MASULIPATAM, or BANDAR  , a seaport of British India, administrative headquarters of the Kistna district of Madras, on one of the mouths of the river Kistna, 215 M . N. of Madras city . Pop . (1901), 39,507 . Masulipatam was the earliest English settlement on the Coromandel coast, its importance being due to the fact that it was the bandar or port of Golconda . An agency was established there in 1611 . During the wars of the Carnatic, the English were temporarily expelled the town, which was held by the French for some years . In 1759 the town and fort were carried by storm by Colonel Forde, an achievement followed by the acquisition of the Northern Circars (q.v.) . In 1864 a great storm-wave swept over the entire town and is said to have destroyed 30,000 lives . Weavers form a large portion of the inhabitants, though their trade has greatly declined since the beginning of the 19th century . Their operations, besides weaving, include printing, bleaching washing and dressing . In former days the chintzes of Masulipatam had a great reputation abroad for the freshness and permanency of their dyes .

Masulipatam is a station of the

Church Missionary Society . The port is only a roadstead, where vessels anchor 5 M. out . A branch line from Bezwada on the Southern Mahratta railway was opened in 1908 . The chief educational institution is the Noble College of the C.M.S .