B. B. D. Bagh
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Binoy-Badal-Dinesh Bagh, shortened as B. B. D. Bagh, formerly called Tank Square and then Dalhousie Square (1847 to 1856), is the administrative, financial and commercial region and one of the
central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...
s of
Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
(Calcutta), capital of the
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
n
state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
of
West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
. It is the seat of
Government of West Bengal The Government of West Bengal, also known as the West Bengal Government, is the Administrative division, principal administrative authority of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal, created by the Constitution ...
and houses all three branches of it. The area consists
Writers' Building The Writers' Buildings or Mahakaran, often shortened to just Writers, was the official secretariat building of the Government of West Bengal, state government of West Bengal in Kolkata, India. The 150-metre long building covers the entire northe ...
, the official state secretariat building,
Raj Bhavan Raj Bhavan () is the common name of the official residences of the governors of the states of India and may refer to: List of Raj Bhavan See also * Raj Niwas *Rashtrapati Ashiana *Rashtrapati Bhavan *Rashtrapati Nilayam Rashtrapati Nilaya ...
, the residence of Governor of West Bengal, Vidhansabha Bhavan, the building housing the
West Bengal Legislative Assembly The West Bengal Legislative Assembly (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paścimabaṅga Vidhānasabhā'') is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of West Bengal, located in eastern India. It consists of 294 members directly elected from single-seat ...
and also the
Calcutta High Court The Calcutta High Court is the oldest High Court in India. It is located at Esplanade Row West, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal. It has jurisdiction over the state of West Bengal and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. T ...
.


Origin of name

B. B. D. stands for three young
Indian independence activists Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...
Benoy Basu, Badal Gupta and Dinesh Gupta — who on 8 December 1930 assassinated the Inspector General of Prisons, N.S. Simpson, in the balconies of the
Writers' Building The Writers' Buildings or Mahakaran, often shortened to just Writers, was the official secretariat building of the Government of West Bengal, state government of West Bengal in Kolkata, India. The 150-metre long building covers the entire northe ...
of the then Dalhousie Square. The square had been named after
Lord Dalhousie James Andrew Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie (22 April 1812 – 19 December 1860), known as the Earl of Dalhousie between 1838 and 1849, was a Scottish statesman and colonial administrator in British India. He served as Governor-Ge ...
, Governor General of India from 1847 to 1856. At different times it has been called ‘The Green before the Fort’ and the Tank Square.


Geography

The B.B.D. Bagh area is near the
Hooghly River The Hooghly River (, also spelled ''Hoogli'' or ''Hugli'') is the westernmost distributary of the Ganges, situated in West Bengal, India. It is known in its upper reaches as the Bhagirathi. The Bhagirathi splits off from the main branch of the G ...
in the western part of Central
Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
and is a square built around the old Lal Dighi tank. The old fort built by the British was near where the General Post Office now is. The area was in the heart of Kalikata or the White Town in old Calcutta.


History

B.B.D. Bagh (or Dalhousie Square as it was formerly known) was created as the center of the British East India Company's trading post along the banks of the Hooghly River. Between the river and the tank (now known as Lal Dighi), lay the original Fort William. In the summer of 1756, Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa launched an attack on the British town for the company's decision to strengthen the fortifications around it. The survivors of the attack were sent to a garrison within the fort which spurred an incident infamously known as the
Black Hole of Calcutta The Black Hole of Calcutta was a dungeon in Fort William, West Bengal, Fort William, Calcutta, measuring , in which troops of Siraj-ud-Daulah, the Nawabs of Bengal, Nawab of Bengal, held British Prisoner of war, prisoners of war on the night ...
. The British soon retook the city after the Nawab retreated from the forces of
Robert Clive Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, (29 September 1725 – 22 November 1774), also known as Clive of India, was the first British List of governors of Bengal Presidency, Governor of the Bengal Presidency. Clive has been widely credited for l ...
. Within a year, the British East India Company's forces had taken all of Bengal and Calcutta, along with the square, was established as the commercial and political center of
British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...
. Over the next one and a half centuries, the square grew in importance and influence. It was named after
Lord Dalhousie James Andrew Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie (22 April 1812 – 19 December 1860), known as the Earl of Dalhousie between 1838 and 1849, was a Scottish statesman and colonial administrator in British India. He served as Governor-Ge ...
, the Governor-General of India. After the fall of company rule in India,
Writers' Building The Writers' Buildings or Mahakaran, often shortened to just Writers, was the official secretariat building of the Government of West Bengal, state government of West Bengal in Kolkata, India. The 150-metre long building covers the entire northe ...
became the secretariat of the Viceroy of India. A number of corporations and institutions opened offices and headquarters in and around the square, giving it its role as the central business district of the city. In 1912, the capital of the
British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...
was officially moved to
New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
, but the majority of the financial and political institutions in the area remained until the late 1920s. Dalhousie Square (B.B.D. Bagh), Calcutta in 1910 During the first half of the 20th century, the
Indian Independence Movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...
began to reach its peak and took a violent turn in Bengal. On the eighth of December 1930, three revolutionaries, Benoy, Badal and Dinesh, stormed the building and fatally shot the Inspector General of Prisons, N.S. Simpson. The three attempted to commit suicide. Although Binoy and Badal succeeded in doing so, Dinesh was hospitalized and later hanged by the British officials. The square was renamed B.B.D. Bagh in their honor after Indian independence. In 1947, the political establishments were officially handed over to the government of India and the government of the newly formed state of
West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
. Over the next few decades, Kolkata would go through rapid economic decline, but B.B.D. Bagh would remain the heart of East India.


