Bamangola is a

community development block In India, a Community development block (CD block) or simply Block is a sub-division of Tehsil, administratively earmarked for planning and development. The area is administered by a Block Development Officer (BDO), supported by several technic ...

that forms an administrative division in

Malda Sadar subdivision Malda Sadar subdivision is an administrative subdivision of the Malda district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography Malda Sadar subdivision covers both the Barind Tract and the Diara, two of the three physiographic subregions of the dis ...

Malda district Malda district, also spelt Maldah or Maldaha (, , often ), is a district in West Bengal, India. It lies 347 km (215 miles) north of Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal. Mango, jute and silk are the most notable products of this district. ...

in the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

History

Gauda and Pandua

Gauda was once the “capital of the ancient bhukti or political division of Bengal known as

Pundravardhana Pundravardhana or Pundra Kingdom ( sa, Puṇḍravardhana), was an ancient kingdom during the Iron Age period in India with a territory that included parts of present-day Rajshahi and Rangpur Divisions of Bangladesh as well as the West Dinaj ...

which lay on the eastern extremity of the

Gupta Empire The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Gol ...

.” During the rule of the

Sena Dynasty The Sena dynasty was a Hindu dynasty during the early medieval period on the Indian subcontinent, that ruled from Bengal through the 11th and 12th centuries. The empire at its peak covered much of the north-eastern region of the Indian subcont ...

, in the 11th-12th century, Gauda was rebuilt and extended as Lakshmanawati (later Lakhnauti), and it became the hub of the Sena empire. Gauda was conquered by

Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji Ikhtiyār al-Dīn Muḥammad Bakhtiyār Khaljī, (Pashto :اختيار الدين محمد بختيار غلزۍ, fa, اختیارالدین محمد بختیار خلجی, bn, ইখতিয়ারউদ্দীন মুহম্মদ � ...

in 1205. During the Turko-Afghan period, “the city of Lakhnauti or Gauda continued to function initially as their capital but was abandoned in 1342 by the Ilyas Shahi sultans in favour of Pandua because of major disturbances along the river course of the

Ganga The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

.” “Pandua then lay on the banks of the Mahananda, which was the major waterway of the sultanate at the time. However, when the Mahananda too began to veer away from the site of Pandua in the mid-15th century, Gauda was rebuilt and restored to the status of capital city by the Hussain Shahi sultans”… With the ascent of

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

to the Mughal throne at Delhi… the Mughals annexed the ancient region of Gauda in 1576 and created the Diwani of Bengal. The centre of regional power shifted across the Ganga to

Rajmahal Rajmahal is a subdivisional town and a notified area in Rajmahal subdivision of the Sahebganj district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is situated at the banks of Ganges and was former capital of Bengal Subah under Mughal governor, Man Sin ...

,,, Following the demise of the independent sultanate, the regional importance of the Gauda or Malda region declined irreversibly and the city of Gauda was eventually abandoned.

Malda district

With the advent of the British, their trading and commercial interests focused on the new cities of Malda and English Bazar. Malda district was formed in 1813 with “some portion of outlying areas of Purnia, Dinajpur and Rajshahi districts”. A separate treasury was established in 1832 and a full-fledged Magistrate and Collector was posted in 1859. Malda district was part of Rajshahi Division till 1876, when it was transferred to Bhagalpur Division, and again transferred in 1905 to Rajshahi Division. With the partition of Bengal in 1947, the

Radcliffe Line The Radcliffe Line was the boundary demarcated between the Indian and Pakistani portions of the Punjab Province and Bengal Presidency of British India. It was named after Cyril Radcliffe, who, as the joint chairman of the two boundary commissi ...

placed Malda district in India, except the Nawabganj subdivision, which was placed in East Pakistan.

Geography

Bamangola is located at Bamangola CD Block is a part of the

Barind Tract Barind Tract (alternately called the Varendra Tract in English and Borendro Bhumi in Bengali) is the largest Pleistocene era physiographic unit in the Bengal Basin. It covers most of Dinajpur, Rangpur, Pabna, Rajshahi, Bogra, and Joypurhat distri ...

