Arsha Block is a Community Development Block under Purulia Sadar Sub-division of Purulia District in the state of West Bengal. Arsha Block is part of 35, Purulia Parliamentary Constituency and comes under 239-Balarampur AC, 240-Bagmundi AC & 241-Joypur AC respectively.


Arsha Development Block has a structured local governance system designed to manage administrative functions efficiently. Here’s how it is organized:

  • Block Development Office (BDO): The administrative headquarters for Arsha Block is located in Sirkabad, where government services are coordinated.
  • Panchayat Samity: At the block level, there is one panchayat samity, which oversees multiple gram panchayats and coordinates development activities.
  • Gram Panchayats: The block consists of eight gram panchayats—Arsha, Beldih, Chatuhansa, Hensla, Hetgugui, Mankiary, Puara, and Sirkabad. These serve as the primary governing bodies at the village level.
  • Village Councils: There are 101 gram sansads (village councils) that work under the gram panchayats to address local needs.
  • Mouzas & Villages: The block comprises 96 mouzas and 95 inhabited villages, each contributing to the governance structure.

Law enforcement is managed by Arsha Police Station, ensuring governance is supported by security and order.

History

The Jaina Bhagavati-Sutra of the 5th century AD mentions that Purulia was one of the sixteen mahajanapadas and was a part of the kingdom known as Vajra-bhumi in ancient times. In 1833, the Manbhum district was carved out of the Jungle Mahals district, with headquarters at Manbazar. In 1838, the headquarters was transferred to Purulia. After independence, when Manbhum district was a part of Bihar, efforts were made to impose Hindi on the Bengali-speaking majority of the district and it led to the Bengali Language Movement (Manbhum). In 1956, the Manbhum district was partitioned between Bihar and West Bengal under the States Reorganization Act and the Bihar and West Bengal (Transfer of Territories) Act 1956.


Souce: Wikipedia

Geography

Arsha is located at 23°19′52.0″N 86°10′20.3″E. The Arsha CD block is bounded by the Joypur block on a part of the north, the Purulia-I block on a part of the north and on the east, the Barabazar, Balarampur and Baghmundi blocks on the south, and the Jhalda II block on the west.

The Arsha block is located in the central part of the district. The Kangsabati River forms the boundary between the Arsha and Joypur and Purulia I blocks. The upper Kangsabati basin has undulating land and the elevation rises from 200 to 300 m and the general slope is from west to east and south-east.

The Arsha block has an area of 375.04 Km2. It has 01 panchayat samity, 08 gram panchayats, 101 gram sansads (village councils), 96 mouzas and 95 inhabited villages. Arsha police station serves this block. The Block Development Office (BDO) for Arsha Development Block is located in Sirkabad, West Bengal. It serves as an administrative center for the block and provides various services to the local community.

Gram panchayats in the Arsha block/panchayat samiti are: Arsha, Beldih, Chatuhansa, Hensla, Hetgugui, Mankiary, Puara and Sirkabad.


Souce: Wikipedia

Language & Religion

In the 2001 census, Bengali was the mother tongue for 76.6% of the population of the district, followed by Santali 11.4%, Kurmali Thar 7.7%, Hindi 1.9%, Urdu 1.1%, Khortha/ Khotta 0.3%, Telugu 0.2%, Odia 0.1%, Mundari 0.1% and other languages 0.4%.

The West Bengal Official Language (Second Amendment) Bill, 2012, included Hindi, Santhali, Odiya and Punjabi as official languages if it is spoken by a population exceeding 10 per cent of the whole in a particular block or sub-division or a district. Subsequently, Kamtapuri, Rajbanshi and Kurmali were also included in the list of minority languages by the West Bengal Official Language (Second Amendment) Bill, 2018. However, as of 2020, there is no official / other reliable information about the areas covered.

Along the western borders of the district the local Bengali dialect spoken in the area often merges with the Magahi dialects such as Kurmali, Khotta and Khottahi or even Khotta Bangla. There is a tribal presence in many of the CD blocks of the district. The Santali was spoken by around 14% of the population of the earlier Manbhum district. Some people also speak the Mundari or Kolarian languages such as Kurmali, Mundari and the languages of the Bhumij or Mahli communities. However, the small number of people speaking some of these languages, particularly the Bhumijes, gave rise to doubts that many tribals have been recording Bengali as their language in different censuses, although they still speak their languages among themselves.

In the 2011 census Hindus numbered 119,561 and formed 77.27% of the population in the Arsha CD block. Muslims numbered 10,344 and formed 6.68% of the population. Christians numbered 495 and formed 0.32% of the population. Others numbered 24,336 and formed 15.73% of the population. Others include Christian, Addi Bassi, Marang Boro, Santal, Saranath, Sari Dharma, Sarna, Alchchi, Bidin, Sant, Saevdharm, Seran, Saran, Sarin, Kheria, and other religious communities.


Souce: Wikipedia