The Heritage of

Chandraketugarh:
A Report

By

Suchintan Das
&
Tushar Srivastava

St. Stephen’s College, Delhi

July, 2019
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Contents

1) Acknowledgements 2

2) Historical Chandraketugarh 3-4

3) Archaeological Chandraketugarh 5-9

4) Antiquities of Chandraketugarh 10-11

5) Mythical Chandraketugarh 12-13

6) Chandraketugarh at Present 14-15

7) Conserving Chandraketugarh 16-18

8) Conclusion 19-20

9) Bibliography 21-23

10) Appendix I: Pictorial Chandraketugarh 24-39

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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the Principal of St. Stephen‘s College, Delhi, Prof. John Varghese, and the
Bursar, Dr. Renish Geevarghese Abraham for the generous financial grant of the Avinder
Singh Brar Memorial Initiative Award 2018-19, without which this project could not have
been undertaken. We are thankful to Dr. Digvijay Singh of St. Stephen‘s College, Delhi for
his valuable advice regarding the methodology of this project and for the keen interest he had
taken in this, which served as a great encouragement for both of us. We are also thankful to
Prof. Rupendra Kumar Chattopadhyay of Presidency University, Kolkata for his valuable
guidance when this project was in its nascent state. We would like to express our gratitude to
Mr. Biju Balan from the accounts department of St. Stephen‘s College for his valuable aid,
Mr. Goutam De, who provided us with a great deal of information about Chandraketugarh, to
Mr. Ambarish Goswami, whose website : www.historyofbengal.com was an indispensable
source for pictures, and to Ms. Samayita Banerjee for her kind help when she had been
approached by us. Our debt to all those at Berachampa, whom we had the opportunity of
interviewing is immense and we humbly concede the same. Suchintan Das would also like to
acknowledge the unwavering personal encouragement that he had received from Mr. Ashish
Chakraborty and Ms. Haimanti Dasgupta for carrying out this research and Miss Asmita
Sarkar for her patience and her unshakeable belief in this project. Tushar Srivastava would
like to extend a token of gratitude towards Mr. Apoorba Kishore Goswami, the immortal
reason who encouraged him to study the subject and Miss Srushti Sharma for her valuable
critique and insight at every step of his work. Both the authors remain grateful to their friends
and families for their unflinching support, without which this report would not have seen the
light of the day.
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1. Historical Chandraketugarh: Origins of the Site and Archaeo-

Geographical Milieu of Coastal Bengal
The Bengal coast lies between Medinipur in the west and Noakhali (in modern Bangladesh)
in the east, covering a vast tract, geographically diverse and archaeologically very rich. 1
Several early Graeco-Roman texts (composed during the last centuries BCE and the first
centuries CE), believed to be authored by Diodorus, Plutarch, Ptolemy, Virgil, Pliny the Elder
and others refer to a territory called ‗Gangaridai‘ (spelled variously in different texts), the
descriptive location of which seems to indicate parts of the lower Gangetic delta with its
capital being the city of ‗Gange‘ as referred to in the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea. Scholars
have variously suggested that this city of ‗Ganges‘ was none other than Chandraketugarh,
which had been continuously occupied from pre-Mauryan to Sena times.

Situated on the banks of the now almost dried up river Bidyadhari and its palaeo-channels
(Padma Nala being an important one), Chandraketugarh happens to be a meta-site
(encompassing the existing localities of Berachampa, Deulia, Deganga, Jhikra, Shinger Ati,
Shanpukur, Mathbari, Hadipur, Ghazitala, Haroa, etc.) that occupies a place of significance in
the study of coastal archaeology of lower Bengal. It needs to be kept in mind that though it is
located on the moribund delta of the Ganga-Brahmaputra river system, the region was in all
probability an active delta two thousand years back. Bishnupriya Basak has argued for the
inclusion of the region of coastal Bengal within the geographical-cultural concept of Vanga
(which may have been ruled by more than one political authority), at least in the pre-Gupta
period.2

However, the provisional identification of ‗coastal Bengal‘ as an integrated region is as

debatable as the identification of Chandraketugarh as a port-city remains debatable till date.
The prevalence of alluvial deposits instead of littoral sediments found in coastal areas is a
primary basis on which the geographical nature of the site can be questioned. Moreover, the
absence of supporting sites in the hinterland raises legitimate concern over the extent of
urbanization in Chandraketugarh, notwithstanding its archaeologically inferred reputation as
an established manufacturing centre.3 Suchandra Ghosh has argued that Chandraketugarh was
perhaps an important feeder port to the seaport of Tamralipta4 and whose economy was based
on monetized exchange. While it has been persuasively argued that Chandraketugarh was a
significant centre for trade in horses in general and that with China in particular,5 the
preponderance of Rouletted ware potsherds and Amphorae jars seems to offer either
diagnostic evidence for the site‘s direct involvement in the Indo-Roman trade6 or an indirect
testimony to its significance in the imitation import trade with the North West.7

Notwithstanding the contested identification of Chandraketugarh as ‗Gange‘ of Graeco-

Roman texts, what cannot be ignored are the scholarly attempts of equating it with the Gange
country of Chinese sources as well. The Chien - Han - Shu refers to a country called Huang -
Chih with which Je Non, the Gulf of Tongking had trade relations. The kingdom of Ywang -

1
Bishnupriya Basak, “Interpreting Historical Archaeology of Coastal Bengal: Possibilities and Limitations” in
D.N. Jha, ed., The Complex Heritage of Early India: Essays in Memory of R.S. Sharma, 157.
2
Ibid., 173.
3
Professor Rupendra Chattopadhyay had drawn my attention to some of these issues in a personal
conversation at his chamber in Presidency University.
4
Suchandra Ghosh, “Monetization and Exchange Network in Early Historic Bengal: A Note Defining Certain
Problems”, 115.
5
See Ranabir Chakravarti, “Early Medieval Bengal and the Trade in Horses: A Note” and D.K. Chakravarty,
“Maritime Trade Between Bengal and China: Some Recent Archaeological Evidences”.
6
See Himanshu Prabha Ray, “The Archaeology of Bengal: Trading Networks, Cultural Identities”.
7
Srabani Dutta, “Changing Perspectives of the Bengal Trade: Its Connections with the Indo-Roman Trade”, 140.
 4

Chih pronounced as B'wan - Gywat in Archaic Chinese is equated to Vanga of Indian

sources.8 While delving into the question as to why no name equivalent to or corruption of
‗Chandraketugarh‘ has been found in the existing literary sources, it has to be kept in mind
that the toponym ‗Chandraketugarh‘ has legendary and mythical connotations. It probably
was not the historical name of the site as we know it today and perhaps, we will never know
what it was actually called by its residents and by foreigners.

The mounds at Chandraketugarh were first identified by a local doctor, Taraknath Ghosh in
around 1905-1906. It was at his insistence that the then Superintendent of the Eastern Circle
of the ASI, A.H. Longhurst paid a visit to the site. Longhurst did not think highly of its
archaeological potential notwithstanding the initial findings of bricks and pottery. Rakhaldas
Bandyopadhyay also explored the surface in 1909. It was only in 1922-23 that K.N. Dikshit,
Superintendent of the Eastern Circle of the ASI wrote a report on Chandraketugarh for the
first time. Thereafter, archaeologist and author, Kalidas Dutt inspired D.P. Ghosh, K.K.
Ganguly and K.G. Goswami to take cognizance of the site. It was because of their insistence
that the site was explored and excavated by the Ashutosh Museum of Indian Art, University
of Calcutta through 1955 to 1967 on a small scale. After several decades, in the year 2000, a
plan of an extensive area excavation of the site had been mooted by the ASI and work had
commenced under the direction of Bimal Banerjee, before being mysteriously discontinued
after a few months.

