Midnapore district

Midnapore
District
Clockwise from top: Mahishadal Rajbari, Nabaratna Temple in Pathra, Kurumbera Fort, Jhargram Palace, Rameshwar Temple in Jhargram, Bargabhima Temple
Location of Midnapore district in West Bengal
Coordinates: 22°25′26″N 87°19′08″E / 22.424°N 87.319°E / 22.424; 87.319
Country	India
State	West Bengal
Division	Medinipur
Headquarters	Midnapore
Government
• Subdivisions	Medinipur Sadar, Jhargram, Kharagpur, Ghatal, Tamluk, Haldia, Egra, Contai
• CD Blocks	Midnapore Sadar, Garhbeta I, Garhbeta II, Garhbeta III, Keshpur, Salboni, Jhargram, Jamboni, Binpur I, Binpur II, Gopiballavpur I, Gopiballavpur II, Sankrail, Nayagram, Dantan I, Dantan II, Pingla, Kharagpur I, Kharagpur II, Sabang, Mohanpur, Narayangarh, Keshiari, Debra, Chandrakona I, Chandrakona II, Daspur I, Daspur II, Ghatal, Nandakumar, Moyna, Tamluk, Sahid Matangini, Panskura I, Panskura II, Chandipur, Mahishadal, Nandigram I, Nandigram II, Sutahata, Haldia, Bhagabanpur I, Bhagabanpur II, Egra I, Egra II, Patashpur I, Patashpur II, Contai I, Contai II, Contai III, Khejuri I, Khejuri II, Ramnagar I, Ramnagar II
• Lok Sabha constituencies	Medinipur, Ghatal, Jhargram, Kanthi, Tamluk, Arambagh
• Vidhan Sabha constituencies	Dantan, Keshiary, Kharagpur Sadar, Narayangarh, Sabang, Pingla, Kharagpur, Debra, Daspur, Ghatal, Chandrakona, Garbeta, Salboni, Keshpur, Medinipur, Jhargram, Gopiballavpur, Nayagram, Binpur, Tamluk, Panskura Purba, Panskura Paschim, Moyna, Nandakumar, Mahishadal, Haldia, Nandigram, Chandipur, Patashpur, Kanthi Uttar, Bhagabanpur, Khejuri, Kanthi Dakshin, Egra , Ramnagar
Area
• Total	14,081 km2 (5,437 sq mi)
Population  (2001)
• Total	9,610,788
• Density	680/km2 (1,800/sq mi)
• Urban	983,905
Demographics
• Literacy	74.90 per cent
• Sex ratio	955 ♂/♀
Languages
• Official	Bengali[1][2]
• Additional official	English[1]
Time zone	UTC+05:30 (IST)
Website	www.midnapore.gov.in

Midnapore (Pron: mad̪aːniːpur), or sometimes Medinipur, is a former district in the Indian state of West Bengal, headquartered in Midnapore. On 1 January 2002, the district was bifurcated into two separate districts namely Purba Medinipur and Paschim Medinipur. It was the largest district of West Bengal by area and population at the time of bifurcation.^[3]

There are conflicting accounts of how the name Medinipur came to be. One account claims that Medinipur was named after a local deity "Medinimata" (literally "mother of the world", a Shakti incarnation). According to Sri Hari Sadhan Das, the district got its name from "Medinikar", the founder of the city in 1238, who was the son of "Prankara", the feudal king of "Gondichadesh". He was also the writer of "Medinikosh". Hara Prasad Shastri thinks that the city Medinikar established it around the time he wrote the book (1200-1431). He is said to have built the fort called "Kornelgola" situated in the city.^[4][5]

In ancient times the region seems to be highly influenced by Jainism and Buddhism. The kingdom of Shashanka and Harshavardhana also included part of undivided Midnapore in their kingdom. However, the most significant archaeological site in the region is the bustling port of Tamralipta near present-day Tamluk, a site noted in the travelogues of Faxian and Xuanzang. Later Chaitanya passed through the area on his way from Puri to Varanasi as documented in the Chaitanya Charitamrita. After the fall of last independent Hindu dynasty of Kalinga-Utkala, Gajapati Mukunda Deva in the 16th century, this region came under one of the five Sarkars of Mughalbandi Odisha i.e. Jaleswar Sarkar which was ruled by the Subehdar of Odisha. The north boundary of Jaleswar was Tamluk and south was Soro and Dhalbhumgarh in the west to the Bay of Bengal in the east. Bahadur Khan was the ruler of Jaleswar Sarkar or Hijli (including Midnapore) during the time of Shah Jehan. He was defeated by Shah Shuja, the second son of Shah Jehan, then the subahdar of Bengal.^[4][5][6][7]

During the era of the Muslim rulers of Bengal nawab, Alivardi Khan's general Mir Jafar fought successfully against Mir Habib's lieutenant Sayyid Nur near Midnapore in 1746. This was part of his campaign to regain Odisha and thwart the Maratha attacks on Bengal. Mir Habib came up from Balasore and was joined by the Marathas, but Mir Jafar fled to Burdwan, leaving Mir Habib to retake Midnapore with ease. Alivardi Khan defeated Janoji Bhosle, a Maratha chieftain, in a severely contested battle near Burdwan in 1747 and Janoji fled to Midnapore. The Marathas held on to Odisha including Midnapore until 1749 when it was reconquered by Alivardi Khan. The Marathas continued to raid Midnapore, which proved disastrous for the residents.^[4][5][6][7]

In 1756, Alivardi Khan died and his successor was Siraj-ud-daulah. On 20 June 1757, he was betrayed by Mir Jafar to the East India Company under the command of Lord Robert Clive at Plassey. This consolidated the company's hold on Bengal and Odisha (along with Midnapore). The district of Midnapore which included Dhalbhum or Ghatshila, now in Singhbhum, Jharkhand was annexed in 1760 along with Burdwan and Chittagong both handed over to the East India Company by Mir Qasim. The last free king of Dhalbhum was imprisoned in Midnapore.^[4][5][6][7]

Some of the Malla kings of Mallabhum in the Bankura district held land in northern Midnapore district, while the Raj rules of Narajole, Jhargram, Lalgarh, Jamboni, and Chandrakona held sway in their local areas. The Raj rulers in Rajasthan would pay homage to Jagannath but carves out their own territories under the supremacy of the Hindu empires of Odisha. The Mallick Zamindars also ruled over an extensively large area during the British rule. They also built the Jagannath Temple of Midnapore.^[8]

Midnapore district was bifurcated into two districts, Purba Medinipur and Paschim Medinipur, on 1 January 2002.^[9]

• Partition of Midnapore

• Media related to Midnapore district at Wikimedia Commons

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