Rajnagar, Birbhum

Infobox Indian Jurisdiction
native_name = Rajnagar| type = city | latd = 23.95 | longd = 87.32
locator_position = right | state_name = West Bengal
district = Birbhum
leader_title =
leader_name =
altitude = 101
population_as_of = 2001
population_total = 69,698| population_density =
area_magnitude= km²
area_total =
area_telephone = 91 3462
postal_code = 731 130
vehicle_code_range =
sex_ratio = 961
unlocode =
website =
footnotes = CD Block

:"See Rajnagar for other places with same name."

Rajnagar ( _bn. রাজনগর) (also called Nagar) is a town, a community development block and an assembly constituency in Suri subdivision of Birbhum District in the Indian state of West Bengal.cite web | url = http://birbhum.gov.in/birtour2.htm | title = Rajnagar| accessdate = 2007-09-17 | last = | first = | work = | publisher = Birbhum district administration] It was formerly the capital of kingdoms in the area. With the fading away of the kingdoms, the town lost much of its importance.

History

As per legend, Rajnagar was founded by Bir Singh in ancient times. In 1206, Rajnagar was occupied by Muhammad Shiran, a general of Muhammad Bakhtiyar, and annexed by Ali Mardan, probably in 1211. However, Pathans do not seem to have enjoyed undisputed control over the entire district or area. At least the western part of the district, with Rajnagar as its capital, seems to have been ruled by either the descendants of Bir Singh or a new line of Hindu kings, the Bir Rajas. The rent roll of Todar Mall leads to the conclusion that by the middle of the 16th century the entire district was brought under the administration of the Mughals. The later Muslim zamindars of Rajnagar, known as Nagar Raj, were feudatories of the Mughals.Gupta, Dr. Ranjan Kumar, "The Economic Life of a Bengal District: Birbhum 1770 – 1857", pp. 2 – 9, The University of Burdwan, 1984.]

Nagar Raj

Jonad Khan, an adventurous Pathan, is said to have established the house at Nagar in 1600, having killed the Bir Raja under whom he served. He was succeeded by his son, Bahadur Khan, alias Ranmast Khan. Asadullah Khan (1697-1718), grandson of Bahadur Khan, was a pious man who was on good terms with Murshid Quli Khan, the Nawab of Bengal. A devout person, he enjoyed full autonomy.

His son, Badi-uz-zaman Khan (1718-52) made an abortive attempt at shaking off the nominal allegiance to Murshidabad. He was invested with the title of Raja by Murshid Quli Khan. During his reign Birbhum was ravaged by the Marathas. They also overran Rajnagar. It was during the reign of his son, Asad-uz-Zaman Khan (1752-1777) that the Nagar Raj witnessed the zenith of its power and then started declining. The Raja was faithful to the Nawab and after the Battle of Plassey, was on bad terms with the British. He was defeated by the combined forces of the British and Mir Qasim in 1761. He fled, regrouped and fought back again. He was completely routed at the Battle of Hetampur in 1765. By a treaty, he was restored to his estate but much of his autonomy was lost. In the course of time, they lost their supremacy to the Hetampur Raj. The British set up their district headquarters at Suri, and by the early 19th century, Rajnagar had been reduced to a deserted town with dilapidated palaces and ruins of habitation, and the forest slowly encroaching. [Gupta, Dr. Ranjan Kumar, p. 14]

Nostalgia

The last Pathan ruler held sway over the area in the mid-19th century, but Rafiqul Alam Khan, a successor of the Nagar Raj family, is still honoured as the Raja by the town's residents, the descendants of the one-time tenants of his predecessors. On the occasion of the Muslim festivals of Muharram and Eid, he regains his position as the Raja of Rajnagar. The present Raja did not get a realm from his ancestors but is the proud owner of a royal attire with a royal diadem made of silk. The attire is tattered, but Raja Saheb still wears it when he becomes the “ruler” — twice a year. [cite web | url = http://www.thestatesman.net/page.arcview.php?clid=6&id=97555&usrsess=1 | title = King gets back realm on Muharram | accessdate = 2007-09-17 | last = | first = | work = | publisher ="The Statesman", 20 February 2005]

Geography

Rajnagar is located at coord|23.95|N|87.32|E| [ [http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/28/Rajnagar.html Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Rajnagar] ] . It has an average elevation of m to ft|101|m|abbr=on. It is located on the western edge of the district, bordering on Jharkhand. The area sits on ancient Archean rocks. Rajnagar receives an average annual rainfall of 1405 mm, most of it in the months of June to October. The area has latterite soil, which is infertile and unsuitable for agriculture. [Mukhopadhyay, Malay, "Birbhum Jelar Bhougolik Parichiti", "Paschim Banga", Birbhum Special Issue, February 2006, Bn icon, pp. 29-32, Information & Cultural Department, Government of West Bengal.] Suri, 25 km away, is connected by a road.

