The Writers' Buildings or Mahakaran, often shortened to just Writers', is the official secretariat building of the state government of West Bengal in Kolkata, India. The 150-metre long building covers the entire northern stretch of the Lal Dighi or Red Lake at the centre of historic B.B.D. Bagh, long considered as the administrative and business hub of the city.
It originally served as the principal administrative office for writers (junior clerks) of the British East India Company (EIC). Designed by Thomas Lyon in 1777, the Writers' Building has gone through a long series of extensions over the centuries. Since India's independence in 1947, it housed the office of the Chief Minister of West Bengal, cabinet ministers and other senior officials, until 4 October 2013, when a major restoration of the building was announced. The majority of government departments were subsequently moved out to a new re-purposed building named Nabanna in Howrah on a temporary basis.
The building has been called a mini-township of sorts with a built-up area of around 550,000 square feet. Before the shifting of the state secretariat, the building housed 34 departments of the state government, and served as the office for approximately 6,000 employees.[1]As of October 2020,[update] the renovation of the building continues.
History
The Writers' Building was designed by Thomas Lyon in 1777 for the EIC, which wanted to consolidate its trading operations in India and centralize the tax operations the EIC undertook in Bengal Subah. Over time, as British mercantile interest in India grew and the EIC defeated the Nawabs of Bengal, it was re-purposed as the effective headquarters of the EIC and later the entire British Raj in the Indian subcontinent. For more than 200 years the building served as the centre of British power and claims, as the seat of government of the Bengal Presidency and later the Province of Bengal. In the early part of the twentieth century, the building was the site of agitations, violence and assassination attempts during the Indian independence movement.[2] Since India's independence in 1947, it has served as the state secretariat and has been the location of turbulent politics, mob violence and police brutality. It has also become a popular metonym for the government of West Bengal, and especially the unbroken 34-year long Left Front rule in the state.
The building has also played a fundamental part in shaping the history of the immediate region, as the village of Kalikata became British Calcutta and finally Kolkata. From its conception, the building was designed to become the focal administrative and business hub of the city emerging around it and was thus built close to existing infrastructure owned by the EIC. It was constructed on parts of the same parcel of land where the original Fort William, the EICs primary military stronghold in Bengal, stood until 1756. It also marked the centre of the 'White Town', populated primarily by English merchants, officers and EIC functionaries which was kept separate from the 'Black Town' populated primarily by the native landowners and businessmen.
1777-1780: Construction The site of the demolished St Anne's church and the adjoining plot were granted to Thomas Lyon, after whom the road behind Writers Building - Lyons Range - is named, to construct buildings to accommodate the junior servants of the East India Company called "writers". Lyon may have been a carpenter earlier in England but had established himself as an architect in Kolkata at the time, and completed the construction acting on behalf of Richard Barwell, member of the Supreme Council of Bengal and himself an ex-writer for EIC. Warren Hastings, then the governor of Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William presided over the project and presumably was the one who commissioned it. Writers' Building was the first three-storey building in Kolkata. The main block, with a ground coverage of 37850 Square Feet was completed in 1780. It occupied one side of what was then called Tank Square (Dalhousie Square). It was built on a purely functional premise, shunning decorations for a straight facade and enclosure style compound in the back. The building initially opened with 19 residential quarters, each with three sets of windows, and was counted as a bit of an eyesore by the erstwhile English residents.[2][3]
1800: CollegeFort William College, opened to train writers in Oriental languages, later moved to this building. Over the next 20 years, structural changes were made, including a new hostel for 32 students and an exam hall (which still exist), a lecture hall, four libraries and rooms to teach Hindi and Persian.[3]
1821: facade created A 128ft-long verandah with Ionic columns, each 32ft high, were added on the first and second floors.[3]
Cluster of statues atop Writers' Building
1830: Government College of Engineering The college moved out of Writers' and the building fell into the hands of private individuals who turned it into living quarters, shops and godowns. The Government College of Engineering functioned from here for some time.
1871–74: Railway HeadquarterGeorge Campbell, lieutenant governor-general, felt the need for a secretariat for "quick disposal of work". But with the East Indian Railway Company occupying a large space at Writers' being unable to find alternative accommodation fast, the plan was slow to unfold.
