Birbhum district

Birbhum (: বীরভূম) is a district in state of India. The district headquarters is located at. It lies at the middle of the western border of West Bengal right below the narrow waist of the state_name. Birbhum is the northernmost district of "Bardhaman Division" -one of the three administrative divisions of the state_name. Called by the name of "The land of red soil" Birbhum is famous for its topography and cultural heritage which is unique and is somewhat different from that of the other districts in West Bengal. Birbhum has also been the proud abode of nobel laureates like and.

Birbhum has a dual blend of bushy plateau terrain from the west with its partly migratory tribal  anthropological components, that gradually merges with the alluvial plainland terrain with stable farmer communities towards the east. The district is cyclically dried and flooded by the rain-fed rivers like Ajay and Mor. Ridden with this geo-anthropological diversity this land has given birth to many cultural and religious movements in history. As a single district it harbours the largest number of exemplified particularly by  and  Tarapeeth. at, established by , is one of the places Birbhum is internationally renowned for. The star attraction of many of the famous festivals of this district, including Pous mela, are the safron clad s singing their deep philosophical songs in the local dialect along with playing their folk music typified by the indigenous instrument called.

Origin of name
The name Birbhum comes probably from the Land ("Bhumi") of the Brave ("Bir"). Some have opined that the district bears the name of Bir kings who ruled in the area. "Bir" in means. Therefore, it could also mean a land of forests.

History
The area now known as Birbhum was inhabited from pre-historic times. Some of the archaeological sites related to Pandu Rajar Dhibi of chalcolithic remains are located in Birbhum. Stone age implements have been found at several places in the district. According to Acharanga Sutra, the old book,, the last (24th) great , had wandered  through this land ("pathless country of Ladha  in Vajjabhumi and Subbhabhumi") in the 5th century, B.C. According to some historians, the spread of the Jain religion in the Rarh region was synonymous with the Aryanisation of the area. probably traversed this area to go to Pundrabardhan and Samatat (inferred by Dr Atul Sur, based on Divyabdan - a Buddhist text).

The was part of the. It was subsequently included in the empire of the imperial Guptas, of Shashanka and of Harshavardhana. After dismemberment of ’s empire, the region was ruled by the s till 12th century AD, when overlordship of the area passed into the hands of the Senas. During the rule of the Pala dynasty Buddhism, particularly the Vajrayana cult, flourished here. In 7th century A.D., the Chinese traveller, Wang Chuang, described some of the monasteries he visited. The Senas were staunch Hindus and ensured the dominance of the religion in Bengal. The 13th century witnessed the advent of Muslim rule in the region. They destroyed most of the remaining Buddhist monasteries. However, Muslim control over the western parts of the district appears to have been nominal, and the area was ruled by the local Hindu chiefs, known as the Bir Rajas. The three towns of, Birsingpur and Rajnagar contain their relics.

Minhaj i Siraj, the author of the Tabaqat-i-Nasiri mentions about Lakhnur, the headquarters or thanah of the Rarh wing of the Muslim rule and an important frontier post. The location of Lakhnur, though still not exactly identified, falls in Birbhum.

Mythologically the forests of Bajrabhumi (west Birbhum) were hot-spots of Hindu and tantric activities. According to historian Dr. Atul Sur, the solitude of the less populated jungles of Bajrabhumi made it an ideal place for sacred rituals. Some old authors have called Birbhum by the name Kamkoti which relates to its tantric heritage. Bhandirban was the ashram (hermitage) of Bibhandak Muni (sage). Rishasringya Muni lived in Siyan, and Shitalgram was the place of Sandipan, Garga and Durbasa.

Tantrics (including the Buddhists and ) established many temples for  sadhana rituals and  worship. Birbhum has many such as, , Kankalitala, , Fulberia and. Prior to 1856 AD /  was within Birbhum.

Out of the numerous s, Tarapith/ Siddhapith is the most famous. One of the famous Shakti worshippers of Tarapith was Bamdev, popularly known as Bama Khyapa. The actual stone idol, which is kept hidden at Tarapith, is decapitated, probably bearing the signs of rave of the Muslim rulers.

