Nalanda district is one of the thirty-eight

districts 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 ...

of the 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 ...

in India.

Bihar Sharif Bihar Sharif is the headquarters of Nalanda district and the fifth-largest sub-metropolitan area in the eastern Indian state of Bihar. Its name is a combination of two words: ''Bihar'', derived from '' vihara'' (meaning monastery), also the nam ...

is the administrative headquarters of this district. The districts contain the ancient

Nalanda Nalanda (, ) was a renowned ''mahavihara'' (Buddhist monastic university) in ancient Magadha (modern-day Bihar), India.UNESCO World Heritage A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

site. Nalanda is located in the Magadh region of southern Bihar.

History

Nalanda became a fully-fledged district when it was split from Gaya on 9 November 1972.

Geography

Nalanda district occupies an area of . The Phalgu, Mohane, Jirayan, and Kumbhari rivers flow through it. The district is a part of

Patna Division Patna Division is one of the nine administrative units of Bihar, a state in the east of India. Patna is the headquarters of the division. Established in 1829, it is one of the oldest divisions of the state. History of administrative districts i ...

. Majority of the land in the district is fertile land of Indo Gangetic plane. In the extreme South, there lies the hills of Rajgir. There is also one small hillock in the district headquarters of Bihar Sharif.

Flora and fauna

In 1978 Nalanda district became home to the

Pant Wildlife Sanctuary Pant Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary in India, situated near Rajgir in Nalanda district, Bihar, India. It is under the Nalanda forest division. Climate The climate is normal for the Nalanda district. There are three distinct seasons ...

Rajgir Rajgir, meaning "The City of Kings," is a historic town in the district of Nalanda in Bihar, India. As the ancient seat and capital of the Haryanka dynasty, the Pradyota dynasty, the Brihadratha dynasty and the Mauryan Empire, as well as the d ...

which has an area of .

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Nalanda 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 2,877,653, roughly equal to the nation of

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

or the US state of

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

. This gives it a ranking of 134th in India (out of a total of 640), and 18th in state. 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 21.18%. Nalanda 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 921

females Female (symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females a ...

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 66.41%. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 21.12% and 0.05% 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 ...

, 56.27% of the population in the district spoke

Magahi The Magahi language (), also known as Magadhi (), is a language spoken in Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal states of eastern India, and in the Terai of Nepal. Magadhi Prakrit was the ancestor of Magahi, from which the latter's name derives. ...

, 37.28%

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 ...

and 5.69%

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

, and

Hilsa The ilish (''Tenualosa ilisha'') ( bn, ইলিশ, translit=iliś; also known as the ilishi, hilsa, hilsa herring or hilsa shad, is a species of fish related to the herring, in the family Clupeidae. It is a very popular and sought-after food ...

), and 20

community development block In India, a Community development block (CD block) or simply Block is a sub-division of Tehsil, administratively earmarked for planning and development. The area is administered by a Block Development Officer (BDO), supported by several technic ...

s ( Giriyak, Rahui, Noorsarai,

Harnaut Harnaut "हरनौत" is a city in the Nalanda District of Bihar, India, and the entrance city of Nalanda. The Hindu, Buddhist and Jain pilgrim centres of Nalanda, Pawapuri, Rajgir, Bodh Gaya and Vaishali are all near Harnaut. The incumbe ...

Chandi Chandi ( sa, चण्डी, ) or Chandika () is a Hindu deity. Chandika is another form of Mahadevi, similar to Durga. Chandika is a powerful form of Mahadevi who manifested to destroy evil. She is also known as ''Kaushiki'', '' Katyayan ...

, Islampur,

, Asthawan, Sarmera,

Biharsharif Bihar Sharif is the headquarters of Nalanda district and the fifth-largest sub-metropolitan area in the eastern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Bihar. Its name is a combination of two words: ''Bihar'', derived from ''viha ...

, Ekangarsarai, Bena, Nagarnausa, Karai Parsurai,

Silao Silao (), officially Silao de la Victoria, is a city in the west-central part of the state of Guanajuato in Mexico. It is the seat of the municipality with the same name. As of the 2005 census, the city had a population of 147,123, making it th ...

, Parwalpur, Katrisarai, Bind, and Tharthari).

Status

Nalanda district is fast developing and the ruins of the ancient Nalanda University or UNESCO Nalanda Archaeological Site attracts tourists from all over the world driving the local economy.

Economy

Agriculture is the backbone of the economy, with the majority of the population engaged in agriculture. Rice, wheat, maize, pulses, potato, fruits, and vegetables are the main crops. A newly setup Ordnance Factory, one of the 41

Indian Ordnance Factories Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), consisting of the Indian Ordnance Factories, now known as Directorate of Ordnance (Coordination & Services) was an organisation, under the Department of Defence Production (DDP) of Ministry of Defence (MoD), Gover ...

has been set up by the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

to manufacture artillery shells at Nalanda by the then Defence Minister Shri George Fernandes. Then there is the railway coach maintenance plant at Harnaut Block of Nalanda. Tourism is well developed, with lakhs of people flocking at ruins of Nalanda University,

and

Pawapuri Pawapuri or Pavapuri (also called Apapapuri, meaning "the sinless town") is a holy site for Jains located in the Nalanda district of Bihar state in Eastern India. It is located about 19 kilometers from Rajgir and 101 kilometers from Patna, th ...

. Rajgir was the first capital of Magadh Empire. Buddha had spent years at this place. Surrounded by five hills, it has got scenic views. Pawapuri, the Nirwana place of

Mahavir Mahavira (Sanskrit: महावीर) also known as Vardhaman, was the 24th ''tirthankara'' (supreme preacher) of Jainism. He was the spiritual successor of the 23rd ''tirthankara'' Parshvanatha. Mahavira was born in the early part of the 6t ...

