Balrampur District, Uttar Pradesh

Balrampur district is one of the district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and is a part of Devipatan division as well as the historic Awadh regions. It has been cut from the adjacent district Gonda in 1997. Located on the banks of the West Rapti River. Balrampur is known for the temple of Pateshwari Devi, a Shakti Pitha, and for the ruins of the nearby ancient city of Sravasti, now a pilgrimage site for Buddhists and Jains. The nearest airport is Shravasti airport from the town but it is not an international and regular airport; the nearest international and regular airport is Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport in Lucknow, away. Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh and is from Balrampur district headquarters.

Administration

The creation of Balrampur was done by G.D.No. 1428/1-5/97/172/85-R-5 Lucknow dated 25 May 1997 by the division of District Gonda. Siddharth Nagar, Shrawasti, Gonda District, are situated in the east-west and south sides respectively and Nepal State are Situated in its northern side. The area of the district is 336917 Hectares. In which the agriculture irrigated area is 221432 Hectares. In the north of the district is situated the Shivalics ranges of the Himalayas which is called Tarai Region.

According to Government of India, the district Balrampur is one of the Minority Concentrated Districts on the basis of the 2001 census data on population, socio-economic indicators and basic amenities indicators.

Etymology

The district is named after the erstwhile princely estate (Taluqdari) and its capital, Balrampur. The name of this estate was derived from its founder Balram Das, who founded it in c. 1600 CE.

History

Ancient period

Shravasti was the capital of Uttara (North) Kosala. The ruins of Sahet, ancient Shravasti, spread an area of . Towards the Rapti River, a little north of Sahet, lies the ancient city of Mahet.

Gautam Buddha spent 21 rainy season under the sacred Peepal tree. The famous incident of Angulimal happened in the forest of Shravasti, where the dacoit who used to kill people and wear a garland of their fingers, was enlightened by Gautam Buddha.

Medieval period

The area covered by the district was a part of Bahraich Sarkar of Awadh Subah during the Mughal rule. Later, it came under the control of the ruler of Awadh till its annexation in February, 1856 by the British government. British government separated Balrampur from Bahraich and it became a part of Gonda.

British and the post-independence period

During the British rule a commissionary was made for the administration of this area with its headquarters at Gonda and military command at Sakraura Colonelganj. During this period Balrampur was an Estate (Taluqdari) Janwar Rajput State in Utraula tehsil of Gonda district, which consisted 3 tehsils, Gonda Sadar, Tarabganj and Utraula. After independence, Balrampur estate was merged with Utraula tehsil of Gonda district. On 1 July 1953 the tehsil of Utraula was bifurcated into two tehsils, Balrampur and Utraula. In 1987 three new tehsils were created from Gonda Sadar tehsil, namely, Tulsipur, Mankapur and Colonelganj. Later, in 1997 Gonda district was bifurcated into two parts and a new district, Balrampur was born consisting of three tehsils of the northern part of the erstwhile Gonda district, Balrampur, Utraula, and Tulsipur.

Geography

The district's northern border with Nepal's Dang Deukhuri District follows the southern edge of the Dudhwa Range of the Siwaliks. To the northeast lies Kapilvastu District, Nepal. The rest of Balrampur is surrounded by Uttar Pradesh: on the east by Siddarthnagar, Basti on the south, Gonda on the southwest, and Shravasti on the west. Balrampur's area is 3,457 km².

Economy

Balrampur is known for Balrampur Chini Mills, one of the largest sugar manufacturing industry in the country. In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Balrampur one of the country's 250 most backward villages (out of a total of 640). It is one of the 34 districts in Uttar Pradesh currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).

The district comprises 3 tehsils, Balrampur, Tulsipur and Utraula, which are further divided into 9 blocks: Balrampur, Gaindas bujurg, Gainsari, Harya satgharwa, Pachpedwa, Rehera bazar, Shriduttganj, Tulsipur and Utraula Sadullaah Nagar

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Balrampur district has a population of 2,148,665. This gives it a ranking of 210th in India. The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 27.74%. Balrampur has a sex ratio of 922 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 51.76%. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes made up 12.90% and 1.16% of the population respectively. The tribals of this district are Tharus.

At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 87.23% of the population in the district spoke Hindi, 8.61% Awadhi and 4.06% Urdu