Bagmundi
Encyclopedia
Baghmundi is an administrative division in Purulia Sadar West subdivision
Purulia Sadar West subdivision
Purulia Sadar West subdivision is a subdivision of the Purulia district in the state of West Bengal, India. It consists of Jhalda municipality and seven community development blocks: Jhalda–I, Jhalda–II, Jaipur, Arsha, Bagmundi, Balarampur and Barabazar. The seven blocks contain 59...

 of Purulia district
Purulia District
Purulia district is one of the nineteen districts of West Bengal state in eastern India. The town of Purulia is the administrative headquarters of the district.-History:...

 in the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n state
States and territories of India
India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...

 of West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...

. Baghmundi police station serves this block. Headquarters of this block is at Pathardihi.

History

Jaina Bhagavati-Sutra of 5th century AD mentions that Purulia was one of the sixteen mahajanapadas and was a part of the kingdom known as Vajra-bhumi in ancient times. In 1833, Manbhum district was carved out of Jungle Mahals
Jungle Mahals
Jungle Mahals is a vague term applied in the 18th century to British possessions and some independent chiefdoms lying between Birbhum, Bankura, Midnapore and the hilly country of Chota Nagpur in what is now the Indian state of West Bengal.It was a thickly forested region.The vagueness of the...

 district, with head quarters at Manbazar. In 1838, the headquarters was transferred to Purulia
Purulia
Purulia , also spelled Puruliya, also known as "Manbhum City", is a city located in West Bengal state, India, and was constituted in 1876. It is the location of the district headquarters of Purulia district. Purulia is located on the north of the Kasai river and is a major road and railway...

. In 1956, Manbhum district was partitioned between Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....

 and West Bengal under the States Reorganization Act and the Bihar and West Bengal (Transfer of Territories) Act 1956.

Mythology

According to Hindu mythology
Hindu mythology
Hindu religious literature is the large body of traditional narratives related to Hinduism, notably as contained in Sanskrit literature, such as the Sanskrit epics and the Puranas. As such, it is a subset of Nepali and Indian culture...

, Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...

 and Sita
SITA
SITA is a multinational information technology company specialising in providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry...

 had come to Ayodhya Hill, about 10 kilometres (6 mi) from Bagmundi and stayed during their exile. Sita was thirsty and Ram pierced an arrow through the Earth's soil crust and through that water gushed out. Sita quenched her thirst. The place is known as Sita-kunda. During the full moon day in Baisakh every year tribals of nearby areas come and join in the game of hunting wild animals.

Geography

Baghmundi is located at 23.20°N 86.05°E.

Baghmundi community development block
Community Development Block in India
The Community development block is a rural area earmarked for administration and development in India. The area is administered by a Block Development Officer...

 has an area of 445.05  km2.

The area forms the lowest step of the Chota Nagpur Plateau
Chota Nagpur Plateau
The Chota Nagpur Plateau is a plateau in eastern India, which covers much of Jharkhand state as well as adjacent parts of Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar and Chhattisgarh. The Indo-Gangetic plain lies to the north and east of the plateau, and the basin of the Mahanadi River lies to the south...

. The general scenario is undulating land with scattered hills.

Gram panchayats

Gram panchayat
Gram panchayat
Gram panchayats are local self-governments at the village or small town level in India. As of 2002 there were about 265,000 gram panchayats in India. The gram panchayat is the foundation of the Panchayat System. A gram panchayat can be set up in villages with minimum population of 300...

s of Baghmundi block/panchayat samiti
Panchayat samiti
Panchayat samiti is a local government body at the tehsil or Taluka level in India. It works for the villages of the Tehsil or Taluka that together are called a Development Block. The Panchayat Samiti is the link between the Gram Panchayat and the district administration. There are a number of...

 are: Ajodhya, Baghmundi, Birgram, Burda-Kalimati, Matha, Serengdih, Sindri and Tunturi-Suisa.

Demographics

As per 2001 census, Baghmundi block had a total population of 112,388, out of which 57,650 were males and 54,738 were females. Baghmundi block registered a population growth of 13.64 per cent during the 1991-2001 decade. Decadal growth for Purulia district was 13.96 per cent.Decadal growth in West Bengal was 17.84 per cent.

Scheduled castes at 13,101 formed around one-tenth the population. Scheduled tribes numbered 28,272, forming around one-fourth the population.

