Tomb of William Carrey Junior at Katwa 07

Katwa is a sub-divisional town and railway junction in

Purba Bardhaman district Purba Bardhaman district is in the Indian state of West Bengal. Its headquarters is in Bardhaman. It was formed on 7 April 2017 after the division of the previous Bardhaman district. Great revolutionary Rash Behari Bose was born in village Suba ...

of the Indian

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 ...

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 headquarters of the

Katwa subdivision Katwa subdivision is an administrative subdivision of the Purba Bardhaman district in the state of West Bengal, India. Overview The Katwa subdivision extends from the Kanksa-Ketugram plain to the Bhagirathi basin. The Ajay flows through the s ...

. The town was built at the confluence of Ganga and Ajay. Katwa is a border city of three districts; Purba Bardhaman District,

Nadia District Nadia () is a district in the state of West Bengal, India. It borders Bangladesh to the east, North 24 Parganas and Hooghly districts to the south, Purba Bardhaman to the west, and Murshidabad to the north. Nadia district is highly influe ...

and

Murshidabad District Murshidabad district is a district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Situated on the left bank of the river Ganges, the district is very fertile. Covering an area of and having a population 7.103 million (according to 2011 census), it ...

Geography

Location

Katwa is located at . It has an average elevation of . It is situated between the

Ajay River The Ajay (/ˈədʒɑɪ/) is a river which flows through the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. The catchment area of Ajay River is . See also List of rivers of India With a land area of consisting of diverse ecosystems, Indi ...

and 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 ...

and so is bounded by water to the east, west, and north.

Police station

Katwa police station has jurisdiction over Katwa and Dainhat municipalities, and Katwa I and Katwa II CD Blocks. The area covered is 351.03 km².

Urbanisation

88.44% of the population of the Katwa subdivision live in rural areas. Only 11.56% of the population live in the urban areas. The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the subdivision. All places marked on the map are linked in the larger full-screen map.

History

Katwa (Skt. Kātādvīpa) has been proposed as the "Katadupa" mentioned by

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

(circa 24-74 CE), marking it as the city by which flows the River Amystis, taken to imply the Ajay River. The small town has a historical background of five hundred years. The earliest name of Katwa was Indranee Pargana. Later the name was changed to Kantak Nagari. In January 1510, Sri Sri

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (; ), born Vishvambhara Mishra () (18 February 1486 – 14 June 1534), was an Indian Hindus, Hindu saint from Bengal and the founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mode of worshipping Krishna with bha ...

received "

Diksha Diksha (Sanskrit: दीक्षा, IAST: dīkṣā) also spelled diksa, deeksha or deeksa in common usage, translated as a "preparation or consecration for a religious ceremony", is giving of a mantra or an initiation by the guru (in Guru–s ...

" from his guru Kesava Bharati at the site of the current Sri Gauranga Bari Temple in Katwa. Since then, this small township has been a sacred place for

Vaishnavites Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole Para Brahman, supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, ''Mahavishnu''. It is one of the majo ...

. The location of the town at the confluence of two navigable rivers, Ajay and

Bhagirathi The Bhāgīrathī (Pron: /ˌbʌgɪˈɹɑːθɪ/) is a turbulent Himalayan river in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and one of the two headstreams of the Ganges, the major river of Northern India and the holy river of Hinduism. In the Hindu f ...

, made the town strategically important. Katwa was considered the gateway to

Murshidabad Murshidabad (), is a town in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. This town is the headquarters of Lalbag subdivision of Murshidabad district. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hooghly river, Bhagirathi Riv ...

, the erstwhile capital of the subah of Bengal. Nawab

Murshid Quli Khan Murshid Quli Khan ( 1660 – 30 June 1727), also known as Mohammad Hadi (born as Suryanarayana Mishra), was the first Nawab of Bengal, serving from 1717 to 1727. According to some writers, he was born a Hindu in the Deccan Plateau 1670, Mur ...

, Nawab of Bengal, first established a ''chowki'' at Katwa during his reign (1717-1727). Between 1742 and 1751, Katwa was invaded by the

Bargi Bargis () were a light cavalry mercenary group of Maratha Confederacy's who indulged in large scale depredations in the countryside of western part of the Bengal Subah for about ten years (1741–1751) during the Maratha invasions of Bengal. Ma ...

s (break-away Maratha groups) several times, as part of the

Maratha invasions of Bengal The Maratha invasions of Bengal (1742–1751), were the a series of raids by the Maratha Army, Maratha forces in the Bengal Subah (Bengal, Bihar, parts of modern Odisha, Orissa), after the successful campaign in the Carnatic region at the Siege ...

