Raebareli district is a district of Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. The city of Raebareli is the district headquarters. This district is a part of Lucknow Division in Uttar Pradesh state. The total area of Raebareli district is 3,371 Sq. km. As of 2011, its population is 3,405,559, which makes it the 27th largest in the state. It is a predominantly rural district, with 91% of the population living in rural areas.

Geography

Raebareli district is located in the southern part of Awadh, at the southern end of Lucknow Division. It is compact in shape — no part of the district is especially far from the city of Raebareli. In general, the terrain is flat or gently undulating, and the soil is especially fertile and well-suited to agriculture. The elevation ranges from 100 to 120 m above sea level. The prevailing slope is from higher in the northwest to lower in the southeast, and the rivers that traverse the district all flow in this direction. The main river of Raebareli district is the Ganges, which forms the southern border of the district; the other rivers in the district are all its tributaries. The Ganges enters the district at Malipur, close to the Baksar ghat, and then flows southeast until reaching Bairua, where it bends more to the north. After Ralpur it turns east-northeast until it reaches

Dalmau Dalmau is a historic town and tehsil headquarters in Rae Bareli district of Uttar Pradesh, India. Situated on the banks of the Ganga, between Raebareli and Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh, Fatehpur, the town has several historical monuments including t ...

, where it returns to a southeastern course. It flows mostly straight in this direction until reaching Gukana, where it turns sharply to the south before resuming its original direction at the Naubasta ghat, and then it maintains this course until leaving the district at

Katra Bahadurganj Katra means caravanserai (roadside inn) in Arabic and Persian. Katra may also refer to: Places Bangladesh * Katra (Dhaka), caravanserai inns in Bengal ** Bara Katra ("greater katra"), a historical katra in Dhaka ** Chhota Katra ("lesser katra"), a ...

. The bed of the Ganges is sandy and has a width of about two miles. It is navigable throughout the district for boats carrying up to 40 tons, although now its importance as a means of transportation has declined in favour of road and rail. The other main river in the district is the Sai, which is a tributary of the Ganges. It flows right down the middle of the district, from

Rampur Sudauli Rampur Sudauli is a village in Bachhrawan block of Rae Bareli district, Uttar Pradesh, India. One of the main villages in the historical pargana of Bachhrawan, Rampur Sudauli is located at the corner of three districts: Raebareli, Lucknow distric ...

in the northwestern corner to Kanhpur in the southeast, and has a meandering course. The Sai is not navigable — its depth during the hot season is no more than two feet — and it is not well suited for irrigation because it has high banks, leaving the actual level of the water well below the ground level of the surrounding terrain. Most of the smaller rivers in Raebareli district are tributaries of the Sai. The Basaha, a right-bank tributary of the Sai, has its source in wetlands near

Khiron Khiron is a village and corresponding community development block in Rae Bareli district, Uttar Pradesh, India. Located on the main Raebareli-Unnao road, Khiron is an old Muslim town that historically served as the seat of a pargana. As of 2011, t ...

and then flows in a well-defined bed before joining the Sai near Purai, west of the district headquarters. During the hot months it dries up completely, but during the rainy season it becomes fairly large. In years with high rainfall, the high volume of water in the Basaha can cause flooding further downstream after joining the Sai. The Soh is another small right-bank tributary of the Sai; it begins in Unnao district and flows a bit to the north of the Unnao-Raebareli road before joining the Sai near the village of

Bardar Bardar is a large commune located 15 kilometres south-west of Chișinău, in Ialoveni District, Moldova.Chob, one of two streams with that name in the district, flows north from the watershed at

Itaura Buzurg Itaura Buzurg is a village in Rohaniya block of Rae Bareli district, Uttar Pradesh, India. One of the largest villages in the historical pargana of Salon, it is located 28 km from Raebareli, the district headquarters, near the point where t ...

to its confluence with the Sai at

Bara Dih Bara Dih, also spelled Baradih, is a village in Salon block of Rae Bareli district, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located 3 km northwest of Salon, the block headquarters, close to the point where the Chob stream joins the Sai river. As of 20 ...

, near

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

. This river historically formed the boundary between the Baiswara region and the lands of the Kanhpuria Rajputs. There are also four small streams that go by the generic name Naiya; these are seasonal drainage channels that dry up during the cold months. The

Kathwara Naiya Kathwara is a large village in Bakshi Ka Talab block of Lucknow district, Uttar Pradesh, India. As of 2011, its population is 6,740, in 1,303 households. Kathwara is a village with a long history, with legendary origins said to date back to th ...

begins northeast of

Johwa Sharqi Johwa Sharki, also spelled Sharqi, is a village in Harchandpur block of Rae Bareli district, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is an especially large village with many hamlets spread out over a wide area. It lies a bit to the north of the river Sai, betwe ...

and flows southeast, then south, and then after reaching the namesake village of Kathwara it turns southwest. It joins the Sai near the village of Andohar. The

Maharajganj Naiya Maharajganj may refer to: Bihar, India * Maharajganj, Siwan * Maharajganj Subdivision * Maharajganj (community development block) ** Maharajganj, Bihar Assembly constituency ** Maharajganj, Bihar Lok Sabha constituency Uttar Pradesh, India * Mahr ...

rises in the jhils near

Kumhrawan Kumhrawan is a village in Shivgarh block of Rae Bareli district, Uttar Pradesh, India. Formerly a pargana headquarters, it consists of a main village and several scattered hamlets. As of 2011, Kumhrawan has a population of 2,441, in 426 household ...

in the north of the district; it takes a meandering course towards the south before joining the Sai at the village of Makraha near Parshadepur. The

Nasirabad Naiya Nasirabad or Nasir Abad ( fa, ناصر آباد) may refer to: Bangladesh * Mymensingh, Bangladesh, formerly named Nasirabad India * Nasirabad, Ajmer in Rajasthan, India * Nasirabad, Raibareli in Uttar Pradesh, India Iran Ardabil Province * Na ...

flows south past Nasirabad, its namesake, then turns east for a short distance before turning back to the south. It joins the Sai near Ateha in Pratapgarh district. The last stream called the Naiya is the

Simrauta Naiya Simrauta is a village in Tiloi block of Rae Bareli district, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located at the intersection of the Maharajganj-Inhauna and Mohanganj- Haidargarh roads, about 20 km from Maharajganj, the tehsil headquarters. Although ...

