The district of Bardhaman is located in central part of west Bengal, sharing its western borders with the state of Jharkhand. Other neighbours of this district are Purulia, Bankura, Medinipur, Hugli, Nadia, Murshidabad and Birbhum.
Bardhaman, also known as Burdwan is an industrial centre of West Bengal. It has India's biggest locomotive factory. Coal -fields and coal trading centers, railway workshops and other major industries like iron, steel and textile factories, make the district into highly developed industrial area. The small town of Burhanpur boasts of oldest steel plants in India. Bardhaman is also a major communications centre lying astride the Banka River just north of the Damodar River.
Bardhaman was ruled by the Ray Zamindars till recently. It is said that Krishnaram Ray, belonging to a merchant family of Punjab came down to this place in the 17th-18th century. Abiding by the orders issued by Aurangzeb he established Zamindari in Bardhaman. Remnants of this past are still being seen today in the district.