Modern significance

B.B.D. Bagh is still the commercial and political center of all of East India and many of the business and political institutions from the colonial era still exist. The centerpiece is the
Writers' Building The Writers' Buildings or Mahakaran, often shortened to just Writers, was the official secretariat building of the Government of West Bengal, state government of West Bengal in Kolkata, India. The 150-metre long building covers the entire northe ...
which is the secretariat of the Government of the State of West Bengal and houses the office of the
Chief Minister of West Bengal The chief minister of West Bengal (IAST: Paścim Baṅgēr Mukhya Mantrī) is the '' de facto'' head of the executive branch of the Government of West Bengal, the subnational authority of the Indian state of West Bengal. The chief minister is ...
. To the west lie the
General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Established in England in the 17th century, the GPO was a state monopoly covering the dispatch of items from a specific ...
, the Royal Insurance Building, the eastern office of the
Reserve Bank of India Reserve Bank of India, abbreviated as RBI, is the central bank of the Republic of India, and regulatory body responsible for regulation of the Indian banking system and Indian rupee, Indian currency. Owned by the Ministry of Finance (India), Min ...
, the headquarters of the Eastern Railway, head office of the
Kolkata Port Trust The Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port (SPMP or SMP, Kolkata), formerly the Kolkata Port, is the only riverine major port in India, in the city of Kolkata, West Bengal, around from the sea. It is the oldest operating port in India and was construc ...
and a number of other government offices. The native name of the area is '''Office Para. To the north lie the Royal Exchange Building which houses the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the
Calcutta Stock Exchange Calcutta Stock Exchange (CSE) was an Indian stock exchange based in Kolkata, India. It is owned by Ministry of Finance, Government of India. It is one of oldest stock exchanges in Asia and third largest bourse in India. It was founded in May ...
, the
Standard Chartered Standard Chartered PLC is a British multinational bank with operations in wealth management, corporate and investment banking, and treasury services. Despite being headquartered in the United Kingdom, it does not conduct retail banking in th ...
Building and many financial establishments. The eastern end also houses a number of offices till
Chittaranjan Avenue Chittaranjan Avenue, more commonly C.R. Avenue (Formerly Central Avenue), a principal north-south thoroughfare in Central-North Kolkata. It starts from Beadon Street (Dani Ghosh Sarani/Abhedananda Road) crossing ( Girish Park) in the north and e ...
. The south area of the square is home to the
Raj Bhavan Raj Bhavan () is the common name of the official residences of the governors of the states of India and may refer to: List of Raj Bhavan See also * Raj Niwas *Rashtrapati Ashiana *Rashtrapati Bhavan *Rashtrapati Nilayam Rashtrapati Nilaya ...
, which is now the residence of the governor and the former residence of the viceroy and governor-general of India. A number of former British colonial administrative offices, including the former foreign and military secretariats, the Treasury Office, the Telegraph Office and Kolkata Town Hall can be found here. This area is also a major commercial district with the offices of
HSBC HSBC Holdings plc ( zh, t_hk=滙豐; initialism from its founding member The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) is a British universal bank and financial services group headquartered in London, England, with historical and business li ...
at Hong Kong House and the Great Eastern Hotel. B.B.D. Bagh can still be considered one of the best remnants and concentrated zones of British colonial architecture in the world. The square is also characterized by other historical landmarks including St. John's Church, which was one of the first buildings in Kolkata and is modeled on St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London's Trafalgar Square. The church is home to beautiful stained glass windows and paintings as well as the mausoleum of
Job Charnock Job Charnock (; –1692/1693) was an English administrator with the East India Company. He is widely regarded by historians as the founder of the city of Calcutta (Kolkata); however, this view was challenged in court, and in 2003 the Calcutta ...
, the man who founded modern Kolkata. B.B.D. Bagh also has a statue of famous philanthropist Maharaja Lakshmeshwar Singh of
Darbhanga Darbhanga is the fifth largest city and municipal corporation in the state of Bihar in India, and is considered an important city in North Bihar. It serves as the headquarters of the Darbhanga district and the Darbhanga division. Darbhanga ...
(1858–1898), sculpted by Edward Onslow Ford. Overall, the square sees thousands of people arriving from all over the
Kolkata metropolitan area The Kolkata Metropolitan Area (abbreviated KMA; formerly Calcutta Metropolitan Area), also known as Greater Kolkata, is the urban agglomeration of the city of Kolkata (Calcutta) in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the third most populous ...
to the offices and businesses that have characterized the area for the last three centuries since the establishment of Kolkata.