. It was the site of the First Battle of Katwa (1742) and the Second Battle of Katwa (1745), with Nawab

Alivardi Khan Alivardi Khan (1671 – 9 April 1756) was the fourth Nawab of Bengal from 1740 to 1756. He toppled the Nasiri dynasty of Nawabs by defeating Sarfaraz Khan in 1740 and assumed power himself. During much of his reign Alivardi encountered frequen ...

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

defeating the Marathas both times. In the

Battle of Plassey The Battle of Plassey was a decisive victory of the British East India Company, under the leadership of Robert Clive, over the Nawab of Bengal and his French Indies Company, French allies on 23 June 1757. The victory was made possible by the de ...

(1757), on 19 June 1757, Katwa was the last Nawabi garrison conquered by British forces before heading to

Plassey Palashi or Plassey, , ) is a town on the east bank of Bhagirathi River, located approximately 50 kilometres north of the city of Krishnanagar in Kaliganj CD Block in the Nadia District of West Bengal, India. It is particularly well kn ...

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 ...

held a council of war in Katwa on 21 June 1757, where the decision was taken to cross the

to Plassey. On 19 July 1763, Katwa was once again the scene of action during the Third Battle of Katwa, where British troops fought and defeated a contingent of troops loyal to Nawab Mir Qasim. Under the aegis of the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

, Katwa became an urban settlement, encouraged by the presence of missionaries such as William Carey Jr., the son of William Carey. By the 1800s, Katwa had become a thriving trading town with the principal economic activity being the riverine trade in salt. The modern town of Katwa was established in 1850 when it was granted the status of a subdivisional town under the 10th Act of Municipal Rules. The Municipality of Katwa as a governing entity was established on 1 April 1869. The urbanization of Katwa received a further boost with the construction of railroads in the early 20th century: Katwa-Azimganj (constructed in 1903), Katwa-Bandel (1912), Katwa-Bardhaman (1915), Katwa-Ahmedpur (1917).

Demographics

As per the 2011 Census of India, Katwa had a total population of 81,615, of which 41,350 (51%) were males and 40,265 (49%) were females. The population below 6 years was 6,799. The total number of literates in Katwa was 65,187 (79.87% of the population over 6 years). In 2011, the population breakdown by religion was: Hindus (66,899), Muslims (14,488), Sikhs (50), Christians (44), Buddhists (9), Jains (4), and Unspecified/Not Stated (121).Katwa has a total area of 8.53 km² with a population density of 9,681/km². A steady flow of refugees from East Pakistan increased the population of the area in the fifties. Katwa Population Growth

Economy

The economy of Katwa is based on agriculture and agro-related trades. The fertile soil of the surrounding areas is enriched by the alluvium from the Hooghly, Ajay and Damodar rivers. The major crops farmed in the countryside surrounding Katwa include rice, jute, mustard, sugarcane,tea, coffee and various tropical vegetables. Katwa is an essential center for marketing the region's agricultural products and for providing retail and consumer services to the surrounding population. Industries are limited to cottage industries and small-scale agro-related industries, e.g. rice mills, jute products, etc. Within the urban area, as of 2011, 0.81% of workers are employed in the primary (agricultural) sector, 5.96% of workers are employed in the secondary (manufacturing) sector, and 93.70% of workers are employed in the tertiary (services) sector. The Katwa Super Thermal Power Station is a super critical (660MW x2) 1320 MW coal-fired power plant currently in planning stage by NTPC at Srikhanda Village, 8 km from Katwa.

Tourism

Areas of tourism interest in the town include: * Sri Gauranga Bari Temple: where Sri Sri

received "

" from his guru Kesava Bharati. * Madhaitala Ashram: the

ashram An ashram (, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions, not including Buddhism. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (< Gaudiya Vaishnav culture. * Shah Alam's

Dargah A Sufi shrine or dargah ( ''dargâh'' or ''dargah'', Turkish: ''dergâh'', Hindustani: ''dargāh'' दरगाह درگاہ, ''dôrgah'') is a shrine or tomb built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often a Sufi saint or dervi ...

: a building of archaeological interest built in the early-18th century by Nawab Murshid Quli Khan, Nawab of Bengal.

Human resources

Education

Higher education

* Katwa College * Bengal Institute of Technology, Katwa * Katwa Government Primary Teachers’ Training Institute

Library

* Katwa Sub-Divisional Library

Public health

Katwa Sub-Divisional Hospital is a 250-bed public facility providing secondary healthcare to Katwa sub-divisional area. There are a number of private nursing centers that serve the town, as well. Anandaniketan Society for Mental Health Care is a not-for-profit organization situated five kilometers outside of Katwa, providing residential care to 350 children, adolescents, and adults who have physical, mental, and/or intellectual disabilities.