, one of the three physiographic subregions of the district that spreads beyond the boundaries of the district. “This region is made up of the ancient alluvial humps that are remnants of old riverine flood plains that remained unaffected subsequently by inundation and renewed silting.” It forms an upland slightly higher than the surrounding areas. Habibpur and Bamangola CD Blocks form the Tangon-Punarbhaba

interfluve An interfluve is a narrow, elongated and plateau-like or ridge-like landform between two valleys.Leser, Hartmut, ed. (2005). ''Wörterbuch Allgemeine Geographie'', 13th ed., dtv, Munich, p. 766, . More generally, an interfluve is defined as an ar ...

s area. Barind soils permit little percolation and most of the monsoon runoff accumulates in the large natural bils (ponds) in the

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion.Tangon and Punarbhaba rivers, covering the lowlands. Bamangola CD Block is bounded by Bansihari CD Block of Dakshin Dinajpur district on the north, Tapan CD Block of Dakshin Dinajpur district on a part of the east and Sapahar Upazila and

Porsha Upazila Porsha ( bn, পোরশা) is an Upazila of Naogaon District in the Division of Rajshahi, Bangladesh. Geography Porsha is located at . It has 18047 households, and total area 252.83 km2. Porsha Upazila is bounded by Sapahar Upazila on ...

of Naogaon District, Bangladesh on the rest of the east,

Habibpur Habibpur is a census town in Bhagalpur district in the Indian state of Bihar. Demographics India census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. Thi ...

CD Block on the south and Gazole CD Block on the west.Google maps Bamangola CD Block has an area of 206.20 km². It has 1 panchayat samity, 6

gram panchayat Gram Panchayat () is a basic village-governing institute in Indian villages. It is a democratic structure at the grass-roots level in India. It is a political institute, acting as cabinet of the village. The Gram Sabha work as the general bod ...

s, 102 gram sansads (village councils), 145

mouza In Bangladesh, Pakistan and parts of India a mouza or mauza (also mouja) is a type of administrative district, corresponding to a specific land area within which there may be one or more settlements. Before the 20th century, the term referred to a ...

s and 141 inhabited villages. Bamangola police station serves this block. Headquarters of this CD Block is at

Pakuahat Pakuahat is a village in the Bamangola CD block in the Malda Sadar subdivision of Malda district in the state of West Bengal, India. Geography Location Pakuahat is located at Area overview The area shown in the adjacent map covers two physi ...

. 165.5 km of the India-Bangladesh border is in Malda district. CD Blocks on the border are Bamangola, Habibpur, Old Malda, English Bazar and Kaliachak-III. The Punarbhaba flows along the international border in Bamangola and Habibpur CD Blocks.

Gram panchayat Gram Panchayat () is a basic village-governing institute in Indian villages. It is a democratic structure at the grass-roots level in India. It is a political institute, acting as cabinet of the village. The Gram Sabha work as the general bod ...

s of Bamangola block/ panchayat samiti are: Madnabati, Gobindapur-Maheshpur, Chandpur, Jagdala, Bamangola and Pakuahat.

Demographics

Population

As per

2011 Census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...

, Bamangola CD Block had a total population of 143,906, all of which were rural. There were 74,071 (51%) males and 69,835 (49%) females. Population below 6 years was 16,297.

Scheduled Castes The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

numbered 71,176 (49.46%) and

Scheduled Tribes The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

numbered 28,990 (20.15%). Large village (with 4,000+ population) in Bamangola CD Block were (2011 population in brackets): Salalpur (4,877). Other villages in Bamangola CD Block included (2011 population in brackets): Jagdala (1,072), Chandpur (1,193), Gopalpur (878) and Mahespur (742). Decadal

Population Growth Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. Actual global human population growth amounts to around 83 million annually, or 1.1% per year. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to ...

Rate (%) Note: The CD Block data for 1971-1981, 1981-1991 and 1991-2001 is for Bamangola PS The decadal growth of population in Bamangola CD Block in 2001-2011 was 13.09%. The decadal growth of population in Bamangola PS covering Bamangola CD Block in 1991-2001 was 18.29%. The decadal growth of population in Bamangola PS in 1981-91 was 26.03% and in 1971-81 was 27.84%. The decadal growth rate of population in Malda district was as follows: 30.33% in 1951-61, 31.98% in 1961-71, 26.00% in 1971-81, 29.78% in 1981-91, 24.78% in 1991-2001 and 21.22% in 2001-11. The decadal growth rate for West Bengal in 2001-11 was 13.93%. The decadal growth rate for West Bengal was 13.93 in 2001-2011, 17.77% in 1991-2001. 24.73% in 1981-1991 and 23.17% in 1971-1981. Malda district has the second highest decadal population growth rate, for the decade 2001-2011, in West Bengal with a figure of 21.2% which is much higher than the state average (13.8%). Uttar Dinajpur district has the highest decadal growth rate in the state with 23.2%. Decadal growth rate of population is higher than that of neighbouring Murshidabad district, which has the next highest growth rate. As per the Refugee Relief and Rehabilitation Department of the Government of West Bengal and 1971 census, only 1.7% of around 6 million refugees who had come in from erstwhile East Pakistan, were resettled in Malda district. The Barind tract was opened for refugee resettlement in the aftermath of the

partition Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of a ...

