Goalpokhar II

Goalpokhar II is a community development block that forms an administrative division in Islampur subdivision of Uttar Dinajpur district in the Indian state of West Bengal.

History

Historically the western frontier of ancient Pundravardhana kingdom, bordering ancient Anga of Mahabharat fame, the Dinajpur area remained somewhat obscure in the major empires that held sway over the region and beyond till the rise of the Dinajpur Raj during the Mughal period. Some areas later forming a part of Uttar Dinajpur were parts of kingdoms in Nepal. Dinajpur district was constituted by the British in 1786, with a portion of the estate of Dinajpur Raj. Subsequent to the Permanent Settlement in 1793, the semi-independent Dinajpur Raj was further broken down and some of its tracts were transferred to the neighbouring British districts of Purnea, Malda, Rajshahi and Bogra. In 1947, the Radcliffe Line placed the Sadar and Thakurgaon subdivisions of Dinajpur district in East Pakistan. The Balurghat subdivision of Dinajpur district was reconstituted as West Dinajpur district in West Bengal. Raiganj subdivision was formed in 1948.

In order to restore territorial links between northern and southern parts of West Bengal which had been snapped during the partition of Bengal, and on the recommendations of the States Reorganisation Commission a portion of the erstwhile Kishanganj subdivision comprising Goalpokhar, Islampur and Chopra thanas (police stations) and parts of Thakurganj thana, along with the adjacent parts of the erstwhile Gopalpur thana in Katihar subdivision were transferred from Purnea district in Bihar to West Bengal in 1956, and were formally incorporated into Raiganj subdivision in West Dinajpur. The township of Kishanganj and its entire municipal boundary remained within Bihar. Islampur subdivision was formed in March 1959. At the same time, the portion of Chopra PS lying to the north of the Mahananda river covering an area that now comprises Bidhannagar-1 gram panchayat, Bidhannagar-2 GP, Chathat-Bansgaon GP and the southern half of Phansidewa-Bansgaon Kismat GP in Darjeeling district, was transferred from West Dinajpur to the jurisdiction of Phansidewa PS in Darjeling district. With the introduction of the Community Development Programme in 1960–61, community development blocks were set up in West Dinajpur district.

In 1992, West Dinajpur district was bifurcated and Uttar Dinajpur district was established.

Geography

Chakulia is located at .

Uttar Dinajpur district has a flat topography and slopes gently from north to south. All rivers flow in that direction. Except for the eastern fringes of Chopra CD Block, most of the district is a part of the catchment area of the Mahanada and also a part of the larger Barind Tract. The soil is composed of different varieties of alluvium. The main rivers are: Nagar, Mahananda, Kulik, Gamari, Chhiramati (Srimati) and Tangon. The rivers have little water in the dry season but with heavy rains, during monsoon, overflow the banks. The Pitana river flows along the eastern boundary of the Goalpokhar II CD Block with Goalpokhar I CD Block. The Sudama and Bolhakuao rivers flow through the CD Block.

Goalpokhar II CD Block is bounded by Goalpokhar I CD Block on the north and the east, Karandighi CD Block on the south and Kishanganj CD Block in Kishanganj district of Bihar on the west.

Approximately 206 km of the India-Bangladesh border is in Uttar Dinajpur district. It covers the eastern boundary of the district. On the western side Uttar Dinajpur district has 227 km boundary with Bihar.

Goalpokhar II CD Block has an area of 298.69 km².It has 1 panchayat samity, 11 gram panchayats, 174 gram sansads (village councils), 170 mouzas and 169 inhabited villages. Chakulia police station serves this block. Headquarters of this CD Block is at Chakulia.

Uttar Dinajpur district is one of the smaller districts in the state and stands 15th in terms of area (3,140.00 km²) in the state. According to the Human Development Report for Uttar Dinajpur district, “Goalpokhar-1, Goalpokhar-2, Karandighi and Islampur blocks in that order stood at the very
bottom of the literacy scale in the state. This pooling of illiteracy within Islampur SD also led to the low ranking of Uttar Dinajpur at 494th position out of 595 Indian districts in terms of literacy rates in 2001, despite which its rank had improved considerably in relative terms from the 523rd rank it had occupied in 1991.”

Gram panchayats of Goalpokhar II block/ panchayat samiti are: Belon, Bidyanandapur, Chakulia, Kanki, Nizampur I, Nizampur II, Sahapur I, Sahapur II, Sujapur I, Sujapur II and Toryal

Demographics

Population

As per the 2011 Census of India, Goalpokhar II CD Block had a total population of 291,252, all of which were rural. There were 150,125 (52%) males and 141,127 (48%) females. Population below 6 years was 55,345. Scheduled Castes numbered 64,877 (22.28%) and Scheduled Tribes numbered 17,647 (6.06%).

As per 2001 census, Goalpokhar II block had a total population of 226,231, out of which 116,659 were males and 109,572 were females. Goalpokhar II block registered a population growth of 34.33 per cent during the 1991-2001 decade. Decadal growth for the district was 28.72 per cent.

Large villages (with 4,000+ population) in Goalpokhar II CD Block were (2011 population in brackets): Baldiabasa (4,952), Uttar Shahapur (11,501), Belan (4,054), Kahata (5,358), Sathaur (5,645), Manora (4,117), Nizampur (5,755), Fashia Diation (7,946), Sarjapur (4,911), Amalbari (4,140), Baligora (4,507), Godasamal (4,507), Dakshin Makhanpokhar (4,052) and Kabutarkhopi (8,393).

Other villages in Goalpokhar II CD Block included (2011 population in brackets): Bidyanandapur (1,363), Kanki (1,587) and Tarial (1,625).

