Baitadi District ( ne, बैतडी जिल्ला ), historical name “Bairath” (बैराथ), a part of

Sudurpashchim Province Sudurpashchim Province ( ne, सुदूरपश्चिम प्रदेश, ''Sudurpashchim Province'') (''Far-West Province'') is one of the seven provinces established by the new constitution of Nepal which was adopted on 20 September ...

, is one of the 77

districts of Nepal Districts in Nepal are second level of administrative divisions after provinces. Districts are subdivided in municipalities and rural municipalities. There are seven provinces and 77 districts in Nepal. After the state's reconstruction of admi ...

. It is a

Hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct Summit (topography), summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally con ...

district. Baitadi, with Dasharathchand as its headquarters, covers an area of and has a population of 250,898 according to the census (2011). The Baitadi district entails 56 village development councils (VDCs) and two municipality in the past. Now, by federal policy there are 10 local units; 4 Municipalities (Dashrath Chand, Patan, Melauli and Purchudi) and 6 Rural Municipalities ( Surnaya, Sigas, Shivnath, Pancheshwor, Dogada Kedar and Dilasaini). Baitadi falls into the farthest western regional district of Nepal touching Jhulaghat, India, Nepal's neighboring country, to its border.

History

Baitadi Khalanga or Baitadi Khalanga is a town and seat of Baitadi District in the Sudurpashchim Province of western Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census The 1991 Nepal census was a widespread national census conducted by the Nepal Central Bureau ...

was part of

Kumaon Kingdom Kumaon Kingdom was an independent Himalayan kingdom in the eastern region of present-day Uttarakhand state of India. It was established around 7th century and remained an independent and sovereign kingdom until 1791. Etymology Kumaon is beli ...

until gorkha invasion of

Kumaon Kumaon or Kumaun may refer to: * Kumaon division, a region in Uttarakhand, India * Kumaon Kingdom, a former country in Uttarakhand, India * Kumaon, Iran, a village in Isfahan Province, Iran * , a ship of the Royal Indian Navy during WWII See also ...

in 1791, the region once a part of the Great Katyuri's Kingdom. After the fall of that Kingdom, around the 10th century, Khas King Ashok Challa of ''Sapadalaksh'' (Karnali Zone or Dullu, Dailekh) seized most of that part of the Katyuri's Kingdom, including Baitadi. There were three major centres of Khas King i.e., (1) Bairath (Baitadi) (2) Kamadesh (kali kumaun) and (3) Kedarbhumi (Garhwal) to rule in a Central Himalaya. According to the historical folk-tales in Baitadi it was one of the Chand Kings who fought with the Khas king and established a sovereign state for the Chand dynasty in

. These tales resembled a historical story of the establishment of Kumaun Kingdom. One of the view of the historians of

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

, a state in India, Nepal's neighboring country, suggest that it was Thohar Chand who was responsible for establishing the Chand dynasty in Kali-Kumaun. He then changed his name to Abhai Chand after he became a King. Badri Dutt Pandey written history of Kumaun book has quoted the following story about the history of Kumaun. Gyan Chand (1376 A.D) was the first ruler of the Chand Dynasty of

Champawat Champawat ( Kumaoni: ''Champāvat'') is a town and a Nagar Palika Parishad in Champawat district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Champawat district. The town was the former capital of the Kumaon Kingd ...

who was part of the third generation from Thohar Chand or Abhai Chand. Gyan Chand's grandfather, Trilok Chand, and his father, Kalyan Chand, were rulers of Baitadi, according to the folk tales. Rulers: The Name of the Kings who ruled in Baitadi were: *Thohar- Ahai Chand (1261–1281 AD) *Trilok Chand *Kalyan Chand *Gyan Chand (1376 AD) *Karm Chand *Bharati Chand *Ratan Chand *Megh Chand (1503 AD) *Kirti Chand *Kalyan Chand *Rudra Chand (1580 AD) *Laxman Chand *Dilip Chand *Vijay Chand *Trimal Chand *Baj Bhadur Chand *Udyot Chand *Gyan Chand- II (1706 AD) *Jagat Chand *Debi Chand *Kalyan Chand- II (1731AD) *Deep Chand Gorkha kingdom annexed Kumaon in 1791 and merged baitadi in

Doti District Doti District ( ne, डोटी जिल्ला ), part of Sudurpashchim Province, is one of the 77 districts of Nepal. This district, with Silgadhi as its headquarters, covers an area of with a population of 207,066 in 2001 and increasi ...

