On 1st April 1992, North Dinajpur was granted the status of a separate district of North Bengal by dividing the West Dinajpur district. The district is bounded by Bangladesh on the east; Bihar on the west; Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri on the North and Malda to the South. The rivers of Kulik, Nagar, and Mahananda flow through the district and provide great fertility to the soil; paddy, jute, and sugarcane are grown in large numbers here.
Raiganj and Islampur are the two main sub-divisions comprising mainly of Bengali speaking population while Islampur has a large number of Urdu and Hindi speaking people.
The NH-27 and NH-12 pass through the District. The name of the District originated from the name of king 'Danuj' and thereby Danaj and ultimately converted to Dinaj. So also the name of the district headquarter Raiganj comes from Rai crop. In the British period, the district was declared a disturbed area during the Khilafat Movement. The name of a place like Karnajora, Karandighi stems from the mythological character Karna. The district is constituted of Nine Blocks under Two Sub-Divisions namely Raiganj and Islampur. These comprise mainly of Bengali speaking population while Islampur has a large number of Urdu and Hindi speaking people.
Before the partition of Bengal, the district extended to areas that are currently under Bangladesh. Today a Dinajpur district exists in Bangladesh across the border as proof of the historical links between the two countries.
The total area of the district is 3142 sq km. The district headquarter is Raiganj. The district has 2 subdivisions, 9 blocks, and 4 municipalities. The total population of the district as per the 2011 census is 30,00,849. Hindus and Muslims are the major religious groups numbering almost equally in the district.
Tourist spots in North Dinajpur
• Sap-Nikla forest, located 22 km from Islampur where visitors can visit the lake and forest for sightseeing.
• Karnajora Museum and park
• Burhana Fakir’s Mosque
• Goddess Kali’s temple at Baira
• Malgaon and Kunore – Famous for terracotta work
• Goddess Bhairabi’s temple at Bindore
• Kunore- famous for terracotta pottery & Malgaon.
• Banabithi Resort at Barui, Barduari.
• Farm-House at Samaspur, Hemtaba
