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Keshiary (also spelled as Keshiari) is a village in the
Keshiari Keshiari (also spelled Keshiary) is a community development block that forms an administrative division in the Kharagpur subdivision of Paschim Medinipur district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography Keshiari CD block is a largely infer ...
CD block in the
Kharagpur subdivision Kharagpur subdivision is an administrative subdivision of Paschim Medinipur district in the state of West Bengal, India. Subdivisions Paschim Medinipur district is divided into the following administrative subdivisions, after separation of Jhar ...
of the
Paschim Medinipur district Paschim Medinipur (English: ''West Medinipur'', alternative spelling ''Midnapore'') district is one of the districts of the state of West Bengal, India. It was formed on 1 January 2002 after the partition of Midnapore into Paschim Medinipur a ...
in the 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 ...
.


Etymology

According to the Rennell's map of Bengal (1776AD), present days Keshiary was presented as 'Cofsary' or 'Cossary' in the map. One more area just below the 'Cossary' was presented as 'Rani-saray' which is pronounced same today, the name signifies about a Sarai-Khana (Hotel). Similarly Cossary is also 'Co' and 'Ssary' (a hotel sarai-khana). Thus in the word 'Ke-sh-i-ary' the term 'sh-i-ary' (originally Sarai) can be noticed. It signifies prsecence of a sarai in older times in that region.


History

According to
Binoy Ghosh Binoy Ghosh (14 June 1917 – 24 July 1980) was a journalist, sociologist, writer, literary critic and researcher. His ''Paschim Banger Sanskriti'' won the Rabindra Puraskar in 1959.Sengupta, Subodh Chandra and Bose, Anjali (editors), 1976/1998, ...
, the southern portion of Medinipur district, being adjacent to the
Baleswar district Balasore District, also known as Baleswar District, is an administrative district of Odisha state, in eastern India. Balasore is one of the coastal districts of Odisha and lies on the northernmost part of the state. Etymology Baleswar is sa ...
of
Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...
, had a long-standing cultural interaction with the neighbouring state. Moreover, as the area stands along the path of powerful political forces, it has been facing continual turmoil from the 12-13th century right up to the middle of the 18th century. Whenever local forces gathered some strength, peace reigned for a while, to be overwhelmed again and again by external powers. The Ganga dynasty and others who followed in ruling Odisha, had control over this area for a long time. They extended their limits of their empire to around Mandaran and
Saptagram Saptagram (colloquially called ''Satgaon'') was an ancient major port, the chief city and sometimes capital of southern Bengal, in ancient and medieval times of Bengal, the location presently being in the Hooghly district in the Indian state o ...
in Hooghly district on one side and up to the
Damodar River Damodar River (Pron: /ˈdʌmoˌdaː/) is a river flowing across the Indian states of Jharkhand and West Bengal. The valley is rich in mineral resources and is known for large-scale mining and industrial activity. It was also known as the Sorrow o ...
on the other. In the period around the junction of the Hindu and Muslim periods of rule, the Odisha kings were a powerful force. The Muslims took time to consolidate their rule in Bengal, after their capture of
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 ...
in the 13th century, and the independent kings of Odisha stood in the way of the Muslim advance. During the rule of
Anangabhima Deva III Anangabhima Deva III (Odia language, Odia:ଅନଙ୍ଗଭିମ ଦେବ ତୃତୀୟ) was an Eastern Ganga dynasty, Eastern Ganga monarch who ruled an early medieval Odisha-centered empire in eastern India from the year 1211 to 1238 CE. H ...
(1211-1238), his general Vishnu, even ventured into the
Rarh region ''Rarh region'' () is a toponym for an area in the Indian subcontinent that lies between the Chota Nagpur Plateau on the West and the Ganges Delta on the East. Although the boundaries of the region have been defined differently according to vari ...
and captured Lucknowur (later known as Rajnagar). Sultan Ghiasuddin Khilji recaptured Lucknowur and pushed back the invading forces. In a way, the turmoil of the period of changeover from Hindu to Muslim rule in Bengal, helped the Odisha kings to retain control over this area. The period of turmoil continued till the 16th century when the
Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to the highlands of pre ...
arrived on the scene.Ghosh, Binoy, ''Paschim Banger Sanskriti'', , part II, 1976 edition, pages 125-135, Prakash Bhaban, Kolkata. Daud Khan revolted against the Mughals in 1574 and fled from Saptagram to Dinkeshari (Keshiary). He was defeated by
Todar Mal Raja Todar Mal (1523-24 – 8 November 1589) was an Indian minister, economist, and military commander who served as the Finance minister, Finance Minister (Diwan-i-Ashraff) of the Mughal empire during the reign of Akbar, Akbar I. He was also ...
at
Moghalmari Moghalmari or Mogolmari is a village and an archaeological excavation site in the Dantan II CD block in the Kharagpur subdivision of the Paschim Medinipur district of West Bengal. The excavation of the site which began in 2002–03, led by Pro ...
in 1575. Apart from the Pathans and the Mughals, the
Marathas The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...
also ruled in the area for some time. In the mid-18th century,
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 ...
, after a truce with the Marathas, had left Odisha, including the southern part of Medinipur, to them. There are many places, temples, tanks etc, around Keshiary, that bear the memory of the long rule of the Odisha kings over the region. Perhaps, the most prominent is the
Kurumbera Fort Kurumbera Fort is a medieval fort situated in Gaganeshwar village, southeast of Keshiari, at about four kilometres from that town. The fort has small quarters and temples. It is a protected monument under the Archaeological Survey of India. Geog ...
. It was built by
Kapilendra Deva Kapilendra Deva (died 1467) was the founder of the Suryavamsa Gajapati dynasty that ruled parts of eastern and southern India with present-day Odisha as the center of the kingdom. He ascended to the throne after staging a military coup agains ...
of the
Gajapati Empire The Gajapati Empire was a Medieval India, medieval Hindu monarchy in the Indian subcontinent, Indian subcontinent, originally from the region of Odisha that reigned from c.1434 to 1541. It succeeded the Eastern Ganga dynasty, Eastern Gangas as ...
in the 15th century, possibly with a Shiva deul. The fort has been used by the
Hindu king In Hinduism, kingship was a monarchy institution guided by the religious laws of Hinduism, with corresponding complex and hierarchical structure. Hindu monarchies headed by Hindu kings were widespread in South Asia since about 1500 BC and later i ...
s, the Pathans and the Moghuls. Around 1691, it was made a Moghul military camp during the reign of
Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...
. The Shiva deul was demolished and a mosque was built. There still are (in 1952-53) signs of the foundations of a Hindu temple. There are clear signs of the pre-eminence of
Shaivism Shaivism (, , ) is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Para Brahman, supreme being. It is the Hinduism#Demographics, second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million H ...
and
Tantra Tantra (; ) is an esoteric yogic tradition that developed on the India, Indian subcontinent beginning in the middle of the 1st millennium CE, first within Shaivism and later in Buddhism. The term ''tantra'', in the Greater India, Indian tr ...
in the Keshiary region. This was because of the rule of
Shashanka Shashanka Dev (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: Śaśāṅka) was the first independent king of a unified polity in the Bengal region, called the Gauda Kingdom. He reigned in the 7th century, some historians place his r ...
, a staunch Shaivite, who ruled long before the Odisha kings and whose empire extended, well beyond the southern areas of Medinipur, up to
Ganjam Ganjam is a town and a notified area council in Ganjam district in the state of Odisha, India. Brahmapur, Odisha, Brahmapur, one of the major city of Odisha, is situated in this district on the eastern coastline. Geography Ganjam is located at ...
in Odisha.


