Bardiya District (), one of the seventy-seven

Districts of Nepal Districts in Nepal are second level of administrative divisions after provinces. Districts are subdivided into municipalities and rural municipalities. There are seven provinces and 77 districts in Nepal. After the 2015 reform of administrat ...

, is part of Lumbini Province of

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

. The district, with Gulariya as its headquarters, covers an area of and according to the 2001 census the population was 382,649 in 2011 it has 426,576.

Geography and climate

Bardiya lies in Lumbini Province in midwestern Nepal. It covers 2025 square kilometers and lies west of Banke District, south of Surkhet District of Karnali Province, east of Kailali District of Sudurpashchim Province. To the south lies

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Most of Bardiya is in the fertile '' Terai'' plains, covered with agricultural land and forest. The northernmost part of the district extends into the ''Churiya'' or '' Siwalik Hills''. Bardiya National Park covers occupies most of the northern half of the district. This park is the largest undisturbed wilderness in Nepal's Terai. It provides forest, grassland and riverine habitat for endangered mammal, bird and reptile species. More than 30 species of mammals and more than 250 of birds have been recorded. Most people living in this district are farmers. The district headquarter Gulariya lies on the '' Babai River''. The ''Karnali'', one of Nepal's largest rivers, divided into multiple branches when it reaches the Terai. The westernmost branch forms the boundary between Bardiya and Kailali districts. An eastern branch is called the ''Geruwa''. The endangered Gangetic dolphin was often seen in its waters, but populations have been declining.

History

Nepal lost it to the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

after Anglo-Nepalese war (1814–1816) between the then Kingdom of Nepal and East India Company followed by territorial concessions of Sugauli Treaty. Later during the administration of Jang Bahadur Rana, it was returned to Nepal along with Banke, Kailali and Kanchanpur. In the early twentieth century, Bardiya was still covered with forest and sparsely populated with indigenous tribal people called Tharu. Additional Tharus immigrated west from Dang and Deukhuri Valleys. Tharu from Dang and Deukhuri make up a majority of Bardiya's population. Other tribes called ''Sonaha'' live near the Karnali River and western periphery of Bardia National Park, who are historically engaged in extracting golden ores from sediments of river and fishing.

Demographics

At the time of the 2021 Nepal Census, Bardiya District had a population of 460,831. As their first language, 52.3% spoke Tharu, 35.2% Nepali, 7.2% Awadhi, 2.3%

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

, 0.7% Magar, 0.4%

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

, 0.4% Maithili, 0.3% Bhojpuri, 0.3%

Gurung Gurung (exonym; ) or Tamu (endonym; Gurung language, Gurung: ) are a Tibetan people, Tibetan ethnic group living in the hills and mountains of Gandaki Province of Nepal. Gurungs speak Tamu kyi which is a Sino-Tibetan language derived from the ...

, 0.2% Newar, 0.2% Raji, 0.1% Doteli, 0.1% Sonaha, 0.1% Tamang, and 0.1% other languages. Ethnicity/caste: 53.3% were Tharu, 11.3% Chhetri, 8.7% Hill Brahmin, 5.7%

Kami are the Deity, deities, Divinity, divinities, Spirit (supernatural entity), spirits, mythological, spiritual, or natural phenomena that are venerated in the traditional Shinto religion of Japan. ''Kami'' can be elements of the landscape, forc ...

, 2.9% Magar, 2.6%

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

, 2.3% Thakuri, 1.9%

Yadav Yadavs are a grouping of non-elite, peasant-pastoral Quote: "The Yadavs were traditionally a low-to-middle-ranking cluster of pastoral-peasant castes that have become a significant political force in Uttar Pradesh (and other northern states l ...

, 1.8% Damai/Dholi, 1.1% Mallaha, 0.9% Lodh, 0.8% Chamar/Harijan/Ram, 0.7%

, 0.7% Sanyasi/Dasnami, 0.6% Newar, 0.6% Sarki, 0.3% Dusadh/ Pasawan/Pasi, 0.3% Kurmi, 0.3% Tamang, 0.3% other Terai, 0.2% Badi, 0.2% Terai

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

, 0.2% other Dalit, 0.2% Dhobi, 0.2% Hajam/Thakur, 0.2% Halwai, 0.2% Kathabaniyan, 0.2% Lohar, 0.2% Raji, 0.1% Bengali, 0.1% Gaine, 0.1% Kayastha, 0.1% Koiri/ Kushwaha, 0.1% Kumal, 0.1% Rajbanshi, 0.1% Teli and 0.1% others. Religion: 94.2% were

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

, 2.6%

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

, 2.2%

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

and 1.0%

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

. Literacy: 65.2% could read and write, 1.9% could only read and 32.9% could neither read nor write.

Administration

The district consists of eight municipalities, out of which six are urban municipalities and two are rural municipalities. These are as follows: * Gulariya municipality * Rajapur municipality * Madhuwan municipality * Thakurbaba municipality * Basgadhi municipality * Barbardiya municipality * Badhaiyatal rural municipality * Geruwa rural municipality

Former village development committees

Prior to the restructuring of the district, Bardiya District consisted of the following municipalities and Village development committees: * Badalpur Nepal * Baganaha * Baniyabhar * Belawa * Bhimapur * Deudakala * Dhadhawar * Dhodhari * Gola * Jamuni * Kalika * Khairapur * Khairi Chandanpur * Magaragadi * Mahamadpur * Manau * Manpur Mainapokhar * Manpur Tapara * Mathurahardwar * Motipur * Naya Gaun * Neulapur * Padanaha * Pasupatinagar * Patabhar * Sanesri * Shivapur * Sorhawa * Suryapatawa * Taratal * Thakudwara

References