Bhopal District (Hindi: भोपाल ज़िला) 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 ...

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 ...

state in central

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 ...

. The city of

Bhopal Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It i ...

serves as its administrative headquarters. The district is part of

Bhopal Division Bhopal Division is an administrative geographical unit of Madhya Pradesh state of central India. Bhopal is the administrative headquarters of the division. The division consists of districts of Bhopal, Raisen, Rajgarh, Sehore, and Vidisha ...

History

Bhopal district was carved out of the erstwhile

Sehore District Sehore District is a district of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The town of Sehore is the district headquarters. The district is part of Bhopal Division. Demographics According to the 2011 census, Sehore District has a population of ...

of Bhopal division vide M.P.Govt. Notification No.2477/1977/Sa/One/ dated 13 September 1972.The district derives its name from the district head-quarters town Bhopal which is also the capital of Madhya Pradesh. According to the Imperial Gazeteer of India, Bhopal derives from "Bhoj Pal" named after the legendary founder of the city. The early history of the present-day district area is obscure. According to a legend, the area was part of ''Mahakautar'', a barrier of dense forests and hills separating North India from South India. 10th century CE onwards, names of

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

rulers (including Bhoja)

Malwa Malwa is a historical region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic upland north of the Vindhya Range. Politically and administratively, it is also syno ...

appear in the historical records. The number of Muslims rose after invasions by the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).

under Iltutmish. In 1401, Dilawar Khan Ghori (father of

Hoshang Shah Hoshang Shah (Alp Khan) (1406–1435) was the first formally appointed Sultan of the Malwa Sultanate of Central India.{{Cite book , last=Sen , first=Sailendra , title=A Textbook of Medieval Indian History , publisher=Primus Books , year=2013 , ...

) took control of the territory, ruling from Dhar. In the 14th century, a Gond warrior Yadoram established a kingdom headquartered at Garh-Mandla. At the time of

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

invasion of

in 1561, the area was subdivided into territories known as ''chakla''s. The present-day Bhopal district was part of the Ginnor chakla, which comprised 750 villages. The Gond warlord Nizam Shah controlled these villages from his fort of Ginnorgarh. After his death, the Afghan mercenary

Dost Mohammad Khan Dost Mohammad Khan Barakzai (Pashto/Persian: ; 23 December 17929 June 1863), nicknamed the Amir-i Kabir, Also titled Amir al-Mu'minin, was a member of the Barakzai dynasty and one of the prominent rulers of the Emirate of Afghanistan. His 37-year ...

managed the state's affairs on behalf of his widow Kamlapati. After her death, Khan usurped the territory, and acquired neighbouring territories to establish the Bhopal princely state. He founded the town of Islamnagar, and also established the modern city of

. His son Yar Mohammad Khan paid tribute to the

Marathas The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...

. After his death, there was a war of secession between Sultan Mohammad Khan and

Faiz Mohammad Khan Faiz Muhammad Khan Bahadur, (r.1742–1777) the third Nawab of Bhopal, was the son of Yar Muhammad Khan, the second Nawab of Bhopal (as a reagent), and the stepson of Mamola Bai a very influential Hindu wife of Y Muhammad and a direct descen ...

, during which the

Nawabs of Bhopal The Nawabs of Bhopal were the Muslim rulers of Bhopal, now part of Madhya Pradesh, India. The nawabs first ruled under the Mughal Empire from 1707 to 1737, under the Maratha Empire from 1737 to 1818, then under British rule from 1818 to 1947, an ...

had to cede some territories to the Marathas. Faiz was a religious recluse, and his step-mother

Mamola Bai Mamola Bai (1715-1795) was the Rajput wife of Yar Mohammad Khan the Nawab of Bhopal and step-mother of Faiz Mohammad Khan. She effectively ruled the Bhopal State for nearly 50 years, in name of her two stepsons Faiz ''Fāʾiz'' () is a male A ...

effectively ruled the state on his behalf. His successors maintained good relations with the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

, which eventually came to rule India. Between 1819 and 1926, Bhopal was ruled by four female rulers, including Shah Jahan Begum and

Sultan Jahan, Begum of Bhopal Hajji, Hajjah Nawab Begum (Queen) Sultan Jahan (9 July 1858 – 12 May 1930) was the ruling Begum of Bhopal between 1901 and 1926. Biography Early life Sarkar Amman known better as Sultan Jahan, was born at Bhopal, the elder and only survivi ...

