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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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South Dinajpur District
Dakshin Dinajpur (Bengali pronunciation: [dokkʰiɳ dinadʒpur]), also known as South Dinajpur, is a district in the Indian state of West Bengal, India. It was created on 1 April 1992 by the division of the erstwhile West Dinajpur District. The headquarters (sadar) of the district is at Balurghat. It comprises two subdivisions: Balurghat and Gangarampur. According to the 2011 census, it is the third least populous district of West Bengal (out of 23).

History

The erstwhile Dinajpur District, at the time of the partition of India, was split up into West Dinajpur district and East Dinajpur. The East Dinajpur district, now called Dinajpur, became part of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). The West Dinajpur district was enlarged in 1956, when States Reorganisation Act recommendations were implemented, with the addition of some areas of Bihar. The district was bifurcated into Uttar Dinajpur and Dakshin Dinajpur on 1 April 1992.

Economy

Dakshin Dinajpur is predominantly an agricultural district with a large area of land under cultivation. The district is drained by north-south flowing rivers like Atreyee, Purnabhaba, Tangon and Jamuna River, to give rise to a sizeable, unorganised fishing community.

Dakshin Dinajpur is a "non-large scale industry" but there are a number of medium and small hand loom industries especially Gangarampur block. Internet access is available from most of the cities, even broadband connections are available. There is one State Highway with only 77 km of National Highway No. 512 in the district. A new railway line has been laid between Eklakhi and Balurghat, the district headquarters. Train services were started on 30 December 2004.

In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Dakshin Dinajpur one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640). It is one of the eleven districts in West Bengal currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).

Divisions

Administrative subdivisions

The district comprises two subdivisions: Balurghat and Gangarampur at Buniadpur. Balurghat subdivision consists of Balurghat municipality and four community development blocks: Hili, Balurghat, Kumarganj and Tapan. Gangarampur subdivision consists of Gangarampur, Buniadpur municipalities and four community development blocks: Gangarampur, Bansihari, Harirampur and Kushmandi. Balurghat is the district headquarters. There are nine police stations, eight development blocks, Three municipalities, 64 gram panchayats and 2317 villages in this district.

Other than municipality area, each subdivision contains community development blocs which are divided into rural areas and census towns.

Balurghat subdivision

Gangarampur subdivision at Buniadpur

Assembly constituencies

As per order of the Delimitation Commission in respect of the delimitation of constituencies in the West Bengal, the district was divided into six assembly constituencies:

S No. Name Lok Sabha constituency MLA Party
37 Kushmandi (SC) Balurghat Rekha Roy All India Trinamool Congress
38 Kumarganj Toraf Hossain Mandal All India Trinamool Congress
39 Balurghat Ashok Lahiri Bharatiya Janata Party
40 Tapan (ST) Budhrai Tudu Bharatiya Janata Party
41 Gangarampur (SC) Satyendra Nath Ray Bharatiya Janata Party
42 Harirampur Biplab Mitra All India Trinamool Congress

Tapan constituency is reserved for ST candidates. Kushmandi and Gangarampur constituencies are reserved for SC candidates. Along with Itahar assembly constituency from Uttar Dinajpur district, the six assembly constituencies of this district form the Balurghat (Lok Sabha constituency).

Demographics

See also: List of West Bengal districts ranked by literacy rate
Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1901340,163—    
1911363,212+0.66%
1921319,170−1.28%
1931342,245+0.70%
1941383,042+1.13%
1951448,275+1.59%
1961563,598+2.32%
1971772,618+3.20%
1981989,294+2.50%
19911,230,608+2.21%
20011,503,178+2.02%
20111,676,276+1.10%
source:

According to the 2011 census Dakshin Dinajpur district has a population of 1,676,276. roughly equal to the nation of Guinea-Bissau. or the US state of Idaho. This gives it a ranking of 295th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of 753 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,950/sq mi). Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 11.16%. Dakshin Dinajpur has a sex ratio of 954 females for every 1000 males and a literacy rate of 73.86%. 14.10% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 28.80% and 16.43% of the population respectively.

