Darbhanga is the fifth-largest city and

municipal corporation A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally owne ...

in the Indian state of

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

situated centrally in Mithila region. Darbhanga is the headquarters of the

Darbhanga district Darbhanga district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state in eastern India, and Darbhanga city is the administrative headquarters of this district and 5th largest city of Bihar as well. Darbhanga district is a part of Darbhanga D ...

and the

Darbhanga division Darbhanga Division is an administrative geographical unit of Bihar state of India, and Darbhanga city is the administrative headquarters of the division. , the division consists of Darbhanga district, Madhubani district, and Samastipur district. ...

. It was the seat of the erstwhile Khandwala Zamidaar dynasty Under Mughals. It was the capital of

Mithila Mithila may refer to: Places * Mithilā, a synonym for the ancient Videha state ** Mithilā (ancient city), the ancient capital city of Videha * Mithila (region), a cultural region (historical and contemporary), now divided between India and Nepal ...

. It is considered the Medical Capital of

North bihar North Bihar is a term used for the region of Bihar, India, which lies north of the Ganga river. Towns and cities # Naugachia is a sub division in Bhagalpur district. It is famous for Banana farming; and known as Kelanchal of Bihar. #Purnia i ...

. It has DMCH & second AIIMS Hospital in the State Only after Capital Patna. Darbhanga is one of the oldest cities in India. Musical, folk art, and literary traditions in Sanskrit, Maithili and Urdu have been passed down generations in Darbhanga and constitute the city's strong cultural background.

History

The city was the capital of the Darbhanga Raj, an estate established in the 16th century, and contains the Anandbagh Palace. It was constituted a municipality in 1864. Darbhanga is home to the Kameshwara Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University (1961), which is located on the grounds of the palace, and the Lalit Narayan Mithila University (1972). Darbhanga has a museum housing archaeological materials, as well as historical and handicrafts exhibits. Darbhanga has been a centre for music since the late 18th century and has produced multiple well-known ''dhrupad'' (an ancient form of Indian classical music) musicians. A major rail and road junction, Darbhanga trades in agricultural produce, mangoes, and fish. In addition to food processing, the city has a light manufacturing industry. Darbhanga is situated on a vast alluvial plain, with low-lying areas containing marshes and lakes. Grains, oilseeds, tobacco, sugarcane, and mangoes are important crops in the region. Under the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

, Darbhanga was a part of Sarkar Tirhut until 1875, when it was constituted into a separate district. Its subdivisions had been constituted earlier – Darbhanga Sadar in 1845, Madhubani in 1866, and Samastipur (then known as Tajpur) in 1867. The city of Darbhanga is said to have been founded by one Darbhangi Khan, about whom practically nothing is known. It is also held that the name Darbhanga is derived from Dwar Banga or Dar-e-Banga, meaning the ‘door of Bengal’. This etymology does not appear to be very correct as the division between Bengal and Bihar has always been held to be further to the east. Nonetheless, the region has a linguistic and cultural affinity with Bengal. Excavation at Balirajgarh revealed brick fortifications dating back to the 2nd century BC.

Demographics

The

2011 Census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...

recorded Darbhanga as an Urban agglomeration with a population of 380,125 while the surrounding district has 3 million people. It is the 5th largest city in Bihar in terms of the urban population. The city has 196,573 males (52.6%) and 183,552 females (47.4%). Darbhanga has an average literacy rate of 79.40%, with male literacy at 85.08% and female literacy at 73.08%. However, as per the document published on 6 March 2021 by the office of District Magistrate Darbhanga, the urban population of Darbhanga stands 380,125

Transport

Railways

Darbhanga Junction Darbhanga Junction, station code DBG, is the primary railway station serving the city of Darbhanga in the Darbhanga district in the Indian state of Bihar. The Darbhanga Junction railway station is connected to most of the major cities in India ...

lies on the

East Central Railway The East Central Railway (abbreviated ECR) is one of the 19 Zones and divisions of Indian Railways, railway zones in India. It is headquartered at Hajipur and comprises Sonpur railway division, Sonpur, Samastipur railway division, Samastipur, ...

