Raina II (also spelled Rayna and called Rainagar) is an administrative division in Bardhaman Sadar South subdivision

Bardhaman Sadar South subdivision

Bardhaman Sadar South subdivision is a subdivision of the Bardhaman district in the state of West Bengal, India. It consists of Memari municipality and six community development blocks: Khandaghosh, Jamalpur, Memari–I, Memari –II, Raina–I and Raina–II. The six blocks...

 of Bardhaman district

Bardhaman District

'Bardhaman district is a district in West Bengal. The headquarter of the district is Bardhaman, though it houses other important industrial towns like Durgapur and Asansol...

 in the India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n state

States and territories of India

India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...

 of West Bengal

West Bengal

West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...

. Madhabdihi police stations serve this block. Headquarters of this block is at Madhabdihi.

Geography

Madhabdihi is located at 23.0136910°N 87.8626170°E.

Raina II community development block

Community Development Block in India

The Community development block is a rural area earmarked for administration and development in India. The area is administered by a Block Development Officer...

 has an area of 222.40  km².

Unlike the rest of Bardhaman district, which lies to the north of the Damodar River

Damodar River

Damodar River originates near Chandwa village, Palamau district, on the Chota Nagpur Plateau in the Jharkhand state in eastern India, and flows eastward for about 592 km through the states of Jharkhand and West Bengal to the estaury of the River Hooghly...

, the Khandaghosh-Jamalpur-Raina area lies on the alluvial plains between the Damodar on its southern/ eastern side and the Dwarakeswar River

Dwarakeswar River

Dwarakeswar River is a major river in the western part of West Bengal.-Course:It originates from Tilboni hill in Purulia district and enters Bankura district near Chhatna. It cuts across the district flowing past the district head quarters and enters the south-eastern tip of Bardhaman District...

. As a result, it has been a flood prone area.

It is from this area that the Mundeswari River

Mundeswari River

Mundeswari river is a small river in West Bengal which causes floods in Hooghly, Purba Medinipur and Howrah districts during the monsoons. Any discharge above 70,000 ft³/s downstream of Durgapur Barrage may cause flooding depending on the outfall condition of the Mundeswari at Harinkhola...

 originates. The small Ratnela khal also originates in the region and later flows in to the Ghia river in Hooghly district

Hooghly District

Hooghly district is one of the districts of the state of West Bengal in India. It can alternatively be spelt Hoogli or Hugli. The district is named after the Hooghly River.The headquarters of the district are at Chinsura...

.

There is a ferry ghat at Ekalki on the Dwarakeswar river.

Gram panchayats

Gram panchayat

Gram panchayat

Gram panchayats are local self-governments at the village or small town level in India. As of 2002 there were about 265,000 gram panchayats in India. The gram panchayat is the foundation of the Panchayat System. A gram panchayat can be set up in villages with minimum population of 300...

s of Raina II block/panchayat samiti

Panchayat samiti

Panchayat samiti is a local government body at the tehsil or Taluka level in India. It works for the villages of the Tehsil or Taluka that together are called a Development Block. The Panchayat Samiti is the link between the Gram Panchayat and the district administration. There are a number of...

 are: Arui, Barabainan, Gotan, Kaity, Pahalanpur, Painta I, Painta I, Painta II and Uchalan.

Movements

In 1933, independence activist Dasarathi Tah

Dasarathi Tah

Dasarathi Tah was a politician and journalist in the Indian state of West Bengal.-Early life:Dasarathi Tah did not have the benefit of any formal education and was a completely self-educated person...

 was involved in Swadeshi dacoities in Meral, Mirzapur and Bogra in the area.Damodar floods wrought havoc in the area and Dasarathi Tah initiated the ‘Nakrah hana embankment movement’ and even published a weekly newspaper named Damodar to focus on the problems faced by the people. In 1948, Raina witnessed the ‘Tebhaga movement’, where share croppers demanded a higher share of the crops they grew. The movement was led by Benoy Choudhury

Benoy Choudhury

Benoy Choudhury was a revolutionary freedom fighter and politician, belonging to the CPI, who played a major role in land reforms in the Indian state of West Bengal.-Early life:...

 and Bipadtaran Roy.

Demographics

As per 2001 census, Raina II block had a total population of 137,458, out of which 70,945 were males and 66,513 were females. Raina II block registered a population growth of 12.24 per cent during the 1991-2001 decade. Decadal growth for Bardhaman district was 14.36 per cent.Decadal growth in West Bengal was 17.84 per cent.

Scheduled castes at 55,329 formed more than one-third the population. Scheduled tribes numbered 5,644.

Literacy

As per 2001 census, Raina II block had a total literacy of 75.17 per cent for the 6+ age group. While male literacy was 84.18 per cent female literacy was 65.59 per cent. Bardhaman district had a total literacy of 70.18 per cent, male literacy being 78.63 per cent and female literacy being 60.95 per cent.

Education

The Raina area has not lagged behind in education. In 1838, a survey by Adams revealed that there were 190 Sanskrit tols in Bardhaman district. Out of this 13 were in Raina. The same report also mentioned Persian schools in the area.In 1947, at the time of independence there were only three colleges in Bardhaman district – at Bardhaman, Kalna and Asansol. Shyamsundar College at Raina was established in 1948.