. After independence of India, her son

Hamidullah Khan Hajji Nawab Hafiz Sir Hamidullah Khan (9 September 1894 – 4 February 1960) was the last ruling Nawab of the princely salute state of Bhopal. He ruled from 1926 when his mother, Begum Kaikhusrau Jahan Begum, abdicated in his favor, until 19 ...

expressed his wish to retain Bhopal as an independent unit, leading to public protests. On 30 April 1949, the Nawab relented and signed an Instrument of Accession to the

Dominion of India The Dominion of India, officially the Union of India,* Quote: “The first collective use (of the word "dominion") occurred at the Colonial Conference (April to May 1907) when the title was conferred upon Canada and Australia. New Zealand and N ...

. The state was taken over by Government of India on 1 June 1949, resulting in the formation of Bhopal State (1949–56). After the

States Reorganisation Act The States Reorganisation act, 1956 was a major reform of the boundaries of India's States and territories of India, states and territories, organising them along linguistic lines. Although additional changes to India's state boundaries have b ...

of 1956, Bhopal state was integrated into the

Sehore district Sehore District is a district of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The town of Sehore is the district headquarters. The district is part of Bhopal Division. Demographics According to the 2011 census, Sehore District has a population of ...

of the newly formed state of

. The Bhopal city was declared as the capital of Madhya Pradesh. On 26 January 1972, the Government of Madhya Pradesh announced that Bhopal would be made a separate district. The Bhopal district was officially carved out of the

on 26 November 1972.

Geography

The district has an area of 2,772 km². Bhopal District is bounded by the districts of Guna to the north,

Vidisha Vidisha (विदिशा, formerly known as Bhelsa and known as Besnagar in ancient times) is a city in central Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located 62.5 km northeast of the state capital, Bhopal. The name "Vidisha" is derived from th ...

to the northeast,

Raisen Raisen is a town and a municipality in Raisen district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Raisen District. Raisen takes its name from the massive fort at the top of a hill. The town is located at the ...

to the east and southeast,

Sehore Sehore is a city and a municipality in Sehore district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the district headquarters of Sehore District and is located on the Bhopal-Indore highway, 38 km from Bhopal. History Sehore stands at the f ...

to the southwest and west, and Rajgarh to the northwest. The city of Bhopal lies in the southern part of the district, and the majority of the population resides within Bhopal municipality. The town of Berasia lies in the northern part of the district.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, Bhopal 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 2,371,061, roughly equal to the nation of

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

or the US state of

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

. This gives it a ranking of 189th in India (out of a total of

640 Year 640 (Roman numerals, DCXL) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 640 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar er ...

). The district has a population density of . Its

population growth rate Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. Actual global human population growth amounts to around 83 million annually, or 1.1% per year. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to ...

over the decade 2001-2011 was 28.46%. Bhopal has a

sex ratio The sex ratio (or gender ratio) is usually defined as the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. Many species devia ...

of 918 females for every 1000 males, and a

literacy rate Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

of 80.37%. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 15.08% and 2.93% of the population respectively. At the time of 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 ...

, 84.67% of the population in the district spoke

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 ...

, 6.76%

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

and 2.23% Sindhi as their first language.

Subdivisions

The Bhopal district has three tehsils: Berasia Kolar and Huzur. There are two community development blocks: Berasia and Phanda. The two tehsils are further sub-divided into units known as ''Patwari Halka''s.

Cities and towns

Berasia tehsil: # Berasia (municipality) Huzur tehsil # Bhopal (municipal corporation) # Kolar (municipality) In 2019, Kolar was declared a separate tehsil.Kolar becomes third tehsil of state capital
/ref>

References

External links

Bhopal District web site
{{Coord, 23.2667, N, 77.4, E, type:adm3rd_source:itwiki, display=title Districts of Madhya Pradesh Minority Concentrated Districts in India 1972 establishments in Madhya Pradesh