Hijli is a

neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...

Kharagpur Kharagpur () is a planned urban agglomeration and a major industrial city in Paschim Medinipur district of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Kharagpur subdivision. It is the largest, most populated, multicultural and cosmopol ...

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 district or West Midnapore district (also known as Midnapore West) 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 and Purba M ...

in the state of

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

History

Hijli has a history much larger than its present presence. Today it is just another neighborhood of Khargapur city with a satellite

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

. This area was part of

Hijli Kingdom The Hijli Kingdom existed between 1687 and 1886 in the eastern part of India. Initially Hijli was a small island village on the banks of the Rasulpur River as it flows to the Bay of Bengal. It developed into a port town in 1687. Slowly, it convert ...

(1687–1886), which is a small kingdom stretched from

Khejuri Khejuri (also spelled Khajuri) is a village and gram panchayat, in Khejuri II CD Block in Contai subdivision of Purba Medinipur district in the state of West Bengal, India. History According to Binoy Ghosh, in an era when the Magh and Portug ...

in the east to the

Bahiri Bahiri is a census town in Tamluk subdivision of Purba Medinipur district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Demographics India census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about th ...

in the west. In 1728 today's Hijli became the capital of this kingdom. In 1930 during

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

Hijli was chosen to build a jail for participating in armed struggles against the British. The same area of

Hijli Detention Camp Hijli Detention Camp (now called Shaheed Bhavan, IIT Kharagpur), is a former detention camp operated during the period of British Raj, British colonial rule in India. Located in Hijli, beside Kharagpur, (a part of former Hijli Kingdom) in the d ...

was replaced by India's very first Indian Institutes of Technology

Campus A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a college campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls, student centers or dining halls, and park-like se ...

in 1951.

Geography

Location

Hijli is located at .

Area overview

Kharagpur subdivision, shown partly in the map alongside, mostly has

alluvial Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') 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. Alluv ...

soils, except in two CD blocks in the west – Kharagpur I and Keshiary, which mostly have

lateritic Laterite is both a soil and a rock 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 ...

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.

Education

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur) is a public institute of technology established by the Government of India in Kharagpur, West Bengal, India. Established in 1951, the institute is the first of the IITs to be established ...

was the first Indian Institute of Technology in the country in 1950. It was located in what was earlier

that had been used as a

detention camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

during the period of British colonial rule in India to imprison

Indian independence activists The Indian independence movement consisted of efforts by individuals and organizations from a wide spectrum of society to obtain political independence from the British, French and Portuguese rule through the use of a many methods. This is a l ...

Hijli College Hijli College is an undergraduate, coeducational college situated in Hijli, near Kharagpur, Paschim Medinipur, and West Bengal. It was established in the year 1995. The college is under Vidyasagar University. Hijli College started functionin ...

was established in 1995. Affiliated with the

Vidyasagar University Vidyasagar University 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 Medinipur district of southern West Bengal, India. It o ...

it offers honours courses in Bengali, English, Sanskrit, history, education, philosophy, sociology, BCA, chemistry, computer science, geography, mathematics, physics and general courses in arts and science. .* For language details see Kharagpur I#Language and religion

Healthcare

B.C.Roy Technology Hospital at IIT, Kharagpur, functions with 35 beds. Hijli Rural Hospital, with 60 beds at Hijli, is the major government medical facility in the

Kharagpur I Kharagpur I 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. It is located 14 km from Midnapore, the district headquarters. ...

CD block.

References

{{Paschim Medinipur District Cities and towns in Paschim Medinipur district