Barasat is the 163rd most populous city in India with a total population of 2,78,435. Barasat is a city in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal and the highest employment in the district is in Agriculture, Leather, Jute products, Rubber & Plastic products, Cotton Textiles, Readymade Garments, Engineering and other household industries. The district has 25% of the workforce employed in the Agricultural Sector, 71% in the Industrial Sector and the remaining 4% are Household workers. No notable river flows through the city. The nearest one is the Ganges itself — about 15 km to the west. The city is in the Gangetic plain lacking any hills. The major field crops produced are Rice, Jute, Oilseeds, Potato, Wheat. Apart from these, horticultural crops like Mango, Banana, Brinjal, Cucurbits etc. are also produced. During the British Raj, Company officials from Calcutta made Barasat a weekend retreat location. They had made many garden houses at various places within Barasat town. Warren Hastings had made his Villa in the heart of Barasat town. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, the renowned Author, was the first Indian Deputy Magistrate of this town. Indigo cultivation was a major business in and around the town. The indigo merchants were known for their inhuman treatment of the farmers. Titumir, a farmer, had declared revolution against indigo merchants in Barasat. From 1834 to 1861, Barasat was the seat of a joint-magistrate, known as "Barasat District". In 1861, the joint magistracy was abolished, and the Barasat District became a sub-division of the Twenty-four Parganas district. At present, it is the district headquarters of North 24 Parganas district.
