Social,
Environmental & Economic Sustainability
Our analysis of the rank of the district
Backwardness : 339
Sex Ratio Rank : 363
(Rank one is least sex ratio - Cenus 2001)
HIV Category District : B
(HIV Sentinel Surveillance 2004 - 2006)
Disability : 4 (Census 2001)
Literacy Ratio : 463 (Census 2001)
Minority : Yes
Water : Occurrence of High Arsenic in Ground Water
Challenges of the district : Our research
with local communities
Murshidabad
District of West Bengal has recently been identified as a "trafficking
prone" district. Long and porous border with Bangladesh, economic
scenario, religious customs, and low female literacy rate makes
children and women of the district vulnerable to trafficking.
Child marriage is still prevalent.
Migration is another problem we face. Due to less employment opportunities
people go out in search of jobs.
Brief About Murshidabad District
Richness of History : The district got its present name in
the early eighteenth century and its present shape in the latter
half of the eighteenth century, the earliest evidences of history
in the district date back to the pre-historic days perhaps as
early as circa 1500 B.C.
The capital city of Sasanka, the great king of Gouda (comprising
the most of Bengal) in the seventh century AD and perhaps that
of Mahipala, one of the later Pala kings of Bengal, were in this
district too. The Nawab Murshid
Quli Khan made Murshidabad the capital city of Sube Bangla,
comprising of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. The East India Company
reigned from here for many years after the Battle
of Plassey; Travellers extolled its glory through ages.
Here thrived the cultures of many races and of religions like
Buddhism, Brahmanism, Vaishnavism, Jainism, Islam and Christianity.
Here settled the European traders like the Dutch, the British,
the French and the Armenians.
The Land
The great river Bhagirathi has bifurcated the triangle shaped
district and has divided it into two broad historical and geographical
regions.
I) The Radha Area – This is the area on the right side of the
Bhagirathi having the pre-dominant geographical character of a
plateau. It was also known as Gouda.
II) The Bagdi Area – This is the area on the left side of the
river formed by the Gangetic alluvial deposits. It was also known
as Bangal. This area was formed later than the Radha.
The Age of Pre-History and Proto-History During the excavation
of the irrigation-cum-navigational channel from the Ganga in 1974,
just to the North-East of Farakka Barrage, evidence of ancient
civilization was found.
I) The Pre-Maurya Era
The first mention of the Radha region is found in the Jaina
scripture Acharanga Sutra. The scripture mentions a visit to the
Radha by Mahavira in the 6th century BC. Probably he did not visit
Murshidabad but possibly visited Radha areas under Birbhum and
Bankura districts. However Bimbisara (6th century BC) or later
the Nandas might have brought Radha and Bagdi areas of Murshidabad
within their empire.
II) The Maurya Era
Chandragupta Maurya (324-300 BC) established the Maurya Empire
by ousting the Nandas. Though the Chinese traveler Hiuen-Tsang
made references of Ashoka stupas at Karnasuvarna it cannot be
said with certainty whether this district area formed part of
the Maurya Empire at any time.
III) The Post-Maurya Era
Whether this area was under the rule of the post-Maurya empires
like the Shungas, Kanvas or Kushanas cannot be ascertained. However,
some Kushana coins have been found at Rajbari Danga; but findings
of these coins do not necessarily imply occupation.
Excavations at Rajbari Danga: Excavations at Rajbari Danga near
Karnasubarna Railway Station were done by the Archaeology Department
of the Kolkata University in 1962, 1964 & 1979. They revealed
evidence of civilizations in four layers dating back to the 2nd-
3rd Century AD and up to the 2nd- 3rd Century AD.
IV) The Gupta Era (AD 4th Century to 6th
Century)
It can be said with some certainly that areas of this district
were under the rule of the Gupta, which might have continued up
to the early 6th Century AD.
There is evidence of this in the chronicles of the Chinese traveler
I-Tsing (AD 673 – 675), the Allahabad Pillar Edict of Samudragupta
(AD 335 – 338), Damodarpur copper plate of Chadragupta-II, Brihatsamhita
(5th century AD) of Barahamihira. Besides, there are archeological
evidence within the district, like Gupta coins found at Rajbari
Danga, Gitagram (near Salar) and Gouripur (near Mahipala).
V) The Gouda Kingdom and Sasanka
The Gupta suzerainty over Gauda or Gaudaka (as mentioned in
Brihatsamhita) became merely nominal by the 6th century AD. From
the Haraha inscription of Maukhari King Ishanavarma dated AD 554
