Bankura district

Bankura
District
Clockwise from top-left: Rasmancha in Bishnupur, Mukutmanipur Dam, old locomotive in Bankura, Susunia Hill, Forest near Mahadebsinan Hill
Location of Bankura district in West Bengal
Coordinates: 23°15′N 87°04′E / 23.25°N 87.07°E / 23.25; 87.07
Country	India
State	West Bengal
Division	Medinipur
Headquarters	Bankura
Government
• Subdivisions	Bankura Sadar, Khatra, Bishnupur
• CD Blocks	Bankura I, Bankura II, Barjora, Chhatna, Gangajalghati, Mejia, Onda, Saltora, Indpur, Khatra, Hirbandh, Raipur, Sarenga, Ranibandh, Simlapal, Taldangra, Indas, Joypur, Patrasayer, Kotulpur, Sonamukhi, Bishnupur
• Lok Sabha constituencies	Bankura, Bishnupur
• Vidhan Sabha constituencies	Saltora, Chhatna, Ranibandh, Raipur, Taldangra, Bankura, Barjora, Onda, Bishnupur, Katulpur, Indas, Sonamukhi
• District Magistrate	Shri Siyad N, IAS[1]
Area
• Total	6,882 km2 (2,657 sq mi)
Population  (2011)
• Total	3,596,674
• Density	520/km2 (1,400/sq mi)
• Urban	235,264
Demographics
• Literacy	70.95 per cent
• Sex ratio	914 ♂/♀
Languages
• Official	Bengali[2][3]
• Additional official	English[2]
Time zone	UTC+05:30 (IST)
Website	bankura.gov.in

Bankura district (Pron: bãkuɽa) is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is part of Medinipur division—one of the five administrative divisions of West Bengal. Bankura district is surrounded by Purba Bardhaman district and Paschim Bardhaman district in the north, Purulia district in the west, Jhargram district and Paschim Medinipur district in the south, and some part of Hooghly district in the east. Damodar River flows in the northern part of Bankura district and separates it with the major part of Burdwan district.^[4] The district head quarter is located in Bankura town.

The district has been described as the "connecting link between the plains of Bengal on the east and Chota Nagpur plateau on the west." The areas to the east and north-east are low-lying alluvial plains while to the west the surface gradually rises, giving way to undulating country, interspersed with rocky hillocks.^[5]

Centre of the historic Mallabhum (Malla kingdom) of western Bengal, Bankura and its surrounding regions are identified with its historical and cultural significance for the later Middle Ages. Vaishnavism, which gained the status of state religion in the Malla kingdom in the seventeenth century, shaped the culture of the region. The Malla kingdom was annexed by the British East India Company in 1765 and the modern Bankura district took its form in 1881 and was named after its headquarters.