During the time of there was no existence of any administrative unit by the name Birbhum till 1787, and this area was administratively a part of  district. In 1787 when the official designation "District Beerbhoom" started the District was much bigger and included "Bishenpore" or (now part of ) till 1793. Till Santhal Pargana was also part of Birbhum, the district thus sprawled up to  in the west. The immediate reason then for separating the western tribal majority areas was the of 1855-56, which was quelled with the martyrdom of Sidhu and Kanu in Birbhum.

Geography
Situated between 23° 32' 30"(right above the ) and  24° 35' 0" north latitude and  87° 5' 25" and 88° 1' 40" east longitudes, and about 1,757 sq miles (4,550 km²) in area, this district is triangular in shape with the apex pointing north and the base (southern boundary) formed by the river Ajay. The river forms the boundary between Birbhum and s. This area lies at the north eastern end of the, as it slopes down and merges with the alluvial plains of the Ganges. The western portion of the district is historically known as Vajjabhumi or Bajrabhumi from bajra meaning thunderbolt or strong and bhumi meaning land. It is an undulating, generally barren, upland. The comparatively more fertile eastern portion, constituting the northeastern Rarh region, merges with the Gangetic plain. Vajjabhumi is also included in the Rarh region, and rest of Rarh is called Sumha to differentiate it from Vajjabhumi.

Landscape and vegetation
Important geographical features in Birbhum are the (eroded undulated patches of barren area), the red,  (ranga mati), with palm trees visible from a long distance and multiple protected forested areas on the western side.

Although the majority of Birbhum is rural, in recent times, it has been the site of many development projects such as condominiums and gated communities for people from numerous urban centres in West Bengal. This has raised many issues. Some fear that these projects do not take into account the lives of the local people and that this will threaten the natural environment for which Birbhum is so renowned for.

Rivers
The rivers of Birbhum are: Ajay, Mor, Bakreswar, Kopai, Dvarka, Brahmani, Hinglo, Chapala, Bansloi, Pagla etc. A project on the Mayurakshi (Mor, a tributary of Ganges), that includes the Tilpara Barrage (near Siuri), provides irrigation for about 600,000 ac (2400 km²).Almost all the rivers originate higher up on the Chota Nagpur plateau and flow across Birbhum in a west-east direction. These river are furious during the monsoons but shrink during the dry summer months. The cyclical rotation of drought and floods of the rivers destroy lives and property, and adds to the cruelty of life in the region.


 * “The Mayurakshi is famous for its strong current. For seven or eight months in the year the river is a desert – sands stretching from shore to shore for a mile and a half. But when the rains come, she is terrible, demoniac. She races along, four to five miles wide, her deep grey water swamping everything within reach. Then comes once in a while the Harpa flood, when the water, six to seven cubits deep, rushes into villages nearby and washes away homes and granaries and all else in its way. This does not happen very often though. The last time was about twenty years ago.”

That description is from. However, that was before barriers were built across the Mayurakshi. The picture continues to be similar for other Birbhum rivers, although dimensions may differ.

Climate
The climate on the western side is dry and extreme, but is relatively milder on the eastern side. In summer temperatures can shoot above 40 degrees Celsius and in winters it can drop to around 10 degrees Celsius. It receives annual rainfall of around 1,300 mm, mostly in the monsoon months (June to September). The dry plateau feature makes the land in the west less fertile compared to the plains in the east. Agriculture is dependent upon the rains in monsoon or has to be supplemented with irrigation in other seasons.

Geology
The most interesting part of the geology of Birbhum stems from the gradient of red soil.

If one looks at the soil map of India one will notice that actually the Rarh region has laterite soil (type 28 in the map), and the Vajjabhumi has a different kind of sandy hard red soil of the alfisoil type (type 21 in the map).

Birbhum has some mineral reserves that are relatively unimportant in the national context but are important locally. Coal, China clay, low grade iron-ore and granite are mined in west Birbhum.

Economy
Birbhum is primarily an agricultural district. While 159.3 km² of land are occupied by forests, 3,329.05 km² are used for agricultural purposes. 91.43 per cent of the population live in the villages. Around 75 per cent of the population is dependent on agriculture.

Agriculture
Rice, legumes, wheat, corn (maize), and mangoes are the chief crops harvested largely in the east Birbhum. Canada Dam on the Mayurakshi at Massanjore is virtually on the border of Birbhum and Dumka district in Jharkhand. Further down the Mayurakshi is the Tilpara Barrage at Siuri. Land with irrigation facilities in 2001-02 totaled 2,763.9 km². There are five barrages, providing irrigation support. The district has 13 cold storages.

