Bishnupur (also spelled Vishnupur) is a community development block (CD block) that forms an administrative division in the Bishnupur subdivision of the Bankura district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
History
From Bishnupur kingdom to the British Raj
From around 7th century AD till around the advent of British rule, for around a millennium, history of Bankura district is identical with the rise and fall of the Hindu Rajas of Bishnupur. The Bishnupur Rajas, who were at the summit of their fortunes towards the end of the 17th century, started declining in the first half of the 18th century. First, the Maharaja of Burdwan seized the Fatehpur Mahal, and then the Maratha invasions laid waste their country. Bishnupur is also the birthplace of famous musician Jadu Bhatta. He was the music teacher of Rabindranath Tagore.
Bishnupur was ceded to the British with the rest of Burdwan chakla in 1760. In 1787, Bishnupur was united with Birbhum to form a separate administrative unit. In 1793 it was transferred to the Burdwan collectorate. In 1879, the district acquired its present shape with the thanas of Khatra and Raipur and the outpost of Simplapal being transferred from Manbhum, and the thanas of Sonamukhi, Kotulpur and Indas being retransferred from Burdwan. However, it was known for sometime as West Burdwan and in 1881 came to be known as Bankura district.
Geography
Bishnupur is located at .
Bishnupur CD block is located in the north-eastern part of the district and belongs to the fertile low lying alluvial plains, similar to the predominating rice lands in the adjacent districts of West Bengal. Here, the eye constantly rests on wide expanses of rice fields, green in the rains but parched and dry in summer.
Bishnupur CD block is bounded by Sonamukhi CD block on the north, Indas, Patrasayer and Joypur CD blocks on the east, Garhbeta I CD block in Paschim Medinipur district, on the south and Taldangra and Onda CD blocks on the west.
Large forest areas exist in Sonamukhi, Joypur, Bishnupur, Khatra and Ranibandh areas.
Bishnupur CD block has an area of 365.73 km2. It has 1 panchayat samity, 9 gram panchayats, 113 gram sansads (village councils), 161 mouzas and 147 inhabited villages. Bishnupur police station serves this block. The headquarters of this CD block is at Bishnupur.
Gram panchayats of Bishnupur block/ panchayat samiti are: Ajodhya, Bankadha, Belsulia, Bhora, Dwarika Gosainpur, Layekbandh, Marar, Radhanagar and Uliara.
Demographics
Population
According to the 2011 Census of India, Bishnupur CD block had a total population of 156,822, all of which were rural. There were 79,941 (51%) males and 76,881 (49%) females. Population in the age range of 0 to 6 years was 19,102. Scheduled Castes numbered 55,940 (35.67%) and Scheduled Tribes numbered 11,812 (7.53%).
Large villages (with 4,000+ population) in Bishnupur CD block are (2011 census figures in brackets): Chua Masina (5,726), Radhanagar (5,335), Marar (7,799), Majura (4,245) and Chak Uparsol (5,416).
Other villages in Bishnupur CD block are (2011 census figures in brackets): Dwarika (2,366), Dihar (815), Layek Bandh (3,325), Ajodhya (2,862), Bhara (2,970), Uliara (2,067), Belshula (1,028), Gumut (1,723), Dwadashbari (604), Ajodhya (2,862) and Joykrishnapur (2,749).
Literacy
According to the 2011 census, the total number of literates in Bishnupur CD block was 91,309 (66.30% of the population over 6 years) out of which males numbered 53,099 (75.51% of the male population over 6 years) and females numbered 38,210 (56.69%) of the female population over 6 years). The gender disparity (the difference between female and male literacy rates) was 18.82%.
See also – List of West Bengal districts ranked by literacy rate
Language and religion
In the 2011 census Hindus numbered 124,197 and formed 79.20% of the population in Bishnupur CD block. Muslims numbered 27,849 and formed 17.76% of the population. Others numbered 4,776 and formed 3.04% of the population. Others include Addi Bassi, Marang Boro, Santal, Saranath, Sari Dharma, Sarna, Alchchi, Bidin, Sant, Saevdharm, Seran, Saran, Sarin, Kheria, and other religious communities. In 2001, Hindus were 79.82%, Muslims 16.39% and followers of tribal religions 3.74% of the population respectively.
At the time of the 2011 census, 92.60% of the population spoke Bengali and 7.03% Santali as their first language.
Rural poverty
In Bishnupur CD block 45.21% families were living below poverty line in 2007. According to the Rural Household Survey in 2005, 28.87% of the total number of families were BPL families in the Bankura district.