Банкура ауданы: тарихы мен географиясы

the district

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. 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. 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.

There are few accepted opinions about the etymology of the word Bankura. In the language of the Kol Mundas, orah or rah means habitation. Banku means extremely beautiful. It may also have come from the word banka which means zig zag. One of the most influential deities in the district is Dharmathakur and he is locally called Bankura Roy. According to local tradition, the town, which is presently the headquarters of the district, was named after its founder, a chieftain named Banku Rai. Another legend has it the town was named after Bir Bankura, one of the twenty two sons of Bir Hambir, the Raja of Bishnupur. He divided his kingdom into twenty two tarafs or circles and gave one to each son. Taraf Jaybelia fell to the lot of Bir Bankura. He developed the town that now bears the name Bankura. It has also been suggested that the name is a corruption of the word Bankunda, meaning five tanks. The name Bacoonda is found in old official records. Bankura district was inhabited by various indigenous tribes in later pre historic times as well as Aryanised or assimilated with the people and culture of the Indo Aryan group, who prevailed in northern India, substantially later than rest of Bengal. These developments took place over many centuries through both conflict and cordiality. The district was part of Rarh in ancient times. In the old Jain book Acaranga Sutra (around 4th century) there is mention of Sumha and Ladha (Rarh?) and there too the reference is to an area inhabited by uncivilised and barbaric people. In the fourth century, Susunia edicts record in Prakrit and Sanskrit that Chandravarman, son of Simhavarman, was the ruler of Pushkarana (modern Pakhanna in Bankura district). According to the inscription on the Allahabad pillar, Chandravarman was defeated by Samudragupta and the area became a part of the Gupta Empire. The area was for many years part of Dandabhukti and Bardhamanbhukti. Many historians opine that assimilation with Indo Aryans took place first in northern and eastern Bengal and then in western Bengal. This has also been the broad course of the spread of Buddhism and Jainism in Bengal. There is ample evidence of pre eminence of Indo Aryan religion and culture in West Bengal from around the sixth century. The area around Bishnupur was called Mallabhum. At its farthest extent Bishnupur kingdom stretched from Damin i koh in Santhal Parganas to Midnapore and included parts of Bardhaman and Chota Nagpur. Smaller kingdoms of aboriginal tribes, such as Dhalbhum, Tungbhum, Samantabhum and Varahabhumi or Varabhumi were gradually subdued and overshadowed by the Malla kings of Bishnupur.

Bankura district is a part of Medinipur division. It is situated between 22° 38’ and 23° 38’ north latitude and between 86° 36’ and 87° 46’ east longitude. It has an area of On the north and north east the district is bounded by Bardhaman district, from which it is separated mostly by the Damodar River. On the south east it is bounded by Hooghly district, on the south by Paschim Medinipur district and on the west by Purulia district. Bankura 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, similar to predominating rice lands of Bengal. To the west the surface gradually rises, giving way to undulating country, interspersed with rocky hillocks. Much of the country is covered with jungles.

The climate, especially in the upland tracts to the west, is much drier than in eastern or southern Bengal. From the beginning of March to early June, hot westerly winds prevail, the thermometer in the shade rising to around The monsoon months, June to September, are comparatively pleasant. The total average rainfall is , the bulk of the rain coming in the months of June to September. Winters are pleasant with temperatures dropping down to below in December. In 2006, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Bankura one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640).

According to the 2011 census Bankura district has a population of 3,596,674, roughly equal to the nation of Lithuania or the US state of Connecticut. This gives it a ranking of 80th in India (out of a total of 739). In the 2001 census, Bankura district had a total population of 3,191,822 of which 1,634,561 were males and 1,557,261 were females. Decadal growth for the period 1991 2001 was 13.79% in Bankura district against 17.84% in West Bengal. The urban population was 235,264 against a rural population of 2,956,558. The district had a density of population of 464 persons per km2. Bankura had a literacy rate of 63.84 per cent. The first census was taken in 1872. The district as now constituted had a population of 968,597. In the 1901 census, 90.7 per cent of the population spoke a dialect of Bengali known as Rarhi Boli, which was also spoken in the adjoining districts. Santali was spoken by about 9 per cent of the population. 87.4 per cent of the population were Hindus, 8 per cent were Animists and 5.6 per cent were Muslims.

Bankura is the headquarters of the district. Bishnupur (or Vishnupur) is a subdivisional town of Bankura district. It was the capital of the Mallabhum kingdom, once the most important Hindu dynasty in Bengal. This town famous for the Terracotta Temples made by the local red soils. This city often called as the 'Temple City' of Bengal. In addition to Bishnupur, many towns and villages in Bankura such as Kotulpur, Joypur, Sonamukhi, Hadal Narayanpur, and Akui have brick terracotta temples built between the 17th and 19th centuries. Susunia hills and Beharinath hills are located in the district. Mukutmanipur , the second largest earthen dam in India and Sutan are tourist spots. Mejia power plant is the only thermal power plant of this district. Darakeshwar, Gandheswari and Kangsabati are the major rivers flow through the district. Jaipur forest is the only forest in the plains of Southern Bengal. Bankura Sammilani Medical College is the oldest medical college in this area.

Bankura Junction railway station is managed by the South Eastern Railways and is on the Adra Midnapore rail route. It is in Bankura city. Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express, Rupashi Bangla Express, Aranyak Express, Puri New Delhi (Nandan Kanan) Superfast Express, Ernakulam Patna Express, Howrah LTT Samarsata Express and Purulia Howrah Express pass through this station. It is the originating and terminating station of Bankura Damodar Railway which will connect to Howrah Bardhaman Chord section. Computerized reservation facility is available. Going towards north west, Adra Junction Railway Station is the nearest main station and moving to south, Midnapore Railway Station is the major station next to Bankura. The Bankura Junction railway station and bridge over Dhaleshwari River were built by Gujarati Railway Contractors of the town Jeewan Gangji Savaria and Lalji Raja Vadher in 1900 working for Bengal Nagpur Railway. National Highway 14 (India) running from Morgam (in Murshidabad district) to Kharagpur (in Paschim Medinipur district), State Highway 9 (West Bengal) running from Durgapur (in Paschim Bardhaman district) to Nayagram (in Jhargram district) and State Highway 5 (West Bengal) running from Rupnarayanpur (in Bardhaman district) to Junput (in Purba Medinipur) pass through Bankura. NH 14 links Bankura to NH 12 and NH 16. Both NH 14 and SH 9 link Bankura to NH 19 (Grand Trunk Road).