Maldah district is a district of West Bengal state with its administrative headquarters located at English bazaar, also known as Maldah. During the Gour era, the Pala empire came out of the emergence of Sen Dynasty. The Sen rulers were quite orthodox Hindus and it was their nature to move from place to place within their kingdom. In this way the Sen kings occupied Bengal till Bakhtiyar Khalji conquered Bengal in 1204 AD. After that the Muslim rule was started. The prominent rulers of the medieval era were Sultan Ilyas Shah, Firuz Shah, Sikandar Shah, Raja Ganesha, Alauddin Hussain Shah and Nasiruddin Nasrat Shah. Some monument of Muslim structures of that age are still present here such as Firuz minar, Adina Mosque, Qutwali gate, etc. In the year 1757 the British rule was started in the district. At that time some English traders were settled on thesouthern bank of theMahananda River. Thefar-off areas ofPurnia,DinajpurandRajshahi districts formed this district in 1813. When there was Dr. B. Hamilton (1808-09) in this region, the current thanes ofGazole, Maldah,Bamongolaand Habibpur were under the Dinajpur district and the thanas of Harischandrapur, Kharba, Ratua, Manikchak, and Kaliachak were under the Purnia district. In this way slowly and gradually the Maldah district was formed. The district was the partofRajshahi division till 1876 but it was shifted under Bhagalpur division in between 1876 and 1905. Whereas, in 1905 the district was again came under the Rajshahi division till 1947.At the time ofPartition of Bengal in 1905, this district was attached with the newly created province of Eastern Bengal and Assam. On 17^th August, 1947, the district was included in the West Bengal state.

A. B.A.Ghani Khan Choudhury or Abu Barkat Ataur Ghani Khan Choudhury, a distinguished politician of West Bengal state and a senior leader of Indian National Congress party was born on 1^st November, 1927 in Malda. He was served as the formerRailway Minister of India for a very short period. He was also elected as the Member of Parliament for many times i.e. in 1980, 1984, 1989, 1991, 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2004 from the Maldah constituency.

Geographically, the district lies at 25°01'N latitude, 88°14'E longitude and 17 m Altitude. In the year 2021, there was a total 13.10% forest area of total geographical area. The district occupies a geographical area of 3,733 sq km. and it is bounded by Uttar Dinajpur district on the north, Murshidabad district on the south, Dakshin Dinajpur district and Bangladesh on the east and Santal Parganas district of Jharkhand on the west. The climate of the district remains pleasant throughout the year. Most of its rainfall occurs in the monsoon season. The actual rainfall in the district was 1391.7 mm in the year of 2021-22.

Administration wise, the district is divided into 2 sud-divisions namely Chanchal and Maldah Sadar. There are 2 Lok Sabha and 12 Assembly constituencies in the district. Moreover, the district comprises 29 towns and 1771 villages. The administrative language in the district is Bangali.

According to 2011 census the district has a population of 39,88,845 out of which 20,51,541 are males and 19,37,304 are females. The district has a sex ratio of 944 females for every 1000 males. During the year 2001-2011 the population growth rate in the district was 21.22% including 21.44% were males and 21.00% were females. As per 2011 census the major religions in the district are Muslim and Hindu with 51.27% and 47.99% of the total population. The population density in the district is 1,069 (persons per sq. km.). According to 2011 census the principal language in the district is Bengali with 91.04%. In the year 2020 the number of live births in the district was 1,05,990 out of which 54,322 were males and 51,668 were females. In the same year the number of deaths in the district was 24,717 out of which 15,091 were males and 9,626 were females.

The economy of the district is basically based on agriculture. Some chief agricultural products in the district are rice, jute, wheat, mango, etc. In term of industries, the district is not well developed. Some of its foremost industries are cotton industries, silk industries, jute products, pisciculture, etc which contributes in its economy to a great extent. In 2006 theMinistry of Panchayati Raj declared Maldah as one of the country's 250most backward districts and currently receiving funds from theBackward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF). In the year 2013-14 the gross domestic product in the district was Rs. 23,83,596 lakh at Current Price and Rs. 12,02,394 lakh at Constant Prices in the year 2004-2005. The Net Domestic Product in thedistrict during the period 2013-14 was Rs. 22,14,710 lakh at Current Price and Rs. 11,04,797 lakh at Constant Prices in the year 2004-2005. The Per Capita Income or NDDP, At Factor Cost in the district during the period 2013-14 was Rs. 50,942 at Current Price and Rs. 25,412 at Constant Prices during the year 2004-2005.

Maldah is not an educationally developed district of West Bengal. Maldah Zilla School of Maldah, established in 1858 is the oldest school in the town as well as in West Bengal. Maldah College, affiliated to theNorth Bengal University was one of the renowned colleges in the district. As per 2011 census the literacy rate in the district is 61.73% out of which 66.24% are males and 56.96% are females. The total number of literates in the district is20,86,432 out of which 11,52,019 are males and 9,34,413 are females.

Sabitri Mitra, an illustrious Indian politician and the present council of minister of West Bengal was born in 1960 in Maldah. She was also served as the Minister for Women & Child Development and Social Welfare (May 20, 2011-May 2014) in theGovernment of West Bengal. She is a member of All India Trinamool Congress party. Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury, an eminent politician of All India Trinamool Congress party and the present council of minister of West Bengal government with the portfolio of Food Processing and Horticulture was born on 17^th August, 1958 in Maldah.

Every year travellers from far distance place cometo this place to enjoy its numerous centres of attraction. Gour, a place situated at a distance of 16 km. on the south side of Malda town which has many historical structures. Baroduarimosque, the largest monument in Gour has actually eleven doors whereas its name means twelve doors. The mosque was started by Allauddin Hussein Shah but it was completed byhis son Nasiruddin Nusrat Shah in 1526. Dakhil Darwaza is a marvellous gateway built in1425 and it is made of small red bricks and terracotta work. Firoz minar, situated a km from Dakhil Darwaza was built by Sultan Saifuddin Feroze Shah during 1485-89.It is a five-storey tower which resembles the Qutb Minar. Some other wonderful historical monuments at Gour in the district are Chamkati Masjid, Chika Mosque, Luko Churi Gate, Kadam Rasul Mosque, Lattan Mosque, Kotwali Darwaja,etc. Adina is a place located 15 km. on the north sideof Maldah town. Adina Masjid,builtbySultanSikander Shah in 1369isthe identity of this place. Eklakhi Mausoleumis the most elegant monument in Pandua in the district and the first square brick tombs in West Bengal.