Barasat (/ˈbɑːrɑːsɑːt/) is a city and a municipality of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal.

[2] During the Mughal Empire period, Sankar Chakraborty (a commander of the zamindar Pratapaditya and king of Jessore in present-day Bangladesh) came to Barasat, Kolkata in 1600 and established himself.

Under the British Raj, East India Company officials from Calcutta (Kolkata) made Barasat a weekend retreat and built houses with gardens.

Warren Hastings built his villa in the heart of Barasat and Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was the town's first Indian deputy magistrate.

Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar, Pyari Charan Sarkar and Kalikrishna Mitra were known for social reformation in the town, including women's education and widow remarriage.

The area covered in the map alongside is largely a part of the north Bidyadhari Plain, located in the lower Ganges Delta.

[26] Cotton weaving is Barasat's major industry, and the town is a trade centre for rice, legumes, sugarcane, potatoes, and coconuts.

Barasat Association, a citizen organization, donated land for the construction of municipal buildings.

[5] Barasat is part of the Kolkata Metropolitan Area, for which the KMDA is the statutory planning and development authority.

The highest tier of the three-tier panchayati raj system, its headquarters are at Barasat.

Haughton was fluent in Indian (Hindustani) languages, and received the sword of merit and a monetary award from the Barasat institution.

He studied regional languages at the College of Fort William in Calcutta, receiving seven medals, three degrees of honor and monetary awards for proficiency in Arabic, Persian, Hindustani (Hindi), Sanskrit and Bengali.

Haughton was a lieutenant, a noted orientalist, a Knight of The Royal Guelphic Order, a member of the Asiatic Society and a published author.