Gorakhpur is a city in the

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

, along the banks of the Rapti river in the Purvanchal region. It is situated 272 kilometers east of the state capital

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

. It is the administrative headquarters of

Gorakhpur district Gorakhpur district is one of the 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. This district is a part of the Gorakhpur division. The city of Gorakhpur, or Gorakhpur is the administrative headquarters of this district and Gorakhpur divi ...

North Eastern Railway Zone The North Eastern Railway (abbreviated NER) is one of the 19 railway zones of Indian Railways in India. It is headquartered at Gorakhpur. Zonal Rail Training Institute (ZRTI) is established in district Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh. North Eastern ...

and Gorakhpur division. The city is home to the

Gorakhnath Math The Shri Gorakhnath Mandir also known as Gorakhnath Temple is a temple of the Nath monastic order group of the Nath tradition. The name Gorakhnath derives from the medieval saint, Gorakshanath (c. 11th century), a yogi who travelled widely acro ...

, a Gorakhnath temple. The city also has an Indian Air Force station, since 1963.

Gita Press Gita Press is the world's largest publisher of Hindu religious texts.Encyclopædia Brita ...

, the world's largest publisher of Hindu religious texts like Ramayana and Mahabharat is also located in Gorakhpur which was established here in 1926.

Etymology

The name "Gorakhpur" comes from the Sanskrit ''Gorakshapuram'', which means abode of Gorakhnath, a renowned ascetic who was a prominent saint of the ''

Nath Sampradaya Nath, also called Natha, are a Shaiva sub-tradition within Hinduism in India and Nepal. A medieval movement, it combined ideas from Buddhism, Shaivism and Yoga traditions in India.

Geography

Gorakhpur is situated about 100 km from the

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

border, 193 km from

Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...

, 260 km from

Patna Patna ( ), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...

and 270 km from

. It is one of the flood vulnerable districts in

Eastern Uttar Pradesh Purvanchal () is a subregion of the Bhojpuri region of India which comprises eastern Uttar Pradesh. Purvanchal region gained independence from the Avadh and Mughal rule under Zamindar Balwant Singh, a Bhumihar zamindar from Benaras State. I ...

. Data over the past 100 years show a considerable increase in the intensity and frequency of floods, with extreme events occurring every three to four years. Roughly 20% of the population is affected by floods, which are an annual occurrence in some areas, causing huge loss of life, health, and livelihoods for the poor inhabitants, as well as damage to public and private property.

Climate

The

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

subtype for this climate is ''Cwa'' (dry-winter humid subtropical climate).

Demographics

As of

2011 Indian Census 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 ...

, Gorakhpur had a total population of 673,446, of which 353,907 were males and 319,539 were females. It has a sex ratio of 903 females per 1000 males. The population within the age group of 0 to 6 years was 69,596. Gorakhpur had a literacy rate of 75.2%, of which male literacy was 79.4% and female literacy was 70.6%. The effective literacy rate of the 7+ population of Gorakhpur was 83.9%, of which the male literacy rate was 88.7% and the female literacy rate was 78.6%. The

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

population was 62,728 and 2,929, respectively. Gorakhpur had 112,237 households in 2011. According to a 2020 report, 31 villages have been incorporated in the municipal corporation limits increasing the population to over 1 million. The city area has also increased from 145.5 km² in 2011 to 226.6 km². The state government has also declared Gorakhpur,as a metropolis on 22 November 2021. Apart from Gorakhpur Municipal Corporation, the government has declared three nagar panchayats and eight development blocks as a metropolitan area. For this, the urban Development Department has issued a notification to the city. According to the order issued by the Additional Chief Secretary, Urban Development, now in Gorakhpur Metropolitan Region, Municipal Corporation, Nagar Panchayat Pipraich, Nagar Panchayat PPganj, Nagar Panchayat Mundera Bazar, Chargawa, Khorabar, Pipraich, Sardar Nagar, Piprauli, Jungle Kaudiya, Campierganj and The entire area of Bhathat development block has been covered. After this the population of Gorakhpur metropolis will be around 25 lakhs.

Transport

Railways

Gorakhpur is connected through a rail network and

Gorakhpur railway station Gorakhpur Junction railway station (station code:GKP) is located in the city of Gorakhpur in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It has the world's second longest railway platform after Hubli Junction railway station. It serves as the headquart ...

. Until March 2021, it had world's longest platform of 1366 meters. In February 2020, 100 flowering pots with the support structures were made and installed on the hydrant pipe at platform No.2 to increase the plantation and natural cover, using local resources of the Gorakhpur coaching depot. The station offers Class A-1 railway station facilities. On 6 October 2013, Gorakhpur has the world's Longest Railway platform, after inauguration of the remodelled Gorakhpur Yard, with a stretch of around . Gorakhpur is the headquarters of

North Eastern Railways The North Eastern Railway (abbreviated NER) is one of the 19 railway zones of Indian Railways in India. It is headquartered at Gorakhpur. Zonal Rail Training Institute (ZRTI) is established in district Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh. North Eastern ...

