Kharar is a historical town of

Ghatal Ghatal is a town and a municipality in Paschim Medinipur district, West Bengal, India. Earlier it was part of Hooghly District in 1872 it was merged with Medinipur district. It is the headquarters of the Ghatal subdivision. History In ancien ...

and one of the oldest town in

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. This city is located in the

Subdivision of the Indian 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 ...

. Earlier this town was part of

Hooghly District Hooghly district () is one of the districts of the Indian state of West Bengal. It can alternatively be spelt ''Hoogli'' or ''Hugli''. The district is named after the Hooghly River. The headquarters of the district are at Hooghly-Chinsurah (' ...

later it was merged with Medinipur district.

History

In 1884, according to section 8 of the then Bengal Municipality Act Kharar municipality had been established with Rayerdanga, Krishnapur, Udaygunge and Dalapatipur village under its jurisdiction. Initially Kharar was under

Arambagh subdivision Arambag subdivision is an administrative subdivision of the Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Overview Arambag subdivision is a rural dominated area. All the blocks in the subdivision have their entire population living in th ...

Hooghly district Hooghly district () is one of the districts of the Indian state of West Bengal. It can alternatively be spelt ''Hoogli'' or ''Hugli''. The district is named after the Hooghly River. The headquarters of the district are at Hooghly-Chinsurah (' ...

. Later it was transferred to

Ghatal subdivision Ghatal subdivision is an administrative subdivision of Paschim Medinipur district in the state of West Bengal, India. Earlier it was part of Hooghly District. Later in 1872 it was merged with Medinipur District. Subdivisions Paschim Medinipur di ...

Paschim Medinipur 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 ...

Geography

Location

Kharar is located at .

Area overview

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar Ishwar Chandra Bandyopadhyay (26 September 1820 – 29 July 1891), popularly known as Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (), was an Indian educator and social reformer of the nineteenth century. His efforts to simplify and modernise Bengali language, Ben ...

, scholar, social reformer and a key figure of the

Bengal Renaissance The Bengal Renaissance (), also known as the Bengali Renaissance, was a cultural, social, intellectual, and artistic movement that took place in the Bengal region of the British Raj, from the late 18th century to the early 20th century. Histo ...

, was born at Birsingha on 26 September 1820. Ghatal subdivision, shown in the map alongside, 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. Around 85% of the total cultivated area is cropped more than once. It has a density of population of 1,099 per km², but being a small subdivision only a little over a fifth of the people in the district reside 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.

Economy

In ancient times, this area was known for its brass and bell utensils and as goldsmiths. The principal crops are paddy and potato. Kharar, along with the neighbouring areas and neighbouring cities like

Chandrakona Chandrakona is a town and a municipality in the Ghatal subdivision of Paschim Medinipur district in the state of West Bengal, India. The city is located between Ghatal and Garhbeta. Chandraketu was the founder of the kingdom of Chandrakona. In ...

and Ramjibanpur are known for the manufacture of brass and bell metal.

Administration

Kharar is administered by the Kharar Municipality. Kharar municipality was established in 1888. The Kharar city is divided into 10 wards for which elections are held every 5 years.

Demographics

As per 2011 Census of India, Kharar had a total population of 12,118 of which 6,124 (51%) were males and 5,994 (49%) were females. Population in the age range 0–6 years was 1,167. The total number of literate persons in Kharar was 9,364 (85.51% of the population over 6 years). India

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, Kharar had a population of 11,580. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Kharar has an average literacy rate of 74%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 81%, and female literacy is 67%. In Kharar, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Education

There are two high school and more than ten primary schools in Kharar. The name of the high schools are - 1. Kharar Sri Aurobindo Vidyamandir. 2. Kharar S.K.H.Hait Balika Vidyalaya. Ghatal Satabarsiki Mahavidyalaya and Chandrakona Vidyasagar Mahavidyalaya are two nearest college of Kharar.

Culture

David J. McCutchion mentions:McCutchion, David J., ''Late Mediaeval Temples of Bengal'', first published 1972, reprinted 2017, pages 49, 52, 55, 65, 66, 68, 70. The Asiatic Society, Kolkata, *The Sitaram temple of the Maji family as a standard three-storied '' trayodashratna'' structure, built in 1865, measuring 15’ square with

terracotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...

and

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

decorations. *The Narayana temple of the Santra family as a flat roofed structure decorated with pinnacles, 19th century built with terracotta decorations. *The Shiva temple as a ''rekha deul'' or pirha deul, with a pirha

porch A porch (; , ) is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance to a building. A porch is placed in front of the façade of a building it commands, and forms a low front. Alternatively, it may be a vestibule (architecture), vestibule (a s ...

of base dimension smaller than the main temple, measuring 13’ 9” square + 12’ 6” square, brick built in the 18th century, with terracotta figures. *A temple with some decoration as a ''pancha-ratna'' with smooth ''rekha'' turrets,. * A temple with some decoration as a West Bengal ''nava-ratna'' with ridged turrets. * The Narayan temple at Rayapara as a straight-corniced ''nava-ratna'' or a double-storied flat roof temple with turrets * There is shani temple , sukumar harh is the priest of this temple * Bhatpukur Kali Puja is also there *

Kharar picture gallery

File:13 pinnacled Sita Rama Temple of Majhi Family at Kharar under Ghatal Police Station at Paschim Medinipur district in West Bengal.jpg, Sita Rama temple of Maji family with 13 pinnacles File:13 pinnacled Sita Rama Temple of Majhi Family at Kharar under Ghatal Police Station at Paschim Medinipur district in West Bengal 03.jpg, Stucco work in the Sitarñ Rama temple File:13 pinnacled Sita Rama Temple of Majhi Family at Kharar under Ghatal Police Station at Paschim Medinipur district in West Bengal 06.jpg, Carved wooden door in the Sita Rama temple File:9 Pinnacle Sitala temple of Mondal family at Kharar under Ghatal Police Station in Paschim Medinipur district in West Bengal 14.jpg, Sitala temple of Mondal family with 9 pinnacles

References

External links

{{Municipalities of West Bengal Cities and towns in Paschim Medinipur district Cities in West Bengal