. It is connected directly to all the major cities of India. Of the beginning of railway in Darbhanga and its neighbouring areas, ''

The Imperial Gazetteer of India ''The Imperial Gazetteer of India'' was a gazetteer of the British Indian Empire, and is now a historical reference work. It was first published in 1881. Sir William Wilson Hunter made the original plans of the book, starting in 1869.< ...

'' noted:

Darbhanga Airport

Darbhanga also has its own commercial airport which is connected with all the major cities of India.

Darbhanga Airport Darbhanga Airport is a domestic airport and an Indian Air Force Station, serving Darbhanga, Bihar, India. It is located just at the outskirts of the city near the NH-105 and NH-57 highways, which pass through Darbhanga. The airport is op ...

(

IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff ...

: DBR,

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...

: VE89) is a

civil enclave A joint-use airport is an aerodrome that is used for both military aviation and civil aviation. They typically contain facilities of both a civil airport and a military air base. By country United States The United States has several joint-us ...

at the Darbhanga Air Force Station of the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

, 6 kilometres from Darbhanga City near the NH-105 and NH-57 East-West Corridor Expressway which passes through Darbhanga. The civil enclave is operated by the

Airports Authority of India The Airports Authority of India, or AAI, is a public sector enterprise under the ownership of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India. It is responsible for creating, upgrading, maintaining, and managing civil aviation infrastruct ...

(AAI). The foundation stone for the project was laid by Chief Minister

Nitish Kumar Nitish Kumar (born 1 March 1951) is an Indian politician, who is serving as Chief Minister of Bihar since 22 February 2015, having previous held the office from 2005 to 2014 and for a short period in 2000. The leader of the Janata Dal (Unite ...

and then Civil Aviation Minister

Suresh Prabhu Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu (born 11 July 1953) is an Indian politician, India's Sherpa to the G7 anChancellor of Rishihood University who was the Minister of Civil Aviation, Railways, Commerce & Industry in the First Modi ministry. He is a ...

in the presence of state Civil Aviation Minister

Jayant Sinha Jayant Sinha (born 21 April 1963) is an Indian politician who is the Member of Indian Parliament and formerly the Minister of State for Finance and the Minister of State for Civil Aviation in the Government of India. Sinha is currently the Ch ...

on 24 December 2018. Commercial flights started on 8 November 2020.

Roadways

Darbhanga is connected to other parts of India by National Highway 27, National Highway 527B and Bihar State highways 50, 56, 88 and 75. Darbhanga is also connected to

Mehsi Mehsi is a High Deployment City and Urban Headquarter Kasba Mehsi located in the Mehsi It is a part of the Tirhut Division. in the Indian state of Bihar. Mehsi is an entry point of East Champaran when traveling from Patna, Darbhanga to Delhi ...

, Madhubani and

Sitamarhi Sitamarhi is an Indian city and the district headquarters of the Sitamarhi district in the Mithila region of Bihar and is a part of the Tirhut Division. It dates back to the time of Ramayana and is considered as the place where Janaka found Sit ...

. The

East-West Corridor East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...

expressway, which connects

Porbandar Porbandar is a city in the States and territories of India, Indian state of Gujarat, perhaps best known for being the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi and Sudama. It is the administrative center of the Porbandar District and it was the former capi ...

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 ...

Silchar Silchar is a city and the headquarters of the Cachar district of the state of Assam, India. It is located south east of Guwahati. It was founded by Captain Thomas Fisher in 1832 when he shifted the headquarters of Cachar to Janiganj in Silchar. ...

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

, passes through Darbhanga.

Geography

Darbhanga is located in the northern part of

Climate

Darbhanga has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Cwa'').

Education

Notable educational institutions include:

Medical colleges

* All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Darbhanga( Under Construction ) *

Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital is a government medical college having hospital facilities at Darbhanga, Bihar. It was established in the year 1946. College is currently affiliated with Aryabhatta Knowledge University. History The m ...

