Birbhum district

Birbhum district (Bengali: বীরভূম জেলা) (Pron: biːrbʰuːm) is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the northernmost district of Burdwan division—one of the three administrative divisions of West Bengal. The district headquarters is located at Suri.Jamtara, Dumka and Pakur districts of the state of Jharkhand lie at the western border of this district, whereas the border in other directions is covered by the districts of Bardhaman and Murshidabad of West Bengal.

Often called "The land of red soil", Birbhum is noted for its topography and its cultural heritage which is unique and is somewhat different from that of the other districts in West Bengal. The western part of Birbhum is a bushy region, a part of the Chhota Nagpur Plateau. This region gradually merges with the fertile alluvial farmlands in the east. This district saw many cultural and religious movements in history. The Visva Bharati University at Santiniketan, established by Rabindranath Tagore, is one of the places Birbhum is internationally renowned for. Many festivals are celebrated in this culturally rich district, including the notable Poush Mela. Birbhum is primarily an agricultural district with around 75% of the population being dependent on agriculture. Principal industries of the district include cotton and silk harvesting and weaving, rice and oilseed milling, lac harvesting, stone mining and metalware and pottery manufacture.Bakreshwar Thermal Power Station is the only heavy industry in the district.

Birbhum (Lok Sabha constituency)

Birbhum (Lok Sabha constituency) (Bengali: বীরভুম লোকসভা কেন্দ্র) is one of the 543 parliamentary constituencies in India. The constituency centres on the western part of Birbhum district in West Bengal. All the seven assembly segments of No. 42 Birbhum (Lok Sabha constituency) are in Birbhum district. The seat was reserved for scheduled castes from 1962 to 2004, but was declared a free seat from 2009 general elections.

Assembly segments

As per order of the Delimitation Commission issued in 2006 in respect of the delimitation of constituencies in the West Bengal, parliamentary constituency no. 42 Birbhum is composed of the following assembly segments from 2009:

Prior to delimitation, Birbhum Lok Sabha constituency was composed of the following assembly segments:Rajnagar (SC) (assembly constituency no. 287), Suri (assembly constituency no. 288), Mahammad Bazar (assembly constituency no. 289), Rampurhat (assembly constituency no. 291), Hansan (SC) (assembly constituency no. 292), Nalhati (assembly constituency no. 293) and Murarai (assembly constituency no. 294).