Public safety

Purba Bardhaman District Police's Katwa Police Station has jurisdiction over Katwa and Dainhat municipality areas and Katwa I and Katwa II CD Blocks. The area covered is 351.03 km².

Culture

The dominant culture of Katwa is identical to that of most of

and is deeply influenced by Hindu Bengali culture. Some of the popular festivals in Katwa include: * Poyla Boishakh or Bengali New Year (14/15 April) *

Rath Yatra Ratha Yatra (), or chariot festival, is any public procession in a chariot. They are held annually during festivals in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. The term also refers to the popular annual Ratha Yatra of Puri that involves a public processi ...

(July) *

Mahalaya Pitri Paksha (, ), also spelt Pitru Paksha, is a 16-lunar day period in the Hindu calendar when Hindus pay homage to their ancestors ( Pitri), especially through food offerings. The period is also known as Pitarpas, Pitri Paksha/Pitr-Paksha, P ...

(September/October) *

Durga Puja Durga Puja (ISO 15919, ISO: , ), also known as Durgotsava or Shaaradotsava, is an annual festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which pays homage to the Hinduism, Hindu goddess Durga, and is also celebrated because of Durga's victo ...

(September/October) *

Lakshmi Puja Lakshmi Puja or Lokkhi Pujo ( Devnagari: लक्ष्मी पूजा, Bengali/Assamese: লক্ষ্মী পূজা, Odia: ଲକ୍ଷ୍ମୀ ପୂଜା, Romanised: Lakṣmī Pūjā/ Loķhī Pūjō) is a Hindu occasion for ...

(October) *

Kali Puja Kali Puja (ISO: ), also known as Shyama Puja or Mahanisha Puja, is a festival originating from the Indian subcontinent, dedicated to the Hindu goddess Kali. It is celebrated on the new moon day (Dipannita Amavasya) of the Hindu calendar month o ...

(October/November) and

Deepawali Diwali (), also called Deepavali (IAST: ''Dīpāvalī'') or Deepawali (IAST: ''Dīpāwalī''), is the Hindu festival of lights, with variations celebrated in other Indian religions such as Jainism and Sikhism. It symbolises the spiritual ...

* Kartik Larai (November) *

Saraswati Saraswati (, ), also spelled as Sarasvati, is one of the principal Devi, goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of knowledge, education, learning, arts, speech, poetry, music, purification, language and culture. Together with the godde ...

Puja (February/March) *

Dol Purnima Dol Purnima, also popularly known as Dol Jatra, Dola Jatra, Doul Utsav or Deul, is a Hindu swing festival celebrated during the Holi festival of Assam, Bengal, Braj region, Gujarat, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Tripura. This festival is dedicated to ...

or Dol Yatra (February/March) * Gaura-purnima, the birthday of

(February/March) *

Muharram Al-Muharram () is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is banned. It precedes the month of Safar. The tenth of Muharram is known as Ashura, an important day of commemoration in ...

Kartik Larai

Katwa and its surrounding areas are especially well known for their peaceful Kartik Puja, colloquially known as ''Kartik Larai'' (''Larai'' means "battle" in Bengali). The object of worship is the boy-faced deity, Kartik in reference to the youth of the deity. In the greater Katwa area, over 250 separate organizations organize pujas and joyfully compete with each other over the sophistication of the theme or the sculpture of the deity. After the day of the puja, the deities are paraded in carnival throughout town on their way to be ritually submerged in the nearby Hooghly River. The processions usually feature religious music and dancing, leading to a town-wide, festival-like ambiance (jovially named ''ladai'' or battle) enjoyed by all participants and spectators.

Transportation

Highway

Katwa is served by WB State Highway 6,also known as STKK Road, connecting Katwa to

Suri, Birbhum Suri () (also spelt as Siuri) is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Birbhum district. Geography Location Suri is located at . Suri is 220 km from State capital Kolkata (Calcutt ...

in north and

Nabadwip Nabadwip (), also spelt Navadwip, historically known as Nadia, is a heritage city in Nadia district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is regarded as a holy place by Hindus, and is the birthplace of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Located on the wes ...

Kalna City Kalna or Ambika Kalna is a town in the Purba Bardhaman district of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarter of the Kalna subdivision, situated on the western bank of the Bhāgirathi river. The town is more popularly known as Ambika Kalna, ...