* Mithila Minority Dental College and Hospital

University

* Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) Regional Centre *

Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University (KSDSU) is a state university located at Darbhanga, Bihar, India, dedicated to the teaching and promotion of Sanskrit. History KSDSU was established in 1961, with the scholar Umesh Mishra as its ...

Lalit Narayan Mithila University The Lalit Narayan Mithila University (LNMU), formerly Mithila University, is a public university in India. Began in 1972, the university initially functioned from the Mohanpur House at Sara Mohanpur village of Darbhanga-Sakri route. In 1975, ...

Maulana Azad National Urdu University Maulana Azad National Urdu University is a Central University located in the city of Hyderabad in the Indian state of Telangana. It was named after Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, India's first Minister of Education, a freedom fighter in India's stru ...

(MANUU) Regional Centre

Engineering and technology colleges

Darbhanga College of Engineering Darbhanga College of Engineering (DCE Darbhanga) is a government-owned engineering (B.Tech.) college in Bihar, India. It was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar, in 2008. It is affiliated with the Aryabhatta Knowledge Uni ...

Women's Institute of Technology Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Women's Institute of Technology is an engineering college in the Indian state of Bihar. Established in 2005, it is affiliated with Lalit Narayan Mithila University, Darbhanga approved by AICTE New Delhi and the government o ...

Colleges

C. M. Science College, Darbhanga The Lalit Narayan Mithila University (LNMU), formerly Mithila University, is a public university in India. Began in 1972, the university initially functioned from the Mohanpur House at Sara Mohanpur village of Darbhanga-Sakri route. In 1975, ...

* Kunwar Singh College * Marwari College * Millat College, Laharaisharai, Darbhanga

Schools.

D.A.V. Public School The D.B.V. College Managing Committee, familiarly known as DAVDholakpurMC, is a non-governmental educational organisation in Antarctica and overseas with over 900 schools. 75 colleges and a university. It is based on the ideals of Maharishi Da ...

* Darbhanga Public School *

Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) is a system of central schools for talented students predominantly from rural areas in India. They are run by Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti, Noida, an autonomous organization under the Department of School Educati ...

, Darbhanga * Jesus & Mary Academy * Madonna English School *

Rose Public School Rose Public School, also known as RPS is a private secondary school in the Mithilanchal region of the Indian state of Bihar. It was established by Dr. Rajiv Ranjan, and is presently being run by a trust set up by him. It is a co-educational day ...

Tourism

Darbhanga has various tourist attractions and is among the oldest cities of

. Tourist spots include: *

Chandradhari Museum Chandradhari Museum which was established by the state government in 1957, It is situated at Darbhanga in Bihar, Originally situated on the eastern bank of Mansarowar Lake, The museum was shifted to the present double-storied building in 1974. ...

Darbhanga Fort Darbhanga Fort is also called ''Ram Bagh Fort'', because it is situated in Rambagh Palace inside the fort. Rambagh campus is surrounded by walls and spreads in about 85 acres of land. But when the construction of the fort was completed on thr ...

- It is a very famous tourist spot in Darbhanga. *

Maharajadhiraja Lakshmishwar Singh Museum The Maharajadhiraj Lakshmishwar Singh Museum is situated at Darbhanga in the Indian state of Bihar. It has the largest collection of ivory craft items in India. History It was established by the Government of Bihar in 1979. Most of the objects ...

* Ahilya Sthan * Kusheshwar Asthan Bird Sanctuary * Shyama Kali Temple

Media and communications

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All a ...

has a 20 kW medium-wave radio station in Darbhanga which transmits various programmes of mass interest and covers a part of North Bihar as well as the Terai of Nepal.

Doordarshan Doordarshan (abbreviated as DD; Hindi: , ) is an Indian public service broadcaster founded by the Government of India, owned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and one of Prasar Bharati's two divisions. One of India's largest bro ...

has one

DD National DD National (formerly DD1) is a state-owned public entertainment television channel in India. It is the flagship channel of Doordarshan, India's public service broadcaster, and the oldest and most widely available terrestrial television channel ...

and one

DD News DD News is an Indian news channel of Doordarshan, it is India's only 24-hour terrestrial TV news channel broadcasting solely in Hindi, and formerly in English. The Prasar Bharati Board approved the proposal to start a 24-hour news channel in p ...