Chandraketugarh remains an enigmatic and important site within the archaeo-geographic

context of coastal Bengal. It raises more questions, both conceptual and specific, than what it
can provide answers to, unless excavated more extensively using a multi-disciplinary
approach. Its very existence problematizes prevalent frameworks that are often invoked to
reconstruct the history of the region, exclusively through material remains. The site brings
archaeology at crossroads between myth and history. Perhaps, innovative approaches like
those of ethnohistory and oral history will open new avenues for investigating the history of
coastal Bengal in general and that of Chandraketugarh in particular. This report, among other
things, attempts to take a step in that direction as well.

8
Ibid., 137.
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2. Archaeological Chandraketugarh: Summary of and Comments on the

Reports of Excavations in ‘Indian Archaeology: A Review’ (IAR)
IAR 1955-56: The Asutosh Museum of India Art (henceforth AMIA) carried out exploration
along the dying stream of Bidyadhari, once an important tributary of the Bhagirathi at the
historically rich site of Chandraketugarh at Berachampa (8 miles upstream from Bhangor and
23 miles north east of Calcutta), which was identified to be in the vicinity of Khas Balanda
(probably the Buddhist vihara of Balanda mentioned in a Nepalese manuscript that had
remained unlocated so long) marked by the ruins of a Gupta stone temple that had been
converted into a mosque (Page 61). This identification of Balanda cannot however be
considered conclusive simply on the base of similarity in toponyms across temporal contexts.
IAR 1956-57: A small scale excavation under Shri K.G. Goswami of the University of
Calcutta was undertaken at the mound of Chandraketugarh (Berachampa). The excavation
seemed to reveal the existence of a fortified township occupied throughout five successive
periods. Period I (possibly Pre-Mauryan) was characterized by Red Ware, often treated with a
slip. Period II (probably Maurya-Sunga) was marked by the advent of the Northern Black
Polished Ware, Black-Slipped Ware, Polished and Unpolished Grey Ware, and Rouletted
Ware. Period III (Post-Sunga) witnessed the reappearance of the Red Ware and also yielded
stone beads, cast copper coins along with other findings. Period IV (Kushan) revealed
fragmentary but typical Kushan terracotta figurines. Period V (Gupta) saw the introduction of
burnt bricks among few relics (Pages 29-30).
Post-excavation archaeological stratification often involved ascribing layers having
distinctive material culture with contemporaneous dynastic labels, often focusing solely on
chronological associations (which might have been purely incidental), thereby evading
pertinent questions regarding the extent of the cultural and political spheres of influence of
such dynasties beyond trading networks. Such dynastic labels often become metonyms for
spatio-temporal contexts which probably had greater regional variations than what ordinarily
become evident from such usage, and hence, such homogenizing labels need to be rethought.
IAR 1957-58: Initially the planned temple that was revealed from excavating the structural
mound called Khana-Mihirer Dhipi was attributed to the Gupta period. The characteristic re-
entrant angles indicated this temple to potentially belong to the sarvatobhadra category,
which was rebuilt and renovated on several occasions using both ordinary and decorative
bricks. Among the profusion of artefacts uncovered, diverse forms of pottery (long-necked
jar, cup and dish, rimless round cup and bowl, dish with incurved rim etc.) seemed to be
common occurrences. Noteworthy items included carinated and flanged cooking vessel,
terracotta plaques depicting mithuna scenes, cooking pan with ring handle, jar with high neck,
copper punch-marked coin, and a two-legged armless terracotta figurine, provisionally
identified as a serpent deity (Pages 51-53). The AMIA acquired a terracotta seal with
inscribed figures that depicted ‗foreign affinities‘ and a red sandstone sculpture of seated
Buddha that resembled those belonging to the Mathura School from the vicinities of
Chandraketugarh (Page 70).
IAR 1958-59: Further excavation at Khana-Mihirer Dhipi did not reveal the denominational
affiliation of the temple that was being unearthed (Page 56). The great number of terracotta
figurines that the site yielded were characterized by the distinctive costume and jewellery,
typical of the Sunga-Kushana period. Among the several interesting objects was a terracotta
figurine of a yakshi that was evocative of a famous Tamluk terracotta at Oxford and a rare
dampati plaque that was reminiscent of cognate types from Ahichhatra (Page 77). Whether
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these similarities are indicative of the existence of trade and exchange networks between
these sites in ancient times or are merely incidental could not be concluded without further
evidence.
IAR 1959-60: The continuing excavations at Khana-Mihirer Dhipi did not reveal any cult
objects. The usage of tiles, posts, and wooden posts to build houses on mud-plinths seem to
have been ubiquitous across strata. Objects made of steatite, chalcedony, bone, ivory,
carnelian etc. were uncovered in abundance from across cultural periods. Among the more
interesting finds were a terracotta plaque depicting two parrots pecking a lotus pod and
several more portraying animal and erotic human figures (Pages 50-51). These probably hint
at the site being a centre of manufacturing such objects as such a preponderance of craft
objects cannot be inarguably attributed to mere trade and exchange. Excavations at the nearby
site of Itakhola revealed six occupational periods of which the second (attributed to Mauryan
times) stood out because of the remarkable discovery of a pottery drain, which, however did
not indicate any elaborate public sewerage system as it did not continue for any great length.
The drain probably discharged itself into a reservoir enclosed by vertical wooden planks that
were reinforced by logs of wood, probably as a protective measure against soil-erosion as the
soil at that level was found to be extremely sandy (Pages 51-52). Whether this evidence can
hint at the existence of a consciousness regarding soil conservation measures at
Chandraketugarh in earlier times remains more of a matter of speculation than debate. Among
the hundreds of terracotta acquired by the AMIA from Chandraketugarh during this phase of
the excavation were those depicting a headless skirted female figure with applique ornaments
(Mauryan period), an exquisite figure of a prince (?) in abhanga , holding a parrot in the right
hand (Sunga period), and a unique figure of an elephant god, holding on his lap a dwarf
woman (Kushan period). Damaged terracotta toy carts and profusely decorated ivory comb-
handles were among other objects that were collected by the Museum. One of the most
important finds was a terracotta seal with an elephant and a female divinity that contained
inscriptions both in Brahmi and Kharoshthi, with the legend in the latter reading
Dhanamitrena (Pages 77-78). Dhanamitrena is the masculine singular instrumental
declension of the noun ‗Dhanamitra‘ in Sanskrit. This particular name features as that of a
merchant in the Sanskrit text Dashakumaracharita9 (Attributed to Dandin who is believed to
have lived in the 7th-8th Centuries CE), whom Apahaaravarman, one of the protagonists
befriends at the city of Champa in the kingdom of Anga. While Dandin is supposed to have
served the Pallava and Western Ganga monarchs in the peninsular region of the subcontinent,
Chandraketugarh was included within the territory of the historic region of Vanga. The
existence of a terracotta seal in Chandraketugarh that probably referred to a secondary
character of a Sanskrit text set in Champa, which was authored by a court poet of
Kanchipuram (the capital of the Pallavas), testifies to the wide transmissibility of stories
across the subcontinent in the early medieval period, which was perhaps made possible by an
extensive inland and maritime trading nexus.
IAR 1960-61: The AMIA acquired interesting antiquities from Chandraketugarh which
included unique punch-marked coins of the dolphin types exhibiting a ship and a terracotta
sealing dated to the Kushan period that also bore a ship motif with more details (Page 70).
Whether the simple motifs were rightly interpreted as those of ships (and not boats) can be a
matter of debate. What is evident however, is the association of riverine and/or maritime
transport (and exchange?) with Chandraketugarh. Other terracotta plaques and figurines with
obvious (Brahminical?) mythical connotations had also been uncovered from the site (Page