, which originates in Barabanki district and is a tributary of the Gomti rather than the Sai. There are also a couple of tributaries of the Ganges in Raebareli district. One is the other Chob, which begins on the south side of the Itaura Buzurg watershed and flows south before joining the Ganges at

Shahzadpur Shahjadpur ( bn, শাহজাদপুর) is an upazila or sub-district of Sirajganj District in Rajshahi Division of Bangladesh. History Makhdum Shah Daulah Shahid was a Fourteenth Century Muslim saint recognized for his preaching of Islam ...

, just upstream from the Gukana ghat. The Loni, further west, can be fairly large but usually dries up during the hot season. It begins in Unnao district and then follows a winding course through Raebareli district before joining the Ganges just west of Dalmau. These rivers and streams demarcate the main natural areas of the district. There are four main areas: the Ganges floodplains, in the south along the Ganges; the Dalmau plain, which is the upland area between the limits of the Ganges floodwaters and the Sai catchment; the Sai Catchment, extending for about 25 km on either side of the Sai; and the Bachhrawan- Jais plain in the north.

Ganges floodplain

In the south are the low-lying '' khadar'' lands below the old high bank of the Ganges. This area is locally called ''kachar''. In some places, the Ganges bank is a cliff and the kachar is nonexistent; in other areas it can be up to 2 miles wide. Kachar lands closest to the river are inundated each year during the wet season, so that cultivation is only possible during the

rabi Rabi may refer to: Places * Rábí, a castle in the Czech Republic * Rabí, a village in the Czech Republic * Räbi, a village in Estonia * Rabi, Panchthar, a village development committee in Nepal * Rabi Island, a volcanic island in northern F ...

season. Kachar lands further inland are generally protected from annual floods; they are well-suited for agriculture and often do well without irrigation. Villages in this area are especially large and usually are built on the high bank of the Ganges to protect from flood waters.

Dalmau plain

Above the high bank of the Ganges, the landscape is eroded by tributary channels so that it consists of various mostly-flat plateaus separated by

nala Nala (Sanskrit: नल) is a character in the ''Vana Parva'' book of the ''Mahabharata''. He was the king of Nishadha Kingdom and the son of Veerasena. Nala was known for his skill with horses and for his culinary expertise. He married prince ...

s. The soil in the Ganges uplands is typically a light loam with a fair amount of sand mixed in; the plateaus have more fertile soil than the ravines along the nalas. Wheat is the main cereal crop grown in this area; there are only a few localities where the water collects in hollows and rice is the staple crop. Historically, this tract was well-shaded by mango and mahua groves. A bit further north, there is a belt of slightly lower-lying land with stiffer clay soil interspersed with broad shallow wetlands and patches of barren '' usar'' land. This area stretches from Khiron towards Lalganj and Thalrai, and then on to

Bela Bhela Bela Bhela, also called Uttarpara, is a village in Rahi block of Rae Bareli district, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located 9 km from Rae Bareli, the district headquarters, east of the road to Dalmau. It lies in a belt of stiff clay soil whic ...

and Rohanian. Rice is the main crop grown here — in many areas, the soil is too stiff to support rabi crops, and in still other areas, it only supports a light crop of gram and linseed after the rice harvest. A mostly continuous chain of jhils runs through this clayey region for the entire length of the district. They are parallel to the courses of the Ganges and the Sai, and they may represent an old river bed. This group of jhils is distinctly deep and narrow compared to elsewhere in the district, and many of them are oxbow or irregular in shape. The soil here is much less stiff than the surrounding clay, and instead it ranges from sand to light loam. The chain of jhils forms three distinct systems: in the west, near Khiron, they form the source of the Basaha; closer to Dalmau, they form a series of small channels that eventually join the Sai; finally, in the east near Salon, they form one of the Naiyas which eventually goes into Pratapgarh district. The jhils all dry up mostly or entirely during the hot season.

Sai catchment

The Sai uplands generally resemble the Ganges uplands, although here the least fertile soils are more extreme than in the Ganges uplands. The good soils along the Sai, though, are among the best in the district for agriculture. On the south side of the river, west of Raebareli, many nalas cut up the terrain. The Sai basin narrows further east, around Pandri Ganeshpur.

Bachhrawan-Jais plain

The northern part of the district generally has firm loamy or clayey soil, with rice as the staple crop. This area is studded with various jhils, of which the largest are the Mung Tal, Hanswa, Khaur, and Salothu. Like the jhils on the Dalmau plain, these northern jhils largely dry up during the hot season. Settlements in this region are more sparsely distributed than elsewhere in the district.

