Tangra is a region in East Kolkata that traditionally housed many tanneries owned by people of Hakka Chinese origin.

History

The

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

obtained from the

Mughal emperor The emperors of the Mughal Empire, who were all members of the Timurid dynasty (House of Babur), ruled the empire from its inception on 21 April 1526 to its dissolution on 21 September 1857. They were supreme monarchs of the Mughal Empire in ...

Farrukhsiyar, in 1717, the right to rent from 38 villages surrounding their settlement. Of these 5 lay across the Hooghly in what is now Howrah district. The remaining 33 villages were on the Calcutta side. After the fall of Siraj-ud-daulah, the last independent

Nawab of Bengal The Nawab of Bengal (, ) was the hereditary ruler of Bengal Subah in Mughal India. In the early 18th-century, the Nawab of Bengal was the ''de facto'' independent ruler of the three regions of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa which constitute the mod ...

, it purchased these villages in 1758 from Mir Jafar and reorganised them. These villages were known en-bloc as '' Dihi Panchannagram'' and Tangra was one of them. It was considered to be a suburb beyond the limits of the Maratha Ditch. In the eastern fringes of Kolkata, the neighbourhoods such as Tangra, Tiljala, Topsia and Dhapa, were populated largely with people who migrated from poverty-ridden and caste-ridden villages, in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. They came with dreams of a better life but landed in the slums with open drains, pigsties, factory chimneys and pungent chemicals. They found work in the tanneries and factories, and also engaged in menial work. A big proportion of them were Chamars, but there also were

Doms The Doma (), also known as ''Dom'', ''Domra'', ''Domba'', ''Domaka'', ''Dombara'' and ''Dombari'', are castes, or groups, scattered across India. The Doma/Dom were a caste of drummers. According to Tantra scriptures, the Dom were engaged in the ...

, Dosads, Mehtars and Kahars. They were all Harijans and they formed a majority. They escaped from persecution they faced in their villages but were far removed from the mainstream of urban life and culture. The Cha Project is designed to preserve Tiretta Bazaar and develop Tangra.

Geography

Police district

Tangra police station is in the Eastern Suburban division of

Kolkata Police The Kolkata Police () (formerly "Calcutta Police"), is the Law enforcement in India, territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and crime prevention within the Kolkata metropolitan region, metropolitan area of the city of Kolkata, ...

. It is located at 15, Gobinda Chandra Khatik Road, Kolkata-700015. Ultadanga Women police station covers all police districts under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Suburban division i.e. Beliaghata, Entally, Manicktolla, Narkeldanga, Ultadanga, Tangra and Phoolbagan.

Transport

Bus

Private Bus

* 24 Topsia - Bandhaghat * 24A Topsia - Bandhaghat * 213 Ghatakpukur - Babughat * SD24 Sonakhali, Basanti - Alipore Zoo

Mini Bus

* S166 Tangra - Howrah Station

Train

Park Circus railway station on Sealdah South lines is the nearest railway station.

Education

* D.N. De Homoeopathic Medical College & Hospital

Metro Rail

Barun Sengupta metro station (also known as Science City), is an under construction station of the Kolkata Metro Orange Line located at Parama Island on the EM Bypass is the nearest metro station.

References

External links

* {{Neighbourhoods in Kolkata Chinese-Indian culture Ethnic enclaves in India Indian leather industry Neighbourhoods in Kolkata Restaurant districts and streets in India Tanning (leather)