Birbhum

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Suri Sadar Subdivision

Suri-I

Suri-II

Sainthia

Rajnagar

Khoyrasole

Dubrajpur

Mahammad Bazar

Total No of Block- 7

Bolpur Subdivision

Bolpur-Sriniketan

Illambazar

Nanoor

Labpur

Total No of Block- 4

Rampurhat Subdivision

Rampurhat-I

Rampurhat-II

Nalhati-I

Nalhati-II

Mayureswar-I

Mayureswar-II

Murarai-I

Murarai-II

Total No of Block- 8

SURI

RAMPURHAT

TARAPITH

RAJNAGAR

BOLPUR

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Brief History of Birbhum District

At the dawn of the history, part of the district as now constituted appears to have been included in the tract of the country known as "Rarh" and part in the tract called "Vajjabhumi ". The traditions of the Jainas state that Mahavira, their last great Tirthankara, wandered through these two tracts in the 5th Century, B.C.; and the description of them would seem to show that the eastern part of the district , with its alluvial soil, well watered by rivers, formed part of Rarh, while the wilder and more rugged country to the west was aptly known as Vajjabhumi, i.e., the country of Thunderbolt.

Rarh was part of the territory ruled over by the Maurayan Emperors, and was subsequently included in the empire of the imperial Guptas, of Shasankas and of Harshavardhana. After dismemberment of Harsha's Empire , it was included in the Pala kingdom and formed a part of it until middle of 12th Century A.D. when the overlordship passes to the Sena kings.

In the 13th Century A.D. the district passed under the rule of the Muhammedans, and according to some authorities, Lakhanor (or Lakhnur ), an important frontier post of Musalman territory, lay within its limits. After this, for many centuries the controls of the Mohammedans over the Western part of the district appears to have been merely nominal, and the country was left under the rule of Hindu chiefs, called Bir Rajas.

After the cession of the Diwani to the East India Company in 1765, Birbhum was administered from Murshidabad until 1787. In that year in consequence of the unsettled state of the country, which required a separate administration, it was constituted as district with Vishnupur ( i.e. eastern portion of Bankura), and this arrangement continued till 1793, when Vishnupur was transferred to the Burdwan Collectorate. In 1809, the collectorship of Birbhum was abolished, and the district was again administered from Murshidabad, an Assistant Collector remaining in charge at Suri. In 1820, Birbhum was reconstituted as a separate district and restored to its former area, with the exception of a few estates were transferred to the Jungle Mahals. After the Santhal rebellion, the upland tracts on the West, which had been a rallying point of the rebels, were transferred to the newly constituted district of Santhal Paraganas and in this way four paraganas and a part of the fifth were detached from Birbhum, viz., Sarath Deoghar, Pabbia , Kundahit Karaya, Muhmmadabad and part of Darin Mauleswar. In 1872 the district consisted of the following thanas (1) Suri, (2) Rajnagar, (3) Dubrajpur, (4) Kasba (now Bolpur), (5) Sakulipur, (6) Labpur, (7)Barwan, (8) Mayureswar with a total area of 1,344 square miles. In 1879 Barwan with an area of 108 sq. miles was transferred to Murshidabad, while the thanas of Rampurhat and Nalhati ( including the present thana of Murarai) were transferred from Lalgunj subdivision of that district to Birbhum.

Geography

General Description : Birbhum is the northernmost District of the Burdwan Division. It lies between 23° 32' 30" and 24° 35' 0" north latitude and 88° 1' 40" and 87° 5' 25" east longitude. In shape it looks like an isosceles triangles. The apex is situated at the northern extremity not far south of point where the Ganges and the hills of the Santhal Paraganas begin to diverge while the river Ajay forms the base of this triangle. Birbhum is bounded on the north and west by Santhal Paraganas, on the east by the districts of Murshidabad and Burdwan and on the south by Burdwan, from which it is separated by the Ajay river. The district extends over an area of 4545 Sq. Kms.

River System : The district is well drained by a number of rivers and rivulets running in nearly every case from west to east with a slight southerly inclination. Only two are rivers of any magnitude , viz., the Mor and the Ajay, the latter of which marks the southern boundary, while the Mor runs through Birbhum from West to East. Both rivers are of considerable size when they enter the district, their width varying according to the configuration of the country, from two hundred yards to half a mile. The Ajay first touches the district at its south-west corner, and follows a winding course in an easterly direction, till it enters Burdwan at the extreme south-eastern angle of Birbhum, eventually falling into Bhagirathi near Katwa. The Mor enters Birbhum from the Santhal Paraganas near the village of Haripur and flows through the centre of the district from west to east, passing two miles north of Suri and forming the southern boundary of the Rampurhat Sub-division. It leaves the district a little east of Gunutia and joins Dwarka which itself is a tributary of the Bhagirathi. The Mor is also widely known as Mayurakshi meaning "the peacock eyed", i.e. having water as lustrous as the eye of the peacock. Between the Mor and Ajay there are a few large streams coming from beyond the western boundary, of which the Hinglo is the most important. It enters the District from the Santhal Paraganas some eight miles north of Ajay, flows through Dubrajpur thana, and gradually approaches that river, unites with it at Chapla, after a course in Birbhum of about 15 miles. Another river is the Bakreswar, which rises at hot spring of same name near Tantipara, some ten miles west of Suri, and after following a zigzag course eastward, and receiving one by one the waters of almost all the rivulets, joins the Mor a few miles beyond the eastern boundary of the district. Other important rivers of the district includes the Brahmani, the Bansloi, the Pagla, the Kopai or Sal.

Climate : The climate of the district is generally dry, mild and healthy. The hot weather usually last from the middle of March to the middle of the June, the rainy season from the middle of June to the middle of October, and the cold weather from middle of October to the middle of March. They do not always correspond to these limit. As a rule, the wind is from south-east in Summer and from the north-west in winter.