Literacy

As per 2001 census, Baghmundi block had a total literacy of 46.95 per cent for the 6+ age group. While male literacy was 67.61 per cent female literacy was 25.12 per cent. Purulia district had a total literacy of 55.57 per cent, male literacy being 73.72 per cent and female literacy being 36.50 per cent.

Economics

Purulia Pumped Storage Project with an installed capacity of 900 MW (4 X 225 MW) is being set up in Ajodhya hills under Bagmundi police station with the loan assistance of Japan Bank for International Cooperation
Japan Bank for International Cooperation
The , also known by its acronym, JBIC, is a Japanese public financial institution and export credit agency, and was created on October 1, 1999, through the merging of the Japan Export-Import Bank and the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund ....

.

Natural Beauty

Thousands of tourists come to visit Bagmundi to witness the charm of natural beauty of Ajodhya Hills
Ajodhya Hills
Ajodhya Hills , is a hill located in the Purulia district of the state West Bengal, India. It is a part of the Dalma Hills and extended part of Eastern Ghats range. Highest peak of Ajodhya Hills is Gorgaburu. The nearby populated town area is Bagmundi....

 and Bagmundi dams like Murguma.

Chhau dance mask

Chhau dance
Chhau dance
thumb|A video of Chau dance in PuruliaChhau dance is a genre of Indian tribal martial dance which is popular in the Indian states of Orissa, Jharkhand and West Bengal...

 is popular in the area. All the characters in the dance are required to wear masks and as such cannot express the moods with facial expressions. Such moods are expressed with body and head (with the mask) movements. While mask movements show anger, shoulder and chest movements portray joy, melancholy, courage etc. The masks used in Chhau dance are made in Charida village in the Bagmundi area by sutradharas (artisans), who have been engaged in such work for generations. The artisans, who are familiar with the details of the Indian epics, that form the base of Chhau dance themes, produce masks that bear testimony to their artistic skills.

Radha Govinda temple

There is a Radha
Radha
Radha , also called Radhika, Radharani and Radhikarani, is the childhood friend and lover of Krishna in the Bhagavata Purana, and the Gita Govinda of the Vaisnava traditions of Hinduism...

 Govinda
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...

 temple within Bagmundi Rajbari, dating back to 1733. It is an atchala (eight domed) temple with floral and geometrical terracotta designs but no figures. The rasmancha (stage) of a comparatively new temple has terracotta figures - enthroned Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...

 and Sita
SITA
SITA is a multinational information technology company specialising in providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry...

 with entourage, Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...

 in rasmandala with the gopi
Gopi
Gopi is a word of Sanskrit origin meaning 'cow-herd girl'. In Hinduism specifically the name gopi is used more commonly to refer to the group of cow herding girls famous within Vaishnava Theology for their unconditional devotion to Krishna as described in the stories of Bhagavata Purana and...

s
, episodes like the holding up of Giri Gobardhan
Govardhan hill
Govardhan is a hill located near the town of Vrindavan, in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. It considered as sacred by a number of traditions within Hinduism....

, or the killing of Bakasur, and many secular figures and animals-all crudely modelled.

Sports

Pinki Pramanik
Pinki Pramanik
Pinki Pramanik is an Indian track athlete who specialises in the 400 metres and 800 metres. She has had much success with the national 4×400 metres relay team, winning silver at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, gold at the 2006 Asian Games, and gold at the 2005 Asian Indoor Games...

, an athlete from the remote village of Tilakdih in Bagmundi block, won a gold medal at the 15th Asian Games
2006 Asian Games
The 15th Asian Games, officially known as the XV Asiad, is Asia's Olympic-style sporting event that was held in Doha, Qatar from December 1 to December 15, 2006. Doha was the first city in its region and only the second in West Asia to host the games...

 women's relay in Doha in 2006. She brought her first international medal at the 18th Commonwealth Games
2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 15 March and 26 March 2006. It was the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events being held.The site...

 women's relay race, by winning silver in Melbourne. She made a golden hat trick at the 10th SAF Games
2006 South Asian Games
The 2006 South Asian Games were held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from August 18 to August 28, 2006 in the Sugathadasa Stadium with more than 2000 sportspersons competing in the record 20 disciplines of Sports.The 10th edition of SAF Games also marked the debut for Afghanistan...

, securing gold in 400, 800 and women's relay.

External links

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