Rajabazar (Kolkata)

Rajabazar is a locality in the city of Kolkata in West Bengal, India. It is located in between CIT Road and APC Road. The locality has grown around Narkeldanaga Main Road (now renamed as Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Sarani), which acts as a connector between CIT Road and APC Road. Thus, Rajabazar can be said to be located between Maniktala, Narkeldanga and Sealdah.

Rajabazar is in a prime location and Sealdah Railway Station is a stone's throw distance from Rajabazar crossing. All civic amenities, such as hospitals, colleges, schools, sanitation, malls, gyms, shopping complexes, cinema halls, mosques and temples are located in and around Rajabazar. Dr. B.C. Roy Children's Hospital is located at a distance of 2–3 km from Rajabazar.

History

The bazaar was established in about 1842 AD on the land owned by Raja Ramlochun Ray, a petty zamindar, by Muslim merchants, businessmen, butchers and cattle traders from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, who had immigrated to Calcutta due to the poor economic condition of Muslims in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh following the Sepoy Mutiny. However, Rajabazar area was settled by Urdu-speaking Muslims from 1880 onwards. The market-place colony was established around the same time as the Harrison Road (now called MG Road) was being built in Calcutta, connecting Sealdah Station to Howrah Station.

A mosque was built which still exists today known as the Rajabazar Barri Masjid and there is another larger mosque being renovated which is Jama Masjid Darur-Salaam on Narkeldanga Main Road and several residential quarters were established around that area. A police station (Narkeldanga Police Station) was established in 1915 near the canal, on Canal West road. The area is known as "Khalpul" due to the bridge over the canal that connects Rajabazar to Narkeldanga. Before the building of the bridge in 1910, there was a bamboo-stilt bridge over the canal. Boat ferries were also used to transport people and supplies across the canal. Over the decades, further population growth and immigration resulted in the growth and extension of the original settlement further, up to Narkeldanga and Phoolbagan in the east, Sealdah to the south, Mechua and Kalabagan to the west and further north. Today, the area is densely populated and crowded, with alleys and lanes established. After the riots of 1947 (during the Partition of India), many Muslims from other parts, like Sealdah, Manicktala and Beliaghata moved to Rajabazar. The Hindu-Muslim riots in Calcutta in 1964, further made Muslims living in areas like Maniktala, Sealdah, Beliaghata and throughout Calcutta, flock to Rajabazar. Over time, therefore, it got transformed into a ghetto. After the 1992-93 Hindu-Muslim riots in Calcutta, further Muslims moved to Rajabazar, as a result of which, today, Rajabazar boasts of having the second largest Muslim population in Calcutta after Metiabruz.

There is a shrine (''mazaar'') of a Muslim Sufi saint in Rajabazar. The area spans the canal, and crosses over the bridge. There are 9 Mosques located at Rajabazar. The bazaar is famous for its jewellery (SHYAM JEWELLERS is the most prestigious Jeweller), bangles, kites, sweetmeats and mutton and beef shops. Rajabazaar is a major cattle and goat trading center in West Bengal called Bakrichar. A movie hall, "Tasveer Mahal", is also located at Rajabazar.

Demographics

Majority of the population of Rajabazar is Sunni Muslim, mostly Urdu

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