9
See Dandin, What Ten Young Men Did (Translated by Isabelle Onians).
 7

70). The discovery of one terracotta plaque depicting the Dummedha-Jataka probably hinted
at a Buddhist cultural influence as well (Page 71).
IAR 1961-62: The availability of unfinished beads from a period which came to an end in the
first century BCE testified to the existence of a factory site. An exquisite find from the
Khana-Mihirer Dhipi ascribable to the late Gupta period was the small bronze image of a
female deity with a mirror in her left hand and an indistinct animal indicated on the pedestal
as her vehicle (Page 63). A round seal of bone showing a pair of lanky elephants with uplifted
trunks, a mutilated terracotta sealing with a circular Brahmi inscription containing the usual
Buddhist formula, paleographically assignable to the third century CE, and a damaged plaque
showing two winged lions, sitting back to back on either side of a pillar base (perhaps
evocative of the famous Persian motif) were among the remarkable findings (Pages 106-107).
IAR 1962-63: The resumed excavations under Shri C.R. Roychoudhury revealed objects of
special interest like terracotta inscribed sealings with the masted ship motif (undoubtedly
hinting at maritime activities in the earlier centuries CE) and moulded terracotta figurines
showing elaborate coiffure and drapery which testified to a sophisticated craftsmanship
(Pages 46, 74).
IAR 1963-64: Continuing excavation at Khana-Mihirer Dhipi revealed that the temple faced
true north, was surrounded by two ambulatory passages, and was supported by massive brick
buttresses recalling similar provisions at the Vishnu Temple at Eran. Moreover, the discovery
of paddy-husks from a small square wooden enclosure, made of tightly joined horizontal
planks, reinforced by beams at the bottom and supported on wooden logs hinted at the
existence of domestic granaries (Page 64). Among the terracotta objects that were acquired by
the AMIA, mention should be made of a plaque depicting a figure of Sri standing on a lotus
and holding lotus stalks, a unique terracotta toy-cart showing a demon devouring a young
crocodile and carrying a goat and a human child among other food items in a bag on his lap,
and a mutilated sealing, with Gupta characters reading ye dharma hetu of the usual Buddhist
creed (Pages 94 and 65).
IAR 1964-65: Excavations at Itakhola by Shri D.P. Ghosh and Shri C.R. Roychoudhury
brought to light the two structural layers of a rampart wall whose basal layer was composed
of surkhi, brickbats and potsherds. From the large number of cast copper coins found at this
level, it could be inferred that some sort of ritual was observed at its initial stage of
construction. Being made of heaped earth, this rampart wall along with a supposedly dried up
moat constituted the defensive structure of a possible fortified settlement. The unearthing of
two furnaces for making lime by burning shells and two troughs for storing shells from the
temple complex at Khana-Mihirer Dhipi was an idiosyncratic feature indeed. The lime thus
produced was evidently used as mortar and for moulding decorative stucco panels for the
niches, mutilated remnants of which were found during the excavation. Among the significant
finds from excavation were a lotus medallion made of carved brick with a semi-precious
stone bead placed in the centre, thereby suggesting its use as a foundation-tablet, and a rare
iconographic type of a miniature bronze image of a standing Maitreya from the uppermost
layers of the site (Pages 52-53).
IAR 1965-66: The excavation work continued under Shri C.R. Roychoudhury and it became
quite evident that in the last phases of the temple construction at Khana-Mihirer Dhipi, the
use of stucco mouldings was discontinued and alternate niches were decorated with chiselled
bricks at their centre to give the effect of trellis-work. The excavation at Itakhola revealed
interesting house complexes of rammed surkhi floors, wattle and daub walls with heavy
 8

wooden pillars at corners, well baked tile-roofs and terracotta ring wells. The existence of
both brick structures and kachcha houses perhaps indicated differences in income and wealth
of the occupants. The nearby site of Noongola that was excavated for the first time not only
confirmed the sequence of Itakhola but also revealed the existence of a 10-15cm thick layer
of possibly flood borne sandy clay dating to Gupta times. This indicated flooding as a
probable cause for discontinuation of settlement at that site in particular and Chandraketugarh
in general. A trial digging at Hadipur yielded an elephant rattle, which along with a terracotta
plaque depicting the Puranic legend of Indra‘s ride Airavata‘s abhisheka were among the
many items acquired by the AMIA from excavations (Pages 59-60, 96).
IAR 1966-67: Further excavation of the Khana-Mihirer Dhipi brought to light the
massiveness of the entrance to the temple complex (Page 48). While the AMIA acquired
many antiquities including a toy cart depicting a royal (?) couple riding a caparisoned camel
of c. first century CE and a terracotta plaque depicting a beautiful female figure dancing to
the accompaniment of a harp played by a prince (?), the State Archaeological Gallery (later
the State Archaeological Museum) also attained a unique terracotta plaque portraying a lady
with elaborate coiffure feeding a deer (Pages 76-77).
IAR 1967-68: Surface exploration undertaken at the site of the rampart wall of
Chandraketugarh revealed antiquities like pottery, terracotta, coins, beads, tile fragments,
decomposed wood and bamboos from sections which had been accidentally cut by local
people (Page 50). The question remains as to how the local people could have such
unchecked access to a site that had remained under excavation by the AMIA for over a
decade and protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (hereinafter ASI) since 1921 in
the first place. This necessarily leads one to ask if the lack of protection of the sites at
Chandraketugarh has remained a perpetual problem or not. Whether the discovery of a gold
coin of the ‗Archer Type‘ of Samudragupta from Chandraketugarh hints at a Gupta suzerainty
over the region or mere trade contact with the Gupta empire is a matter of another debate
(Page 75).
IAR 1968-69: The antiquities acquired from the last phase of the excavations included two
further gold coins of the ‗Archer Type‘ of Samudragupta and Chandragupta II, a number of
terracotta moulded plaques representing apsarases in transparent drapery, and the torso of a
female divinity wearing amulets representing fish, makara, etc. bearing close affinity to the
famous ‗Oxford Figurines‘ from Tamluk. The occasional Kharoshthi inscriptions on the
terracotta sealings showing the masted ship or other motifs perhaps indicate some sort of link
with the North Wester part of the subcontinent where the script was prevalent (Pages 76-77).
IAR 2000-2001: An extensive exploration and excavation of Chandraketugarh was
undertaken by the Excavation Branch IV, Bhubaneshwar of the ASI under the direction of
Bimal Bandopadhyay with objectives of tracing the extension of the fortified habitation and
ascertaining the antiquarian remains beyond fortification. Exploration revealed that the
ancient settlement of Chandraketugarh (located south of the now dried up river Padma) was
roughly rectangular in plan and was surrounded by an elevated rampart wall. It was
acknowledged by the ASI that the excavations carried out by the AMIA few decades back
were small in scale and consequently, not much about city planning, architecture, etc. could
be inferred from those. Moreover, the focus of the excavations had been primarily on the
temple complex of Khana-Mihirer Dhipi and hence the rampart wall was yet to be probed
properly. Subsequently, it was decided that an area excavation (as opposed to vertical
excavations which have limited territorial span) at Chandraketugarh and adjoining area in
Mauza Hadipur, Deulia, etc. to reveal cultural sequence of the site, to establish relation
 9

between the eastern rampart and the habitational are to find out when the rampart was
constructed and also to know the habitational pattern would have to be undertaken. The
discovery of antiquities like bone points, dice, terracotta balls, fragmentary terracotta plaques,
broken red sandstone grinding material, decorated pottery assemblages of grey ware, red ware
and dull red ware made into the shapes of vases, bowls, miniature pots, handis, etc. from a
vertical trench laid across the rampart only seemed promising for the prospect of future area
excavations (Pages 159-160). It remains a mystery as to why the much-required area
excavation of Chandraketugarh was aborted after delineating the inadequacy of the previous
excavations by the AMIA, and accentuating the necessity of an area excavation so as to
realize the aforementioned objectives with regard to the concerned site.
The IAR reports on Chandraketugarh hardly appear to have been consistent in terms of
cultural sequences from one year to another. Perhaps, its internal contradictions can be
attributed to the difference in methods of excavation employed by different principal
investigators on different occasions.
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3. The Antiquities of Chandraketugarh: Glimpses and Overview

