Hooghly-Chinsurah
—  city  —
Hooghly-Chinsurah Location of Hooghly-Chinsurah in West Bengal and India
Coordinates	22°54′N 88°23′E / 22.90°N 88.39°E / 22.90; 88.39Coordinates: 22°54′N 88°23′E / 22.90°N 88.39°E / 22.90; 88.39
Country	India
State	West Bengal
District(s)	Hooghly
Parliamentary constituency	Hooghly
Assembly constituency	Chunchura
Population	170,201 (2001[update])
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Codes • Pincode • 712101 712102 712103 712105 • Telephone • +033
Website	hooghly.nic.in

Chuchura Ghorir More clock tower

Hooghly-Chuchura (also known as Hooghly-Chinsura or Hooghly) (Bengali: চূঁচূড়া) is a city in the state of West Bengal, India. It lies on the Hooghly River, 35 km north of Kolkata (Calcutta). It is located in the district of Hugli and is home to the district headquarters. Chuchura houses the Commissioner of the Burdwan Range. It forms a part of the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) region.^[1]

Etymology[link]

Hugli-Chuchura was a municipality formed by the merging of two towns, Hugli and Chinsura, in 1865. The names are spelled in other ways including Hooghly, Hugli, Hughli, Ugulim (in Portuguese), Chinsura, Chunchura, Chuchro and Chinsurah.

The Grand Trunk Road (G.T.Road)passes through the town. Chuchura and Hugli are historic stations on the Howrah-Burdwan main line of the Eastern Railway. Ferry services on the River Hugli serves as a link with the district of North 24 Parganas.

Geography[link]

Hugli-Chuchura is located at 22°54′N 88°23′E / 22.90°N 88.39°E / 22.90; 88.39.^[2]

History[link]

The town of Hooghly-Chuchura was founded by the Portuguese in 1579, but the district has thousands of years of heritage in the form of the great kingdom of Bhurshut. The city flourished as a trading port and some religious structures were built. One such structure is a church dedicated to a charismatic statue of the Mother Mary brought by the Portuguese.

In the 17th century, political disorder struck the city and the Mughal governor of Bengal expelled the Portuguese. The statue was lost in the river by the Portuguese when fleeing. The statue was later found by the local people on the bank of the river. The arrested Portuguese were taken to Delhi where a death sentence of trampling by elephants was decreed. When the emperor Shah Jahan heard this he ordered the priests released and granted a piece of land on the bank of the river Hoogly where the statue of the Mother Mary was reestablished. There a church was constructed to house the statue, which still receives pilgims today. The church was renovated in 1980s and has been declared as a basilica by the authority of Rome.

In 1656 the Dutch erected a factory on the site of the town. At that time Kolkata was the principal settlement in Dutch Bengal, used as a base for the Dutch intra-Asian opium trade.

In 1759 a British force under Colonel Forde was attacked at the Battle of Chinsurah by the garrison of Chinsura on its march to Chandernagore. In less than half an hour the Dutch attackers were routed. In 1795, during the Napoleonic wars, the settlement was occupied by a British garrison. At the peace of 1814 it was restored to the Dutch. It was among the cessions in India made by the king of the Netherlands in 1825 in exchange for the British possessions in Sumatra.

Both Chinsurah and Hooghly played a role in the Bengal renaissance and the Indian independence movement. "Vande Mataram", India's national song, was composed by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay at Joraghat in Chinsurah. Nazrul Islam's revolutionary songs were penned while he was imprisoned by the British in Hooghly Jail.

Chinsurah N.S Road

Transportation[link]

Hugli Chinsurah has three rail stations- Chinsurah (CNS) and Hooghly on the Howrah railway-line and Hooghly Ghat (HYG) on the Sealdah railway line. Chinsurah railway station is well connected to Howrah, Bandel, Burdwan, and other cities. A few passenger and express trains stop at Chinsurah station. Hooghly Ghat station is situated just beside the Jubilee bridge. All the Bandel Naihati locals stop there.

Transportation within Chinsurah is mainly by bus, auto and rickshaw. Buses from the stand go to cities such as Memari, Tarakeswar, Serampore and Chandannagar. Chinsurah is linked to Naihati by ferry services.

Demographics[link]

As of 2001^[update] India census,^[3] Hugli-Chinsurah had a population of 170,201. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Hugli-Chinsurah has an average literacy rate of 81%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 84%, and female literacy is 77%. In Hugli-Chinsurah, 8% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Temples, churches, and attractions[link]

The basilica of the Holy-Rosary, Bandel

Hooghly Imambara

Jubilee Bridge on the Hooghly River between Naihati and Bandel

• Mondal Bari
• Temple of Shandeshwar
• Ghorir More (Edwardian clock tower)
• Diocese church
• Dutch cemetery
• Hooghly Imambara
• Chinsurah Maidan (maath ground)
• Rup Nagar (maath)
• Temple of Mahishmardini
• District Court building
• Ghats on the Ganges (130)
• Anna Maria Sulivan Monument (ground fad center)
• Kazi Nazrul Karagar (jail)
• Jail khana maath (maath dual ground)
• Bandel Church (bacillica ground)

Cultural Organizations[link]

Photographic Association of Chinsurah (www.photoassochin.org)

Notable residents[link]

The town was home to Jyotish Chandra Ghosh (Mastar mashay), hailed as a guru by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. Notable figures associated with the town include Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Shashi Bhusan Chatterjee,Bhudeb Mukhopadhyay, Akshay Chandra Sarkar, and Dr. Murarimohan Mukherjee.

See also[link]

• Hooghly District
• West Bengal
• Colonial India
• European colonies in India
• Dutch India

References[link]

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hugli-Chuchura

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Hugli (town).

• Chinsurah.com
• Hughli in Banglapedia
• Chinsura in Banglapedia
• Hooghly-Chinsurah Information

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v t e Cities, towns and locations in Hooghly District Cities and Towns Chinsurah subdivision Amodghata Badhagachhi Bansberia Chak Bansberia Dharmapur Hugli-Chuchura Kodalia Kulihanda Madhusudanpur Pandua Raghunathpur (PS-Magra) Shankhanagar Simla Chandannagore subdivision Bhadreswar Champdani Chandannagar Singur Tarakeswar Srirampore subdivision Baidyabati Bamunari Barijhati Begampur Chikrand Dakshin Rajyadharpur Dankuni Garalgachha Kanaipur Kharsarai Konnagar Krishnapur Monoharpur Mrigala Nabagram Colony Pairagachha Purba Tajpur Raghunathpur (PS-Dankuni) Rishra Serampore Uttarpara Arambag subdivision Arambag Locations other than cities and towns Anandanagar Antpur Bandel Champadanga Furfura Sharif Gondalpara Guptipara Jejur Kamarpukur Mankundu Mogra Radhanagore Rajbalhat Saptagram Tribeni Related topics Hooghly topics People from Hooghly district Cities, towns and locations in other districts Bankura Bardhaman Birbhum Cooch Behar Dakshin Dinajpur Darjeeling Howrah Jalpaiguri Malda Murshidabad Nadia North 24 Parganas Paschim Medinipur Purba Medinipur Purulia South 24 Parganas Uttar Dinajpur West Bengal portal