Sarsuna

Sarsuna is a village in Thakurpukur Mahestala CD Block and a neighbourhood in South West Kolkata. Part of the greater Behala region it is reachable through Chowrasta or through the narrow lanes of Barisha. It is a predominantly Bengali neighborhood, though its fast becoming a cosmopolitan place. It is bordered by Barisha in the east and Shakuntala Park to the west.

History

Behala was once a part of the Sunderbans. The history of Barisha dated back to the Pala Era. In the 12th century, Barisha was a small village of farmers, fishermen and honey-gathers when a Kulin Kayastha named Dhananjay Mitra settled here. During the reign of Akbar Barisha came under the lordship of Basanta Roy who set up his capital at modern-day Sarsuna. Roy’s nephew and the king of Jessore Pratapaditya murdered him and incorporated Barisha with his kingdom. After the Mughals defeated Pratapaditya, Laksmikanta Majumdar of the Sabarna Roy Choudhury family was given jagirdari of a vast tract of land by Raja Man Singh in 1608. The three villages of Sutanuti, Govindapur and Kalikata were part of a khasmahal or imperial jagir or an estate belonging to the Mughal emperor himself, whose jagirdari rights were held by the Sabarna Roy Choudhury family. Even the Sabarna Roy Choudhury family was not keen to allow the British to settle or do trading on these villages, but the British had paid a bribe at the Mughal Durbar to ensure that the deal did not fail. Just prior to their move to Barisha, the Roy Choudhury family had to transfer their rights over Kalikata in 1698, to the East India Company much against their wishes and protests. Sabarna Atchala

The stretch of Diamond Harbour Road from Taratala to Thakurpukur is a very old settlement, which divides the Behala into three parts - East Behala, South Behala and West Behala. It is populated mostly by citizens of East-Bengal (Before Partition of India Bangladesh was called East Bengal) though traditionally it was primarily a West-Bengali ('ghoti' in Bengali) settlement.

Settlement in the area dates back to the 1797, but its urbanization is relatively recent. Population growth started in Behala after the partition of India.

The Sabarna Roychoudhury's 'Aath-chala' could be regarded as the most prominent historical structure (though mostly ruined presently) of the city of Kolkata. It is the structure, sitting under which the British East India Company signed the rights of the villages- Kalikata, Gobindapur and Sutanuti (which later merged to form the city of Calcutta), under a lease from the Sabarna Roy Choudhury family on 10 November 1698.

Basically it is an area that was extremely rural prior to the 1972 Bangladesh war. During the war, the Indian government dumped scores of refugees from Bangladesh in this underdeveloped locality close to Kolkata. These refugees are now legalised Indian citizens and form the bulk of the population in Sarsuna.

Demographics

As per 2011 Census of India Sarsuna had a total population of 5,563, of which 2,839 (51%) were males and 2,724 (49%) were females. Population below 6 years was 523. The total number of literates in Sarsuna was 4,402 (87.34% of the population over 6 years).^[1]

Transport

CSTC

Ordinary Bus

• 3A/2 Sarsuna — Salt Lake Sector 5
• 7 Howrah Station — Sarsuna via New Alipore
• 7A Howrah Station — Sarsuna via Khidderpore

Midi Bus

• M7D Sonamukhi Bazar — Kankurgachi
• M7E Bagpota — Howrah

Private Bus

• 18C Bagpota — Anandapur
• 18D Surya Sen Nagar — Howrah Station

JM Series

• JM3 Sarsuna College — Ultadanga

References

1. "C.D. Block Wise Primary Census Abstract Data(PCA)". 2011 census: West Bengal – District-wise CD Blocks. Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 26 April 2016.