Forests

Woodlands once covered a large area in Raebareli district, but this has mostly been cleared to make room for agriculture. In the 1800s, William Henry Sleeman described a large jungle stretching out for 12 miles on either side of the Sai, which historically formed a stronghold of the Nain Kanhpurias; after their participation in the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the British cut down parts of it to break it up. Patches of dhak jungle remain throughout the areas with stiff soils, as well as along the Sai, but their total area is negligible. The common trees of Raebareli district are the same as the rest of southern Awadh. The most common growing wild are neem, babul, bargad, pipal, tamarisk, and jamun. Mango and mahua trees are also widely grown in orchards throughout the district. The shisham is uncommon in Raebareli district, and past attempts to introduce the

sal Sal, SAL, or S.A.L. may refer to: Personal name * Sal (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname Places * Sal, Cape Verde, an island and municipality * Sal, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province * Ca ...

were unsuccessful.

Wildlife

Due to extensive deforestation in modern times, the number and variety of wild animals present in Raebareli district has fallen significantly. In the early 19th century there were wild tigers, hyenas, and buffaloes in the high tamarisk woodlands along the Ganges, but these had disappeared by 1900. The Indian wolf was also once common, but by the 20th century it had become rare. Antelopes, also once common, have similarly declined and are now represented by a few nilgai along the Ganges as well as some blackbucks along the Ganges and around Bachhrawan. Wild cattle also exist in small numbers along the Sai and Ganges, and jackals are also sometimes seen. Other mammals include foxes, cats, and mongooses. The birds present in the district are similar to surrounding districts. There are plenty of waterfowl and snipe during the cold months, and quail are also fairly common. There are also some

black partridge The black partridge (''Melanoperdix niger''), also known as the black wood partridge, is a small (up to 27 cm long) partridge with a thick bill, grey legs and dark brown iris. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Melanoperdix''. ...

s and sandgrouses on the Ganges floodplain. The

red-headed parrot Red hair (also known as orange hair and ginger hair) is a Human hair color, hair color found in one to two percent of the world population, human population, appearing with greater frequency (two to six percent) among people of northern Eur ...

was also formerly caught for its feathers.

History

Raebareli district did not exist as a distinct administrative division until 1858. After the British annexation of Oudh State in 1856, there was originally a Salon district, with its headquarters at

, and which stretched from Purwa to

Allahabad Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administrat ...

, but in 1858 this was scrapped and Raebareli district was created. However, Raebareli district has since undergone major territorial changes. As originally drawn up, Raebareli district was composed of four tehsils: Raebareli, Haidergarh, Bihar, and

. Raebareli and Dalmau tehsils, which were soon merged, each contained a single

pargana Pargana ( bn, পরগনা, , hi, परगना, ur, پرگنہ) or parganah, also spelt pergunnah during the time of the Sultanate period, Mughal times and British Raj, is a former administrative unit of the Indian subcontinent and each ...

of the same name. Haidergarh tehsil contained four parganas: Haidergarh,

, Bachhrawan, and Hardoi. Meanwhile, Bihar tehsil covered the region known as Baiswara and had nine parganas: Bihar,

, Sareni, Bhagwantnagar, Daundia Khera,

Patan Patan may refer to several places in Afghanistan, India and Nepal: Afghanistan *Patan, Afghanistan India * Patan district, in the state of Gujarat * Patan, Gujarat, the main city of the eponymous district * Patan was the ancient capital of Gujara ...

Panhan Panhan, also called Panhan Khas, is a small village in Purwa block of Unnao district, Uttar Pradesh, India. Located due south of Purwa and a bit to the west of the Loni River, it historically was the seat of a pargana. As of 2011, the village's p ...

, Magrayar, and Ghatampur. The resulting district boundaries were very irregular and in 1869 there was a significant administrative overhaul. All of Bihar tehsil except for Khiron and Sareni were transferred into Unnao district, and the Haidergarh pargana was moved into Barabanki district. Meanwhile, the parganas of

Inhauna Inhauna is a village and corresponding in Singhpur block of Rae Bareli district, Uttar Pradesh, India. As of 2011, its population is 13,049, in 2,021 households. Located at the junction of the Raebareli-Rudauli and Lucknow- Jaunpur roads, Inhauna ...

Mohanganj Mohanganj ( bn, মোহনগঞ্জ) is an upazila of Netrokona District in the Mymensingh division of Bangladesh. It is one of the 10 upazilas of Netrakona district. Mohanganj is largely known as the capital of Lower Bangladesh as it is the ...

Rokha Jais Rokha is a large village in Dih block of Rae Bareli district, Uttar Pradesh, India. Historically the namesake of a pargana, Rokha is a predominantly agricultural village consisting of many hamlets. It is located 28 km from Raebareli, the dis ...

, and Simrauta were moved into Raebareli district from Sultanpur district, while the parganas of Salon and Parshadepur were taken from Pratapgarh district. As a result of these changes, the tehsil arrangement of Raebareli district was altered. A new Dalmau tehsil was formed containing the parganas of Dalmau, Khiron, and Sareni, leaving Raebareli tehsil containing the single pargana of Raebareli. Salon remained a tehsil headquarters, as it had been under Pratapgarh district, comprising the parganas of Salon, Parshadepur, and Rokha Jais (replacing Ateha, which was left in Pratapgarh district). In the north of the district, the remnants of the Haidergarh and Mohanganj tehsils were united under the new Maharajganj tehsil, which comprised the parganas of Mohanganj, Simrauta, Inhauna, Kumhrawan, Bachhrawan, and Hardoi. When Raebareli district was first formed, it was made the seat of Raebareli division, along with Sultanpur and Pratapgarh districts, but in 1891 this division was merged with Lucknow division.

Early history

The history of what is now Raebareli district is mostly unknown until the time of the medieval

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).