. Population density in the district has intensified from 162 persons per km² in 1901 to 881 in 2001 (i.e., around five times), which is highest amongst the districts of North Bengal. However, unlike the densely populated southern regions of West Bengal, urbanisation remains low in Malda district. North Bengal in general, and Malda in particular, has been witness to large scale population movement from other states in India and other districts of West Bengal, as well as from outside the country. The District Human Development Report for Malda notes, “Malda district has been a principal recipient of the human migration waves of the 20th century.” There are reports of Bangladeshi infiltrators coming through the international border. Only a small portion of the border with Bangladesh has been fenced and it is popularly referred to as a porous border.

Literacy

As per the 2011 census, the total number of literates in Bamangola CD Block was 86,891 (68.09% of the population over 6 years) out of which males numbered 49,639 (75.52% of the male population over 6 years) and females numbered 37,252 (60.20% of the female population over 6 years). The

gender disparity Sex differences in humans have been studied in a variety of fields. Sex determination occurs by the presence or absence of a Y in the 23rd pair of chromosomes in the human genome. Phenotypic sex refers to an individual's sex as determined by the ...

(the difference between female and male literacy rates) was 15.32%. See also –

List of West Bengal districts ranked by literacy rate This is a list of districts in the Indian state of West Bengal ranked by literacy rate as per provisional data of 2011 census. With a literacy rate of 96.26% (male 90.69% and female 96.54%), above the national average of 90.04%, as per the 2011 Ce ...

Language and religion

In 2001, Bengali was the mother tongue of 88.1% of the population of Malda district followed by Santali (4.5%) Khortha/Khotta (4.4%), Hindi (1.2%), Bhojpuri (0.4%), Telugu (0.3%), Kurukh/ Oraon (0.2%) and Koda/ Kora (0.1%). While the percentage of population reporting Bengali as a mother tongue has increased from 83.6 in 1961 Census to 88.1 in 2001 Census, the percentage of population reporting Santali as mother tongue has decreased from 7.2 in 1961 Census to 4.5 in 2001 Census. Information about mother-tongue is available only at the district level and above. There is a discrepancy in the data for religion in Malda district. According to Table C1: Population by religious community in 2011, Malda district was a Muslim-majority district in 2011, but it did not present any progressive picture from earlier years. The 2011 District Census Handbook: Maldah presents a different progressive picture, which we are presenting below. Incidentally, both are part of the official census operations. According to the 2011 District Census Handbook: Maldah, during 2011 census, majority of the population of the district were Hindus constituting 51.3% of the population and up from 49.3% in 2001, followed by Muslims with 48.0%, down from 49.7% in 2001. The proportion of the Hindu population of the district had a decreasing trend from 56.7% in 1971 to 49.3% in 2001 then the trend took a reverse turn and increased in 2011. On the other hand, the Muslim population has increased from 46.2% in 1961 to 49.7% in 2001 but in 2011 census it shrunk to 48.0%. Only 0.3% population were Christians. As per 2014 District Statistical Handbook: Malda (quoting census figures), in the 2001 census, Hindus numbered 112,083 and formed 88.08% of the population in Bamangola CD Block. Muslims numbered 11,287 and formed 8.87% of the population. Christians numbered 967 and formed 0.76% of the population. Others numbered 2,915 and formed 2.29% of the population. The Census Commission published another set of data for 2011 census with basic fundamental differences. Those who are interested may view the reference. We are not sure which one is right. It is up to the Census Commission to clarify.

Rural poverty

As per the

Human Development Report The Human Development Report (HDR) is an annual Human Development Index report published by the Human Development Report Office of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The first HDR was launched in 1990 by the Pakistani economist ...

for Malda district, published in 2006, the percentage of rural families in BPL category in Bamangola CD Block was 49.9%. Official surveys have found households living in absolute poverty in Malda district to be around 39%. According to the report, “An overwhelmingly large segment of the rural workforce depends on agriculture as its main source of livelihood, the extent of landlessness in Malda has traditionally been high because of the high densities of human settlement in the district… Although land reforms were implemented in Malda district from the time they were launched in other parts of West Bengal, their progress has been uneven across the Malda blocks… because of the overall paucity of land, the extent of ceiling-surplus land available for redistribution has never been large… The high levels of rural poverty that exist in nearly all blocks in Malda district closely reflect the livelihood crisis… “

