Chhota Udaipur district is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

in the state of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It was carved out of the

Vadodara district Vadodara District also known as Baroda District is a district in the eastern part of the state of Gujarat in western India. The city of Vadodara (Baroda), in the western part of the district, is the administrative headquarters. Vadodara District ...

on 26 January 2013 with its headquarters at Chhota Udaipur town and is the 28th district of Gujarat.

Establishment

The district consists of the six talukas of Chhota Udaipur, Jetpur Pavi, Kawant, Naswadi,

Sankheda The town of Sankheda in Chhota Udaipur district is known for its lacquer work. The work is done on country wood which, being brown, gives darker shades. It is known for its handcrafted furniture, which is made from teak wood. This furniture ...

and the newly created

Bodeli Bodeli is a town and taluka in Chhota Udaipur district in the eastern part of the state of Gujarat, India. History Bodeli became a taluka on 26 January 2013 along with the new district of Chhota Udaipur. It was part of the Vadodara distric ...

taluka. The district headquarters is located at Chhota Udaipur. The district was created to facilitate decentralisation and ease of access to government services. Its creation, announced in the run up to the Assembly elections in Gujarat in 2012, was also seen by the media and political analysts as a government strategy to attract tribal votes.

Description

Chhota Udaipur shares its borders with the state of

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

. Chhota Udaipur district has a forest area of 75,704 hectares and has deposits of

dolomite Dolomite may refer to: *Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral *Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock *Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community *Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...

fluorite Fluorite (also called fluorspar) is the mineral form of calcium fluoride, CaF2. It belongs to the halide minerals. It crystallizes in isometric cubic habit, although octahedral and more complex isometric forms are not uncommon. The Mohs sca ...

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

and sand all of which are mined. The district is also home to a large dairy industry. Chhota Udaipur is a tribal dominated district, and the district headquarters is located 110 km away from

Vadodara Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

. Chhota Udaipur is the third tribal dominated district in eastern Gujarat after the Narmada and Tapi districts. Chhota Udaipur, once a princely state of Gujarat lies in the heart of a tribal area with rich indigenous history and culture which is more representative of the region than palaces. The town is a good base from which to explore the surrounding tribal villages, particularly in the

Rathwa The Rathva or Rathwa also spelled as Rathava and Rathawa is a Subcaste of the Koli caste found in the Indian state of Gujarat. Rathava Kolis were agriculturist by profession and turbulent by habits but now lives like Adivasis such as Bhil be ...

communities. The Rathwa tribals who live here produce the Pithora mural paintings by mixing colours with liquor and milk and then using it to depict intricate motifs and scenes on the walls of their village dwellings. The Tribal Museum here displays a nice collection of people and culture of this place. Every Saturday there is a tribal market which is a hub for local artisans making pithoda paintings and terracotta horses. Chhota Udaipur town sits on the edge of a big lake, with a series of temples along the skyline. Structures from the 1920s such as the Kusum Vilas Palace (now a heritage hotel) and Prem Bhavan are also worth visiting, though they need permission from the local royal family. The Kali Niketan (Nahar Mahal) palace, built as the summer residence of the erstwhile royal family is a notable monument in Chhota Udaipur. The Jain temple is an interesting example of the influence of Victorian art on local building styles, which is otherwise rare display in traditional Jain buildings elsewhere.

Demographics

Chhota Udaipur has a population of 1,071,831. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 25,279 and 856,862 which is 2.36% and 79.94% of the population respectively. Hindus are 1,035,085 while Muslims are 34,222. At the time of the 2011 census 98.46% of the population spoke

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...

and 1.05%

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

as their first language.2011 Census of India, Population By Mother Tongue
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Politics

References

External links

Official website
{{Geographic location , Centre = Chhota Udaipur district , North =

Dahod district Dahod district is a district of Gujarat state in western India. This largely tribal district is mostly covered by forests and hills. Geography Dahod is located in eastern Gujarat. It is located at the tripoint between Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madh ...

, Northeast =

Jhabua district Jhabua is a district of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The town of Jhabua is the administrative headquarters of the district. Geography Jhabua district lies in the western part of Madhya Pradesh. It is surrounded by Dahod and Chhota ...

, East =

Alirajpur district Alirajpur is one of the 52 districts of Madhya Pradesh state in India. It was created from Alirajpur, Jobat and Bhabra tehsils of the former Jhabua district on 17 May 2008. It is the least literate district in India as per Census 2011. Alirajpu ...

, Southeast = Nandurbar district,

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

, South =

Narmada district Narmada district is an administrative district in the state of Gujarat in India. The district headquarters are located at Rajpipla. The district is bounded by Vadodara and Chhota Udaipur districts in the north, by Nandurbar district of Mahara ...

, Southwest =

, West =

, Northwest =

Panchmahal district Panchmahal, also known as Panch Mahals, is a district in the eastern portion of Gujarat State western India. ''Panch-mahal'' means "five tehsils/talukas" (5 sub-divisions), and refers to the five sub-divisions that were transferred by the Maharaj ...