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| Barrackpore is a green and well laid out
Cantonment on the banks of Hooghly River 22 Kms north
of Kolkata and has the distinction of being the oldest
in the country, indeed the Sub continent. The military
station of Barrackpore came into being in 1765 and Warren
Hastings took over as the first Governor General on
20th October, 1774, Gradually the importance of Barrackore
grew and as an adjunct to Calcutta, the then capital
of British India, it remained the symbolic seat of military
power till 23 November 1910 when the capital was shifted
from Calcutta to New Delhi. |
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Lord Wellesly who became the 'Captain General and Commanding
in Chief of all the forces of the Crown in the East Indies'
in the year 1800 started beautification of Barrackpore and
it got glorified immensely under him. The modern history of
Barrackpore revolves around three distinct events. The first
was the establishment of Lat Bagan, literally translated as
the 'Viceregal Garden'. In its green and shady park besides
the Hooghly River, Barrackpore was as close to an English
country house as possible, yet it had all the magic of India.
The second event was the Sepoy Mutiny that took place in 1824.
As a result of this Mutiny, native Sepoys under the leadership
of Bindce Tiwary famously called as Bindi Baba, Sepoy of 47
infantry rebelled on the order of British to move to Chittagong
and on to Rangoon. Barrackpore was virtually under the control
of 47 Native Infantry led by Sepoy Bindce Tiwary for 2 days
and thereafter the rebellion was crushed with great force
by the British. All the rebels were mercilessly massacred.
The third event happens to be the most prominent and tipped
to had started first was of Indian Independence in 1857, when
the first shot against British was fired by Sepoy Mangal Pandey
on 29 March at Barrackpore. The thread of social events running
through these periods is best left to the imagination of oneself
since this mutiny of 1857 has had a tranquil existence.
The Cantonment Board takes care of the civic administration
of the Cantonment and it was erstwhile called as Cantonment
authority. The Cantonment authority was functioning form 1765
and several old records presently available since 1870 are
under the safe custody of the Cantonment Board. Certain important
documents have also been made available on this website. In
subsequent paragraphs the rich heritage and historical importance
of Barrackpore Cantonment elaborating the events associated
with it are available. Barrackpore Cantonment has transcended
over the passage of time. Though only its modern history has
come to the forefront there are also records to suggest that
this place was a hub of commercial and political activities
since the Gupta era.
Some valuable books that have covered details of Barrackpore
Cantonment have also been placed in the Bibliography.
Bibliography on Cantt History |
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