| Nadia | |
| Settlement Type: | District |
| Total Type: | Total |
| Mapsize: | 300 |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  India |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | West Bengal |
| Subdivision Type2: | Division |
| Subdivision Name2: | Presidency |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Seat Type: | Headquarters |
| Seat: | Krishnanagar |
| Parts Type: | Tehsils |
| Parts Style: | para |
| Area Total Km2: | 3927 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Total: | 5,167,600 |
| Population Urban: | 1438873 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Demographics |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Literacy |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 75.58 per cent[1] |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Sex ratio |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 947 |
| Leader Title1: | Lok Sabha constituencies |
| Leader Name1: | Krishnanagar, Ranaghat Some of area covered with Bangaon, North part is in Murshidabad Lok Shaba. |
| Leader Title2: | Vidhan Sabha constituencies |
| Leader Name2: | Karimpur, Tehatta, Palashipara, Kaliganj, Nakashipara, Chapra, Krishnanagar Uttar, Nabadwip, Krishnanagar Dakshin, Santipur, Ranaghat Uttar Paschim, Krishnaganj, Ranaghat Uttar Purba, Ranaghat Dakshin, Chakdaha, Kalyani, Haringhata |
| Timezone1: | IST |
| Utc Offset1: | +05:30 |
| Blank Name Sec1: | Major highways |
| Blank Info Sec1: | NH 12, State Highway 8, State Highway 11, State Highway 14 |
Nadia (pronounced as /nɔd̪iːaː/) is a district in the state of West Bengal, India. It borders Bangladesh to the east, North 24 Parganas and Hooghly districts to the south, Purba Bardhaman to the west, and Murshidabad to the north.
Nadia district is highly influential in the cultural history of Bengal. The standard version of Bengali, developed in the 19th century, is based on the dialect spoken around Shantipur region of Nadia. Known as the "Oxford of Bengal", Nabadwip made many contributions to Indian philosophy, such as the Navya-Nyaya system of logic, and is the birthplace of the Vaishnava saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The district is still largely agricultural.
"Nadia" is a shortened name for a historic city in the district. Nabadwip, literally "new island", was formerly an island created by alluvial deposits of the Ganga.
Nadia district is located in southern West Bengal, in the west-central Bengal region. The district is largely alluvial plain, formed by the constant shifting of the various rivers of the Ganges Delta. To the west of the district is the Bhagirathi (or Hooghly) river, which was once the main distributary of the Ganga towards the Bay of Bengal, and is still considered to be the continuation of the Ganga for Hindus. As the main flow of the Ganga flowed east into the Padma, the Bhagirathi largely dried up. Most of the rivers now flowing through Nadia now have little water in them. Nearly all the district has been converted into farmland.
Nadia district is home to many rivers. The Padma, now the main distributary of the Ganga, touches the district on its northeastern end.
The Jalangi, which flows from Murshidabad district, forms much of the northwestern border of the district with Murshidabad, before flowing south into Nadia district. Around Krishnanagar, it turns west and flows into the Bhagirathi near Nabadwip.
The Mathabhanga originates in the far northeast of the district and forms part of the border with Bangladesh. It then flows into Bangladesh until it, again forming part of the border, reenters the district at Gede. At Maijdia, it splits into the Churni and Ichamati. The Churni flows southwest and merges with the Bhagirathi at Shibpur near Ranaghat. The Ichamati flows into Bangladesh near Mubarakpur and reenters India near Duttaphulia. It then flows south into North 24 Parganas district.
Nabadwip, an ancient town within Nadia district, is often referred to as the “Oxford of Bengal".[2] One of the Indian schools of logic (Tarka sastra) called Navya Nyaya system was developed in Nabadwip, which produced great logicians in the 15th century. Nabadwip was an important seat of political power and the capital of Bengal under Ballal Sen and later Lakshman Sen, kings of the Sena Empire, who ruled from 1159 to 1206.[3] In 1202, Nabadwip was captured by Bakhtiyar Khilji. This victory paved the way for Muslim rule in Bengal.[4] The British defeated Siraj ud-Daulah, Nawab of Bengal, at Palashi in this district. The 1859 revolt against European Indigo planters started from the village of Chaugacha in Krishnanagar, Nadia.[5] Nadia is thought to have had trade relations with Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan.[6]
Pre-independence Nadia had five subdivisions: Krishnagar sadar, Ranaghat, Kushtia, Meherpur and Chuadanga. Due to some cartographic error in 1947, large part of Nadia except Nabadwip initially were included into East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) due to it being a Muslim majority district in the 1941 census of British India. Due to protests rectification was made and on the night of August 17, 1947, Ranaghat, Krishnanagar, Shikarpur in Karimpur and Plassey were placed in India. Since then some parts of this district have been celebrating Independence day on August 17 and August 18.[7] [8] [9]
Nadia district is also historically significant as the birthplace of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, a revered figure in Hinduism. He was born in Nabadwip, a town in the Nadia district, on the full moon night of 18 February 1486. Known as Gauranga for his molten gold-like complexion, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is considered an avatar of Lord Krishna by his followers. He founded Gaudiya Vaishnavism and popularized the chanting of the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra. His birthplace, known as Yogpeeth in Mayapur, is a major pilgrimage site for devotees.