1877–82: Secretariat for Bengal ProvinceAshley Eden, lieutenant-governor of Bengal, was told to relocate the principal offices, housed on Sudder Street and Chowringhee, to Writers'. Because of the space crunch, three new blocks (classified as Blocks 1,2 and 5 today) were initially constructed, that stood perpendicular to the main block.[3]
1879–1906: Further expansion Two further blocks (classified as Blocks 3 and 4 today) were added, approached by iron staircases that are still in use. The total ground coverage of the five new numbered blocks stood at 58825 square feet. Writers' acquired its Greco-Roman look, complete with the portico in the central bay and the red surface of exposed brick. The Victorian Era British administration wanted to give a grand and powerful image to this public institution and Writers’ received a makeover in French Renaissance style with the parapet being put in place and edifying statues[2] sculpted by William Frederick Woodington lining the terrace, installed in 1883. The statue of Minerva stands above the central portico.[4][3]
1930: Assassination of Colonel N. S. Simpson
Statue of Benoy, Badal and Dinesh in front of Writers' Building
On 8 December 1930 Benoy Basu, Badal Gupta and Dinesh Gupta, members of the underground revolutionary group Bengal Volunteers, headed for the Writers' Building. Dressed in European attire, they carried loaded revolvers. Upon entering the building, they shot dead the notorious Inspector General of Police, Colonel N .S. Simpson, infamous for his brutal oppression of political prisoners, most of whom were Indian freedom fighters. After assassinating him, they occupied the building, and soon a gun battle followed in the corridors. Unable to stand up to the numerous forces of the Calcutta police, the trio soon found themselves overpowered and cornered. Unwilling to give themselves up, Badal took potassium cyanide and died instantly, while his comrades shot themselves. Benoy died five days later in hospital but Dinesh survived only to be hanged on 7 July 1931.
In memory of martyrdom of Benoy, Badal, Dinesh. Writers' Building
Today Dalhousie Square is named after the trio and is called B.B.D. Bagh. A statue of Benoy, Badal and Dinesh stands in front of the Writers' Building, showing Benoy, the group leader, leading his comrades in their final battle.[5]
1945-47: Open courtyards sealed by expansion Due to requirements of huge space, block A, B, C, D, were constructed. As a result, 19314 square feet was added to the building.[2][3]
Since 1947: Further expansion & Centre of West Bengal politics At the time of India's independence, the building had a large courtyard with seven blocks. Beginning in the mid-1950s, Block E, F was added in the large rectangular courtyards that separated the existing blocks in the back of the building. In the 70s, Block G and CGA were added (adding 17302 square feet on space) to complete the building's final avatar of 13 interconnected blocks making up a literal administrative maze, for the next 4 decades. But only the main block, including the rotunda and five main blocks, are officially classified as heritage structures. The elevation of the building has remained the same overall and the earliest 3-storey structure has been preserved.[4][3]
Statues
The giant pediment at the centre is crowned with the statue of Minerva. The terrace also contains several other statues and notable among them are four clusters of statues, christened 'Justice', 'Commerce', 'Science' and 'Agriculture', with the respective Greek gods and goddesses of these four disciplines (Zeus, Hermes, Athena and Demeter respectively) flanked by a European and an Indian practitioner of these vocations.[6]
Writers' Building from across Lal Dighi in B.B.D. Bagh
Renovation
The building went under renovation in late 2013, in a project costing ₹2 billion (US$25million). To facilitate this, the state Secretariat and Chief Minister's office temporarily shifted to an abandoned skyscraper owned by the Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners Office named Nabanna in Howrah.[7][8] In February 2014, the project was stalled after conservation experts and the West Bengal Public Works Department found the plan submitted by an architect firm insufficient.[9] Meanwhile, a team of Jadavpur University and Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur architects was invited to conduct tests of the structure, before the actual renovation could be started.[10]
The renovation efforts also involved the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). The team had also sought consultations with heritage conservationists from countries like Australia and Germany before submitting a detailed proposal in late-2015. But even by mid-2016, work on ground had not started due to government indecisiveness and bureaucratic red tape.[11]
Engineers had to fortify the structure before the East West Metro Tunnel, part of the expansion of the Kolkata Metro, was dug past the building in November-2017.[12]
Tenders for civil engineering work in various parts of the main structure were being issued as of end-2018. [13]
Howrah is a district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Howrah city is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River. Administratively Howrah city lies within Howrah district, and is the headquarters of the Howrah Sadar subdivision. It is also part of the Kolkata Metropolitan Area, with development from the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority. Howrah city is an important transportation hub and suburb of Kolkata. It is also a gateway to old Kolkata via Howrah railway station and Howrah Bridge.
Shibpur or Sibpur is a neighbourhood in Howrah city of Howrah district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA).
Esplanade is a neighbourhood of Central Kolkata, located at the heart of city with being the city's Central business district. This is a conventional esplanade because the Ganga river (Ganges), also known as Hooghly river, flows nearby and it is adjacent to the large fields of Maidan extending upto Fort William.
Binoy-Badal-Dinesh Bagh, shortened as B. B. D. Bagh, formerly called Tank Square and then Dalhousie Square, is the administrative, financial and commercial region and one of the central business districts of Kolkata, capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the seat of Government of West Bengal and houses all three branches of it. The area consists Writers' Building, the official state secretariat building, Raj Bhavan, the residence of Governor of West Bengal, Vidhansabha Bhavan, the building housing the West Bengal Legislative Assembly and also the Calcutta High Court.
Benoy Krishna Basu, Benoy Basu, or Benoy Bose was an Indian revolutionary against British rule in India, who launched an attack on the Secretariat Building; the Writers' Building at the Dalhousie square in Kolkata, along with Badal Gupta and Dinesh Chandra Gupta.