. The only sources for this period are local traditions. One thing that most traditions agree on is that this region was originally ruled by the Bhars, and most old ruins in the district are generally attributed to them. The Bhars appear to have been in power in this area longer than anywhere else in Awadh, and they were not finally subjugated until the reign of

Ibrahim Shah Ibrahim Shah may refer to * Ibrahim Shah of Jaunpur *Ibrahim Shah of Selangor *Ibrahim Shah of Johor Paduka Sri Sultan Ibrahim Shah Zilu'llah fil'Alam Khalifat ul-Muminin ibni al-Marhum Yam Tuan Muda Raja Bajau was the Sultan of Johor from Hous ...

of the Jaunpur Sultanate (early 15th century). According to legend, the cities of Raebareli and

take their names from two Bhar rulers named Dal and Bal, but if they ever existed, it is impossible to assign any dates to them. In any case, tradition holds that the Bhars were later driven out by the Rajputs and, to a lesser extent, the Muslims. The Rajputs that came to rule over the area of today's Raebareli district mostly belonged to three main clains: the Bais in the south and west, the Kanhpurias in the east, and the Amethias in the north. Of these, the Bais were the first; their family traditions state that they came to this region around 1250 under one Abhai Chand, who was rewarded by the Gautam Raja of Argal (in what is now Fatehpur district) with a grant of lands that the raja had only nominal control over. His descendants came to rule over the region known as Baiswara. The Kanhpurias also became powerful in this region at an early date; their original base was at Kanhpur between Salon and Pratapgarh. As for the Amethias, they were always the weakest of the three clans in this region; they got their name from the town of Amethi in today's Lucknow district.

Early Muslim dynasties

The early history of the Muslims in this region are not clear. According to legend, Dalmau was conquered by Salar Sahu, father of

Sayyid Salar Masud Ghazi Salar Masud or Ghazi Miyan (1014 – 1034 CE) was a semi-legendary Muslim figure from India. By the 12th century, he had become reputed as a warrior, and his tomb ('' dargah'') at Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, India, had become a place of pilgri ...

, in 423 AH, and he then appointed one Malik Abdullah as governor. However, it is more likely that Dalmau only came under Muslim control during the reign of Muhammad bin Tughlaq of 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).

, when one Malik Mubarak was made governor, and that before this Dalmau had been under Hindu rule. Some early Muslim immigrants also came from Manikpur, such as the Gardezi Sayyids of

Mustafabad Mustafabad or Mustafaabad may refer to: India * Mustafabad, Delhi, a census town ** Mustafabad Assembly constituency * Mustafabad, Haryana, now Saraswati Nagar, a town in Yamunanagar district * Mustafabad, Kapurthala, a village in Punjab Pakistan ...

and the Pathans of Amanwan and

Pahremau Pahremau is a village in Amawan block of Rae Bareli district, Uttar Pradesh, India. Located 5 km from Maharajganj on the road to Nigohan, it is an old Muslim centre that historically served as the headquarters of a taluqdari estate. As of 2 ...

. The Jaunpur Sultanate was the first major Muslim polity to make significant inroads in the area of today's district. In 1376, one Mardan Daulat Nasir-ul-Mulk was given the territories of Kara and Mahoba, along with the iqta of Dalmau. This man was given the title "Malik-ush-Sharq" by Firoz Shah Tughlaq and later became known as Khizr Khan. It is not known how long Khizr Khan retained control of Dalmau, but in 1394 it was given to Khwaja-i-Jahan, founder of the Jaunpur Sultanate, along with the rest of Awadh. The most prominent of the Jaunpur Sultans in the history of Raebareli district was Ibrahim Shah, who rose to power in 1401. He posted a governor at Dalmau and went to war against the Bhars and Rajputs, and he went on to establish most of the Muslim outposts in the area. It was during this time that Raebareli was probably built up into a major town for the first time, with a qazi posted there. After Ibrahim Shah's death, however, the Bais and Kanhpuria Rajputs reasserted their independence and were not subdued until the reign of the final Jaunpur Sultan, Husain Shah, who was Ibrahim's grandson. After Husain Shah's defeat by

Bahlol Lodi Bahlul Khan Lodi (12 July 1489) was the chief of the Pashtun Lodi tribe. Founder of the Lodi dynasty from the Delhi Sultanate upon the abdication of the last claimant from the previous Sayyid rule. Bahlul became sultan of the dynasty on 19 ...

, the region came under the nominal authority of the Delhi Sultanate. The Rajputs again took advantage of the temporary instability to strengthen their own position. In 1492, the Bachgotis in what is now Pratapgarh district rebelled, and Sikandar Lodi went on a campaign against them. He reached Dalmau in 1493, and fought a battle at Katghar nearby where he routed the Bachgotis. Another rebellion later broke out in Jaunpur, and Sikandar passed through the area on his way to deal with it. He stopped at Dalmau on the way and married the widow of

Sher Khan Lohani Sher can refer to: People * Sher, a Baloch tribe in Pakistan * Sher-e-Bangla (''Lion of Bengal''), a popular title of 20th century Bengali statesman A. K. Fazlul Huq * Sher-e-Punjab (''Lion of Punjab''), a popular title of Maharaja Ranjit Sin ...

while he was there.

Ain-i-Akbari

At the time of the

Ain-i-Akbari The ''Ain-i-Akbari'' ( fa, ) or the "Administration of Akbar", is a 16th-century detailed document recording the administration of the Mughal Empire under Emperor Akbar, written by his court historian, Abu'l Fazl in the Persian language. It for ...

in the late 1500s, the area of today's Raebareli district was divided between three different sarkars in two

subah A Subah was the term for a province (State) in the Mughal Empire. The word is derived from Arabic and Persian. The governor/ruler of a ''Subah'' was known as a '' subahdar'' (sometimes also referred to as a "''Subeh''"), which later became ''subed ...

s: most belonged to Manikpur sarkar in Allahabad Subah, while portions in the north and west were included in Awadh and Lucknow sarkars in Awadh Subah. 12 ''mahal''s (i.e. parganas) of Manikpur sarkar were located partly or totally in the area of Raebareli district. In the north was Bhilwal, aka Bhalol, which was named after a village in what is now Barabanki district; it was later transferred to Nagram in today's

Lucknow district Lucknow district is a district located in the state of Uttar Pradesh in northern India. The city of Lucknow is the district headquarters and the district is part of Lucknow Division. It also is the capital of Uttar Pradesh Lucknow is Bounded on ...

