Mahishadal

Mahishadal Garh kamalpur
Town
Mahishadal New Rajbari
Mahishadal Location in West Bengal, India Show map of West Bengal Mahishadal Mahishadal (India) Show map of India
Coordinates: 22°11′00.0″N87°59′00.0″E / 22.183333°N 87.983333°E / 22.183333; 87.983333
Country	India
State	West Bengal
District	Purba Medinipur
Languages
• Official	Bengali, English
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	721628 (Rangibasan)
Telephone/STD code	03224
Lok Sabha constituency	Tamluk
Vidhan Sabha constituency	Mahisadal
Website	purbamedinipur.gov.in

Mahishadal is a town in Mahishadal CD block in Haldia subdivision of Purba Medinipur district in the state of West Bengal, India.

Culture

Mahisadal Rathyatra 2012

David J. McCutchion mentions the Madan Gopala temple as a West Bengal nava-ratna, plain and renovated, measuring about 39’ square. ^[1]

Demographics

As per the map of Mahishadal CD block and subsequent alphabetical list of villages in the District Census Handbook, Purba Medinipur, Mahishadal is a part of Rangibasan village. ^[2]

As per 2011 Census of India Rangibasan had a total population of 2,570 of which 1,321 (51%) were males and 1,249 (49%) were females. Population below 6 years was 231. The total number of literates in Rangibasan was 2,134 (91.24% of the population over 6 years). ^[3]

Geography

8km
5miles

Nayachar

Haldi River

Hooghly River

Rupnarayan

Haldia Port

S

Kukrahati

R

Geonkhali

R

Chaitanyapur

R

Sona Chura

R

Reyepara

R

Durgachak

N

Sutahata

N

Mahishadal

R

Barda

CT

Ashadtalya

CT

Nandigram

CT

Garh
Kamalpur

CT

Haldia

M

  

Cities and towns in Haldia subdivision of Purba Medinipur district
M: municipal city/ town, CT: census town, R: rural/ urban centre, S: port
Owing to space constraints in the small map, the actual locations in a larger map may vary slightly

Mahishadal Rajbari

Like other Raj families of East Midnapore, Mahisadal Raj also belonged to a Mahishya family (arguably the word Mahishadal itself originated from the word "Mahishya"). It was founded by Bhuiya Ray Mahapatra, whose sixth descendant, Kalyan Ray,  could not realize the revenue and had to furnish Janardan Upadhaya, a Brahmin of substance, as his security. The zamindari was held over a century by this Brahmin family till the Permanent Settlement. ^[4] During the days of Rani Janaki Devi, it reached its zenith in the 18th century. ^[5] There are two palaces – the old one was built in 1840 and the new one in 1935. One can see stuffed animals, hunting weapons of the 16th and 17th century, paintings and furniture. Gopaljew and Ramjew temples are popular with tourists. The place is half an hours drive from Haldia. ^[6]

• 
  Mahishadal's old rajbari

Police station

Gopaljiu temple

Mahishadal police station has jurisdiction over Mahishadal CD block. Mahishadal police station covers an area of 135 km² with a population of 182,365. The police station is located at Garh Kamalpur mouza. ^{[7] [8]}

CD block HQ

The headquarters of Mahishadal CD block are located at Rangibasan. ^[9]

Urbanisation

79.19% of the population of Haldia subdivision live in the rural areas. Only 20.81% of the population live in the urban areas, and that is the highest proportion of urban population amongst the four subdivisions in Purba Medinipur district. ^[10]

Note: The map above presents some of the notable locations in the subdivision. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.

Façade of Dewan Bari, within the Mahisadal Rajbari.

Education

• Mahishadal Girls College was established in 1969 with the initiative of Dr. Satyendranath Bhuniya, Rabindranath Singha, Dr. Haridas Sarkar, Gopal Chandra Mondal and others. Affiliated to Vidyasagar University, it offers courses in arts and science.

• Mahishadal Raj College was established at Garh Kamalpur in 1946. A coeducational institution, it is affiliated to Vidyasagar University. It offers courses in arts, science and commerce.

Healthcare

Basulia Rural Hospital located at nearby Basulia (with 30 beds) is the main medical facility in Mahishadal CD block. There are primary health centres at Natsal, PO Geonkhali (with 10 beds) and Rajarampur, PO Geonkhali (with ? beds). ^[11]

Transport

The Mecheda-Tamluk-Haldia Road passes through Mahishadal. ^[12]

Mahishadal railway station and Satish Samanta Halt railway station are railway stations on the Panskura-Haldia line. ^[13]

Eminent personalities

• Satish Chandra Samanta – Indian independence movement activist. ^[14]
• Suryakant Tripathi 'Nirala' – one of the most significant poets of modern Hindi literature. He went to school at Mahishadal and was fluent in Bengali. ^[15]

See also

• Mahishadal (community development block)
• Mahisadal (Vidhan Sabha constituency)

References

1. McCutchion, David J., Late Mediaeval Temples of Bengal, first published 1972, reprinted 2017, page 52. The Asiatic Society, Kolkata, ISBN   978-93-81574-65-2
2. "District Census Handbook, Purba Medinipur, Series 20, Part XIIA, Census of India, 2011" (PDF). Map on Page 333. Directorate of Census Operations, West Bengal. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
3. "2011 Census – Primary Census Abstract Data Tables". West Bengal – District-wise. Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
4. Bhaumik, Sudarshana (2022). The Changing World of Caste and Hierarchy in Bengal: Depiction from the Mangalkavyas C. 1700-1931. Taylor & Francis Group. p. 171. ISBN   978-1-003-14618-6.
5. "Mahishadal: A lesser known historical footprint in West Bengal". India Trope. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
6. "Surrounding areas". Haldia Tourism and Industrial Development. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
7. "District Statistical Handbook 2014 Purba Medinipur". Tables 2.1, 2.2. Department of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of West Bengal. Archived from the original on 29 July 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
8. "Mahishdal PS". Purba Medinipur District Police. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
9. "District Census Handbook: Purba Medinipur" (PDF). Map of Purba Medinipur with CD Block HQs and Police Stations. Directorate of Census Operations, West Bengal, 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
10. "District Statistical Handbook 2014 Purba Medinipur". Table 2.2. Department of Planning and Statistics, Government of West Bengal. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
11. "Health & Family Welfare Department". Health Statistics. Government of West Bengal. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
12. Google maps
13. "38089 Howrah-Haldia Local". Time Table. indiarailinfo. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
14. Chandra, Bipan and others (1998). India's Struggle for Independence, New Delhi:Penguin, ISBN   0-14-010781-9, p.466
15. Famous Personalities Archived 16 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine Unnao district Official website.

External links

• Geonkhali travel guide from Wikivoyage – information about Mahishadal is included.