The antiquities which have been obtained from Chandraketugarh include pottery fragments,
terracotta objects (including plaques, moulds, seals, sealings, rattles, toy carts, figurines etc.),
coins, beads, woodwork, stonework, metalwork etc. Some of these are conserved in private as
well as government collections in West Bengal. Notable among these are the Asutosh
Museum of India Art (University of Calcutta), West Bengal State Archaeological Museum,
the Indian Museum, Chandraketugarh Museum (Formerly Mr. Dilip Maite‘s Collection), Mr.
Arshad-uj-Jaman‘s Collection, Mr. P.K. Goswami‘s Collection, Mr. Jobbar Mia‘s Collection,
Mr. Kajal Biswas‘s and Prof. Gouri Shankar Dey‘s Collection. However, it has been
estimated by Dr. Enamul Haque, that most of the Chandraketugarh antiquities, especially the
terracotta objects, are housed and displayed (and/or concealed) in numerous public and
private museums, galleries, and collections abroad.
Although it is impossible to provide a comprehensive review of the existing iconographic
analyses of Chandraketugarh artefacts within the limited ambit of this report, perhaps it
would not be out of place to lay out the brief indicative trends regarding the same. Dr.
Enamul Haque has noted that the terracotta objects from have been extremely rare in the pre-
Mauryan and Mauryan levels and become increasingly ubiquitous from the Shunga level
onwards, with increasing standardization in terms of ornaments and costumes of the terracotta
figurines which were more often that of females. Although Dr. Haque partially conceded the
scholarly identification of the tentative depiction of vyantara devatas in few plaques and that
of doubtful Jataka scenes in few others as having religious connotations, he was convinced by
their sheer prolificity that these were popular household items and not votive objects.10
Stella Kramrisch had classified the Chandraketugarh terracotta objects into the ―ageless‖ and
―timed‖ varieties. Sharmi Chakraborty has argued that this was because the former were
consigned with some ritualistic purpose at a folk level, whereas the latter, whether religious
or secular in nature and purpose, constituted an urban phenomenon and remained sensitive to
aesthetic changes from one temporal context to another.11 It is interesting to note what she has
to say regarding the technique of production of human figurines in ancient Chandraketugarh:
―[It] seems that the double mould figurines are not result of introduction of foreign
technology but an indigenous development. In the Sunga period, manufacturing of terracotta
plaques from a single mould was favoured…Use of two moulds—one for the front and one
for the back is a small innovation that a demand for the figurines might have triggered off.
Chandraketugarh shows the type with knotted hair and ‗dhoti‘-like lower garment of the
indigenous form; the type wearing tall headdress, wearing coat of Shaka-Kushana form but
stylistically still continuing the Shunga idiom; and the wrinkled face type of Taxila, which is
the melting pot of Indian, Greek, and Shaka-Kushana culture.12 Whereas the mithuna motif
abounds in Chandraketugarh terracotta plaques, the more uncommon motifs happen to be that
of the torana (gateway) and Aditi uttanapada (the primordial mother with her legs spread
wide so as to give birth) which probably had some cultic significance as well.13
The other common motifs which are often confronted in Chandraketugarh terracotta plaques
happen to be those of a female with bird, a female with mirror (reminiscent of a similar
depiction on a Bharhut medallion), the Panchachuda female figure, Shree—the goddess of
wealth, the fish, the peacock, and the lotus among others. Some of the plaques depict scenes
10
Enamul Haque, “Reflections on the Early Art of Bengal”, 194-198.
11
Sharmi Chakraborty, “Double Mould Terracotta Human Figurines from Chandraketugarh, West Bengal”, 150.
12
Ibid., 159.
13
Sima Roy Chowdhury, “A Group of Unique Plaques from Chandraketugarh”, 295.
 11

from the Jatakas, whereas a few others offer insight into the quotidian life, like the one plaque
which portrayed reaping of harvest with sickles. Among the female figurines, the ones
depicting the shalabhanjikā motif stand out. The images of a Jina and those of the seated
Buddha of the Mathura type that have been uncovered from Chandraketugarh are also worthy
of mention here. Although evidence of wooden sculptures and metalworks have been scarce,
the prolificity of terracotta rattles of various types and ivory combs testify to a tradition of
elaborate craftsmanship and an urban consumption pattern. The inscriptions associated with
terracotta seals and sealings were almost always in a Brahmi-Kharoshthi mixed script, which
perhaps indicated some degree of influence wielded by traders from the North-West in this
region. As far as coinage was concerned, excavations have yielded silver punch-marked
coins, punch-marked bullion coins, and copper cast coins issued during pre-Kushana,
Kushana, and Gupta periods. While the pre-Gupta coins have boasted both the fish and the
ship motifs, thereby clarifying the importance of maritime commerce for the site, Gupta coins
belonging to both the marriage type and the archer type have been unearthed from
Chandraketugarh.14
While commenting on the importance of Chandraketugarh as a centre of bead manufacture,
Sharmi Chakraborty remarks: ―Chandraketugarh belonged to two separate cultural currents.
One is the great Indian cultural homogeneity expressed by beads such as standard circular in
carnelian, leach in banded agate, etched pentagon in black agate, and white bands in carnelian
barrel, cornerless cube, wounded and nail perforated in glass, etc. The other current was
expressed by drawn glass beads spreading from the east coast of India to South East Asia.
Even if Peter Francis‘ view is accepted that drawn glass beads were manufactured in
Arikamedu, Chandraketugarh probably had its own share in the trade. Of the two barrel
etched agate beads the zigzag line in one is faintly marked perhaps suggesting a locally
manufactured product. A third and local culture is expressed by the circular disk and short
cylinder beads of banded agate. These were locally manufactured and consumed and may
have been exported to some other sites of Bengal in great quantity. The great variety and
some evidence of local manufacture of beads seem to suggest that Chandraketugarh might
[have been] the premier site‖ for trade in beads.15

14
See Gourishankar De and Subhradip De, Chandraketugarh: A Lost Civilization (Vols. 1-2).
15
Sharmi Chakraborty, “Beads from Chandraketugarh”, 40.
 12

4. Mythical Chandraketugarh
History does nothing, it possesses no immense wealth, it wages no battles. It is man, real living man
who does all that, who possesses and fights; history is not as it were person apart, using man as a
means to achieve its own aims, history is nothing but the activity of man pursuing his aims.