, and Nagram remained the pargana headquarters until the foundation of Haidergarh at the end of the 18th century. The small pargana of

Thulendi Thulendi (Devanagari: ठुलेऺदी ) is a village in Bachhrawan block of Rae Bareli district, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located 6 km from Bachhrawan, the block headquarters, on an elevated plain with clayey soil. A historic villag ...

bordered Bhilwal to the south; its namesake was an old Muslim ''qasba'', and the headquarters were moved to Bachhrawan during the time of Shuja-ud-Daula. To the south of Thulendi was the large pargana of Raebareli. South of Raebareli was Dalmau, whose borders then probably corresponded fairly closely with its 20th-century borders, although some of the western part probably belonged to the Baiswara ''mahal''s of Lucknow sarkar. Bordering Dalmau was the pargana of Salon, which provided the Mughal army with an "unusually large force" consisting of 8,900 infantry and 180 cavalry. North of Salon, and bordering Raebareli, was the pargana of Nasirabad, which included the later parganas of Parshadepur and Rokha (before it was merged with Jais). The pargana of Jais, at that time, also covered the later parganas of Mohanganj,

Gaura Jamun ''Gaura'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Onagraceae, native to North America. The genus includes many species known commonly as beeblossoms. Recent genetic research has shown that the genus is paraphyletic unless the monotypic ge ...

(now in Sultanpur district), and part of Simrauta. The Kanhpurias were probably already the predominant group in the pargana; the later dismantling of Jais pargana took place towards the end of the 18th century, at the same time that the Kanhpuria estates were divided. Two other ''mahal''s from Manikpur sarkar covered parts of Raebareli district: Qariat Guzara and Qariat Paegah. These were each very scattered entities consisting of various villages throughout the Salon tehsil as well as Pratapgarh district (Qariat Guzara had 262 villages and Qariat Paegah had 256). The purpose of Qariat Guzara is unclear; the word ''guzara'' means "maintenance", and it has been suggested that this ''mahal'' consisted of either villages assigned to the ruler's own (private) servants or villages whose revenues went towards the cost of entertaining royal messengers or other public servants passing through Manikpur. As for Qariat Paegah, the word ''paegah'' refers to a

stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

, indicating that its villages' revenues were set aside to defray the expenses incurred through the purchase and maintenance of the royal cattle. The two ''mahal''s each had their own courts as well as their own qanungos, whose descendants are still known as Guzaras and Paegahwalas respectively. In the sarkar of Awadh, there were two ''mahal''s that covered parts of Raibareli district; these were Inhauna and Subeha. In the ''Ain-i-Akbari'', Inhauna is said to have been held by

Chauhan Chauhan, historically ''Chahamana'', is a clan name historically associated with the various ruling Rajput families during the Medieval India in Rajasthan. Subclans Khichi, Hada, Songara, Bhadauria, Devda etc. are the branches or subclan ...

s who had recently converted to Islam, which is possibly a reference to the Bhale Sultans, although they were mostly based further east. Alternatively, this could be a confused reference to the Bais of Inhauna, who are known to have converted to Islam in large numbers at an early date. As for Subeha, it was a very large ''mahal'' at that point; besides the later pargana of that name in today's Barabanki district, it also included the northern part of the later pargana of Simrauta, and possibly the northwestern part of Inhauna as well, although its exact boundaries at the time are uncertain. At the time of the ''Ain-i-Akbari'', the western part of today's Raebareli district was part of Lucknow sarkar, but the correspondence here is harder to trace. The modern parganas of Khiron and Sareni, in Baiswara, were then divided into several ''mahal''s that later ceased to exist. The ones in Sareni include

Nisgar Nisgar is a village in Sareni block of Rae Bareli district, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located on the bank of the Ganges, 23 km from the tehsil headquarters at Lalganj. Nisgar is mentioned in the late 16th-century Ain-i-Akbari as the seat ...

(or "Lashkar"), named after a village on the banks of the Ganges southwest of Sareni;

Tara Singhaur Singhaur Tara is a village in Sareni block of Rae Bareli district, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located on the bank of the Ganges, 18 km from the tehsil headquarters at Lalganj. Singhaur Tara is probably identical with the '' mahal'' called ...

, named after the present village of

Singhaur Tara Singhaur Tara is a village in Sareni block of Rae Bareli district, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located on the bank of the Ganges, 18 km from the tehsil headquarters at Lalganj. Singhaur Tara is probably identical with the '' mahal'' called ...

some distance downstream from Nisgar, in the far southeast of the pargana;

Kahanjara Kahinjar is a village in Sareni block of Rae Bareli district, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located 20 km from Lalganj, the tehsil headquarters. Kahinjar historically served as the headquarters of a ''mahal'' since at least the time of Akbar, ...

