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| Clockwise from top: Asansol Railway Station, IISCO Steel Plant, TV Pole, Galaxy Mall, Asansol Engineering College, Asansol Indoor Stadium, Rabindra Bhawan, Eastern Coalfields Limited source Wikipedia |
Introduction
Asansol is the second-largest urban city in West Bengal, following Kolkata. This city, located on the banks of the river Damodar, is not just known for the modern industry and railways; it is known by its obscure history of coal mining, British industrialization, and mutual interaction of different cultures. This area used to be a home of Santals and other tribal groups of people, and was then developed into one of the oldest districts of coal mining in India. The introduction of the railways, the coining of the coal and steel industries, and the multinational labor force instantly turned Aasansol into a historic industrial city. Hence, the premise of Asansol is not just the story of a city, since it is an exclusive piece of the story that is connected to the Bengal industrial revolution and urbanization.
Ancient settlements, pre-colonial settlements
The ancient and the pre-colonial settlements actually represent the settlements before the various colonizers appeared. The ancient settlements basically represent the settlements prior to the settlement of the European colonizers. In Europe, the colonizers were people such as the French, the British, and the Germans. Asansol's history is quite ancient. Since ancient times, the Damodar River and the surrounding plains have been convenient to settle human population there. Originally, the natives existed. They relied on farming, hunting and the collection of forest produce, and the life of rivers. The Damodar River was formerly known as the Soro River of Bengal since floods of the river in the rainy season used to destroy the surroundings. Meanwhile, though, the riverlet made the land around it rich, which was valuable to agriculture. Prior to the start of the colonial period, Asansol used to be a serene and agricultural county. No industry or urbanisation. However, the richness of underground minerals, particularly coal, totally altered the destiny of the area in the future.
Discovery of coal and growth of industry.
The largest twist in the history of Asansol happened during the late 18th century when the presence of coal was established in the area. In 1774, the earliest coal mine was discovered within the Raniganj region by officials of the British East India Company, John Sumner and G. J. Verner, a Swedish engineering manager. This later became the first coal mining region in India in the form of Asansol-Raniganj. Commercial mining of coal began by the British in the 19th century. Their area soon developed into a significant one to provide coal at Calcutta port. Coal-based factories, the iron industry, and power generation were developed, and later the steel industry. Due to the rising demand for coal, Asansol turned out to be a busy industrial centre. Workers are driven to work here, in far-flung areas - Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, and even other areas of North India. The consequent effect was that Asansol no longer just became an industrial city, but also a multicultural convergence. It is this coal industry that preconditioned further development of this city, and now the city is one of the largest industrial regions of West Bengal and India.
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| Asansol Railway Junction Source Wikipedia |
The development of the railway
The growth of the railway Rail and industrial development of Asansol go hand in hand. In the mid-19th century, the British wanted a more expedient mode of transport that could handle growing demand for coal. This gave birth to the East Indian Railway in 1855, and this reached from Raniganj to Howrah. Asansol is a major stop of this rail line. The introduction of the railway also facilitated the transportation of coal in a cheaper and easier way. The delivery of Kolkata city, industrial regions, and ports with coal became feasible in a short time. And this meant that Asansol was soon transformed into an industrial hub. Due to the railway, markets, settlements, European clubs, churches, and labour colonies started emerging. Asansol developed as a place of coal transportation as well as a railway workshop and locomotive repair. The identity of the city slowly extended throughout Bengal, and Asansol secured its presence as one of the industrial and rail hubs of British India. Urban population rise Urban growth Overview The urban population explosion Urban growth Urban growth Since the beginning of the twentieth century, the rate of growth in urbanisation has been increasing and is expected to continue into the future. Asansol soon started to change into a modern city when the railways were established and the coal industry developed. A chain of labour colonies, markets, hospitals, schools, and churches was developed in the late 19th and early 20th century. Asansol turned out to be a multicultural and multilingual meeting place as workers from other provinces settled here. The process of urbanization of Asansol was accelerated under the British. The face of the city transformed due to the presence of railway colonies, European clubs, English educational institutions, and administrative infrastructure. Since independence, Asansol has become a municipality and then a corporation. There thrived trade and commerce along with industry, and the city was one of the most industrialized cities in West Bengal. The current Asansol is not only a significant town as far as coal and steel industries are concerned, but also a significant town in terms of educational institutions, health care and several forms of cultural diversity. It is a historical city located on the bank of the river Damodar, with the industrial and cultural capital of West Bengal.
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| Gandhi More, AKA Ghori More or 'Court', Asansol Source Wikipedia |
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| Asansol Engineering College and Statue of Swami Vivekananda at Vivekanda Park Source Wikipedia |
The New Asansol
Asansol is today among the largest industrial and trade centres of West Bengal. It is the district and municipal headquarters of the Paschim Bardhaman district and the Asansol Municipal Corporation. Even today, the chief source of economy of the city remains one of the largest coalfields in India, the Raniganj-Asansol coalfield. In addition, Asansol is an industrial center because of the existence of the steel industry, power generation, cement, and railway workshops, and numerous other small and large industries. The development of the modern Asansol has acquired a revolutionary pace in the aspects of education and services of health. There are universities and engineering and medical institutions and modern hospitals that have been developed in the city. Consequently, Asansol is no more a labour city, but a modern thriving urban centre. Asansol is also culturally abundant. Durga Puja, Chhath Puja, Eid, and Christmas are among the festivals celebrated here. Asansol is a diverse cultural centre and the multilingual population of the city - Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, Odia, Marathi, Punjabi are among them. Asansol today is not only the city of coal and industries, but it is also a hustle and bustle city with a mixed flavor of tradition, culture, and modernity, which is proving to be instrumental to the economics of West Bengal and the entire India.
The Conclusion
The case history of Asansol teaches us how a typical rural development can develop into an influential industrial and urban centre in the course of time. The fact of settlement of the indigenous populace since ancient times, the discovery of coal mining during the British rule, the emergence of railways, and the slow process of industrialization have brought about the modern-day Asansol. It is not only the biggest industrial city in West Bengal, but also in the whole of India, where economy, culture, and a multilingual society co-exist. Accordingly, the history of Asansol is a distinct document of industrialization of Bengal, labour movement, a multi-cultural society, and modern urbanization.