Bansberia Bansberia is a city and a municipality of Hooghly district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. It is about away from Kolkata, at the western end of the Iswar Gupta Setu (Kalyani, West Bengal, Kalyani-Bansberia) ...

and

Grand Trunk Road Grand Trunk Road (formerly known as Uttarapath, Sadak-e-Azam, Shah Rah-e-Azam, Badshahi Sadak, and Long Walk) is one of Asia's oldest and longest major roads. For at least 2,500 years it has linked Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent. It r ...

in south, and WB State Highway 14 connecting Katwa to Balgona,

Bardhaman Bardhaman (, ), officially Bardhaman Sadar, is a city and municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of Purba Bardhaman district, having become a district capital during the period of British rule. Burdwan, an a ...

, Guskara, National Highway 19(previously known as National Highway 2) in the west and Palashi in the east. The closest bridge crossing over the

is at Gouranga Setu at

Mayapur Mayapur () is a human settlement and pilgrimage town in the Nabadwip CD block in the Krishnanagar Sadar subdivision of the Nadia district, West Bengal, India. It is situated at the confluence of the Jalangi River and the Bhagirathi, a dist ...

(41 km away).

South Bengal State Transport Corporation South Bengal State Transport Corporation (SBSTC) is a West Bengal state government undertaken transport corporation. It plys buses in South Bengal and other parts of West Bengal to Durgapur and Kolkata. SBSTC owns many depots in West Bengal to ...

(SBSTC),

North Bengal State Transport Corporation North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC) is a state government run transport corporation in West Bengal, India. It plies buses mainly in North Bengal but operates services to other parts of West Bengal and neighboring states like Sikki ...

(NBSTC) and private operators operate buses from

Asansol Asansol is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the second largest city in West Bengal. It is the 33rd largest urban agglomeration in India by population. Asansol is the district headquarters of Paschim Bardhaman district. Accordi ...

Baharampur Berhampore (), also known as Baharampur (), is a city and a municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. Berhampore is the administrative headquarters of the Murshidabad district. As of 2011 census, Berhampore is the seventh largest cit ...

Bolpur Bolpur is a city and a municipality in Birbhum district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Bolpur subdivision. Bolpur municipal area includes Santiniketan. The city is known as a cultural and educational hub of ...

Esplanade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...

, Krishnanagar,

Ranaghat Ranaghat is a city and a municipality in Nadia district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Ranaghat subdivision. It is known for its handloom industry, various types of flowers and floriculture. History After the ...

, Kalyani, Malda,

Raiganj Raiganj (), is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal and it stands on the bank of the Kulik river. This city is the headquarters of the Uttar Dinajpur district. The city situated in the narrow strip which joins the Northern and Southern p ...

and

Siliguri Siliguri (, ; ), also known as Shiliguri, is a major Tier ii cities in india, tier-II city in West Bengal. It forms the twin cities, Twin Cities with the neighbouring city of Jalpaiguri. The city spans areas of the Darjeeling district, Darjeel ...

. Katwa is well connected by bus with numerous places all around. Most of the buses arrive and leave from Katwa bus stand.

Railway

Katwa Junction is a railway junction on

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , more known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union countries ...

railway line from

Howrah railway station Howrah railway station (also known as Howrah Junction) is a railway station located in the city of Howrah, of Kolkata Metropolitan Area, West Bengal, India. It is the largest and busiest railway complex in India, as well as one of the List of ...

to New Jalpaiguri railway station via

Azimganj Junction railway station Azimganj Junction is a railway station on the Barharwa–Azimganj–Katwa loop and is located in Azimganj City of Murshidabad district lying west of Bhagirathi, a part of the Hooghly river in the Indian state of West Bengal. It serves Jiaganj A ...

. Although Katwa is a railway junction, the number of trains running through this station is less. The Bardhaman-Katwa line, after conversion from narrow gauge to electrified broad gauge, was opened to the public on 12 January 2018. The Ahmedpur-Katwa Railway line has been converted from narrow gauge to broad gauge which provides access to

Rampurhat Junction railway station Rampurhat Junction railway station is 7th busiest railway stations of Eastern Railway zone and it is the largest and busiest railway station of Birbhum district of West Bengal. It is a NSG-3 Category and Class A station. The station is under How ...

Waterway

Katwa is the site of a floating terminal on National Waterway 1 consisting of a pontoon placed on the waterfront with a berth of 30 m (98 ft).

Government and politics

The town of Katwa is divided into twenty (20) administrative wards. Each ward elects a councilor to the governing body, Katwa Municipality. Municipal elections are held every five (5) years, with the most recent election held in 2022.

References

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Purba Bardhaman district