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 county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 Gaya may refer to: Geography Czech Republic *Gaya (German and Latin), Kyjov (Hodonín District), a town Guinea * Gaya or Gayah, a town India *Gaya, India, a city in Bihar **Gaya Airport *Bodh Gaya, a town in Bihar near Gaya *Gaya district, Bi ...

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. 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,

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 t ...

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 ...

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 millio ...

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 ...

. This gives it a ranking of 134th in India (out of a total of

640 Year 640 (Roman numerals, DCXL) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 640 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar er ...

), 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 de ...

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 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, 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 languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of North India, northern, Central India, centr ...

and 5.69%

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

as their first language.

Politics

Divisions

Nalanda district is divided into 3 subdivisions (

, and Hilsa), and 20 community development blocks (

Giriyak Giriyak is a village and community development block located on the bank of the Panchane River in Nalanda district of Bihar, India. It is located about east of Rajgir, south of Bihar Sharif, the district headquarters, and southeast of Patna, ...

, Rahui,

Noorsarai Noorsarai is a small town in Nalanda district of Bihar state in India. It is located on a highway joining the two capital cities Patna and Ranchi (capital of Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its bo ...

, Harnaut,

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'', '' Katyayani ...

, Islampur,

Asthawan Asthawan is one of the 20 blocks located in Nalanda district in rural Bihar. According to the administration register, the block code of Asthawan is 373. History In December 2020 Asthawan approved as Nagar Panchayat by Bihar Government Populati ...

Sarmera Sarmera is a town and a block in Nalanda district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is located 110 km east of Patna and is on the National Highway NH33 (linking Arwal to Mokameh and passes through Bihar Sharif) and State Highway SH78 (Bihta ...

, Hilsa, Biharsharif,

Ekangarsarai Ekangarsarai is a census town and corresponding community development block in Nalanda district of Bihar state, India. As of 2011, its population was 6,672. Geography It is located at at an elevation of 55 m above MSL. This small city is ve ...

, Bena, Nagarnausa, Karai Parsurai, Silao, 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 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 ...

, one of the 41 Indian Ordnance Factories 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 state ...

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, ...

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, ...

. 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 ...

, is holy place for the Jains. In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Nalanda one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of

). It is one of the 36 districts in Bihar 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).

Notable people

Kalim Ajiz Kalim Aajiz (1920 – 14 February 2015) was an Indian writer of Urdu literature and a poet. He was an academic and chairman of the Urdu Advisory Committee of the Government of Bihar. He was a recipient of the fourth highest Indian civilian h ...

, a Padma Shri recipient and Urdu writer * Satyadev Narayan Arya, politician and Governor of Haryana *

Abdul Qavi Desnavi Abdul Qavi Desnavi (1 November 1930 – 7 July 2011) was an Indian Urdu language writer, critic, bibliographer and linguist. He wrote many books on Urdu literature. His works included about Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Mirza Ghalib and Allama Muha ...

, 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, proof reader Proofreading is the reading of a galley proof or an electronic copy of a p ...

, a writer, poet, editor, and critic * Ganesh Dutt, administrator and educationalist * Manazir Ahsan Gilani, a writer and Islamic scholar *

Jabir Husain Jabir Husain (born 5 June 1945), is an Indian politician and the former Member of the Parliament representing Bihar in the Rajya Sabha. He is affiliated with the Rashtriya Janata Dal. He currently resides in his private residence in Patna. B ...

, politician * Abhay Kumar, a poet-diplomat *

Aditya Kumar Aditya Kumar is an Indian actor who acted in film ''Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 2, Gangs of Wasseypur II''. Early life Aditya Kumar was born in Bihar Sharif, Nalanda district, Bihar, India.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 (Unit ...

, Chief Minister of Bihar and former MP from Nalanda * Vikas Kumar, 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 Mrityunjay Kumar Prabhakar (born 14 September 1979) is an Indian playwright, theatre director, theatre critic, poet, Assistant Professor of Drama and Theatre Art at Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan, West Bengal and the recipient of B ...

, theatre director and dramatist *

L. S. N. Prasad Lala Suraj Nandan Prasad (1914–2009) was an Indian pediatrician and a former professor of pediatrics of the Patna Medical College and Hospital whose efforts were reported behind the establishment of the department of pediatrics and the develop ...

, 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 Pramod Ranjan (born in February 1980) is an Indian author, social worker and journalist. He has worked for ''Bharatendu Shikhar (Shimla)'', ''Gram Parivesh'', ''Dhramshala based Divya Himachal'', '' Punjab Kesari'', ''Dainik Bhaskar'', ''Amar U ...

, journalist * Abul Muhasin Muhammad Sajjad, Islamic scholar, political activist and politician *

Syed Mohammed Saeed Raza Syed Mohammed Saeed Raza (1890 – 1963) was a Muslim professor and scholar. Early life and family Raza was born in Desna, Bihar, a village . He belonged to a family of scholars and well-educated landowners. His father, Hakim Syed Liaqat Hussia ...

, a Muslim scholar and professor * Brahmadeo Narayan Singh, singer *

Ramchandra Prasad Singh Ram Chandra Prasad Singh (born 6 July 1958) is an Indian politician and former national president of Janata Dal (United). He is also a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha from Bihar from 2010 to 2022. He was a Uttar Pradesh cadre IAS officer befo ...

, 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 Premi ...

, Cricketer * Tarkeshwari Sinha, politician * Hari Uppal, founder of Bhartiya Nritya Kala Mandir 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