Indpur is a community development block (CD block) that forms an administrative division in the Khatra subdivision of the Bankura district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
History
From Bishnupur kingdom to the British Raj
From around the 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 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
Indpur is located at . It has an average elevation of .
Indpur CD block spreads over from the central parts of the district to the western border with Purulia district. It belongs to the uneven lands/ hard ring rock area. The soil is laterite red and hard beds are covered with scrub jungle and sal wood.
Indpur CD block is bounded by Chhatna and Bankura I CD blocks on the north, Onda and Taldangra CD blocks on the east, Khatra and Hirbandh CD Blocks on the south and Puncha CD block, in Purulia district, on the west.
Indpur CD block has an area of 302.60 km2. It has 1 panchayat samity, 7 gram panchayats, 112 gram sansads (village councils), 222 mouzas and 198 inhabited villages. Indpur police station serves this block. Headquarters of this CD block is at Indpur.
Gram panchayats of Indpur block/ panchayat samiti are: Bheduasole, Brahmandiha, Brajarajpur, Gourbazar, Hatgram, Indpur and Raghunathpur.
Demographics
Population
According to the 2011 Census of India Indpur CD block had a total population of 156,522, all of which were rural. There were 80,556 (51%) males and 75,966 (49%) females. Population in the age range of 0 to 6 years was 19,430. Scheduled Castes numbered 63,532 (40.59%) and Scheduled Tribes numbered 15,003 (9.59%).
In the 2001 census, Indpur community development bloc had a total population of 137,800 of which 70,876 were males and 66,924 were females. Decadal growth for the period 1991-2001 was 10.15% for Indpur, against 13.79% in Bankura district. Decadal growth in West Bengal was 17.84 per cent.
Large villages (with 4,000+ population) in Indpur CD block are (2011 census figures in brackets): Gaurbazar (4,349).
Other villages in Indpur CD block are (2011 census figures in brackets): Indpur (2,573), Bheduasole (1,581), Brahmandiha (2,933), Hatgram (3,080), Raghunathpur (454), Brajarajpur (1,577), Atbaichandi (1,310).
Literacy
According to the 2011 census the total number of literates in Indpur CD block was 92,434 (67.42% of the population over 6 years) out of which males numbered 56,305 (79.87% of the male population over 6 years) and females numbered 36,829 (55.30%) of the female population over 6 years). The gender disparity (the difference between female and male literacy rates) was 24.57%.
See also – List of West Bengal districts ranked by literacy rate
Language and religion
In the 2011 census Hindus numbered 141,112 and formed 90.15% of the population in Indpur CD block. Muslims numbered 8,874 and formed 5.68% of the population. Others numbered 6,536 and formed 4.17% 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 90.81%, Muslims 5.00% and tribal religions 4.09% of the population respectively.
At the time of the 2011 census, 94.78% of the population spoke Bengali and 5.19% Santali as their first language.
Rural poverty
In Indpur CD block 48.19% 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.