Koriya district, officially known as Korea district, is a district in the north-western part of the

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Prade ...

state in Central India. The administrative headquarters of the district is Baikunthpur.

History

Little is known of the area before the 16th century. Koriya was a

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...

of British Empire in India; the other princely state that lay within the Koriya district was

Chang Bhakar Changbhakar State, also known as Chang Bhakar, was one of the princely states of British Empire in India in the Chhattisgarh States Agency. It included 117 villages and had an area of with a 1941 population of 21,266 people. Bharatpur was the c ...

. After Indian Independence in 1947, the rulers of Koriya and Chang Bhakar acceded to the Union of India on 1 January 1948 and both were made part of

Surguja District Surguja district is a district of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. The district is one of the oldest districts of Chhattisgarh. The headquarters of the district is Ambikapur. The district lies in its eponymous Surguja dialectal region (where ...

of Madhya Pradesh state. The district of Koriya came into existence on May 25, 1998, when it was carved out of Surguja district. After the formation of the new state of Chhattisgarh on November 1, 2000, Koriya District became part of the new state. It is currently a part of the Red Corridor.

Geography

Koriya District lies between 22°56′ and 23°48′ North and 81°56′ and 82°47′ East. It is bounded on the north-west by Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur district, on the south by

Korba District Korba District is an administrative district of Chhattisgarh state in central India. The headquarter of this district is Korba. History The district is named for the Korwa tribe that inhabits the northern part of Chhattisgarh. Korba was for ...

, on the east by

Surajpur District Surajpur district is a district in the state of Chhattisgarh in central India, with its administrative headquarters at Surajpur. National Highway 43 passes through Surajpur district. Surajpur was declared a district on 15 August 2011 by the ...

. The area of the district is 5977 km², of which 59.9% is forest area. The district is a vast mass of hill ranges. The general height of the lower tableland is 550 m (1800 feet) above sea level. The Sonhat Plateau has a maximum elevation of 755 m (2477 feet). The highest peak in the district is Deogarh, which is 1027 m (3370 feet) high. The climate is mild with a monsoon, a mild summer and a bearable winter.

Education

Koriya District known for its educational capacity. Students from the nearby region come to Koriya district for higher education. New Life English School is an English school in Chhattisgarh-Madhya Pradesh region. New Life School is the first school in Central India to provide STEM & Robotics education at School level. It is located at a hill station called Janakpur.

Divisions

Koriya District consists of two subdivisions: Baikunthpur and Sonhat. The district encompasses 653 villages, 3 Janpad Panchayats, 236 garam Panchayats, 2 Nagar Panchayats and 1 municipality.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Koriya district has a population of 658,917, roughly equal to the nation of Montenegro or the US state of Vermont. This gives it a ranking of 510th 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 over the decade 2001-2011 was 12.4%. Koriya has a sex ratio of 971 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 71.41%. After bifurcation, the district had a population of 247,427. 29.30% of the population lived in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes made up 20,437 (8.30%) and 97,124 (39.25%) of the population respectively. According to the 2001 census, the total population of the district was 586,327 out of which 51.38% were male and 48.62% were female, 70.2% of this population was rural and 29.8% were urban, 8.2% belonged to the scheduled castes and 44.4% belonged to the scheduled tribes. Literacy rate was 63.1%, the male literacy rate being 75.7% and female literacy being 49.7%. The original inhabitants of Korea district were the Kols, Gonds and Bhuinhars (Pando). All other communities in the district claim to have come from outside the district. Migration into Korea District was a continuous process. These migrants include the Cherva, Rajwars, Sahu, Ahir, Gwalas, Oraon, Gadaria (Gaderi), Koir, Bargah, Basods,

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

s, Kahars, Kunbi, Kewats,

Guptas The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Gol ...

, Jaiswal, Schedule Caste,

Agrawal Agrawal (anglicised as Agarwal, Agerwal, Agrawala, Agarwala, Agarwalla, Aggarwal, Agarawal, Agarawala) is a Bania community found throughout northern, central and western India, mainly in the states of Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, Hi ...

s, and Jains, and panika.

Languages

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 ...

, 68.07% of the population in the district spoke

Surgujia Surgujia is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in Chhattisgarh. It belongs to the Eastern Hindi subgroup. Speakers Surgujia is primarily spoken in Surguja, Jashpur, and Koriya districts of Chhattisgarh; and to a lesser extent in Raigarh and Korb ...

, 20.62% Hindi, 3.14% Kurukh, 1.74%

Chhattisgarhi Chhattisgarhi ( / ) is an Indo-Aryan language, spoken by approximately 16 million people from Chhattisgarh & other states. It is mostly spoken in the Indian states of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh & Maharashtra. It is closely related ...

and 1.12%

Bhojpuri Bhojpuri (;Bhojpuri entry, Oxford Dictionaries
, Oxford U ...

as their first language.

Culture

Three community dances, the Karma, Saila and Suva Dance are celebrated mainly in the district during different festivals. The main festivals of India such as

Diwali Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali ( IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is ...

Dashehra Vijayadashami ( sa, विजयदशमी, Vijayadaśamī, translit-std=IAST), also known as Dussehra, Dasara or Dashain, is a major Hindu festival celebrated at the end of Navaratri every year. It is observed on the tenth day in the Hindu ...

and Holi are also celebrated in Korea District. Some other festivals are also special among the Koriyan communities, such as Ganga Dashera, Charta, Nuakhai and Surhul. http://korea.gov.in/culture.htm

Tourist places

Main tourist places in the district are as follows: * Guru Ghasidas National Park. It is worth mentioning that after being persecuted in this region, the last known Indian cheetah was sighted in Koriya District in 1951. * Marine Fossil Park, Manendragarh * Karamghongha, Manendragarh * Boridand Junction railway station, located only 8 km from Manendragarh. * Sirouli Temple, Manendragarh * Siddh Baba Temple, Manendragarh * Amritdhara Waterfall, Manendragarh * Hasdeo River,

Manendragarh Manendragarh, is a city and administrative district headquarters of Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur district in the state of Chhattisgarh, India. Formerly, it was the part of Koriya district. It is situated near the Chhattisgarh-Madhya Prad ...

* Ramdaha Waterfall * Gaurghat Waterfall, Tarra, Sonhat * Jagnnath Mandir, West Chirimiri * Jogi Math Kailashpur, Sonhat * Gangi Rani Ramgarh, Sonhat * Rock Painting Badra, Sonhat *

Korea Palace Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic of ...

, Baikunthpur *

Jhumka Dam Jhumka is a town in the Sunsari District between Inaruwa and Itahari. It is about 7 kilometeres from the main city of Itahari. Some of the famous landmarks of jhumka are Jhumka Nahar, Jhumka Park, Pipraha Playground etc. It is also the gateway ...

, Baikunthpur * Gej Dam, Baikunthpur * Aaruni Bandh, Sarbhoka * Shri Karteskwar Shiv Mandir, Kathautiya,

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koriya District Districts of Chhattisgarh 1998 establishments in Madhya Pradesh Coal mining districts in India