Bandwan is an administrative division in Purulia Sadar East subdivision

Purulia Sadar East subdivision

Purulia Sadar East subdivision is a subdivision of the Purulia district in the state of West Bengal, India. It consists of Purulia municipality and seven community development blocks: Manbazar–I, Manbazar–II, Bundwan, Purulia–I, Purulia–II, Hura and Puncha. The seven blocks...

 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...

. Bandwan police station serves this block. Headquarters of this block is at Bandwan.

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.

Maoist activities

Banduan, along with certain other areas such as Manbazar

Manbazar

Manbazar I is an administrative division in Purulia Sadar East subdivision of Purulia district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Manbazar, Puncha and Kenda police stations serve this block. Headquarters of this block is at Manbazar...

, Jhalda

Jhalda

'Jhalda is a city and a municipality in Purulia District in the Indian state of West Bengal. GeographyJhalda is located at . It has an average elevation of ....

, and Jaipur

Jaipur, Purulia

Joypur is an administrative division in Purulia Sadar West subdivision of Purulia district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Joypur police station serves this block...

 are part of the area affected by the violent activities of Indian Maoists

Communist Party of India (Maoist)

The Communist Party of India is a Maoist political party in India which aims to overthrow the government of India through violent means. It was founded on 21 September 2004, through the merger of the People's War, and the Maoist Communist Centre . The merger was announced to the public on October...

, also referred to as Naxalites.

Geography

Bandwan is located at 22.876°N 86.507°E.

Bandwan 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 367.08  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 Bandwan 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: Bandwan, Chirudih, Dhadka, Gurur, Kuilapal, Kumra, kunchia and Supudih.

Demographics

As per 2001 census, Bandwan block had a total population of 83,678, out of which 42,246 were males and 41,427 were females. Bandwan block registered a population growth of 14.55 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 tribes at 42,096 formed around half the population. Scheduled castes numbered 6,273.

Literacy

As per 2001 census, Bandwan block had a total literacy of 47.67 per cent for the 6+ age group. While male literacy was 66.52 per cent female literacy was 28.46 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.