Burdwan is an anglicised version of the Sanskrit Vardhamana and the corresponding Bardhaman in Bengali. The origin of this name dates back to sixth century BC and is ascribed to the twenty-fourth Jain Tirthankar, or Vardhamanswami, who spent some time in Astikagrama, according to the the Jain Kalpasutra. This place has been renamed as Vardhamana in his honour. A second view holds the literal meaning of the name, a prosperous and growing centre, to argue that this place represented a frontier colony of the progress of aryanisation through the upper Ganga valley. However, the Aryans failed to proceed further east. So, the name was retained. Archeological evidences suggest that this region, forming a major part of Radh Bengal, could be traced even back to 4000-2000 BC.

Burdwan is a place of mixed culture. The deuls (temples of rekh a type) found here are quite reminiscent of Buddhist architecture. The various mosques and tombs remind us of Muslim culture. The old temples bear signs of Hinduism, mostly belonging to the Sakta and Vaishnava community. The famous Sufi Pir Baharam's tomb is here. The controversy on Kankaleswari Kali of whether it originally belonged to the Jains or Tantriks indicates again the town's multifaceted heritage. Indeed, Burdwan had witnessed, experienced and withstood quite a few historical thunderstorms in the past, mainly due to the Mughal, Pathan and Maratha intruders. The town of Bardhaman was visited at one time or another by many a notable of the Delhi Empire from Raja Todarmal to Daud Karnani, from Sher Afgan and Kutub-ud-din to Ajimuswan or the rebel Sheh Jahan. The celebrated tombs of Sher Afgan and Kutub-ud-din lying side by side in this township relate to a classic love-story of Mihr-ul-Nissaa.

Burdwan is quite rich with its agricultural products, with rice and potato heading the list, so much so that it is called Bengal's granary. Damodar and Ajay are two main rivers here. The mineral resources include coal, iron ore, fireclay, silica and moulding sand. Some of these accelerated the process of industrialisation around its northwestern belt. Sitabhoga and mihidana are two famous sweets of Burdwan, introduced first in honour of the Raj family.

The locality has remained serene over the years. People of varying religions, castes and cultures live here in perfect harmony. The climate is pleasant. The temperature of the zone normally lies between 8 to 30 degrees centigrade.

The town is situated a little less than 100 km north-west of Kolkata and on the Grand Trunk Road (NH-2). The nearest airport is at Dumdum, Kolkata. Geographical Co-ordinates of the Burdwan town :

  Longitude : 23.16° North

  Latitude : 87.54° East

  Mean altitude above sea : 30 meters

Burdwan University started on 15th June, 1960, with Sukumar Sen, an ICS, as its first Vice-chancellor. It was after the abolition of the Zamindari system in the fifties that Uday Chand Mahtab, the last representative of the Burdwan Raj, showed his magnanimity in leaving almost his entire property of Burdwan at the disposal of the state government. This, coupled with the initiative of the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, facilitated the establishment of this university. Presently, the administrative works are mostly done at Rajbati (the palace of Barddhamana Maharaja) campus; on the other hand, academic activities center around the Golapbag campus mainly.

At the initial phase, only the humanities section began to funcion. After a year, mainstreams of science faculties were included. The starting motto, that this university should have a science-technology bias, in view of the growing needs of industrialisation just around, later found justification when Medical College and Regional Engineering College, Durgapur took shape. There are now about 22 Post-graduate departments in various disciplines. With regard to further expansions, mention may be made of the engineering college, named as University Institute of Technology, which has recently been established under the direct control of this University with the approval from All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

Academically, Burdwan University is feeding and nourishing more than 100 colleges. Its territorial jurisdiction extends over five districts - Burdwan, Hooghly (excluding Serampore Subdivision), Bankura, Birbhum and Purulia. These constitute the greater part of Radh Bengal, the cradle of ancient civilisation of India. from The imprints of the past are strewn all over the Radh Bengal.

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