, whose name is still preserved in the village of

Kahanjar Kahinjar is a village in Sareni block of Rae Bareli district, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located 20 km from Lalganj, the tehsil headquarters. Kahinjar historically served as the headquarters of a ''mahal'' since at least the time of Akbar, ...

in the north of the pargana; and finally Deorakh, which refers to the present-day hamlet of Deorahar in the village of Raipur, and which covered the south-central part of the pargana. As for Khiron, it was mostly if not entirely covered by the ''mahal'' of Satanpur, although the northwestern corner may have belonged to

Maurawan Maurawan, also spelled Mauranwan, is a town and nagar panchayat in Purwa tehsil of Unnao district, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located 12 km from Purwa on the road to Raebareli, and 3 km to the southwest of the town is the large Basaha ...

in Unnao district, or one of the other small ''mahal''s of Baiswara. Maurawan must have also included the later pargana of Raebareli. The ''mahal'' called "Haihar" in the ''Ain-i-Akbari'' probably corresponds to the modern village of Aihar, near Lalganj; this was a small ''mahal'' that belonged to the Bais. Finally, the ''mahal'' of Hardoi seems to be identical with the later pargana of the same name (not to be confused with the Hardoi in Hardoi district), but this is located some distance away from the rest of Lucknow sarkar and would have been entirely surrounded by Manikpur. It's not clear why this territory was included in Lucknow rather than Manikpur.

Later Mughals and Nawabs of Awadh

After Akbar died, the Rajput clans in the region once again enjoyed a period of relative independence. From this period until the foundation of Oudh State in the 18th century, the history of this area is basically synonymous with the history of its Rajput dynasties. It was during this period that the Saibasi branch of the Bais established their large domain. When Saadat Ali Khan I was made governor of Awadh, he travelled through the region to secure the submission of the Rajput leaders. In order to earn their loyalty, he acknowledged the Rajput chiefs' rulership and entrusted them with collection of revenues within their own territories. This policy was generally successful.

Asaf-ud-Daula Mirza Asaf-ud-Daula (23 September 1748 – 21 September 1797) was the Nawab wazir of Oudh ratified by Shah Alam II, from 26 January 1775 to 21 September 1797, and the son of Shuja-ud-Dowlah. His mother and grandmother were the Begums of Oudh. ...

succeeded to the throne in 1774 and granted his mother the parganas of Salon, Jais, and Nasirabad in

jagir A jagir ( fa, , translit=Jāgir), also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar (Zamindar) system. It developed during the Islamic rule era of the Indian subcontinent, start ...

. He also put Raebareli, Dalmau, Khiron, and Thulendi under the control of the

chakladar Chakladar ( bn, চাকলাদার (Bengali) ) also spelled as Chaklader which means ′Head of the Chakla′, is a Bengali Surname of the people in the Indian states of West Bengal and Bangladesh (previously Bengal Presidency). Origin and m ...

of Baiswara at about the same time. From then until the British annexation of Awadh, the area of today's Raebareli district was then divided between the chaklas of Salon and Baiswara.

Divisions

Raebareli district is divided into 7 tehsils and 21 community development blocks, as follows: * Maharajganj tehsil ** Bachhrawan block **

Shivgarh Shivgarh is a Nagar Panchayat (Town Panchayat; transl. 'town council') or Notified Area Council (NAC) in Rae Bareli district, Uttar Pradesh, India. As of 2011, its population is 2,812, in 536 households. It has 6 primary schools and 1 healthcar ...

block ** Maharajganj block * Tiloi tehsil ** Singhpur block ** Tiloi block ** Bahadurpur block *

Rai Bareli Raebareli is a city in Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Raebareli district and a part of Lucknow Division. The city is situated on the banks of the Sai river, southeast of Lucknow. It possesses many ...

tehsil ** Harchandpur block **

Amawan Amawan is a village and corresponding community development block in Rae Bareli district, Uttar Pradesh, India. It historically was the seat of a taluqdari estate held by a Pathan family and eventually split into two shares. As of 2011, its popula ...

block ** Sataon block ** Rahi block * Lalganj tehsil **

block ** Sareni block ** Lalganj block *

tehsil **

block **

Deenshah Gaura Deenshah Gaura is a community development block in Dalmau tehsil of Raebareli district, Uttar Pradesh, India. It consists of 71 rural villages, with a total population of 104,149 people. The headquarters are located in the village of Gaura Hardo. ...

block * Unchahar tehsil ** Jagatpur block ** Unchahar block **

Rohniya Rohaniya is a village and corresponding community development block in Unchahar tehsil of Rae Bareli district, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located 43 km from Raebareli, the district headquarters. As of 2011, Rohaniya has a population of 3,880 ...

block *

tehsil ** Dih block **

Chhatoh Chhatoh is a village and corresponding community development block in Salon tehsil of Rae Bareli district, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located 43 km from Raebareli, the district headquarters. As of 2011, Chhatoh has a population of 3,999 peop ...

block **

block

Municipalities

Rae Bareli district has 9 statutory towns, including 2 Nagar Palika Parishads (municipal boards) and 7 Nagar Panchayats. There are no non-statutory

census town In India and some other countries, a census town is designated as a town that satisfies certain characteristics. India In India, a census town is one which is not statutorily notified and administered as a town, but nevertheless whose population ...

s in the district. The district's towns are as follows:

Villages

Raebareli district has 1,773 villages, of which 1,733 are inhabited and 40 are uninhabited. As of 2011, a majority of the populated villages (950 of them or 56%) have a population between 500 and 1,999 people. At the extreme ends of the spectrum, there are 67 villages (4% of the total) with a population below 200, and there are 16 (1%) with a population greater than 10,000. In some places, a village's population is entirely clustered in the main site, or ''abadi'', while in other cases a village consists of multiple hamlets, or ''purwa''s, dotting the landscape. There are over 8,000 such hamlets in Raebareli district, many of which are extremely small and consist of only two or three houses. These hamlets are typically founded by cultivators who want to live close to their fields in order to tend to them better.