, is holy place for the Jains. In 2006 the

Ministry of Panchayati Raj The Ministry of Panchayati Raj is a branch of the Government of India. Ministry of Panchayati Raj looks into all matters relating to the Panchayati Raj and Panchayati Raj Institutions. It was created in May 2004. The ministry is headed by a m ...

named Nalanda one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640). It is one of the 36 districts in Bihar currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).

Notable people

* Kalim Ajiz, a Padma Shri recipient and Urdu writer *

Satyadev Narayan Arya Satyadev Narayan Arya (born 1 July 1939) is the current and 19th Governor of Tripura. He also served as 16th governor of Haryana. He is a leader of Bharatiya Janata Party from Bihar. He is a former Minister of Mines and Geology of Bihar. He is ...

, politician and Governor of Haryana * Abdul Qavi Desnavi, Urdu language writer, critic, Bibliographer, and linguist. *

Nawal Kishore Dhawal Nawal Kishore Dhawal (11 November 1911, in Sasorh village, Sarmera, Nalanda District, Bengal Presidency – 17 April 1964) was an Indian writer, poet, Proofreading, proof reader, editor, critic, journalist and author of many different literary w ...

, a writer, poet, editor, and critic *

Ganesh Dutt Sir Ganesh Dutt(a) Singh (13 January 1868 – 26 September 1943) was an Indian lawyer, educationist and administrator during the British Raj. He did much to improve education and health services in the state of Bihar and Orissa before the inde ...

, administrator and educationalist *

Manazir Ahsan Gilani Manazir Ahsan Gilani (1 October 1892 – 5 June 1956) was an Indian Sunni Islamic scholar and former Dean of The Faculty of Theology in Osmania University. He wrote ''Tadwin-e-Hadith'', ''Muqaddama Tadwin-e-Fiqh'' and ''Sawanih Qasmi''. Muhammad ...

, a writer and Islamic scholar * Jabir Husain, politician *

Abhay Kumar Abhay Kumar

en Name Abhay K. En or EN may refer to: Businesses * Bouygues (stock symbol EN) * Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway (reporting mark EN, but now known as Southern Railway of Vancouver Island) * Euronews, a news television and internet channel Language and writing * ...

(born 1980) is an Indian poet-diplomat and currently serves as the Deputy Director General of Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR), New Delhi. He served as India's 21st Ambassador to Madagascar and Comoros ...

, a poet-diplomat * Aditya Kumar, actor * Kaushalendra Kumar, MP of Nalanda *

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 ...

, Chief Minister of Bihar and former MP from Nalanda *

Vikas Kumar Vikas Kumar (born 18 May 1977) is an Indian actor, producer and dialogue coach. He is known mainly for his performances as senior inspector Rajat in '' CID'', Abhay in ''Hamid'', Major Prem in '' Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran'', YRF TV's '' Kho ...

, actor *

Sulaiman Nadvi Syed Sulaiman Nadvi (—; 22 November 1884 – 22 November 1953) was a Pakistani historian, writer and scholar of Islam. He co-authored ''Sirat-un-Nabi'' and wrote ''Khutbat-e-Madras''.Mrityunjay Prabhakar, theatre director and dramatist * L. S. N. Prasad, Indian paediatrician and Padma Shri recipient *

Siddheshwar Prasad Siddheshwar Prasad (19 January 1929 – 22 January 2023) was an Indian politician belonging to the Indian National Congress. He was elected to the Lok Sabha, lower house of the Parliament of India from the Nalanda Constituency of Bihar in 1962 ...

, former MP and served as Governor of Tripura * Pramod Ranjan, journalist *

Abul Muhasin Muhammad Sajjad Abul Muhasin Muhammad Sajjad (1880 – 23 November 1940) was an Indian Islamic scholar who was one of the most influential ulemas of the 20th century. Sajjad was a founder of Anjuman-Ulama-i-Bihar, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, and Imarat-i-Sharia. A lea ...

, Islamic scholar, political activist and politician * Syed Mohammed Saeed Raza, a Muslim scholar and professor * Brahmadeo Narayan Singh, singer * Ramchandra Prasad Singh, Member of Rajya Sabha and former IAS officer *

Veer Pratap Singh Veer Pratap Singh is an Indian cricketer who plays first-class cricket for Bihar. He previously played for Cricket Association of Bengal. He is a right-arm medium seam bowler. He was also a member of the Kolkata Knight Riders in Indian Premier ...

, Cricketer *

Tarkeshwari Sinha Tarkeshwari Sinha (26 December 1926 – 14 August 2007) was an Indian politician and independence activist from Bihar. Among the first female politicians of the country, she took active role in the Quit India Movement. At the age of 26, she wa ...

, politician *

Hari Uppal Hari Uppal (1926–2011) was an Indian classical dancer and the founder of a classical dance academy by name, Bhartiya Nritya Kala Mandir, known for his expertise in the dance forms of Kathakali and Manipuri. He was honored by the Governmen ...

, founder of

Bhartiya Nritya Kala Mandir The Bharatiya Nritya Kala Mandir (meaning ''Indian Dance Arts Temple'') is an arts and crafts museum and a multi-purpose cultural centre located in Patna, in the capital of Bihar, India. History The foundation stone for the institution of art ...

and a Padma Shri recipient * Vijay Kumar Yadav, Ex- MP from Nalanda

References

External links

Official website
{{Coord, 25, 12, 00, N, 85, 31, 12, E, region:IN-BR_type:adm2nd_source:kolossus-nowiki, display=title Patna division Districts of Bihar