The District of Nadia has its headquarter at Krishnanagar town. The British district of Nadia was formed in 1787. The present district of Nadia after partition was formed by Notification No.545-GA dated 23 February 1948. The District Administration is headed by the District Magistrate & District Collector, Nadia.
The district comprises four subdivisions: Krishnanagar Sadar, Kalyani, Ranaghat and Tehatta.[10] Krishnanagar is the district headquarters. There are 19 police stations, 2 women's and 1 cyber crime police stations, 18 community development blocks, 11 municipalities, 187 gram panchayats (3114 sets) and 2639 villages in this district.[11]
Other than municipality area, each subdivision contains community development blocks which in turn are divided into rural areas and census towns. In total there are 26 urban units: 9 municipalities and 15 census towns and two notified areas.[12] Ranaghat, Aistala, Satigachha, Nasra and Cooper's Camp together forms Ranaghat urban agglomeration. Nabadwip, Char Maijdia and Char Brahmanagar forms Nabadwip UA. Chakdaha, Gopalpur and Parbbatipur forms Chakdaha UA. Krishnanagar and Badkulla together forms Krishnanagar UA. Birnagar, Phulia and Taherpur together forms Birnagar UA.
The district is divided into 17 assembly constituencies, which are part of four Lok Sabha constituencies.[13]
| S No. | Constituency Name | Lok Sabha Constituency | MLA | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 77 | Murshidabad | Bimalendu Sinha Roy | |||
| 78 | Krishnanagar | Tapas Kumar Saha | |||
| 79 | Manik Bhattacharya | ||||
| 80 | Nasiruddin Ahamed | ||||
| 81 | Kallol Khan | ||||
| 82 | Rukbanur Rahman | ||||
| 83 | Krishnanagar Uttar | Mukul Roy | |||
| 84 | Pundarikakshya Saha | ||||
| 85 | Krishnanagar Dakshin | Krishnanagar | Ujjal Biswas | ||
| 86 | Santipur | Ranaghat (SC) | Braja Kishore Goswami | ||
| 87 | Ranaghat Uttar Paschim | Parthasarathi Chatterjee | |||
| 88 | Krishnaganj (SC) | Ashis Kumar Biswas | |||
| 89 | Ranaghat Uttar Purba (SC) | Ashim Biswas | |||
| 90 | Ranaghat Dakshin (SC) | Mukut Mani Adhikari | |||
| 91 | Bankim Chandra Ghosh | ||||
| 92 | Kalyani (SC) | Bangaon (SC) | Ambika Roy | ||
| 93 | Haringhata (SC) | Asim Kumar Sarkar | |||
According to the 2011 census Nadia district has a population of 5,167,600,[14] roughly equal to the US state of Colorado.[15] This gives it a ranking of 18th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of 1316PD/sqkm . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 12.24%. Nadia has a sex ratio of 947 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 75.58%. 27.84% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 29.93% and 2.72% of the population respectively. Bengali is the predominant language, spoken by 98.02% of the population.[16]
See also: List of West Bengal districts ranked by literacy rate.
| 430,704 | 61.26% | 1,382,682 | 26.01% | ||
| 392,225 | 36.68% | 3,790,482 | 73.15% | ||
| Tribal religion | 10,332 | 1.23% | 16,893 | 0.33% | |
| 6,632 | 0.79% | 33,835 | 0.65% | ||
| Others | 410 | 0.05% | 5,708 | 0.11% | |
| Total Population | 840,303 | 100% | 5,167,600 | 100% |
Over 90% of Muslims live in rural areas. Muslims are majority in Karimpur II (56.38%), Kaliganj (56.51%), Nakashipara (50.06%), and Chapra (47.00%) CD blocks. Muslims are a significant minority in Tehatta II (47.89%), Krishnanagar II (42.84%), and Nabadwip (35.20%).
| CD Block | Hindu % | Muslim % | Other % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karimpur I | 67.77 | 31.95 | 0.28 | |
| Karimpur II | 44.51 | 56.38 | 0.11 | |
| Tehatta I | 68.95 | 29.21 | 1.84 | |
| Tehatta II | 52.00 | 47.89 | 0.11 | |
| Kaliganj | 43.36 | 56.51 | 0.13 | |
| Nakashipara | 49.53 | 50.06 | 0.41 | |
| Chapra | 46.50 | 47.00 | 3.13 | |
| Krishnanagar I | 82.78 | 15.25 | 0.14 | |
| Krishnanagar II | 57.02 | 42.84 | 0.41 | |
| Nabadwip | 64.39 | 35.20 | 1.97 | |
| Krishnaganj | 93.98 | 5.86 | 0.16 | |
| Hanskhali | 87.98 | 11.39 | 0.63 | |
| Santipur | 86.45 | 11.85 | 1.7 | |
| Ranaghat I | 93.82 | 5.67 | 0.51 | |
| Ranaghat II | 85.65 | 12.59 | 1.76 | |
| Chakdaha | 83.66 | 14.65 | 1.69 | |
| Haringhata | 73.09 | 26.19 | 0.72 | |
| Area not under any sub-district | 93.32 | 5.50 | 1.18 |
In 1980, Nadia district became home to the Bethuadahari Wildlife Sanctuary, which has an area of 0.7abbr=onNaNabbr=on.[19]
