census, Patashpur I block had a total population of 151,605, out of which 77,640 were males and 73,965 were females. Patashpur I block registered a population growth of 13.28 per cent during the 1991-2001 decade. Decadal growth for the combined Midnapore district was 14.87 per cent. Decadal growth in West Bengal was 17.84 per cent. Census Town in Patashpur I CD Block (2011 census figure in brackets): Amarshi Kasba (6,400). Large villages (with 4,000+ population) in Patashpur I CD Block (2011 census figures in brackets): Amarpur (4,388), Gokulpur (5,967), Selmabad (5,266), Gopalpur (4,405) and Taladiha (4,599). Other villages in Patashpur I CD Block (2011 census figures in brackets) : Naipur (3,800), Brajalalpur (1,144), Chistipur (3,019), Barhat (2,781) and Golara Nij (3,001). Literacy As per 2011 census the total number of literates in Patashpur I CD Block was 132,781 (86.58% of the population over 6 years) out of which 73,302 (55%) were males and 59,479 (45%) were females. As per 2011 census, literacy in Purba Medinipur district was 87.02%. Purba Medinipur had the highest literacy amongst all the districts of West Bengal in 2011. See also – List of West Bengal districts ranked by literacy rate Language and religion As per the 2001 census, Bengali was the mother-tongue of 90.5% of the population of Purba Medinipur district, followed by Santali (4.6%), Hindi (1.4%), Kurmali Thar (0.7%), Urdu (0.6%), Telugu (0.6%), Odiya (0.4%), Mundari (0.2%), Koda/ Kora (0.1%), Munda (0.1%), Nepali (0.1%) and others (0.3%). Census information about language is available at the district level or above only. 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 2019, there is no official / other reliable information about the areas covered. In 2011 census Hindus numbered 161,639 and formed 93.23% of the population in Patashpur I CD Block. Muslims numbered 11,548 and formed 6.66% of the population. Others numbered 190 and formed 0.11% of the population. Rural poverty The District Human Development Report for Purba Medinipur has provided a CD Block-wise data table for Modified Human Poverty Index of the district. Patashpur I CD