A few years after Nawab Siraj-ud-Daula lost to the British at the Battle of Plassey, the capital of Bengal was moved to the newly founded city of Calcutta, now called Kolkata.

The earliest evidences of the history of the district date back to the pre-historic days, perhaps as early as circa 1500 BCE.

The city still bears memories of Nawabs with other palaces, mosques, tombs, and gardens, and retains such industries as carving in ivory, gold and silver embroidery, and silk-weaving.

[4][8] The Murshidabad District Committee of the Indian National Congress was formed in 1921 with Braja Bhusan Gupta as its first President.

Leaders Subhas Chandra Bose and Kazi Nazrul Islam were imprisoned in Berhampore, where Krishnath College educated revolutionaries Surya Sen and Niranjan Sengupta.

The district saw the foundation of the Hindu Muslim Unity Association in 1937 by Wasif Ali Mirza, and the Revolutionary Socialist Party in 1940 by Tridib Choudhury.

The eastern portion, the Bagri, is a fertile, low-lying alluvial tract, part of the Ganges Delta.

Often during early summer, dusty squalls followed by spells of thunderstorm or hailstorms and heavy rains cum ice sleets lash the district, bringing relief from the humid heat.

[11] Rains brought by the Bay of Bengal branch of South-West monsoon lash the city between June and September and supplies the district with most of its annual rainfall of approx 1,600 mm (62 in).

There were some discussions between India and Bangladesh to open an internal water transport link between Dhulian and Rajshahi but it has not materialised yet.[when?]

[12] Rice, jute, legumes, oilseeds, wheat, barley, and mangoes are the chief crops in the east; extensive mulberry cultivation is carried out in the west.

The Ivory and Wood craft industry dates back to the time when the Nawabs of Bengal had their court at Murshidabad.

The outer harder brown skin is removed by expert hands to reveal the inner soft milky-white and spongy material, almost similar to "Thermocol", artificially produced in a laboratory.

Bell-metal and brass utensils are manufactured in large quantities at Khagra, Berhampore, Kandi, Baranagar and Jangipur.

Locks and betelnut cutters of a superior kind are made at Dhulian and iron chests at Jangipur.

While delay in getting raw materials owing to the complicated procedural formalities involved in the submission of applications for raw materials has been almost a constant factor, the industry has also been affected by the change in consumers demand in favour of stainless steel, plastic and ceramic goods and crockery.

Traditionally the Muslim community was also known to produce these Baluchars with figured patterns depicting court scenes, horse with a rider, women smoking hookah.

Bengal had a nourishing silk industry in the past and Murshidabad long enjoyed a special reputation in this respect.

In the mid-eighteenth century the country round about it (Cossimbazar) was very fertile, and the inhabitants remarkably industrious, being employed in many useful manufactures.

About 1663 AD, the Dutch in their Cossimbazar factory sometimes employed 700 silk weavers, and the English and the other European nations smaller number.

Murshidabad has always had a high reputation for its quality of silk and that was one of the primary exports that the English East India Company made to England.

Murshidabad has had a long association with the silk industry particularly during the times of the English East India company, which saw the emergence of two English factories to spruce up the production of silk as there was a growing demand in England owing to the cheaper prices and superior quality, particularly during a time when the Italians started charging additional cess.

Buses are the most common form of transport, and they are easily available, and run to a wide range of destinations within and without the district.

The following are municipalities: Baharampur, Murshidabad, Jiaganj Azimganj, Beldanga, Domkal, Kandi, Jangipur, Dhulian.

[20] Farakka and Samserganj will be part of the newly formed Maldaha Dakshin (Lok Sabha constituency).

[22] According to the 2011 census Murshidabad district has a population of 7,103,807,[6] roughly equal to the nation of Bulgaria[24] or the US state of Washington.

[26] The following table summarises the population distribution:[26] The majority of people of the district, around 66.27%, are Muslims, who dominate rural areas.

Moreover, a variant of Hindi-Urdu language influenced by Bengali, Khotta Bhasha is also spoken by a substantial amount of population in the northern regions (specially Farakka, Samserganj, Suti, Jangipur areas) of the district.

This three-storey palace was built in 1837 by Duncan McLeod for the Nawab Najim Humaun Jah, descendant of Mir Zafar.

Around the palace are other attractions like the Wasef Manzil (the New Palace) by the bank of the Ganges, Tripolia Gate, the Dakshin Darwaza, the Chak Darwaza, the Imambara, the Gharighar (the Clock Tower), the Bachchawali Tope (a canon) and the Madina, the only surviving structure built by Siraj-ud-Doula.