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Jalpaiguri district | |
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     Clockwise from top: Neora Tea Estate, Raikut Palace, Himalayas fromJalpaiguri, Sevoke bridge over theTeesta, Champramary Wildlife Sanctuary | |
 Interactive Map Outlining Jalpaiguri District | |
.svg) Location of Jalpaiguri district in West Bengal | |
| Coordinates:26°41′N88°45′E / 26.683°N 88.750°E /26.683; 88.750 | |
| Country | India |
| State | West Bengal |
| Division | Jalpaiguri |
| Headquarters | Jalpaiguri |
| Government | |
| • Subdivisions | Jalpaiguri Sadar,Malbazar,Dhupguri |
| • CD Blocks | Jalpaiguri,Maynaguri,Rajganj,Mal,Matiali,Nagrakata,Kranti,Dhupguri,Banarhat |
| • Lok Sabha constituencies | Jalpaiguri |
| • Vidhan Sabha constituencies | Nagrakata,Dhupguri,Maynaguri,Mal,Dabgram-Phulbari,Jalpaiguri,Rajganj |
| Area | |
• Total | 3,386 km2 (1,307 sq mi) |
| Population (2011) | |
• Total | 2,381,596 |
| • Density | 703.4/km2 (1,822/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 752,805 |
| Demographics | |
| • Literacy | 84.79 per cent |
| • Sex ratio | 954♂/♀ |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Bengali[1][2] |
| • Additional official | English[1] |
| Time zone | UTC+05:30 (IST) |
| Website | www |
Jalpaiguri district (Bengali pronunciation:[dʒɔlpaːiːguɽiː]) is a district of the Indian state ofWest Bengal. The district was established in 1869 duringBritish Raj. The headquarters of the district are in the city ofJalpaiguri, which is also the divisional headquarters ofJalpaiguri division.
Jalpaiguri district comprises westernDooars and the major part of the easternMorang and this area, according to Sailen Debnath, in the ancient time was a part of the kingdom ofKamarupa, and since the medieval period it became a part ofKamata kingdom.[3] Sailen writes that three of the five ancient capitals of Kamatapur were geographically in the district of Jalpaiguri; and the three capitals were at Chilapata,Mainaguri and Panchagarh in sequence. According to him, Hingulavas, the first capital of the nextKoch kingdom as well was in Jalpaiguri district. Hingulavas has well been identified with Mahakalguri in Alipurduar Sub-Division.[3]
The Dooars in Jalpaiguri district were under the control ofKingdom of Bhutan from early 17th-century till 1865 whenBritish East India company captured the area in theDuar War under theTreaty of Sinchula and were added to the district of Jalpaiguri in 1869 and later finally to theIndian Union in 1949.
Like all the Duars underDruk Gyalpo ofBhutan, it was under the jurisdiction ofTongso Penlop, below the Tongso Penlop were Subah who in turn appointedMondal, Laskar or Uzir to look after the Duars.[4]
Jalpaiguri is a part of West Bengal which is situated in North Bengal.
The district situated in the northern part of West Bengal has international borders withBhutan andBangladesh in the north and south respectively and district borders withDarjeeling hills in the west and northwest andAlipurduar district andCooch Behar district on the east.
National protected areas include theGorumara National Park and theChapramari Wildlife Sanctuary, the Pakhibitan Wildlife Sanctuary, the Baikunthapur Forest, the Khuttimary Forest, etc. reserve forest.
Jalpaiguri is part of monsoon climate zone ofSouth-Eastern Asia. May is the hottest month of this region with average maximum temperature of about 32 °C whereas January is coldest with 11 °C. Highest ever recorded maximum and minimum temperature are 40 °C and 2 °C. The average annual humidity in the district is of 82%. The annual average rainfall is 3160mm. December is the driest month with average rainfall 0.2 mm and July is wettest with 809.3 mm. Number of rainy days are 0 to 1 during November to February and 24 days during July. Thunderstorms are common weather phenomenon during May.
Jalpaiguri district have three sub-divisions –Jalpaiguri Sadar subdivision,Mal subdivision andDhupguri subdivision.
Jalpaiguri district earlier had three sub-divisions –Jalpaiguri Sadar subdivision,Mal subdivision andAlipurduar subdivision.Alipurduar district was created in June 2014 and Jalpaiguri district was left with two subdivisions – Jalpaiguri Sadar and Mal.[5][6] Dhupguri subdivision is a administrative division of Jalpaiguri district. It was formed by dividing Jalpaiguri Sadar subdivision.[7]
Municipalities:Jalpaiguri,Malbazar,Mainaguri,Dhupguri
Jalpaiguri Sadar subdivision comprises a portion ofSiliguri Municipal Corporation,Jalpaiguri Municipality,Maynaguri Municipality,Rajganj community development block,Jalpaiguri community development block andMaynaguri community development block
Dhupguri subdivision comprisesDhupguri Municipality,Dhupguri community development block andBanarhat community development block
Malbazar subdivision comprisesMalbazar Municipality,Mal community development block,Kranti community development block,Matiali community development block,Nagrakata community development block
There are 16 police stations in the district, viz.:[8]
There are six telephone area codes of Jalpaiguri district.They are 03561, 03562, 03563, 03564, 03565, 03566.