Economy

Raebareli district is predominantly agrarian and it produces large amounts of grain. The district is self-sufficient in grain production and also exports some to places like Europe, Japan, and North America. In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Raebareli one of the country's 250 most backward districts (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 ...

). It is one of the 34 districts in Uttar Pradesh currently receiving funds from the

Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme Backward or Backwards is a relative direction. Backwards or Sdrawkcab (the word "backwards" with its letters reversed) may also refer to: * "Backwards" (''Red Dwarf''), episode of sci-fi TV sitcom ''Red Dwarf'' ** ''Backwards'' (novel), a nov ...

(BRGF). Raebareli has also been nominated by the state government for receiving aid through central government's Smart Cities in India Programme. Powerplant at Unchahar (

National Thermal Power Limited National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

, NTPC)

Agriculture

There are two main harvests, the kharif in autumn and the

in spring. As in other areas, the intermediate

zaid Zaid (also transliterated as Zayd, ar, زيد) is an Arabic given name and surname. Zaid *Zaid Abbas Jordanian basketball player * Zaid Abdul-Aziz (born 1946), American basketball player * Zaid Al-Harb (1887–1972), Kuwaiti poet *Zaid al-Rifa ...

harvest that takes place during the summer is far less significant. In general, kharif crops are sown over a wider area than rabi crops, but the latter are economically more valuable. During the 1970s, there was a significant increase in the area under rabi crops so that by 1981 it covered a larger area than kharif cropland.

Kharif crops

Rice is by far the most important kharif crop. The district is well-suited to rice cultivation: the northern part of the district is situated in a belt of clayey soil ideal for growing rice, and in the south, the lake-studded area between Dalmau, Raebareli, and Salon is also a major rice-growing region. There are two types of rice known as early (''dhan'' or ''kuari'') and late (''jarhan''). Late rice produces a higher yield per acre, but is more cost-intensive to produce. It involves transplanting the rice plants once they reach a height of 5 or 6 inches into special enclosures called ''jhata''s that are reclaimed from lakes or marshes, or alternatively into adjoining land well-suited for irrigation. Late rice is sown after the onset of the monsoon rains and harvested in November. Its land is usually not used to grow rabi crops. Early rice, meanwhile, is more dependent on rainfall. It is sown in July and then weeding begins two weeks later. It is harvested in mid-September, and then in October the fields are prepared for rabi crops such as peas, barley, or wheat. The other main kharif crop is

juwar ''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a grass species cultivated for its grain, which is used for food for humans, animal feed, and ethanol produ ...

, which is the largest of the millets. It does best in loamy soils and is most extensively grown in the area around Dalmau. Juwar can do fairly well on its own without much intervention, and many farmworkers will mostly leave it alone between sowing and harvesting and devote their attention to other crops instead. Kodon, a smaller millet, is also grown widely in the district. Like juwar, it can succeed with minimal intervention. The two are often grown along with arhar. Urd, along with other pulses like moth and mung, is generally grown in outlying fields or mixed in with groves. Sown in August and harvested in November, these crops are generally not irrigated and depend on good rains late in the season. Bajra is generally not very widely grown in the district, but it makes for an important crop in certain localities, particularly along the Sai. It is only grown in lighter soils, often mixed with arhar, and requires less rainfall than juwar — as long as the rain doesn't fail altogether, bajra typically provides a good harvest. Another fairly widespread crop is mandua, which is grown more in Raebareli district than in most parts of Awadh. Other crops grown during the kharif season include

sunn hemp ''Crotalaria juncea'', known as brown hemp, Indian hemp, Madras hemp, or sunn hemp, is a tropical Asian plant of the legume family (Fabaceae). It is generally considered to have originated in India.Heuzé V., Thiollet H., Tran G., Lebas F., 201 ...

, oilseeds, groundnuts, onions,

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...

, potatoes, and miscellaneous fruits and vegetables. The potato in particular is the main vegetable crop in the district.

Rabi crops

Among the rabi crops, the most important are wheat and barley. Wheat is economically more important than barley, although it is less extensively grown. It does best in light, loamy soil and is usually irrigated. Preparation of wheat fields begins before the monsoon rains come, when they are treated with manure, and then in late September they are cleared of weeds. The wheat is sown in early October, then given a first watering in early November once the plants reach 2 or 3 inches in height. The fields are again irrigated in December, and often also a third time in late January, and then the crop is harvested in late March and early April. As for barley, it is usually grown mixed with gram, although sometimes it's mixed with wheat instead, or grown alone. It is grown in all types of soil and usually is not irrigated, instead relying on good rains during the winter. Gram is commonly grown either with barley or linseed. It does best in clayey soil and often is planted in fields that are also used to grow rice. It is planted in October and then nipped while young, before flowering, in order to improve growth. It ripens by March and the harvest is usually finished by the second week in April. Among other rabi crops, peas are usually sown together with other crops such as barley or oilseeds. They are widely cultivated, and in drier seasons they provide an important source of income for farmers. Tobacco is not widely grown, although several villages have a reputation for producing it due to the brackish water in their wells.

Kandrawan Kandrawan is a village in Unchahar block of Raebareli district, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located on the road from Salon to Khaga, near the banks of the Ganges. Nearby there is a ferry crossing the Ganges over to Naubasta in Fatehpur distric ...

Pirhi Pirhi is a village in Dih block of Rae Bareli district, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located 21 km from Raebareli, the district headquarters. As of 2011, it has a population of 794 people, in 141 households. It has one primary school and no ...

