Paschim Medinipur  is the land of Freedom Fighters, Social reformers and also the mother land of martyrs like Khudiram, Matangini Hazra, Prodyat Bhattacharya, Hemchandra Kanongo and the  pioneer of educational renaissance of Bengal.

This district is also enriched with diversified socio-cultural activities such as tradition and culture of tribal groups like Lodhas, Sabars and Santals.

Midnapore  is so named after its chief town MIDNAPORE which itself is thought to be corrupted from of a vernacular word MEDINIPUR , meaning possibly the city of the world.  Many a local people prefer to call the town by its vernacular name MEDINIPUR.

Midnapore undoubtedly is a very ancient town. Mahamohopadhayay Haraprasad Shastri thinks that the name MEDINIPUR was given by ‘ Medinikar’ , a Chieftain of the thirteenth Century . Medinikar was also noted as author of a very famous lexicon called Medinikosh .

In the British period the town Medinipur was first declared as the head quarter of the district in 1783 A.D.