As per order of theDelimitation Commission in respect of thedelimitation of constituencies in the West Bengal, the district is divided into seven assembly constituencies:[9]
Malbazar and Nagrakata constituencies are reserved forScheduled Tribes candidates. Dhupguri, Maynaguri, Jalpaiguri and Rajganj constituencies are reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates. Along with one assembly constituency fromCooch Behar district, Dhupguri, Maynaguri, Jalpaiguri, Rajganj, Dabgram-Phulbari, and Malbazar constituencies formJalpaiguri (Lok Sabha constituency), which is reserved for Scheduled Castes.
One can avail train from the major railway stations in the vicinity likeNew Jalpaiguri railway station,Jalpaiguri,Jalpaiguri Road,New Maynaguri railway station,New Mal Junction railway station. By road it is connected with rest of the country. Air travel is available up toBagdogra Airport, and from there it is connected by a 20 km expressway from the district border.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1901 | 546,764 | — |
| 1911 | 663,222 | +21.3% |
| 1921 | 695,946 | +4.9% |
| 1931 | 740,993 | +6.5% |
| 1941 | 847,841 | +14.4% |
| 1951 | 916,747 | +8.1% |
| 1961 | 1,359,292 | +48.3% |
| 1971 | 1,750,159 | +28.8% |
| 1981 | 2,214,871 | +26.6% |
| 1991 | 2,800,543 | +26.4% |
| 2001 | 3,401,173 | +21.4% |
| 2011 | 3,872,846 | +13.9% |
| Source: Census of India[10] | ||
According to the2011 census Jalpaiguri district had apopulation of 3,872,846, roughly equal to the nation ofLiberia.[11] This gives it a ranking of 66th in India (out of a total of640). The district has a population density of 621 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,610/sq mi) . Itspopulation growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 33.77%. Jalpaiguri has asex ratio of 954females for every 1000 males, and aliteracy rate of 79.79%.[12]
After bifurcation, the district has a population of 2,381,596, of which 752,805 (31.62%) live in urban areas. The residual district has a sex ratio of 956 females per 1000 males. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have a population of 1,001,572 (42.05%) and 349,592 (14.68%) of the population respectively.[12]
| Religion | Percent | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hinduism | 82.41% | |||
| Islam | 13.25% | |||
| Christianity | 3.12% | |||
| Buddhism | 0.64% | |||
| Other or not stated | 0.58% | |||
According to the 2011 Census, the population of present-day Jalpaiguri district was 2,381,596. Hinduism was the predominant religion, followed by 1,962,679 people (82.41%). Islam was practiced by 315,478 (13.25%), and Christianity by 74,188 (3.12%). Tribal religions saw a sharp decline, with only 8,950 followers (0.38%). Buddhism had 15,358 adherents (0.64%), while 4,943 people (0.20%) followed other religions.[13]
According to the 2011 census, 65.57% of the population spokeBengali, 12.96%Sadri, 4.90%Nepali, 4.69%Hindi, 2.69%Rajbongshi and 1.39%Kurukh as their first language. Other languages spoken includeSantali andMunda.[14] Kurukh and other tribal languages such asKharia and Mundari were once more widespread among the tea tribes as late as the 1960s, but they have since rapidly shifted to Sadri as their mother tongue.
It is home toGorumara National Park, which was established in 1994 and has an area of 79 km2 (30.5 sq mi).[15] Apart fromGorumara National Park, the district containsChapramari Wildlife Sanctuary.
This is a list of notable people fromJalpaiguri District.
Kalonunia rice was awarded theGeographical Indication (GI) status tag from theGeographical Indications Registry under theUnion Government of India on 2 January 2024 (valid until 11 March 2034). It is a common and widely cultivated crop in districts ofCooch Behar, Jalpaiguri andAlipurduar along with some parts ofDarjeeling &Kalimpong districts of West Bengal.[17][18][19][20]
State Agricultural Management & Extension Training Institute (SAMETI) fromNarendrapur, proposed the GI registration of Kalonunia rice. After filing the application in March 2021, the rice was granted the GI tag in 2024 by the Geographical Indication Registry inChennai, making the name "Kalonunia rice" exclusive to the rice grown in the region.[21] It thus became the third rice variety from West Bengal afterTulaipanji rice and the 26th type of goods from West Bengal to earn the GI tag.
The GI tag protects the rice from illegal selling and marketing, and gives it legal protection and a unique identity.
Liberia 3,786,764 July 2011 est.
Places adjacent to Jalpaiguri district | ||||||||||||||||
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Cities, towns and locations inJalpaiguri district | |||||||
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| Tea estates | |||||||
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