Air

An Air Force station of Indian Air Force was established in Gorakhpur in 1963 named Mahayogi Gorakhnath Airport and extended for public air transport.

Metro

Gorakhpur Metro The Gorakhpur Metrolite is a Metrolite, light rapid transit system proposed for the city of Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. The network will consist of 2 elevated lines serving 27 stations with a total length of 27.41 kilometres. The project i ...

is a light metro project with 2 line and 27 stations is light rail transit (LRT) system approved to be built in Gorakhpur. It consist two corridors covering a distance of 27.84 km. On 1 December 2021 the central government has also approved the DPR of Gorakhpur light metro project.

Education

Gorakhpur has 4 universities, namely, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gorakhpur University, Madan Mohan Malaviya University of Technology, Maha Yogi Guru Gorakhnath Ayush University,

Mahayogi Gorakhnath University Mahayogi Gorakhnath University is a private university in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is established by the Uttar Pradesh Private Universities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021 (U.P. Ordinance no. 4 of 2021) along with United University and ...

, a private university. One medical college named Baba Raghav Das Medical College and

AIIMS Gorakhpur All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Gorakhpur better known as AIIMS Gorakhpur is a public medical university located in the Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India and one of the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences. It is one of the four "Pha ...

and a sports

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

named Veer Bahadur Singh Sports College. The state's first

Hotel Management ''Hotel Management'' magazine is a trade publication produced by Questex, LLC. History and profile The magazine ''Hotel Management'' was established in New York in 1922 by Ahrens Publishers. It absorbed or merged with various other hotel manage ...

Institute has also been unveiled and would be known as State Institute of Hotel Management. Also, four private engineering / pharmacy / management college,ITM,KIPM,BIT, GIDA & SIT, Gorakhpur which is affiliated with

Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University (AKTU), before 2015 as the Uttar Pradesh Technical University (UPTU), is a public collegiate university in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was established as the Uttar Pradesh Technical University ...

, Lucknow. It also has a dental institute named as Purvanchal Institute Of Dental Science in gida, gorakhpur.

Sports

* Veer Bahadur Singh Sports College, Gorakhpur * Syed Modi Railway Stadium

Notable people

Yogi Adityanath Yogi Adityanath (born on 5 June 1972 as Ajay Singh Bisht),

, 21st and current Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh *

Leopold Amery Leopold Charles Maurice Stennett Amery, (22 November 1873 – 16 September 1955), also known as L. S. Amery, was a British Conservative Party politician and journalist. During his career, he was known for his interest in military preparedness, ...

, British Cabinet Minister *

Premindra Singh Bhagat Lieutenant General Premindra Singh Bhagat, PVSM, VC (14 October 1918 – 23 May 1975) was a general in the Indian Army and an Indian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy ...

, Recipient of

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

Ram Upendra Das Ram Upendra Das (born 18 November 1967) is an economist and author. He has been appointed as the first Head of the Centre for Regional Trade, a newly established institute of the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Governme ...

, Economist *

Amrapali Dubey Amrapali Dubey (born 11 January 1987) is an Indian actress appearing in Bhojpuri films. She played the lead role in the show ''Rehna Hai Teri Palkon Ki Chhaon Mein'' as Suman. She acted in ''Saat Phere: Saloni Ka Safar, Saat Phere'' and ''Maayk ...

, Actress *

Ravi Dubey Ravi Dubey (born 23 December 1983) is an Indian actor, model, television presenter and producer. He began his acting career in 2006 with a parallel lead role in the show ''Stree Teri Kahaani'' and followed it with roles in less successful sho ...

, Actor *

Mahmood Farooqui Mahmood Farooqui is an Indian writer, performer and director. He specializes in a type of story-telling known as '' Dastangoi''. Farooqui along with his uncle Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, noted Urdu poet and literary critic, revived Dastangoi, the anc ...

Indian writer, artist and director *

Firaq Gorakhpuri Raghupati Sahay (28 August 1896 – 3 March 1982), also known by his pen name Firaq Gorakhpuri, was an Indian writer, critic, and, according to one commentator, one of the most noted contemporary Urdu poets from India. He established himself ...

, Indian Urdu writer * Majnun Gorakhpuri, Pakistani short story writer, poet and literary critic *

Narendra Hirwani Narendra Deepchand Hirwani (born 18 October 1968) is a leg spin bowler who played for India. He is mainly remembered for his success on his Test debut. Early days Hirwani came from a well-off family in Gorakhpur. He belongs to the sindhi Hindu ...

, International cricket player * Anurag Kashyap, Filmmaker * Kafeel Khan, Doctor *

Ravi Kishan Ravi Kishan Shukla (; born 17 July 1969), popularly known as Ravi Kishan, is an Indian actor, politician, film producer and television personality. He currently serves as Member of parliament, Lok Sabha from Gorakhpur. His film works are predo ...

