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The History:
The gateway of North Bengal, Malda, once the capital of Gour-Banga with its 3456 sq kms lay of the land classified into Tal, Diara, and Barind awaits the advent of tourists and people of archeological interest with its wealth to be enjoyed and its huge potential to be explored.
This portion of the Earth is washed by the waves of the rivers Ganges, Mahananda, Fulahar, Kalindri and had been the witness of different empires raised, flourished and cast down near oblivion by a successor kingdom built up on the relics of its predecessor. Panini mentioned a city named Gourpura, which by strong reason may be identified as the city of Gouda, ruins of which are situated in this district. Examples are legion of the relic of a predecessor kingdom being used in the monuments of the successor kingdoms.
It had been within the limits of ancient ‘Gour’ and ‘Pandua’(Pundrabardhana). These two cities had been the capital of Bengal in ancient and medieval ages and are equidistant, north and south, from English Bazar town (once known as Engelzavad established by the British rulers).
The boundary of Gour was changed in different ages since 5th century BC and its name can be found in Puranic texts. Pundranagar was the provincial capital of Maurya Empire.
Gour and Pundrabardhana formed parts of the Mourya empire as is evinced from the inscriptions, Brahmilipi on a seal discovered from the ruins of Mahasthangarh in the Bogura District of Bangladesh. Hiuen Tsang saw many Asokan stupas at Pundrabardhana.
The inscriptions discovered in the district of undivided Dinajpur and other parts of North Bengal along with the Allahabad pillar inscriptions of Samudragupta clearly indicate that the whole of North Bengal as far east as Kamrup formed a part of the Gupta empire.
After the Guptas in the beginning of 7th century AD Sasanka, the king of Karnasubarna as well as the king of Gour ruled independently for more than three decades. From the middle of 8th century to the end of 11th century the Pala dynasty ruled Bengal, the kings were devoted to Buddhism. It was during their reign that the Jagadalla Vihara (monastery) in Barindri flourished paralleling with Nalanda, Vikramshila and Devikot.
The Pala Dynasty yielded to the emergence of Sen Dynasty, the Sen rulers were Hindus, and in the habit of moving from place to place within their kingdom. At the time of Lakshman Sen Goud was known as Lakshmanabati. The Sen kings ruled Bengal till Bakhtiyar Khilji conquered Bengal in 1204 AD.
Thereafter the Muslim rule lasted for about five hundred years before Sirajuddaulah was defeated by Lord Clive at the battle of Plassey in 1757 whence the British rule started. From ancient period different rulers with assorted origin, religion, and dynasty had left the imprints of their kingdom /dynasty on the earth in this district, most of them have failed to win over the tide of time as history has lifted one kingdom and later cast it down, sometimes into total oblivion. Those, which still stand on the earth in the form of ruins and relics, nevertheless reminds the past pomp and grandeur and are able to make the tourists and people of archeological interest sneak in.
This district was formed out of some portions of outlying areas of Purnia, Dinajpur and Rajshahi districts in 1813. At the time of Dr. B. Hamilton ( 1808 - 09 ) ,the presents thanas of Gazole, Malda, Bamongola, and part of Habibpur were included in the district of Dinajpur and the thanas of Harischandrapur, Kharba, Ratua, Manikchak, and Kaliachak were included in the district of Purnia. In 1813, in consequence of the prevalence of serious crimes in the Kaliachak and Sahebganj thanas and also on the rivers, a Joint Magistrate and Deputy Collector was appointed at Englishbazar with jurisdiction over a number of police station centering that place and taken from the two district. Thus the district of Malda was born. The year 1832 saw the establishment of separate treasury and the year 1859 the posting of a full - fledged Magistrate and collector.
Upto 1876, this district formed part of Rajshahi Division and between 1876 & 1905, it formed part of Bhagalpur Division. In 1905, it was again transferred to Rajshahi Division and till 1947 Malda remained in this division. In August, 1947, this district was affected by partition, between the 12th & 15th 0f August. 1947, the fate of the district as to which side it should go, to Pakistan or to India was undecided, because the announcement of the partition award of Sir Radcliffe did not make this point clear. During these few days the district was under a Magistrate of East Pakistan, when the details of the Radcliffe award were published, the district came over to West Bengal on the 17th of August. 1947.
Place to Visit :
There are number of places to visit at Malda which has some historical importance. The main among them are GOUR, ADINA, PANDUA, and recently explored JAGJIBANPUR.