The Holy Family

Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels

History has many voices16. One of present, one of past, and one, of how present remembers
the past. Remembering is a fascinating activity. We choose to remember certain things and
forget others. It can happen because certain things were of greater grandiose as compared to
others. This can be true of an event when observed by a foreigner. For the locals, however,
the routines of daily life hold as much of an importance, as an event of grandiose17. How is it
then that they remember certain things while forgetting others? One possible answer to this
question can be that they remember things that provide legitimacy. Legitimacy to their
origins, legitimacy to their present and legitimacy to the actions and thoughts the present
manifests.
Chandraketugarh translates to the ‗bastion of Chandraketu‘. Who was Chandraketu? This
question has several answers. Prashanto Mondal18 believes he was the legendary king
Chandragupta Maurya. Dipan Maite19 believes he was the Sandrocottus that Megasthenes
wrote about, Sandrocottus being Chandragupta Maurya himself. Joy Sen20 believes that
Chandraketu was Sandrocottus, but Sandrocottus was not Chandragupta Maurya. He rather
was an independent powerful king of the powerful Anga desh towards the end of 5th century
or the beginning of 4th century. Gautam De21 believes Chandraketu was no more than an
ordinary samanta (feudatory) in the 11th – 12th century CE who rose to power and carved out
a strong local territory for himself.
There is no definite answer as to who Chandraketu actually was. But there is a general
agreement that Chandraketu did have a garh or a bastion which was visited by one of the
eleven Islamic auliyas called Syed Abbas Ali, with the purpose of proselytization. Syed
Abbas Ali (1265-1345 CE), as legend goes, was a Muslim saint who was granted a land to
settle and preach by King Chandraketu. He was so fair that on seeing him the queen
exclaimed Gour Chandra or ‗fair as a moon‘. Ever since, till date, he is remembered as Pir
Gorachand. The legend goes on that Pir Gorachand asked Chandraketu to convert to Islam.
He even tried to lure him by showing his mystical powers and grew Magnolia or champa
flowers over his fence, a legendary event which attributed the name ‗Berachampa‘ to a place
that is so called till date.
When Chandraketu, the champion of sanatana dharma remained stern on his decision, to not
convert to Islam, the forces of Chandraketu and Pir Gorachand met at a place called Ran
Khola (8 kms. from Berachampa) where Chandraketu defeated the latter. The place still exists
by the same name, although no one can historically locate the evidence of a battle ever being

16
Romila Thapar, “Perspectives of the History of Somnatha.”
17
Rabindranath Tagore, The Sky of Indian History, 213.
18
Guard at the Chandraketugarh Museum.
19
Son of local antiquarian, Sri Dilip Maite.
20
Principal Investigator of IIT Kharagpur’s Science and Heritage Initiative (SANDHI) team that undertook the
survey of Chandraketugarh.
21
Local photographer and antiquarian.
 13

fought over it. Chandraketu emerged victorious in the battle, and as was the tradition, he
released a white pigeon to indicate the same. The legend continues that mystically the white
pigeon turned black indicating the victory of Pir Gorachand and on seeing the same; the
bereaved queens of Chandraketu committed jauhar. When the victorious forces of
Chandraketu returned, the palace had turned to ashes, seeing which he abandoned the place
and a glorious empire came to an end. The mystical case of pigeon changing colours has an
offshoot in the explanation that the Pir had a mynah which died when he arrived to
Chandraketugarh. It was the mynah that devised such a trick and still lives in the name of a
village called Shalke De, a mispronunciation of the word Shalikh Daha or the mynah village.
On the other hand, Pir Gorachand was severely wounded and taken to a nearby place where
lime was searched to cure him. Coincidentally, no lime could be found and in deficit of
treatment he succumbed to his wounds. If locals were to be believed, till a few decades
before, the entire area, more or less had no pakka makans, fearing the bane of Pir. There was
a disagreement among his followers over the nature of his cremation, but when they finally
returned to his dead body and uncovered the shroud, the mortal remains had disappeared
leaving behind only the asthi or bones of the Pir which were buried around the place known
as Harwa (which is so called till this day), haar (with a retroflex /r/) meaning bones in
Bengali. While one can possibly never locate these bones around the place, it is dotted by stay
houses and restaurants named after Pir Gorachand as if forming a skeleton remain over a local
map.
Mythologies are never direct connotations. They are mere inferences, awaiting interpretation.
Chandraketugarh, in its mythology, is no exception. The local places all have names with a
story, legitimizing their identity; be it Berachampa, Harwa, Ran Khola or Shalke De. Such
exposures often question the empirical approach modern historians take. After all, if the
locals have a story they believe in and carve the narrative of their existence around it, who are
we to question their truth and contradict it with ours?22 But the occurrence of greater insight
is, in the belief system these histories have garnered and continue to manifest in the form of
present day socio-political practices. For instance, take the idea of a perfect and prosperous
kingdom which existed during the rule of king Chandraketu, which a majority of locals
believe in. It extends itself in the belief where the champion of sanatana dharma, a Hindu
king was cheated and defeated by a Muslim conqueror. Legitimizing current day‘s communal
psyches or simplifying the multidimensional sphere of history in a unidimensional Hindu,
Muslim and British age seems an easy practice when one comes across belief systems, such
deep-rooted in the society. Also interesting is how practices like jauhar, practiced by
Chandraketu‘s queens easily legitimize and glorify the sati practices Bengali Hindus practiced
at the dawn of 19th century in mass numbers. Thus, these oral traditions are much more than
mere stories and help in garnering a belief system that legitimizes actions of the present, on
the basis of a forgotten past. It is the extension of same that we choose to remember sites like
Somnatha, which ignite our present beliefs (woven around myths). After all, Abdur Razzaq23
aptly said, it is the land of the Pir (Gorachand) {I infer a belief manifested in the form of a
mystical token}. The same overrides all!

22
Concern raised by Arighno Gupto, University of Michigan.
23
A local vendor outside Pir Gorachand’s mosque
 14

5. Chandraketugarh at Present: Local Popular Heritage Awareness

A site of historic and archaeological importance needs to be seen from the lens of its in-situ
existence and its inhabitants. It is only then that we can develop a holistic understanding of
the same. As you move away from the metropolis of Kolkata making way for the khajur trees
and freshwater ponds, a journey of 34 kms to the North 24 Parganas takes you to the historic
site of Chandraketugarh. As mentioned in part 1 of this report, the historic prevalence of this
place is of paramount importance. But the same is reduced to nothingness, following the lack
of conservation and state-funded aids, and moreover a thick shroud of ignorance.
One is greeted first on their way by the Chandraketugarh museum, a museum only in name.
Comprising of rich collections of a local antiquarian Dilip Maite, the museum is subject to
gross state ignorance and mishandle. The artefacts are ridiculously placed over sheets of thin
thermacoal and coins of par historic gravitas and numismatic delight are enclosed within
locked boxes. There is no trained curator till date (notwithstanding the fact that the Museum
was inaugurated in January, 2019) and despite a descent turnout of 6-8 visitors an hour, even
on a working day, these artefacts are reduced to mere sight of guesswork. No photography is
allowed which hampers any academic endeavour which can be prospectively carried out over
these artefacts. The only guiding work present in the museum (save for a book authored by
Dilip Maite in Bengali) is a published report of the IIT Kharagpur SANDHI Team, which,
being replete with errors of all kinds, and lacking the rigours of a proper historical enquiry,
obscures more and reveals little. Thus, a state funded museum (in name) is not only limiting
and curbing the curiosity of its visitors, but also propagating an inaccurate narrative of a site
of profound historical importance.
The next site is the mound of Chandraketugarh, at Itakhola, demarcated as ‗Chandraketugarh
Fort‘ by an ASI board, an example of monumental neglect and gross failure in the department
of heritage conservation by the ASI. Situated on a kaccha road, non-navigable during the
monsoon season, is an elevated mound situated right between agricultural fields on all its
sides. The uncanny topographic elevation right from the entrance or the singh dwara would
force even a layman to guess the presence of certain manmade structures below the mound.
But this unexcavated treasure trove is reduced to a grazing ground for the cattle of nearby
Singherati village, which easily trespass the warning boards following absence of any
appointed watchman or due security official. The boundary fences are denuded and heavily
layered by the fumes of adjacent stubble burn. Forget the minimal 100-meter boundary wall
as per the AMASAR Act, 195824 a kaccha road cuts right across the mound, motorable by
two-wheeler automobiles, causing immense pressure0 on the buried artefacts. But what is
most melancholic about the state of affairs, is the gross negligence on the part of local
inhabitants. A primary survey among the cattle grazers and gamblers resting on the mound
revealed a total dearth of any knowledge about the history of the site.
The only other structure surviving, and properly excavated by the Ashutosh Museum of Art,
University of Calcutta is the Khana Mihirer Dhipi. Situated in the heartland of Berachampa
market, the architectural fancies of this structure have already been talked about in an earlier
portion of this report. The emphasis over here is on the local heritage awareness of the site.
Devoid of any tourists, it is a hub of local gamblers who louse around the site further
delimiting any appreciation of the same by local tourists, due to possible safety concerns.

