English Bazar is a community development block that forms an administrative division in Malda Sadar subdivision of Malda district in the Indian state of West Bengal.

Gauda was once the "capital of the ancient bhukti or political division of Bengal known as Pundravardhana which lay on the eastern extremity of the Gupta Empire." During the rule of the Sena Dynasty, in the 11th-12th century, Gauda was rebuilt and extended as Lakshmanawati (later Lakhnauti), and it became the hub of the Sena empire. Gauda was conquered by Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji in 1205. During the Turko-Afghan period, "the city of Lakhnauti or Gauda continued to function initially as their capital but was abandoned in 1342 by the Ilyas Shahi sultans in favour of Pandua because of major disturbances along the river course of the Ganga." "Pandua then lay on the banks of the Mahananda, which was the major waterway of the sultanate at the time. However, when the Mahananda too began to veer away from the site of Pandua in the mid-15th century, Gauda was rebuilt and restored to the status of capital city by the Hussain Shahi sultans"... With the ascent of Akbar to the Mughal throne at Delhi... the Mughals annexed the ancient region of Gauda in 1576 and created the Diwani of Bengal. The centre of regional power shifted across the Ganga to Rajmahal. Following the demise of the independent sultanate, the regional importance of the Gauda or Malda region declined irreversibly and the city of Gauda was eventually abandoned.

With the advent of the British, their trading and commercial interests focused on the new cities of Malda and English Bazar. Malda district was formed in 1813 with "some portion of outlying areas of Purnia, Dinajpur and Rajshahi districts". A separate treasury was established in 1832 and a full-fledged Magistrate and Collector was posted in 1859. Malda district was part of Rajshahi Division till 1876, when it was transferred to Bhagalpur Division, and again transferred in 1905 to Rajshahi Division. With the partition of Bengal in 1947, the Radcliffe Line placed Malda district in India, except the Nawabganj subdivision, which was placed in East Pakistan.

Mahadipur, a constituent panchayat of English Bazar community development block, is located at 24°55′00″N 88°08′09″E / 24.9166°N 88.1358°E / 24.9166; 88.1358.

English Bazar CD Block is part of the Diara, one of the three physiographic subregions of the district. "The Diara is a relatively well drained flat land formed by the fluvial deposition of newer alluvium in the transitional zone between the Barind upland and the marshy Tal tract. The soil is light with sandy appearance and is very fertile. Mango gardens are common and mulberry is also grown in this natural division." It covers 32.16% of the total area of the district. 42.81% of the population of the district live in this sub-region. The Mahananda River flows along the eastern boundary of the CD Block.

English Bazar CD Block is bounded by Ratua II CD Block on the north, Old Malda CD Block on the east, Bholahat Upazila and Shibganj Upazila of Chapai Nawabganj District, Bangladesh, on the south, and Kaliachak III CD Block, Kaliachak I CD Block, Kaliachak II CD Block and Manikchak CD Block on the west.

English Bazar CD Block has an area of 251.85 km². It has 1 panchayat samity, 11 gram panchayats, 169 gram sansads (village councils), 135 mouzas and 108 inhabited villages. English Bazar police station serves this block. Headquarters of this CD Block is at Malda.

165.5 km of the India-Bangladesh border is in Malda district. CD Blocks on the border are Bamangola, Habibpur, Old Malda, English Bazar and Kaliachak-III.