Haripur is a village in the Cooch Behar II CD block in the

Cooch Behar Sadar subdivision Cooch Behar Sadar subdivision is a subdivision of the Cooch Behar district in the state of West Bengal, India. Subdivisions Cooch Behar district is divided into the following administrative subdivisions: Administrative units Cooch Behar Sad ...

of the

Cooch Behar district Cooch Behar district (), also known as Koch Bihar district, is one of the List of districts of West Bengal, 23 districts of the state of West Bengal in India. The district is the part of Jalpaiguri division, Jalpaiguri Division. Cooch Behar ci ...

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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Geography

Location

Haripur is located at . Haripur is west of Madhupur Satra and is on the banks of the

Torsha River The Torsa River (also spelt Torsha and also known as Kambu Maqu, Machu and Amo Chhu) rises from the Chumbi Valley in Tibet, China, where it is known as Machu. Its course continues into Bhutan, India, and Bangladesh before joining the Brahmaputra ...

.Koch Bihar Jelar Purakirti (in Bengali), Data compilation and writing by Dr. Shyamachand Mukhopadhayay, published by the Department of Archaeology, Government of West Bengal, Second edition 1974, Pages 61-62.

Area overview

The map alongside shows the north-central part of the district. It has the highest level of urbanisation in an overwhelming rural district. 22.08% of the population of the Cooch Behar Sadar subdivision lives in the urban areas and 77.92% lives in the rural areas. The entire district forms the flat

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 ...

flood plains of mighty rivers. 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

As per the 2011 Census of India, Haripur had a total population of 995. There were 523 (53%) males and 472 (47%) females. There were 119 persons in the age range of 0 to 6 years. The total number of literate people in Haripur was 667 (76.14% of the population over 6 years).

Culture

The Harihar Mahadev temple is a squarish brick-built structure, that has sunk considerably because of an earthquake. Devotees have to descend 8 ft, stepping over 8 stairs to reach the

Shiva linga A lingam ( , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. The word ''lingam'' is found in the Upanishads and epic literature, wher ...

in the

garbhagriha A ''garbhagriha'' () is the innermost sanctuary of Hindu and Jain temples, often referred to as the "holy of holies" or " sanctum sanctorum". The term ''garbhagriha'' (literally, "womb chamber") comes from the Sanskrit words ''garbha'' for ...

or the

sanctum sanctorum The Latin phrase ''sanctum sanctorum'' is a translation of the Hebrew term ''קֹדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים'' (Qṓḏeš HaQŏḏāšîm), literally meaning Holy of Holies, in Latin texts, this generally refers to the holiest place of t ...

of the temple. A tin shed has been built over the entrance door to prevent rainwater from entering the temple. The temple now measures in height. The original height must have been around . The temple is a square. The temple is estimated to have been built in the 18th century by the

Cooch Behar State Cooch Behar, also known as Koch Bihar, was a princely state in India during the British Raj. The state was placed under the Bengal States Agency, part of the Eastern States Agency of the Bengal Presidency. It was located south of the Hima ...

rulers. There are some stone decorations in the walls, which seem to be of an earlier period, but these may have been brought from other temples.

References

{{Cooch Behar District Villages in Cooch Behar district