24
Details in the later section of this report.
 15

Watchmanship, like that in the mound is void. Neighbouring inhabitants have encroached
heavily often trespassing the limits of demarcating boundary. Clear evidence of garbage being
dumped and burnt inside the remains of the excavated temple structure can be easily
observed. Local drainage runs into the site and the structural remains are denuded and
weakened awaiting their unavoidable fall given the lack of any proper conservation.
The local population of the place is aware of the legends that go around, but any empathetic
steps taken by them for the conservation and protection of the site are completely absent, the
state has already turned a blind eye towards the same and local antiquarian efforts are limited
to collection of artefacts and other objects of material importance, economic motives behind
which cannot be overlooked. The reasons behind the same can be easily understood if one
looks at the twin factor of settlement and trade. Following the local demography there is a
population pressure and real estate has come up as an institution of economic gains. Any
archaeological excavation or conservation practiced in the area would limit the land exposed
to private economic activities. Trade, illicit of its kind has made its presence felt on a global
stage, details of which would be discussed in the following part of this report. Given the scale
on which artefacts are being smuggled, it is highly improbable of an ordinary local to carry
the same. Thus, interests of influential and powerful might be questioned, given a proper
conservation programme takes place. Thus, it is not a question of negligence and unawareness
but moreover a topic of mutual profit that a blind eye has been turned towards, the
archaeological site of Chandraketugarh.
 16

6. Conserving Chandraketugarh: Illicit Trade, Legal Framework and its

Shortcomings
Heritage means different things to different people. At the grassroots level, material traces of
the past ranging from old sculptures to mounds and metallic slag are frequently visualized by
those who live in their vicinity, not as ‗dead past‘, but as an integral element of the living
present. Right from ancient times, we see different exercises such as the restoration of lake
Sudarshana by Mahakshatrapa Rudradaman as recorded in the Junagarh inscription, which
can be accoladed as heritage conservation and restoration, by the practice of those times. Such
activities translate into a sense of identity which people associate themselves with and
conserves them as a part of their larger culture.
It is not merely the people but the centralized state which frames policies to look after the
heritage of an area, it being the Archaeological Survey of India in the given context. It is
necessary to understand that the ASI was set up in 1871 by the British to cater to the needs of
their empire and merely survey and record the topography of Indian lands. It never
sympathized with or entrusted the local population to be potent enough to preserve their
heritage. This is epitomized in the remarks made by Lord Curzon after a mosque excavated in
Bijapur, that he would not leave it in the hands of ‗the dirt and defilement of Asiatic religious
practices‘. Even after Independence it was the ASI with more or less, the same archaic
structure which was brought under the Ministry Of Culture and entrusted with the job of
heritage conservation.
Chandraketugarh is a fulcrum point of a global trade network, of artefacts and antiquities,
illicit in nature. The criterion that an object must be at least a 100 years old to make it
valuable enough naturally makes archaeological and historical sites the most tempting targets.
It goes without saying that this network is incomplete without the involvement of local and
regional intermediaries. The Musee Guimet in Paris, Linden Museum and the Museum of
Indian Art, both in Germany, Ashmolean Museum in the United Kingdom and probably also
the Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Museum all display artefacts from
Chandraketugarh. Enamul Haque in his work Chandraketugarh: A Treasure House of Bengal
Terracottas has given a detailed account of the same, repetition of which would be redundant
to the cause. But the highlighting statement is, that a rich and valuable site is losing its
artefacts for petty monetary benefits of an organized global illicit trade; presence of which has
been accepted both on and off record by named and anonymous entities.
An enormous legislation, Indian as well as global, exists in place, in order to obviate dangers
and threats referred above and ensure safety and security of cultural heritage. Two central
legislations namely The Ancient Monuments and Ancient Sites and Remains Act,1958 and
the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act,1972; and one state legislation in the form of Indian
Treasure Trove Act,1878 can be directly applied to, in the case of Chandraketugarh.
AMASAR Act, 195825 prohibits the construction within the protected area as specified in the
sub section (1) of section 19 which reads: no person including the owner or occupier of the
protected area, shall construct any building within a protected area or carry on any mining,
quarrying, excavating, blasting or any or any operation of a like nature in such area, utilize

25
https://www.indiaculture.nic.in/sites/default/files/Legislations/6.pdf
 17

such area or any part thereof in any other manner without the permission of the Central
Government. The government also has defined the prohibited and regulated areas and has
notified in 1992 that the areas near or adjoining up to 100 meters from the protected limits of
the monument as prohibited and further beyond up to 200 meters as regulated areas. This can
further be extended if required. Again, according to rule (1) 7, no protected monument should
be used for the purpose of holding any meeting. All these legislations are openly quashed in
case of Chandraketugarh where the mound is used as a transport medium for humans and
cattle; no apt fencing exists alongside its borders, leave the case of a regulated area; and the
Khana Mihirer Dhipi as well as the mound is used as a meeting spot where antisocial
activities like gambling are practiced in public.
The AAT Act,197226 deals extensively with movable cultural heritage of two different
categories viz a. antiquity (an object that was created a very long time ago) and b. art treasure
(any human work of art, which is not an antiquity and has been declared by the Central
Government to be an art treasure27). The sub section 3 (a) of section 14 stipulates that every
person who owns, controls or possesses any antiquity specified in the notification shall
register such antiquity before the registering officer within three months from the date of
issue of notification, failing which, he is liable to be punished with imprisonment for a term
which may extend to six months or with fine or with both. In case of a site like
Chandraketugarh where regional antiquarian efforts have borne a lot of significance, such
stringent legislations are highly regressive, as archaeologist Dilip Chakraborty has already
critiqued:
It is draconian in the sense that it virtually makes the possession of an antiquity by a god-fearing
Indian a criminal offence. The onus of registering everything with the government and that too in
triplicate, and within a very short time frame lies entirely with an individual. In a country with limited
literacy the effectiveness of such a legislation can easily be imagined.

The ITT Act, 187828 by and large contains coins, medals and rarely jewelry. The Act defines
treasures as anything of any value hidden in the soil or anything affixed hitherto. Section 4 of
the act lays down that whenever a treasure exceeding in amount or value rupees 10 is found,
the finder shall, as soon as practicable, give to the collector notice in writing: of the nature
and amount or approximate value of such treasure; of the place in which it was found; of the
date of finding. It further lays down the finder should either deposit the treasure in the nearest
Government Treasury or give the collector such security, as the collector thinks fit. The
problem highlighted by Dilip Chakraborty again takes space in this case.
As far as the international conventions are concerned, it is basically the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Council
on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) which have taken pivotal roles. The Recommendation of
the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of
Cultural Property (1964); Recommendation of Participation by the People at Large in
Cultural Life and their Contribution to it (1976) and Recommendation Concerning the
Safeguarding the Contemporary Role of Historic areas (1978) are certain documents issued
by the UNESCO that might provide a working framework for a site like Chandraketugarh, but
given the under-excavation of the site by ASI in first place, it still seems a distant dream. The
ICOMOS has also come out with an Ethical Principle of Heritage Presentation29, which is a

