MURSHIDABAD, West Bengal

Main Attraction: HAZARDUARY

Murshidabad, the first capital of British India, had been a land of BengalNawbabs. Once upon a time this had been a land of palaces, most of which nowremain as relics. Among those that still prosper, HAZARDUARY stands out.

Situated at the east bank of river Bhagirathi at Lalbagh, this palace was builtduring the reign of NawabNazimHumayun Shah at a cost of Rs. 16.50 lakhs. Designedby Colonel Duncan Mcleod of the Bengal Corps of Engineers, it took 17 years forcompletion (completed in 1837), and was inaugurated during the administration of thethen Governor General Lord Auckland.

Reminiscent of Italian style, as seen in its huge flight of stairs and colossalpillars, this palace has about thousand real and false doors, and hence the nameHAZARDUARY. The palace was used for holding DURBAR and other official work ofthe Nawabs as also for the residence of high ranking British officials. It now houses a museum displaying the stupendous and rare collection of books, manuscripts, statues,arms, paintings and furniture of the Nawabs of Bengal.

Brief History

The history of Murshidabad district can be traced back to ancient times. The geographical area of Murshidabad district can be broadly divided into two parts: the eastern part and the western part. The eastern part of the district which lies to the east of the river Bhagirathi is known as Bagri derived from perhaps Bakradwip and the western part of the district which lies to the west of Bhagirathi is known as Radh. During the 5th century AD some portion of the modern Murshidabad district i.e. Northern Radh and Bagri belonged to the Territory of Gupta Empire. In the 7th century AD King Sasanka ruled over the whole of Radh including some portions of Vanga like Bagri. 

The capital city of King Sasanka’s empireKarnasubarna is now connected throughKarnasubarna (formerly Chiruti) railway station which is the part ofKandi Sub-Division of the district and located at the Katwa-Azimganj Railway line under the Eastern Railway. Yuan Chwang (Hiuen Tsang), the legendary Chinese pilgrim had given a detailed account about this old city alongwith that of the entire kingdom. After the death of Sasanka a state of anarchy (Matsyanaya) prevailed in Bengal which lasted for almost a hundred years.Elevation of Gopal as the King of subjects ended the reign of anarchyprevailing in Bengaltherebylaying the foundation stone of the Pal dynasty.

Dharmapal succeeded his father Gopal in around 770 AD. According to theKhalimpur copperplate-inscription, one of the mandals,Vyaghratatimandal, was included in Pundravardhana-bhukti. Vyagharatati-mandal has been identified with the Bagri portion of Murshidabad, Nadia and North Twenty FourParganas by Alexander Cunningham. The decline of the Pal dynasty begun duringthe reign of Madanpal who ascended the throne in 1144A.D..TheKarnat ruler of Mithila along with his ally Vijaysenwere instrumental in ending the rule of the Pal dynasty. The father of Vijaysen was a feudatory chief or a vassal of the Pals in northern Radh (Birbhum district of the present day). Madanpal was defeated on the banks of river Kalindi in Maldah by the joint army of the Karnats of Mithila and Karnat-Kshatriya - Sens of Bengal. From the several historical evidences it can be found that Vijaysen took hold of the Pal territories in whole of Radh (western Murshidabad) and Bagri (eastern Murshidabad)and had subsequently extended his territory to the whole of the central and southern Bengal. Vijaysen ruled over the entire district of the present day Murshidabad till the invansion of BakhtiyarKhilji.

Invansion of BakhtiyarKhilji laid the foundation stone of Sultanate rule in Bengal.BakhtiyarKhilji on his way from Bihar-Sharif to Nadiya went through the Radh portion of Murshidabad, though he left Nadia to conquer Goud-Lakhnauti and consolidate his conquest in Barendi (North Bengal) and North Bihar. The Radh portion of modern Murshidabad district was brought under the domination of BakhtiyarKhilji in 1206 ADunder the command of Muhammad Sheran and Ahmad Sheran, but it is not clear from the available records whether the whole of Northern Radh was under the jurisdiction of the Sultanate at that juncture. The whole of Northern Radh was under control of the next Sultan GihyasuddinIwazKhalji (circa AD 1213-27) who wrested the last citadel of Hindu rule in Northern Radh. Bagri portion of the modern Murshidabad district was brought under Delhi Sultanate after Lakhnauti in 1259 AD was captured by an official of the Delhi Sultan. Bengal witnessed several types of political upheavals during the next three hundred years.

