan empire.

Gradually in the course of time this district was crowned with the glory of the Gupta rule. The discovery of a number of inscriptions of the Gupta period with the district bears ample testimony to the sway of the Guptas over Pundrabardhana. Copper plate inscriptions found herein offer valuable information about certain aspects of the administration of the country during the reign of the Gupta kings. The inscriptions reveal an efficient and methodical administration during this period and the use of gold and silver coins testifies the prosperity of the country. The Gupta reign continued till the middle of the 6^th century A.D.

After the Gupta reign came the Pala dynasty founded by Gopala who ruled for about 20 years (750 -770). The district saw a splendid period of the Palas. Many places, ponds etc  are named after the Pala rulers. Mahipal pool situated in Kushmandi block was named after Mahipal II who dug this pool. The Pala Empire can be considered as the Golden Era of Bengal. The people of Bengal never reached such height of power and glory to that extent. The empire reached its peak under Dharmapala and Devpala. Dharmapala extended his empire into northern parts of Indian subcontinent and Devpala, successor of Dharmapala expanded the empire to cover much of  south Asia and beyond. The Palas patronized Mahayana Buddhism but never deprived people professing other religions.  The dynasty ruled for about four hundred years and came to an end with the defeat of Madan Pala (1143 – 1162) by Vijay Sen of the Sen dynasty.

The Sena empire was a Hindu dynasty that ruled from Bengal through the 11^th and 12th centuries. However the Senas ruled over North Bengal for a short span of time. Vijay Sen, Ballal Sen, Lakshman Sen were the Sen rulers who ruled in the 12^th century A.D.

At the beginning of the thirteenth century, i.e., in 1204, a Turkish General, Ikhtiyar Uddin Muhammad Bin Bakhtiyar Khilji attacked Nabadwip in Bengal with only eighteen soldiers who were mistaken with horse traders and defeated Lakshman Sen. Lakshman Sen managed to escape. Even after conquering Nadia the centre of power was in Devakot (modern Gangarampur). He established his capital at Devakot and from here conducted the famous Tibet March in 1206 with ten thousand soldiers. The Tibet expedition ended in a complete failure and he was assassinated by Ali Mardan Khilji  while he was lying ill at Devakot on his return from Tibet. Muhammad Shiran Khilji (one of the officers of Bakhtiyar Khilji) defeated Ali Mardan and imprisoned him and was elected as the ruler of Lakhnawati. Later on the capital was transferred from Devakot  to the historic city of Pandua first and then to Gour. The history of this period is a sickening record of internal dissensions, usurpations and murders.

Madnawati, situated in the northern part of Bamangola of present Maldah was once in Dinajpur district. At the commencement of British rule an indigo factory was constructed here. William Carey, the famous English Baptist missionary known as the father of modern missions joined here as a manager of the factory. He was a social reformer. He involved himself in many social activities. He worked for the development and spread of education. He opened a school. In 1798 he bought a printing machine from Kolkata to print books in Bengali. But the indigo factory closed down in 1799. In the same year he bought another factory in Khidirpur village in Buniadpur and settled there. Here he printed parts of Bible in Bengali. To the utter surprise of the villagers they found him printing books in Bengali. However his stay in Khidirpur was not long lasting. On 25^th December 1799 he came to Sreerampore with the active cooperation of Mr. Ward and Mr. Marshman and engaged himself in works with larger vision. Carey opened the eyes of the Indian world to the beauty and to the literary possibilities of pure Bengali as it existed on the life of the people. He is rightly regarded as one of the creators of modern Bengali prose. The remains of the indigo factory in Khidirpur village can still be seen.