until 1885. Baitadi and Dadeldhura had same "Bada-Hakim" (District Administrators) so those two districts jointly used to call Baitadi-Dadeldhura district until 1956. The "Baitadi-Dadeldhura" district named Mahakali District after 1956. In 1956 four county (Thums) of Baitadi separated and made a sub-district of Mahakali district. From 1956 to 1962 "Mahakali district" had three sub-districts. # Dadeldhura # Baitadi # Chamba In 1962, Darchula (Chamba) separated from Baitadi District.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, Baitadi District has a

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 250,898, with an absentee population of 21,038, roughly equal to that of the nation of

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

. Baitadi District has a sex ratio of 87:95 of which 133,491 are female., The largest ethnic group is

Khas Khas people (; ne, खस) popularly known as Khas Arya are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group native to the Himalayan region of South Asia, what is now present-day Nepal, Indian states of Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Sikkim. Historical ...

Chhetri Chhetri (Kshetri, Kshettri, Kshetry or Chhettri), ( ne, क्षेत्री ; IAST: ''Kṣetrī'') historically called Kshettriya or Kshetriya or Khas are Nepali speakers of Khas community, some of whom trace their origin to migration fro ...

make 76% of total population.

Bahun Bahun ( ne, बाहुन) or Khas Brahmin ( ne, खस ब्राह्मण) is a caste ( ''Varna'') among Khas people of Nepal. Their origins are from the Indo-Aryan Khasa tribe of Nepal and South Asia. According to the 2011 Nepa ...

Thakuri Thakuri ( ne, ठकुरी) is a sub-caste of Khasas tribes in Nepal. It consists of the historical ruling class, and is made up of the descendants of the Great Khasa Malla kingdom rulers of the Baisi and Chaubisi principalities. The former ...

and sanyasi/giri makes 21% khas dalit make 3%. of total population. At the time of the

2011 Nepal census Nepal conducted a widespread national census in 2011 by the Nepal Central Bureau of Statistics. Working with the 58 municipalities and the 3915 Village Development Committees at a district level, they recorded data from all the municipalities an ...

, 97.7% of the population in the district spoke Baitadeli, 1.0% Nepali and 0.8%

Doteli Doteli, or Dotyali () is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by about 800,000 people, most of whom live in Nepal. It is a dialect of Khas, which is an ancient form of the modern Nepali language, and is written in the Devanagari script. It has official ...

as their first language.

Geography and climate

Administration

The district is administered by

District Coordination Committee District administration makes up the third level of government division in Nepal. The provision for a District Assembly, which acts as the legislature at the district-level, is mentioned in Part 17 of the Constitution of Nepal. The 77 districts of ...

(Legislative), District Administration Office (Executive) and District Court (Judicial) as follows:

Administrative divisions

The district consists of ten

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

, out of which four are urban municipalities and three are rural municipalities. These are as follows: * Dasharathchand Municipality *

Patan Municipality Patan is a municipality in Baitadi District in the Mahakali Zone in Sudurpaschim Province of Far-western Nepal. The new municipality was formed by merging six existing villages Sakar, Silanga, Bhumeswor Gujar Basantapur and Patan on 2 December ...

* Melauli Municipality * Purchaudi Municipality * Sunarya Rural Municipality * Sigas Rural Municipality * Shivanath Rural Municipality * Pancheshwor Rural Municipality * Dogdakedar Rural Municipality * Dilasaini Rural Municipality

Former Village Development Committees

Prior to the restructuring of the district, Baitadi District consisted of the following municipalities and Village development committees: NepalBaitadiDistrictmap

* SALENA * Amchoura * FYAULI * Barakot * khadeni * Basantapur * Basuling * Bhatana * Bhumeshwar *

Bijayapur Bijayapur is a village development committee in Baitadi District in Sudurpashchim Province of western Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census The 1991 Nepal census was a widespread national census conducted by the Nepal Central Bureau of St ...

* Bishalpur * Bumiraj * Nwadeu * Chaukham * Sibnath * Dehimandau * Deulek * Dhungad * Dilasaini *

Durga Bhabani Durga Bhabani is a village development committee in Baitadi District in the Mahakali Zone of western Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census The 1991 Nepal census was a widespread national census conducted by the Nepal Central Bureau of Stat ...

* Durgasthan * Gurukhola * Gajari * Giregada * Gokuleshwar *

Gwallek Gwallek is a village development committee in Baitadi District in the Mahakali Zone of western Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 2,971 and had 549 houses in the village. Significance Gwallek is home to the Gwall ...

Hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

* Hatairaj *

Jagannath Jagannath ( or, ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ, lit=Lord of the Universe, Jagannātha; formerly en, Juggernaut) is a deity worshipped in regional Hindu traditions in India and Bangladesh as part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra, and sister ...

* Kailpal * Kataujpani * Kotila * Kotpetara *

Kulau Kulau is a village development committee in Baitadi District in the Mahakali Zone of western Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census The 1991 Nepal census was a widespread national census conducted by the Nepal Central Bureau of Statistics. ...

* Kuwakot * Mahadevsthan *

Mahakali Mahakali () is the Hindu goddess of time and death in the goddess-centric tradition of Shaktism. Similar to Kali, Mahakali is a fierce goddess associated with universal power, time, life, death, and both rebirth and liberation. She is the cons ...

* Maharudra *

Malladehi Malladehi is a village development committee in Baitadi District in the Mahakali Zone of western Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census The 1991 Nepal census was a widespread national census conducted by the Nepal Central Bureau of Statisti ...

Nagarjun Vaidyanath Mishra (30 June 1911 – 5 November 1998), better known by his pen name Nagarjun, was a Hindi and Maithili poet who has also penned a number of novels, short stories, literary biographies and travelogues, and was known as ''Janakav ...

Siddheshwar Siddheshwar also known as Siddharameshwar and Siddharama was one among the five acharya ("saint") of the Lingayat faith. Siddheshwar was a great contributor to Lingayat sampradaya of Hinduism. He was a great mystic and a Kannada poet who was ...

* Sharmali * Raudidewal *

Rauleshwar Rauleshwar is a village development committee in Baitadi District in the Mahakali Zone of western Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census The 1991 Nepal census was a widespread national census conducted by the Nepal Central Bureau of Statist ...

* Giregada * Srikedar * Srikot * Sankarpur * Shikarpur

Sports

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

is the most popular sport in Baitadi. Besides,

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

is equally popular. Baitadi has won many regional competitions; It is home to many eminent national players for the

Nepal national cricket team The Nepal national cricket team ( ne, नेपाल राष्ट्रिय क्रिकेट टीम) nicknamed The Rhinos and Gorkhalis, represents the country of Nepal in International cricket and is governed by the Cricket Ass ...

Communication

Saugaat FM 103.6 MHz, Samsher, FM 106.6 MHz and Ninglashaini FM 94.0 MHz are the radio stations of the Baitadi District. Radio Pura Sanchar 97.0 MHz is also in the Baitadi District.

Agriculture

Corn and wheat are the main crops of this region, but millet, maize and rice are also grown for home use. Commercial farming is not popular in this region. Some fruits are grown and exported to the nearby headquarters

Bhimdatta Mahendranagar (Nepali: महेन्द्रनगर) officially known as Bhimdattanagar (Nepali:भिमदत्त), is a municipality in Kanchanpur District of Sudurpashchim Province, Nepal. The city and the municipality were named Mahe ...

and

Dhangadhi Dhangadhi ( ne, धनगढी ) is a sub-metropolitan city and the district headquarters of Kailali District in Sudurpashchim Province of Nepal.Dhangadhi is also the temporary capital of Sudurpashchim Province. It shares a border with Uttar ...

—particularly Mandarins,

Oranges An orange is a fruit of various citrus species in the family Rutaceae (see list of plants known as orange); it primarily refers to ''Citrus'' × ''sinensis'', which is also called sweet orange, to distinguish it from the related ''Citrus × ...

Lemon The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...

s, and sometimes Emblica. The latter is found both domesticated and growing wild in the forests. Sapindus or

Soapnut ''Sapindus'' is a genus of about five to twelve species of shrubs and small trees in the lychee family, Sapindaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the world. The genus includes both deciduous and evergreen species. Members o ...

is also grown and used for washing clothes as well a bodies. Sapindus is also exported to nearby towns.

Sites of interest

The Gwallek Kedar sacred forest, situated wholly in Baitadi district, is considered the most important 'Kedar' - abode of Mahadev - of the four Kedars that lie along the Indo-Nepal border between western Nepal and

. As such, it is an important regional pilgrimage site.

References

Sources

* *'' A New History Of Uttarakhand : Dr. Y. S. Kathoch'' *'' History of Doti Kingdom : Bhattarai'' *''Spell Change amchour from amchoura by uttam chand'' {{Authority control Districts of Nepal established during Rana regime or before