, Member of Parliament from Gorakhpur Lok Sabha constituency * Syed Modi, Badminton player, Winner of Arjuna Award *

Vidya Niwas Mishra Vidya Niwas Mishra (28 January 1926 – 14 February 2005) was an Indian scholar, a Hindi-Sanskrit littérateur, and a journalist. He was honoured with Padma Bhushan. Life He was born on 14 January 1926 at Pakardiha in Gorakhpur district of Utta ...

, Hindi-Sanskrit littérateur, and a journalist * Capt. Mahendra Nath Mulla, MVC, Officer of the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates si ...

* Jamuna Nishad, Indian politician *

Praveen Kumar Nishad Praveen Kumar Nishad (born 19 February 1989) is an Indian politician and a member of Bharatiya Janata Party. He is a member of Lok Sabha from Sant Kabir Nagar, Uttar Pradesh since 2019 elections. He is the son of Dr. Sanjay Nishad, founder o ...

, Indian politician *

Sanjay Nishad Sanjay Nishad is an Indian politician serving as a cabinet minister in the Second Yogi Adityanath ministry. He has been a member of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council since 2021. As a member of the Nishad caste, he founded the NISHAD Party in 2016 ...

, Politician, founder of

NISHAD Party Nirbal Indian Shoshit Hamara Aam Dal is a political party in India. It was founded in 2016. The Nishad Party was formed for empowerment of Nishad, Kewats, Bind, Mallah, Sahani, Kashyap, Gond communities whose traditional occupations centred on ...

* Kamlesh Paswan, politician and Member of Parliament,

17th Lok Sabha The 17th Lok Sabha was formed by the members elected in the 2019 Indian general election. Elections, all across India, were conducted in seven phases from 11 April 2019 to 19 May 2019 by the Election Commission of India. Counting started off ...

* Subrata Roy, Indian businessman, Founder of

Sahara India Pariwar Sahara India Pariwar (''pariwar'' being Hindi for "family") is an Indian conglomerate headquartered in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. The group operates business sectors such as finance, infrastructure & housing, real estate, sports, power, man ...

* Asit Sen, Bollywood actor *

Jimmy Shergill Jimmy Sheirgill (born Jasjit Singh Gill; 3 December 1970), also credited as Jimmy Shergill, is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi and Punjabi films. Sheirgill began his film career with the 1996 thriller '' Maachis''. His bre ...

, Actor *

Saurabh Shukla Saurabh Shukla (born 5 March 1963) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, and film director who works in Hindi and a few Tamil and Telugu films. He is famous for his roles in ''Satya'' (1998), '' Nayak: The Real Hero'' (2001), '' Yuva'' (2004), ''L ...

, Actor * Shri Prakash Shukla, Indian contract killer *

Shiv Pratap Shukla Shiv Pratap Shukla (born 1 April 1952) is an Indian politician and was the Minister of State for Finance in the First Modi ministry. He is Member of Parliament in the upper house (Rajya Sabha) of the Indian Parliament. He represents the state o ...

, Indian politician and social worker * Amar Shahid Bandhu Singh, Freedom Fighter *

Kedarnath Singh Kedarnath Singh (7 July 1934 – 19 March 2018) was an Indian poet who wrote in Hindi. He was also an eminent critic and essayist. He was awarded the Jnanpith Award (2013), Sahitya Akademi Award (1989) in Hindi for his poetry collection, ''Akaal ...

, Poet, Critic *

Lilavati Singh Lilavati Singh (14 December 1868 – 9 May 1909), also seen as Lilivati Singh, was an Indian educator, professor of literature and philosophy at Isabella Thoburn College in Lucknow. Early life and education Lilavati Singh was born in Gorakhpur, ...

, Educator * Vir Bahadur Singh, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh *

Prem Maya Sonir Prem Maya Sonir (born July 14, 1961) is the Retired Sport Officer of North Eastern Railways Headquarters Gorakhpur. During the 1980 Olympics, she was one of the star members of India's hockey team which also included the Saini Sisters and Lor ...

, Hockey player * Hari Shankar Tiwari, Indian politician * Amarmani Tripathi, Indian politician *

Paramahansa Yogananda Paramahansa Yogananda (born Mukunda Lal Ghosh; January 5, 1893March 7, 1952) was an Indian Hindu monk, yogi and guru who introduced millions to the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga through his organization Self-Realization Fellowsh ...

, Yoga Guru, founder of

Self-Realization Fellowship Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) is a worldwide spiritual organization founded by Paramahansa Yogananda in 1920 and legally incorporated as a non-profit religious organization in 1935, to serve as Yogananda's instrument for the preservation ...

Yogoda Satsanga Society of India Yogoda Satsanga Society of India (YSS) is a non-profit, nonsectarian spiritual organization founded by Paramahansa Yogananda in 1917 and is a part of the Self-Realization Fellowship which was founded in 1920. The current president of t ...

* Tabassum Mansoor, Indian educationist in

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

Notes

References

{{Uttar Pradesh

External links

*
Gorakhpur Municipal Government
( NIC)'' *
Uttar Pradesh Government District NIC
' Cities and towns in Gorakhpur district Cities in Uttar Pradesh