26
https://www.wipo.int/edocs/lexdocs/laws/en/in/in090en.pdf
27
Significantly, no work of art can be declared as an art treasure during the lifetime of the creator.
28
https://www.indiaculture.nic.in/sites/default/files/Legislations/9.pdf
29
https://www.icomos.org/quebec2008/cd/toindex/77_pdf/77-M4nS-252.pdf
 18

communication process designed to convey the significance of a heritage site to visitors and
local communities in order to increase public awareness, enhance understanding of a heritage
site and acquire public support in the activities directed at its management and preservation.
In this context heritage presentation includes interpretive activities and public activities
directed at raising awareness of a site and its significance. Such activities and
recommendations have not just been implemented, but also magnified the intensity of
heritage conservation and awareness at a lot of International sites, but they still seem a day
dream for a site like Chandraketugarh.
As Nayanjot Lahiri has aptly stated, it is often the locals at a rudimentary level that play a
pivotal role in heritage conservation. Not only their day to day activities directly affect the
site but examples like gramasthalas have come up where the locals have gathered to preserve
heritage on a cooperative basis. But the ASI not only disregards any promotion of such
activities but completely discards the existence of such entities in its highly centralized
approach. Further, in cases like Chandraketugarh it is not just the site, but the entire
surrounding area that needs proper conservation and excavation. The ASI in its current
structure lacks any scientific approach or temperamental zeal to carry out such tasks. After
all, it is a body of Survey and not Conservation. Post-independence, visionary leaders like
Jawaharlal Nehru had ensured that the dam construction of Nagarjunakonda was combined
with an excavation and rescue project at the historic Ishavaku capital of Nagarjunakonda. But
blatant creation of SEZs, mass investment of the private sector in real estate and ignoring
archaeology as an indicator in the Environmental Impact Assessment has reduced heritage
conservation, to a mere dispensable threshold in the Indian context in general and
Chandraketugarh in particular.
 19

7. Conclusion: Institutionalization of Neglect and Potential Measures for

Tackling the Same
Chandraketugarh, as a choice of site for this project, is not a case in isolation, but, a reflection
of the larger discourse of archaeology in India. Since its very inception, the Archaeological
Survey of India has failed to follow a due protocol for excavation and conservation of
archaeological sites. Thus, certain sites have received far less importance than they actually
deserved, Chandraketugarh being an epitome of the same.
An archaeological site is not just a remain from the past; it is a kaleidoscope through which
the present sees the past, and in position to the same, places themselves. In 1942 a petition
was sent to the state of Indore to repair the local Ram temple. The petition was an outcome of
the combined efforts of the local villagers. It congregated into action due to awareness at the
grassroots level without any intervention from the state machinery. A site like
Chandraketugarh is void of any such awareness, or even if the awareness exists (in cases) it
has not translated into due action. What can be a possible reason behind the same?
Profit, more often than not, is a guiding force for human actions. Profit can be economic,
social or political in nature. The broad spectrum of illicit trade in antiquities as already
highlighted in this report is a causative factor for economic profit. The disarray and
speculations that exist around the myth and history of the site hint at a communal and
religious conflict that, at a time existed. In dearth of due study of the same history, a
confusion prevails. This confusion can be a causative factor for socio-political profit. Thus,
negligence of a site is a profitable factor. It is, in fact an Institutionalisation of Neglect, by
those in power that allows them to maintain the dominant power structures. It suits their
profit.
In spite of all the neglect faced by Chandraketugarh, there continue to be local antiquarians
and simple ‗citizens‘, in the form of people like Gautam De who are passionate about the site
and its conservation and continue to take possible actions in lieu of the same. Thus, he
considered a conversation with the neighbours of Khana Mihirer Dhipi where he requested
them to not throw garbage at the site as a big step in the direction of heritage conservation. He
might seem to derive no profit at the surface of this action but if one were to introspect, they
would find that it is a deep cultural connotation that obliged this action as one of ‗duty‘ for
someone like Mr. De.
As Nayanjot Lahiri has rightfully observed, in the Indian context, heritage is a wealth of the
ancestors with deep social values attached to it, by the locals. It is only when given the right
and affirmed with a sense of belonging, actual conservation can take place. Examples like that
of gramasthalas are primary to this cause. It is only from the grassroots level that real
conservation, realisation and change, is actually possible.
What needs to be kept in mind while discussing the institutionalized neglect that a site like
Chandraketugarh has faced throughout its almost a century long history of being ‗protected‘
(it was declared as a ‗Monument of National Importance‘ way back in 1922 as the board
placed within its vicinity reads), is that antiquarian efforts at conservation, though necessary,
cannot be deemed sufficient. State action is sine qua non for enigmatic sites such as this,
which are reduced to mere footnotes in the discourse of Indian archaeology that has been
fixated over northern India in general, and the Harappan Civilization, in particular.
Since the time of Mortimer Wheeler, Indian archaeological discourse has been
overwhelmingly concerned with the determination of cultural sequence at sites, by means of
 20

primarily vertical excavations. The paradigm shift in global archaeology that had been
brought about by the wave of post-processualism has not been received as wholeheartedly in
India as it has been elsewhere. Consequently, the colonial agenda of archaeology, that is to
quantifiably ascertain the antiquity of a ‗culturally backward‘ pre-colonial past had got
simply repackaged as the nationalist agenda of projecting a ‗culturally advanced‘ one in the
post-independence period.
When the two superpowers were engaged in a nuclear arms race, the newly formed
independent nations of India and Pakistan were competing with each other for ancient
legitimacy to the extent that studies came out claiming a five-thousand-year long history of
Pakistan.30 Needless to say, the Harappan Civilization was the bone of contention in this
battle of claims and counter claims and the onus that was thence placed on the Archaeological
Survey of India to excavate larger and culturally richer Harappan sites on the Indian side of
the subcontinent (as the sites par excellence like Harappa and Mohenjo Daro were now
located in Pakistan as an irreversible fact of Partition) translated into neglect of other sites of
great potential, like those in and around Chandraketugarh.
The attempt that was made by the ASI to undo this historic neglect in 1999-2000 died an
untimely death due to the amalgamation of vested interests of the kind that have been
mentioned earlier in this report. Khana-Mihirer Dhipi, therefore, remains the only excavated
structural mound at Chandraketugarh, which due the lack of proper protective and
preservative measures, is gradually disintegrating (as is evident from some of the photographs
in Appendix I). Inculcating heritage awareness among the local populace and incentivising
them to carry out basic tasks that ensure conservation (the authors of this report had
encountered only one woman employed on a contractual basis by the ASI to weed out grasses
growing in the cracks on the exposed bricks at Khana Mihirer Dhipi) by providing them with
seasonal employment opportunities seems to be a fundamental measure for tackling neglect.
Employing at least one permanent security guard at Khana Mihirer Dhipi, a full time curator
at the recently opened Chandraketugarh Museum near Berachampa, encouraging the nearby
school children to know about the site‘s history within the school‘s formal history curriculum
and to volunteer in their own ways to prevent their friends and families from littering the site
are rudimentary steps that can ensure the excavated site‘s survival in the near future.
However, unless large scale excavation and official conservation of the still buried rampart
wall at Itakhola gets carried out by the ASI in tune with the objectives as mentioned in IAR
2000-2001, and unless further encroachment of land within the vicinity of the sites and the
illicit trade in antiquities from Chandraketugarh is abated by state action, neither local
popular heritage awareness nor antiquarian efforts at conservation of artefacts will be able to
save Chandraketugarh from being consigned to the oblivion of history.