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Sl No. |
Name of the Places to Visit |
Brief description of the Place |
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1 |
Ramkeli
(Situated at a distance of nearing 14 Km from Malda towards south) |
A small village on the way to Gour, Ramkeli is famous for being the temporary home of Sri Chaitanya, the great religious reformer of Bengal, where he had stayed for a few days on his way to Brindaban. A conglomeration of two tamal and two kadamba trees can still be seen, under which the saint is said to have meditated. A small temple constructed under this tree contains Sri Chaitanya's footprints on stone. There are eight kundas or tanks flanking the temple. These are named as Rupsagar, Shyamkunda, Radhakunda, Lalitakunda, Bishakhakunda, Surabhikunda, Ranjakunda and Indulekhakunda. Every year, on the Jaishthya Sankranti, celebrations are held here to commemorate the arrival of Sri Chaitanya. A week-long fair also starts on this day. |
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2 |
Gour
(Situated at a distance of 16 km. south of Malda town on the border with Bangladesh. Gour came into prominence as the 7th century capital of King Shashanka, and was the capital of ancient Bengal for several centuries.) |
Baroduari mosque is half a kilometre to the south of Ramkeli. A gigantic rectangular structure of brick and stone, this mosque is the largest monument in Gour. Though the name means Twelve Doors, this monument actually has eleven. The construction of this huge mosque, measuring 50.4 m. by 22.8 m., and 12 m. in height, was started by Allauddin Hussein Shah and was completed in 1526 by his son Nasiruddin Nusrat Shah. The Indo-Arabic style of architecture and the ornamental stone carvings make Baroduari a special attraction for tourists. |
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Dakhil Darwaza, an impressive gateway built in 1425, is an important Muslim monument. Made of small red bricks and terracotta work, this dominating structure is more than 21 m. high and 34.5 m. wide. Its four corners are topped with five-storey high towers. Once the main gateway to a fort, it opens through the embankments surrounding it. In the south-east corner of the fort, a 20-m. high wall encloses the ruins of an old palace. In the past, cannons used to be fired from here. Hence the gate also came to be known as the Salaami Darwaza |
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A kilometre away from the Dakhil Darwaza, is the Feroze Minar. It was built by Sultan Saifuddin Feroze Shah during 1485-89. This five-storey tower, resembling the Qutb Minar, is 26 m. high and 19 m. in circumference. The first three storeys of the tower have twelve adjacent faces each, and the uppermost two storeys are circular in shape. A spiralling flight of 84 steps takes one to the top of the tower. Built in the Tughlaqi style of architecture, the walls of Feroze Minar are covered with intricate terracotta carvings. This landmark is also known as the Pir-Asha-Minar or the Chiragdani. |
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Chamkati Masjid |
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Sultan Yusuf Shah built the Chika Mosque in 1475. The name originated from the fact that it used to shelter a large number of chikas, or bats. It is a single-domed edifice, almost in ruins now. The beautifully ornate carvings on the walls and the images of Hindu idols on the stonework of doors and lintels are still partly visible. The mosque also bears traces of Hindu temple architecture |
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The Lakhchhipi Darwaza or Lukochuri Gate is located to the south-east of the Kadam Rasool Mosque. Shah Shuja is said to have built it in 1655 in the Mughal architectural style. The name originated from the royal game of hide-and-seek that the Sultan used to play with his begums. According to another school of historians, it was built by Allauddin Hussein Shah in 1522. Situated on the eastern side of the royal palace, this double-storeyed Darwaza functionally acted as the main gateway to the palace. The innovative architectural style makes it an interesting place to visit. |
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Half a kilometre away from the Feroze Minar is the Kadam Rasool Mosque. Aptly named Kadam Rasool, which means Footprints of the Prophet, the mosque contains the footprints of Hazrat Muhammad on stone. On the four corners there are four towers made of black marble, with the spires on top covered with intricate artwork. Sultan Nasiruddin Nusrat Shah built the mosque in 1530. |
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Lattan Mosque, legend attributes the building of this mosque to a dancing girl of the royal court. However, historians believe it was built by Sultan Shamsuddin Yusuf Shah in 1475. Traces of intricate mina work in blue, green, yellow, violet and white on the enamelled bricks lining the outer and inner walls are still visible. The splendour of colours has also led to the Mosque being called the Painted Mosque. Another interesting feature of this mosque is its arched roof, supported by octagonal pillars. |
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Kotwali Darwaja |
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Standing to the north-east of the Chika Mosque, the Gumti Darwaza was built in 1512 by Allauddin Hussein Shah. Made of brick and terracotta, the once brilliant colours woven into the artwork are still partly visible. It is said that real gold was used in the decorations. The Darwaza, however, is closed to the public now. |
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3 |
Adina
(Situated at 15 km north of Malda town) |
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Hamamghar |
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Turkey Bath Room ( 17th Centuries) |
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Pandab Dallan Minar |
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Atbart Dighi. |
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Adina Masjid, built in 1369 by Sultan Sikander Shah. One of the largest mosques in India, it also typifies the most developed mosque architecture of the period, the orthodox design being based on the great 8th century mosque of Damascus. Carved basalt masonry from earlier Hindu temples is used to support the 88 brick arches and 378 identical small domes. |
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4 |
Pandua
( Situted at 18 Km north of Malda town) |
Qutb Shahi Mosque, locally known as the Chhoto Sona Masjid, built to honour saint Nur Qutb-ul-Alam. The ruins of his shrine are nearby, along with that of Saint Hazrat Shah Jalal Tabrizi, collectively known as the Bari Darga. |
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The Eklakhi Mausoleum is the most elegant monument in Pandua. One of the first square brick tombs in Bengal, with a carved Ganesh on the doorway, it is the tomb of the convert son of a Hindu Raja. |
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5 |
( Situated at about 30 km from Malda town towards south east on Habibpur Block) |
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Our Pride
Mango
Silkworm for the production of Silk
Raskadom (Great sweet of Malda)
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