Industry
The district's principal industries include cotton and silk harvesting and weaving, rice and oilseed milling, lac harvesting, and metalware and pottery manufacture.

Birbhum is a major centre for. Perhaps the most famous cottage industry is a non-profit rural organization Amar Kutir. Other main industries in Birbhum are agriculture-based industries, textiles, forestry, arts and crafts. Sriniketan is a famous dairy and forestry center. Some of the notable forms of cottage industries of Birbhum include textile- especially cotton and locally harvested tussar silk, jute works, batik, kantha stitch, macrame (weaving by knotting threads), leather, pottery and terracotta, solapith, woodcarving, bamboo and cane craft, metal works and various tribal crafts. There are 8,883 small and medium scale industries. Bakreshwar Thermal Power Station (210 MW x 3 + 210 MW x 2 under construction) is the only heavy industry.

One of the famous industrialist was Late Nitai Pada Ghosh from Mohammed Bazar who was the founder Patel Nagar Minerals & Industries Limited specilising in China Clay. Mohammed Bazar block contains china clay and laterite mines. Panchami village of Mohammed Bazar block contains the industry of laterite. One proposed methane gas processing industry is going to be set up in this district by.

Divisions
Birbhum district is divided into three subdivisions:
 * 1) Suri subdivision has 7 blocks: Suri - I, Suri - II, Sainthia, Rajnagar, Khoyrasole, Muhammad Bazar and Dubrajpur.
 * 2) Bolpur subdivision has 4 blocks: Bolpur-Sriniketan,, ,
 * 3) Rampurhat subdivision has 8 blocks: Rampurhat -I, Rampurhat -II, Nalhati - I, Nalhati - II, Mayureswar-I, Mayureswar-II, Murarai - I, Murarai - II

Totalling above Birbhum has 19 blocks (each block has one police station) which together comprise of 2467 villages. is the District administrative head office ("Zila Sadar"). Siuri, Dubrajpur, Bolpur, Rampurhat, Nalhati and Sainthia have municipalities. Other than them, the district is dotted with small towns such as Murarai, Mayureshwar, Muhammad Bazar, Rajnagar, Khairasol, Hetampur, Ilambazar, Kankalipith, Birsingpur and Patharchapuri (or Patharchapri). The district has 2 seats for the Lok Sabha (parliament) and 12 seats for the state assembly.

Transport
The major modes of transportation are trains, buses and bullock carts. Historically the palki or palanquin was another common transport now seen very rarely.

The Panagarh-Morgram Expressway runs through the district. All the towns and villages are connected by roads. The total length of roads in the district are: surfaced – 2,413 km and unsurfaced – 4,674 km. Against this the total length of rail track in the district is 201.32 km, including 26.55 km of the Ahmadpur-Katwa narrow gauge track, laid in 1917.

The Howrah-Sahibganj loop of the Eastern Railway, laid in 1862, passes through this district. There is a junction at Nalhati for the connection to Azimganj in district. The Andal-Sainthia line connects it to the main Howrah-Delhi main line.

Demography
In 1901 Birbhum had a population of 902,280, which by 1981 rose to 2,095,829. According to the 2001 census data, the total population has further risen to 3,015,422. The following table summarises the population distribution:

The percentage of Muslims in the district have been growing, while the percentage of Hindus have been declining. In 1981, Muslims formed 30.98 per cent of the population. It increaed to 33.02 per cent in 1991 to around 35 per cent in 2001. There has been a proportionate fall in the percentage of Hindus in the toatal population from 68.61 per cent in 1981 to 66.61 per cent in 1991 to around 65 per cent in 2001. There is a sprinkling other religious groups in the population. According to the 2001 census, 29.51 per cent of the population belong to the scheduled castes and 6.74 per cent to the scheduled tribes.

Other than the locals speaking the Birbhum dialect of Bengali, there are tribal Santhals, local as well as those migrating seasonally from neighbouring areas. The local industry and agriculture partly depends on the Santhal labourers who come in during the work seasons (like planting of rice seedling during rainy season). Apart from the Santhals, there are ten tribal communities in Birbhum with a sizeable presence, amongst whom Koda, Mahali and Oraons are prominent.

