Pachim Medinipur as a district of West Bengal was formed on 1^stJanuary, 2002 after the Partition of Midnapore into Paschim Medinipur andPurba Medinipur. Today, it is a part of red corridor.Pachim Medinipur lies on the south west side of West Bengal.In terms of area it is the largest district of the state. There are different stories associated with the fact that how the place got its name Pachim Medinipur. According to one account, the term Pachimmeans West whereas Medinipur was named after a local deity "Medinimata" literally meaning "mother of the world",aShakti incarnation. Once a number of historically significant sites of the West Midnapore district were excavated and it has been proved that in ancient times the region was highly influenced by Jainism and Buddhism. Moreover, the coins issued by Samudragupta have also been found in the nearby places of the district.At that time the kingdom of Shashanka and Harshavardhana were enclosed in the undivided Midnapore. However, the most important archaeological site in the area is the bustling port of Tamralipta located near to the present-day’s Tamluk, a site noted in the travelogues of Faxian and Xuanzang.In the 16^st century when the last independent Hindu dynasty of Kalinga-Utkala, Gajapati Mukunda Deva was declined then automatically this region went under one of the five Sarkars of Mughalbandi Odisha i.e. Jaleswar Sarkar, ruled by the Subehdar of Odisha. Bahadur Khan was the ruler of Jaleshwar Sarkar or Hijli (including Midnapore) during the period of Shah Jahan. Later,he was defeated by Shah Shuja, the second son of Shah Jahan, then the subshdar of Bengal. Pachim Medinipur is the land martyrs andfreedomfightersnamelyKhudiram,MatanginiHazra,ProdyatBhattacharyaand HemchandraKanongo.

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasayar, a famous IndianBengalipolymath and a chief figure of the Bengal Renaissance was born on 26^st September, 1820 at Birsingha Village of Paschim Medinipur. His original name was Ishwar Chandra Bandopadhyay but he received the title "Vidyasagar"(vidya means knowledge and sagar means ocean, i.e., Ocean of knowledge in Sanskrit language) fromSanskrit College, Calcutta because of his excellent performance in Sanskrit studies and philosophy.

Geographically, the district lies at 22°41'N latitude, 87°38'E longitude and 23 m Altitude.In the year 2021, there was a total 22.87% forest area of total geographical area. The district occupies an area of 9,368 sq. Km. and it is bordered by Bankura on the north, Jharkhand on the west, Hugli on the north east and Orissa on the west and Purba Medinipur on the east. The prime river of the district is Subarnarekha. The climate of the district is tropical. Most of its rainfall occurs in the monsoon season.The actual rainfall in the district was 2457.2 mm in the year of 2021-22.

Administrative wise, the district is divided into 4 sub-divisions namely Kharagpur, Medinipur Sadar, Ghatal and Jhargram. There are 29 tehsils in the district. Moreover, the district comprises 19 towns and 8,694 villages. The administrative language in the district is Bangali.

According to 2011 census the district has a population of 59,13,457 including 30,07,885 are males and 29,05,572 are females. The district has a sex ratio of 966 (females for every 1000 males). In the year 2001-2011 the population growth rate of the district was 26.19% out of which 26.01% were males and 26.38% were females. The population density in the district is 631 (persons per sq. km.). According to 2011 census the principal language in the district is Bengali with 85.25%. As per 2011 census the major religions in the district are Hindu and Muslim with 85.52% and 10.49% of the total population. In the year 2020 the number of live births in the district was 65,762 out of which 34,481 were males and 31,281 were females. In the same year the number of deaths in the district was 32,400 out of which 18,975 were males and 13,425 were females.

It is mainly an agriculture district that cultivates paddy, mulberry, mango, guava, lemon, cashew, banana and jackfruit. In 2006 theMinistry of Panchayati Raj announced Paschim Medinipur as one of the country's 250most backward districts(out of640 districts).It is one of the eleven districts in West Bengal which is currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF). In the year 2013-14 the Gross Domestic Product of the district was Rs. 39,15,934 lakh at Current Price and Rs. 18,93,011 lakh at Constant Prices in the year 2004-2005. The Net Domestic Product in the district during the period 2013-14 was Rs. 36,18,324 lakh at Current Price and Rs. 17,21,731 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. 57,952 at Current Price and Rs. 27,575 at Constant Prices in the year 2004-2005.

As per 2011 census the literacy rate of thedistrict is 78% including 85.26% are males and 70.5% are females. The total number of literatesinthedistrictis 40,78,412 including 22,66,913 are males and 18,11,499 are females.The district has numerous reputed colleges and some of these are Belda College, Chandrakona Vidyasagar Mahavidyalaya, DebraThana Sahid Kshudiram Smiriti Mahavidyalaya, Ghatal Rabindra Satbarsiki Mahavidyalaya,India Institute of Technology, etc.

Thesetsof tourist placesof the district allures a huge number of travellers from far distance place every year. Pathrais a village of Medinipur town.The terracotta temples of this village are very famous. These temples are 32 in number. It is an interesting place for the historians and the heritagelovers. Malancha is situated in the north western partof the Kharagpur. DakhinaKali Mandir of this place draws many tourists from allover the world. Jhargram is a place full of natural sceneries and greenery. The Jhargram Palace with its beautiful garden is the centre of attraction of this place. Jungle Mahal, 10 k.m. from Jhargram station is noted for its floriculture. Chilkigarh is a place14 km. from Jhargram.The palace of Jamboni rulers is the identity of this place and their fort and a dearest river called ‘Dulung’ are also popular. Kankrajhorisa mesmerising hilly spot located in the north western portion of the Jhargram sub-division.