Religion

Religions of Dakshin Dinajpur district (2011)
Religion Percent
Hinduism
 
 73.55%
Islam
 
 24.63%
Christianity
 
 1.48%
Other or not stated
 
 0.34%
Religion in present-day Dakshin Dinajpur district
Religion Population (1941) Percentage (1941) Population (2011) Percentage (2011)
Islam 136,873 38.61% 412,788 24.63%
Hinduism 135,299 38.16% 1,232,850 73.55%
Tribal religion 82,105 23.16% 2,786 0.17%
Christianity 146 0.04% 24,794 1.48%
Others 105 0.03% 3,058 0.17%
Total Population 354,528 100% 1,676,276 100%

Dakshin Dinajpur district has a majority Hindu population with over 73% people following Hinduism. Islam is the second-largest religion in the district with over 24% adherents. Christianity is followed by 1.48% of people. Muslims and Christians are almost entirely rural, and the urban population is nearly entirely Hindu. Muslims are a significant minority in Harirampur (49.00%) and Kushmandi (38.86%) CD blocks.

Languages

Languages of Dakshin Dinajpur District (2011)

  Bengali (84.41%)
  Santali (9.68%)
  Kurukh (1.31%)
  Sadri (1.25%)
  Hindi (1.05%)
  Others (2.30%)

Bengali is the principal language of the district. The main Bengali dialect of this region is variously known as Varendri Bengali or Dinajpuri Bengali.

According to the 2011 census, 84.41% of the population spoke Bengali, 9.68% Santali, 1.31% Kurukh, 1.25% Sadri and 1.05% Hindi as their first language.

Education

Dakshin Dinajpur University has started functioning from 2021. It is located at Mahinagar, Balurghat. There is a government nursing college at Balurghat. There is one JNV present. There is one D.A.V group school (Atreyee DAV Public School) and a Techno Group school at Balurghat. There are a few good schools in Balurghat and Gangarampur. There are four CBSE affiliated and one CISCE affiliated school in Balurghat. Of late, The Green View English Academy is the only CISCE affiliated school in the entire district. The Atreyee D.A.V Public School has earned several accolades, giving the entire district an honorable position in the academic map of the country. VVM Junior Level National Champion (2018–19), Saswata Bose, is a student of The ADAVPS. Many government schools exist throughout the district.

Higher Education Institutions
Institution Type Institution Name Institution Location
University Dakshin Dinajpur University Balurghat
Agricultural Universities (India) Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya Majhian
General College Balurghat College Balurghat
Balurghat Mahila Mahavidyalaya Balurghat
Buniadpur Mahavidyalaya Buniadpur
Dewan Abdul Goni College Harirampur, West Bengal
Gangarampur B.Ed College Gangarampur
Gangarampur College Gangarampur
Jamini Majumdar Memorial College Patiram
Kumarganj College Kumarganj
Kushmandi Government College Kushmandi
Nathaniyal Murmu Memorial College Tapan, Dakshin Dinajpur
S.B.S. Government College, Hili Hili, Dakshin Dinajpur
Jamini Majumdar Memorial College Patiram
Dakshin Dinajpur B.Ed College Fulbari
Balurghat B.Ed.College Balurghat
Vidyasagar College Of Education Gangarampur
Dakshin Dinajpur D.Ed College Tapan, Dakshin Dinajpur
Tebhaga Teachers Training College Margram
Bahadurpur B.Ed College Dhkshin Bahadurpur
Bangarh Scholar Teacher's Training Institute Bolla
Atryee College Of Education Dangi
Buniadpur Teachers' Training College Buniadpur
Polytechnic College Gangarampur Government Polytechnic Gangarampur
Hilli Government Polytechnic Hili, Dakshin Dinajpur
Industrial training institute Banshihari Government ITI Bansihari (community development block)
Balurghat Government ITI Balurghat
Harirampur Government ITI Harirampur, West Bengal
Hili Government ITI Hili, Dakshin Dinajpur
Kumarganj Government ITI Kumarganj
Tafijuddin Ahamed Memorial,Kushmandi Government ITI Kushmandi
Tapan Government ITI Tapan, Dakshin Dinajpur
Law College Balurghat Law College Balurghat
Nursing College Nursing Training School Dakshin Dinajpur Balurghat

