Katihar is a city situated in the eastern part of the state of Bihar in India. It is the regional headquarter of Katihar district. It is one of the important cities of Bihar. Also it's a main route of Delhi - Guwahati railway line.

History

Katihar is a part of the

Mithila region Mithila (), also known as Tirhut, Tirabhukti and Mithilanchal is a geographical and cultural region of the Indian subcontinent bounded by the Mahananda River in the east, the Ganges in the south, the Gandaki River in the west and by the foothill ...

. Mithila first gained prominence after being settled by Indo-Aryan peoples who established the

Mithila Kingdom Videha ( Prākrit: ; Pāli: ; Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of north-eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The population of Videha, the Vaidehas, were initially organised into a monarchy but later ...

(also called Kingdom of the Videhas). During the late Vedic period (c. 1100–500 BCE), Kingdom of the Videhas became one of the major political and cultural centers of South Asia, along with Kuru and Pañcāla. The kings of the Kingdom of the Videhas were called Janakas. The Mithila Kingdom was later incorporated into the Vajjika League, which had its capital in the city of Vaishali, which is also in Mithila. Later it was dominated by Chaudhary family who were the biggest landlord of kosi commisionery and holds approx 15000 acre land in katihar district and 8500 acre in Purnia district. The founder of Chaudhary family was Taj Ali Chaudhary and his four sons Chaudhary khuda baksh , Chaudhary Qadir baksh ,Khan Bahadur Chaudhary Mohammad baksh and Elahi baksh.

Transport

Road

Katihar is connected through road network to the neighbouring cities of Bihar. Interstate bus services are not available. A highway , however, connects it to Purnia, from where , and passes through or starts through.

Air

The nearest airport is located at

Purnia Airport Airforce Station Purnea is located near Purnia in the state of Bihar, India. This is the base of Indian Air Force. This airport was built for supplies to Indian Army in Sino-Indian War. Recent development It has been selected in UDAN 4 schem ...

near Purnea (30 km), but it is a airforce station. The nearest commercial airport is located at

Bagdogra Airport Bagdogra Airport is a customs airport located in the western part of Siliguri, in Bagdogra in northern West Bengal, India. It is operated as a civil enclave at AFS Bagdogra of the Indian Air Force. It is the gateway airport to the hill station ...

(160 km) near

Siliguri Siliguri, ) is a major tier-II city in West Bengal. It forms twin cities, "Twin Cities" with the neighboring district capital of Jalpaiguri. The city spans areas of the Darjeeling district, Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts in the Indian sta ...

( West Bengal). However, recently the government has announced to open an air force base airport in Chunapur, Purnea to be allowed to use for commercial use. However, it is not operational yet.

Rail

Katihar Junction is a major strategic Railway Junction under

Northeast Frontier Railways The Northeast Frontier Railway (abbreviated NFR) is one of the Zones and divisions of Indian Railways, 19 railway zones of the Indian Railways. It is headquartered in Maligaon, Guwahati in the state of Assam, and responsible for operation and e ...

which connects North East India with the rest of India.

Education

Katihar Ramakrishna Mission (front view) 2014-07-24 22-55

Katihar has many education institutions, including: *

The Boffo School ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

Colonels Academy Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

* International School of East India *

Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Katihar Jawahar is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Jawaharlal Nehru. People with the given name * Jawahar Singh * Jawahar Singh * Jawahar Lal Kaul * Jawahar Bakshi Places * Jawahar Kala Kendra Other uses * Jawahar Navodaya ...

* Katihar Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandir (estd. in 1951; it used to be under WBBSE; now affiliated with CBSE) * Kendriya Vidyalaya, Katihar *

Manipal public school Manipal is a suburb and university town within Udupi, in coastal Karnataka, India. Manipal is located five kilometres away from the centre of Udupi City, in Udupi District, Karnataka (state) in south western India. It is administered by the Udu ...

* SBP Vidya Vihar *

Scottish Public School, Katihar Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

;Government colleges: * D.S. College, Katihar * Govt. Polytechnic, Katihar * K.B Jha College, Katihar *

M J M Mahila College M, or m, is the thirteenth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabe ...

Sita Ram Chamaria College Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...

;Other important institutes: * Katihar Medical College and Hospital (KMCH), a private medical college in Katihar City suburbs, recognized by the Medical Council of India (MCI), * Purnea University *

Suryadeo Law College Suryadeo Law College or S.D. Law College is a Law school situated beside Lal Kothi Road, Karpoor Nagar, Katihar in the Indian state of Bihar. It offers 5 years integrated LL.B. course which is approved by Bar Council of India (BCI), New Delhi ...

, Katihar * Maharshi Menhi Homoeopathic Medical College & Hospital, Katihar

Demographics

As per the 2011 census, Katihar Urban Agglomeration had a population of 240,565. Katihar Urban Agglomeration includes Katihar (municipal corporation plus outgrowth) and Katihar Railway Colony (outgrowth). Katihar Municipal Corporation had a total population of 225,982, out of which 119,142 were males and 106,840 were females. It had a sex ratio of 897. The population below 5 years was 31,036. The literacy rate of the 7+ population was 79.87 per cent. Katihar is at 193rd rank in terms of its population among the top 200 cities of India as per the 2011 census.

Religion

Hinduism is major religion in Katihar city with 185.196 Hindus (76.9%), 53.213 Muslims (22.1%). Other religions includes 794 Christians (0.33%), 373

Sikhs Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ...

(0.15%), 221 Jains (0.09%), 70 Buddhists (0.03%) and 960 (0.4%) did not stated.

Climate

The climate of Katihar is nearly moderate with widespread rainfall during the monsoons sometimes bringing flood to the adjoining rural areas of the Katihar District.

References

External links

katihar.bih.nic.inDistrict Court, Katihar
{{Purnia Division Cities and towns in Katihar district