Benares

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Benares
Presidency: Bengal
Coordinates: 25.282009°N 82.956336°E
Altitude: 80.71 m (265 ft)
Present Day Details
Place Name: Varanasi
State/Province: Uttar Pradesh
Country: India
Transport links
Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway
Bengal and North-Western Railway
FibiWiki Maps
See our interactive map of this location showing
places of interest during the British period
[xxxxx Benares]


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Benares was the headquarters of Benares District in the Benares Division of United Provinces during the British period. It had a cantonment with a British and Native garrison.

Map of Benares

Spelling Variants

Modern name: Varanasi
Variants: Benares/Banaras/Kashi

History

Varanasi, the Holy City of the Hindus, has an ancient history being one of the oldest continuously populated sites in the world. On the left bank of the Ganges, it is an important site of Hindu pilgrimage and is characterised by the burning ghats along the river. After a period of Muslim rule, Varanasi came under the patronage of the Marathas and subsequently was ceded to British control in 1775.

Military history

Mutiny at Benares in 1857 during the Indian Mutiny.

Churches and missions

St Mary's Anglican Church, Varanasi
  • St Mary's Church (Anglican)
  • St Mary's RC Cathedral
  • St Paul's Church
  • Wesleyan Church
  • (London) Mission Church
  • Methodist Church

Missions

  • Church Missionary Society (arrived 1817) - at Sigra
  • London Missionary Society (arrived 1820)
  • Wesleyan Missionary Society (arrived 1878)
  • Baptist Mission (arrived 1816, left 1890)
  • Zenana Bible and Medical Mission (formerly the Indian Female Normal School and Instruction Society, arrived 1868)

Transport

It was the first station on the Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway, after the latter's easternmost connection with the East Indian Railway at Moghal Sarai, as well as a terminus for the Bengal and North-Western Railway.

External links

Benares City Imperial Gazetteer of India
Benares Love to Know 1911

Historical books online