Tourist attractions

  • Bairhatta
  • Bangarh
  • Kaldighi Park (Gangarampur)
  • Gour Dighi
  • Grave of Bakhtiar Khilji
  • Dhal Dighi
  • Bolla Kali Temple
  • Binshira Roth yatra
  • Khanpur (Tebhaga movement)
  • Radha Gobindo Mandir (Tapan)
  • Sarongbari
  • Mahipal Dighi

Notable People

Narayan Biswas - minister of government of West Bengal.

  • Shanti Mardi - Politician.
  • Mofajjal Mondal - Journalist,Teacher, Social Worker, Writer, author of "How to became a Health Professional.

References

  1. ^ "Fact and Figures". Wb.gov.in. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  2. ^ "52nd Report of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities in India" (PDF). Nclm.nic.in. Ministry of Minority Affairs. p. 85. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  3. ^ "District Census 2011". Census2011.co.in. 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  4. ^ "Uttar Dinajpur Website". Government of India Portal. Retrieved 10 November 2008.
  5. ^ "Historical Perspective". Official website of South Dinajpur district from Government of India Portal. Retrieved 10 November 2008.
  6. ^ Ministry of Panchayati Raj (8 September 2009). "A Note on the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme" (PDF). National Institute of Rural Development. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  7. ^ "Directory of District, Sub division, Panchayat Samiti/ Block and Gram Panchayats in West Bengal, March 2008". West Bengal. National Informatics Centre, India. 19 March 2008. Archived from the original on 25 February 2009. Retrieved 8 November 2008.
  8. ^ "District Profile". Official website of the South Dinajpur district. Retrieved 9 November 2008.
  9. ^ "Population, Decadal Growth Rate, Density and General Sex Ratio by Residence and Sex, West Bengal/ District/ Sub District, 1991 and 2001". West Bengal. Directorate of census operations. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2008.
  10. ^ "Press Note, Delimitation Commission" (PDF). Assembly Constituencies in West Bengal. Delimitation Commission. Retrieved 18 November 2008.
  11. ^ "Census of India Website : Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India". www.censusindia.gov.in.
  12. ^ US Directorate of Intelligence. "Country Comparison: Population". Archived from the original on 13 June 2007. Retrieved 1 October 2011. Guinea-Bissau 1,596,677 July 2011 est.
  13. ^ "2010 Resident Population Data". U. S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2011. Idaho 1,567,582
  14. ^ "Table C-01 Population by Religion: West Bengal". censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
  15. ^ "CENSUS OF INDIA, 1941 VOLUME VI BENGAL PROVINCE" (PDF). Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  16. ^ "Table C-16 Population by Mother Tongue: West Bengal". www.censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
  17. ^ "Places of Interest | District Dakshin Dinajpur, Government of West Bengal | India". Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  18. ^ "DAKSHIN DINAJPUR - West Bengal Tourism, Experience Bengal, Dept. of Tourism, Govt. of W. B. *Nengra Pir Mela.Daulatpur". wbtourism.gov.in. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  19. ^ "DAKSHIN DINAJPUR - Attractions & activities - West Bengal Tourism, Experience Bengal, Dept. of Tourism, Govt. of W. B." www.wbtourism.gov.in. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  1. ^ Including Jainism, Christianity, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Ad-Dharmis, or not stated
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