Geography


Location

Keshiary is located at .


Area overview

Kharagpur subdivision, shown partly in the map alongside, mostly has
alluvial Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...
soils, except in two CD blocks in the west – Kharagpur I and Keshiary, which mostly have
lateritic Laterite is a soil type rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration, because of high iron oxide content. They develop by intensive and prolo ...
soils. Around 74% of the total cultivated area is cropped more than once. With a density of population of 787 per km2nearly half of the district’s population resides in this subdivision. 14.33% of the population lives in urban areas and 86.67% lives in the rural areas. Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the subdivision. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.


Demographics

According to the 2011 Census of India, Keshiary had a total population of 7,706 of which 3,860 (50%) were males and 3,846 (50%) were females. Population in the age range 0–6 years was 721. The total number of literate persons in Keshiary was 5,724 (74.28% of the population over 6 years). .*For language details see Keshiari#Language and religion


Civic administration


CD block HQ

The headquarters of Keshiary CD block are located at Keshiary.


Police station

Keshiary police station has jurisdiction over
Keshiari Keshiari (also spelled Keshiary) is a community development block that forms an administrative division in the Kharagpur subdivision of Paschim Medinipur district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography Keshiari CD block is a largely infer ...
CD block.


Transport

State Highway 5 running from Rupnarayanpur (in Bardhaman district) to Junput (in Purba Medinipur district) passes through Keshiary.


Education

Keshiary Government College (also known as Government General Degree College, Keshiary) was established in 2015. Affiliated to the
Vidyasagar University Vidyasagar University is a Public university, public research university that was established by an Act of the West Bengal legislature which was notified in the ''Calcutta Gazette'' on 24 June 1981. It is an affiliating university in Paschim Me ...
, it offers honours courses in English, Bengali, Santali, History, Political Science, Anthropology, Botany and Zoology and general course in Arts and Science


Healthcare

Keshiary Rural Hospital, with 30 beds at Keshiary, is the major government medical facility in the Keshiari CD block.


Notes


References

{{Paschim Medinipur District Villages in Paschim Medinipur district