Dakshin Dinajpur district | |
|---|---|
     Clockwise from top-left:Dargah of Shah Ata, Panchamukhi Shiva Temple in Aminpur, Manohali Zaimindar Bari, Mounds atBangarh, Site ofUsha andAniruddha's Marriage | |
 Interactive map of Dakshin Dinajpur district | |
| Coordinates:25°23′N88°34′E / 25.383°N 88.567°E /25.383; 88.567 | |
| Country | India |
| State | West Bengal |
| Division | Malda |
| Headquarters | Balurghat |
| Government | |
| • Subdivisions | Balurghat Sadar,Gangarampur |
| • CD Blocks | Hili,Balurghat,Kumarganj,Tapan,Gangarampur,Bansihari,Harirampur,Kushmandi |
| • Lok Sabha constituencies | Balurghat |
| • Vidhan Sabha constituencies | Kushmandi,Kumarganj,Balurghat,Tapan,Gangarampur,Harirampur |
| Area | |
• Total | 2,219 km2 (857 sq mi) |
| Population (2011) | |
• Total | 1,676,276 |
| • Density | 755.4/km2 (1,957/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 236,295 |
| Demographics | |
| • Literacy | 82.36 per cent |
| • Sex ratio | 950♂/♀ |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Bengali[1][2] |
| • Additional official | English[1] |
| Time zone | UTC+05:30 (IST) |
| Website | ddinajpur |
Dakshin Dinajpur (Bengali pronunciation:[dokkʰiɳdinadʒpur]), also known asSouth Dinajpur, is adistrict in theIndianstate ofWest Bengal,India. It was created on 1 April 1992 by the division of the erstwhileWest Dinajpur District. The headquarters (sadar) of the district is atBalurghat. It comprises two subdivisions:Balurghat andGangarampur. According to the 2011 census, it is the seventh populous district of West Bengal (out of23).[3]
The erstwhileDinajpur District, at the time of thepartition of India, was split up intoWest Dinajpur district and East Dinajpur. The East Dinajpur district, now calledDinajpur, became part ofEast Pakistan (nowBangladesh). The West Dinajpur district was enlarged in 1956, whenStates Reorganisation Act recommendations were implemented, with the addition of some areas ofBihar. The district was bifurcated intoUttar Dinajpur and Dakshin Dinajpur on 1 April 1992.[4][5]
Dakshin Dinajpur is predominantly an agricultural district with a large area of land under cultivation. The district is drained by north-south flowing rivers likeAtreyee,Purnabhaba,Tangon andJamuna 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 betweenEklakhi andBalurghat, the district headquarters. Train services were started on 30 December 2004.
In 2006 theMinistry of Panchayati Raj named Dakshin Dinajpur one of the country's 250most backward districts (out of a total of640).[6] It is one of the eleven districts in West Bengal currently[when?] receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).[6]
The district comprises two subdivisions: Balurghat and Gangarampur at Buniadpur.Balurghat subdivision consists of Balurghat municipality and four community development blocks:Hili,Balurghat,Kumarganj andTapan.Gangarampur subdivision consists ofGangarampur,Buniadpur municipalities and four community development blocks:Gangarampur,Bansihari,Harirampur andKushmandi.[7] Balurghat is the district headquarters. There are nine police stations, eight development blocks, Threemunicipalities, 64gram panchayats and 2317 villages in this district.[7][8]
Other than municipality area, each subdivision contains community development blocs which are divided into rural areas and census towns.[9]
Balurghat subdivision
Gangarampur subdivision at Buniadpur
| CD Block | Area (km2 ) | Area (sq mi) | Population (2011) | Density km2 | Density sq mi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balurghat | 363.90 | 140.50 | 250,760 | 689.09 | 1,784.7 |
| Kumarganj | 286.90 | 110.77 | 169,102 | 589.41 | 1,526.6 |
| Hili | 88.10 | 34.02 | 83,754 | 950.7 | 2,462 |
| Tapan | 441.10 | 170.31 | 250,540 | 567.99 | 1,471.1 |
| Gangarampur | 315.60 | 121.85 | 237,628 | 752.94 | 1,950.1 |
| Bansihari, | 197.50 | 76.26 | 141,286 | 715.37 | 1,852.8 |
| Harirampur | 214.88 | 82.97 | 136,853 | 636.88 | 1,649.5 |
| Kushmandi | 310.50 | 119.88 | 198,752 | 640.10 | 1,657.9 |
As per order of theDelimitation Commission in respect of the delimitation of constituencies in the West Bengal, the district was divided into six assembly constituencies:[10]
Tapan constituency is reserved for ST candidates. Kushmandi and Gangarampur constituencies are reserved for SC candidates. Along withItahar assembly constituency fromUttar Dinajpur district, the six assembly constituencies of this district form theBalurghat (Lok Sabha constituency).
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1901 | 340,163 | — |
| 1911 | 363,212 | +0.66% |
| 1921 | 319,170 | −1.28% |
| 1931 | 342,245 | +0.70% |
| 1941 | 383,042 | +1.13% |
| 1951 | 448,275 | +1.59% |
| 1961 | 563,598 | +2.32% |
| 1971 | 772,618 | +3.20% |
| 1981 | 989,294 | +2.50% |
| 1991 | 1,230,608 | +2.21% |
| 2001 | 1,503,178 | +2.02% |
| 2011 | 1,676,276 | +1.10% |
| Source: Census of India[11] | ||
According to the2011 census Dakshin Dinajpur district has apopulation of 1,676,276.[3] roughly equal to the nation ofGuinea-Bissau.[12] or the US state ofIdaho.[13] This gives it a ranking of 295th in India (out of a total of640).[3] The district has a population density of 753 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,950/sq mi).[3] Itspopulation growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 11.16%.[3] Dakshin Dinajpur has asex ratio of 954females for every 1000 males[3] and aliteracy 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.[3]
| Religion | Percent | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hinduism | 73.55% | |||
| Islam | 24.63% | |||
| Christianity | 1.48% | |||
| Other or not stated | 0.34% | |||
| Religion | Population (1941)[15]: 88–91 | Percentage (1941) | Population (2011)[14] | 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[a] | 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 inHarirampur (49.00%) andKushmandi (38.86%) CD blocks.
Bengali is the principal language of the district. The mainBengali dialect of this region is variously known asVarendri Bengali or Dinajpuri Bengali.
According to the 2011 census, 84.41% of the population spokeBengali, 9.68%Santali, 1.31%Kurukh, 1.25%Sadri and 1.05%Hindi as their first language.[16]
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. TheAtreyee 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.
Guinea-Bissau 1,596,677 July 2011 est.
Idaho 1,567,582
Places adjacent to Dakshin Dinajpur district | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||
Cities, towns and locations inDakshin Dinajpur district,Malda division | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cities,municipal andcensus towns |
|  | ||||
| Locations other than cities and towns |
| |||||
| Related topics | ||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