Culture


The red soil and the shallow serpentine rivers ridden with sand islands have inspired the poets from this land. Many poets of Vaishnav and Shakta Padavali fame were born in this land, as for example, Jaydeb, the celebrated author of Geetagovinda, and Chandidas (Rami).

The folk culture of Birbhum is specially enriched with the contribution of s, their philosophy and their songs. Baulism is a religiously liberal philosophy and lifestyle which might have some links to Sahajiya movement of 16th century A.D. (derived from Sahajyan, a form of Vajrayana Buddhism, influenced also by Vaishnavism and Sufism). Chandidas and many other poets were part of the Sahajiya movement. The Bauls earn their living by singing and collecting alms. They accommodate people from any caste and creed. Rabindranath Tagore was inspired by their philosophy and patronized them actively. Birbhum has also been home to famous kabiyals, kirtaniyas and other folk culture groups.

The many fairs of Birbhum starts with Pous Mela (from 7th Pous onwards) at Santiniketan and follows through the Bengali month of Pous (spread across December and January) till. Particulalrly lively is the fair at Kendubillo, with the participation of bauls, the itinerant singers, in large numbers. Birbhum has a number of other major attractions. The temple and hot spring at is famous and draws in pilgrims from far and near. Tarapith attracts pilgrims throughout the year. It has many old temples with delicate decorative tiles made of terracotta (burnt clay).

People of Birbhum love a kind of folk drama and "Aalkap".

Gramdevta
In addition to being a confluence of Vaishnav, Shakta and Saiva cultures, Birbhum villages also observe prehistoric customs like worship of gramdevta (gram means village and devta means deity) in many forms at different places.

One form of gramdevta popular in villages of birbhum is Dharma Thakur, symbolized by a stone, worshipped mainly by Bauri, Bagdi, Hari, Dom etc. castes. According to the Dharmapuran, even kings worshipped Dharma Thakur. In some places there are festivals called Dharmer Gajan. According to some authorities, these are transformed old deities and which continued even after these castes accepted Buddhism as a result of the oppression by the higher castes. Later on these old deities were equated to either Shiva or Buddha.

Another Gramdevta is the goddeess of snakes - "" who might have been a transformation of the feminine snake totem to a form more acceptable to later society. Now Goddess Manasa is worshiped for protection from snake bite. Vajrayana Buddhists had an equivalent of Manasa named Janguli. In Manasamangal, the house made for Lakhinder was on top of "Santhali" mountains, which might have been a reference to Santhal pargana which was historically a part of Birbhum.

Personalities, literature and films
made this district his home and established his great centre of learning, at. Kendubillo, the birthplace of the 12th century Sanskrit poet, Joydeb, is on the bank of the river Ajay. is the birthplace of the poet Chandidas Rami. He possibly wrote in the 14th century. There are several counter claims about these poets. , one of the leading Bengali literary figures in recent times and who wrote extensively about life in Birbhum, belongs to.

Satyajit Ray shot major portions of the film Abhijan in Birbhum and made the pahar, near Dubrajpur, well known to the outside world. Two rocks sit delicately, one on another, in close embrace, but they do not fall off. One is mama (maternal uncle) and the other is bhagnney (nephew). The entire hillock strewn with rocks is known by that name.

