B. B. D. Bagh

Coordinates: 22°34′19″N 88°20′56″E / 22.572°N 88.349°E / 22.572; 88.349
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
Dalhousie Square
)

B.B.D. Bagh
Neighbourhood in Kolkata (Calcutta)
Chowranghee

Binoy-Badal-Dinesh Bagh, shortened as B. B. D. Bagh, formerly called Tank Square and then Dalhousie Square (1847 to 1856),

Governor of West Bengal, Vidhansabha Bhavan, the building housing the West Bengal Legislative Assembly and also the Calcutta High Court
.

Origin of name

Memory of martyrdom

B. B. D. stands for three young

Governor General of India from 1847 to 1856. At different times it has been called ‘The Green before the Fort’ and the Tank Square.[3]

Geography

The B.B.D. Bagh area is near the Hooghly River in the western part of Central Kolkata 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

A picture of Dalhousie Square looking northeast in the 1870s

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 British soon retook the city after the Nawab retreated from the forces of Robert Clive. 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
.

A view of the General Post Office in the 1880s

Over the next one and a half centuries, the square grew in importance and influence. It was named after

Lord Dalhousie, the Governor-General of India. After the fall of company rule in India, Writers' Building 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 was officially moved to New Delhi
, 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 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
. 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. Bag circular railway station

B.B.D. Bagh is still the commercial

Great Eastern Hotel
.

A view of the General Post Office in 2010

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

Maharaja Lakshmeshwar Singh of Darbhanga (1858–1898), sculpted by Edward Onslow Ford
.

Great Eastern Hotel (Kolkata)

Overall, the square sees thousands of people arriving from all over the

Kolkata metropolitan area
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 and 2006 World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund due to "decades of neglect".[6] After this listing the international financial services company American Express 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, has been temporarily vacated to give way for a massive restoration of the building, which has fallen into disrepair in many areas.

Gallery

  • Dalhousie and its landmarks in a British era postcard
    Dalhousie and its landmarks in a British era postcard
  • Tea Board of India
  • Statues of Benoy, Badal and Dinesh in front of Writers' Building
    Statues of Benoy, Badal and Dinesh in front of Writers' Building
  • General Post Office and Reserve Bank of India building from across Lal Dighi
    General Post Office and Reserve Bank of India building from across Lal Dighi
  • The southern side of B.B.D. Bagh
    The southern side of B.B.D. Bagh
  • Dome of GPO from across Lal Dighi
    Dome of GPO from across Lal Dighi
  • Statue of Maharaja Lakshmeshwar Singh
    Statue of
    Maharaja Lakshmeshwar Singh
  • The facade of Writers' Building
    The facade of Writers' Building
  • The Royal Insurance Building, Kolkata
    The Royal Insurance Building, Kolkata
  • The Central Telegraph Office which lies to the south of the main square
    The Central Telegraph Office which lies to the south of the main square
  • United Tower
    United Tower
  • Hong Kong House which has and still houses the offices of HSBC in Kolkata
    Hong Kong House which has and still houses the offices of HSBC in Kolkata
  • Kolkata Town Hall
  • Calcutta High Court
  • The old Koilaghat Building of the Eastern Railway
    The old Koilaghat Building of the Eastern Railway
  • Samriddhi Bhavan, the eastern office of the State Bank of India
    Samriddhi Bhavan, the eastern office of the State Bank of India
  • A view of Strand Road and a government administrative building
    A view of Strand Road and a government administrative building
  • The Currency Building undergoing renovations and restorations
    The Currency Building undergoing renovations and restorations
  • The south-eastern corner of the main square
    The south-eastern corner of the main square
  • St. Andrew's Church in the center of the square
    St. Andrew's Church in the center of the square
  • Netaji Subhas Road (formerly Clive Road) which runs along the eastern side of Lal Dighi
    Netaji Subhas Road (formerly Clive Road) which runs along the eastern side of Lal Dighi
  • Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Kolkata
    Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Kolkata
  • A view down Dalhousie Square South
    A view down Dalhousie Square South
  • B. B. D. Bagh Bakultala
    B. B. D. Bagh Bakultala

References

  1. ^ "1833 building that escaped demolition is now a goldmine of art". thehindu.com. 14 December 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  2. ^ "Benoy Badal Dinesh: The Story of Three Brave Boys Who Took The Battle to the British!". thebetterindia.com. 4 August 2018. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  3. ^ Cotton, H.E.A., Calcutta Old and New, 1909/1980, p 268-9, General Printers and Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
  4. .
  5. ^ Gupta, Gargi (4 March 2017). "The making and marring of cityscapes". dnaindia.com. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  6. ^ World Monuments Fund - Dalhousie Square

External links