Preservation

Dalhousie Square was included in the
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
and
2006 World Monuments Watch The World Monuments Watch is a flagship advocacy program of the New York City, New York-based private non-profit organization World Monuments Fund (WMF) that is dedicated to Historic preservation, preserving the cultural heritage, historic, artistic ...
by the
World Monuments Fund World Monuments Fund (WMF) is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and training ...
due to "decades of neglect".World Monuments Fund - Dalhousie Square
/ref> After this listing the international financial services company
American Express American Express Company or Amex is an American bank holding company and multinational financial services corporation that specializes in payment card industry, payment cards. It is headquartered at 200 Vesey Street, also known as American Expr ...
provided funding through WMF for the square's preservation. A number of buildings in the area have also been listed as heritage buildings and have gone through extensive restorations to bring back the charm of the square. The centerpiece,
Writers' Building The Writers' Buildings or Mahakaran, often shortened to just Writers, was the official secretariat building of the Government of West Bengal, state government of West Bengal in Kolkata, India. The 150-metre long building covers the entire northe ...
, has been temporarily vacated to give way for a massive restoration of the building, which has fallen into disrepair in many areas.


Gallery

File:Calcutta 0.jpg, Dalhousie and its landmarks in a British era postcard File:Tea Board of India 20180823 144554.jpg,
Tea Board of India The Tea Board of India is a state agency of the Government of India under the control of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, established to promote the cultivation, processing, and domestic trade as well as export of tea from India. It was e ...
image:Kolkata BBD statues.jpg, Statues of Benoy, Badal and Dinesh in front of
Writers' Building The Writers' Buildings or Mahakaran, often shortened to just Writers, was the official secretariat building of the Government of West Bengal, state government of West Bengal in Kolkata, India. The 150-metre long building covers the entire northe ...
image:General Post Office and Reserve Bank of India, Kolkata, India.jpg,
General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Established in England in the 17th century, the GPO was a state monopoly covering the dispatch of items from a specific ...
and Reserve Bank of India building from across Lal Dighi image:Kolkata BBD Bagh3.jpg, The southern side of B.B.D. Bagh image:GPO, KOLKATA.jpg, Dome of GPO from across Lal Dighi image:Maharaja Lakshmeshwar Singh statue - Kolkata.JPG, Statue of Maharaja Lakshmeshwar Singh image:Facade of Writers Building - Central Kolkata.jpg, The facade of
Writers' Building The Writers' Buildings or Mahakaran, often shortened to just Writers, was the official secretariat building of the Government of West Bengal, state government of West Bengal in Kolkata, India. The 150-metre long building covers the entire northe ...
File:The Royal Insurance Building, Kolkata, West Bengal.jpg, The Royal Insurance Building, Kolkata File:Central Telegraph Office - Red Cross Place - Kolkata 2011-12-18 0166.JPG, The Central Telegraph Office which lies to the south of the main square File:United Tower - Old Court House Street - Kolkata 2016-06-02 4115.JPG, United Tower File:KolkataHSBC.JPG, Hong Kong House which has and still houses the offices of HSBC in Kolkata image:Town Hall - Kolkata 2011-12-18 0335.JPG, Kolkata Town Hall File:Calcutta ei05-02.jpg,
Calcutta High Court The Calcutta High Court is the oldest High Court in India. It is located at Esplanade Row West, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal. It has jurisdiction over the state of West Bengal and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. T ...
image:Old Koilaghat Building - Kolkata 2012-09-22 0303.JPG, The old Koilaghat Building of the Eastern Railway image:Samriddhi Bhavan - Strand Road - Kolkata 2012-09-22 0343.JPG, Samriddhi Bhavan, the eastern office of the State Bank of India image:Strand Road - Kolkata 2012-09-22 0339.JPG, A view of Strand Road and a government administrative building image:Currency Building - Dalhousie Square - Kolkata 2012-09-22 0289.JPG, The Currency Building undergoing renovations and restorations image:South-east Crossing - Dalhousie Square - Kolkata 2012-09-22 0286.JPG, The south-eastern corner of the main square image:St Andrew's Church - Dalhousie Square - Kolkata 2012-09-22 0281.JPG, St. Andrew's Church in the center of the square image:Netaji Subhas Road - Dalhousie Square - Kolkata 2012-10-09 0296.JPG, Netaji Subhas Road (formerly Clive Road) which runs along the eastern side of Lal Dighi File:Reserve Bank of India (RBI) building, September 2011.jpg, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Kolkata image:Dalhousie Square South - Kolkata 2011-12-18 0130.JPG, A view down Dalhousie Square South File:B. B. D. Bagh Bakultala.jpg, B. B. D. Bagh Bakultala


References


External links

* {{Kolkata neighbourhoods Neighbourhoods in Kolkata Tourist attractions in Kolkata Central business districts in India Road junctions in India Squares in India Financial districts in India