, and Oi are a few examples. As with the kharif season, the rabi also has cultivation of sunn hemp, oilseeds, groundnuts, onions, garlic, and potatoes, along with miscellaneous fruits and vegetables. Although now banned, poppy was historically one of the most important crops grown in Raebareli district. Raebareli was one of the main poppy-producing districts in the region, and poppy was "the great rent-paying crop" in the district — on multiple occasions, income from poppy production was enough to pay the entire government revenue. Like wheat, poppy thrives best in lighter soils and was extensively irrigated; it was planted in late October and weeded soon after sprouting. The weeding, as well as irrigation, was repeated 3 or 4 times before the harvest in February and March. There was a dramatic increase in poppy cultivation in the late 19th century, peaking in 1884 and declining somewhat after that.

Zaid crops

The zaid harvest is a comparatively minor one — in 1980–1981, zaid croplands covered an area of just 8,223 hectares, compared to almost 200,000 hectares for the kharif and rabi crops. The main zaid crop is sanwan ('' Panicum miliaceum''), a small-grained millet that grows fast and prefers stiffer soils. Melons are not widely grown; most melon production is along the course of the Sai. Hot-weather rice is also grown along the edges of lakes, swamps, and drainage channels. It is typically grown by making an embankment in a jhil when there is still plenty of water, and then emptying it of water and using that area to sow the rice. Irrigation is then brought in from outside.

Irrigation

Raebareli district has plenty of irrigation sources, both natural and artificial. Although typically shallow, the extensive lakes and jhils sprinkled across the district provide plenty of water to irrigate rice when the monsoon rains let up, and they also provide enough water for at least one or two waterings during the winter months. These natural sources are supplemented by a variety of artificial sources: wells, canals, tube wells, and lift irrigation. As of 2011, 82.2% of the total farmland in Raebareli district is irrigated. Of this, 51.2% is by canals, 48.3% is by tube wells, and 0.5% comes from other sources. As of 1998, the district had a canal network of 2,775 km along with 56,019 pumping stations, 382 government-owned and 9,460 privately owned tube wells, and 2,436 masonry wells.

Industry

Before the 1970s, there was no large-scale industry in Raebareli district. Between 1972 and 1982, 11 large industrial units opened in the district, collectively employing 6,000 people. These included factories belonging to Indian Telephone Industries Limited and to Modi Carpets, a textile mill, a spinning mill, a

sugar mill A sugar cane mill is a factory that processes sugar cane to produce raw or white sugar. The term is also used to refer to the equipment that crushes the sticks of sugar cane to extract the juice. Processing There are a number of steps in pro ...

, a

paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt, ...

, and manufacturers of

soft drink A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a drink that usually contains water (often carbonated), a sweetener, and a natural and/or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a su ...

s and high-tension insulators. As of 1982, there were 8 more large- and medium-scale units under construction, including two paper mills, two foundries, a

magnesite Magnesite is a mineral with the chemical formula (magnesium carbonate). Iron, manganese, cobalt, and nickel may occur as admixtures, but only in small amounts. Occurrence Magnesite occurs as veins in and an alteration product of ultramafic ro ...

- bauxite complex under

UPSIDC Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Authority (UPSIDA), formerly UP State Industrial Development Corporation, is a corporation of Government of Uttar Pradesh, which promotes industries and develops industrial infrastructure in the State. ...

, and a manufacturer of PVC power cables. The Modern Coach Factory at Lalganj, which commenced operation in 2012, covers an area of 541 hectares and employs up to 1,450 people in producing Linke Holfmann Busch (LHB) coaches for Indian Railways. Small-scale industry also expanded dramatically in the district during the 1970s: from 291 registered units in 1972 to 1,354 as of July 1982. These included manufacturers of power transformers, electric cables, fertilizers, chlorinated wax, injection needles, PVC pipes,

barbed wire A close-up view of a barbed wire Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire Barbed wire, also known as barb wire, is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strands. Its primary use is t ...

, agricultural implements, leather goods, and

furniture Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...

, among others. Other commodities currently produced by small-scale industries in Raebareli district include plastics, hosiery,

footwear Footwear refers to garments worn on the feet, which typically serves the purpose of protection against adversities of the environment such as wear from ground textures and temperature. Footwear in the manner of shoes therefore primarily serves th ...

, lime, ice cream and other sweets, ayurvedic medicines, beedies,

plywood Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured ...

, mats, baskets, and ropes.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Raebareli district has a population of 3,405,559, roughly equal to the nation of Panama or the US state of Connecticut. This gives it a ranking of 97th in India (out of a total of

). The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 18.51%. Rae Bareli has a sex ratio of 941 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 81.04%. Post division into Amethi district and the remerging of Salon tehsil, it has a population of 2,903,507. Scheduled Castes made up 30.58% of the population in the divided district.

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 ...

, in what is now Raebareli district 94.67% of the population in the district spoke Hindi (or a related language), 3.56% Awadhi and 1.60% Urdu as their first language. The local language is Awadhi but most people record their language as Hindi in the census.

Transportation

Raebareli is on the route of

National Highway 30 The following highways are numbered 30: International * Asian Highway 30 * European route E30 Australia * Albany Highway (State Route 30, Western Australia) Brazil * BR-030 Canada * Alberta Highway 30 (defunct) * British Columbia Highway 30 ...

, between Lucknow and

Ring Road Raebareli The Ring Road is an elevated section of road at Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is an outer bypass road and crosses the Sharda River. It has been constructed to divert the traffic coming from Lucknow Road or Allahabad Road and vice versa ...

is an outer bypass road and crosses the Sharda River. Closest major airport to Raebareli is in Lucknow at about distance on the

. Other major airport is in

at distance on National Highway 30. Rae Bareli town is connected with Lucknow by a branch of the Oudh and Rohilkhand railway, which in 1898 was extended to Benares. A rail line is being built from Raebareli to Akbarganj, on the Northern Railways network.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Raebareli District Districts of Uttar Pradesh