Many other famous people lived and worked in Birbhum, specially at Santiniketan. Amongst the notable personalities linked with Birbhum district are:
 * (1474-?) - (Nitai of the famous Nitai-Gaur pair) the co founder of religion (with  known also as "Gaur" ie gauranga) was born at  area of village  20 k.m. away from.
 * Lord Satyendra Prasanna Sinha (1863-1928) - member of the British House of Lords, was born at Raipur and was a student of Birbhum Zilla School.
 * Shrikumar Chaottopadhyay (1892-1970) – renowned literary critic was born at Kushmor village. He was a student of Hetampur College.
 * Samsuddin Hossein (1892-1926) – peasant leader and founder of Labour Swarajya Party was born at Sardanga village under Nanoor PS.
 * Sajani Kanta Das (1900-1962)- author was born in his maternal uncle’s house at Betalban village in Bardhaman district but belongs to Raipur.
 * Abdul Halim (1901-1966) – one of the pioneers of the communist movement was born at Sabdanga and was a studen of Kirnahar Shib Chandra High School.
 * Sailajananda Mukhopdhyay (1901-1976) – author and friend of Kazi Nazrul Islam was born at Rupasi village.
 * Rejaul Karim (1902-1993) – freedom fighter and journalist was born at Margram (Saspur village).
 * Taradas Mukhopadhyay (pseudonym : Falguni Mukhopadhyay) (1904-1975) – author was born at Nagara Kolakgram and was a student of Hetampur College.
 * Samaresh Basu (1928-1988) -The famous Bengali Novelist known by the pen name Kalkut, though Born in Bikrampur (in Bangladesh), spent most of his adolescence at Nalhati. He was deeply influenced by the social dynamics of this district which reflected in his writings.
 * Purna Das Baul (1933- ) One of the most famous bauls who braught songs to the attention of western world, was born at Ekchakka  village near Rampurhat.
 * Tarashankar Bandopadhyay:The famous Bengali Novelist, Born in Labhpur, Birbhum
 * Pranab Mukherjee: Honorable minister of external affairs, India
 * Former President of Bangladesh was born in the village of Daraka in Birbhum District
 * Mr.Kshitish Chandra Mitra Land lord of Batikar gram, & He is one of the Honourary magistrate & One of the light man of 'Birbhum Samabay Sangathan'. He was one of the key man of "Krisak Andolan" in 50's.
 * Mr. Dwarakesh Mitra was the one of the successful juniour leader & freedom fighter.

Flora
The laterite soil of the western highlands is iron rich and alkaline. It grows characteristic shrubs, herbs and some trees. These include species of wendlandia, evolvulus,, , perotis, spermacoce, , capparis. Trees like and  are also frequently found. Other abundant species are jack fruit, arjun, sal, date plum, piar, dhau, kend and mahua.

Fauna
Other than feral dogs, and domestic cattle, the most frequently encountered non-human mammal is the hanuman (semnopithecus entellus formerly presbytis entellus), a long tailed prevalent in the gangetic plain. Hanumans live near human community and are not easily scared by them. Some wild and  may still be found in the small forests of Chinpai, Bandarsol and Charicha. Wild leopards and bears are not to be seen any more. Sometimes wild Asiatic from Jharkhand come in during the mahua bloom, trampling crops and threatening life and property.

Birds of Birbhum include a mix of hilly and plain-land dwelling species like, , green pigeon, various water fouls, doyel, , , , , koel, sun bird, (nilkanth),  , , and some.

Literacy and education
According to the 2001 census Birbhum district had a literacy rate of 62.16 per cent, 71.57 per cent for males and 52.21 per cent for females. In 1951 the literacy rate was 17.74 per cent. It increased to 48.56 per cent in 1991.

The growth of literacy in the last decade of the twentieth century was particulalrly remarkable with special emphasis on the eradication of illiteracy. While it is feared that Birbhum may not be able to fulfil the national objective of sending all children in the age group 6-14 years to school by 2010, efforts are on in that direction. Educational facilities in the district are as follows:

The district has 2 engineering colleges, 1 polytechnic and 1 industrial training institute (ITI).

There are 127 libraries supported by the Government, 1 private libaray and 1 district library.

Sports
One of the most popular village outdoor sports in this area used to be "danguli" or guli-danda (literal meaning "ball and stick") which is somewhat equivalent of "goli danda" in North India but doesn't involve a "guli" i.e. ball, instead a spindle shaped wood (small stick with two ends sharpened) is used as a ball. The spindle shaped small stick is kept on an uneven surface and is tumbled off ground by hitting with a long handled stick and then hitting again a second time to pitch it to a long distance. However, in recent times has replaced some of the popularity of this game, partly because danguli used to create eye injury as the most frequent sports accident. Another sport that can be played both outdoors and indoor, and still popular among children here is "marble", which involves projecting a striker bead with fingers to hit an ensemble of black or green glass beads. It is a kind of an aerial version of, which itself is a locally popular indoor game. In addition to the other most popular outdoor sport of this district are  and.

One traditional village level religious team sport of Birbhum is "baich khela" which is a competition of taking the whole idol of goddess and her companion icons on bamboo supports and carrying it around with lots of lightings ("hajak lights"), dhak (drum) beat and fanfare all around the village.

living in and around Birbhum are good archers too and have many a time reached the national level of all India-archery competitions.