Demographics

In the 2001 census, Rajnagar community development block had a population of 69,698, out of which 35,545 were males and 34,153 were females. [cite web | url =http://www.wbcensus.gov.in/DataTables/02/Table4_8.htm | title = Census of India 2001 | accessdate = 2007-08-24 | last = | first = | work = Provisional population totals, West Bengal, Table 4 | publisher = Census Commission of India ]

Administration

Rajnagar is an intermediate panchayat (local self-government) under Birbhum Zilla Parishad. Village panchayats under Rajnagar intermediate panchayat are Rajnagar, Bhabanipur, Chadrapara, Gangmuri-Joypur, and Tantipara. [cite web | url = http://panchayat.gov.in/adminreps/viewpansumr.asp?selstate=3217000000&pno=3&ptype=V | title = Admin Reports of NPP| accessdate = 2007-09-12 | last = | first = | work = Details of West Bengal till Village Panchayat Tier | publisher = Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India]

Economy

Proximity to the supply centres of raw material, as well as the royal court and an aristocratic community, gave rise to certain centres of cottage industries for cotton and tasar silk in the Tantipara-Bhabanipur-Karidhya zone. The famine of 1770 left both agriculture and industry in a bad shape. Trade also suffered. People had sunk to a depth of poverty which the magistrate of Birbhum emphatically said he had not seen anywhere in India. The Maratha raids of 1742-45 had earlier laid waste not only the countryside but also Rajnagar itself. [Gupta, Dr. Ranjan Kumar, pp. 14,20,26]

Politics

Bijoy Bagdi of the AIFB/ FBL won the Rajnagar assembly (SC) seat from 1987 to 2006, defeating Sheuli Saha of AITC in 2006, Ashima Dhibar of AITC in 2001, Asesh Mondal of INC in 1996, Panchanan Badyakar of BJP in 1991, and Anil Bouri of INC in 1986. Siddheswar Mondal of FBL defeated Subhendu Modal of INC in 1982 and Jiten Kumar Mondal in 1977. [cite web | url = http://www.eci.gov.in/electionanalysis/AE/S25/partycomp287.htm | title =Partywise comparison since 1977 | accessdate = 2007-09-17 | last = | first = | work =287 - Rajnagar (SC) Assembly Constituency | publisher = Election Commission of India ]

The Delimitation Commission has proposed that the number of assembly seats in Birbhum district be reduced from 12 to 11, and the axe is likely to fall on the Rajnagar assembly segment. This has angered the Forward Bloc as it had wrested the seat from its opponents. The Delimitation Commission's proposal ran into rough weather after the Forward Bloc smelt a conspiracy in the abolition of the seat it had captured. [cite web | url = http://www.thestatesman.net/page.arcview.php?clid=23&id=99414&usrsess=1
title = Delimitation proposal divide house | accessdate = 2007-09-17 | last = Sarkar | first = Pranesh | work = | publisher ="The Statesman", 12 March 2005]

Rajnagar is part of Birbhum (Lok Sabha constituency). [cite web | url = http://archive.eci.gov.in/se2001/background/S25/WB_ACPC.pdf | title = General election to the Legislative Assembly, 2001 – List of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies | accessdate = 2007-09-19 | last = | first = | work = West Bengal | publisher = Election Commission of India.]

Culture

Places of interest

Kalidaha, a pond, is said to have been excavated by Hindu Rajas and dedicated to goddess Kali. There is an island in the middle of the pond. It is believed to have been connected with the palace through an underground tunnel. On three sides of Kalidaha tank there are the wings of the former palaces of Muslim Rajas. In front of the ruins of the Imambara stands a fine mosque in a state of good preservation, which is still used by local Muslims. A little to the south are the ruins of another old mosque called the Motichur Masjid which had 12 towers but some have fallen down. Other wings may be mentioned as Nahabatkhana of the Bir Rajas, and Fulbagan burial place of the Muslim Rajas. [Sarkar, Joydeep, "Paryatan Boichitre Birbhum Jela", "Paschim Banga", Birbhum Special Issue, February 2006, Bn icon, p. 200, Information & Cultural Department, Government of West Bengal.]

Craft

The National Institute of Fashion Technology has trained almost 2000 artisans from various parts of Birbhum in handicraft and handloom as a part of its consolidated cluster development project undertaken in collaboration with the ministry of rural development and its counterpart in the state. Estimated at Rs 15 crore this project is underway in five selected parts of the country. The main project in the eastern zone was implemented in Bolpur, Nalhati, Ilambazar and Rajnagar. [cite web | url = http://www.thestatesman.net/page.arcview.php?clid=6&id=112942&usrsess=1 | title = NIFT in a new role, to train artisans | accessdate = 2007-09-17 | last = Roy Chowdhury| first = Amrita | work = | publisher ="The Statesman", 1 August 2005]

References

ee also