https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Kotwali_GateKotwali Gate - Revision history2026-07-31T05:38:38ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Kotwali_Gate&diff=510677&oldid=prevConradQ41114 at 11:57, 30 March 20262026-03-30T11:57:41Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Medieval gate on the Bangladesh-India border}}<br />
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[[File:Chapai KotowaliDorja 03Jun16 IMG 20160603 113712 01.jpg|thumb|The contemporary condition of Kotwali Gate]]<br />
The '''Kotwali Gate''', commonly known as '''Kotwali Darja''', is the location of a collapsed medieval gate on the [[Bangladesh-India border]]. The gate was the southern entrance to an ancient [[citadel]] of [[Bengal]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Siddiq |first=Mohammad Yusuf |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nAUBCwAAQBAJ&dq=kotwali+gate&pg=PA154 |title=Epigraphy and Islamic Culture: Inscriptions of the Early Muslim Rulers of Bengal (1205-1494) |date=2015-11-19 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-58746-0 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PPSIC55IT3MC&dq=kotwali+gate&pg=PA69 |title=Archaeological Survey of India: Reports 1862-1884 |date=1882 |publisher=Government Press |language=en}}</ref> It is a former [[arch]] and [[Gate|gateway]] to the former [[walled city]] of [[Gauda (city)|Gaur]], which was the capital of Bengal for 112 years. <br />
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Today, it marks the international border between India and Bangladesh in the northwestern region, dividing the districts of [[Chapai Nawabganj]] and [[Malda district|Malda]]. The gate is an official border crossing between the two countries.{{fact|date=June 2025}}<br />
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==Etymology==<br />
The name of the gate originates from the term [[Kotwal]].<ref name="banglapedia1">{{cite web|url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Kotwali_Darwaza |title=Kotwali Darwaza - Banglapedia |publisher=En.banglapedia.org |date=2021-06-18 |accessdate=2023-02-22}}</ref> <br />
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==History==<br />
[[File:Kotwali Gate at Gour, an aquatint by James Moffatt, 1808.jpg|thumb|Painting of Kotwali Gate in 1808]]<br />
According to the [[Archaeological Survey of India]], the structure dates back to the era of the [[Delhi Sultanate]] between the reigns of [[Iltutmish]] (r. 1211–1236) and [[Alauddin Khalji]] (r. 1296–1316).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.asikolkata.in/maldah.aspx | title=ASI, Kolkata Circle }}</ref> According to the [[British Library]], the gate may have been built after the capital of Bengal was re-established in Gaur by the [[Sultan of Bengal]] following the relocation from nearby [[Pandua, Malda|Pandua]] in 1446.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/photocoll/k/019pho000001003u00091000.html |title=Kotwali Darwaza, Gaur. 100391 |publisher=Bl.uk |date=2003-11-30 |accessdate=2023-02-22}}</ref><br />
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==Architecture==<br />
The central arch, which was 9.15 meters high and 5.10 meters wide,<ref name="banglapedia1"/> has now collapsed. The gate is part of the southern wall of Gaur. Minor decorative arches are still present on the wall. In addition to the collapsed arch, the gate also had semi-circular towers, battlements and apertures to defend the city.<ref name="banglapedia1"/><br />
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==See also==<br />
*[[Nimtali arch]]<br />
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==References==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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{{coord|24.8426|88.1412|type:landmark|display=title}}<br />
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[[Category:Gates in Bangladesh]]<br />
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Bangladesh]]<br />
[[Category:Chapai Nawabganj District]]<br />
[[Category:Maldah]]<br />
[[Category:Archaeological sites in West Bengal]]<br />
[[Category:Ruins in India]]<br />
[[Category:Ruins in Bangladesh]]<br />
[[Category:Medieval Bengal]]<br />
[[Category:Shibganj Upazila, Chapai Nawabganj]]<br />
[[Category:City gates]]</div>ConradQ41114