Barrackpore was home to a number of significant members of the Indian independence movement, many of whom have memorials in the subdivision. He has a memorial in the subdivision. Another significant leader of the movement who lived in Barrackpore is Rastraguru Surendra Nath Bandyopadhyay, who was called the father of Indian Nationalist Movement. The house of Surendranath at Monirampur of Barrackpore has now been converted to Rastraguru Surendranath Institute and Netaji Open University. Gandhi also spent time in the area, and the famous Gandhi Ghat is located on the east bank of the Hooghly. A Gandhi museum nearby has rare collection of books, articles used by Gandhi.
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya, the author of India's national song "Vande Mataram", was born at Naihati, in Barrackpore subdivision. "Vande Mataram" is credited to him. Another noted literary figure of the post independence era, Samaresh Basu, also hailed from Naihati. His noted work 'Ganga' vividly depicts the life of the fishermen of the Hooghly (Ganges) rivers.
Earlier in the area's history, noted Bengali author Bharat Chandra Ray Gunakar lived at Mulajore. He is famous for his "Annadamangal Kavya" written in the medieval period. The subdivision is inhabited by people from a broad range of cultures, with people of various religions, customs, castes and states living together. Mandirs, Masjids, Gurdwara, ashramsand churches coexist there. The Durga puja a festival held annually in the autumn, is the major festival in the area. There is a month-long fair in December–January (Bengali month of Pousha) at the temple of goddess Kali at Shyamnagar on the bank of the Ganges.
A famous Kali Sadhak (Saint devoted to Kali), Ramprasad Sen, who authored many religious songs, was born at Halisahar in this subdivision. The towns of Panihati and Khardaha are also famous for having been visited by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu some 500 years ago. Annual festivals and melas are held