Economy

Livelihood

In Bamangola CD Block in 2011, amongst the class of total workers, cultivators numbered 19,189 and formed 31.34%, agricultural labourers numbered 30,283 and formed 49.45%, household industry workers numbered 1,583 and formed 2.59% and other workers numbered 10,181 and formed 16.63%. Total workers numbered 61,236 and formed 42.55% of the total population, and non-workers numbered 82,670 and formed 57.45% of the population. Note: In the census records a person is considered a cultivator, if the person is engaged in cultivation/ supervision of land owned by self/government/institution. When a person who works on another person’s land for wages in cash or kind or share, is regarded as an agricultural labourer. Household industry is defined as an industry conducted by one or more members of the family within the household or village, and one that does not qualify for registration as a factory under the Factories Act. Other workers are persons engaged in some economic activity other than cultivators, agricultural labourers and household workers. It includes factory, mining, plantation, transport and office workers, those engaged in business and commerce, teachers, entertainment artistes and so on.

Infrastructure

There are 141 inhabited villages in Bamangola CD Block. All 141 villages (100%) have power supply. All 141 villages (100%) have drinking water supply. 10 villages (7.09%) have post offices. 140 villages (99.29%) have telephones (including landlines, public call offices and mobile phones). 58 villages (41.13%) have a pucca (paved) approach road and 52 villages (36.88%) have transport communication (includes bus service, rail facility and navigable waterways). 8 villages (5.67%) have agricultural credit societies. 6 villages (4.26%) have banks.

Agriculture

The upland regions in the Barind area are mono-cropped because of limitations regarding the use of tube wells here. Bamangola CD Block had 110 fertiliser depots, 7 seed stores and 32 fair price shops in 2013-14. In 2013-14, Bamangola CD Block produced 4,215 tonnes of Aman paddy, the main winter crop from 1,502 hectares, 11,738 tonnes of Boro paddy (spring crop) from 3,697 hectares, 29 tonnes of Aus paddy (summer crop) from 15 hectares, 1,126 tonnes of wheat from 497 hectares, 38 tonnes of maize from 10 hectares, 2,142 tonnes of jute from 165 hectares, 48,362 tonnes of potatoes from 1,336 hectares and 307 tonnes of sugar cane from 3 hectares. It also produced pulses and oilseeds. In 2013-14, the total area irrigated in Bamangola CD Block was 6,172 hectares, out of which 300 hectares were irrigated by tank irrigation, 550 hectares by river lift irrigation, 4,458 hectares by shallow tube wells and 864 hectares by other means.

Backward Regions Grant Fund

Malda district is listed as a backward region and receives financial support from the

Backward Regions Grant Fund Backward or Backwards is a relative direction. Backwards or Sdrawkcab (the word "backwards" with its letters reversed) may also refer to: * "Backwards" (''Red Dwarf''), episode of sci-fi TV sitcom ''Red Dwarf'' ** ''Backwards'' (novel), a nov ...

. The fund, created by the Government of India, is designed to redress regional imbalances in development. As of 2012, 272 districts across the country were listed under this scheme. The list includes 11 districts of West Bengal.

Transport

In 2013-14, Bamangola CD Block had 14 ferry services and 2 originating/ terminating bus routes. The nearest railway station is 22 km from the CD Block headquarters. State Highway 10 passes through the Bamangola CD Block.

Education

In 2013-14, Bamangola CD Block had 105 primary schools with 9,680 students, 11 middle schools with 1,153 students, 1 high school with 1,758 students and 11 higher secondary schools with 18,420 students. Bamangola CD Block had 1 general degree college with 4,896 students, 1 technical/ professional institution with 100 students and 370 institutions for special and non-formal education with 10,264 students. As per the 2011 census, in Bamangola CD Block, amongst the 141 inhabited villages, 32 villages did not have a school, 82 villages had more than 1 primary school, 25 villages had at least 1 primary and 1 middle school and 15 villages had at least 1 middle and 1 secondary school.

Healthcare

In 2014, Bamangola CD block had 1 rural hospital and 2 primary health centres, with total 40 beds and 5 doctors (excluding private bodies). It had 27 family welfare subcentres. 3,182 patients were treated indoor and 127,512 patients were treated outdoor in the hospitals, health centres and subcentres of the CD Block. Bamangola Rural Hospital at Maheshpur (with 30 beds) is the main medical facility in Bamangola CD block. There are primary health centres at Ashrampur (Kashimpur PHC) (with 4 beds) and Nalagola (Uttar Nayapara PHC) (with 10 beds).

External links

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References

{{Malda topics Community development blocks in Malda district