The rulers were replaced in a very quick succession. Sometimes Bengal was centrally controlled by the Delhi Sultanate, sometimes the Governorsappointed on behalf of the Sultanate declared themselves independent and waged wars with the Sultanate. Sometimes the Governors of different provinces were found to be at loggerheads with each other. Often a de-facto independent Sultan took possession of different Governorships under one command. After the culmination of the Sultanate rule there was a brief era of rule by the Shahi dynasties accompanied by a brief Hindu interregnum (Raja Ganesh). Two most famous dynasties of this period are the dynasties of IllyasShahi and Hussain Shahi. Thereafter Bengal witnessed a brief reign of Sher Shah Suri. Mughal rule in Bengal began afterEmperor Akbar’s General Munim Khan’s move from Bihar towards Bengal and the capture of Bengal’s capital Tanda (near Goud) without a fight in 1574. However, under Akbar the Mughal rule in Bengal was more like an armed occupation that lacked a settled administration. It was only during the reign of Jehangir that the Mughal administration assumed a concrete shape and covered almost the entire Bengal.

The political history of Makhsudabad city alongwith that of the whole of the modern district of Murshidabad witnessed a phenomenal change in 1700 AD with the appointment of Kartalib Khan, alias Jaffar Khan alias MurshidKuli Khan, as the Faujdarof Makhsudabad and the Diwanof Subah Bangla by Emperor Aurangzeb. The name of Murshidabad, where the provincial revenue headquarters was shifted from Dhaka in 1704 by MurshidKuli Khan, the Diwan of Bengal was derived at that juncture. The present name of Murshidabad had been derived from the nomenclature coined by the erstwhileDiwan as Mukhsusabador its similar variant Makhsudabad, meaning the selected city.

After death of MurshidKuli Khan his son-in-law Shuja-ud-daulla (1725-39) succeeded him as the Subedar of Bengal and Orissa. There were more changes in administrative set-up in his tenure. Shuja-ud-daullawas killed during the battle with Alibardi Khan atGiria. After Shuja-ud-daulla, Alibardi became the Subedar and Nawab of Bengal, Bihar and Orrisa and his tenure lasted between 1739 and 1756.During his reign an era of good administration had prevailed. He had to encounter the invasion of the Bargi or Marhatta. Although there were initial setbacks,he ultimately succeeded to hold his ground and eventually forced the Marhatha to retreat from Bengal due to his able administration. After Alivardi died in 1756, his grandson Siraj-ud-daulla succeeded him asNawab of Bengal and Bihar. Siraj-ud-daulla became the victim ofthe joint conspiracy between Mirjafar and Mr. Watts of the British East India Company. With the assistance fromMirjafar, East India Company won the battle of Plassey on 23rd June, 1757.

Siraj was captured near Rajmahal and was murdered by Miran, the son of Mirjafar on 2nd July, 1757. The battle of Plassey (Palashi) in 1757 ushered in phennomenal changes in the administrative set up of Bengal including changes in jurisdiction of several districts. After the battle of Plassey in 1757, Mirjafar became the Nawab of Bengal in the form of a puppet in the hands of the East India Company. In 1761, Mirkasim bribed his way to the ‘Masnad’ and then shifted his capital from Murshidabad to Monghyr. Mir Turab Ali Khan was appointed as the NaibNizam (Deputy Governor) of Murshidabad while Mirkasim took away all the elephants, horses and treasures including gold and silver decorations of the Imambara to Monghyr. Mirkasim's revolt against the Company and his subsequent defeat in the battle of Buxar in 1764 resulted in the anointment of a series of puppet Nawabs to the “Masnad”

With the grant of the Diwani in 1765, the revenue management of the whole of Bengal was handed over to the East India Company. In 1765, the Council of the Company in Calcutta became the supreme revenue management authority and the centre of power in Bengal shifted from Murshidabad to Calcutta. This event led to the relegation of thestatus of erstwhile capital city of Bengal since the reign of the Mughal Subah, Murshidabad into thatof a district town. The famine of 1770 coupled with the transfer of Diwani office to Calcutta in 1772 marked the beginning of an era of rapid decline of Murshidabad.

In 1770, the controlling council of Revenue was set up in Murshidabad, which was subsequently superseded by the Board of Revenue in 1772 resulting in the shifting of the centre of revenue administration from Murshidabad to Calcutta. In 1781, all provincial councils were abolished and Presidents of provincial councils were redesignated as Collectors, who were vested with powers of Civil Judge and Executive Magistrate.

The modern district of Murshidabad came into existence in 1787 following certain jurisdictional interchanges with the Birbhum district though the units in the district were finalised in 1879. Since 1879, the present set up of the district remained same alongwith the boundaries.

As per "3 June Plan" or "Mountbatten Plan", after the partition of India in August, 1947, by mistake Murshidabad was supposed to come under the jurisdiction of East Pakistan. However after the declaration of Radcliff award the district became a part of West Bengal. It is remarkable to note that for 3 days Murshidabad unofficially remained a part of East Pakistan although it was officially a part of West Bengal.