Bachhawali Tope

Bacchawali Tope (literal translation: The cannon which produces child birth) is a gun, rather cannon which lies in the Nizamat Fort Campus on the garden space between the Nizamat Imambara and the Hazarduari Palace and to the east of the old Madina Mosque in the city of Murshidabad in the Indian state of West Bengal. The cannon consists two pieces of different diameters. The cannon was made between the 12th and 14th century, probably by the Mohammeddan rulers of Gaur. It originally lied on the sand banks of Ichaganj. However, it is unknown that how it came in Ichaganj. It was used to protect the city of Murshidabad from north-western attacks. After the 1846 fire of the Nizamat Imambara the Imambara was rebuilt, then after the completion of the new Imambara the cannon was shifted to its present site by Sadeq Ali Khan, the architect of the sacred Nizamat Imambara under the suggestion of Sir Henry Torrens, the then agent of the Governor General at Murshidabad.

Etymology
It is heard that this cannon was fired only once and when it was done it produced a huge explosive sound, within a radius of about 10 miles. This sound made most of the pregnant women of the city to give birth to their child. This cannon is believed to get its name from there, so the cannon has been named, Bacchawali Tope. Bacchawali means the one who produces child birth while Tope means cannon. Thus, the total sums up to Bacchawali Tope, which means the cannon which produces child birth.