History and heritage
Tamluk is the district headquarter of Purba Medinipur district. As per the 2011 census, the Tamluk municipal area has a population of 65306. The sex ratio is 963 females per 1,000 males. Purba Medinipur has an average literacy rate of 90.18%, which is higher than the national average of 76.26%.
City of Tamluk has also its glory of past. The name of the college Tamralipto has originated from the ancient history of ‘Tamralipti port’, which was believed to be the exit point of the Mauryan trade route for the south and South-east. In 3rd century BC Samrat Ashoka visited this place with Mahendra and Sanghamitra, his son and daughter.
Tamralipta was mentioned in early Indian literary works like Kathasaritsagar and Raghubansha, by Greek astronomer-geographer Ptolemy, Roman author and philosopher Pliny, Chinese monk travellers Fa-hien, Hsuan-tsang, Yi Jing.
Matangini Hazra, the famous lady revolutionary, participated in Indian freedom movement like Quit India, Civil Disobedience movement under the banner of Indian National Congress and was shot dead by British police in front of Tamluk police station in 1942 at her 72 years of age. She was born in a village called Hogla near Tamluk.
Worth seeing places in Tamluk is Bargabhima temple, considered as 51 shakti peth of mother Durga where left ankle of Sati fell and the temple has been declared by Heritage Site by West Bengal Govt. The place was also mentioned in Mahabharata, which Bhim acquired. Remnants of Tamluk Rajbari is also a place of historical interest.
Famous sea beaches of West Bengal viz. Digha, Mandarmani and Tajpur are within 100 kms from Tamluk town.