30
Eric J. Hobsbawm, On History, 6-7.
 21

8. Bibliography

Historical Chandraketugarh: Origins of the Site and Archaeo-Geographical Milieu of

Coastal Bengal
 Basak, Bishnupriya. ―Interpreting Historical Archaeology of Coastal Bengal:
Possibilities and Limitations‖ in The Complex Heritage of Early India: Essays in
Memory of R.S. Sharma, edited by D.N. Jha, 153-177. New Delhi: Manohar, 2014.

 Chakravarti, Ranabir. ―Early Medieval Bengal and the Trade in Horses: A Note.‖
Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 42, no. 2 (1999): 194-211.

 Chakravarty, D.K. ―Maritime Trade Between Bengal and China: Some Recent
Archaeological Evidences.‖ Proceedings of the Indian History Congress 40 (1979):
1091-1101.

 Chattopadhyay, R.K. The Archaeology of Coastal Bengal. New Delhi: Oxford

University Press, 2018.

 Dutta, Srabani. ―Changing Perspectives of Bengal Trade: Its Connections with the
Indo-Roman Trade.‖ Proceedings of the Indian History Congress 66 (2005-2006):
135-146.

 Ghosh, Suchandra. ―Monetization and Exchange Network in Early Historic Bengal: A

Note Defining Certain Problems.‖ Proceedings of the Indian History Congress 66
(2005-2006): 110-119.

 Ray, H.P. ―The Archaeology of Bengal: Trading Networks, Cultural Identities.‖

Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 49, no. 1 (2006): 68-95.

 Sengupta Gautam, and Sheena Panja. ed. Archaeology of Eastern India: New
Perspectives. Kolkata: Centre for Archaeological Studies and Training Eastern India,
2002.

Archaeological Chandraketugarh: Summary of and Comments on the Reports of

Excavations in ‘Indian Archaeology: A Review’ (IAR)
 Archaeological Survey of India. Indian Archaeology: A Review (IAR). 1955-1956 to
1968-1969, 2000-2001.

 Dandin. What Ten Young Men Did. Translated by Isabelle Onians. New York: Clay
Sanskrit Library, 2005.
 22

The Antiquities of Chandraketugarh: Glimpses and Overview

 Bautze, J.K. Early Indian Terracottas. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1995.

 Chakraborty, Sharmi. ―Double Mould Terracotta Human Figurines from

Chandraketugarh, West Bengal‖, Bulletin of the Deccan College 58-59 (1998-1999):
149-160.

 ——— ―Beads from Chandraketugarh.‖, Pratna Samiksha 4 & 5 (1995-1996): 32-53.

 De, Gourishankar and Subhradip De. Chandraketugarh: A Lost Civilization (Vols. I -

II). Kolkata: Sagnik Books, 2004,2006.

 Haque, Enamul. ―Reflections on the Early Art of Bengal.‖ India International Centre
Quarterly 24, no. 2/3 (Monsoon 1997): 187-202.

 ——— Chandraketugarh: A Treasure-House of Bengal Terracottas. Dhaka: The

International Centre for the Study of Bengal Art, 2001.

 Roy Chowdhury, Sima. ―A Group of Unique Plaques from Chandraketugarh.‖ East

and West 49, no. 1/4 (December 1999): 293-296.

Mythical Chandraketugarh
 Bhadra, Gautam. ‗Four Rebels of 1857‘ Selected Subaltern Studies. New York:
Oxford University Press, 1988.

 Cleaves, Francis Woodman (trans.). The Secret History of the Mongols.

 Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1982.

 Eaton, Richard. The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204–1760. Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1993.

 Pandey, Jhimli Mukherjee. ‗Was Sandrocottus Bengal‘s Chandraketu?‘. Times of

India, August 22, 2016.
Online at https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Was-Sandrocottus-Bengals-
Chandraketu/articleshow/53806349.cms

 Shulman, David. More than Real —A History of the Imagination in South India.
Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2012.

 Thapar, Romila. ‗Perspectives of the History of Somnatha’, Umashankar Joshi

Memorial Lecture, 29 December 2012.

Chandraketugarh at Present: Local Popular Heritage Awareness

Primary survey conducted by Suchintan Das and Tushar Srivastava.
 23

Conserving Chandraketugarh: Illicit trade, Legal Framework and its Shortcomings

 Biswas, Sachindra Shekhar. Protecting the Cultural Heritage (National Legislations
and International Conventions). New Delhi: Aryan Books International, 1991.

 Brodie, Neil. ‗Historical and Social Perspectives on the Regulation of International

Trade: The Examples of Greece and India.‘ Archaeological Objects 38 (2005).

 Davis, Richard H. ‗Indian Art Objects as Loot.‘ Journal of Asian Studies 52 (1993).

 ——— Lives of Indian Images. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999.

 Greenfield, Jeanette. The Return of Cultural Treasures. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press, 1995.

 Lahiri, Nayanjot. ‗Destruction or Conservation? Some Aspects of Monument Policy

in British India.‘ In Destruction and Conservation of Cultural Property, edited by
Robert Layton, et al. London: Routledge, 2001.

 ——— ‗Monumental Follies.‘ India International Centre Quarterly 33 (2007).

 ——— Monuments Matter—India’s Archaeological Heritage since Independence.

Mumbai: The Mark Foundation, 68:4, 2017.

 Pal, H. Bhisham. The Plunder of Art. New Delhi: Abhinav Publications, 1992.

 Pachauri, S.K. ‗Plunder of Cultural and Art Treasures: The Indian Experience.‘
In Illicit Antiquities: The Theft of Culture and Extinction of Archaeology, edited by
Neil Brodie and Kathryn Walker Tubb. London: Routledge, 2001.

Conclusion: Institutionalization of Neglect and Potential Measures for Tackling the

Same
 Hobsbawm, Eric J. On History. London: Abacus, 1998.

 Lahiri, Nayanjot. Marshalling the Past: Ancient India and its Modern Histories. New Delhi:
Orient Blackswan, 2018.
 24

Appendix I: Pictorial Chandraketugarh

Road Leading to the Rampart Wall at Itakhola, Flanked by Mounds on Both Sides

Villager Grazing his Cows atop the Rampart Wall at Itakhola

 25

Residual Trench from 1999-2000 ASI Excavation

Excavated Temple Structure at Khana Mihirer Dhipi (2003)

 26

Excavated Temple Structure at Khana Mihirer Dhipi (2019)

Khana Mihirer Dhipi is surrounded by houses on all sides, well within the site’s protected
area i.e. the legally mandated radius of 100 metres
 27

Burnt Garbage within the Excavated Temple Structure at Khana Mihirer Dhipi

Brick Structure on Wooden Pole Trench with Pottery Drain Pipes

(IAR 1962-1963) (IAR 1957-58)
 28

Terracotta Head of a Ram

Terracotta Elephant with Raised Trunk

 29

Yaksha Rattle Terracotta figure of a probable foreigner

 30

Terracotta ‘Mother and Child’ Figure

31
 32

Terracotta Female Figure with a Dwarf Female ‘Shalabhanjika’ Carved on Wood

Attendant Carrying a Tray on her Head

Terracotta Figure of Shree (Goddess of Wealth) Single Mould of Panchachuda

 33

Winged Female Figure atop a Lotus

 34

Ritualistic Vase (IAR 1963-1964)

Terracotta Male Dancing Figure (IAR 1963-1964)

 35

Stone Vishnu Plaque (IAR 1964-1965)

 36

Stone Buddha Image

Terracotta Seal Depicting a Figure on a Dolphin like Creature

 37

Terracotta Mithuna (Amorous Couple) Scene

Terracotta Plaque Depicting a Scene of Collective Harvesting (Paddy?) with Sickles

 38

Terracotta Plaque Depicting (Royal?) Conversation / Gossip

Note: The copyright of photographs with watermark(s) in this appendix belongs to Mr.
Ambarish Goswami whereas those without any watermark belong to the authors of this
report.