The British East India Company acquired the Diwani of Bengal in 1765 and consequently the district came under their control. This district played a leading  and especially a militant role during the independence movement against the British imperialism. With the announcement of the partition of Bengal  in 1905, a lot of agitation and rebellion was seen in all of Bengal including the Dinajpur district.  Branches of revolutionary organizations like Brati Samiti, Anushilan Samiti opened in various places within the district. The well known revolutionary, Purna Chandra Das was arrested by the police in Dinajpur district in 1924. The Swarajya Party, in accordance with its avowed object, succeeded in capturing the seats in Balurghat and Dinajpur Local Boards. In 1928 there was a hartal in Dinajpur in protest against the Simon Commission. In 1930 hartals and picketings were resorted to by the people of Dinajpur in protest against Gandhiji’s arrest. Dinajpur was a troubled district according to the Government’s reports. During the months of June and July, 1932, under the leadership of Swarajya Party, the Santhals at Akchha in Gangarampur stopped paying rents, chowkidari taxes etc. As a result they came into direct clash with the police. On 28^thOctober 1933, the railway station of Hili was raided by a group of young men dressed in military uniform. The station staff offered strong resistance and there was an exchange of fire. As a result the night guard of the railway station sustained serious injury and died in the hospital. The raiders who belong to the Anushilan Samiti hoisted the national flag on the station building and decamped with a large amount of money. However all the men who were involved in the raid were finally arrested and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment including transportation for life. During the 1942 - Quit India Movement, the people of Balurghat acted in a noteworthy manner. On 13^th September night about eight thousand people from the rural areas assembled at Dangighat on the western bank of the river Atreyee. Under the leadership of local congress leader, Saroj Ranjan Chatterjee, they formed a procession in the next morning and proceeded to Balurghat and besieged the town. They damaged raided and set fire to the important Government offices and buildings. Atlast the movement was suppressed by strong hands and there were large scale arrests.

           
         ACCOMMODATION FACILITIES FOR THE TOURISTS AT  DAKSHIN DINAJPUR

NAME :         KALDIGHI TOURIST LODGE

LOCATION :     KALDIGHI, RAJIBPUR NEAR   

                       GANGARAMPUR

HOW 

TO REACH :     JUST 4 KM AWAY FROM 

                       GANGARAMPUR RAILWAY  

                       STATION AND WALKING  

                       DISTANCE FROM KALDIGHI 

                       BUS STOP. AFTER ARRIVAL AT 

                       GANGARAMPUR STATION HIRE A 

                       RIKSHA OR AN AUTO OR A CAR  

                       TO REACH.  

NO. OF ROOMS:   6   (ALL ARE A.C. ROOMS)

ROOM RENT :      1  SINGLE BED ROOM                      -- Rs 600/-

                       2 DOUBLE BED ROOMS                     -- Rs 1000

                       1 DOUBLE BED ROOM                        -- Rs 1200/-

                       2 DORMITORIES (4 BEDS EACH)        -- Rs 1200/-

Accommodation facility for drivers is available at nominal cost.

PROCESS OF BOOKING:        FOR     ADVANCE    BOOKING    JUST DIAL       +919593960531

NEARBY TOURIST SPOTS :    BANGARH,  FOUR PILLARS, SHRINE OF ATA SHAH,  DHAL DIGHI, 

                                               TOMB OF BAKHTIYAR KHILJI,  ANCIENT SHIVA TEMPLE,  RAJIBPUR 

                                               CATHOLIC CHURCH.

NAME             :     PWD INSPECTION BUNGALOW

LOCATION      :    On the bank of Tangon at    
                            BANSIHARI, BUNIADPUR

HOW 

TO REACH       :     JUST A FEW KMS AWAY FROM 

                              BUNIADPUR RAILWAY

                              STATION AND WALKING  

                             DISTANCE FROM TANGON         
                  BRIDGE BUS STOP. AFTER                    ARRIVAL AT BUNIADPUR STATION  HIRE A RICKSHAW OR AN AUTO OR A CAR  

                       TO REACH.  

                                             

BLISS :          TANGON RIVER CRUISE ON A  COUNTRY BOAT.

BOOKING PROCESS : 

AYRA FOREST REST HOUSE situated at Ayra Forest in Kushmundi Block. It is a Two Bedroom Cottage with attached bathroom inside the premises of range office of Kushmundi.

Special permission should be taken from ADFO, Dakshin Dinajpur, Raiganj Division for night stay or whole day resting.