Feb 14 is celebrated as Valentines day & 24 Feb 24 is considered as Kalyani town establishment day, but the town has a very interesting history and is a lovelorn man’s tribute to his lost love.
Dr. Bidhan Roy had dreamt of a satellite township to ease the population from the city of Kolkata & that is how Kalyani was born, phoenix-like, out of the ashes of World War II.
Present day Kalyani was once an American Military Base known as “Roosevelt Nagar”
Named after the former President of USA – Franklin D. Roosevelt who was the 32nd President of USA and served in this August office from 1933 to 1945.
In 1942,as America entered WW2 after pearl harbour bombings by Japanese , American troops had started pouring in India in their effort to assist the Chinese resistance efforts of Chiang Kai-Shek against the Japanese offensive
The residents of 45 villages were ordered to vacate their ancestral land & move out for accommodating the Allied US soldiers in World war 2 by the then imperial British govt
China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater”, as it was called, became an important operation that would utilise the strategic port of Calcutta & air bases in Bengal to carry out airlift missions for the Americans & Chinese militaries daily.
Roosevelt Town used to be a large US Army base, encompassing nearly 45 villages & also widely believed by historians that it was a support base for US Army Air Force (USAAF) for “Over the Hump Operations”& the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater
The American pilots coined the term for the Eastern Himalayas–The Hump. Although Kalyani–or Roosevelt Nagar was not their primary base, military historians believe that a part of their arsenal was stored here
The allied operations in ‘CBI’ area during World War 2 carried a total of 6,85,304 gross tons of cargo from India to China which included over 3,92,000 tons of gasoline & oil–nearly USAAF troops left India in 1945, having made over 1,56,000 trips in 3 years.
After Independence, Bengal witnessed the large influx of refugees from East Pakistan & Dr. Bidhan Roy felt the need to build a few satellite townships around Kolkata, to ease the pressure on the capital Kolkata
To tackle future problems that would increase with the growth of urban development, industrial growth & growing population.
It is widely believed that in his youth, Dr Roy fell in love with Kalyani who was the daughter of the legendary Dr. Nilratan Sarkar. The young man
Dr Bidhan Ray courageously went to meet Dr Sarkar, that time the most famous & rich doctor of Calcutta to seek the hands of Kalyani, one of his five daughters.
It is widely believed that Dr Sarkar rejected the proposal outright & his remarks were deemed insulting to the young man saying, his daughter's daily make-up cost was at least thrice more than the young doctor’s monthly income.
Dr Roy left dejected. He was deeply hurt by this rejection & vowed to remain single all his life.
After Independence, in 1950, the master plan of the town was developed and the foundation stone for the town was laid by on 24 February 1951 & named as 'Kalyani'
& hence Kalyani Devi was immortalised by Dr Roy as his long lost love
Today Kalyani boasts of industries, high quality education and other infrastructure facilities including two universities,Autonomous Institutions,medical college & hospital ,engineering college.
Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan gifted his love the beautiful Taj Mahal , Dr. Bidhan Ray the CM of Bengal , gifted Bengal the township of Kalyani in memorial of his lost love .
The establishment of Kalyani township during his tenure as WB CM also proved not only he was a good doctor but also an efficient town planner.
In 2014, Kalyani was chosen for ‘Smart City’ tag & its one of the fastest growing town in Bengal,the present Bengal govt is trying to develop it as sister city of Kolkata & a growth engine for the future .
wbiidc.wb.gov.in/kalyani3
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