Dinesh Chandra Gupta or Dinesh Gupta was an Indian revolutionary against British rule in India, who is noted for launching an attack on the Secretariat Building - the Writers' Building in the Dalhousie square in Calcutta, along with Badal Gupta and Benoy Basu.
Badal Gupta, real name Sudhir Gupta, was an Indian revolutionary against British rule in India, who is noted for launching an attack on the Secretariat Building - the Writers' Building in the Dalhousie square in Calcutta, along with Benoy Basu and Dinesh Gupta.
Kolkata is located in the eastern part of India. It has spread linearly along the banks of the Hooghly River. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has an area of 205 square kilometres. The city is near sea level, with the average elevation being 17 feet. The whole area is in the Ganges Delta which starts within 100 km south of the city. Most of the city was originally marshy wetlands, remnants of which can still be found especially towards the eastern parts of the city.
Calcutta Tramways Company (CTC) was a state-run company that operated trams and buses in and around Kolkata in West Bengal, India. The Kolkata tram is the only operating tramway in India and is the oldest electric tram in India, operating since 1902.
Makardah is a census town in Domjur CD Block of Howrah Sadar subdivision in Howrah district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of Kolkata Urban Agglomeration.
The Government of West Bengal, also known as the West BengalGovernment, is the principal administrative authority of the Indian state of West Bengal, created by the National Constitution as the state's legislative, executive and judicial authority. The Governor acts as the head of state and is the highest nominal authority of the state power, however, it is the Chief Minister who is the chief executive authority and head of government.
Joka is a locality in South West Kolkata, India. It is a part of greater Behala region. This place is mostly known for Indian Institute of Management Calcutta and ESIC Medical College and Hospital.
Bijoy Krishna Girls' College is a women's college in Howrah, India. The college offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees and is affiliated to University of Calcutta. It is the sole girls' college in Howrah district. Formerly it was Howrah Girls' College. Presently, this college has 27 undergraduate along with 5 postgraduate departments.
Baghajatin is a locality of South Kolkata in West Bengal, India. It has been named in honour of Jatindranath Mukherjee whose nom de guerre was Bagha (Tiger) Jatin. It is located in the southern part of the city and is surrounded by Jadavpur and Santoshpur in the north, Chak Garia and Panchasayar in the east, Baishnabghata Patuli Township in the south and Bijoygarh and Regent Estate in the west. The locality is referred to as the middle-class and currently growing very well-off, upper-middle-class people's locality in South Kolkata. Though it is surrounded by its rich and famous areas, over the it still remains primarily a nice upper-middle-class neighbourhood. Apart from its critical location in south Calcutta, it is also a place inhabited by prominent people with strong social and cultural background. The two most important landmarks that signify this locality are Baghajatin railway station, Baghajatin bus terminal and EM Bypass which are the lifeline of this locality and its USP.
Netaji Subhas Road, previously known as Clive Street, is an important thoroughfare in Central Kolkata that runs predominantly north to south in the B. B. D. Bagh neighborhood of Kolkata.
Nabanna is a building in the city of Howrah in Howrah district. Nabanna houses the temporary State Secretariat of the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located at Mandirtala, Shibpur. It was inaugurated on 5 October 2013 by Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee.
Mahakaran, is a metro station on Line 2 of Kolkata Metro, located in B.B.D. Bagh. There are many British heritage buildings near the station with the Lal Dighi adjoining it. The tracks leaving the station towards Howrah go underneath the Hooghly river through the biggest underwater metro tunnel of India. The station was completed and opened on 6 March 2024. The station, though comparing without platform screen doors, my look similar to any Line-1 underground station, but it is actually very different as it is designed with world class facilities and murals that pay tribute to the locality and Indian freedom fighters. The nearest railway station is B.B.D. Bagh railway station. Just before the tunnel enters the underwater segment, lies a ventilation shaft on the Kolkata bank of Hooghly River, which is the deepest of its kind in India, at 44 metres (144 ft) below ground level.
The Currency Building is an early 19th-century building in the B. B. D. Bagh central business district of Kolkata in West Bengal, India. The building was originally built in 1833 to house the Calcutta branch of the Agra Bank. In 1868, it was converted for use by the Office of the Issue and Exchange of Government Currency, an office of the Controller of the Currency under the British Raj. From 1935 until 1937, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) used the building as its first central office. The building remained in use, and was used at one time by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) as a storehouse. Authorities decided to demolish it in 1994.
2021 Nabanna Abhijan was a protest march to the West Bengal state secretariat Nabanna, organised by Students Federation of India (SFI), Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), Left Front and other Left parties and student organisations on 11 February 2021 against the alleged failures of TMC-led Government of West Bengal, which eventually turned into a conflict between the police and protesters. The protest march saw a massive involvement of youths, students and activists from SFI, DYFI and 8 other Left parties along with Indian National Congress and it's unions. Unemployment was one of major issues of this protest.
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