Decadal Population Growth Rate (%)

Note: The CD Block data for 1971–1981, 1981-1991 and 1991-2001 is for Goalpokhar PS covering both Goalpokhar I and Goalpokar II blocks

The decadal growth of population in Goalpokhar II CD Block in 2001-2011 was 28.60%. The decadal growth of population in Goalpokhar PS in 1991-2001 was 30.19%, in 1981-91 was 27.06% and in 1971-81 was 33.39%. The decadal growth rate of population in Uttar Dinajpur district was as follows: 30.2% in 1971–81, 34.0% in 1981–91, 28.7% in 1991-2001 and 23.2% in 2001–11. 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.

Uttar Dinajpur district has the highest decadal population growth rate in West Bengal with a figure of 23.2% for the decade 2001-2011 and is much higher than the state average of 13.8%.

According to the Human Development Report for Uttar Dinajpur district, population growth in the area that later became Uttar Dinajpur district was low in the pre-independence era and started picking up with the waves of East Bengali refugees coming in from erstwhile East Pakistan. Despite the formation of an international border in 1947, none of the PS areas in the area which later formed Islampur SD showed much increase in settlement density between 1941 and 1951, and accelerated settlement only came into evidence in this region after 1961, following their transfer from Bihar to West Bengal. Thus, as population growth in the Uttar Dinajpur region accelerated considerably under the impetus of partition migration after 1951, the Islampur SD areas offered additional living space, easing the overall migration pressure on the region.

The Human Development Report analyses, “A spurt in population growth rates first became evident between 1951-1961, and was further magnified between 1971-81 after the creation of Bangladesh when population growth in most districts bordering the Bangladesh-West Bengal frontier showed similar escalation. However, after 1981, when population growth in most other West Bengal districts had tapered off, growth rates in Uttar Dinajpur again showed a fresh spurt. Thus, no deceleration in population growth rates occurred in the district until after 1991… In addition to Hindu and tribal migrants from across the international border, a sizeable number of migrant Muslims have also settled in the district, mainly driven by economic reasons… migrants from other states comprised 23% of the total migrants residing in Uttar Dinajpur.” The large number of migrants from other states is mainly from the neighbouring areas in Bihar.

A study by North Bengal University has observed that “Immigrants from East Pakistan/Bangladesh have arrived in Uttar Dinajpur in almost equal numbers before and after 1971.” The Human Development Report opines, “The overall post-Partition impact on the rates of demographic growth has been particularly strong in all North Bengal districts. Despite its smaller relative size, the region has received more migration in pro rata terms than the West Bengal districts lying south of the Ganga.”

Literacy

As per the 2011 census, the total number of literates in Goalpokhar II CD Block was 108,675 (46.07% of the population over 6 years) out of which males numbered 63,920 (52.46% of the male population over 6 years) and females numbered 44,775 (39.24% of the female population over 6 years). The gender disparity (the difference between female and male literacy rates) was 13.22%.

The literacy rate in Uttar Dinajpur district at 60.13% in 2011, up from 47.89% in 2001, was the lowest amongst all districts of West Bengal. The highest literacy rate amongst the districts of West Bengal was that of Purba Medinipur district at 87.66% in 2011.

According to the Human Development Report for Uttar Dinajpur district, “Goalpokhar-1, Goalpokhar-2, Karandighi and Islampur blocks in that order stood at the very bottom of the literacy scale in the state. This pooling of illiteracy within Islampur SD also led to the low ranking of Uttar Dinajpur at 494th position out of 595 Indian districts in terms of literacy rates in 2001, despite which its rank had improved considerably in relative terms from the 523rd rank it had occupied in 1991.”

The five blocks transferred from the state of Bihar to form a new subdivision in West Dinajpur in 1959 had until 1956 been part of the Kishanganj region which is still characterised by a low overall literacy rate of 31 percent in 2006–07, against which the corresponding rate for Uttar Dinajpur as a whole is a literacy rate of 48 percent... “Like Kishanganj which is now a full-fledged Bihar district, Islampur SD too has a largely rural profile, a large Muslim population and deep concentration of rural poverty”... Persisting regional disparities in access to education and infrastructure, rather than the response and enthusiasm of the local people are largely responsible for making Uttar Dinajpur the least literate district in West Bengal. “Thus, a major challenge facing the district relates to the improvement of educational attainments of the weaker social sections and women, especially among the Muslim community which has a dominant presence in the Islampur SD region… A huge gulf separates the Muslim literacy rate of 36 percent in Uttar Dinajpur from the Muslim literacy rate of 58 percent achieved by West Bengal as a whole.”

See also – List of West Bengal districts ranked by literacy rate

See also - Literacy in Bihar

Language and religion

In the 2011 census, Muslims numbered 186,818 and formed 64.14% of the population in Goalpokhar II CD Block. Hindus numbered 100,540 and formed 34.52% of the population. Christians numbered 3,348 and formed 1.15% of the population. Others numbered 540 and formed 0.19% of the population. In Goalpokhar I and Goalpokhar II CD Blocks taken together, as per the District Statistical Handbook for Uttar Dinajpur, while the proportion of Muslims increased from 67.71% in 1991 to 68.82% in 2001, the proportion of Hindus declined from 31.69% in 1991 to 30.19% in 2001.

In the 2011 census, Uttar Dinajpur district had 1,501,170 Muslims who formed 49.92% of the population, 1,482,943 Hindus who formed 49.31% of the population, 16,702 Christians who formed 0.56% of the population and 6,319 persons belonging to other religions who formed 0.23% of the population. While the proportion of Muslim population in the district increased from 45.3% in 1991 to 49.9% in 2011, the proportion of Hindu population declined from 54.2% in 1991 to 49.2% in 2011.

At the time of the 2011 census, 42.69% of the population spoke Bengali, 30.04% Urdu

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