Ilambazar

Ilambazar ইলামবাজার
Census Town
Ilambazar Location in West Bengal, India
Coordinates: 23°38′N 87°32′E / 23.63°N 87.53°ECoordinates: 23°38′N 87°32′E / 23.63°N 87.53°E
Country	India
State	West Bengal
District	Birbhum
Elevation	54 m (177 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	7,125
Languages
• Official	Bengali, English
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	731214
Telephone code	91 3463
Sex ratio	843 ♂/♀
Lok Sabha constituency	Bolpur
Vidhan Sabha constituency	Bolpur
Website	birbhum.nic.in
CD Block

Ilambazar is a census town with police station in Birbhum District in the Indian state of West Bengal. A traditional weaving and trading centre it serves as a gateway to Birbhum district.

Geography

Ilambazar is located at 23°38′N 87°32′E / 23.63°N 87.53°E. It has an average elevation of 54 m (177 ft).^[1]

Ilambazar is located on the northern bank of Ajay River. It is on the four-lane Panagarh–Morgram Highway. The highway has been completed at a cost of $150-million.^[2] A road connects to Bolpur/Santiniketan

Most of the forests in Birbhum district are on laterite soil but the Choupahari sal forests in the Ilambazar area (area 13.9 km²) are on alluvial soil.^[3]

The forests around Ilambazar was on the verge of extinction in the nineties of the previous century but it has got back much of its flora and fauna. The villagers, living in 32 villages located inside the forest, have realised that they can make a living by selling plates (thalis) made of sal leaves and mushrooms (locally called toshor ghuti) both abundantly available in the forest. The forest department formed 12 ‘Bonosamrakshan committees’ (forest preservation committees) comprising the villagers and made them understand how their survival was linked with that of the forest.^[4]

History

Ilambazar developed as a trade mart because of its location at the junction of thoroughfares and the river front. It also had the advantage of being near to weaving centres.^[5] The English assumed the direct administration of the district in 1786 and the British East India Company had a factory at Ilambazar. At that time the French East India Company also made a foray in the Ilambazar area. It helped in the weavers securing higher prices.^[6]

Birbhum was one of the worst sufferers of the famine of 1770. Many hundreds of villages were entirely depopulated and in the towns not a fourth of the population survived.^[7] In the late 18th century, Birbhum and surrounding areas were affected by famines followed by a peasants’ insurrection. Although the insurrection was against zamindars and the government, trade marts were also plundered. In June 1789, Ilambazar, the chief manufacturing and trade centre in the area was sacked in open dylight.^[8] Ilambazar survived the sack of 1789 and re-emerged as a busy manufacturing and trade centre since the opening of the 19th century.At the time of Shewill’s survey operations it contained a population of 2,235 souls.^[9]

Cotton goods were not the only items of trade. In the mid 19th century, John Erskine of Ilambazar was one of the leading sugar manufacturers and exporters in the area.^[10] The Erskine family also had indigo factories.^[11] Ilambazar was once an area for indigo cultivation, traces of which can still be found.^[12]

Culture

Temples

The Gouranga temple at Ilambazar, and the Shiva temple at Ghurisha are amongst the state protected temples in the area.^[13] Rameswara Shiva temple is one of the three temples at Ilambazar with exquisite terracotta work.^[14] During the late 1940s Ilambazar terracotta temples were photo-documented by artist Mukul Dey of Santiniketan.

Craft

John Erskine and John Cheap took an important part in the development of the shellac industry. Erskine constructed a large shellac and lac dye factory at Ilambazar and as Cheap retired from the field, virtually monopolized it. The lac was collected from the forests and lac dye and shellac manufactured in the factory at Ilambazar. Lac artisans, locally called nuris, worked out a variety of lacquered items namely, cups, inkpots, bracelets and toys ‘of excellent design and craftsmanship’. Some of the ornamental items were sent to the Great Paris Exhibition of 1855. However, Sherwill noted that ornamental items were manufactured at Ilambazar by only two men.^[15] The descendants of fine lacquer craftsmen are still there at Ilambazar.^[16]

The National Institute of Fashion Technology has trained almost 2000 artisans from various parts of Birbhum in handicraft and handloom as a part of its consolidated cluster development project undertaken in collaboration with the ministry of rural development and its counterpart in the state. Estimated at Rs 15 crore this project is underway in five selected parts of the country. The main project in the eastern zone was implemented in Bolpur, Nalhati, Ilambazar and Rajnagar.^[17]

References

1. "Ilam Bazar, India Page". West Bengal. Falling Rain Genomics. Retrieved 2008-08-19.
2. "$210 m ADB loan for north-south corridor". The Statesman, 28 May 2001. Retrieved 2007-09-17.
3. Ghosh, Kanailal, Birbhumer Bon Udbhidjo O Banyapran, Paschim Banga, Birbhum Special Issue, February 2006, (Bengali), p. 193, Information & Cultural Department, Government of West Bengal.
4. "Collective effort to restore greenery". The Statesman, 9 October 2002. Retrieved 2007-09-17. Illambazar Helpful Boy Arozkhadim From- IIllambazar
5. Gupta, Dr. Ranjan Kumar, The Economic Life of a Bengal District: Birbhum 1770 – 1857, p. 14, The University of Burdwan, 1984.
6. Gupta, Dr. Ranjan Kumar, p. 152
7. Gupta, Dr. Ranjan Kumar, p. 257
8. Gupta, Dr. Ranjan Kumar, pp. 44, 47
9. Gupta, Dr. Ranjan Kumar, p. 260
10. Gupta, Dr. Ranjan Kumar, p. 188
11. Gupta, Dr. Ranjan Kumar, p. 191
12. Sarkar, Joydeep, Paryatan Boichitre Birbhum Jela, Paschim Banga, Birbhum Special Issue, February 2006, (Bengali), p. 199, Information & Cultural Department, Government of West Bengal.
13. "List of State Protected Monuments & Sites". District Birbhum. Deptt of Information and Culture, Government of West Bengal. Retrieved 2007-08-24.
14. "Indian Heritage". Rameswara Shiva temple. indianheritages.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2007-09-17.
15. Gupta, Dr. Ranjan Kumar, p. 196
16. Gupta, Anupam. "Protecting a Legacy II". The Statesman, 14 May 2004. Retrieved 2007-09-17.
17. Roy Chowdhury, Amrita. "NIFT in a new role, to train artisans". The Statesman, 1 August 2005. Retrieved 2007-09-17.