Radhakantapur is a village in the

Daspur I Daspur I is a community development block that forms an administrative division in Ghatal subdivision of Paschim Medinipur district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography In Daspur I CD block, the area is a flat deltaic country intersect ...

CD block In India, a Community development block (CD block) or simply Block is a sub-division of Tehsil, administratively earmarked for planning and development. The area is administered by a Block Development Officer (BDO), supported by several technic ...

in the Ghatal subdivision of the

Paschim Medinipur district Paschim Medinipur district or West Midnapore district (also known as Midnapore West) is one of the districts of the state of West Bengal, India. It was formed on 1 January 2002 after the Partition of Midnapore into Paschim Medinipur and Purba ...

in the state of

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the four ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

Geography

Location

Radhakantapur is located at .

Area overview

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar CIE ( bn, ঈশ্বর চন্দ্র বিদ্যাসাগর; 26 September 1820 – 29 July 1891), born Ishwar Chandra Bandyopadhyay, was an Indian educator and social reformer of the nineteenth century. ...

, scholar, social reformer and a key figure of the

Bengal Renaissance Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

, was born at

Birsingha Birsingha is a large village located in Ghatal Block of Paschim Medinipur district, West Bengal. ''Birsingha'' village is famous for the birthplace of the great Bengali social reformer and the author of ''Varna Parichay'' Pandit Ishwar Chand ...

on 26 September 1820. Ghatal subdivision, shown in the map alongside, has

alluvial Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Al ...

soils. Around 85% of the total cultivated area is cropped more than once. It has a density of population of 1,099 per km², but being a small subdivision only a little over a fifth of the people in the district reside in this subdivision. 14.33% of the population lives in urban areas and 86.67% lives in the rural areas. Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the subdivision. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.

Demographics

According to the 2011 Census of India, Radhakantapur had a total population of 2,473, of which 1,242 (50%) were males and 1,231 (50%) were females. There were 281 persons in the age range of 0–6 years. The total number of literate persons in Radhakantapur was 1,749 (79.79% of the population over 6 years).

Education

Radhakantapur High School is a Bengali-medium coeducational institution established in 1966. The school has facilities for teaching from class V to class XII. It has a library with 612 books, 1 computer and a playground.

Culture

David J. McCutchion classifies the Gopinath (mentioned as Panchananda) temple as an '' ek-ratna'' of the smaller Daspur type, measuring 22’ x 28’, with rich terracotta façade. He classifies the Dadhibamna temple (name not mentioned, only place mentioned) as a richly decorated ''pancha-ratna'' with smooth rekha turrets.McCutchion, David J., ''Late Mediaeval Temples of Bengal'', first published 1972, reprinted 2017, pages 43, 49. The Asiatic Society, Kolkata, The Gopinath temple is a state protected monument.List of State Protected Monuments as reported by the Archaeological Survey of India
.

Radhakantapur picture gallery

File:Ek Ratna Gopinath Temple at Radhakantapur under Daspur Police Station at Paschim Medinipur district in West Bengal 30.jpg, ''Ek-ratna'' Gopinath temple, established in 1844 and owned by the Das family File:Ek Ratna Gopinath Temple at Radhakantapur under Daspur Police Station at Paschim Medinipur district in West Bengal 03.jpg, Terracotta panel File:Ek Ratna Gopinath Temple at Radhakantapur under Daspur Police Station at Paschim Medinipur district in West Bengal 10.jpg, Terracotta relief File:Pancha Ratna Dadhi Bamna temple of Radhakantapur under Daspur Police Station at Paschim Medinipur district in West Bengal 05.jpg, ''Pancha-ratna'' Dadhi Bamna temple, established in 1770 and owned by the Bose family. File:Pancha Ratna Dadhi Bamna temple of Radhakantapur under Daspur Police Station at Paschim Medinipur district in West Bengal 01.jpg, Not much terracotta remains in the Dadhi Bamna temple. This picture shows some stucco decoration.

References

External links

{{Temple towns in West Bengal Villages in Paschim Medinipur district