Murshidabad district

Murshidabad district () is a district of West Bengal in eastern India. Situated on the left bank of the river Ganges, the district is very fertile. Covering an area of 5,341 km² (2,062 sq mi) and having a population 5.863m (according to 2001 census) it is a densely populated district. The Baharampur town is the headquarters of the district.

The Murshidabad city, which lends its name to the district, was the seat of power of the Nawabs of Bangla. All of Bengal was once governed from this town. Few years after Nawab Siraj-ud-Daula lost to the British at the Battle of Plassey, the capital of Bengal was moved to the newly founded city of Calcutta.

It borders West Bengal's Malda district to the north, Birbhum to the west, Bardhaman to the south-west and Nadia district due south. The international border with Bangladesh's Rajshahi Division is on the east.

History

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.

Origin of name

See also: Mediaval History of Murshidabad

The district is named after the historical town of Murshidabad.

Prehistory

The capital city of Shashanka, the great king of Gauda (comprising 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. The earliest evidences of...
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