Bankura district

This article is about the district. For its eponymous headquarters, see Bankura. For other uses, see Bankura (disambiguation).

Bankura
District
Clockwise from top-left: Rasmancha in Bishnupur, Mukutmanipur Dam, old locomotive in Bankura, Susunia Hill, Forest near Mahadebsinan Hill
Location of Bankura district in West Bengal
Location of Bankura district in West Bengal
Coordinates: 23°15′N 87°04′E / 23.25°N 87.07°E / 23.25; 87.07
Country India
State West Bengal
DivisionMedinipur
HeadquartersBankura
Government
 • SubdivisionsBankura Sadar, Khatra, Bishnupur
 • CD BlocksBankura I, Bankura II, Barjora, Chhatna, Gangajalghati, Mejia, Onda, Saltora, Indpur, Khatra, Hirbandh, Raipur, Sarenga, Ranibandh, Simlapal, Taldangra, Indas, Joypur, Patrasayer, Kotulpur, Sonamukhi, Bishnupur
 • Lok Sabha constituenciesBankura, Bishnupur
 • Vidhan Sabha constituenciesSaltora, Chhatna, Ranibandh, Raipur, Taldangra, Bankura, Barjora, Onda, Bishnupur, Katulpur, Indas, Sonamukhi
 • District MagistrateShri Siyad N, IAS[1]
Area
 • Total6,882 km2 (2,657 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total3,596,674
 • Density520/km2 (1,400/sq mi)
 • Urban
235,264
Demographics
 • Literacy70.95 per cent
 • Sex ratio914 ♂/♀
Languages
 • OfficialBengali[2][3]
 • Additional officialEnglish[2]
Time zoneUTC+05:30 (IST)
Websitebankura.gov.in

Bankura district (Pron: bãkuɽa) is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is part of Medinipur division—one of the five administrative divisions of West Bengal. Bankura district is surrounded by Purba Bardhaman district and Paschim Bardhaman district in the north, Purulia district in the west, Jhargram district and Paschim Medinipur district in the south, and some part of Hooghly district in the east. Damodar River flows in the northern part of Bankura district and separates it with the major part of Burdwan district.[4] The district head quarter is located in Bankura town.

The district has been described as the "connecting link between the plains of Bengal on the east and Chota Nagpur plateau on the west." The areas to the east and north-east are low-lying alluvial plains while to the west the surface gradually rises, giving way to undulating country, interspersed with rocky hillocks.[5]

Centre of the historic Mallabhum (Malla kingdom) of western Bengal, Bankura and its surrounding regions are identified with its historical and cultural significance for the later Middle Ages. Vaishnavism, which gained the status of state religion in the Malla kingdom in the seventeenth century, shaped the culture of the region. The Malla kingdom was annexed by the British East India Company in 1765 and the modern Bankura district took its form in 1881 and was named after its headquarters.

  1. ^ "District Magistrate". Bankura District, Government of West Bengal. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Fact and Figures". Wb.gov.in. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ "Bankura District". District Administration. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  5. ^ O’Malley, L.S.S., ICS, Bankura, Bengal District Gazetteers, pp. 1-20, first published 1908, 1995 reprint, Government of West Bengal