LPT relay transmitters.

Notable people

Kameshwar Singh Maharajadhiraj Sir Kameshwar Singh Goutam Bahadur , K.C.I.E. (28 November 1907 – 1 October 1962) was the Maharaja of Darbhanga. He held his title over his family estates in the Mithila region from 1929 – 1952, when such titles were abolis ...

Maharaja *

Lakshmeshwar Singh Maharaja Sir Lakshmeshwar Singh, Maharaja of Darbhanga (25 September 1858 – 16 November 1898) was the Zamindar and principal landowner of Darbhanga in the Mithila region, presently in the State of Bihar, India. His philanthropic works, admin ...

Maharaja *

Rameshwar Singh Rameshwar Singh Thakur (16 January 1860 – 3 July 1929) was the Maharaja of Darbhanga in the Mithila region from 1898 to his death. He became Maharaja on the death of his elder brother Maharaja Sir Lakshmeshwar Singh, who died without issue. ...

Maharaja * Sanjay Mishra, Bollywood actor *

Veena Devi Veena Devi (born 22 April 1967) is an Indian politician and the current Member of parliament from Vaishali. She is a former member of Bihar Legislative Assembly from the Gaighat constituency. In the 2019 Indian general election, she conteste ...

, politician and member of the 17th Lok Sabha *

Abdul Bari Siddiqui Abdul Bari Siddiqui is an Indian politician who was the Finance Minister of Bihar. He was a MLA representing Alinagar, Darbhanga, Bihar. Siddiqui is a member of the Rashtriya Janata Dal political party. He won in the 2015 Bihar Legislativ ...

, MLA * Badri Narain Sinha, IPS *

Bhawana Kanth Bhawana Kanth is one of the first female fighter pilots of India. She was declared as the first combat pilot along with two of her cohort, Mohana Singh, and Avani Chaturvedi. The trio was inducted into the Indian Air Force fighter squadron in ...

, first female fighter pilot of India *

Binod Bihari Verma Binod Bihari Verma (1937–2003) was a Maithili writer and military doctor. He is known for ''Maithili Karna Kayasthak Panjik Sarvekshan'', his work on ancient genealogical charts known as Panjis, as well as his depiction of rural poor of the ...

, writer *

Binodanand Jha Binodanand Jha (17 April 1900 – 1971), also known as Pandit Binodanand Jha was an Indian politician originally from the district of Deoghar, Bihar (Baidyanathdham Deoghar), now in Jharkhand. He was educated at the Central Calcutta College, ( ...

, former MP * Gangesha Upadhyaya, mathematician and philosopher *

Gonu Jha Gonu Jha was a "Pratyutpannamati" (ready-witted) character and a contemporary of Hari Singh King of Mithila in the 13th century CE. He was born at Bharwara. He is also known as Birbal of Bihar, a village in Darbhanga District. He was a military sch ...

Pratyutpannamati *

Gopal Jee Thakur Gopal Jee Thakur (born 15 October 1969) is an Indian Politician. He is a member of 17th Lok Sabha, representing Darbhanga (Loksabha constituency). He represented the Bihar legislative assembly from the Benipur constituency as a member of the Bha ...

, former MLA and current MP * Dr. Ashok Kr. Yadav, MP from Madhubani Lok Sabha constituency *

Gul Mohammad Khan Ustad Gul Mohammad Khan (1876–1979) was a Bangladeshi musician. He was awarded Ekushey Padak in 1977 by the Government of Bangladesh. Background Khan's father, Ustad Ahmad Khan, was a singer in the court of the Maharaja. His grandfather, Usta ...

, Bangladeshi musician *

H. C. Verma Harish Chandra Verma (born 03 April 1952), popularly known as hcv, is an Indian experimental physicist, author and emeritus professor of the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur). In 2021, he was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth ...

