HISTORY
The Old Malda Municipality was established in the year1869 with an area of 3.24 sq. Km. At present the Municipality comprised total area of 9.54 Sq.Km. as a result of addition of further 6.34 Sq.Km area by the government in the year 1995.The Old Malda town which lies just east of the confluence of the Mahananda and Kalindi rivers is part of the English Bazar urban agglomeration. During the 18th century it was the seat of prosperous cotton and silk industries. It remains an important distributing centre for rice, jute and wheat. The Independence Day of Malda is 17 August 1947.The glorious past of Malda is associated with the ruined city of Gaur and Pandua. Gaur is historically a very important place because a large portion of Bengal's ancient history was written here. Malda also houses a great conglomeration of ancient mosques which reminds of the Mohammedan rulers who reigned here for centuries.The ancient city of Gaur in Malda has also been mentioned in Hindu Puranic texts and its history is recorded since 500 BC. At that period, Gaur and Pundrabardhana (Pandua) was under the Mauryan Empire. Archeological findings have also indicated that the whole of North Bengal was part of the Gupta Empire in the ancient times. Thereafter, the Guptas were succeeded by the king of Karnasubarna in 700 A.D, who ruled for almost thirty years. From mid 8th century to 11th century AD the Pala dynasty ruled Bengal and promoted Buddhism in the region actively. After the rule of the Palas it was the turn of the Sen Dynasty; Balal Sen was the third ruler of the Sen Dynasty who ruled over Gaur and established sole control over entire Bengal within 1168 A.D. The Sen Dynasty wielded their rule over Bengal till 1204 AD, after which, the Mughals and Afghans ended their rule by invading Bengal.One can find the influence of the Afghan and Mughals throughout Malda in the form of beautiful mosques, among which, most of them lay in ruins today. Recent history states that Malda was conquered by the Mughals in 1198 A.D., and was the headquarters of their ruling power over Bengal. After the Afghans came to power, the headquarters were relocated to Pandua and they left a scene of plunder in Gaur. But Pandua was deserted in 1453 and Gaur came to prominence again. In 1539, Gaur was attacked by Sher Shah, and in 1575 it was invaded by the army of Akbar. Curiously, after the occupation of the city by Akbar a severe plague hit and it was completely abandoned and the city lied in a heap of ruins.The ruins, relics and monuments of Malda speak a tale of a bygone era when rulers with different origins, religions and motives ruled the land. It is a feast for the insatiable senses of archeologists and curious tourists who are interested in ancient history of Bengal, and of India.