Banka is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state, India. The district headquarter of Banka is situated in Banka town. The district has been established on February 21, 1991. Earlier it was the richest and largest Sub-Division of the district Bhagalpur.
Banka is the homeland of the revolutionary Satish Prasad Jha, one of seven martyrs who hoisted the flag of India at the Secretariat building near Patna on 11 August 1942. Jha was born in Kharhara near Dhakamod,.Bhubaneswar Mishra, a noted regional revolutionary from village Faga has contributed a lot in the freedom movement.He was sentenced life imprisonment for killing many cruel British forces. Banka has been an attractive destination for veteran socialists. Madhu Limaye represented the constituency twice. George Fernandis and Rajnarayan also contested the parliamentary election in this constituency. There were also a number of veteran leaders of the Indian National Congress: Vindhyavasini Devi, MLA ( 1957–1967), Shakuntala Devi ex M.P., ex chief minister of Bihar Chandrashekhar Singh, Chaturbhuj Singh Ex. M.L.A., ex Rajya Sabha MP Kamakhya Prasad Singh, ex MP Manorama Singh, and ex MLA Jai Prakash Mishra. Digvijay Singh (14 November 1955 – 24 June 2010) was an independent who represented Banka in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament. Banka played vital role in freedom of India.