, physicist *

Hukmdev Narayan Yadav Hukmdev Narayan Yadav (born 17 November 1939) is a politician from Bihar, who has been Union Minister of State. He is the recipient of Padma Bhushan India's third highest civilian award. He represented the Madhubani constituency of Bihar 1977 ...

, former MP *

Imtiaz Ali (director) Imtiaz Ali (born 16 June 1971) is an Indian film director, producer, actor and writer who works in Hindi cinema. Early and personal life Imtiaz Ali was born in Jamshedpur and spent some of his early years in Patna. Imtiaz belongs to the Musl ...

, Bollywood director *

Kirti Azad Kirtivardhan Bhagwat Jha Azad (; born 2 January 1959) is an Indian politician and former cricketer and who played seven Test matches and 25 One Day International for the India national cricket team between 1980 and 1986. Azad was born in Darbh ...

, former MP and cricketer *

M J Warsi Mohammad Jahangeer Warsi is an Indian linguist, researcher, and author. He is known for his background and expertise in South Asian Languages and Linguistics. He is a member of the faculty at Washington University in St. Louis, where he serves as ...

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

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 ...

, poet, writer, essayist, and novelist * Narayan Das, politician *

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, Hindu monk *

Prabhat Jha (politician) Prabhat Jha is an Indian politician. He has been a member of the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh state in India. He used to be the Madhya Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party President in 2010 until December 2012. Presently he is the National Vice Pre ...

, politician *

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, first vice president of Nepal * Ram Chatur Mallick, musician *

Ramnandan Mishra Pandit Ramnandan Mishra (1905–1989) was an Indian nationalist who fought for India's freedom from British rule. Life Ramnandan Mishra was born in Darbhanga in 1905. He was a member of Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee from 1927–1934. He part ...

, Indian nationalist who fought for India's freedom from British rule *

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, former MLA * Sanjay Saraogi, MLA * Dr. Murari Mohan Jha, MLA from Keoti Vidhan Sabha Assembly Constituency *

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, politician *

Surendra Jha 'Suman' Surendra Jha 'Suman' (10 October 1910 – 5 March 2002), also referred to as 'Suman Ji' or Acharya Surendra Jha 'Suman', was a Maithili poet, writer, publisher, editor and elected member of legislative assembly and parliament. He is also ...

, poet, freedom fighter, politician, essayist, literary critic, journalist, publisher and academician *

Jyoti Kumari Jyoti Kumari (born ) is an Indian student from Sirhulli in the rural Darbhanga district of Bihar. She came to notice after she bicycled some with her injured father to reach their home village during COVID-19 lockdowns in India. She was given ...

Sirhulli Sirhulli or Sirhauli is a village in the state of Bihar, India. It is in the district of and 17km away from Darbhanga. 800 families live there. Description Sihulli is one of 100 villages in the Singhwara Block of Darbhanga. The village has tw ...

, cyclist and Bal Puraskar recipient 2021 * Tariq-ur-Rehman, cricketer *

Tochi Raina Tochi Raina (born 2 September 1971) is an Indian singer, composer and philosopher, best known as a playback singer in Hindi films. His most notable works include the songs ''Kabira'' for the movie "Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani", "Iktara" from "Wake U ...

, singer, composer, and philosopher * Yamuna Karjee, Indian independence activist * Betty von Fürer-Haimendorf, ethnologist *

Ritviz Vishal 'Ritviz' Srivastava (born 24 July 1996) is an Indian singer-songwriter, electronic musician and record producer from Pune,Maharashtra, India. He is known for his song "Udd Gaye" featured on A.I.B.'s official YouTube channel after becomi ...

, electronic singer *

Manas Bihari Verma Manas Bihari Verma (29 July 1943 – 4 May 2021) was an Indian aeronautical scientist instrumental in the development of the light combat aircraft, Tejas. In 2018, he was conferred the Padma Sri civilian honour by the President of India. Afte ...

, Padam Shri decorated Aeronautical scientist, LCA Tejas

References

External links

* {{Indian Air Force Cities and towns in Darbhanga district