Ranaghat City

Ranaghat town has existed since the British invaded India. A myth is still prevalent that the name of the town came from the bandit 'Rana Dacoit', who used to pillage this area 500 or 600 years back and he used to give pujas to the goddess Kali to thank Her. A more likely origin for the name of the town comes from Rani (Queen) or Rana (a Rajput warrior) and Ghat (steps leading to the river).


A large percentage of the population are the families of Hindu refugees from Bangladesh, who fled during the 1971 war with Pakistan. There are also many families who had extensive ties to foreign investments in the town.