sex ratio of 954 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 70.95%. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes made up 32.7% and 10.3% of the population respectively. In the 2001 census, Bankura district had a total population of 3,191,822 of which 1,634,561 were males and 1,557,261 were females. Decadal growth for the period 1991-2001 was 13.79% in Bankura district against 17.84% in West Bengal. The urban population was 235,264 against a rural population of 2,956,558. The district had a density of population of 464 persons per km2. Bankura had a literacy rate of 63.84 per cent. The first census was taken in 1872. The district as now constituted had a population of 968,597. In the 1901 census, 90.7 per cent of the population spoke a dialect of Bengali known as Rarhi Boli, which was also spoken in the adjoining districts. Santali was spoken by about 9 per cent of the population. 87.4 per cent of the population were Hindus, 8 per cent were Animists and 5.6 per cent were Muslims. Religion Hinduism is the predominant religion, and makes up nearly the entire population in urban areas. Islam is almost entirely to be found in rural areas, as are tribal religions. Muslims are most concentrated in the east of the district bordering Bardhaman and Hooghly districts, while tribal religions are largely in the south west, and form significant minorities in Ranibundh (39.44%) and Raipur (27.66%) CD blocks. Language According to the 2011 census, 90.68% of the population spoke Bengali and 7.96% Santali as their first language. Culture Places of interest Bankura is the headquarters of the district. Bishnupur (or Vishnupur) is a subdivisional town of Bankura district. It was the capital of the Mallabhum kingdom, once the most important Hindu dynasty in Bengal. This town famous for the Terracotta Temples made by the local red soils. This city often called as the 'Temple City' of Bengal. In addition to Bishnupur, many towns and villages in Bankura such as Kotulpur, Joypur, Sonamukhi, Hadal Narayanpur, and Akui have brick terracotta temples built between the 17th and 19th centuries. Susunia hills and Beharinath hills are located in the district. Mukutmanipur , the second largest earthen dam in India and Sutan are tourist spots. Mejia power plant is the only thermal power plant of this district. Darakeshwar, Gandheswari and Kangsabati are the major rivers flow through the district. Jaipur forest is the only