Dakshin Dinajpur district General information
South Dinajpur is one of the district in West Bengal.The district was created on April 1, 1992
History
The district of West Dinajpur came into existence in August 1947 with the partition of Bengal. The Province of Bengal was divided into two parts in accordance with the Partition. The dividing line passed through the district of Dinajpur, the portion lying to the west of the line being named West Dinajpur. There is no local tradition regarding the origin of the name Dinajpur, and it is also rather difficult to advance any satisfactory theory about the origin of the name.
The district of West Dinajpur comprised an area, which in ancient times formed a part of the kingdom of Pundravardhana, the country of the Pundras. According to Brihatkathakosha of Harishena, Bhadrabahu (the Jaina guru of Chandragupta Maurya) was the son of a Brahmin of Kotivarsha in Pundravardhana.
Rivers
The Main rivers are Atryee, Punarbhaba and Tangon.
Atryee : The river Atryee comes from Bangladesh and again goes to Bangladesh through Kumarganj and Balurghat blocks.
Punarbhaba : The Punarbhaba flows through the Gangarampur and Tapan blocks.
Tangon : The Tangon flows through the Kushmandi and Banshihari blocks.
Industry
In the industries sector there is nothing significant except for some rice mills which are totally agro based. The cottage and small scale industries and the handloom sectors deserve a little mention. As regards transport and communication, the position of the district is far from satisfactory, having only one State Highway. The district has no railway head. Bengali is the principal language and hindus and muslims constitute the major portion of the population.
Folk Culture
'Khan' This Folk form is a unique Folk culture form typical to the 'Dinajpur' region. It is an age-old folk-cultural form practised by the rural people of the District – mainly belonging to the scheduled caste & scheduled tribe communities.
'Khan' is a kind of Folk opera with songs intermingled with dialogues. The language is, of course, Bengali in the form of local dialect. Songs used to be composed and tuned by the participants. Nowadays, someone capable from the performing team takes the responsibility. Songs and dialogues are improvised, hence the lack of written manuscripts.
'Khan' deals with any local scandalous incident or illicit act committed by any local person. Some pundits interpret 'Khan' as scandalous events. 'Khan' performers are mostly concentrated in Kushmandi & Bangshihari Blocks. The performances take place in the open and continues from late evening to the wee hours of the morning.
'Khan' teams and players nowadays are scattered almost all over the district. There are professional 'Khan' troupes. Their performances are seasonal particularly after the harvesting season is over and when rural people have money in their pocket to spend on entertainment. Some of the notable 'Khan' palas are – 'Cyclesari', 'Budhasari', etc
Education
The district has many problems such as overwhelming dependence on agriculture, unemployment due to lack of industries, a long international border and poor communication. Inspite of such problems, the literacy rate in the district is 64.46%. Total Primary & Elementary education scenario has been undergoing a positive change due to implementation of the District primary education programme since 2000-2001. New school buildings and additional class rooms are being provided under DPEP so that adequate space is available to all schools which shall help in bringing a substantial portion of out of school children in to the main stream. Community mobilization programmes for primary teachers have already been completed. Through increasing enrolment and retention and emphasizing on quality education under DPEP, this district is progressing steadily tow the desired goal of Universal Elementary Education.
Literacy
Literacy movement in Dakshin Dinajpur started in the year 1993. It was decided that total literacy campaign would be launched in the district to eradicate illiteracy of the people belonging to the age group of 8+ to 40 years. A survey was conducted in each Block and Municipal area. The extensive Block & Municipality wise survey found the number of target illiterate population as 3,83,990. A total of 31,482 learning centres were opened all over the district. Out of 3,83,990 illiterates identified by local survey, 2,20,251 were enrolled and made literate through TLC.
Population
Total Population of the district is 15,03,178
Tourist Place
Sarongbari
Sarongbari is a small forest and a very attractive picnic spot. One small hut has been constructed with drinking water facilities and is managed by Hili Panchayat Samiti. Prior permission is to be sought from the Block Development Officer, Hili, to enter this spot.
college museum
The college museum of Balurghat, though a small one, is worth seeing. Many antique collections including coins, inscriptions, sculptures, terracotta, ornamental stones, etc. of ancient ages are preserved here. Two incriptions have been deciphered by Prof A K Goswami which has thrown new light on the religious belief of the Pala period.
Khanpur
It is situated on the Patiram-Trimohini road about 18 Kms away (North-East) from Balurghat town. This place is very famous for the TEBHAGA Movement. History tells us that in the year 1946, the share croppers of this area raised a movement for establishing their ¾ percentage share of the crops.
To combat this movement the British Force along with local Zamindars started various oppressive measures including plunder, rape, setting fire, etc. In the face of such oppression, the movement instead of subsiding, further flared up. The local cultivators also lent their whole-hearted support to the movement. On 20 February, 1947, a large contingent of Police force went to Khanpur to arrest the leaders of the Tebhaga Movement. Under the leadership of SriI Chiarshai Sekh, the people disconnected the road. The Police arrested Smt Jasoda Rajbanshi, W/o NilKantha Rajbanshi (Party Secretary), Sri Gopeshwar Das Mohanta, Sri Ghutui Kolkamar, Sri Gajimuddin and Sri Sashi Barman.
However, the share croppers under the leadership of Chiarshai Sekh succeeded to snatch away those arrested cultivators from the police jeep and damaged the vehicle. The Police then opened fire. As per report police fired about 121 rounds upon the public. As a result 21 (twenty one) cultivators died on the spot. Among these victims were people belonging to the Hindus, Muslims and the Schedule Tribes. There is a small memorial in the spot inscribing the names of the patriotic souls
Patiram Thakur Estate
On the Balurghat-Malda state highway, the Patiram Thakur Estate can be seen by the side of the river Atreyee. Old buildings of this estate are still there bearing the memory of the Tagore family.
Bolla Kali Temple
About 20 Kms away from Balurghat town on the Balurghat- Malda Highway, the village BOLLA is situated. There is a famous Kali temple named after "BOLLA Ma Kali'. There is a story behind this temple. It is said that one Zamindar was arrested by the British as he could not pay the tax for his Zamindari. Goddess Kali came to his rescue and the Zamindar was freed the very next day. As a token of gratitude, he built a temple of Goddess 'Kali' and started worshipping her. As the Zamindar was freed on a Friday following the Rash Purnima Friday, Kali Puja is being observed here on every Friday following the Rash Purnima. Thousands of devotees throng the place to offer prayers and puja from different parts of the district. The Puja Committee organise a 3 (three) day fair on the occasion. This is also famous for sacrificing animals (Bali).
Tapan Dighi
The big lake of Tapan namely Tapan Dighi is situated in the village Tapan at a distance of 35 Km. from Balurghat town and 15 Km. from Gangarampur town. It is well connected by pucca road. Behind the naming of this lake there is a myth that king Laxman Sen dug this lake with a view to offering Tarpana for his ancestors. This lake is about 2 Km in length and 1 Km in breadth.
On the northern bank of this lake, one dilapidated mound dating back to the period of Buddha can be seen. The real truth can be unearthed only if excavation work is taken up. Another important site in this area is the village Manohali. One can see large number of icons still remaining scattered in this area.