History project

detailed presentation on history and places in the golden era of bengal.
Murshidabad once the capital of bengal rule

1. History Project A VISIT TO A HISTORICAL PLACE- MURSHIDABAD

2. Introduction Route map to Murshidabad Glimpse from the Past Places of Historical importance Conclusion Bibliography Index:-

3. -:INTRODUCTION:- Murshidabad was a town and district of British India, in the Bengal Presidency. In the Mughal period it was the capital of Bengal. Now The administrative headquarters of the district are at Baharampur. The town of Murshidabad is on the left bank of the Bhagirathi-Hooghly or main sacred channel of the Ganges. Pop. (1901), 15,168. The city of Murshidabad was the last capital of Bengal before the British era.

4. It is 182 km from Kolkata ,and road transports are available at frequent at interval. The major line runs north-south and connects the district to Kolkata to Murshidabad. HOW TO REACH MURSHIDABAD

5. GLIMPSE FROM THE PAST In 1704 the N awab Murshid Quli Khan changed the seat of government from Dhaka to Maksudabad, which he renamed after his own name. The family of Jagat Seth maintained their position as state bankers at Murshidabad from generation to generation. The town is still the residence of the nawab, who ranks as the first nobleman of the province with the style of Nawab Bahadur of Murshidabad , instead of Nawab Nazim of Bengal The city still bears memories of Nawabs with other palaces, mosques, tombs, and gardens.

6. PLACES OF HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE

7. HAZARDUARI PALACE

8. The  Hazarduari Palace,  or the palace with a thousand doors is the chief tourist attraction of Murshidabad. This three-storey palace was built in 1837 by Duncan McLeod for the Nawab Najim  Humaun Jah , descendent of Mir Zafar. It has  thousand doors (among which only 900 are real) and 114 rooms and 8 galleries, built in  European architectural style. The total area of Hazarduari Palace is 41 acres. It is now a  museum  and has an exquisite collection of armoury, splendid paintings, exhaustive portraits of the Nawabs, various works of art including beautiful works of ivory (Murshidabad school) of China (European) and many other valuables.

9. IMAMBARA

10. Parallel to the north face of the Hazarduari Palace, stands the Nizamat Imambara. It was built in 1847 AD by Nawab Nazim Mansoor Ali Khan  Feradun Jah , son of Humayun Jah, at a cost of more than 6 lacs, after the Imambara built by Siraj-ud-Doula had been destroyed by fire. It took only eleven months to construct this Imambara. The Imambara, which is the largest in Bengal, is perhaps the largest in India.

11. KATRA MOSQUE

12. Katra Mosque is about one and a half km from Murshidabad Railway Station on the Berhampore-Lalgola Road. This imposing structure was built by Nawab Murshid Quli Khan in 1723-24 and it remains one of the most important tourist attractions. The gorgeous building with its huge domes and high minarets has a simple cemetery of the Nawab below the front staircase . The most striking feature is the two large corner towers having loopholes for musketry . Close to the mosque was a  bazaar  ( market) and   Katra  means  bazaar  while  Masjid  means mosque. So the total sums up to: Katra Masjid or Market Mosque, a mosque in a market.

13. KHOSH BAGH

14. Khosh Bagh lies on the opposide banks of the river Bhagirathi on the west. One can reach Khosh Bagh from New Palace Ghat ( jetty ) or from  Lalbagh Sadar Ghat  by motor-boat .. Khosh Bagh ( Garden of happiness ) was built by Nawab  Alivardi Khan   along the lines of the Jama Masjid of Delhi. It consisted of walled enclosures, the outer walls, which were loop holed for musketry and flanked by octagonal bastions. Here lies the grave of Nawab Alivardi Khan, Mother of Alivardi,  Siraj-ud-Daulla inside a square flat-roofed chamber surrounded on all sides by an arcade verandah , Siraj-ud-Daulla's wife Lutf-un-nisa and other members of the Nawab family.

15. Moti jheel

16. Motijheel is about one km South of Lalbagh. This beautiful horseshoe shaped lake was excavated by Nawazesh Mohammad, the husband of the famous Ghasseti Begum. In the palace adjoining it (now in ruins) Lord Clive celebrated the acquisition of the Dewani of Sube Bangla (Bengal, Bihar & Orissa) in 1765. Moti Jheel was the home of Warren Hastings when he became the Political President at the Durbar of the Nawab Nazim ( 1771 - 73 AD ). Moti Jheel is also known as the  "Company Bagh" , due to the fact of it having been in the occupation of the East India Company.

17. KATH GOLA

18. At Mahimapur, a few yards from the Nashipur Raj Bari, are visible the ruins and remnants of the old banking house of the  Jagat Seths  at Kathgola containing rare curios, whose history is connected with some of the most critical revolutions in Bengal. The name of "Jagat Seth" is known to every Indian as the one of the most famous names in the history of Bengal. By religion they were  Jains , and  Marwari  by caste. Originally, the "Jagat Seth's" came to prominence for the vast wealth he accumulated as the Nawab's banker.

19. JAFARGUNJ CEMETRY

20. Within an enclosure of waved walls at Jafarganj, proceeding further north, about half a mile from the Hazarduari Palace. It contains the tombs of the Nawab Nazim's, from  Mir Jafar Ali Khan   to Humayun Jah . The remains of the last Nawab Nazim of Bengal,  Syud Mansur Ali Khan , were temporarily deposited in a vault and subsequently removed to Karbala (burial ground) in Arabia under his testament. Mir Jafar's father  Syud Ahmed Najafi , Alivardi Khan's sister  Shah Khanum Begum , Mir Jafar's widows, Munny Begum  and  Babbu Begum ,  Muhammad Ali Khan  the brother of Mir Jafar and  Ismail Ali Khan  and  Ashraf Ali Khan the sons-in-law of Mir Jafar, lie buried here.

21. CONCLUSION Bengal shares to a very large extent in the historical traditions of the northern parts of India. The movements of population which settled the ethnological characteristics of those areas largely affected the province, and it was conspicuously associated with the great religious developments which so profoundly influenced the life history of the people. The ancient history of Murshidabad can be recorded from the period when Shashanka, the king of Gauda. The glory of this place reached its zenith during the time of  Suja-ud-Daulla   and Alivardi Khan who made this city vibrant with numerous constructional and cultural activities. But the defeat of  Siraj-ud-Daulla at the  Battle of Plassey   ( 1757 AD) prooved disastrous for the Murshidabad Royalty.