Itahar is a community development block that forms an administrative division in Raiganj subdivision of Uttar Dinajpur district in the Indian state of West Bengal.

Historically the western frontier of ancient Pundravardhana kingdom, bordering ancient Anga of Mahabharat fame, the Dinajpur area remained somewhat obscure in the major empires that held sway over the region and beyond till the rise of the Dinajpur Raj during the Mughal period.

Subsequent to the Permanent Settlement in 1793, the semi-independent Dinajpur Raj was further broken down and some of its tracts were transferred to the neighbouring British districts of Purnea, Malda, Rajshahi and Bogra.

In 1947, the Radcliffe Line placed the Sadar and Thakurgaon subdivisions of Dinajpur district in East Pakistan.

[1] In order to restore territorial links between northern and southern parts of West Bengal which had been snapped during the partition of Bengal, and on the recommendations of the States Reorganisation Commission a portion of the erstwhile Kishanganj subdivision comprising Goalpokhar, Islampur and Chopra thanas (police stations) and parts of Thakurganj thana, along with the adjacent parts of the erstwhile Gopalpur thana in Katihar subdivision were transferred from Purnea district in Bihar to West Bengal in 1956, and were formally incorporated into Raiganj subdivision in West Dinajpur.

Uttar Dinajpur district has a flat topography and slopes gently from north to south.

The main rivers are: Nagar, Mahananda, Kulik, Gamari, Chhiramati (Srimati) and Tangon.

The rivers have little water in the dry season but with heavy rains, during monsoon, overflow the banks.

[14] Gram panchayats of Itahar block/ panchayat samiti are: Chhayghara, Durgapur, Durlovpur, Gulandar I, Gulandar II, Itahar, Jayhat, Kapasia, Marnai, Patirajpur, Sarun I and Sarun II.

[15] As per the 2011 Census of India, Itahar CD Block had a total population of 303,678, of which 297,656 were rural and 6,022 were urban.

[16] Other villages in Itahar CD Block included (2011 population in brackets): Jayhat (3,957), Chhayghara (2001) and Durgapur (2,191).

[14] According to the Human Development Report for Uttar Dinajpur district, population growth in the area that later became Uttar Dinajpur district was low in the pre-independence era and started picking up with the waves of East Bengali refugees coming in from erstwhile East Pakistan.

[24] A study by North Bengal University has observed that "Immigrants from East Pakistan/Bangladesh have arrived in Uttar Dinajpur in almost equal numbers before and after 1971."

The Human Development Report opines, "The overall post-Partition impact on the rates of demographic growth has been particularly strong in all North Bengal districts.

Despite its smaller relative size, the region has received more migration in pro rata terms than the West Bengal districts lying south of the Ganga.

It includes factory, mining, plantation, transport and office workers, those engaged in business and commerce, teachers, entertainment artistes and so on.

213 villages (97.26%) have telephones (including landlines, public call offices and mobile phones).

[36] "With its distinctive physiographic and agroclimatic features, the Dinajpur region has been a bread-basket area of Bengal for many centuries, growing multiple varieties of fine and coarse rice in vast quantities, along with major economic crops like jute.

[37] Itahar CD Block had 360 fertiliser depots, 14 seed stores and 60 fair price shops in 2013-14.

[38] "More than eleven hundred rural households across the district are engaged in traditional crafts based industries, among which dhokra, mat making, terracotta, village pottery and bamboo craft in the Goalpokhar-1 and Kaliaganj regions are notable.

The fund, created by the Government of India, is designed to redress regional imbalances in development.

[40][41] Itahar CD Block has 8 ferry services, 7 originating/ terminating bus routes.

Land acquisition has commenced in the Gazole-Itahar sector with initial fund sanctions.

[45] Construction of a bridge on the Mahananda connecting Itahar in Uttar Dinajpur district with Chanchal in Malda was taken up in 1999 but has been delayed.

[47] The mid-day meal programme for rural school children was launched in 2005 in Uttar Dinajpur district.