SANTIPUR

town, Nadia district, West Bengal state, northeastern India, just north of the Hooghly River. It was the centre of large factories under the British East India Company, and Santipur hand-woven muslins had a European reputation in the 18th and 19th centuries. The district's major cotton-weaving centre, it also has agricultural trade and pottery manufacture. The town, constituted a municipality in 1865, is a pilgrimage centre, with sacred bathing steps, or ghats, on the river. A festival in honour of Krishna is held annually. It has a college affiliated with the University of Calcutta. Pop. (1981) 82,890.